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Taib’s subdued 30th anniversary

Anil Netto
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2

Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud hopes to hold on to the BN’s two-thirds majority in the state assembly in elections on 16 April. But as he observes his 30th anniversary as chief minister today, his political future has never looked so uncertain.

A piece that appears in Asia Times today:

Bellwether poll for Malaysia
By Anil Netto

Taib Mahmud, the flamboyant chief minister of the Malaysian state of Sarawak in north Borneo, marked 30 consecutive years in power on Monday. But any celebrations were subdued by a demanding electoral test on April 16, when close to one million Sarawak voters are eligible to vote in hotly contested state polls.

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How bad is Fukushima?

Anil Netto
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6

We can mention Chernobyl in the same breath now.

Green Action, Japan reports that a new analysis prepared for Greenpeace Germany by nuclear safety expert Dr Helmut Hirsch shows that by 23 March 2011, Japan’s nuclear crisis “has already released enough radioactivity to be ranked at Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES)”.

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Sarawak’s real poverty rate: 5.3% or ?

Anil Netto
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9

One of the biggest issues in the forthcoming Sarawak election is the level of income distribution, inequality and poverty in the state, or more specifically how many people have been left behind or totally left out in this resource-rich state.

BN propaganda inevitably touches on how the official poverty rate in Sarawak has purportedly plunged during the Taib years to only around 5 per cent now. Take for example this piece in the BN’s SarawakReports.org:

In the mid-1980s, Chief Minister Taib faced a Sarawak where nearly 32% of its population lived in poverty, a shocking statistic to anyone living in the Western world. In three decades of democratic leadership, Taib has helped pull his citizens out of the depths of destitution. Now only 5.3% of Sarawakians live in poverty. For comparison, that is less then half the amount of Americans who live below the poverty line, a startling feat.

Less than half the US poverty rate? Betulkah? That is indeed startling! This assertion is repeated over and over again in sarawakreports.org. But then, what about that inconvenient truth – all those natives living without proper water and electricity supply and latrine facilities?

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This could have been KTM

Anil Netto
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25

If only we had focused more on improving our railways instead of building so many tolled highways and a second Penang Bridge for motor vehicles.

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Taib tries to explain family wealth

Anil Netto
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20

“What do I do?” an apparently perplexed Taib asks as sycophants chuckle during a ‘fruitful’ (see the plates on the table) interview.

After all, if the chief minister is to believed, it is his daughter and son-in-law’s amazing business acumen that has expanded their property empire.

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Komtar phase 5: Where’s Local Plan?

Anil Netto
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11

In a third round of demolitions, more than 10 old buildings near Komtar were demolished over the last week – even before we have seen the George Town Local Plan and before the Special Area Plan for the George Town Unesco heritage zone can be put on public display.

Photo credit: Kwong Wah

The Penang Development Corporation is undertaking an urban renewal project involving the Komtar Phase 5 area which also includes the Prangin Canal, what’s left of it.

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Cops break up Anwar ceramah

Anil Netto
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58

Police moved in to stop Anwar from addressing a ceramah outside Azmin Ali’s service centre in Gombak last night.

This ceramah, which aimed to highlight the latest developments in his case among othere recent events, began at 9.00pm.

A crowd of a few thousand turned up to listen to the various speakers. When it was Anwar’s turn at around 11.30pm, the cops moved in after a few minutes to prevent him from speaking.

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Fukushima: Radioactivity spreads

Anil Netto
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5

When it is dangerous for infants in Tokyo to drink tap water, you know you have serious problems.

If only they had heeded earlier warnings to evacuate a larger zone.

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PSM reps disclose assets

Anil Netto
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11

Elected reps from Parti Sosialis Malaysia yesterday disclosed their assets to the public.

PSM elected reps declare their assets

It is time for elected reps from other parties to follow their example.

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Romero’s shadow haunts Obama

Anil Netto
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6

President Obama has had to face up to memories of the US-backed repression in Central America during a visit that coincided with the anniversary of the assassination of the legendary Archbishop of El Salvador, Oscar Romero, on 24 March 1980.

Protesters in El Salvador also demanded that Obama rework or scrap the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which has crippled agriculture in the country.

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