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If only we had stronger social safety nets…

Anil Netto
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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.

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Protest at Allah verdict in Penang

Anil Netto
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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.

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Augustine Paul’s role will not be forgotten

Anil Netto
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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.

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Can the Penang govt direct MPPP to build PICC?

Anil Netto
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45

Can the Penang state government direct the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) to implement the proposed Penang International Convention Centre?

On 30 November 2009, in response to an oral question in the Penang State Assembly by Pantai Jerejak member Sim Tze Tzin (PKR), Chow Kon Yeow, responding on behalf of the Chief Minister, replied that “in line with a state government directive, the MPPP had been directed to implement the construction of a convention centre at a site determined by the state government, that is, at the Penang International Sports Arena (Pisa) in Relau, Penang”.

He added that the proposal was in the planning stage, and the MPPP would decide if a traffic impact assessment was needed once it received a detailed proposal.

Is it within the power of the state government to issue such a directive to the MPPP? 

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Allah be praised!

Anil Netto
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42

What a brilliant way to start the new year, 2010, with the news that the Herald is free to use the word ‘Allah’.

The High Court declared that the Home Minister’s order banning the use of the term was illegal, null and void; the term is not exclusive to any religion.

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Landslide hazard areas of Penang

Anil Netto
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1

Our gut feeling may tell us that some parts of Penang appear more landslide prone than others, but are there any scientific or geological grounds for such concern?


Landslide hazard map – Maps from paper by Lee and Pradhan

Here are a couple of maps reproduced from a paper on ‘Probabilistic landslide hazards and risk mapping on Penang Island’ by Saro Lee (Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources) and Biswajeet Pradhan.

This paper looks at landslide hazards and comes up with a landslide risk analysis of Penang Island using Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing data. From this a hazard map (above) was produced with a high degree of accurarcy, the authors say.

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Why I am against the Penang convention centre

Anil Netto
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72

The proposal for a Penang International Convention Centre is already moving, but I dare say a large majority of Penangites are unaware of it.

This artist impression of the convention centre doesn’t show how close it will be to the existing Penang International Sports Arena (Pisa).

In fact, the public have been given until 8 January 2010 to submit their opinions and views – and that’s it for the consultation.

The Bayan Baru Residents Association has already registered its objection in a letter to the press. You can submit your views to the Penang Municipal Council or you can email your views to riduan@mppp.gov.my before the deadline expires.

Personally, I am against the project, which is expected to cost RM50 million (and that’s just an estimate). The money is expected to come out of the precious funds of the Council, which has budgeted a deficit of RM40 million in 2010 on the back of revenue of RM230 million (two thirds of which is raised from assessments/taxes). The Council has allocated RM30 million for the convention centre in 2010 and a further RM20 million is expected to be incurred in 2011.

Why Penang doesn’t need a convention centre like this built with public funds:

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Avatar: Beyond the 3-D, another dimension

Anil Netto
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17

This post is dedicated to blogger Antares, who I understand is seriously ill with a malaria infection. Antares knows all about the inter-connectedness of Nature that the movie Avatar depicts so beautifully. Wishing him a speedy recovery.

A couple of days ago, I thought I would check out the movie Avatar after a couple of friends tipped me off about the story line.

Of course, the special effects in this movie by the directors of Titanic are spectacular and the unorthodox love story, compelling. But looking beyond these, I was pleasantly surprised by the powerful and rich underlying messages in the movie.

In the movie, the earth is dying as humanity has destroyed the environment. Humans are colonising another planet to extract minerals and other raw materials from a site where an alien tribe lives. Corporate greed is alive, this time focused on exploiting the untapped resources of the alien planet, while science is being used to serve the corporate agenda.

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Vegetables: Just grow them … the natural way!

Anil Netto
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22

Concerned about expensive vegetables? Why not do something about it…

Blog reader Anthony Louis comments from afar:

Hello Malaysians,

I live in Germany. You guys will be surprised how many people grow their own veges in their homes and then share them with their neighbours.

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A RM17 million price tag

Anil Netto
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12

On 4 December 2009, Sime Darby Bhd, through its plantation arm, Sime Darby Plantation Sdn Bhd, bought the entire issued and paid-up capital (50,000 shares of RM1 each) of an obscure new company, Nature Ambience Sdn Bhd, for RM16.8 million.

What makes Nature Ambience, which was incorporated only a year ago (on 12 December 2008), so special? Although it will become an oil palm plantation firm, a company search reveals its nature of business to be “general trading”.

On 2 October 2009, the Ministry of Land Development, Sarawak granted Nature Ambience approval to be the investor/developer for 26,211ha of Native Customary Rights land in Kapit and Julau, Sarawak. This was reportedly in line with the Sarawak state government’s “new concept of development on NCR land”. The Ministry is headed by James Masing, who is also the state assembly member for Balleh, one of the constituencies in Kapit.

With its purchase of Nature Ambience, Sime Darby will now be allowed to develop oil palm plantations in the Sarawak NCR development scheme.

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