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Reflections on the Penang dragon boat tragedy

Anil Netto
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27

Still coming to terms with the dragon boat tragedy in Penang.

For a gut-wrenching and descriptive eye-witness account of the scene in the aftermath of the tragedy, go here.

If what she says is true, the authorities and rescue services should seriously look into their response times – especially the helicopter and marine (including divers) search-and-rescue teams. Press photographers (and their editors) too need to be more sensitive in their work. And note that victims’ families do not appreciate onlookers gawking and gossiping…

Thanks to blog reader Iron for alerting me to the findings of a safety inquiry panel in Singapore which looked into another dragon boat tragedy in Cambodia in November 2007. That tragedy left five Singaporeans dead.

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Questions re: 1MDB’s RM100 million CSR fund

Anil Netto
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22

Whenever I see the word “foundation”, my antenna is inclined to buzz.

On 11 January, Bernama reported that PM Najib had announced the “establishment of Yayasan 1MDB to manage a RM100 million Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Fund“.

The 1MDB Foundation will soon launch “several key initiatives in bridging socio-economic gaps towards fulfilling the aspirational values of 1Malaysia”. Najib would be the chairman of the foundation’s board of trustees.

I have a few questions:

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Two suraus in Muar now…

Anil Netto
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26

Berita Harian reports that two suraus in Muar, two kilometres apart, are the latest religious sites affected.

Surau Silaturahim di Jalan Ismail mengalami kebakaran pada langsir dan cermin manakala Surau Parit Beting pula mengalami kebakaran di ruang solat wanita, permaidani dan pintu.

Hmm, what’s going on here? So far, the general Malaysian reaction to all this has been admirably ‘cool’ – a reflection of increased maturity, wisdom and discernment. Let’s hope it stays that way.

This brings the tally of religious sites affected since 8 January to 16.

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Penang transport masterplan in the pipeline

Anil Netto
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13

From what I hear, a Penang transport masterplan is in the pipeline, with the state government believed to be working now on the terms of reference.

Once the TOR are finalised, an open tender is likely be held, perhaps in the second quarter of 2010, for the actual work of formulating the masterplan, which could take about a year to complete.

The emphasis of the plan is likely to be on sustainable transport. I hope the masterplan will try and wean people away from private vehicle ownership and encourage them to switch to public transport. In line with this, the focus of new infrastructure spending should be on public transport and pedestrian networks (and perhaps even cycling facilities) rather than new highways. The masterplan should also try and maximise the potential of water-based transport in the state.

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Did land reclamation affect currents?

Anil Netto
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42

Now here’s a piece by Himanshu Bhatt in theSun that is worth pondering over. Goes to show why we can’t take anything for granted if we mess with Nature.

GEORGE TOWN (Jan 19, 2010) : Inshore fishermen who ply the waters of the Penang Channel where the dragon boat capsize incident occurred on Sunday want the authorities to look into the impact of reclamation on the currents in the channel.


Traditional inshore fisherman Khoo Kay Keat points to this new shallow
shoreline along the reclaimed land in Jelutong where the Bandar Sri Penang
fishermen’s jetty is built. Penang held its Pesta dragon boat race here last year.
The accident that took the lives of six people during a dragon-boat training
session on Sunday occurred about a km away from this reclaimed area.

Khoo Kay Keat, 55, a former Penang Inshore Fishermen’s Welfare Association committee member, who now operates in the area, said they had observed currents changing over last 10 years or so.

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Malaysians investing abroad more

Anil Netto
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40

Malaysians are investing more abroad than what foreigners are investing in Malaysia, the country’s balance of payments figures indicate.

Financial Account RM million Q3/09 -11,078 -24,198
Direct Investment Abroad RM million Q3/09 -13,283 -8,964
Direct Investment in Malaysia RM million Q3/09 3,565 863
Portfolio & Financial Derivatives – Net RM million Q3/09 18,580 -9,933
Other Investment – Net RM million Q3/09 -19,939 -6,163

The “Financial Account” (IMF format) of Malaysia’s Balance of Payments – Source: Bank Negara. Figures in the middle are for the third quarter of 2009, compared to the second quarter (far right column). All figures in RM million.

Malaysians invested RM13.3 billion in stakes in companies abroad while foreigners invested RM3.6 billion in Malaysian firms during the third quarter of 2009.

Portfolio funds appear to have returned in a big way in the third quarter. Has the impact been felt in the country? Or does this represent just a return of portfolio funds seeking higher returns in emerging markets as a result of the low-interest rate regimes in developed nations that have introduced stimulus packages?

The ‘Other Investments – Net’ figure shows an outflow of RM19.9 billion, which warrants a closer look:

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Sadness

Anil Netto
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7

A haunting melody by songwriter Amirah Ali, who won the Best Pop Category for “Tell Me”  in the 2008 Signature Songwriting Competition.

Thanks for the lead, Sivin. While listening to the song, check out the report “Four reasons for controversial ‘Allah’ ruling” in the Malaysian Insider here.

Music and Lyrics by Amirah Ali
Engineered by Jon Gillespie

I am saddened and angered by the recent happenings in my country, Malaysia. I would like to share with you this song that I wrote. We are all ONE and so is GOD.

KATAKANLAH

Hari ke hari ku cari
Tapiku tidak pasti
Seribu malam ku mimpi
Tapi ku belum fahami

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PICC petition handed in to Chief Minister’s office

Anil Netto
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16

A petition against the proposed Penang International Convention Centre (PICC) was handed in to the Penang state government on Friday, 15 January.

Engineer Tan Seng Hai handed over the petition to Lim Guan Eng’s political secretary, Ng Wei Aik, who received it on behalf of the Chief Minister. Copies were also handed over to the personal assistants of the Secretary and Acting YDP of the Penang Municipal Council, Patahiyah Ismail, and Penang exco member Abdul Malik at their offices.

A total of 347 signatures were collected within 12 days, and Tan expressed satisfaction with the awareness and publicity generated by the petition.

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Images from the DAP national convention

Anil Netto
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16

Some 1,000 delegates are attending the DAP national convention at a hotel in Ipoh today.

Photos by Kinta Kid (Click the arrow in the centre and then click the icon at the bottom right to toggle to full-screen slideshow mode)

The theme this year is “Transformasi Malaysia“.

Penang’s long awaited local plan sees light

Anil Netto
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19

A local plan is in the offing for Penang – a positive development indeed. So, good work to the state government for seeing to this.

I bumped into Penang exco member and local government committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow a few days ago and told him I was pleased to hear about this development.

Many of the problems in the state have been due to haphazard development. A local plan, on the other hand, would provide a systematic guide of what sort of development is allowed in each area and what isn’t.

If you want to know what’s going to happen in your area, then you have to examine the plan when it is displayed. So, I hope adequate publicity and access would be given to the public so that they can provide their views when the plan is put on display.

This excerpt is from an Edge report:

Penang local government committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said that among the steps included the completion of the Penang draft local plan. This plan would govern details of land use throughout the island, including compliance within the heritage zone.

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