By now, 1MDB has supposedly “redeemed” US$2.3bn from a fund registered in the Cayman Islands.
Of this amount, the firm says US$1.2bn (60 per cent) had been “redeemed” earlier, as reflected in its 31 March 2014 accounts. On 13 January 2015, 1MDB announced it had “redeemed” the remaining US$1.1bn. It also reportedly received US$267m in dividends.
Gosh, I am not sure what this commotion is all about, but they look serious, don’t they? Are they quarelling about who can better champion the people’s rights and welfare in the face of massive corruption and economic mismanagement? I don’t think so.
The recent floods don’t seem to have taught us anything. Some people still have an urge – call it an itch – to pour concrete and tar onto the few green spaces we have.
In a quiet neighbourhood in Tanjung Bunga, with hardly any traffic, paving has been placed around a small park, eating up precious green space. Metal railings are now being put up around the new pavement circling the park. And the road has been widened, even though hardly any traffic passes through the neigbourhood.
As the conservatives in Pas come under fire for their comments on local elections and other hot-button issues, Mujahid Yusof Rawa continued his efforts to project a more inclusive face to the party. This afternoon he cemented ties with the Christian community in the northern region.
The second Aliran Young Writers Workshop in Penang over the last weekend has unleashed the the potential of more socially conscious young writers, who are set to light up the writing scene.
Are you surprised by the floods in the East Coast and Sarawak? Don’t be. Apart from climate change resulting in almost double the rainfall in December in the East Coast, the extent of deforestation is breathtaking in its sheer audacity.
Take a look at the video above and the photograph in the front page of theSun, reproduced below:
What happens when you put a group of youths in a room over the weekend, with plenty of coffee, and ask them to come up with an article ready for publication? Not just on any topic but on issues facing the nation. How do they grab the readers’ attention from the first paragraph and ensure that their writing is coherent, concise, engaging and readable?
It is not just in Malaysia that people are concerned about 1MDB. Apparently, certain parties in the Middle-East are getting a bit jittery. This was the lead in the Business section of the Gulf Times on 15 January 2015.
Police have said they believe human trafficking syndicates are behind the series of murders in mainland Penang.
This was what I was alluding to in my blog post in August 2014: Bukit Mertajam in the spotlight – for the wrong reasons. The news about human trafficking syndicates operating here had emerged in January 2014.
Why would a judicial police commissioner allegedly commit suicide while wrapping up a report on investigations into one of the biggest criminal acts in France in recent times?
Helric Fredou, a 45-year-old French police commissioner, reportedly shot and killed himself in his office at 1.00am, while he was wrapping up a police report after meeting with the family of one of the Paris murder victims.