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Sibu by-election: Bloopers and blunders

Anil Netto
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18

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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21

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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50

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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33

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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9

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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17

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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Large anti-nuclear power protests in Germany

Anil Netto
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22

While we were pre-occupied with the Hulu Selangor by-election, some 120,000 people attended demonstrations in Germany on Saturday to protest their government’s plans to extend the life-spans of the country’s nuclear power plants.

The demonstrators formed a 120-km human chain stretching across several states. This report is from dw-world.de

Opponents of nuclear power joined hands to form a 120-kilometer human chain across northern Germany. They were protesting Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to revoke a law that would shut down nuclear plants by 2020.

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As expected, no undersea cables from Bakun

Anil Netto
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28

Just as I thought, there are not going to be any submarine cables from the Bakun Dam to the peninsula.

Check out this Edge report here.

It was always going to be a risky and expensive proposition to lay submarine cables across the South China Sea even though the technology is there. The project, had it gone ahead, would have been the world’s longest undersea power transmission link; it would have entered uncharted territory, an expensive journey into the unknown.

The whole rationale, during the Mahathir administration, for building this jinxed dam was to supply power to the peninsula.

Now that the original justification for the dam is no longer there, what are they going to do with all the power from the Bakun Dam? Has Tenaga now realised that Bakun could be choked with sedimentation in a few years? Check out the warnings here. And look at this lamentation from Belaga over the social and environmental cost of Bakun.

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Hulu Selangor by-election afterthoughts

Anil Netto
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118

For the BN, nothing to be proud about winning in this way. The means are just as important as the ends.

It was always going to be close, either way. In the end, it was 52:48 in the BN’s favour.

A political economist friend of mine was right when he told me to listen to the Pas campaigner I referred to a number of times in this blog (even though I did get a bit swayed by the large turnout at the PKR ceramah on the eve of polling).

This Pas campaigner was accurate in his prediction of a 54:46 outcome (plus/minus 2 per cent margin of error) in favour of the BN, which he consistently stuck to throughout the campaign and polling day itself. He had campaigned for Pakatan across Hulu Selangor and developed a gut feel for the area, especially the kampungs and Felda settlements. He felt Pakatan could have received around 35 per cent support (“not more than 40 per cent”) in these areas. This seems consistent with a Pas MP who predicted 36 per cent support in these areas.

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And the award goes to … Rosmah

Anil Netto
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In case you missed it during the thick of the Hulu Selangor by-election campaign, Rosmah has clinched the inaugural “International Peace and Harmony Award” in recognition of her “extensive charitable work and to celebrate the important links between Malaysia and the US”.

The award was presented at a dinner in New York hosted by the United States Sports Academy and the Business Council for International Understanding.

Rosmah and Najib joined in with American celebrities in a rendition of “We are the world”. Among those attending the gala event at St Regis Hotel on 16 April were Jamie Foxx, Robert de Niro and Paris Hilton’s parents.

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