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PICC and the risks of BOT

Anil Netto
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31

It is good to hear that the Penang government plans to stay put at its present offices in Komtar instead of building a “mini-Putrajaya’ (one of the hare-brained ideas of the previous administration). This, we are told, will save us RM1 billion in public funds.

We are also told the government will try to maximise its resources, to get more money so that it can continue its development and social programmes which are consistent with a people-centric government.

In the same spirit, I hope the state government will think along the same lines when it comes to the Penang International Convention Centre.

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Taib’s hold on Sarawak loosens

Anil Netto
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17

It was supposed to be the highlight of Sarawak chief minister Taib Mahmud’s trip to the United Kingdom. But his visit to Oxford University’s Said Business School to give a special address did not go quite as planned – and underscored his and the ruling coalition’s rising troubles in a pivotal electoral swing state.

British activists caught wind of his 26 July visit and scheduled speaking engagement at the inaugural Oxford Global Business Forum and stationed themselves bearing critical placards at the venue’s entrance. In the event, Taib, who has been in power for nearly three decades, suffered the indignity of being reportedly transported in a blue, windowless van and then whisked through a kitchen to enter the venue.

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6 foreign experts enlisted to Penang EMF panel

Anil Netto
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24

Six scientists, public health officials and experts have been enlisted to an International Advisory Panel set up by the Penang Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) Radiation Protection Alliance.

They are:

  • Dr Gerd Oberfeld, adviser for environmental medicine of the Austrian Medical Association
  • Olle Johansson, associate professor, head of the Experimental Dermatology Unit, Department of Neuroscience, at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm
  • Dr David Carpenter, Director of the Institute for Health and the Environment, University at Albany, Rensselaer, NY, United States
  • Dr Carlos Sosa, physician and surgeon in Medellin, Columbia
  • Eileen O’Connor, Trustee of the Radiation Research Trust, UK
  • Alex Swinkels, National Platform on Radiation Risks, Netherlands and Board Member, International EMF Alliance

The Penang EMF Protection Alliance has also become the first group in Asia to join the International EMF Alliance.

The Penang group wants the state government to abide by the precautionary principle in the legalisation process of telco towers. Of the 849 telco structures on the island, 466 are without licences.

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Live – PR reps walk out after Nizar ordered out

Anil Netto
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23

The Perak State Assembly sitting today ended in chaos after Ganesan ordered Nizar out. Nizar refused to budge and all the Pakatan reps then staged a walk out.

Another dramatic day in Ipoh tomorrow

Anil Netto
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17

Police personnel comprising special civilians, plainclothes police, and light strike force units are mobilising around the State Secretariat building in Ipoh, according to ousted Perak Mentri Besar Nizar Jamaluddin.

Goodness, what’s happening?

Oh, it’s just another sitting of the Perak State Assembly, scheduled for tomorrow. – Photo of previous sitting by Kinta Kid

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Abolish ISA vigil: From Esplanade to Jelutong

Anil Netto
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23

An impromptu anti-ISA vigil was held last night outside the Jelutong Police Station in Penang for a good half an hour after the one planned at the Speakers’ Square was disrupted.

1250: Shu Shi, who is now attached to women’s group Awam, has been charged under the Police Act in connection with an incident at a police station in Penang in 2008. The former Suaram Penang coordinator will have to appear in court on 16 August. Her NGO colleagues are now in the process of posting bail of RM500 for her.

1140: Activist Lau Shu Shi is still waiting in court with her lawyer. The other four arrested last night in Penang and released on police bail will have to turn up at the police station on 14 August to find out if charges will be pressed.

0200: Earlier last night, a group of pro-ISA rowdies infiltrated the crowd attending the planned vigil at the Esplanade leading to some scuffling and shoving.

But it was only those anti-ISA activists at the vigil who were arrested: Suaram Penang coordinator Jing Cheng, PSM’s Chon Kai, Pekerja Tanjung activist Kris Khaira and lawyer Darshan Singh were taken away in a truck to the Jelutong Police Station.

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Live – Police break up Abolish ISA vigils

Anil Netto
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15

2120: Roads to the sea-front near the Esplanade in Penang have been sealed off by police.

2110: Activists Kris Khaira and Chon Kai and lawyer Darshan Singh have been arrested at the Speakers Square in Penang. They are now in a truck at the Esplanade and more could be arrested. The cops outnumber the protesters.

Over in PJ, half a dozen people are believed to have been arrested around Amcorp Mall and the stand-off with police continues.

2018: Riot police have moved in to break up the vigil at the Amcorp Mall attended by several hundred people. A crowd of about 200 people moved into the mall to take refuge. Tian Chua says the police had used force against the people without waiting for organisers to negotiate and they want to arrest him as well.

The crowd are singing Negaruku. Malaysian Insider tweeted that two people have been arrested.

ISA: It’s 50 years to the day…

Anil Netto
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2

Today marks 50 years of the ISA’s existence. That’s fifty dark years.

It’s time for the ISA to go.

In 1960, D R Seenivasagam accurately predicted what would happen when the ISA bill was tabled.

Rising to debate the Internal Security Bill on 22 June 1960, D R Seenivasagam called it “a vicious and repulsive document, a document which is repulsive to all those who believe in democracy”. He found it “difficult to believe any citizen of this country could have drafted this Bill if he has the interests of his fellow citizens at heart”.

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Looking beyond Jho Low

Anil Netto
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20

In his ‘world exclusive’ interview with the Star, Jho Low spent a lot of time talking about his contacts in the Middle-East and how he got to know them during his school and college days.

It sounded like an attempt at damage control.

Anyway, I am not interested in his parties with the celebrities. What do you make of the Wynton Group’s website here?

What I wanted to learn more about was the rationale behind the Terengganu Investment Authority and his links with local politicians. (After all, we already know he is familiar with Taib Mahmud’s son in UBG.)

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Bloated PM’s Department?

Anil Netto
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46

Is this incredible or what? The White House employs 1,888 staff, but Malaysia’s Prime Minister’s Department has 43,554 employees.

There is also a similar disparity in their respective budgets. The White House’s budget is US$394 million for 2011.

Have a look at the White House website here.

Compare that with the PM’s Dept budget of RM4 billion or is that RM12 billion?

The vast difference is partly down to the whole array of departments, agencies, and what-have-you under the Prime Minister’s Department.

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