Home Blog Page 426

Another interesting deal in Sarawak

Anil Netto
-
12

Here’s another land deal in Sarawak. Ta Ann Holdings Bhd, through its unit, Multi Maximum Sdn Bhd, is buying an obscure company Europalm Sdn Bhd.

Ta Ann is paying RM20.5 million for the entire two million shares of RM1 each in Europalm, according to the Business Times.

Europalm reportedly owns 1,500ha of plantation land at Jemoreng Land, Sarawak and had been awarded another 1,113ha at Seredeng Land. That would make the average purchase price RM3,200 per acre.

An analyst was reported as saying it was a very good price as “Sarawak plantation land is often considered to be more expensive at RM18,000 to RM20,000 per acre depending on the proximity, infrastructure and facilities”.

Question: How much did Europalm pay for the land?

Continue

UK unveils “grow your own food” plan

Anil Netto
-
12

The UK has unveiled a 20-year food strategy that would include making land  available for people to grow their own food.

See, it’s not as far fetched as some people might think.

Part of the plan entails facilitating cooperation between local landowners and community groups to make land available temporarily for food cultivation.

Continue

How logging destroyed an ancient civilisation

Anil Netto
-
9

What caused the disappearance of the Nasca people in Peru?

Archaeologists have discovered that the destruction of forests pushed the ancient civilisation, noted for their compex line drawings on the ground that are visible only from the air, across an ecological tipping point.

The loss of the forests exposed the area to the impact of the cyclical El Nino phenomenon and affected irrigation systems, they found.

Continue

Unsung heroes in the struggle for Merdeka

Anil Netto
-
9

We are so used to the mainstream version of history. Catch this story by Hishamuddin Yahaya in Aliran Monthly to find out more about the little-known heroes in the struggle for independence.

(From left) Ishak Haji Mohammed, Dr Burhanuddin Al-Helmy and Ahmad Boestamam – Photos courtesy of Aliran Monthly

Apart from the prominent figures above, countless numbers of ordinary Malaysians, including workers, were involved in the quest for independence.

Continue

Bukit Botak: Selangor protects settlers’ rights

Anil Netto
-
20

Well done to the Selangor state government for protecting the rights of 270 settlers through its acquisition of land in Bukit Botak, Selayang.

This goes to show that where there is political will to protect the people’s interest, there is often a way – even though there was already an agreement with a developer.

Continue

Monorail for Jaipur?

Anil Netto
-
5

Just spotted these news items here and here on MRails International Sdn Bhd’s reported involvment in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan state in India.

I’m not quite sure what to make of these reports. But notice the reference to Penang.

Continue

Does our education system kill creativity?

Anil Netto
-
25

Is our education system designed to produce more human cogs in the corporate production line?

Are we just interested in churning out more graduates – never mind if they cannot analyse and think creatively and critically across disciplines? Does our education system kill off natural creativity and talent among the young, especially in the arts, drama, dance and literature?

Check out this Youtube clip featuring Ken Robinson. Wikipedia describes him as follows:

Continue

If only we had stronger social safety nets…

Anil Netto
-
11

If only all that oil money had not been frittered away and had instead been used to strengthen social safety nets, many families wouldn’t be struggling today.

In the course of writing the following piece for IPS, I found that a number of NGOs were working to plug the gaps in the existing social safety nets through which children and teenagers from disadvantaged families had fallen through. Unfortunately, these groups have suffered a sharp drop in donations and even volunteers.

When firms began slashing overtime and reducing the number of days worked because of the economic slowdown, households suffered. Many workers had previously taken out loans, whether from banks or moneylenders, on the strength of their overtime-boosted income, and were unable to service their loans; others found their homes being foreclosed.

Continue

Protest at Allah verdict in Penang

Anil Netto
-
39

A group of about 200 to 250 Muslims protested this morning in Penang against the High Court verdict granting the Herald the right to use the term ‘Allah’.

The gathering, in front of the Dewan Sri Pinang, opposite the Penang High Court, began at 10.15am and ended before 11.15am, according to an eyewitness. It was organised by the Badan Anti IFC (Inter-Faith Council) network, known by its acronym Badai, and comprised representatives of various groups. Badai was the same loose group that gathered some 200 demonstrators and disrupted an Article 11 forum at a hotel in Penang in 2006.

Continue

Augustine Paul’s role will not be forgotten

Anil Netto
-
59

Federal Court judge Augustine Paul, who passed away yesterday, will be remembered by many Malaysians for his role in the Anwar trial during the reformasi era.

His frequent use of the word “irrelevant” during the Anwar corruption trial whenever Anwar’s defence counsel wanted to raise what they felt was pertinent evidence soon resulted in the word becoming something of a sarcastic buzz-word in Malaysia.

Paul’s meteoric rise through the judicial ranks, immediately before and after that trial, raised eyebrows.

One of his last major decisions was in the case of Kampung Buah Pala, where some 300 residents were facing eviction and the demolition of their ancestral village. On 24 June 2009, Federal Court judges Paul, Hashim Yusoff and Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff dashed the villagers’ hopes by unanimously rejecting their application for leave to appeal against a Court of Appeal decision that had overturned a landmark High Court verdict in their favour.

Continue
1...425426427...569Page 426 of 569