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Weekend hive of activity in Penang

Anil Netto
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Penang has become a hive of political activity this weekend.

On Friday, PSM held a 30-table fund-raising dinner in Bayan Baru. PSM secretary general Arutchelvan said whether BN, Pakatan or ‘third force’, what really mattered at the end of the day was ‘people power’. Jeyakumar Devaraj, on the other hand, said it was important to check feudal and pro-corporate elements from creeping into Pakatan. See Malaysiakini report PSM welcomes third force to kick BN out.

Last night, over 1,000 people attended a Pakatan ceramah in Balik Pulau. The Penang State Assembly Speaker said the state government would hand out RM100 to single mothers and disabled persons next year if they register with the local JKKK, said one eye-witness at the scene. (I hope this won’t be tied to voter registration lists.)

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Artefacts missing from Bujang Valley?

Anil Netto
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Questions were raised by the public about missing ceramics and other artefacts at the Bujang Valley archeological site in Kedah during a ‘Penang Story’ talk yesterday evening.

This is serious as the Bujang Valley is a national treasure. As one of the earliest, if not the earliest, civilisations in the region, the site could potentially become a source of much knowledge about the region besides becoming a major draw for visitors.

The talk yesterday was presented by Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Centre for Global Archaeological Research director Associate Professor Dr Mokhtar Saidi, who leads the archeological dig that has discovered monuments dating back to the first century AD at the sprawling site in the northern region.

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X’mas comes early for Gamuda-MMC

Anil Netto
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Gamuda-MMC has received an early ‘durian runtuh’ with the government reportedly granting preliminary approval for the consortium to manage a RM36 billion mass rapid transit (MRT) project for the Klang Valley.

See a report by Reuters here.

Because of the large amount of public money at stake, the government must tell us exactly how the tender process for the consortium’s reportedly ‘unsolicited proposal’ was carried out. Is it true that there was only one  contractor with whom the government negotiated? That in itself is disturbing.

The actual project is expected to cost RM36 billion. Add land acquisition and rolling stock cost and the tab reportedly could come up to a jaw-dropping RM43 billion. (What about possible cost overruns?) That makes it the largest construction job under the Tenth Malaysia Plan.

Examine carefully the major shareholders of Gamuda Bhd as at 15 October 2009:

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Councils: Rewarding party faithful

Anil Netto
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It looks like the status quota – or even an entrenchment – in the system of rewarding party faithful with appointments to the two Penang municipal councils.

The DAP general election manifesto in 2008 (click image to enlarge): Have they lived up to their campaign pledges in relation to the protection of green spaces and the environment, electoral reforms and local democracy, PICC and transparency, and affordable health care (as opposed to 'health tourism')?

The total quota for “NGOs” in both MPPP and MPSP is reportedly being reduced from 10 councillors in 2008 to seven for 2011. Bear in mind, the state’s definition of ‘NGOs’ includes groups with vested business interests. As for the representation of public interest (civil society) groups, the word that comes to mind is tokenism.

Pending the restoration of local council elections, public interest groups had asked for five reps in each council. Under the banner of Penang Forum, they had conducted open elections to choose their nominees in a bid to broaden their selection process and make it more transparent.

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From ‘Stop PGCC’ to ‘Stop PICC’

Anil Netto
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The state government is pushing ahead with the controversial Penang International Convention Centre. Now who is going to be the lucky developer and main contractor?

See a Sin Chew report here.

In the interest of transparency, FOI etc and as public money is involved, the state government must provide us with the full details of the project, the full cost, the cost to the state/public, and the tender details. The full project value under the Build-Operate-Transfer scheme (see my earlier blog post – PICC and the risks of BOT) may end up much more than the RM50 million subsidy figure mentioned earlier (although the state had budgeted RM50 million for its share of the cost). And if the BOT financial projections fail to materialise, guess who could end up subsidising the PICC even further?

Politicians just love these big projects whose worth to the ordinary person on the street is, at best, questionable. But who profits the most? Probably the developers or contractors. And at whose expense? Of course, the politicians will try and convince us otherwise.

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14th by-election, a test in BN stronghold

Anil Netto
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The by-election expected to be called in Tenang, Johor, following the passing of an Umno state assembly member, will be the 14th since 8 March 2008.

Thus far, the score reads 8-5 in Pakatan’s favour, but the last few results have gone BN’s way.

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A serious blow for democracy

Anil Netto
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So four MPs – Anwar, Azmin, Karpal and Sivarasa – have been suspended from Parliament for six months.

That leaves them with plenty of free time for campaigning! Obviously, the Apco issue has struck a raw nerve somewhere. Apco was supposed to help the government’s public relations but instead the firm itself has become the object of scrutiny and hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Thanks to these highly undemocratic suspensions, a large number of Malaysians will not be looking kindly at the firm – or the government. What a public relations disaster and a serious blow for democracy!

Confused about the present state of the 222-seat Parliament?

BN parties

  • Umno – 78
  • MCA – 15
  • PBB – 14
  • Others – 30

BN total – 137

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Lotus Square for Botanic Garden

Anil Netto
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Farewell to the arches. Now, we are going to see a Lotus Square in the Penang Botanic Garden that would be more in tune with the garden.

I just wonder who will absorb the cost of constructing those monstrous arches and then demolishing them. Who finally foots the bill: those responsible for approving the arches, the contractor or the public?

No thanks to those responsible for approving all the other ‘upgrading’ projects earlier, we will now have more concrete structures invading the greens: a so-called visitors’ centre with auditorium (an auditorium???), retail outlets and more car parks…. sheesh!

It’s going to be tough to undo the mess at the Garden. Unfortunately, we had to spoil a priceless treasure that was handed down to us intact for over a hundred years since its establishment in 1884. And the worst part is that we called that ‘development’ and ‘upgrading’.

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Pykett Avenue demolition: Update

Anil Netto
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While the MPPP are going through the motions of taking legal action against those responsible for the sudden demolition of 20 Pykett Avenue, it appears to be also going through the motions of processing the development plans for the area.

From what I hear, the MPPP has not (yet) approved any development plans. Meanwhile, though, take a look at this: the MPPP is now calling for neighbours’ objections to the plans.

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Should Pakatan emulate the BN?

Anil Netto
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Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi, in announcing hefty pay increases for the armed forces, made a claim that the Constitution stated that salaries in the armed forces should be higher than in any other government service.

See the NST report here.

I asked a couple of experienced lawyers about this reference to the Constitution and they said they were not aware of such a provision. I looked up the Constitution and I couldn’t spot the provision either. Can anyone point me to the specific provision in the Constitution to that effect?

Meanwhile Najib was reported (in The Star here) as saying that it is impossible for the Opposition to take over the Barisan Nasional’s role in leading the country. “From the days of the Alliance until the Barisan leadership, we have proven that we keep to our promises…. Barisan brought the nation independence and we will be the one to steer the nation to be a highly-developed one.”

Actually, who wants to emulate the BN, which has driven this country into the ground slowly but surely?

Let’s compare the human development record of South Korea and Malaysia from 1970 until now.

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