Remarks of President-Elect Barack Obama-as prepared for delivery Election Night Tuesday, November 4th, 2008 Chicago, Illinois If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
More Abolish ISA events in Penang
I am surprised. I thought that the Abolish ISA campaign’s momentum in Penang would fizzle out after six weekly vigils. But no – there are more events coming up.
Today (Wednesday), there will be a Mass for ISA detainees at 8.00pm at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Pulau Tikus (next to Convent Pulau Tikus).
Why not do away with everything…
Now here’s another worrying development. The Penang government has implemented a “build first, approve building plans later” policy in a bid to draw more investors to the state, according to a news report.
The approval process for detailed building plans are there for good reasons. They are to ensure that various requirements are met: engineering, safety, environmental, fire precautions, a hearing for neighbouring residents’ objections, etc. The approval process allows local authorities to ask developers to amend their detailed plans if these requirements are not met.
If we allow construction of a factory building to commence before a detailed building plan can be approved, what happens when the plan doesn’t meet minimum standards but the building is already nearing completion? What do you do with the building then? Will the state government order its demolition? Or close one eye? This makes a mockery of the whole building plan approval process and renders it a farce. It also creates double standards – why should investors be exempted from the building plan approval process while the rest of us, mere mortals, have to comply with such regulations?
Since the Penang state government is so afraid of exposing the state to claims of compensation, then it should chew on these provisions from the Town and Country Planning Act 1976. Provisions under the Act state that the authorities will be exposing themselves to compensation claims for revoking permission or ordering a demolition if requirements are not met.
Section 25 (3) says an order revoking a planning permission or building plan shall state the period within which the person to whom the permission or approval was granted is required to demolish any building erected pursuant to the permission or approval and the maximum amount that the local planning authority is prepared to reimburse the person in respect of costs incurred by him in carrying out the demolition.
Section 25 (7) states that if planning permission or approval of a buidling plan is revoked, and if the person claims compensation from the local authority for expenses incurred, the planning authority shall offer compensation that is adequate.
Another section says the developer can appeal to the Appeals Board to assess the amount of reimbursement or compensation to be paid.
I have a better idea: why not go the distance and do away with all requirements. No need for planning permissions, building plan submissions, engineering department approval, PBA approval, bomba approval, EIAs, OCs, licences – oh, what a hassle! – then sit back and we will see a terrific influx of foreign investors into Penang. Only thing is we will probably succeed in drawing the worst kind of investors: those with little regard for regulatory requirements, safety, the environment – in short, those investors who are unable or unwilling to comply with the minimum standards and requirements set by developed nations. Hey, come to Penang, you don’t need to worry about all these things.
RM5b + RM5b = RM10b worth of questions
The first 5 billion ringgit question is of course related to state investment company Valuecap. That’s the RM5 billion taken from our EPF money to be used by Valuecap to “invest” in the stock market.
But Malaysian Insider raises a new question. It claims that Valuecap owes its three shareholders RM5.1 billion, which is due to be repaid in February 2009.
This debt, in the form of interest-bearing unsecured bonds, raises questions over plans for the Employees Provident Fund to lend RM5 billion to Valuecap to invest in the stock market. In March 2003, Valuecap borrowed RM5.1 billion from shareholders Khazanah, Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pencen and Permodalan Nasional Bhd to invest in the stock market. At the time, world stock markets were bracing for a looming war in Iraq which followed on the September 2001 attacks on the US. Valuecap’s bonds were due to be repaid in February 2006, but the company was given another three years to this coming February. At the end of 2006, the three shareholders each held RM1.7 billion in these bonds, according to documents obtained by The Malaysian Insider. Since these debt instruments were not listed and are not tradeable, the three shareholders are probably still holding these bonds today. Recently, the government proposed that EPF lend Valuecap RM5 billion to invest in the stock market. In view of its impending obligation to repay its shareholders, however, questions arise over whether the loaned funds will be used to redeem the bonds. As at the end of 2006, Valuecap’s investments were valued at RM4.8 billion. Since then, the stock market has lost 21 per cent of its value. If Valuecap’s investments have tracked the stock market, these could be worth RM3.8 billion currently.Then there is Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua’s call on the Finance Ministry and Khazanah to explain their involvement in Silterra Malaysia Sdn Bhd, which lost RM1 billion last year. This is compounded by the alleged loss of RM5.17 billion that Khazanah Nasional is said to have invested in the semiconductor wafer manufacturer since 1994, reports Malaysiakini.
CVLB blocks transfer of 30 RapidKL buses to Penang
Rapid Penang is blocked in its bid to expand its bus service on the mainland
The Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board (CVLB) has rejected an application by Rapid Penang to transfer 30 buses from RapidKL for use in the mainland, reports The Star today. This is the same CVLB that is largely responsible for the sorry state of public transport in Penang. CVLB chairman Markiman Kobiran said the board had to reject the application because Seberang Perai currently had adequate bus services provided by Rapid Penang and other bus companies. Oh yeah, everyone is satisfied with the bus service on the mainland? Between the CVLB and Rapid Penang, I think I would trust the latter’s judgement more. Get this, CVLB is blocking the transfer because they are afraid of “unhealthy competition” among the bus companies:“If Rapid Penang brings in more buses, it will jeopardise the original intention of improving public transport, and create unhealthy competition among these bus companies,” he said via a telephone interview from Kuala Lumpur yesterday.Unhealthy for whom? Rapid Penang is a federal government-owned entity based in Penang. And if they feel that mainland Penang needs additional buses – and I am sure the public will be delighted to have more buses on the mainland – why is the CVLB blocking the move? Surely a little more competition would help to improve the bus service and benefit long-suffering ordinary passengers. Why is the CVLB so concerned about the effect it will have on the other private bus companies? Who owns or has interests in these private bus companies anyway? I think we can guess. So we have to ask, whose interests is the CVLB protecting – the private bus companies’ or the public interest?
Let them eat golf balls
These days, those who go to the market often complain about the high prices of foodstuff including vegetables. It’s the stuff that many household heads talk about, especially the working class. How on earth to make ends meet…
We are now forced to rely on vegetables from Cameron Highlands, transported by lorries to various markets in towns and cities in the peninsula.
But it wasn’t always like this. In Penang for instance, until the 1980s, large quantities of vegetables were grown on the island. Vegetable farms in Thean Teik supplied close to eight tonnes of vegetables daily and lots of fruit to meet a huge portion of the needs of Penangites. There were other vegetable farms, notably in the Tanjong Tokong area.
But then, our city planners and the BN-led administration, in their wisdom, allowed developers and land trustees to kick out these farmers to make way for “development”. In the Thean Teik case, it led to a bitter confrontation, which the farmers lost.
Some development. Now, we have to get our vegetables from elsewhere. Factor in higher transport cost, higher demand, the rising cost of chemical pesticides and fertilisers and fewer urban vegetable farms, and it’s no wonder vegetable prices are rising.
The argument was that land in Penang was scarce and the farmers had to make way for development.
So looking at the issue from this perspective, I am bewildered that the Pakatan state government is rejoicing because Korean “investors” are planning a US$100 million golf course in Batu Kawan in Penang – a state which cannot find land to grow enough vegetables to feed its population.
Over 100 brave rain to attend PJ vigil
Photos by Rakyat@Work
Eye-witness report by Rakyat@Work:
The night when colours fade: “Where are all the Indians?” “Where are all the Malays?” “Where are all the Chinese?” Haris: Are we all blind or what? Who cares about skin colours? It doesn’t matter any more! We are Bangsa SATU! We are Bangsa Rakyat! Yes! I feel a surge of adrenaline overflowing within me, a sudden sense of brother- and sisterhood with my fellow Malaysians. It’s a celebration of Life. I feel good, I really do. So do the rest. Towards the end of the event, someone discovers a wallet that had been dropped. Marina immediately hands it over to a guy and asks that it be returned ASAP. Someone else whips out his handphone and asks if there are any contact details in the wallet. It is sorted out in no time. That’s the kind of spirit when we say Bangsa Rakyat Bangsa Satu.Candlelight vigil reaches Seremban
Aliran website hacked after Farish’s article appears
Aliran’s website has been hacked again.
This time the hacker obliterated the website and left a message using swear words on the site administrator.
Cartoonist Zunar alerted Aliran to the hacking this afternoon.
The website was hacked a couple of days after Aliran posted an article on “Race and Islam” by its member, Farish Noor.
Altantuya’s father Setev left speechless
The picture says it all: Bewildered and dejected, Setev Shariibuu looks a broken man after the verdict this morning
Someone asked, “Do you believed that justice still exists in our country?” Setev shook his head as his interpreter replied, “In my country, there is this law.. Justice!… and he (pointing at Setev) doesn’t want to criticise the judge’s decision because he hopes this decision was taken in line with Malaysian law… because it’s an area where the lawyer and the judge are independent of the Government…” The interpreter was interrupted by Setev, who took out his passport issued by the Mongolian government, saying he is a citizen of Mongolia, which “protects its citizens”.Guan Eng leads delegation in hunt for Korean investors
One of the larger issues that arises in the face of the global economic slowdown and recession is that the foreign investor-driven, export-oriented economic growth model is clearly not working, especially in times like this when global demand has shrunk. With global stagflation or recession staring at us, capacity is rising and the trickle of foreign investors is drying up.
We should be focusing more on building up a strong, resilient, sustainable domestic economy by providing basic services (housing, health care, food security, public transport, education) rather than relying on foreign investors and now, foreign retirees.
But getting federal funding for such essential services is a problem in the Pakatan-run states and I can sympathise with the Penang state government, which is searching high and low for investors to stave off the effects of job losses. All the same, hunting for foreign investors is at best a short-term solution that does not address the fundamental changes that have taken place in the global economy including the emergence of other low-cost countries such as Vietnam and China, which have much larger domestic markets. We should know by now that many foreign investors will not hesitate to pack up and head for the exit when the global economy goes slack, leaving their workers stranded.
Our region today is a vastly different place compared to the time in the 1970s when Lim Chong Eu successfully lured electronics investors from Japan and the United States to set up assembly plants in Penang.
So I was interested to read about Guan Eng leading a 52-member delegation on a five-day trade mission to South Korea. The NST carried this report yesterday:
2008/10/29 GEORGE TOWN: Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng led a 52-member business delegation on a five-day trade and investment promotion trip to Seoul, South Korea, yesterday. The Lim’s press secretary, Cheong Yin Fan, said companies from the private sector would promote a cluster of properties to Korean buyers at the Penang pavilion. She said the state government wanted to promote the Malaysia My Second Home programme to Koreans. Lim will meet epresentatives of Korean companies and investors in various sectors, which include medical devices, electronics, healthcare, education, tour, travel and recreation. Among the members of the delegation is Deputy Chief Minister I Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin.Now, it will be interesting to see how a Pakatan investment mission, with its commitment to CAT, differs from a BN junket. In this regard, my old friend Andrew (lots of Andrews around!) in Korea raises some questions, which, if taken in the right spirit, will give the Penang state government ample opportunity to demonstrate what CAT means in practice:
Razak Baginda freed, two others called to enter defence
Abdul Razak Baginda has been freed by the High Court this morning. He had been charged with abetting in the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shariibuu.
Two others, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, have been called to enter their defence.
Obama’s slick new “informercial”
This is slick, very slick – and impressive. This ‘informercial’, just released in the US, cleverly tugs at heart-strings. I just hope Obama remembers the ordinary people he talked about if he comes to power. But I am also sceptical to what extent he can actually reform the private health care industry (yes, its an industry, big business) or push through pro-people economic policies. Too often, populist politicians show a keen interest in the concerns of ordinary people only to disappoint when elected as they invariably pander to the interests of Big Business and lose touch with the hardships of the people on the ground who voted them into power.
M’sia’s denial syndrome as global stag-deflation looms
Economist Nouriel Roubini says we are now looking at a possible global stag-deflation in the coming months as consumer and other demand falls worldwide. The US recession and global slowdown is likely to lead to a easing of inflationary pressure. But then, rising spare capacity could lead to stagflation.
Asia Times financial analyst Henry C K Liu suggests that hyperinflation could be on the cards in the US as the Bush administration replaces market capitalism with state capitalism, neither of which will help workers weather the storm. The solution he says is to raise wages and ensure full employment rather than bail out financial institutions:
By now, it is becoming clear that government policy has been mostly focused on maintaining asset prices at levels that the market has rejected. Logic suggests that such a policy will result in hyperinflation at the end of the day, which will lead to more bankruptcies down the road in a protracted downward spiral. The government’s attempt to save overextended financial institutions may well cause the total destruction of market capitalism. And if past experience is any guide, unless wage income is indexed to inflation, the dilution of asset value through inflation will only hasten the arrival of total market failure and the total meltdown of the market economy.
So far, not much is heard from official circles that suggest the solution to the current credit crisis can only come from an immediate and substantial rise in wage income. Instead of bailing out insolvent financial institutions, the government should use sovereign credit to maintain full employment and boost wage income to catch up with inflated asset prices. If the Fed must print new money to save the system, the new money should go to job creation and wage increases rather than to recapitalize insolvent corporations. Full employment and rising wages will halt the fall of asset prices with a rising floor.
The approach adopted by the Bush administration is not designed to rescue a collapsing global economy from total meltdown but to resurrect free market capitalism from ideological bankruptcy with state capitalism.
Over in Malaysia, it appears that the government is gradually coming to grips with the global crisis and shedding its state of denial as it revises down its forecasts for the coming months. Unfortunately, any policy reforms are getting entangled with the Umno election campaign; so it’s difficult for our economic planners to push through reforms without getting distracted by what’s happening within Umno – and its business/crony connections – and to a lesser extent, MCA. Even minor reforms or changes are getting hit by controversy, as Farish Noor points out in ‘Race and Islam‘.
If I sound a bit pessimistic in this piece I wrote for Asia Times today, it’s because I am not sure if the current administration is able to see beyond its narrow self-interests to steer us through the rough seas that lie ahead. Neither does it appear to have the vision to radically restructure the economy to promote sustainable development, food security and domestic resilience.
More power-sharing, stronger opposition in M’sia: PERC
The Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd (Perc) has come up with its Asian Risk Prospects for 2009. It has identified India, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia as high-risk countries for 2008/09. This is what its Executive Summary is saying about Malaysia for 2009.
2008-10-28 15:37 Malaysia political struggle is aggravating long-standing racial and religious sensitivities. Although the odds favor the UMNO-led coalition staving off an attack by the opposition led by Anwar Ibrahim, the status quo is changing in ways that will see a stronger political opposition than in the past and UMNO forced to share more power with non-Malay groups, including parties from Sabah and Sarawak. This sharing will both give the other partners in the ruling coalition more senior political posts and ensure that they get a larger share of the budget.I am not quite sure if it’s the “political struggle” that is aggravating racial and religious tensions. Rather, it looks to me like it is certain politicians in Umno and the other BN component parties, certain newspapers, as well as segments within Pas that are stirring such sentiments in an effort to whip up support. Attempts to reform the economy have also fuelled insecurities, as Najib himself found out after his comments on Malay “special privileges” and the Pakatan government in Selangor discovered after trying to put in place someone best qualified to lead PKNS. How will our main trading partners in the region, China and Singapore, fare?
Mass and vigil in Butterworth draws 200
Remembering those detained without trial
Lighting candles to dispel the darkness of injustice
Some 200 concerned individuals, many of them parishoners of the Church of the Nativity in Butterworth, turned up for a special Mass for justice and peace in our land at 8.00pm today.
Who is Valuecap helping with EPF’s RM5b?
Malaysian Insider has a commentary which raises valid questions about Valuecap. It compares and contrasts the RM5 billion injection of EPF funds into Valuecap with the US bailout of financial institutions using taxpayers’ money.
Will Valuecap throw good money after bad? COMMENTARY OCT 27 — Last week it seemed like Malaysia was dusting off its playbook for the 1997 Asian financial crisis, starting with a proposed RM5 billion stock market injection. It seems par for the course that the government would borrow the money from the Employees Provident Fund to finance the investment through government agency Valuecap Sdn Bhd.
Message from PJ vigil: Remember RPK on 7 Nov
Thanks to Sivin Kit for pointing out this video which captures the mood of the occasion
Photos by Rakyat@Work
As sure as Day follows Night, we know that Light will conquer Darkness and Justice will conquer Oppression. Happy Diwali, folks!
Rakyat@Work reports for anilnetto.com on the third weekly Sunday candlelight vigil in PJ: Warmest greetings once more, Remember 7 Nov 2008 (Raja Petra’s second habeas corpus case): “Please be there! Make a date with RPK. It’s a crucial time – we need the physical support of people. Make our presence felt.” – Marina Lee Abdullah That’s the message we took home. The entire event tonight lasted from 8.00 to 9.15. Unlike the previous two wet nights, tonight was warm. The crowd numbered about 250 to 280. We assume some would have left the city due to the long week-end holidays.Penang’s a happening place!
It’s all happening here in Penang in the coming days:
Sunday, 25 October
Noon: Himanshu Bhatt on the meaning of Deepavali in Penang’s dim and distant past
Venue: Upper Penang Road
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2.00-3.30pm: Kee Thuan Chye reads from his latest book “March 8: The day Malaysia woke up”
Venue: Upper Penang Road.
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10.00am-3.00pm: Exhibition on people’s movements pre- and post-Independence
3.00-5.00pm: Forum
Venue: Caring Society Complex
Organisers: Persatuan Persahabatan Abad Ke-21 Malaysia, Persatuan Kawan Karib Pulau Pinang, Persatuan Persahabatan Phoenix Malaysia and Suaram.
Tuesday, 28 October
8.00pm – Mass for Justice and Peace in our land, including prayers for the release of all ISA detainees and the repeal of the ISA
Venue: (Catholic) Church of the Nativity, Butterworth (next to Sikh temple), about 1km from ferry terminal.
Vwaishhnnavi, 6, released: Living in a topsy-turvy world
P Vwaishhnnavi, the six-year-old niece of detained Hindraf leader P Uthayakumar, and her mother K Shanti were released today
But should they even have been held in the first place?
They were held until late last night. (But both didn’t want to leave their comrades after they were allowed to go, reported Malaysiakini.) For what? Reading out a memo, sending a greeting card and appealing for the release of ISA detainees ahead of Diwali?
And why were the other 10 arrested and now taken to court? To faciliate investigations, apparently. The KL police chief is reported in today’s Sun as saying they were detained for representing or acting for an outlawed organisation or group under Section 48 of the Societies Act.