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Churches + Land matters = Controversy

Anil Netto
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The Anglican Church reportedly has sold the St Mark’s Secondary School field in Butterworth to a developer much to the dismay of the school’s PTA/PIBG

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Long-time residents of a century-old kampung in the St Francis Xavier Catholic Church premises within George Town’s world heritage zone look on as a contractor illegally demolishes one of the houses in the village on 8 May

It seems that controversy is never far away when the churches in Malaysia get involved in land deals involving tracts of land that were originally allocated to them for religious, social, community, educational or health care use.

This is not the first time that the churches in Penang have courted unwanted publicity over such land deals.

Now the latest controversies:

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Why is Umno/BN not contesting in Penanti?

Anil Netto
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Well, apart from the obvious answer, allow me to suggest a few possible reasons:

  • After what happened in Perak, Umno and the BN are not in the mood for elections anywhere. If they were to contest, they could be in for a drubbing after what they have done in Perak.
  • Even if Najib’s Perak adventure had not occurred, it is unlikely that Umno could win in Penanti given the erosion in support for the BN since the last general election (even though Malay support for the party may have increased).
  • The number four is bad luck for the Chinese! If Umno contests and loses Penanti, that would be its fourth straight by-election defeat since the last general election – a thoroughly demoralising prospect for its leaders and supporters.
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S’pore firm shuts Penang plant; 200 workers in limbo

Anil Netto
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The Edge reports that the Singapore headquartered Carmel Group, an integrated provider of electronic manufacturing services (EMS), has closed down its subsidiary in Bukit Minyak, Penang, leaving 200 workers jobless.

From the report, it’s not clear what kind of compensation they have received, if at all.  Note, the workers reportedly have not received their remuneration since April.

Of the 200 workers at the Scarmel Penang subsidiary,120 of them were locals. They lodged a report with the State Manpower Department on May 18.

On May 13, they were notified by the management about the immediate closure. However, they have yet to receive their remuneration since April.

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Obama “salutes” Najib? DPM’s post “very lucrative”?

Anil Netto
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A Bernama report titled ‘Obama congratulates Najib on premiership’ has been given a new headline in the NST: ‘Obama salutes Najib’.

If you read the Bernama report carefully, the language is just one of diplomatic courtesy and niceties. It’s the sort of message – often drafted by an underling – that a national leader would regularly send to a new leader elsewhere. Nothing exceptional in there to give the impression of Obama “saluting” Najib – and that too, one and a half months after the latter assumed the top post.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Anifah Aman let rip into Anwar during a joint press conference with Hillary Clinton in Washington – but in the process, he dropped a clanger. The US State Department reported Anifah as saying:

And also just for the information of the audience here that, you know, he also said that he will form a government on 16 September and he has changed the dates many time. And he was trying to entice the members of parliament. And I was personally offered to jump into the oppositions and offered a very lucrative position, and also to be told it’s like a deputy prime minister. And these are not known to the world at large.

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Hill-cutting scars Pulau Jerejak

Anil Netto
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Pulau Jerejak is not spared the ravages of “development” – Photos by Max

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An excavator, a dumptruck, two fuel tanks and a stack of waterpipes

Wonder what they are doing here at Pulau Jerejak. Much of the island is supposed to be a state park, which could be a haven for Penangites wanting to escape from the hustle and bustle of city-life.

Wouldn’t it have been great to have a relatively untouched natural sanctuary so close to Penang Island?

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Who was that gagged man?

Anil Netto
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It’s a lone ranger: A silent, solo protest yesterday by an unidentified man outside the Perak state government complex – Photo courtesy of Kula’s blog, which has the full story here.

It was a day of solo protests yesterday – in Ipoh and Penang. A single-person protest cannot be deemed an ‘illegal assembly’, right?

In Ipoh:

In short notes to (Kula’s) Political Sec in a piece of paper, he wrote “People 1st, Performance Later” and also “I don’t support any party. Just as Perak Citizen, all I want is 4 my state to be at peace. Just make the people who can do something, do it now.”

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ntv7 poll: An amazing 99% want fresh Perak elections

Anil Netto
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43

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The results of the SMS poll over the 8.00pm news on ntv7 yesterday

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This evening, the women’s wing of PKR launched a signature campaign to lobby for the dissolution of the Perak State Assembly. They aim to collect a million signatures within a week – Kinta Kid has the story here.

An SMS poll conducted by ntv7 on its 7 Edition (English news) bulletin at 8.00pm yesterday revealed that an astounding 99 per cent of viewers want fresh elections to resolve the political impasse in Perak.

This clearly gives the lie to those who claim that Malaysians are “weary” of elections. If anything, what Malaysians are probably weary of are all those political stunts to avoid holding fresh elections.

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Stop work orders – but work proceeds, claim residents

Anil Netto
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This map is taken from the geotechnical report for the Bolton Surin project along Persiaran Tanjung Bunga (Click to expand)

The Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) clearly states that Bolton Surin can only work on Lot 4189.

The map above shows where Lot 4189 lies in relation to the other neighbouring plots, which have not been approved.

According to one resident, Penang state exco member for the environment Phee Boon Poh informed him on 30 April of stop work orders issued for the unapproved lots (Lots 4165, 4166 and 4188).

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1,400 lawyers express outrage over colleagues’ arrests

Anil Netto
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1817: More than 1,400 lawyers turned up for an Extraordinary Meeting of the  Malaysian Bar in PJ this afternoon. They expressed outrage over the arrests of five of their colleagues who had turned up to defend their clients at the Brickfields Police Station on 7 May.

The lawyers demanded the resignation of the Home Affairs Minister, the IGP, the Brickfields OCPD and the investigating officer.

“The mood at the meeting was one of anger over the arrests and at the same time of pride over the courage displayed by the five lawyers,” said a source present during the meeting.

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Don’t ‘sell out’ your soul to corporate greed

Anil Netto
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Kee Thuan Chye and Lim Teik Leong as the overbearing bosses of FONY Corp in the movie ‘Sell Out!’

‘Sell Out!’ is a movie you might want to check out before it runs its course in local cinemas. It’s a satire about corporate greed and the choices many of us have to make – whether to live out our dreams and ideals or to succumb to the stifling dictates of the corporate value system. It is a movie rich in metaphor with some funny digs at Malaysian life thrown in.

Support Malaysian indie films. Go here for movie times. Check out a few reviews here.

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