A large crowd estimated at 10000 surged past police and DBKL barriers into Dataran Merdeka to usher in 2014 with a protest against a broad range of tariff, toll and price hikes.
Happy New Year to all readers – and a blog report for 2013
Here’s wishing you a very Happy New Year, Barang Naik notwithstanding! You might be interested to check out a report on this blog for 2013.
Malaysia ranks fourth in illicit financial outflows 2002-2011
Malaysia ranks fourth in the list of the top 25 countries with the highest measured cumulative illicit financial outflows from 2002 to 2011, according to Global Financial Integrity. Over the last decade, some RM1.2 trillion flowed out of the country. Where is all that money being parked?
Another theme park for Penang; more to come (updated)
Update:(30 December 2013): Not being a real estate lawyer, I didn’t realise that a private company can actually lease the sea from the state! Like most people (including the fisher folk), I was under the impression that the beaches and the sea are supposed to be public property. These comments from a report in The Star today:
Theme Park Concepts and Services Sdn Bhd, the operator of Wet World Wild, described the comments (in this blog) as “strange”.
“We’ve had about 800 visitors so far and they all loved it,” said its regional account director Melvin Kuo.
Kuo also said two fishermen tried to cast their nets next to the park’s floating ramp yesterday.
“They don’t understand that we took a lease for the sea off Moonlight Bay and kept insisting the sea is public property,” he said.
“We are paying almost RM8,000 a year to the state government to lease about 1ha of land and sea surface,” he said.
RM8000 a year? That’s about the annual rental for a small basic apartment.
Some of you commenters are also mentioned in the full report in The Star.
Original post (27 December 2013):
The RM3m Wet World Wild Adventure Park had its soft launch in Penang on Christmas Day.
Is Penang the most expensive place in Malaysia?
The Malaysian Insider has suggested that Penang is more expensive to live in than Kuala Lumpur. What do you think?
Flashback: The 2001 ISA arrests
A timely reminder of the purported grounds used to arrest the reformasi activists under the ISA in 2001.
Cardiff football fans stage another protest against Vincent Tan
Hundreds of Cardiff City FC supporters staged another protest against owner Vincent Tan’s handling of the club while expressing support for its beleaguered manager, Malky Mackay.
A Christmas message from Mujahid Yusof Rawa
Selamat Hari Natal: My message of peace
The many faces of our society have weaved our social fabric into a unique one, one that depicts a diverse yet united society. We have lived in this diversity ever since Malacca was a busy port of international merchants and traders. There, our history began and developed to become one of the most diverse societies and that finally was embodied in the formation of an independent Malaya, along with Sabah and Sarawak, which the world knows today as the Federation of Malaysia.
Malaysians feel the squeeze as food prices soar
Never mind the rise in electricity tariffs, toll rates, and satellite television subscriptions, many Malaysians are grumbling every time they go to the market and stores because of the soaring prices of fruit and vegetables.
Groups protest against recent price hikes
A couple of groups yesterday protested against recent price hikes in separate gatherings at a couple of major shopping malls in KL.
This was the protest at Sogo.