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Hmm, where to site that nuclear power plant?

Anil Netto
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The government has reportedly announced plans for a nuclear power plant to start operations by 2021. Now they are considering suitable sites.

If this plant is as safe as they tell us it is, will we now see the BN MPs scrambling to have the nuclear plant located in their own constituencies? Imagine what a coup it would be if an MP succeeds in getting the plant located in his or her constituency! He or she would surely be guaranteed re-election, yes or no? The voters in that state would surely be thrilled.

Maybe they might even want to consider building the plant in Putrajaya to show us how safe it is?

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Speakers’ Square launched in Penang

Anil Netto
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A Speakers’ Square to promote the right to freedom of speech and assembly was launched in Penang this morning.


The square is located at the stage of the Millennium Square on the sea-front side of the Esplanade

The Speakers’ Square in Penang is the first of its kind outside a university campus in the country.

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EPF share investments: An interesting question

Anil Netto
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Recently a news report revealed that fund managers were in agreement that it is unhealthy for the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to dominate 50 per cent of the daily trading on the local stock market. This raises an interesting question.

Najib had said the EPF’s dominance in Bursa is “not healthy” for the local stock market or for the EPF. This is cited as one of the reasons for allowing the EPF to invest up to 10 per cent abroad.

The EPF’s total funds amount to RM370 billion with a quarter invested in Bursa. The total daily value of transactions on Bursa can surpass RM1 billion per day. Today, for instance, it was RM1.03 billion.

And now the interesting question:

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M’sia-Brunei deal: Make Cabinet minutes public

Anil Netto
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Abdullah Badawi says he obtained Cabinet approval before going ahead with the deal with Brunei. So the government should now make public the minutes of the Cabinet discussion and decision.

Abdullah also needs to explain why this matter was not brought to Parliament for a thorough debate as this involves a question of sovereignty and energy supply.

Najib too has to clarify and explain the rationale for the deal. After all, he was Number Two to Abdullah back then and on the threshold of becoming premier. Was he among those in the Cabinet who approved the deal? If, as he says, both countries are still negotiating, why have the two blocks already been given up?

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Sibu by-election: Bloopers and blunders

Anil Netto
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Politicians are already gearing up for the Sibu by-election, but if they think they can follow the same pattern of campaigning in Sarawak as they are accustomed to in the peninsula, they are mistaken.

Already some blunders and oversights are apparent and politicians and campaigners from the peninsula will do well to learn from them.

Ngu Ik Tien reports for Aliran after attending PKR and DAP dinners in Sibu:

I received a free ticket to attend ‘the DAP night’ from a friend of my friend working as a reporter with the local Chinese press. Some Chinese newspapers described the dinner as “a show of strength (造势大会)”. Another purpose of the dinner was to announce the candidate for the by-election of Sibu. Though Wong Ho Leng had mentioned to the press more than once that he recommended Alice Lau to be the candidate, the Sibu folks seemed to disregard the suggestion. “Must be him-lah,” they said.

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Workers gather at Dataran to say NO to GST

Anil Netto
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For many of us Workers’ Day is just another public holiday. But for workers at the raw end of development, it is a day to reflect on their rights as workers and their collective strength.

Even as I write, workers are gathering in Dataran Merdeka to commemorate the occasion.

What do they want? This year their principal demand is No Goods and Services Tax. They point out that Najib’s New Economic Model recognises that the gap between the rich and the poor is wide, and the country needs to move away from a low-income model. If that’s the case, why are there plans to introduce a regressive tax like the GST which will burden the poor the most, they ask.

The full list of demands in the May Day declaration endorsed by dozens of Malaysian civil society groups:

1. RAKYAT MALAYSIA BANTAH CUKAI GST. CUKAI GST MEMISKINKAN RAKYAT!

Di samping itu, tuntutan-tuntutan lain kaum pekerja ialah:

2. Kekalkan Cukai Korporat di tahap 27 peratus. Pengurangan cukai ini akan menyebabkan pengalihan beban cukai kepada rakyat biasa melalui Cukai GST

3. Gubal Akta Gaji Minima untuk semua pekerja dan mansuhkan polisi gaji murah

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Abdullah’s denial raises more questions

Anil Netto
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Former premier Abdullah Badawi has denied giving up the oil rights in Blocks L and M – but his response raises more questions.

In remarks published by the Malaysian Insider, he said Blocks L and Block M would be jointly developed by Malaysia and Brunei over 40 years. He added:

The financial and operational modalities for giving effect to this arrangement will be further discussed by the two sides. This means that in so far as the oil and gas resources are concerned, the agreement is not a loss for Malaysia…

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Limbang, Blocks L and M: Tell us the real deal

Anil Netto
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More questions have been raised on the reported surrender of Blocks L and M to Brunei during the Abdullah Badawi administration.

Kikeh field
Source: rigzone.com

Blocks L and M, not far from the Sabah coast, are reportedly referred to in Brunei as Blocks J and K or there is some kind of overlap in the Exclusive Economic Zone. This Block J alone is projected to produce more than 150,000 to 200,000 barrels per day, which could double Brunei’s oil production.

Essentially, Brunei appears to have awarded the two blocks to Total and Shell prospectors while Malaysia awarded the same or overlapping blocks to Petronas Carigali and Murphy Oil. Murphy held a 60 per cent stake in Block L and a 70 per cent stake in Block M.

The two blocks, about 1.5 million acres each with water depths of 2,700-9,300 feet, lie next to the oil-rich 4 million acre-Block K, which was awarded in 1999 to Murphy (80 per cent) and Petronas Carigali. Murphy had reported that drilling in the Kikeh oil field in the southern part of Block K had yielded a “very significant oil discovery”. One report said it could reach 125,000 barrels per day.


Source: thestar.com.my

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Murphy Oil’s interests terminated

Anil Netto
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Reports say that Petronas has terminated production sharing contracts in two blocks as the areas are “no longer a part of Malaysia”.

See a Reuters report here and an Edge report here.

Murphy Oil was informed by Petronas that the two blocks are no longer a part of the country following an agreement between Malaysia and Brunei, according to the Oil and Gas Journal.

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Tougher days ahead for BN, Pakatan

Anil Netto
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Something I wrote on the Hulu Selangor by-election for IPS.

Tougher Days Ahead for Ruling Coalition, Opposition
Analysis by Anil Netto

A closely contested by-election over the weekend, which saw victory for the ruling coalition, shows that the political terrain in multi-ethnic Malaysia remains divided and raises searching questions for the opposing sides.

The by-election for a seat in the Federal Parliament took place in an ethnically mixed area – Hulu Selangor, a district in central Selangor state that is fairly similar in composition to the overall population of the Malaysian peninsula.

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