Wonders never cease.
One of the two Perak assembly members who were supposed to have resigned their seats is now challenging the validity of his resignation letter.
…Jamaluddin denied vacating his seat. He said the resignation letter that was supposedly sent to Sivakumar was actually an old, undated “resignation letter” that he and the other six PKR assemblymen were forced to sign in late March last year.
Just when you thought it was safe to breathe again…
Two by-elections could now be held after Jamaluddin Mat Radzi and Mohd Osman Jailu reportedly resigned their posts as assembly members of Behrang and Changkat Jering respectively.
And now the Perak deputy speaker is reportedly missing – so we could be in for some interesting times.
President Obama has lashed out at Wall Street for taking huge bonuses totalling over US$18 billion last year while their firms were being bailed out by taxpayers.
That is the height of irresponsibility. It is shameful, and part of what we are going to need is for the folks on Wall Street who are asking for help to show some restraint and show some discipline and show some sense of responsibility.
That”s right, the state of California – which has one of the biggest economies in the world – has no money left to pay income tax refunds; so now it is planning to refund taxpayers with IOUs.
It is also asking state employees to go on two days unpaid leave every month.
California is now staring at a US$42 billion budget deficit. How did this happen? Oxbury Publishing provides an analysis here.
You gonna be back, Arnie? I think you have just terminated California (as a going concern). Oops.
Who is going to bail out California?
Electronics contract manufacturer Jabil Circuit is set to cut its manufacturing capacity in certain regions and close 10 of its facilities worldwide.
It will reportedly retrench 3,000 of its 85,000 workers; 90 per cent of these retrenchments will take place outside the United States.
It appears that even in the US, things are beginning to change. First there was Jon Stewart taking on the business of self-defence and the one-sidedness of US officialdom especially in relation to the recent invasion of Gaza. Now, it’s the turn of ’60 Minutes’ over CBS…
Is the tide turning?
Says CBS in the synopsis of its documentary:
Photos and report by Rakyat@work
We take off from University Malaya Medical Centre, at about 2.15pm.
1430: Embedded with the ‘Barisan Rakyat’ group, we are to meet at Puchong before proceeding to the burial ground. A convoy of about 10 cars makes it way. Word has it that there are about a thousand people near the Taipan Subang police station but no way of confirming it. A helicopter is hovering above.
1530: We arrive at the main T-junction towards the burial ground, which is about a kilometre away. Many people are gathering there and a couple of policemen are visible. The sense of anticipation mounts. Groups of people gather to talk about the day’s news. It is strangely quiet though. The scorching sun is drenching us with sweat.
Paula (in light blue shirt) with friends at the police station this morning – Photo by Paula’s 10-year-old son.
The emcee at one of the Abolish ISA vigils in Penang, Paula Khoo, found out when she turned up at the Patani Road police station this morning that her police bail was not going to be extended.
The police instead told her they would call her once their investigations are completed.
More bad news.
This time it’s Panasonic, which is reportedly shutting three plants in Asia. Media reports suggest the company is likely to report an annual net loss of some US$1.1 billion on the back of restructuring charges, a slump in demand for consumer electronics and a stronger yen. That would be its first net loss in six years.
The plants targeted for closure include two of the three Panasonic plants in Malaysia.
The Malacca plant, which produces capacitors for mobile phones, reportedly will be shut in March. Some 500 jobs will be lost.