anilnetto.com

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21 May 2008

So Harakahdaily reports that Mokhzani is following his Dad out of Umno. He reportedly made the announcement this morning.

The shrewd politician that he is, Mahathir probably has a few tricks up his sleeve. Scheming and scheming all the time…

I believe he is opting for a multi-prong strategy in his battle to unseat Abdullah and put in place a crony who would protect his interests before Anwar and his Pakatan boys can take over. The strategy would work at various levels.

From outside: By leaving Umno, Mahathir will be freer to step up his attacks against the current Umno leadership.

From below: Through his son Mukhriz, Mahathir now has a Trojan Horse inside Umno. Mukhriz has already shown that he will step up the pressure from below.

From the top: Razaleigh has already thrown down the gauntlet in his bid to challenge Abdullah for the Umno presidency. Will Mahathir now openly throw his backing behind his one-time archfoe in a bid to unseat Abdullah?

From the flanks: By leaving Umno, he is also providing another option for BN members thinking of defecting. They could now become Independent MPs in Parliament, who will be “kingmakers” in the sense that their numbers could be crucial in deciding who is going to form a new government. They would then be in a position to demand key positions in a new administration, whether it is BN or Pakatan.

Play up racial sentiments: Gone is all his rhetoric about Bangsa Malaysia. Now he is actively courting Malay support by manipulating base, primordial communal sentiments as he did in Johor a few days ago. He openly talked about Ketuanan Melayu and about the Malays losing their rights – pointing to Singapore and Hindraf as bogeymen!

It is no contradiction. Mahathir will do or say anything as long as it serves his own personal interests, as Wong Kok Keong writes in Aliran.

But Mahathir underestimates the Malays these days, many of whom can see through such language. The “market” for those willing to “buy” such rhetoric is rapidly shrinking, but that is not stopping him from whipping up sentiment among the hardcore remnants.

Watch this guy’s next move…

He is clearly petrified that Anwar will take over and open the books on the Mahathir years. The “Lingam Tape” Royal Commission of Inquiry recommendations jolted him and convinced him that he had to take decisive action now to ward off future threats to his “legacy”.

For example, look what happened to Malaysia Airlines in the 1990s. I was just talking to a former senior finance officer in Malaysia Airlines. He told me that in the mid-1990s, just a couple of years after Tajudin Ramli had taken over the helm from Dato Kamaruddin, who was seen as incorruptible, Malaysia Airlines had RM1.3 billion in cash reserves and they had no problem securing billions in loans, if necessary.

But within a few years, Malaysia Airlines was struggling even to pay staff salaries.

Where did all that money go?

If that wasn’t bad enough, the government bought back MAS shares from Tajudin at RM8 when the market value was around RM3.60. Where is Tajudin today? And where has Daim gone? How did Mahathir allow this to happen under his administration?

In Mahathir’s case, parting is such sweet sorrow… and rather protracted too! Here are the different stages of his farewell after 22 years in power:

2002 – Announces shock decision to quit

2003 – Steps down as PM

2007 – Fails to get elected as a delegate to Umno general assembly

2008 – Quits Umno. Now what?

This is a piece I wrote for Asia Times:

Fake farewell for Malaysia’s Mahathir

By Anil Netto

PENANG – Former premier Mahathir Mohamad’s decision to quit the ruling United Malays Nasional Organization (UMNO) on Monday represents his strongest political protest yet against his hand-picked successor Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi – and perhaps his biggest gamble.

His high-stakes decision came after a royal commission of inquiry last week recommended that the former prime minister and a number of his associates face probes under various laws for suspected involvement in the fixing of appointments, promotions and removal of judges, including the sacking of six top judges in 1988, which critics claim permanently undermined the judiciary’s independence.

Full article

Ku Li tells 1,000-strong crowd he is going for top post after Mahathir quits Umno

Anil Netto

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19 May 2008

15

5.30pm – Ku Li has addressed a crowd of over 1,000 people at the ballroom of another hotel in Alor Star. Commenting on Dr Mahathir’s shock decision to quit, he said that the former premier had wanted to send a strong message to Umno.

Tengku Razeleigh also said he would be challenging for the top post in the party. He added that the quota system for nominations should be abolished. And he stressed that a more democratic culture is needed in Umno.

One political analyst at the scene told me he now believes that Mahathir will be backing Razaleigh in the latter’s bid for the top post.

Ironically, it was Mahathir who introduced the nomination quota system to ward off further challenges from Razaleigh after he narrowly squeezed through in the 1987 Umno election.

2.28pm – Tengku Razaleigh is expected to address a gathering in Alor Star this afternoon. It comes hot on the heels of Mahathir’s shock announcement here earlier today, in front of a crowd of around 2,000, that he is quitting Umno.

Mahathir quits Umno: What’s next – Umno Baru Baru?

Anil Netto

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19 May 2008

32

So the man who established Umno Baru in 1988 quits the party he founded in a huff.

Now this comes just a few days after he and a string of his cronies were accused of involvement in the fixing of appointments of judges.

Over the last few months, Mahathir has watched from the sidelines as his house of cards, built over 22 years, came tumbling down. All that waste and corruption and cronyism and superficial nation building during his administration finally came home to roost. The last straw was probably the release of the findings of the royal commission report on the Lingam Tape.

When I sent the news to a friend that Mahathir was leaving Umno, I received the following message in response: “And form Umno Baru Baru?”

Another friend joked, in a text message: “He is joining PKR :-)”

Later he sent another message: “You know Umno is in trouble when the r__s start abandoning ship.”

The sandiwara continues – but I can only see Pakatan Rakyat growing stronger as Umno founders like the Titanic after hitting an iceberg, sinking inch by inch. The diehard band (on the Fourth Floor?) plays on but the passengers are scurrying helter skelter to abandon ship. But are there enough life-boats to go around?

Is this the beginning of the end for Umno? What will Mukhriz do now? Is Najib all alone now? Will Razaleigh make his move now? I can only imagine the factionalism deepening ahead of the party polls at the end of December.

But can we discount the Mahathir camp altogether? Surely he has a trick or two up his sleeve. Can we just expect him to remain a passive observer in the months leading to the Umno polls? His move could be aimed at heightening the sense of crisis within Umno, thereby making it easier for Abdullah Badawi’s rivals to launch a challenge for the top post. And if the rival aligned to Mahathir triumphs in the party election, would the Mahathir camp return to Umno as Mahathir himself has suggested they would once Abdullah is ousted?

It ain’t over till it’s over.

Meanwhile, what kind of impact will this have on the Sabah MPs who are already making their presence felt and making all kinds of veiled demands?

How did Abad Naluri get over 1,000 acres of Batu Kawan land?

Anil Netto

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17 May 2008

20

When discussing the RM1.5 billion PGCC scandal along with the scandalous rezoning from “recreational” land to “new development”, we cannot afford to ignore what was going on in Batu Kawan, which is closely connected to the PGCC saga.

The PGCC and Batu Kawan deals reveal some highly questionable circumstances.

During a meeting between Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and activists a couple of days ago, I suggested to the Chief Minister that the state government initiates an in-depth probe to uncover the business-political connections in the PGCC-Batu Kawan deals while thoroughly examining the re-zoning of the Batu Gantung land. For there is more to these deals than meets the eye.

It is important to recall that Abad Naluri did not actually own the Batu Kawan site in 2002 when it submitted its tender to the Penang Turf Club. After all, the principal or master agreement for the acquisition of the Batu Kawan land from the PDC was only entered into in 2004.

Now let’s look at this revealing chronology of events – including the changes in the political leadership in Putrajaya during the crucial 2002-2004 period:

2002

May 9 – Abad Naluri submits tender for Penang Turf Club’s relocation and sale of Batu Gantung land. The tender letter, signed by a politically well connected individual in the firm then, claims that Abad Naluri would build a new race-course for the Penang Turf Club at a 250-acre site at Batu Kawan, which it says has already been “approved” by the PDC. Who exactly signed the “approval letter”?

June – Mahathir annouces shock decision to quit. Umno issues statement confirming that Mahathir will be replaced by his deputy Abdullah Badawi towards the end of 2003.

Nov 25 – Turf Club EGM approves sale of Turf Club land in Batu Gantung and acquisition of Batu Kawan site.

2003

March 21 – Preliminary agreement said to have been entered into between the Turf Club and Abad Naluri. Under this agreement, Abad Naluri pays advances totalling RM10 million, presumably as “compensation” to Turf Club members.

Nov 1 – Abdullah Badawi formally takes over as PM from Mahathir.

2004

Jan 16 – Penang Development Corporation enters into a ‘master agreement’ to sell about eight parcels of land on the mainland in Batu Kawan, totalling over 1,000 acres, to one very “fortunate” company, Abad Naluri. One of these parcels, measuring 300 acres, is for the new racecourse site. The purchase consideration for this parcel is later said to be RM46 million.

On what basis was 1,000 acres of potential prime land allotted to one firm?

Mar 21 – Abdullah Badawi cements position as PM after leading BN to landslide victory in general election.

May 12 – Agreement entered into between Turf Club and Abad Naluri for the sale of the Turf Club land in Batu Gantung on the island at a low, low “recreational land” price of RM43 per sq ft. (Why would the Turf Club sell to a property developer at such a low “recreational land” price when it knows the latter is going to develop the land? Doesn’t make sense, unless…)

2005

July 5 – Layout plan for Batu Kawan race-course approved by MPSP even though terms of PDC’s actual S&P agreement with Abad Naluri not yet finalised.

2006

By Sept/Oct – Abad Naluri submits application for planning permission re PGCC on the Turf Club land.

Draft Penang Structure Plan indicates that rezoning almost a done deal – apparently and amazingly without any application from the developer.

Nov 12 – Abdullah Badawi officiates at the ground-breaking ceremony of the proposed second bridge site in Batu Kawan, which by a happy ‘coincidence’ happens to sit right next to the proposed Batu Kawan race-course site and close to Abad Naluri’s other parcels of land.

2007

June 28 – Conversion of Turf Club land from recreational land to “new development” is gazetted under the Penang Structure Plan, turning PGCC developer Abad Naluri into instant billionaire firm, after spending only RM10 million on the land!

Oct 17 – Prime Minister Abdullah launches PGCC project, flanked by then Chief Minister Koh Tsu Koon, Patrick Lim and the Abad Naluri chairman – even though acquisition of Turf Club land not yet completed and work on Batu Kawan race-course has barely begun.

Now, after all this, don’t you think that Guan Eng has strong grounds to look again at how the re-zoning of the Turf Club land to “new development” was carried out – and how over 1,000 acres of Batu Kawan land was allotted to Abad Naluri? I believe he shouldn’t worry about compensation claims from Abad Naluri as he stands on much stronger ground, considering the business-political connections behind the Turf Club-Abad Naluri-PDC deals and the highly questionable re-zoning.

Onward towards the Penang People’s Park!

How to stop any development of Penang Turf Club for now

Anil Netto

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15 May 2008

12

The dream of a Penang People’s Park lives on.

But Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng seems concerned that if he rezones the Penang Turf Club land back from “development” status to “recreational”, it could expose the state government to claims of compensation.

But he needn’t have to worry too much. For the Penang state government holds a trump card. It can take back the Batu Kawan land and, in doing so, foil any bid to develop the Penang Turf Club land by 2011.

In April 2008, the Penang Turf Club signed a supplementary agreement with Abad Naluri Sdn Bhd, extending by three years its original agreement signed in 2004 to March 2011. Under this agreement, the requirement for Abad Naluri to build a new racecourse in Batu Kawan is still there.

But there are concerns that new parties could be taking over the reins at Abad Naluri or Equine with other plans for property development on the Penang Turb Club land.

One way to preserve the Turf Club’s green lung for now is for the Penang state government to block the sale of the Batu Kawan land to Abad Naluri.

It can easily do this. The master agreement between the Penang Development Corporation and Abad Naluri for various parcels of land totalling more than 1,000 acres (wow, 1,000 acres to one company! very lucky one!), was signed in January 2004. Under this agreement, Abad Naluri was given four years to settle the purchase consideration. But until now, the actual sale and purchase agreement for the Batu Kawan racecourse parcel of 300 acres apparently has not yet even been signed, and the land has not been paid for – even though payment should have been made by January 2008. So the PDC can take back the Batu Kawan land, effectively making it impossible for Abad Naluri to build a new racecourse on the mainland for the Turf Club. If the PDC were to do this, Abad Naluri would be unable to fulfil its part of the agreement with the Turf Club.

Now, the background to how Abad Naluri was awarded the tender in 2002 for the relocation of the Turf Club gets very interesting. In 2002, four parties were said to be involved in the bidding for the Turf Club relocation plan, namely firms linked to two different tycoons in KL, another one in Penang and Abad Naluri. One of these parties is now said to be eyeing the Turf Club land again.

Abad Naluri’s tender is believed to have been submitted and signed in May 2002 by someone in the company then who was politically well-connected (try and guess who it was – it’s not Patrick Lim, who many believe was just a ‘front man’).

Abad Naluri is believed to have been awarded the tender because of its ability to build a new racecourse in Batu Kawan. The firm had claimed that it had a land bank of 250 acres in Batu Kawan which it could use to build the new racecourse and it had a “letter of approval” (from the PDC?) to support that claim.

But the funny thing is that the master agreement between PDC and Abad Naluri for the Batu Kawan land was only signed in January 2004. The agreement included the parcel of 300 acres for the Batu Kawan racecourse. So this means that when Abad Naluri submitted its tender, it had not yet entered into the master agreement with Batu Kawan. But that did not stop Abad Naluri from already claiming it had 250 acres to build the race-course. And the Penang Turf Club believed this – based on a letter of approval?

Blog reader dontplaypuks left this comment:

Knowing state governments, government departments and local councils, I will bet my bottom $ that proper procedures were not adhered to and that the decision was ultra vires their powers. e.g an EIA may not have been done or there was no quorum in the approval given by the State Govt. or a public inquiry that ought to have been held, was not.

Under those circumstances, if the conversion can be proven illegal or beyond the powers of the state, then the conversion can be reversed.

I am sure LGE, who now has the resources of a whole state and access to the best local lawyers, can get cracking on this, pronto!!

Another blog reader, rhino, says Penang desperately needs more recreational space:

We need the PEOPLES PARK!!! Ask LGE to take a walk in Botanical Gardens and Youth Park during the weekends. See for himself how utterly bad the situation is, and how desperate people are for that little space to exercise.

And, it is a tourist stop-over. Utterly shameful for Penang. Even weekdays go and see for yourself how badly a park is needed.

No more space for people to exercise!

Blog reader Andrew sent in this message: “I don’t care how Guan Eng does it; I am not interested in all the legal and business obstacles. We elected him to do something different – and we want the People’s Park!”

Bloggers launch “Penangites for Trams” campaign

Anil Netto

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14 May 2008

154

Today, several Penang-based bloggers and websites simultaneously launched a “Penangites for Trams” campaign.

We hope more bloggers and webmasters – especially all those who care for Penang – will join in the campaign by placing these graphics on their blogs or websites. You may link the graphic to the URL for this post or choose to link to any other article or post about trams. Leave a comment here and you will then be added to the list below of blogs/websites supporting the campaign.

This will help to raise awareness of the viability of trams. Of course, trams work best as part of an integrated public transport system, complementing an efficient and extensive network of buses and other forms of eco-friendly transport.

The latest issue of business weekly The Edge carries a full-page article in support of the re-introduction of trams in Penang.

But one major caveat: Any proposal to bring back trams must be based on the soundest financial feasibility study, with room for possible cost overruns provided. The over-riding concern is that the project should not be a drain on public resources.

So far, these are the bloggers and websites that support the re-introduction of trams in Penang:

Mustafa K Anuar
Susan Loone
Mucked in a Jam
Penang Watch
Kris Khaira
Surind
Anything Goes
LAH-mour
No Kacau and Don’t Kacau
Stephen Doss
Contemporary Malaysia
Black and White (Justin Choo)
The Kuala Lumpur Traveller
Forest Explorers
Apprize
News for Malaysians
Wartawan Rasmi Laman Reformasi
DanielYKL
Lucia Lai
I am a Malaysian
Carol and Jeffrey’s Big View of the World
Lestari Heritage Network
Motivation in Motion
World Messenger
Brand Bounce
Sources of Life
Maaran Matters
Messy Christian
Sivin Kit’s Garden
u-jean
Fair is what fair wants
BalikPulau.org
Sally Knits
Accidental Blogger
The Freak
The Stray World
Rainstormz
The Dreamkid Lair
pbsiew
Binding Love
Everything under the Malaysian Sun
Strategic Analysis and Thoughts
Justice4otk
Ecowarriorz
Teohyj
prashant’s trashpan
anilnetto.com

Suaram activists released on police bail, complain of “mala fide”

Anil Netto

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12 May 2008

13

This morning, Suaram Penang coordinator Lau Shu Shi, who is also Penang coordinator for the Abolish ISA Movement (GMI), and Teh Chun Hong were released on police bail.

Shu Shi told me she is required to report to the police on 21 May to find out about a possible charge under Section 90 of the Police Act. Section 90 covers disorderly conduct in police stations and states that “any person who, in a police station behaves in a riotous, indecent, disorderly or insulting manner shall be guilty of an offence under this Act”.

She also has to report on 24 May pertaining to a possible charge under Section 27 of the Police Act. This section is about police powers to regulate assemblies, meetings and processions including the requirement for organisers to apply for a licence for an assembly.

She said she was brought to the court premises this morning but remained in the court lock-up cell without being actually produced in court. They were both later released on police bail. “So it was mala fide (bad faith),” she said. Suaram activists are arguing that there was no need to hold them overnight at the police station if they were not going to be produced in court the next day. They already had their statements recorded yesterday.

One activist at the scene told me the case was not registered for the morning. The press had turned up in full force with video camera crew but after waiting for a couple of hours, nothing happened.

Shu Shi and Chun Hong, a Suaram secretariat member who also works for Pesticide Action Network, are represented by lawyer Darshan Singh.

Both the Suaram activists had participated in an Anti-ISA gathering in Penang yesterday in support of ISA detainee and Hindraf adviser P Uthayakumar’s attempts to seek medical treatment in IJN.

The above videoclip shows how Chun Hong was detained and handcuffed yesterday soon after he had filmed the scene at the Patani Road police station.

Hmm, instead of curbing crime, they are arresting and charging peaceful activists and demonstrators.

Remember, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, when faced with an Umno-led demonstration soon after he took over the helm of the state government, had said he does not oppose peaceful demonstrations. In fact, the Chief Minister himself had recently participated at an Anti-ISA forum organised by some of the groups involved in yesterday’s demonstration.

So, if the state government doesn’t mind such demonstrations and in fact even supports the GMI campaign to abolish the ISA, whose interests were the police really serving by locking up Shu Shi, the Penang GMI coordinator, and her colleague last night?

PGCC the biggest land scam: Guan Eng slams Koh and Teng

Anil Netto

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11 May 2008

28

The PGCC project has been the biggest land scam in Penang, Penang Chief Minister Guan Eng said today, adding there were a couple of other large scams still under investigation.

He was responding to a statement by Teng Hock Nan yesterday (see full statement below). The previous Penang state government had converted the Turf Club land from open recreational area to “new development” under the Penang Structure Plan gazetted in June 2007.

Critics claim the state lost between RM120 million and RM400 million in conversion fees as the conversion was done before the PGCC project was approved while the state forfeited RM1.5 billion in potential revaluation surplus, which it would have earned had it purchased the land from the Penang Turf Club itself instead of allowing the land to be sold to Abad Naluri. A priceless green lung has also been put in danger of being turned into a congrete jungle instead of into a People’s Park.

Teng said yesterday the Municipal Council had not made any decision on the PGCC nor had the previous state government decided whether and how much premiums or charges to levy on Abad Naluri, the PGCC developer. “Therefore, since no decision has been made as yet, it is up to the new state government and the MPPP to make whatever decision that they think suitable with respect to the site and any development proposal, including whatever charges to be imposed.”

In response, Guan Eng said: “I want to ask Koh Tsu Koon what are the consequences of (re)rezoning the land.” He said he knew the consequences but he wanted Koh to tell him. “Show me you are on top of your job. You have been chief minister for 18 years. You tell me what are the consequences should we want to rezone it,” he challenged Koh. Guan Eng said all this with a smile.

“Koh Tsu Koon is in big trouble,” observed one journalist who was present.

Some believe that rezoning the land back to recreational status could leave the state open to claims for compensation. So the state might not want to do anything with the land at the moment and just leave things as they are – but that could open the land to other forms of property development later, dashing hopes that it could be turned into a People’s Park.

As one activist observed, Teng’s statement yesterday just reinforced the fact that nothing has been approved, but failed to answer why the previous state government rezoned the land without waiting for an application from the developer.

Guan Eng posed more pointed questions to Koh and Teng. When the change was made from tanah lapang dan rekreasi to pembangunan baru, how does this benefit the public interest, he asked. “Why and how did you change this?”

As for the previous administration holding public hearings to obtain the views of the public, Guan Eng said he would let the NGOs reply to this. He said as far as he knew, civil society groups were largely unaware of these public hearings.

The Penang Chief Minister added Koh and Teng had misled the Prime Minister when they got him to officiate at the launch of the PGCC last October, when the project had not yet been approved. “Why did you allow the PM to embarrass himself in launching an illegal project?”

One activist remarked that he finds it hard to believe that Abdullah was not aware of the background and status of the project. The PM had said back then he wanted all approvals to be expedited.

Another activist commented:

Looks like more and more of the chickens are coming back to roost. I’m waiting for more fireworks to light up the Malaysian new dawn especially now with the Police coming into the picture.

Who knows more of the buried worms will also emerge from the turf club…… ??

Syabas to the small (or should I say little) sparks painstakingly labored by the PGCC campaign group.

The remnants (NGOs) have done it again—– to bring on light out of darkness!

And here is Teng’s statement in full:

Statement by Dato’ Dr Teng Hock Nan
Former Penang State Exco Member in charge of Local Government

THE PROPOSED PGCC PROJECT:
PREVIOUS STATE GOVERNMENT DID NOT APPROVE AS YET
PRESENT GOVERNMENT CAN DECIDE AND IMPOSE LEVIES

It must be emphasised that the application for planning permission by the developer of the proposed Penang Global City Centre (PGCC) project has not yet been approved by the Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) under the previous state government as of 8 March 2008.

The previous state government has also not made any decision as yet on whether and how much premiums or charges were to be levied on the developer relating to the proposed PGCC project.

The formulation of the structure plan, which made provisions on zoning of development for the whole state, followed the proper provisions and procedure for structure plan under the Town and Country Planning Act. Public exhibitions and hearings were held in 2006 – 2007 on the draft structure plan which was finalised and gazetted in June 2007.

In this respect, the structure plan did not specify the type (residential or commercial or “mixed”) and the scale (density, plot ratio, etc) of “new development” zoned on that site.

The MPPP can still decide whether to reject or approve any development proposal, including the type and the scale. It is also up to the State Planning Committee chaired by the Chief Minister to provide guidance.

Therefore, since no decision has been made as yet, it is up to the new state government and the MPPP to make whatever decision that they think suitable with respect to the site and any development proposal, including whatever charges to be imposed.

Sat, 10/5/2008

Two Suaram activists still held, five others released

Anil Netto

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11 May 2008

21

9.00pm – Five of the activists are released. But Suaram’s Teh Chun Hong and Lau Shu Shi, who is also Penang coordinator of the Abolish ISA Movement (GMI), are still being held. Shu Shi in particular has been actively involved in organising a number of well-attended forums after the 8 March general election. Both are expected to be produced in court in Penang tomorrow morning for possible extension of remand. This reflects badly on the BN federal government’s stance on basic rights and is not likely to win it new friends. Malaysians are not going to be impressed.

7.00pm – Blog reader Kah Seng reports:

MP Liew Chin Tong (Tg Bungah, Bukit Bendera, DAP) was reported there in the afternoon. You reported PKR DUN Ravi was also there.

I was a busy body there from 5pm to 7pm. The police handling was very slow. Went in afternoon, and still taking statements around 7pm. Efficiency? Cepat, cekap, whatever that motto that keeps changing?

Police seemed to be consciously aiming at photo and video takers. Ong was reported to be taking photo when arrested. Satish also said to be following the police with a camera around Gurney Plaza when arrested. Others taking phone video at the police HQ were hassled.

Is the police afraid of multi-racial sympathy toward the ISA detainees?

5.30pm – Three more Hindraf activists or supporters are also said to be held by police: Vimal, Hindraf activist Selvam and press freedom activist Stanley, who had earlier campaigned for a boycott of The Star. This brings the total to seven detained.

3.15pm – About 10-15 people are at the police station. B K Ong, Satish, Suaram Penang coordinator Lau Shu Shi and Suaram secretariat member Teh Chun Ong are being detained. Lawyer Darshan Singh is said to be around.

Teh was taken away in handcuffs after he had used his camera at the station while Shu Shi is now being held in the hall of the police station, guarded by policewomen. When Shu Shi tried to resist upon seeing the police handcuffing her colleague Teh, the policewoman told her not to struggle as she (the policewoman) was pregnant. Shu Shi is not sure if she is under arrest but her IC has been taken away and she is being confined to the hall. B K Ong is believed to be somewhere upstairs in the station.

2.00pm – Penang-based Ong Boon Keong, better known as B K Ong, and blogger Satish were detained around noon today after participating in an hour-long demonstration said to be organised by Hindraf to raise awareness of ISA detainee Uthayakumar’s medical condition. They were rallying in support of his attempts to seek further medical attention at the National Heart Institute (IJN) in KL.

The two were among 30-50 demonstrators who gathered along Gurney Drive outside Gurney Plaza for about an hour, while some of them were said to have attempted to enter the mall.

Police and FRU personnel were at the scene. It is not immediately known what circumstances led to the two being held.

A similar demonstration was held at the Prai Megamall on the mainland.

Ong, who runs the Penang Watch website, and Satish are now being held at the Patani Road police station. Supporters are waiting in the hall downstairs while Penang State Assembly member Ravi from PKR is now at the scene. I had only met B K Ong at a forum in Penang last night when we were both on the same panel at a Suaram forum discussing the role of Public Service Media and how it can be strengthened.

We also critiqued the Pakatan Rakyat’s plans to set up its own newspaper for five states and discussed whether this was a good move.

Ong felt that steps should be taken to make it more independent than what was being planned.

For my part, I felt that any attempt to set up a state government-backed newspaper would run into problems as it would suffer from credibility issues as a result of public perception of it being backed by the state – especially if editors and key staff are appointed by the party. Such journalism would serve the interests of political masters rather than the public.

Good journalism should challenge and critique oppressive power structures. And it would be difficult to do that if a newspaper is funded or owned by the state or if its editors and key staff were appointed by political parties. Surely, that would compromise its editorial independence and journalistic integrity.

Who’s profiting from higher food prices? Certainly not the rice farmers

Anil Netto

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9 May 2008

8

Some people are making big bucks from the higher prices of food, including rice.

But not the farmers.

The Star (8 May) carried this tiny report on page 32 – it should have been front page headlines, Chun Wai! – telling of how over 2,000 rice farmers in the country’s “rice bowl” state of Kedah are now threatening to turn to oil palm cultivation because of the low price they are getting for their padi.

And who can blame them? Many of them are just hovering around the poverty line. The farmers want the padi price to be raised from the current ceiling of 65 sen/kg to RM1/kg. They complain that they have to sell their padi cheap, cheap but when they buy rice, the price is between RM2.20-2.80/kg. Where got meaning? (There’s no ceiling price for rice.)

“Farmers have to absorb the escalating costs of fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides and seeds,” said Ramli Kasa, the Aman C-III Area Farmers Organisation chairman, in The Star report.

So it’s obviously not the farmers who are making big bucks. It has to be the parties in between the farmers and the consumers, right? And the speculators…

Meanwhile, Bernas, which was privatised in 1996, made a profit before tax of RM178 million for its 2006 financial year. Are you surprised? Bernas handles rice imports and local distribution.

Top 5 Shareholders (as of 19 April 2007)

No

Shareholders

No. of
Shares Held

%

1.

Budaya Generasi (M) Sdn Bhd

144,829,500

30.79

2.

HSBC Nominees (Asing) Sdn Bhd

87,381,800

18.58

3.

Serba Etika Sdn Bhd

30,143,500

6.41

4.

Lembaga Tabung Haji Sdn Bhd

22,590,000

4.80

5.

AIBB Nominees (Tempatan) Sdn Bhd

20,422,000

4.34

Source: Bernas website

Budaya Generasi is controlled by Syed Mokhtar Al Bukhary.

And of course the share price of Bernas has been surging over the last year even as the rice farmers suffer. There is now talk that Bernas will be taken private. With rice prices surging, it’s a good time to ensure a monopoly of profits as well, eh?

See this Business Times report:

Bernas surges on talk it will be taken private

SHARES of the country’s only licensed rice supplier, Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas), closed at their highest in more than two months yesterday on renewed speculation that it will be taken private.

The stock rose 2.4 per cent to close at RM2.13.

Budaya Generasi (M) Sdn Bhd, controlled by Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al Bukhary, holds 31 per cent of the company.

Other major shareholders like Wang Tak Co Ltd and Lembaga Tabung Haji have been raising their stake in Bernas over the last year or so.

Fund managers said the rumour of a buyout is not new.

“The share price has been rather firm these few weeks, bolstered by the continued purchase of the company’s stock by existing shareholders,” Philip Capital Management’s Ang Kok Heng said.

Actually, we have neglected our rice farmers for far too long. At one time, we were 90 per cent self sufficient.

Then along came Mahathir. He looked down on agriculture. Instead of ensuring that we could produce enough food to meet the needs of the population, he pursued heavy industrialisation – with all its attendant failures and shortcomings – like a man possessed. Under his administration, Universiti Pertanian Malaysian was changed to Universiti Putra Malaysia.

He was not alone. Many other Malaysians also felt we could always import cheaper rice – comparative advantage, they said, using an economic term; so why bother about food security and self-sufficiency? Today, such irresponsible neglect of agriculture has come back to haunt us with rising food prices.

The newspapers tell us that we are only 70 per cent self-sufficient in rice. But a Bernama report on 19 April had this give-away line:

Malaysia, which imports between 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes annually to complement its 1.1 million local production, buys about 50 to 60 percent from Thailand and the rest from Vietnam, India and Pakistan.

Let’s do the calculation:

Local production 1.1 million tonnes divided by total rice requirements (1.1 million tonnes + 750,000 tonnes) = 59 per cent self sufficiency.

No wonder we are vulnerable to rising prices and speculation in food prices.

Is there an alternative to the pesticide-intensive corporate model of agriculture?

How about organic farming? Now, before you say, “Come on, be realistic, it will never be enough to feed the whole country!”, check out the video clip below featuring the amazing organic farming revolution in Cuba, which had the BBC presenter enthused with obvious admiration.

In Malaysia and elsewhere, young people are turning away from farming in rural areas and migrating to towns.

But in Cuba, many young people and professionals are actually turning to farming – even in their towns and back gardens – and taking obvious pride in it. They see themselves as making a useful contribution to local communities. They use natural pesticides – and the vegetable farms are close to the markets; so they cut down on transport costs too.

Let’s give a major role to organic agriculture – which has a tremendous global market potential in the face of the GM food menace and the onslaught of pesticide-laced food products.

Remember, we can’t eat semiconductor chips.

So there’s nothing to stop us from emulating the Cuban farming revolution.

Have a look at this piece I wrote for IPS to discover the likely culprits behind rising food prices.

MALAYSIA: Food Futures Behind Rising Prices
Analysis by Anil Netto

PENANG, May 6 (IPS) – With stock markets and the property sector in the United States weakening, speculative investors are turning to fuels and the food sector as a “safe haven”, driving up prices in the process, say some food security activists.

This is the logical sequence from the transformation of food from a basic human need to an economic ”commodity”, they point out. This has made it a lot easier for investors and trading houses to regard agricultural food as a legitimate target for speculation, hoarding and market manipulation, especially though the futures market. Full article.