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World could dump US dollar and opt for shared currency

Anil Netto
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The days of the US dollar as the global reserve currency seem to be numbered. For some time now, independent commentators have been saying that the US dollar is on shaky ground – or could even collapse altogether.

But when a UN panel recommends that the world should ditch the dollar in favour of a basket of shared currencies and the mainstream business press like Reuters takes it seriously, you got to sit up and take notice:

U.N. panel says world should ditch dollar
Wed Mar 18, 2009

By Jeremy Gaunt, European Investment Correspondent

LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) – A U.N. panel will next week recommend that the world ditch the dollar as its reserve currency in favor of a shared basket of currencies, a member of the panel said on Wednesday, adding to pressure on the dollar.

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“People’s YB” backs Tg Bunga residents’ position

Anil Netto
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Tanjung Bunga state assembly member, Teh Yee Cheu, says his position is simple: No cutting of steep hill slopes – Photos by Anil Netto

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Tanjung Bunga residents protesting at the bottom of the steep hill slope along Solok Tan Jit Seng

When the Tanjung Bunga protesters invited their elected rep, Teh Yee Cheu of the DAP, to say a few words at their “coffee party” yesterday, they introduced him as “the people’s YB”.

Teh walked up to the mike, and along the way, picked up a placard which read “No more Class 3 and 4 hill cutting”. Pointing to the placard, he told the residents that this was his position. It was clear that he was on the residents’ side and he told them to continue with their “parties”.

At Solok Tan Jit Seng, developer DynamicPro plans to build 25 three-storey town-houses on a hill-slope which residents claim has a gradient of over 65 degrees. That’s steep! (Class 3 is over 25 degrees and Class 4 over 35 degrees). The project site on the slope looks down on a row of houses, behind which stands the Tanjung Bunga school. Above the project site on the slope lies the precariously perched Pearl Hill apartments. Before the Appeals Board could decide on the residents’ concerns, several trees on the hill-slope were felled.

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Tiger Park? How about a People’s Park…

Anil Netto
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Update: Please, no tigers on the island! That’s the plea of an experienced vet in Penang whom I spoke to. “Penang as an island is not the place for wild animals especially tigers. The whole concept of having animals is not like those days when they were caged. Now they are left to roam in the loose and they have their own environment, but never in captivity. Even the concept of zoos has changed to the open system. You can’t have a tiger roaming wild on the island (without a supporting ecological balance). In a normal safari, the animals have their own eco-system where the bigger animals (roam around and) survive by eating smaller animals.”

Looks like the proposal for a Tiger Park in Penang is receiving a mauling.

And not just from local wildlife conservation groups such as the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (Mycat!), which comprises the Malaysian Nature Society, Traffic Southeast Asia, Wildlife Conservation Society-Malaysia Programme and World Wildlife Fund-Malaysia.

News of the Tiger Park plan has even reached the global media for all the wrong reasons. Check out the BBC report here.

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Where the heck is Batang Ai?

Anil Netto
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Well, now you know where it is…!

Everyone is talking about Bukit Gantang, Batang Ai and Bukit Selambau – but do you know where they are? Here are a few images to help you get your bearings.

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And this is Bukit Gantang, close to Taiping and Kuala Kangsar

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The real issues at stake in Sarawak

Anil Netto
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A blog reader has mentioned the following in the comments section, which I thought was worth highlighting. When you consider the immense resources that Sarawak and Sabah have at their disposal, you have to wonder why their poverty rates are higher than the other states with around the same household income:

The core issue in Sarawak is governance and distribution within Sarawak. Don’t fall for the federal-state ploy, although there are of course serious issues there.

This can be seen, e.g., when one compares the average household income in Sarawak with that in other states. Below are the numbers for 2004 as published in the 9th Malaysia Plan, and sorted by average household income from highest to lowest:

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Pakatan tipped to sail through in Bukit Gantang

Anil Netto
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Just spoke to a media source just now and he said the crowd last night at Bukit Gantang was closer to 20,000.  (My other media contact had said 10,000 while blog reader Gantangian estimated it at 15,000). Whatever, it was a huge turnout. The ceramah was held in a kampong near Bukit Gantang.

The Pakatan candidate is now expected to be revealed only on Thursday, according to my source. PR leaders are probably delaying the announcement after seeing how the BN lured three of their assembly members into jumping ship.

According to my source, the word is that Pakatan is likely to cruise home with a 3,500-5,000 majority (among 55,471 voters), improving on its 1,566-vote margin in GE2008.

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Sarawakians lose out from political-business nexus

Anil Netto
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Part One of Al Jazeera’s 101 East first screened last night

Pakatan opts for political greenhorn in Bukit Selambau

Anil Netto
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The PKR’s S Manikumar, a 35-year-old marketing consultant, has been revealed as the Pakatan candidate for Bukit Selambau. According to a source, the multilingual (he knows some Spanish, apparently!) businessman is a party newbie, having joined PKR only a couple of years ago.

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Misery of a woman resettled in Sg Asap, Sarawak

Anil Netto
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Blog reader Mary, who says she was one of the victims of the resettlement in Sungai Asap, shares with us the plight of those displaced in Sarawak. Much of what she says ties in with what NGO activists have reported in the past. I reproduce her comments verbatim:

I am one of the victim that had been replaced in the new place (Sg Asap). I was still small that time which i don’t understant what really going on. My dad agree and my mum disagree made them fight like hell over it and made them splits. So, my dad follow those people who moved and my mum join the rest not to move and fight for more benefits. I really don’t understand the situation, most of people seems to get so excited to move. Now…. I must say that my mum were right!! Sg Asap’s villagers start to complains over a lot of things (Basic Needs) and my mum in the old place has no problem with anything.

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Al Jazeera’s Fauziah grills James Masing with a smile

Anil Netto
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In case you missed it, this is an excerpt from last night’s Al Jazeera’s 101 East. Watch James adjusting his tie when the going gets hot…

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