The Star Friday December 12, 2008 Chicken thief couldn’t recognise bird IPOH: A man who admitted to stealing a chicken got amused looks in a magistrate’s court here when he could not recognise the same bird brought to him for identification.
A chicken thief and the Jimah power plant
I suppose the story of a chcken thief who couldn’t recognise a chicken in court as the one he was alleged to have stolen was meant to provide some comic relief in the The Star. You are meant to chuckle or laugh when you read it.
But read the report more carefully and you will see that the accused had to support his family on RM25 a day. That’s about RM750/month, putting the household on the threshold of the official poverty line. Nothing to laugh about there. And he gets three months jail for stealing a chicken.
Now we shouldn’t condone even petty theft.
But we all know how difficult it is for any household to survive on less than RM1,500/month or even more, let alone RM750.
How about poverty in a land of plenty? Do we condone that?
My question now: what is the penalty for those who are now allowing TNB to bleed RM500 million in “capacity charges” over the next eight months by allowing an IPP to operate a power plant (Jimah) to provide electricity that the country doesn’t need? The Jimah plant, which will be operational in January, will raise the country’s power reserve margin to 45 per cent. The CEO of TNB says the country doesn’t need the power and can do without it. Who will profit from the Jimah power plant?
Will anyone be hauled up to account for this?
Hill-slope projects: Contrasting positions of S’gor and Pg
Compare and contrast the Selangor and Penang governments’ contrasting stands on hill-slope development. Both of them are under Pakatan rule, but look at the difference in their positions. You tell me which sounds more principled…
The Penang government’s position from the Malaysian Insider:
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 — Penang’s Chief Minister wants the federal government to set up a geotechnical engineering unit under the Public Works Department to ensure the safety of all hillside developments. In light of the latest landslide incident in Bukit Antarabangsa which killed four people, Lim Guan Eng said Malaysia should learn from the painful experience and emulate Hong Kong, where 80 per cent of the buildings sit on slopes.Says one long-time Penang resident:
A good reflection of where this DAP government stands with regard to hill-slope development. Very business friendly….This perception is by no means an isolated one among those concerned about the environment in Penang. The following is a comment from another long-time resident of Penang, a foreigner who “is saddened by the destruction of Penang’s once beautiful north coast, where Moonlight Bay has become ‘Moonscape Bay’ and a disaster waiting to happen.”Lim Guan Eng knows full well that the Federal Govt will NOT implement such a suggestion. But he makes it anyway so he looks good, like he cares but in effect, he does not. Because, if he really cared (for public safety), instead of taking care of business interests, he would have called for a full moratorium or stop on hill development in Penang.
I never thought I would see it but awareness and sentiment finally seem to be moving against the madness of clearing and building on dangerous hill slopes. It is a pity though that Penang is still far behind Selangor in taking the necessary measures to prevent further tragedy and environmental degradation. Selangor Exco member Elizabeth Wong’s article “Bitter vindication” in theSun 10 December p.16 should be read and disseminated widely. The issue really is one of putting “people” ahead of “profits.”This is theSun report he was referring to:
Bitter vindication by Elizabeth Wong ONE of the earliest policy decisions by the Pakatan Rakyat Selangor government was to throw out any housing and building applications for Class 3 and Class 4 hillslopes to preserve environmentally sensitive areas and prevent landslides. This was decided at an executive council meeting on April 2.
Jerit cyclists asked to fill up forms meant for “gangs”
1417: Jerit northern team cyclists have been harassed twice today. The first time was near Sungai Siput when the cyclists were stopped and all their particulars taken down.
Barely 5km away from the Sungai Siput road block, they were also stopped a second time at Kantan New Village, where Ipoh and Kinta District police were also present. This time the police wanted about 40 different particulars from each cyclist such as height, weight and “previous gang”.
44 Jerit cyclists being taken to KK police station
1310: Jerit’s nothern cyclist team, 44 cyclists in all, are being taken to the Kuala Kangar police station. The police want the ICs of the young cyclists, according to one of the organisers. Organisers, however, are not handing over the ICs as they are afraid that the parents of the youths will be harassed. The organisers have offered their own ICs instead.
This is the third time today the bus from Kamunting to Sungai Siput has been stopped. The first time was when the bus was stopped and officers wanted to inspect the driver’s permit.
The PJ vigils go on regardless…
A new Freedom Ride cycling team reaches Kamunting
Mission accomplished with a candlelight vigil last night outside the Kamunting Detention Centre: Yin, Joseph, Meng and Michael. Their colleague and photographer, Jorge, is not in the pic. The camera flashes alerted the officers on duty, who came out to have a look. (Note: This cycling team is not part of the Jerit cycling team.)
Ready to roll on the Freedom Ride
First it was candle-mania; now it’s cycle-mania
One of the cyclists, Michael, sent in this report at 4.00am today:
It’s been a very tiring and hectic two days (Saturday and Sunday) for me especially today as I had to reach Kamunting, do the candlelight vigil last night and still catch the 9.00pm bus back to KL. It was a great feeling having been able to achieve what we set out to do.
We started out from Klang on Saturday, 6 Dec at 8.00am from a bak kut teh shop, no less. Besides the five of us, two more friends rode with us to Sabak Bernam (110km) where we stopped for the first night. The next morning, the five of us started at 8.00am and, with only a few stops for lunch and quick breaks, we rode all the way to Taiping (160km away), reaching the town just before 7.00pm. (Coincentally, the southbound Jerit cycling team were spending last night in Taiping and Bagan Serai.)
The exuberant Simon Bolivar youth orchestra lets rip
Performing at the BBC Proms 2007 (Thanks to John Hilley for highlighting this)
This is the product of El Sistema, Venezuela’s music education programme pioneered by economist and musician José Antonio Abreu in 1975. According to a UK Telegraph report, the programme offers every interested child, no matter how poor, an instrument and free tuition. Some 250,000 children are participating in the programme. El Sistema general manager Javier Moreno was quoted as saying: “We’re interested in creating citizens with all the values they need to exist in society – responsibility, teamwork, respect, cooperation and work ethic.”
If only we had a Malaysian equivalent – comprising the youths of all ethnic groups and classes (rich and poor) from Perlis to Sabah – playing a fusion of Malaysian music with similar exhuberance. Wouldn’t that be more culturally authentic – and more affordable – than the big-budget Petronas “Malaysian” Philharmonic Orchestra, which comprises highly paid expats performing before mainly well-heeled audiences? This is how The Telegraph describes the BBC Proms of 2007:It was a night that anyone who was there will never forget. The Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra prom Fiesta time as the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra lets rip Yes, the Proms are renowned for their party atmosphere, particularly on the Last Night, but that’s from the audience. At the concert by the astonishing Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, it was the performers who let rip in what must have been the most joyful Proms performance ever. The high jinks started at the end of the scheduled concert when they produced from nowhere jackets in the national colours to replace their immaculate suits. To cheering and stamping from the audience, they performed three increasingly wild encores.
Eight Jerit cycles torched; Riot police in Bagan Serai
Someone doesn’t like the Jerit cyclists Photo by the Jerit crew (More pictures here)
The Jerit cyclists continue to be hit by one obstacle after another.
In a pre-dawn incident today, unknown arsonist(s) torched eight of the Jerit bikes in Penanti on mainland Penang, where the cycling team were spending the night. Three of the cycles were badly damaged.
The four dozen cyclists were not to be deterred and continued their journey south.
The glass wall that separates the rich from the poor
The glass facade of George Town’s premier business hotel, Traders Hotel (formerly Shangri-la Hotel), where Jerit cyclists were to hand over their memo to Guan Eng at 1.30pm
Pakatan leaders were inside attending a conference to outline their “New economic vision for Penang and Malaysia”. US multinational electronics corporation, Agilent Technologies, and the Shangri La hotels chain were the sponsors of the event, to which participants had to pay RM250/person to attend. Ironically, the session scheduled just before lunchtime was “Getting the politics right to enable sustainable economic growth that is socially just.”
But nobody cared to ask the workers and representatives of marginalised communities outside what they thought of this vision. Instead, the front door of the hotel was locked while hotel management and security looked concerned. Not that the Jerit cyclists were desperate to get in. All they wanted to do was hand over their memo and leave. Still, it would have been a great gesture if the Pakatan reps inside had invited the cyclists and activists in to listen to the aspirations and hopes of workers and marginalised groups. The Pakatan folks would have been seen as pro-people.
As it stands, the Pakatan leaders in general look increasingly pro-market, pro-investor and pro-business while lowly paid workers, who are struggling to make ends meet, do not seem to figure very highly on their list of priorities.
Jerit cyclists peering through the glass to see how the rich wine and dine: The poor in Malaysia can only dream of the lavish life-styles of the upper middle-class and the rich.
The rich top 10 per cent of the population earn 22 times what the bottom 10 per cent earn, making Malaysia one of the most unequal societies in East Asia in terms of income disparities. The Jerit campaigners and the Malaysian Trades Union Congress have been calling for a decent minimum wage in the country that would enable workers to live in dignity. A minimum wage would also help the economy as it would give the public, especially workers, greater purchasing power.
Clinton’s KL speech dogged by controversy
In case you missed it, Clinton’s US$200,000 appearance in KL has been shrouded in controversy.
Check out this NYT report.
Wasn’t it Clinton who promoted and expanded neoliberal free trade?
16 Jerit activists arrested; police road-blocks in Johor
1428: More than 50 cyclists and Jerit activists have been stranded in a bus for more than two hours along with a lorry carrying their cycles in the Skudai, Senai area as traffic has come to a stand still. A 20-minute journey has become a two-hour journey as there are police blocks everywhere, reports Kohila from Jerit. Police have blocked many areas in their attempt to get rid of the Jerit southern team, she adds. Armed police were spotted near the Senai road and also near the toll. Only the Jerit bus, lorry and accompanying cars were stopped. Police have also been filming and snapping pictures almost non-stop.
1202: All the activists have been released by noon and the ICs of the cyclists have been returned. But police don’t want any Jerit supporters cycling in Skudai, so the team will be moving to Kulai after lunch.
0937: Reports of a situation emerging at the Suaram office in Johor Baru…
Around 16 Jerit campaign organisers have been arrested just before their southern cycling team was due to begin their journey to Parliament this morning. Police also raided the Suaram office and took down the particulars of the cyclists.
For more details, enquiries and appeals, contact the Skudai district police headquarters at 07-556 1222.
So candlelight vigil cannot, cycling also cannot…
Meanwhile, the northen region cycling team, after their encounters with the police yesterday, are due to hand over a memorandum to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng at the Traders Hotel at around 1.00pm. The cyclists are now ready to roll in George Town as police keep a watchful eye.
A snatch theft victim in hospital; Paula’s bail extended
I am just back from visiting a friend in hospital in Penang today – a snatch theft victim.
She was walking home to her flat after work at 7.30pm a couple of nights ago when someone on a motobike sped up and suddenly tugged at her handbag slung over her shoulder. It didn’t come off easily and she lost her balance, fell to the ground and was dragged on the rough tar road for a bit (ouch!).
She won’t be able to walk for a week (but thank God, no fractures or concussion).
This is not improving my perception of the crime rate – and it’s going to get worse with the economy sliding downhill next year.
Meanwhile, Paula Khoo, the singer-guitarist-emcee who was arrested at a Penang Abolish ISA vigil a few weeks ago, continues to face uncertainty.
Good news! Bicycles freed… but no “perarakan” allowed
You will be pleased to hear that the Jerit bicycles, yes bicycles, have been released. I guess they were innocent after all, poor bikes – and it’s all systems go for tomorrow.
So with that, the cyclists are expected to hand in a memorandum to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng tomorrow at around 12.30pm in Komtar.
Sungai Siput MP Jeyakumar Devaraj spent most of this afternoon negotiating with senior police officers in Penang. “I told them, come on-lah, there are so many criminals around for you to deal with; just let our cyclists do their thing and they won’t cause any problem,” he said over the phone.
Penang gov’t backs Jerit cyclists but police block them
The Jerit cycling team have again be stopped, this time at a police road-block in Penang.
They were them that they would not be allowed to do any cycling in Penang and could be arrested if they did. A lorry carrying the bicycles has been brought to the Teluk Kumbar police station.
Jerit cyclist freed on police bail
Jerit campaign cyclist Ruben s/o Loganathan was freed on police bail at 7.50pm yesterday.
The Jerit cycling team from the north are now on the way to Penang. Tomorrow, they are due to hand over a memorandum to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng at 12.30pm in the Komtar foyer in front of Maybank.
Jerit campaign cyclist arrested near Kulim
Just received word that one of the 45 Jerit cyclists on the way from Alor Star to KL via Penang has been arrested in the small village of Merbau Pulas near Kulim this evening.
According to Sungai Siput MP Jeyakumar Devaraj, Ruben was detained for distributing leaflets which did not indicate the Jerit office address. Leaflets are supposed to bear the publisher’s name and address. The Jerit leaflets only displayed the Jerit website address, the Jerit email, and the Jerit office phone number.
But the Jerit website shows the Jerit office address.
Out-of-touch Najib wants poor to buy laundry dryers
Political economist Andrew Aeria has sent in this comment, which I think reveals how out of touch Najib is with the hard reality facing low-income families in the country:
First, petrol price increase. He said: Change your lifestyle. Then, crime: Change your perception. Now, laundry drying: Change your habit by buying a dryer or dry your laundry downstairs. This guy has no inkling of the life of ordinary people. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and he has never known privation or hunger. So, when he talks, his ideas and suggestions are all in tune with his privileged world-view of his own creature comforts. Does he think everyone living in a high-rise can afford a laundry dryer?
Petrol price – subsidy, levy or free float?
Blog reader Sam Gopal has this to say:
Anil, You have been advocating strongly for a STRONG and WORLD CLASS public transport system. At this very time you are asking the Government to lower petrol prices. Lowering petrol prices will only make the public go back to using their cars even more. I think the push is for the Government to maintain a levy of petrol and then use this MONEY effectively to IMPROVE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION system. Lets not jump into the bandwagon and simply oppose for the sake of opposing. On the other hand LGE is making ludicrous demands of giving RM6,000 per family using PETRONAS money. Seriously, why can’t he talk about using this money to improve public infrastructure? The very thing China is doing, pumping in USD600 BILLION plus to improve infrastructure, and not handing out money to its citizens just like that, where ther is NO Return On Investment, except paying for more imports with this sort of money handed out.To clarify, I am not advocating a total peg to the market price. So while a price of around RM1.50/litre might be the real market price price based on the current global market price for crude and the historical trend (as Penang CM Lim Guan Eng has suggested), it might not be prudent to use that price. A price reduction, yes (to provide immediate relief for people affected by the slowing economy), but not a total free float. I believe in the long run, we need to tax fossil fuels, which are a polluting, non-renewable resource. This could take the form of a small levy to invest in renewable energy (solar, for instance), public transport and other conservation projects. Such a levy should accompany immediate significant improvements in public transport – but so far, all the past promises of improved public transport have not materialised. This levy must go into a special “green fund”, which must be carefully and transparently managed. Only problem is I don’t think it’s possible to have such a transparently managed fund under this administration; if the fund is not managed properly, the money could so easily be squandered in dishing out inflated contracts to cronies, as we all know. It is risky to talk about pumping in billions into infrastructure when we know there are many “leakages” along the way. Public spending should be for the widest possible public benefit and not just to profit some big-time crony contractors.