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Govt audit reveals serious AP irregularities

Anil Netto
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The government is introducing new rules to plug serious abuses in the Approved Permit allocations for car imports.

I guess most of us will not be surprised by the scam that has been going on in the AP system. It’s all very muhibah, don’t you think? But not the best example of Malay-Chinese cooperation, unfortunately.

This excerpt from a Singapore Straits Times report:

The rules came about after a yet-to-be published government audit exposed serious irregularities.

The audit looked into the business practices of a small clique of well-connected Malay businessmen who received their AP allocations each year.

The audit revealed that a large number of the businessmen were hawking their import permits to mainly ethnic Chinese car dealers who dominate the country’s luxury vehicle dealerships, documents reviewed by The Straits Times show.

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Umno not alone in struggle to adapt to new conditions

Anil Netto
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If there’s any consolation for Umno as it struggles to adapt to a changing political landscape, it is that it is not alone. After having been in power for a long time, political parties tend to think they have the natural right to rule –  and then they fail to tackle the rot and adapt to the changing landscape. Like Umno leaders, the Republican leadership too is struggling to come to terms with the new reality and to heed the message of voters.

Check out this Bloomberg report:

Republican Battle for Party Chief Pits Leaders, Base (Update1)

By Heidi Przybyla

Jan. 23 (Bloomberg) — Republican leaders’ efforts to select a new national party chairman are stirring concerns among a vital constituency: Republican voters.

Rank-and-file Republicans are telling their leaders they want more ethnic, gender and age diversity in a party that is dominated by white males. They also want party leaders to cooperate with President Barack Obama, according to surveys.

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Heartfelt prayers at interfaith vigil for peace in Gaza

Anil Netto
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interfaith-gaza

A bashful Sukerit Kaur, 9, sings a message of human solidarity

He is my father

She is also my mother

She is my best friend

He is my brother

An interfaith prayer vigil and reflection for peace in Gaza was held in the hall of the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Penang last night, attended by about a hundred people.

interfaith-gaza-051Among those who led the prayers for peace was Fr Francis Anthony, the parish priest of the Cathedral. JIM central committee member Mohd Rashid Hasnon (centre) sang the azan and stressed the importance of peace in Islam.

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Kuala Terengganu a “major blow” for Najib

Anil Netto
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jalanceronglanjut

Reposting this entry as the earlier link to IPS was faulty.

Kuala Terengganu was a trip down memory lane for me. The good news is that I found the old terrace house we used to rent along Jalan Cerong Lanjut when I was 7-8 years. It was still intact and looked more or less the same.

But it was bad news for Najib, on the cusp of becoming premier. For him, the by-election there must have been a nightmare, a major blow. The good Johan Saravanamuttu, a political scientist (and singer-guitarist for the Aliran Singers!), shares his thoughts over Bloomberg here.

POLITICS-MALAYSIA: By-Poll Debacle May Hit Reforms

By Anil Netto

PENANG, Jan 22 (IPS) – A key parliamentary by-election on Saturday that fell to a resurgent opposition alliance has piled pressure on Malaysia’s prime minister-to-be, Najib Razak.

At issue now is whether the ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front or BN) coalition he leads is capable of pushing through reforms which many believe are vital for the long-term prospects of the coalition.

Najib, who spearheaded the BN’s campaign in Kuala Terengganu, capital of the oil-rich east coast state of Terengganu, was unable to stop a swing to the People’s Alliance, made up of the three main opposition parties.

Full article here.

3 exco members lose Penang PKR leadership positions

Anil Netto
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11

Three Penang state exco members  – Deputy Chief Minister Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin, Law Choo Kiang and Abdul Malik Abul Kassim — have been dropped from their Penang PKR positions.

Balik Pulau division chief Dr Mansor Othman, Deputy Speaker Tan Hock Leong and state PKR election director Mustafa Kamal Mohd Yusoff will reportedly replace them in the Penang PKR leadership.

Certain Penang state exco members from PKR have been embroiled in controversy in recent months.

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LIVE: ‘ISA Vigil 23’ released on bail

Anil Netto
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isa-vigil-23Photos courtesy of beyond51.blogspot.com

Rakyat@work reporting ‘live’ from the PJ Magistrates Court:

1628: After some confusion, all 23 are free – for now.  Next court date: 10 March.

1356: Bank accounts have been opened with the bail money, partly contributed by supporters. Now waiting for court to open at 3.00pm so that all required documents can be submitted. All the accused will be out on bail once the process is completed.

1347: Bail has been set at RM1,500 per person.

1245: No one is allowed in the courtroom  while waiting for bail to be posted. Good Samaritans among the rakyat are going to open bank accounts (for bail money to be posted) for those charged.

Among those present outside court are Raja Petra, Rev Hermen Shastri and Fr O C Lim.

1106: The accused are being charged with participating in an illegal gathering and defying orders to disperse under Section 27(4) of the Police Act, which provides for a fine ranging from RM2,000 to RM10,000 and a jail term of not more than a year.

1101: Among the crowd in the court premises are five priests, who can be identified by their cassocks.

priests

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They say he died due to ‘liquid in his lungs’

Anil Netto
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Caution: Video contains graphic scenes that could disturb viewers.

Kugan Ananthan, 22, from Puchong was arrested on 15 Jan in connection with car theft cases. He collapsed and died on 20 January at the Taipan police station in Subang Jaya.

A Serdang Hospital post-mortem revealed he died due to ‘liquid in his lungs’. The family are now seeking an independent post-mortem.

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Minister bars fed agencies from Perak govt meetings

Anil Netto
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20

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s directive that federal departments and agencies in Perak should not attend meetings organised by the state government clearly runs against the spirit of our Constitution and our system of federalism.

The move reportedly was to prevent the state-elected Village Development and Security Committees (JKKKs) from gaining access to federal agencies. The federal agencies were also barred from considering the recommendations put forward by these JKKKs.

Only the federal JKKKs would be recognised. “Among the issues that required the recommendations of federal committees were scholarship applications and entries into institutes of higher learning.”

Such a directive penalises the rakyat as federal agencies are there to provide service to the people and obtain feedback from the ground. If federal agences are not present at state government meetings to listen to views from the ground, how will the federal and state governments be able to respond to the people’s needs?

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The other Oath of Office

Anil Netto
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1

As we celebrate the end of the nightmarish George W administration, journalism professor Robert Jensen has come up with his updated Citizens’ Oath of Office to remind us of the core problems of empire and economics — US domination around the world and corporate domination worldwide — which, he says, remain as threatening as ever.

“I do solemnly pledge that I will faithfully execute the office of citizen of the United States, and that I will, to the best of my ability, help create a truly democratic world by (1) going beyond mainstream corporate news media to seek out information about important political, economic, and social issues; (2) engaging fellow citizens, including those who disagree with me, in serious discussion and debate about those issues; (3) committing as much time, energy, and money as possible to help build [authentic] grassroots political organizations that can pressure politicians to put the interests of people over profit and power; and (4) connecting these efforts to global political and social movements fighting the U.S. empire abroad, where it does the most intense damage. I will continue to resist corporate control of the world, resist militarism, resist any roll-back of civil rights, and resist illegitimate authority in all its forms. [And I will commit to collective efforts in my local community to help build joyful alternatives to an unsustainable consumer society.]”

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Intel to shut two plants in Penang

Anil Netto
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24

The economic tsunami has reached our shores. Regionally, the numbers look dismal: Singapore is experiencing its worst downturn in post-war years, Korea down over 5 per cent of GDP, Japan exports down 35 per cent, China growth down to 6.8 per cent.

And now Intel is shutting “two existing assembly test facilities in Penang”.  The two plants in Penang are among four Intel facilities worldwide that have been targeted for closure in 2009.  The closures could shed at least 5,000 jobs globally within the firm, which employs 83,000 worldwide.

The Star, however, reports:

Intel Corp’s corporate affairs manager in Penang Loo Cheng Cheng said the two affected facilities, the PG6 and PG7 plants, where manufacturing takes place, were the company’s older and smaller plants.

“We have a total of six plants in Malaysia running manufacturing, research and development and other services.

“With three plants in Penang and another three in Kulim, Kedah, Intel Corp in Malaysia has about 10,000 employees,” she said.

Loo said the closure of the two plants in Penang would affect over 1,000 of employees but the company would be offering the effected workers comparable job positions in its other Malaysian plants.

“It is safe to say that the company has no plans to lay off any workers for now,” she said.

However, it is still unknown when the two facilities will stop its operations in Penang.

Following the move to close the two plants here, the company’s operations in its Kulim Hi-Tech Park site will assume the role as Intel’s global manufacturing hub.

But Guan Eng is denying that the two plants are closing down; instead he says the company had sought relocation of the two plants to the Kulim Hi-tech Park.

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