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Boustead reclamation deal: Please explain

Anil Netto
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25

Could someone please explain this deal with facts and figures. The circumstances surrounding earlier land reclamation deals were too hazy; that is why complete transparency and accountability are important.

Boustead was claiming RM60 million in compensation for scaling down its project in the world heritage zone in George Town.

In return for giving up that claim, it is now reportedly allocated land/reclamation area “very much less” than 100 acres in the southeast of Penang Island. How much less than 100 acres and how much is the gross development value of this land/reclamation area? (The Edge estimates that the entire 97-acre site could fetch RM870 million.)

Could someone please provide precise figures.

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Concern over Western Road burial plots ad

Anil Netto
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20

They may worship in separate churches belonging to different denominations, but in death they share the same cemetery in Western Road in Penang. Now, an ad inserted in the local press requiring those with burial rights and relatives of the deceased to register with the MPPP has raised consternation among segments of the local Christian community.

It was the bit about the one-month deadline to register “failing which MPPP would take necessary actions to repossess the burial plots for use” that created something of a stir. See theSun report here and a letter from a concerned reader here who asked, “I am of the opinion that MPPP only has the right to ask descendants, family members and their appointed personal representatives to re-affirm ownership of burial plots. But that is the most that they can legally do. MPPP does not have any legal right to seize old burial plots even if nobody comes forward to re-register claim.”

I got in touch with a couple of MPPP councillors to find out what was going on. Here’s what I learned:

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-09-12

Anil Netto
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5

Almost zero production after RM22b spent

Anil Netto
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They invested RM22 billion in the hope of hitting a ‘gold mine’. And now they have almost zero production.

That’s the fate of the Malaysian biodiesel industry players, which have an installed capacity of 2.6 million tonnes. Read The Star report here.

And now, guess what, they are asking the government for subsidies. How do you like that? Didn’t they factor in the various risks? I still remember a business weekly gushing about the prospects of the biofuel industry and the big moves planned by the various players.

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Raya memories

Anil Netto
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1

As with other festive occasions in Malaysia, Raya is a time when memories of times long past come flooding back at the most unexpected moments. The holiday break may also conjure a sense of nostalgia, perhaps a yearning for a world that has somehow slipped from our grasp, almost unnoticed.

One of Malaysia Eid Album
Image via Wikipedia

Here’s one such moment, recalled by an up-and-coming young journalist who is fast making a name for himself. Those who have experienced a family member with Alzheimer’s may also relate to his recollection.

Share with us your own Raya memories.

Remembering the postmaster
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
September 11, 2010

No. 7 Gedung Lalang Satu… my grandfather’s house in Seremban.
SEREMBAN, Sept 11 — The best thing about forgetting something is that once you remember it, chances are you won’t ever forget it again.

Hari Raya in No.77, Jalan Gedung Lalang Satu is synonymous with the burnt Raya morning air — courtesy of a night of firecrackers piercing the dark skies amid the sounds of takbir from the nearby surau.

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GM mozzies … now, GM fish? What’s next?

Anil Netto
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26

Genetically modified salmon could be next on your menu.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is soon going to decide whether to approve GM salmon as food. See the story on Natural News here. (We have already seen the so-called ‘genetically improved’ fish tilapia. See WorldFish Centre website here.)

Colour print of the yellow fever or dengue mos...
Aedes Aegypti – Image via Wikipedia

A GM goat and GM pig could be next on the cards. See the Telegraph story here.

At the end of the day, it’s all about business interests and profits. Notice that one of the main concerns in GM salmon centres on the supposed sterility of the male:

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Malaysia Today down after major exposes

Anil Netto
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Raja Petra’s Malaysia Today site has gone down after a few exposes were posted on the site outlining cases of alleged corruption.

Asia Sentinel has the story here.

Selamat Hari Raya to all Muslim readers and happy holidays to everyone else.  Let us rededicate ourselves to the struggle for justice and democracy.


Shun the bigots and work together

Anil Netto
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Like many other Christians elsewhere in the world, I condemn the plan by a pastor in Florida to burn copies of the Qur’an.

That is nothing but a hate crime and has absolutely nothing to do with Christianity or the values of love, compassion and forgiveness that Jesus promoted.

Similarly, I don’t see anything wrong behind plans for an Islamic centre that is open to inter-religious dialogue in New York. (Lest we forget, Muslims too died at the World Trade Centre on 11 September 2001.)

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Keadilan enters a new era: direct elections

Anil Netto
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7

PKR is preparing for its party elections which, for the first time, will see ordinary members directly voting for top leadership posts in the party.

But what has been Anwar’s role be in all this, given that he is torn between his court case, party matters and never-ending campaigning? Is the party prepared for the outcome of the trial?  I wrote this piece for Asia Times:

Anwar Ibrahim
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

As Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy case meanders its way through the courts, the spotlight has shifted to how his party is preparing for the possible outcome.

A guilty verdict in the high-stakes case would be a significant blow his opposition People’s Alliance (Pakatan Rakyat), which hopes to capitalize on significant gains it made against the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition at the last general election in 2008.

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Another controversial land deal

Anil Netto
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Another case of land being transferred at what seems to be an undervalued price.

This legal suit regarding a land deal was reported in theSun.

The YBPP was set up to improve the economic lot of the Malays in Penang, but read below to find out what’s happened. Thanks to blog reader Tan, Tanjung Bunga for the alert.

Suit against agency over transfer of land
By: Himanshu Bhatt (Tue, 07 Sep 2010)

newsdesk@thesundaily.com

GEORGE TOWN (Sept 7, 2010): Two Malay non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and 33 individuals have filed a suit against Yayasan Bumiputra Pulau Pinang (YBPP), an Umno-linked agency, after it allegedly transferred 280ha of land reserved for bumiputras to a development company with a non-Malay majority shareholder.

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