Interview with Nurul Izzah
The future lies with the younger politicians and the acceptance of ‘new politics’, says Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, who burst onto the political scene as ‘Puteri Reformasi’ a decade ago.
Trusting ‘the Other’
A friend of mine, Philip, a Chinese Malaysian, phoned earlier this week and shared with me a few anecdotes of his encounters with his fellow Malaysians, who happened to be Malay, during life-threatening situations.
When he was stricken with a severe bout of dengue fever some time ago, it was a Malay doctor, Dr Salleh, at a private hospital who went out of his way – beyond the call of duty – and stayed back after office hours to care for him. It was only after Dr Salleh was sure that Philip was out of danger that he returned home.
Philip also recalled the occasion when his son was suffering from an acute bout of meningitis. It was a female Malay doctor at Hospital UKM who recommended and performed a lumbar puncture procedure. “I entrusted my son, the joy of my life, to her professional care, and she did not let me down.”
Syabas slaps Selangor govt with RM339m claim
The Selangor state government has received a letter of demand for RM339 million for its refusal to allow a hike in water tariffs last year.
The compensation claim was contained in a letter from the lawyers of Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas), Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim revealed in a statement this evening. The letter gave the Selangor government 14 days to pay up.
Syabas is 70 per cent owned by Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd, which is in turn 41 per cent controlled by Puncak Niaga executive chairman Rozali Ismail. According to Puncak Niaga’s Annual Report for 2008, directors’ earnings for the Puncak Niaga group totalled RM11.6 million for the year with the highest paid director earning more than RM5.7 million.
200 Felda settlers turn up at Suhakam
1530: Felda settlers, who have contributed much to the nation’s economy, pour into the Sukaham building to highlight their plight.
1415: Scores of Felda settlers have turned up at Suhakam to submit a memorandum listing out their problems and demands.
1415: Scores of Felda settlers have turned up at Suhakam to submit a memorandum listing out their problems and demands.
On Facebook now
For those of you into social networking, I have just set up a Facebook presence; so you can find me there now.
Check out the ‘gang’ already there.
Another Big Pharma scandal erupts
Barely has the dust settled on the Celebrex research fabrication fiasco before another Big Pharma scandal has erupted. This time it centres on the diabetes drug Avandia, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline.
US Senators have published a damning report linking Avandia (rosiglitazone) to heart attacks and deaths while two drug safety reviewers have recommended that it be pulled from the market. “At a July 30, 2007, safety panel on Avandia, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientists presented an analysis estimating that Avandia use was associated with approximately 83,000 excess heart attacks since the drug came on the market.”
Even more shocking (actually not so shocking-lah), the Senate Finance Committee report suggested that GSK was aware of the cardiac risks associated with Avandia years before the evidence became public.
We need more pedestrian walkways like this
If only we could have more tree-lined pedestrian walkways like this all over Penang and indeed other urban centres in Malaysia. It is not impossible as this project clearly shows.
This spacious tree-lined pavement along the Esplanade is a good example of an accessible pedestrian walkway.
It is located opposite the Penang state assembly building and was upgraded recently as a commitment by the Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) to improve accessibility in the heritage area.
The improvements in the walkway were recommended by a UNDP-Government of Malaysia project on Accessible Public Transport. Some RM70,000 was spent by the MPPP in 2009 on enhancing the path. If more of the recommendations are implemented, Penang would have a very accessible pedestrian network around the heritage area.
This spacious tree-lined pavement along the Esplanade is a good example of an accessible pedestrian walkway.
It is located opposite the Penang state assembly building and was upgraded recently as a commitment by the Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) to improve accessibility in the heritage area.
The improvements in the walkway were recommended by a UNDP-Government of Malaysia project on Accessible Public Transport. Some RM70,000 was spent by the MPPP in 2009 on enhancing the path. If more of the recommendations are implemented, Penang would have a very accessible pedestrian network around the heritage area.
Second Penang bridge: Foresight – or folly?
Spotted this letter in theSun today about the second Penang bridge (now in the preliminary stages of construction). It mirrors my thoughts exactly.
Penang’s roads are already congested during peak hours, Friday and Saturday evenings, and festive periods – and that is with three lanes of traffic along the newly widened Penang Bridge pouring into the island. What happens when the second bridge creates two or three additional lanes of vehicles flowing into the island?
No need for second link I AM a resident of Penang Island and a regular user of the Penang Bridge. Every day the traffic report on the radio nearly always has the same good news for users of the bridge like me: “Clear on both lanes and at the entry and exit points both on the mainland and on the island.”
Ku Li says no 3-mile limit for offshore oil royalty
Refuting a government ad blitz, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah insists that oil-producing states are entitled to a 5 per cent payment on all oil extracted, whether onshore or offshore.
There is no such thing as a 3-nautical mile limit, he writes in his latest blog entry.
The Information Ministry’s full page advertisements in the major Malay newspapers had argued that Kelantan has no right to oil payments under the Petroleum Development Act because its oil resources fall outside the 3-nautical mile limit that delimits state versus federal jurisdictions.
Razaleigh counters:
The advertisement fails to point out that almost all the oil found in Malaysia is located more than 3 nautical miles offshore, and Petronas has nevertheless been making oil payments to the states. By the argument deployed in the advertisement, Terengganu, Sabah and Sarawak too are not entitled to the “cash payments” of 5% of profit oil (commonly and a little inaccurately referred to as “oil royalties”). Everything is at the arbitrary behest of the Federal Government.
Save the tigers
In this Year of the Tiger, let’s do something to save endangered tigers. The culprits in the video below are just the small fry: it’s the middlemen who make the most profits.
Read the full Channel 4 report here.
Protest at Umno event in Ptg Pauh school
1600: The crowd has dispersed as the protest ends peacefully. Meanwhile, Umno Youth’s Tun Faisal reports via Twitter that some 5,000 people turned up for a Juara Rakyat event in Sembrong, Johor.
1537: The police have prohibited the crowd from gathering outside the school-gate; so the protesters have moved across the road but they are still facing the school. Riot police have positioned themselves in front of the gate.
Photo courtesy of darisungaiderhaka.blogspot.com
1503: A small truck carrying about a dozen riot police personnel arrives.
1502: The police had given the crowd until 3.00pm to disperse. A Pas member is now negotiating with them. He says the protesters just want to know why Umno is using a school.
Photo courtesy of darisungaiderhaka.blogspot.com
1503: A small truck carrying about a dozen riot police personnel arrives.
1502: The police had given the crowd until 3.00pm to disperse. A Pas member is now negotiating with them. He says the protesters just want to know why Umno is using a school.
“This is my home”
If the racial chauvinists and religious bigots around us are making you sick, take two tablespoons of this beautiful antidote from Ambrose of ‘Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia’.
Live – Teoh Beng Hock inquest resumes
The Teoh Beng Hock inquest resumes today, with the second autopsy report to be presented.
‘One of the biggest medical research frauds’
Big Pharma firms usually peddle wonder drugs and vaccines citing “evidence-based medicine” and “real science” to back up their claims – so tell me, how did a medical researcher receiving grants from these firms get away with fabricating research data for 13 years?
A US doctor, a former member of Pfizer Inc’s speakers’ bureau, has reportedly agreed to plead guilty to accusations of having launched “one of the biggest research frauds in medical history”.
Dr Scott Reuben has been charged with accepting a US$75,000 Pfizer grant to study Celebrex in 2005: problem is no patients were ever enrolled in the study! His research, published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, “proved” that the painkiller helped reduce pain during post-surgical recovery.
Will Ku Li leave Umno?
Tengku Razaleigh explains his stand on various issues and tackles the questions: Will you leave Umno? What will happen to Umno?
Four-in-a-row for Zunar
These are the issues of Zunar’s cartoon publications that have seen copies confiscated by the authorities.
Cross-examination of Saiful will have to wait
The cross-examination of key prosecution witness, Saiful, in Anwar’s sodomy trial will have to wait after the judge this morning adjourned proceedings to 25 March.
Anwar’s defence counsel was ready to cross-examine Saiful. “We do not want to be accused of delaying tactics,” said Karpal Singh. “We are prepared to carry on.”
The adjournment follows Anwar’s decision to appeal to the Court of Appeal against High Court judge Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah’s decision this morning not to recuse himself on the basis there was no evidence that he had been biased.
Court of Appeal rejects Anwar’s appeal
1603: Karpal wants to appeal to the Federal Court. But judges maintain a proper application needs to be submitted. Stay denied. Court adjourned.
1547: A 15-minute break presumably for judges to decide whether a stay should be given.
1540: The judge said that a proper application for appeal to the Federal Court has not been filed, reports Jonson. Karpal continues to outline reasons a stay of the sodomy trial should be granted.
1535: The court has agreed with the SG: the medical record is not conclusive and corroborative. The appellant has not shown the charge against him is oppressive and an abuse of the court process. Appeal dismissed.
Umno protest outside Australian High Comm
Umno supporters have protested at what they perceive to be interference in Malaysian affairs by a group of Australian MPs.
Mind your own business, Aussie MPs: Umno Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin addresses a crowd this morning. – Photo twittered by Khairy
Khairy later handed over a protest note to Penny Williams, the Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia.
Mind your own business, Aussie MPs: Umno Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin addresses a crowd this morning. – Photo twittered by Khairy
Khairy later handed over a protest note to Penny Williams, the Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia.
Must a business be profit driven?
Before 1Malaysia, there was already OneHeart, the story of a multi-ethnic group of young Malaysians who wanted to run a business – without being driven by profits.
Today, blog reader Mist commenting on my “Two Million Ringgit Man” posting observed:
How depressing! Yes, corruption and unethical practices seem widespread and entrenched in the system, not just in the public sector but also in the private sector.
Is there really no alternative way of doing business? Kelly Law, CEO of OneHeart, and husband Jeffrey, whom I met over a cup of coffee this afternoon, along with their friend and godpa Vincent, think there is.
I had spent a large part of my life in academia and I was blissfully oblivious of much of what went on in society, mostly in the corporate world. Recently I got involved in the real estate business and got to meet quite a few people in the corporate world and those who have close association with what went on in the business world. It would seemed that kickbacks are quite common. Proxies are often used to facilitate the process. And then of course there were other rather unethical practices and I had been given the advice so often that we won’t be able to make a living if we were honest. This advice came about after a bit more than five months of relentless effort and without anything to show for it; being played out by sellers and buyers on more than one occasion. My point is this: much of society is dishonest and everyone seemed to be out to get an advantage – honest or dishonest – to move forward. We cry foul over governmental corruption and yet it is merely a reflection of what is going on in the wider community.
How depressing! Yes, corruption and unethical practices seem widespread and entrenched in the system, not just in the public sector but also in the private sector.
Is there really no alternative way of doing business? Kelly Law, CEO of OneHeart, and husband Jeffrey, whom I met over a cup of coffee this afternoon, along with their friend and godpa Vincent, think there is.