OutSyed The Box

Malaysia's Global Competitiveness Down Five Rungs

2012-03-13T22:53:00.004+08:00

Folks, the following is from the Pemandu website.

Pemandu says the following : "Over the past three years, Malaysia's Global Competitiveness ranking has been dropping. To help enhance Malaysia's competitiveness, the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC) recommended policy measures that were grouped into the International Standards and Liberalisation lab that focuses on three key areas: Standards, Liberalisation of Services and Competition Law."

Folks our global competitiveness has been falling over the past three years. Now hear this ok : PEMANDU was also set up three years ago. The following is from their website as well :

Performance Management & Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) was formally established on the 16th of September, 2009 and is a unit under the Prime Minister’s Department. PEMANDU’s main role and objective is to oversee the implementation, assess the progress, facilitate as well as support the delivery and drive the progress of the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).

Chairman of the PEMANDU board is YB Senator Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, in charge of National Unity and Performance Management. The post of Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PEMANDU is held by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, YB Senator Dato’ Sri Idris Jala.

Our global competitiveness has been falling ever since Pemandu was set up.

Behind Every Falling Woman Is A Hubby

2012-03-13T07:14:00.004+08:00

Malaysia's Securities Watchdog Head Quits

Written by MA Wind

MONDAY, 12 MARCH 2012

From Asia Sentinel (Click here)

And another one bites the dust

Plagued by questions of conflict of interest, chairwoman steps down

After months of controversy, Malaysia’s Securities Commission has announced that the embattled chairwoman, Zarinah Anwar, will step down asthe end of the month in the wake of a blatant conflict of interest involving her husband’s trading in shares.

There is some indication that the government has belatedly recognized the troubled condition of the Securities Commission, which has been the subject of considerable criticism in addition to the conflict of interest case involving Zarinah and her husband.

(Zarinah’s departure is the second major incident involving at top woman government official. Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, the women’s minister, announced she would leave her post on April 8. Read related story here.)

A study by a task force appointed by the International Institute of Finance said it viewed the regulatory environment “as the weakest factor in the overall corporate governance framework of Malaysia.” The commission, the study found, “is not perceived by many of those who spoke with the Task Force to be operationally independent from the Ministry of Finance, although under the present government the SC claims to have full operational freedom. This public perception weakens the regulator.”

Replacing Zarinah as chairman is Ranjit Ajit Singh, previously managing director of the SC and responsible for the oversight of the Malaysian capital market. He has gained international recognition as the chairman of the International Organization of Securities Commissions emerging market group on the regulation of secondary markets and co-chaired of the task force on bond markets. He is a member of numerous international task forces as well as the expert group that prepared the principles being used for international securities regulation.

Nik Ramlah Mahmood, formerly Managing Director & Executive Director of the Securities Commission’s Enforcement Division, was named Ranjit’s deputy. She has also gained international recognition for her corporate governance work.

Zarinah, appointed to head the Securities Commission in 2006, was a conflict of interest on the way to happen. It was not a question if conflicts would arise, but when, given the number of companies her husband, Azizan Abdul Rahman, had an interest in, some of them dodgy at best.

She came under fire last August when it was revealed that Azizan, the chairman of the Eastern & Oriental hotel and property company, bought nearly half a million E&O shares not long before the Sime Darby Bhd. conglomerate bought 30 percent of the E&O shares, driving the price up sharply.

Although under Malaysian securities law Sime Darby, still recovering from heavy losses from its oil and gas activities, should have been obligated to make a general offer for the remaining E&O shares, the SC concluded that it didn’t need to do so, although it didn’t give any arguments. A Securities Commission task force ruled that a new "concert party" had been created between Sime Darby and E&O's managing director and thus that a general offer obligation had been triggered.

The perceived conflict of interest appeared to clash directly with the commission’s own principles and standards, which state that: "An integral part of ethics and integrity is the avoidance of conflict of interest. In this regard, all SC staff and their immediate family members have the obligation to avoid putting themselves in situations of conflict where their personal interest is conflicted with the interest of the SC.

"The SC must demonstrate the highest level of honesty and integrity in all our dealings with stakeholders and ensure exemplary conduct of our staff. The Statement of Principles and Standards applies to all business transactions entered into by the SC. All staff as well as those who do business with us, need to fully understand the requirements of the Statement and ensure its application in all dealings and engagements with the SC."

Zarinah herself signed the statement.

The E&O transaction also triggered questions over the fact that Sime Darby, as a government-linked company, was given a pass by the Securities Commission at the expense of minority shareholders. That added to the perception that the commission too often goes easy on state controlled companies.

There are other concerns involving Azizan Abdul Rahman, who has been actively involved as an officer or director in at least nine other companies as well as serving as chairman of the investment panel of Lembaga Tabung Haji, the Malaysian government-maintained haji pilgrim fund.

Among the more controversial of those companies is Isyoda Corporation Bhd., a construction that was taken private after being threatened by delisting at 60 percent of book value. Isodya was initially the prime subcontractor for the construction of the controversial Shah Alam hospital, which ultimately had to be retendered and whose construction was delayed for months as costs ballooned out of sight.

On winning the contract in 2007, the hospital turnkey contract holder Sunshine Fleet, first subcontracted the project to Isyoda, which was unable to complete the project after it was delisted from the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange and was in the process of being declared bankrupt. There are rumors in Kuala Lumpur that Isyoda hastily delisted to avoid the possibility of a probe into kickbacks or corruption.

The project was later subcontracted to GMH Healthcare, which claimed that when it took over last year from Isyoda, it was required to put up RM10 million to repay the ailing construction company for the bond the latter placed with the Public Works Department (PWD) on Sunshine Fleet's behalf. That stalled the hospital project even longer.

Ranjit and Nik Ramlah have their work cut out for them. As the International Institute of Finance pointed out in its study, “Both the Companies and Securities Commissions are perceived as weak by many investors and other market participants.

However, recognizing the need to improve the country’s regulatory environment, the government has announced plans to create one regulator by merging the Companies and Securities Commissions. This announcement was well received by the markets. Nevertheless, the success of this plan depends largely on the approach taken in executing the merger, which has yet to be decided.

My comments :

Here are some salient points that I gathered:

i. After months of controversy, Malaysia’s Securities Commission has announced that the embattled chairwoman, Zarinah Anwar, will step down at the end of the month in the wake of a blatant conflict of interest involving her husband’s trading in shares.

ii. government has belatedly recognized the troubled condition of the Securities Commission.

(Well better late than never. I am happy that Prime Minister Najib is taking action - altho slow but this is for the better. Please also get rid of the Crook Minister who is behind all this. It is not the Minister of Finance)

iii. appointed by the International Institute of Finance said it viewed the regulatory environment “as the weakest factor in the overall corporate governance framework of Malaysia.

“iv. "is not perceived by many of those who spoke with the Task Force to be operationally independent from the Ministry of Finance,

v. was a conflict of interest on the way to happen. It was not a question if conflicts would arise, but when,

vi. it was revealed that Azizan, the chairman of the Eastern & Oriental hotel and property company, bought nearly half a million E&O shares not long before the Sime Darby Bhd. conglomerate bought 30 percent of the E&O shares, driving the price up sharply.

vii. In this regard, all SC staff and their immediate family members have the obligation to avoid putting themselves in situations of conflict where their personal interest is conflicted with the interest of the SC.

(Well this is Malaysia ok. In Malaysia such conventions are not really adhered to. Besides the big fish too often get away. No one will get prosecuted for any of this. A cleverer crook resigned from the SC much earlier and has disapeared. They all get away scot free.)

viii. Zarinah herself signed the statement.

(So what? Zarina herself signed that 'integrity' statement? So what? On a far away planet, they say "A man or woman should be only as good as their word". But that is another planet. Not so on the Republic of Euthanasia.)

viii. the commission too often goes easy on state controlled companies.

(Folks, this is the center, the ground zero, of all the financial fiascos plaguing our country lately. State controlled companies means GLCs. The Air Asia - MAS fiasco, the Khazanah fiascos, the Medini fiasco, the lembu condo fiasco and this fiasco are all because of the "GLC" link. Who are the people in charge of the GLCs? Siapa Menteri nya? Dont forget the Chinaman Director of Khazanah Nasional Bhd who had his name bandied about in some other Court case over "insider trading". They are all linked to who? I hope the Prime Minister will wake up on this one too.)

ix. “Both the Companies and Securities Commissions are perceived as weak by many investors and other market participants.

(Weak means they are manipulated at the whims and fancies of the powerful. Too often now to benefit their own pockets.)

Here is the conclusion folks. How many of you seriously think there will be any prosecution coming out of all this? This is Malaysia. If you are connected, you rub shoulders with the high and mighty, you can still eat cake. Kemaluan ada, tapi malu tak ada.

Nurul Nadirah's Remains Found

2012-03-12T21:37:00.004+08:00

Charred remains of missing Nurul Nadirah, 5, found

JOHOR BARU: Charred remains of 5-year-old Nurul Nadirah Abdullah, missing since March 1, was found at a plantation in Nusa Damai, Johor.

The remains were found on Thursday and subsequent DNA testing with a sample from her mother, Roselyn Alan, 25, confirmed her identity, said Seri Alam OCPD Superintendent Roslan Zainuddin

Roselyn reported her missing when Nurul, fondly called Dirang, failed to return after going to a grocery shop on the ground floor of the next block of flats to buy eggs and instant noddles.

Police also have called up four people including Dirang's father to assist investigations into the case.

I hope the Police wrap up this case as soon as possible. I really cannot comment on cases like this. There are really sick people who live among us. Please take care of your children. Be on constant vigilance.

Our deepest condolences and sympathies to her mum. Inna lillah.

Obama, Pope, Mandela, Castro, Dr Van Helsink, Igor Send Congrats Too

2012-03-12T09:23:00.004+08:00

I could not believe my eyes this morning. All the following headlines appeared on just one page of today's Star. Its about the Shahrizat resignation.

1. We are lucky she did not resign from Wanita chief post'

2. She quit in party's best interest, say Umno leaders

3. The right thing to do

4. Najib: Shahrizat made the right move

5. PKR welcomes Shahrizat's decision to step down

No one expresses even a little bit of remorse about the small matter of the RM250.0 million. Here are some other folks who have congratulatory messages for Shahrizat for her good deed:

Bella Lugosi : Good evening. Its time for some fresh blood.

Frankenstein : Yes Master. Yes. Yes.

George Bush : Damn. Lets have a cow !

Popa : Wer gibt einen Scheiß

Club Less One

2012-03-12T01:14:00.002+08:00

The Star : Shahrizat to quit Cabinet post

PM expresses his gratitude

Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said Sunday she will step down as Women, Family and Community Development Minister when her term as senator ends on April 8.

"..I just happened to be married to the chairman..."

.. allegations that her family had used an RM250mil federal loan meant for NFC to purchase land, property, and incurred expenses unrelated to cattle farming.

.. she was “only the wife” of Salleh.

.. including the purchase of luxury condominium units in Bangsar and Singapore, and land in Putrajaya.

.. police recommended last month that ...NFC's directors for criminal breach of trust

Dr MAZA : Can Non Muslims Go To Heaven?

2012-03-10T21:31:00.000+08:00

This is an article in Malay that was written by Dr Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin the former Mufti of Perlis (Dr MAZA). The original article that I received via e mail (I believe from Dr MAZA's people) was much longer. I have really chopped it down to only some parts relevant for discussion in my Blog.

Basically Dr Asri discuses the question : Can non Muslims also go to heaven? I have some comments (in English) after this.

Oleh Dr Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin

Soalan ini mungkin mengejutkan. Sebab, secara umumnya ramai muslim menganggap setiap yang bukan muslim pasti akan diazab dalam neraka. Tanpa mengambil kira keadaan mereka.

Apabila saya merenung sikap baik ramai individu bukan muslim di Oxford ini dan di tempat lain juga, ia mengingatkan saya kepada Prof DiRaja Engku Aziz.

Semasa saya masih Mufti Perlis, beliau pernah datang ke pejabat saya secara bersendirian. Beliau ingin berbicara dengan saya secara tertutup. Ada beberapa soalan yang beliau kemukakan, antaranya: apakah orang bukan muslim yang berakhlak baik itu tetap memasuki neraka? Saya telah jawab serba sederhana untuk beliau ketika itu.

Soalan itu kembali bermain di fikiran saya apabila melihat ramai orang bukan muslim di Barat ini yang jauh lebih berdisiplin dalam hubungan mereka sesama manusia dibandingkan sesetengah orang muslim sendiri.

Hakikatnya, dalam kehidupan peribadi, ramai mereka menepati janji, jujur dalam pekerjaan, ada nilai simpati yang tinggi terhadap manusia, haiwan dan alam. Banyak usaha menderma di sana sini untuk kefakiran dan malapetaka. Ada pula yang enggan memakan daging kerana simpati kepada binatang. Pelbagai lagi asas kemanusiaan dan nilai murni dalam hidup mereka.

...di Centre for Muslim-Christian Studies, Oxford seperti biasa ada seminar mingguan. .. tajuk minggu ini ‘Can Non-Muslims be Saved?’. Pembentangnya; Jon Hover, pensyarah Islamic Studies, University of Nottingham.

Saya fikir beliau akan menyentuh apa yang saya harapkan.

Malangnya, beliau membahaskan pemikiran Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (meninggal 751H) tentang Fana an-Nar (Penamatan Neraka).

Para sarjana bersepakat dengan prinsip yang ditegaskan oleh al-Quran bahawa Allah tidak akan mengazabkan seseorang melainkan setelah diutuskan rasul.

“Tiadalah Kami mengazabkan sesiapapun sehingga Kami mengutuskan seorang rasul” (Surah al-Israk: 15).

Inilah yang menyelamatkan bukan muslim yang tidak sampai hujah hidayah kepada mereka. Bahkan inilah juga yang menyelamatkan muslim yang jahil yang tidak disampaikan hujah dalam amalan atau kepercayaan tentang Islam mengenai sesuatu perkara.

...cara dan pendekatan penerangan tentang kebenaran Islam itu sehingga dianggap tertegak hujah adalah berbeza mengikut zaman, tempat dan individu. Mereka yang hidup dalam suasana hari ini caranya berbeza dengan zaman dahulu. Zaman kekeliruan tidak sama zaman kejelasan.

Demikian latar tempat dan negara. Seseorang yang berada di negara muslim, tidak sama yang berada di negara bukan muslim dan seterusnya. Demikian latar pendidikan dan akal, tidak sama. Maka, apabila hujah tidak memadai untuk mereka, Allah berjanji tidak akan mengazab mereka. Apakah di Barat dan Malaysia juga hujah sudah memadai?

Sumber: http://www.drmaza.com

My comments :

So can non Muslims go to heaven? I dont know if the Christians ask the same question : Can non Christians go to heaven? The Jews may ask : Can non Jews go to heaven?

Popular Islam, Christianity and Judaism believes in a heaven and hell. The aim in life is to make it to 'heaven'. Wars are fought, people are forced into submission, State power and Police power are used on people - all with the ultimate intention of making sure that people will "go to heaven". But only members of one's own club get to "go to heaven". Non club members go to hell. They cannot go to heaven.

Popular Islam says only Muslims can go to 'heaven'. Non Muslims can go to hell. Christians say only Christians go to heaven. Non Christians can go to hell. Same with the Jews. Jews go to heaven. The Gentiles (non Jews) can go to hell.

In the 90s I travelled to and climbed up Mount Sinai (aka Jebel Musa or Mount Moses) in the Sinai Desert in Egypt in my "quest for God". The Quran says that the Prophet Moses received the Scripture on Mount Sinai. However history has long debated the exact identity (location) of Mount Sinai. We stayed at the Monastery of St Catherine which is run by the Greek Orthodox Church.

While there I met an American medical doctor from Pennsylvania, Philadelphia who belonged to one of those exotic Christian churches. They believed that something like only 244,000 people will go to heaven.

And their church believed that the Resurrection would take place in the valley just below Mount Sinai. You can actually see the whole valley with Mount Sinai standing tall at one end, the Monastery below it and the plains stretching out wide and flat. It is a magnificent view.

The Monastery of St Catherine with Mount Sinai behind it

The American doctor spent his time walking around this flat plain looking for his own private spot where he would stand on the Day of Resurrection. (He told me so himself lah!!)

(I saw a better fulfilment of my quest here in Bangsar where we lived and in Kampong Baru where I spent time discusing the Quran with friends).

Heaven and hell are English words borrowed from the English Bible. Of course the Biblical heaven and hell come with their own history and tradition in sync with Biblical teaching. Whoever wants to be a Christian can follow the Biblical teachings of heaven and hell.

In the Quran the Arabic words that are used are Jannah and Naar. Jannah means garden. Naar means fire.

Whoever wants to be a Muslim should follow the Quranic explanation of Jannah and Naar. The Quran is not the same as the Bible. Dont get confused. People who follow the Bible are Christians. People who follow the Quran are Muslims.

The Malay words syurga and neraka are derived from the Tamil - Sanskrit words shurgam and naragham. And most certainly the Tamil - Sanskrit shurgham and naragham must also have their own history and understanding.

So can non Muslims go to heaven?

The Quran says a few things.

[21:47] We will establish the scales of justice on the Day of Resurrection. No one will suffer the least injustice. Even the equivalent of a mustard seed will be accounted for. We are the most efficient reckoners.

14:51 For GOD will pay each Self for whatever it earned; GOD is the most efficient reckoner.

24:39 As for those who disbelieve, their works are like a mirage in the desert. A thirsty person thinks that it is water. But when he reaches it, he finds that it is nothing, and he finds GOD there instead, to requite him fully for his works. GOD is the most efficient reckoner.

Note the word 'reckoner'. In Arabic it is 'hasib' which means 'one who keeps count'. It is rooted in 'hisab' which means to count, and from which the Malay word 'ilmu hisab' or mathematics is derived. So God takes all our deeds into account. Everyone's actions and deeds are counted.

The question is why would God insist on counting everyone's deeds, including the non Muslims. I mean if the non Muslims are certainly "going to hell", why not just throw them straight into "hell". They are already non Muslims. Why bother to count their deeds? Isnt that a waste of time?

Maybe some of you can ask your religious teachers this question the next time you see them. See what type of answer they give you. Then the Quran also says :

22:17 Those who believe, the Jews (hadoo) and the Sabians, the Nasara (Christians), the Magians (al majoosa), and those who associate partners (ashrakoo) - God will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection, for God is witness of all things

So along with the believers, the Jews, the Sabians, the Nasara, the Magians and those who associate partners will still go through the process of being judged. So there is no automatic "go to hell". The Quran also says :

2:62 Those who believe, and those who are Jewish (hadoo), and the Nasara (Christians) and the Sabians (sabi'eena) - any who believe in God and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

So the Jews, the Christians (Nasara), the Sabi'een and any who believe in God and the Last Day and work righteousness shall have nothing to fear. If they have nothing to fear, it must also mean they dont have to fear 'going to hell', as long as they believe in God, the Last Day and work righteousness.

Finally here is a story direct from the Jannah or Garden. I read this recently in a discussion among some friends on Facebook (which is why the Muslims have to constantly keep reading, researching and discussing the Quran - there is so much to learn and unlearn. And we have so little time. Jangan buang masa membaca buku karut marut.)

This is from the translation of the Quran by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. This is the story of Adam and his wife in the Garden (Jannah) who were fooled by the devil into disobeying God.

7:19 "O Adam! dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden, and enjoy (its good things) as ye wish: but approach not this tree, or ye run into harm and transgression."

7:20 Then began Satan to whisper suggestions to them, bringing openly before their minds all their shame that was hidden from them : he said: "Your Lord only forbade you this tree, unless you should become angels or such beings as live for ever."

Satan fooled Adam into eating from a certain forbidden tree by promising Adam that if he ate from the tree then Adam would become an immortal ie "such beings as live for ever" (min-al khalideen).

The question is why would Adam still want to become immortal and live forever if he was already in "heaven"? Isnt "heaven" a place where you are already immortal?

And if Adam already had 'eternal life' or immortality why would satan (in all his cleverness in duping people) promise Adam something which he already had?

Inquiring minds want to know. From a Quranic point of view, there is an answer to this question. There has to be. We cant have unanswered questions.

Qantas To MAS : Use Your Money First Aaaah!

2012-03-10T11:52:00.003+08:00

Stick em up! Gimme all your taxpayers money!

Folks I was not surprised at all to read this. Kalau kita kurang peka, of course even the Mat Salleh will stand on your shoulders and piss on your head.

The supposed Qantas - MAS joint venture, collaboration, partnership or whatever that has been talked about has been shelved. Let us thank Allah. Syukur Alhamdulillah. Good riddance of bad rubbish. First here is the news :

PETALING JAYA: Talks between Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and Australian carrier Qantas to set up a new premium airline has been terminated. Both airlines were unable to come to an agreement on the deal.

“However, mindful of the global economic uncertainty and consistent with Qantas' focus on disciplined financial management, the group will allocate minimal capital on such ventures,” he added..

Qantas is a loss making airline. Maybe they are not too far from going bankrap. I have asked before why in the world would MAS want to JV with an airline that is almost bankrap?

And the only reason Mat Salleh airlines would want to JV with MAS is if they see money inside MAS's bank accounts (err...Malaysian taxpayers money lah).

Stick em up! Gimme all your taxpayers money!

Of course this only works if MAS is asleep despite their eyes being open. Why do I say this? Read carefully what Qantas says now (since the JV between them and MAS has been cancelled).

"consistent with Qantas' focus on disciplined financial management, the group will allocate minimal capital on such ventures,”

Banyak cantik. Folks, Qantas NEVER intended to invest any money in the planned JV with MAS. They only wanted to "allocate minimal capital on such ventures".

Meaning they would have told MAS, 'Our name Qantas alone is worth 100 million rabbits, our ticketing tie ups are worth 200 million kangaroos, our route network is worth 200 million koalas. So to be fair, in exchange for all this real value, we want to see MAS put in three Airbus A380s, 50 Airbus A320 Neos, 5 Boeing 747s bla bla."

Rememebr the P Ramlee movie? "'Satu untuk kau, dua untuk aku, dua untuk aku, satu untuk kau.'

In the mid 90s, there was an Australian company that set up a factory here. They said they had invested a certain amount of capital already and they wanted a loan from our bank. So I went to the factory for a visit. Among their "capital" investments they had a mechanical press (used to stamp metal parts from sheet metal) that was manufactured during the Second World War. It worked but it was really antique. They counted it as part of their 'Foreign Investment'. Lepas tu dia minta duit kat kita. Depa ingat kita bodoh.

So I am glad this Qantas - MAS JV has been cancelled. I think MAS has just been saved from being ripped off again. By the way who is the con-sultan who thought up this idea of the JV with Qantas? Komisyen sudah telan ke?

This is the same reason Air Asia wants to JV, partner, share swap or whatever with MAS. Air Asia sees money inside MAS' (our taxpayers money). Gimme all your money !

Here is something from Malaysian Insider. If this is true, then a lot of people will be happy as well, including the UMNO and Perkasa boys.

Putrajaya mulls MAS-AirAsia break-up, unhappy with results

Editor March 09, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 — Putrajaya is reviewing the eight-month-old Malaysia Airlines-AirAsia alliance as it has failed to show any promised improvement or lift the morale of the 20,000-strong staff in the flag carrier that lost RM2.52 billion in 2011.

“Datuk Seri Najib Razak is not happy with MAS’s performance which he was told would improve after the share swap,” a government source told The Malaysian Insider.

The Malaysian Insider understands that the Najib administration is also considering taking MAS private by directing state asset manager Khazanah Nasional Berhad buy back a 20.5 per cent stake exchanged with Tune Air Sdn Bhd, the majority owner of AirAsia, for 10 per cent stake in Southeast Asia’s largest budget carrier

Dato Sri Najib, talk is Air Asia is in trouble. Just like Qantas. They are all looking for sweetheart deals with taxpayer funded airlines like MAS that have deep pockets and huge resources.

Consider this, why would a hot shot airline like Air Asia want to JV or share swap with a sickly airline like MAS? What sort of win-win situation are they contemplating for MAS? 'Satu untuk kau, dua untuk aku, dua untuk aku, satu untuk kau.'

That is why no benefit is accruing to MAS from this Air Asia share swap. Someone says MAS' head of Engineering is now from Air Asia's side. What does that mean? MAS will service Air Asia's planes on a priority basis. Thats what it means. But will Air Asia pay MAS on a priority basis as well?

Err...what about helping to increase the number of passengers for MAS? Are you mad? Air Asia and MAS are competing for the same passengers. Why should Air Asia want to help MAS increase their passenger load? What type of business school did you go to? (MBA in "How to improve your competitor's business").

First Air Asia takes away 10 million passengers from MAS. That is not creating new passenger traffic. It is just hijacking passengers from MAS. Then they claim these are all new passengers they are flying into Malaysia. After that they ask for a dedicated LCCT terminal to be built to handle these 10 million passengers.

So we spend half a billion Ringgit on a galvanized iron shed called the LCCT to handle passengers who were previously flying through the other end of the same runway at the KLIA. Now the same passengers are shunted through a new building at the opposite end of the runway and we say this is creating new business? It looks like kerja dua kali lima to me.

Anyway as a first step, I think many people will breathe easier if the MAS - Air Asia share swap is unwound.

But here is a last warning. Pay back Tony exactly what he paid for the share swap ok. Jangan pula bayar dia duit lebih, dua atau tiga kali ganda, doh. Dont be like the Khazanah dunggus. The Khazanah dunggus are good at buying high and selling low. They got liwatted by the Arabs at Medini. Jangan kena liwatted by Tony Fernandez pula.

Moving Ahead

2012-03-10T10:56:00.000+08:00

Kiamat Makin Dekat

2012-03-09T08:37:00.009+08:00

This is technology news. See the two pictures below. There is a Mercedes Benz B Class in both the pictures. Using LED technology (see the short video) and a video camera they have made the car invisible. See the short video how they do it. This is just integration of technology, the technology itself is now old.

Mercedes is not selling the "invisible car" technology. Instead this is an advertising and promotion campaign for the new B Class Mercedes that uses WATER as fuel.

This is the world's first "production" hydrogen fuel cell fired automobile. Production means it is being manufactured and sold to buyers. They have moved beyond experimental and prototype stage. The hydrogen fuel cell technology has been developed - sufficient to launch a production model car. Here is the short news:

Invisible Mercedes brings James Bond technology to life

In a promotion for its first production fuel-cell vehicle in Germany, Mercedes-Benz turned a B-Class hatchback invisible -- at least, from a distance, using the same idea behind the invisible car in the James Bond film "Die Another Day." See if you can see it before it sees you.

The invisibility cloak had its tryout this week on the streets of Stuttgart, Germany. To make Q's idea of an invisible car real, Mercedes employed dozens of technicians and some $263,000 worth of flexible LED mats covering one side of the car. Using a camera mounted on the opposite side of the vehicle, the LEDs were programmed to reproduce the image from the camera at the right side, blending the vehicle into the background from a few feet away. Doing so required power sources, computers and other gear totaling 1,100 lbs. of equipment inside the B-Class.

Mercedes' point was to show how the F-Cell hydrogen fuel cell powered car would be invisible to the environment, producing only water vapor and heat for emissions. For an invisible car, it's getting a lot of stares.

Here is that short video:

Well the Germans have quietly gone ahead and just started manufacturing and selling this hydrogen fuel cell powered Mercedes. If it catches on, I think it is just a matter of time before other German car manufacturers do the same. Then the whole world will follow suit.

Mercedes has always been a technology innovator and technology leader. They have so many firsts to their name. They built the first four door coupe the Mercedes Benz CLS 350. After that Porsche (and Ferrari?) have followed suit with their own four door coupes.

What does this hydrogen fuel cell really mean? Folks the hydrogen fuel cell uses water as fuel.

Water is split, producing hydrogen and oxygen. Then the hydrogen and oxygen are burnt again to produce power. The "exhaust gas" is water. So this car has ZERO carbon emission. That is the logic behind the "invisible car" campaign - to show that the new Mercedes does not leave a mark on the environment.

The Americans are thinking in the same direction as the Germans. Here is some quick news:

President Barack Obama on Wednesday dismissed oil as "the fuel of the past" as he made an unapologetic election-year pitch for his alternative energy industry policies

"We've got to develop every source of American energy—not just oil and gas, but wind power and solar power, nuclear power, biofuels."

Obama also used the speech to roll out some new initiatives to promote the use of alternative fuels and electric-powered and other "advanced vehicles."

It was Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Sheikh Zaki Yamani who said quite wisely, 'the stone age did not come to an end because there was a shortage of stones'. Human beings discovered new technology and moved away from the stone age.

Similarly, the oil age will not come to an end because of a shortage of oil. Human beings will develop new technologies and move away from oil. And they have done so. This new hydrogen fuel cell automobile by Mercedes proves this point.

If this technology is succesful (meaning it becomes proven and eventually much cheaper), hydrogen fuel cell cars will replace petrol and diesel burning automobiles. The need for petrol and diesel will reduce tremendously.

If hydrogen fuel cells replace fossil fuels, what will become of the oil producing countries? Oil prices will drop. Their oil revenues will drop. Kalau silap kira, the Arab countries will have to go back to camel herding. Dunia mereka akan kiamat.

Malaysia too is overdependent on our oil revenues. And I just heard that this year Petronas is contributing only RM30.0 billion (??) to the Government's coffers, down from a high of RM48.0 billion a few years ago. But we waste a lot of our oil wealth and our time as well. Arguing about really stupid subjects like Eryka Badu'a tattoo, listening to the Bani Bahalol's "memikir sambil korek hidung" arguments about Valentine's Day and other stupidities. Esok kalau duit Petronas habis, kita pun akan kiamat.

As you are reading this, the price per square foot of the cheapest land anywhere inside the Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur is in the three figures. A double storey link house in Sungei Buloh is now around RM400,000. In Bangsar an intermediate double storey link is now worth RM1.6 million. In Taman Desa a double storey link is worth RM1.3 million. How many of us can afford to buy these houses?

So please wake up. Kiamat sudah dekat.

Erykah Badu : Ministry Of Home Affairs Has To Grow Up

2012-03-08T13:32:00.004+08:00

First here is the news :

Ministry not satisfied with The Star’s explanation

Home Ministry not satisfied with the explanation from The Star over the picture of Erykah Badu.
the newspaper was directed to submit to the ministry its recommendations for sterner action
“The ministry wishes to advise The Star and all media organisations to take preventive', corrective' and informative' form of action to prevent the publication of content that may touch on the country's multi-racial and multi-religious sensitivities of the communities,” it said.
The Star suspended two editors ..issued an apology
..managing editor, chief news editor and senior editor were called up by the ministry
The Star ... said it deeply regretted any offence it caused to Muslims.

To all you Muslims out there, I think we really have to grow up. We simply have to stop behaving like children. If you go into the Internet, you can find people wearing all sorts of tattoos. You can see all sorts of graffiti, slogans, caricatures and lampooning about Islam, Christianity, the Pope, HIndus, Buddhists etc. Here is just one example of a funny picture of the Catholic Pope on the Internet.

Do the Catholics freak out and burn their buses when people make fun of the Pope? Do the Catholics run around burning their own buses and getting shot and killed by their own Policemen just because someone made a caricature of the Pope?

This is what happened in Afghanistan recently. More than 28 Afghans were killed in riots and shooting arising from the burning of a Quran in the burner by some Americans.

Let me ask a question. Can some Muslim please answer honestly. What do you do with your old Qurans in your house? You know the old, worn out and tattered Qurans that you read since you were a child. Do you keep them safely somewhere and pass them down from generation to generation? Or do you throw them away - discreetly or otherwise - with your other trash? Be honest ok. And didnt any of you, by chance or not, throw away your old Qurans into the fire at the back of your house in the kampong?

I dont know what has happened to the old Qurans and the 'buku jama' that I read when we were kids more than 40 years ago. I know for a fact that they are no more around. So what happened to them?

There is no law on how to dispose of old Qurans. If there is no Law, then how can there be any punishment? You still have to answer the question : what do you do if your old Quran is torn and tattered and worn out and falling apart? Do you bury it in the ground? Do you bury it at sea? Do you store it on a sacred mountain top? What do you do with it?

Can you recycle it? Will the Afghan people declare war on Malaysia if they found out that in Malaysia people recycle their Qurans? Can we have some common sense here?

As for the name "Allah" why doesn't anyone complain about the Saudi Arabian flag. They have written the word "Allah" on their flag. Here it is :

The flag with the word Allah flies in the rain, sun, wind and snow. Isnt that showing disrespect to the name Allah? Should our Wisma Putra telephone the Saudi Arabian Embassy and tell them to take down their flag flying at their embassy? You know out of respect for the word 'Allah'. Same logic lah, lebih kurang.

When their football team scores goals at football games, Saudis run around the stadium with the Saudi Arabian flag wrapped around their bare bodies, including their buntot of course. How do we deal with that? Dont believe me? Here are some pictures of Saudi football fans.

So is this an ok thing to do? How come? Because they are Saudi Arabians? And here is the Saudi Arabian flag (with the word "Allah") imprinted on a sexy woman's T shirt. I suppose this T shirt is available in Saudi Arabia. So apa macam? Letak kalimah 'Allah' pada T shirt yang 'poke your eye' perbuatan ok ke? Ya ayyuhal al-hypocrite?

And where do the Saudis store their flags with 'Allah' written on it? On another sacred mountain top? Or do they chuck it into their storage bins and storage compartments in their houses along with their boots, spare tyres, vacuum cleaners and other household things? Who is going to check? That is not insulting the name 'Allah'? Why not? Can someone explain?

Folks all these pictures and worse are found on the Internet. Just search Google Images. So should the Ministry of Home Affairs issue a show cause letter to Jaring? Jaring is the service provider that brings the Internet into Malaysia. Or shall the Ministry of Home Affairs take action against the MCMC (the Malaysian Multimedia Commission) for not blacking out all these pictures on the Internet. Someone inside Malaysia has to be held responsible for all these nasty insulting pictures on the Internet.

And when the Saudi Arabian flag becomes old, worn and tattered what do they do with it? Do they preserve all their flags in the museum? Or do they throw it out with the trash? Remember the word 'Allah' is written on their flag.

In the very old days, in the kampongs, kids would draw a circle on the ground and say 'ini kepala bapak awak'. That is how kampong kids would start fights. It was a childish insult (children means childish ok) to draw a circle in the sand and say 'ini kepala bapak awak'. So they engaged in childish fights. That is why they are called children.

However when kampong kids grow up, you cannot taunt them or start a fight by drawing a circle in the sand and saying 'ini kepala bapak awak' anymore. Even kampong people will laugh at you. Those were childish games that were played by children. When you grow up, such things appear silly and they will not (or should not) bother you anymore.

Unfortunately however when it comes to tattoos, the word Allah, the Quran text and such the Muslims seem to be caught in this childish "drawing in the sand" trap forever.

Someone burns a Quran and 28 Afghans get killed. Some girl wears a tattoo and a music concert gets cancelled, editors get suspended and God knows what else. Someone draws a cartoon (a cartoon is nothing but a set of straight and circular lines) and the whole Muslim world gets into a frenzy. They start getting killed in their own countries and burn their own buses.

When the Muslims are so childish, it is easy to manipulate them. Just draw a cartoon, wear a tattoo, burn a Quran and the Muslims are ready to run amok. They are ready to go crazy.

What about the Quran (in multi colour Arabic script) in your I Pad, I phone, I pod, laptop, handheld etc? People carry their I Pads into the toilet. Certainly people carry I Phones into the toilets. How do we deal with them? Are they also not insulting Islam or insulting the Quran or the word Allah when they carry their I Pads and I phones into the toilet?

That is a very, very, very bad thing to do you know. So shouldnt the Ministry of Home Affairs set up a special task force to track down Muslims (or non Muslims) who do such things? Shall we arrest them?

I think it is an insult to the entire human race that the Muslims are so childish and get insulted so easily.

It is not Islam or Allah that can be insulted. Nothing can insult Islam or Allah. Both Allah and Islam are beyond insult. Do you seriously think that Allah is going to feel insulted just because the Saudis run around the football field with a piece of cloth wrapped around themselves with Arabic writing on it? Or wear sexy football T shirts with the word Allah on it? Or when a girl tattoos the word Allah on her shoulders? I dont think so.

It is only the childish folks who imagine all kinds of insults.

The Quran has some advice about how to deal with insults and annoying talk. Here it is :

[33:48] Do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites, disregard their insults, and put your trust in GOD; GOD suffices as an advocate.

33:48 Dan janganlah engkau menurut kehendak orang-orang kafir dan orang-orang munafik dan janganlah engkau hiraukan usikan dan celaan mereka, serta berserahlah kepada Allah; dan cukuplah Allah menjadi Pelindung

So just ignore their annoying talk and their insults. This is what good Muslims must do. So are you a good Muslim? Do you believe in the Quran? Then why dont you just ignore their insults - instead of running amok and making a fool of yourselves?

[3:111] They can never harm you, beyond insulting you. If they fight you, they will turn around and flee. They can never win.

3:111 Mereka tidak sekali-kali akan membahayakan kamu, kecuali menyakiti (perasaan kamu dengan ejekan). Dan jika mereka memerangi kamu, mereka akan berpaling lari membelakangkan kamu; sesudah itu mereka tidak akan mencapai kemenangan.

In brief - insults cannot harm anyone, doh!

[3:186] You will certainly be tested, through your money and your lives, and you will hear from those who received the scripture, and from the idol worshipers, a lot of insult. If you steadfastly persevere and lead a righteous life, this will prove the strength of your faith.

3:186 Demi sesungguhnya, kamu akan diuji pada harta benda dan diri kamu. Dan demi sesungguhnya, kamu akan mendengar dari orang-orang yang telah diberikan Kitab dahulu daripada kamu dan orang-orang yang musyrik: banyak (tuduhan-tuduhan dan cacian) yang menyakitkan hati. Dalam pada itu, jika kamu bersabar dan bertaqwa maka sesungguhnya yang demikian itu adalah dari perkara-perkara yang dikehendaki diambil berat.

Hearing insults and annoying talk is also a test. We must learn to rise above these insults. The Muslims should just lead their own righteous lives. Dont go around fighting with people for every little thing.

Sadly the Muslims do not know much about the Quran. For example the Taliban dunggus will run wild in the streets, and kill 28 of their own people in the process, to protest "insults" against the Quran. But they never open the Quran to read it and understand that the Quran is telling them to just ignore any insults. How stupid can they get? Do we want to be as stupid as them ?

I hope the Ministry of Home Affairs will set a better example by telling people to be more mature. The Ministry of Home Affairs should not be making the situation worse by continuing to harp on this issue. Enough is enough lah.

Whether you like it or not, whether you agree or not, we cannot tell the Saudis to lower their flag. Or let it rot in the sun and rain. It is up to them. One man's flag is another man's insult or it may not be so. The insult is in your imagination.

Please grow up.

Dr Mahathir : "Hukum Hudud ini dibentuk oleh ahli-ahli feqah.."

2012-03-07T19:59:00.000+08:00

Mula sekali sila dengar You Tube ini.

Yang berikut pula reaksi ahli PAS yang tidak tahu menahu apa pun pasal ajaran Allah dan RasulNya dalam Al Quran. Sila baca komentar PAS ini. Selepas ini saya memberi sedikit pandangan merujuk kepada Al Quran berkenaan hudud, keperluan empat saksi, hukum potong tangan, aqidah, murtad, qazaf dan sebagainya.

Di sini bukan tujuan saya untuk menjadi tukang jual agama. Ini pendapat saya. Siapa yang nak setuju, setujulah. Siapa yang tak mahu setuju, saya tak boleh buat apa pun.

‘Hukum hudud tidak ada dalam al-Quran’; Siasat Tun Dr Mahathir!

BERITA/KOMENTAR

Friday, 02 March 2012 administrator

(Buletin Online) - PAS mendesak para alim ulama’, para mufti hingga ke Majlis Raja-raja Melayu menegur Mantan Presiden Umno, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad yang mengeluarkan kenyataan sensitif yang boleh disifatkan sebagai terpesong dari ajaran Islam.

Tun Dr Mahathir membuat kenyataan terbuka menyifatkan golongan yang memperjuangkan hukum hudud bukan dari hukum Islam sebenar tetapi hukum ciptaan manusia.

Beliau yang juga bekas Presiden Umno pada satu majlis dialog berkata demikian dan rakamannya kini tersebar luas melalui laman ‘you tube’.

Sehubungan itu, Ahli Jawatankuasa Kerja PAS Pusat, Dato’ Abu Bakar Chik berkata ucapan dan kenyataan Tun Dr Mahathir turut mendakwa hudud dan qazaf tidak ada dalam al-Quran.

“Kenyataan Tun Dr Mahathir ini ‘besar’ (salah) apabila menafikan hudud atau mengatakan hudud tidak ada dalam al-Quran. Sedangkan perkataan hudud itu sendiri jelas disebut dalam al-Quran.

“Hukum hudud bermakna hukum-hukum yang telah ditetapkan oleh al-Quran secara nas qat’ie iaitu nas yang putus seperti hukum mencuri, hukum berzina ada dalam al-Quran.

“Begitu juga dengan nas yang berhubung dengan murtad, nas berhubung dengan arak, qazaf dan semuanya ada jelas dalam al-Quran,” jelasnya

Ustaz Abu Bakar juga menyifatkan kenyataan bekas PM itu sangat merbahaya serta boleh merosakkan aqidah umat Islam.

Malah, beliau menggesa agar Tun Dr Mahathir itu disiasat bukan sahaja kerana terpesong juga kenapa kenyataan tersebut dikeluarkan." - End quote.

Komen saya seperti berikut :

OK baiklah. Setakat itu saja fahaman ostat PAS ini. Sekarang sila kita lihat ayat-ayat Quran berkenaan beberapa perkara yang dibangkitkan oleh ostat PAS itu.

Komentar pihak PAS itu bertajuk ‘Hukum hudud tidak ada dalam al-Quran’; Siasat Tun Dr Mahathir!". Mereka menuduh Dr Mahathir sebagai mengatakan bahawa hukum hudud PAS tidak ada dalam Al Quran.

Kalau begitu elok kita lihat sendiri semua ayat-ayat Al Quran yang menyebutkan mengenai HUDUDULLAAH atau HUDUD ALLAH.

Mungkin orang PAS tidak tahu bahawa kalimah hudud tersebut beberapa kali dalam Al Quran.

Tetapi sebelum kita bincang hudud dalam Al Quran perlu kita faham bahawa Al Quran adalah sebuah kitab yang diutuskan kepada kita melalui seorang Rasul, yang kita juga kenali sebagai Nabi kita. Maka Al Quran itu adalah ajaran Rasul dan Nabi kita.

Al Quran juga mengelar dirinya sebagai "ahsana al HADEETH" ataupun "perkataan yang paling baik". Sila lihat ayat berikut :

Surah 39:23 Allah telah menurunkan sebaik-baik perkataan (Allahu nazzala ahsana al HADEETH) iaitu Kitab Suci Al-Quran yang bersamaan isi kandungannya antara satu dengan yang lain, yang berulang-ulang; yang kulit badan orang-orang yang takut kepada Tuhan mereka menjadi seram; kemudian kulit badan mereka menjadi lembut serta tenang tenteram hati mereka menerima ajaran dan rahmat Allah. Kitab Suci itulah hidayah petunjuk Allah; Allah memberi hidayah petunjuk dengan Al-Quran itu kepada sesiapa yang dikehendakiNya dan sesiapa yang disesatkan Allah maka tidak ada sesiapa pun yang dapat memberi hidayah petunjuk kepadanya.

Jadi Al Quran adalah "ahsana al HADEETH" atau perkataan yang paling baik yang diturunkan kepada manusia. Hadeeth di sini membawa makna berita, khabar, perkataan dsbnya.

Dengan menggunakan istilah "HADEETH", Al Quran juga mengingati kita supaya jangan terikut-ikut dengan ajaran atau fahaman yang selain daripada ayat-ayat Allah. Sila lihat ayat berikut:

Surah 45:6 Itulah ayat-ayat penerangan Allah yang kami bacakan kepadamu dengan kebenaran; maka dengan perkataan (HADEETH) yang manakah lagi mereka hendak beriman, selain Allah dan ayat-ayatNya?

"Tilka ayaatulaahi natluhaa alaika bil haq. Fabi-aiyyi HADEETHI ba'dallaahi wa ayaatihi yu'minoon."

Jadi Al Quran adalah ahsana HADEETH atau perkataan yang paling baik. Maka dengan perkataan yang mana lagi (fabi-aiyyi HADEETHIN) patut kita beriman selain dari Allah dan ayat-ayatNya?

Kalau kita boleh menerima ayat-ayat Quran ini maka bolehlah kita terkira sebagai orang Muslim. Sesiapa yang tidak mahu menerima hakikat ayat-ayat Quran ini maka muhasabahlah diri masing-masing.

Begitu juga ajaran Rasul berkenaan hudud dalam Al Quran. Hudud adalah jamak kepada perkataan hadd yang maksudnya had atau sempadan. Perkataan yang asaskan (root word) hudud disebut 14 kali pada sembilan ayat. Ayat-ayat itu adalah 2:187, 2:229 (empat kali), 2:230 (dua kali), 4:13-14, 9:97, 9:112 , 58:4, 65:1 (dua kali).

2:187 Dihalalkan bagi kamu, pada malam siyam, bercampur dengan isteri-isteri kamu. Isteri-isteri kamu itu adalah sebagai pakaian bagi kamu dan kamu pula sebagai pakaian bagi mereka. Allah mengetahui bahawasanya kamu mengkhianati diri sendiri, lalu Ia menerima taubat kamu dan memaafkan kamu. Maka sekarang setubuhilah isteri-isteri kamu dan carilah apa-apa yang telah ditetapkan oleh Allah bagi kamu; dan makanlah serta minumlah sehingga nyata kepada kamu benang putih dari benang hitam, iaitu waktu fajar. Kemudian sempurnakanlah siyam sehingga waktu malam; dan janganlah kamu setubuhi isteri-isteri kamu ketika kamu sedang beriktikaf di masjid. Itulah batas-batas larangan Allah (TILKA HUDUDULLAAH), maka janganlah kamu menghampirinya. Demikian Allah menerangkan ayat-ayat hukumNya kepada sekalian manusia supaya mereka bertaqwa.

"TILKA HUDUDULLAAH" itulah batas-batas larangan Allah berkenaan bercampur dengan isteri pada malam siyam. Hukum hudud PAS tidak ada dalam ayat ini.

2:229 Talak itu dua kali. Sesudah itu bolehlah ia memegang terus dengan cara yang sepatutnya atau melepaskan dengan cara yang baik dan tidaklah halal bagi kamu mengambil balik sesuatu dari apa yang telah kamu berikan kepada mereka kecuali jika keduanya takut tidak dapat menegakkan batasan Allah (HUDUDULLAAH). Oleh itu kalau kamu khuatir bahawa kedua-duanya tidak dapat menegakkan batasan Allah (HUDUDULLAH), maka tidaklah mereka berdosa – mengenai bayaran yang diberikan oleh isteri untuk menebus dirinya. Itulah batasan Allah (HUDUDULLAAH) maka janganlah kamu melanggarnya; dan sesiapa yang melanggar batasan Allah (HUDUDULLAH), maka mereka itulah orang-orang yang zalim.

Sekali lagi kalimah HUDUDULLAAH disebut dengan begitu kuat dan jelas sebanyak EMPAT KALI dalam ayat ini. Kesemua rujukan HUDUDULLAAH di sini berkaitan dengan hukum-hukum talak. Masih tidak terjumpa hukum hudud PAS pada ayat ini. Hukum hudud PAS tidak ada dalam ayat ini

2:230 Sesudah, itu jika diceraikan pula maka perempuan itu tidak halal lagi baginya sesudah itu, sehingga ia berkahwin dengan suami yang lain. Setelah itu kalau ia diceraikan, maka mereka berdua tidaklah berdosa untuk kembali, jika mereka kuat menyangka akan dapat menegakkan batasan Allah (HUDUDULLAAH) dan itulah batasan Allah (HUDUDULLAAH), diterangkannya kepada kaum yang mengetahui dan memahaminya.

HUDUDULLAAH disebut sebanyak dua kali pada ayat ini, yang keduanya merujuk maslahah perkahwinan dan hal rumah tangga. Hukum hudud PAS tidak ada dalam ayat ini.

4:12-14

[12] Dan bagi kamu satu perdua dari harta yang ditinggalkan oleh isteri-isteri kamu jika mereka tidak mempunyai anak. Tetapi jika mereka mempunyai anak maka kamu beroleh satu perempat dari harta yang mereka tinggalkan, sesudah ditunaikan wasiat yang mereka wasiatkan dan sesudah dibayarkan hutangnya. Dan bagi mereka pula satu perempat dari harta yang kamu tinggalkan, jika kamu tidak mempunyai anak. Tetapi kalau kamu mempunyai anak maka bahagian mereka ialah satu perlapan dari harta yang kamu tinggalkan, sesudah ditunaikan wasiat yang kamu wasiatkan, dan sesudah dibayarkan hutang kamu. Dan jika si mati yang diwarisi itu, lelaki atau perempuan, yang tidak meninggalkan anak atau bapa, dan ada meninggalkan seorang saudara lelaki atau saudara perempuan maka bagi tiap-tiap seorang dari keduanya ialah satu perenam. Kalau pula mereka lebih dari seorang, maka mereka bersekutu pada satu pertiga, sesudah ditunaikan wasiat yang diwasiatkan oleh si mati, dan sesudah dibayarkan hutangnya; wasiat-wasiat yang tersebut hendaknya tidak mendatangkan mudarat ialah ketetapan dari Allah. Dan Allah Maha Mengetahui, lagi Maha Penyabar.

[13] Itulah batas-batas Allah (HUDUDULLAAH). Dan sesiapa yang taat kepada Allah dan RasulNya, akan dimasukkan oleh Allah ke dalam Jannah yang mengalir dari bawahnya beberapa sungai, mereka kekal di dalamnya; dan itulah kejayaan yang amat besar.

[14] Dan sesiapa yang derhaka kepada Allah dan RasulNya, dan melampaui batas-batas Nya (HUDUDAHU), akan dimasukkan oleh Allah ke dalam api, kekalah dia di dalamnya, dan baginya azab seksa yang amat menghina.

Sekali lagi HUDUDULAAH pada dua ayat di atas merujuk pembahagian harta waris. Tidak ada kena mengena dengan hukum hudud PAS. Hukum hudud PAS tidak ada dalam ayat-ayat ini.

9:97 Orang-orang A’raab lebih keras kufurnya dan sikap munafiknya, dan sangatlah patut mereka tidak mengetahui batas-batas (HUDUD) yang diturunkan oleh Allah kepada RasulNya. Dan Allah Maha Mengetahui, lagi Maha Bijaksana.

Ayat ini menceritakan Arab padang pasir yang sangat keras dalam kemunafikan dan kekufurannya dan tidak mengenali HUDUD atau batas yang diturunkan Allah kepada RasulNya.

Sekali lagi tidak terjumpa pun hukum hudud PAS dalam semua ayat-ayat Al Quran setakat ini.

9:112 Orang-orang yang bertaubat, yang beribadat, yang memuji Allah, yang mengembara, yang rukuk, yang sujud, yang menyuruh berbuat kebaikan dan yang melarang daripada kejahatan serta yang menjaga batas-batas Allah (HUDUDILLAAH). Dan gembirakanlah orang-orang yang beriman.

Hukum hudud PAS tidak ada dalam ayat ini

58:4 Kemudian, sesiapa yang tidak dapat, maka hendaklah ia siyam dua bulan berturut-turut sebelum mereka itu bercampur. Akhirnya sesiapa yang tidak sanggup siyam, maka hendaklah ia memberi makan enam puluh orang miskin. Ditetapkan hukum itu untuk membuktikan iman kamu kepada Allah dan RasulNya. Dan itulah batas-batas Allah (HUDUDULLAAH) dan bagi orang-orang yang kafir disediakan azab seksa yang tidak terperi sakitnya.

Ayat ini menceritakan kisah lelaki yang menziharkan isteri tanpa sebab. Lelaki itu perlu siyam dua bulan berturut-turut atau memberi makan enam puluh orang miskin. Itulah HUDUDULLAAH dalam Quran. Masih tidak terjumpa pun hukum hudud PAS dalam ayat ini.

Soalannya yang timbul ialah kenapa hukum untuk "menziharkan isteri" walaupun digulungkan sebagai HUDUDULLAAH dalam ayat Quran ini, tidak terjumpa dalam hukum hudud PAS? Akhir sekali ayat berikut :

65:1 Wahai Nabi! Apabila kamu hendak menceraikan isteri-isteri, maka ceraikanlah mereka pada masa mereka dapat memulakan idahnya, dan hitunglah masa idah itu, serta bertaqwalah kepada Allah, Tuhan kamu. Janganlah kamu mengeluarkan mereka dari rumah-rumah kediamannya, dan janganlah pula mereka keluar, kecuali mereka melakukan perbuatan keji yang nyata. Dan itulah batasan Allah (HUDUDULLAAH) dan sesiapa yang melanggar batasan Allah (HUDUDULLAAH) maka sesungguhnya ia telah berlaku zalim kepada dirinya. Engkau tidak mengetahui boleh jadi Allah akan mengadakan sesuatu sesudah itu.

Pada ayat ini pula syarat-syarat menceraikan isteri digulung sebagai HUDUDULLAAH juga (diulang dua kali). Soalan yang timbul sekali lagi ialah kenapa HUDUDULLAAH berkenaan mencerai isteri tidak termasuk dalam hukum hudud PAS? PAS perlu mencerahkan soalan ini dengan baik.

Maka kita sudah pun kehabisan ayat Quran yang menyebut HUDUDULAAH. Tetapi kita masih belum jumpa hukum hudud PAS dalam kesemua ayat Quran yang menyebutkan HUDUDULAAH ini. Hukum hudud PAS tidak ada dalam ayat-ayat ini.

Kita juga perlu bincang keperluan 'empat saksi untuk tuduhan zina' yang sebenarnya tidak tersebut dalam Quran (Perhatikan saya merujuk khusus kepada zina).

Kita juga boleh bincang hukum "potong" tangan dalam Quran, konsep 'aqidah' yang tiada dalam Quran dan 'hukum untuk murtad' yang juga tiada dalam Quran.

Sepertimana disebut oleh Dr Mahathir "hukum hudud ini dibentuk oleh ahli-ahli feqah". Itu memang yang sah. Dan ahli feqah adalah manusia belaka. Itu pun adalah fakta sah.

Sebagai orang Islam, ketaatan kita hanya kepada Allah dan RasulNya. Attiulaaha wa attiur-Rasul yang maksudnya 'taatlah kepada Allah dan taatlah kepada Rasul'.

Kekadang manusia keliru siapa Allah dan siapa itu Rasul. Sehingga manusia boleh mengangkat sami-sami agama dan paderi pendita sebagai tuhan dan dewa suci.

Surah At Taubah : 31 "Mereka menjadikan pendita-pendita dan ahli-ahli ugama sebagai pelindung selain dari Allah, dan juga Al-Masih ibni Maryam, padahal mereka tidak diperintahkan melainkan untuk menyembah Tuhan Yang Maha Esa; tiada Tuhan melainkan Dia. Maha Suci Allah dari apa yang mereka sekutukan."

Itulah kesilapan besar suatu kaum yang lain. Jangan pula kita mengulangi kesilapan mereka dengan menjunjung ahli agama sebagai dewa suci.

Akhir kalam, kalau kita boleh menerima ayat-ayat Quran ini maka bolehlah kita terkira sebagai orang Muslim. Sesiapa yang tidak mahu menerima hakikat ayat-ayat Quran ini maka muhasabahlah diri masing-masing.

Clown

2012-03-07T18:12:00.000+08:00

Gaji Minima Perangkap Untuk Jatuhkan BN

2012-03-07T10:07:00.005+08:00

Here is more about the minimum wages thing. Folks dont say I did not warn you. Here is The Star :

Minimum Wage Could ‘Kill SMEs’
a joint (Press) conference by 16 manufacturing, retail and service sector associations yesterday.
Eighty per cent of SMEs could be forced to shut down if the Government's proposed minimum wage policy of between RM800 to RM1,000 is implemented across the board.
The SMI Association of Malaysia said "..most of the SMEs are labour-intensive; they don't have modern machines. An increase in salaries will have a tremendous effect on the manufacturing cost,” he said, “It could totally kill SMEs because for most of them, their net profit margin is only around 3% to 5% .”
The potential chain reaction could be grave as well, considering SMEs make up 99.2% of the Malaysian economy and accounted for 59% of the workforce.
The majority of these SMEs are the supporting industry to many multi-national companies. So if manufacturing cost increase, they will be affected too.”
the Malaysia Employers Federation's estimation that 200,000 SME businesses would suffer was realistic.
The Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association president Lim Kok Boon said "...the plastics industry, about 75% to 80% were SMEs.."

The Government says that before they decided about the minimum wages, they had brainstorming sessions, the Government conducted studies, the Government pinjam their watches to the con-sultans and then asked the con-sultans for the time and many other clever things.

I have a more basic question : did the Goverment sit down and discuss things with the employers thmselves, the majikan? For example did the Government sit and talk with the 16 Small and Medium Enterpise (SME) associations mentioned above? Or the Chinese guilds? Or the Chambers of Commerce people?

If so, how come 16 of these associations made a joint Press statement yesterday disagreeing with the minimum wages policy. Why didnt the Government talk to these people? Do you mean that these industry associations who provide employment for 59% of the workforce were not consulted? What happened to "rakyat di dahulukan"?

Folks, there is going to be serious disaster in the land. I dont know how else to say this but the Gomen folks just do not know what they are talking about.

1. The Gomen screwed up the "plastic boxes to transport fish" and messed up the fish prices. When fish prices went up to the sky, the Gomen flip flopped. The Gomen did not listen to the fish wholesalers. They did not listen to OutSyed The Box either - I had blogged about it. They listened to the con-sultans.

2. Then they messed up the subsidies for the fishing boats. Fish prices went to the sky again. Soon the Gomen had no choice but to backtrack and flip flop. They did not listen to OutSyed The Box either because I had blogged about that too.

3. After that the Gomen messed up the 'old school buses' issue. They gave a ridiculously short time frame for the old school buses to be changed to new buses. The school bus operators simply said they will stop driving. So the Gomen back tracked and flip flopped again.

4. The Gomen then messed up the used car sales and registration of new cars issue. As a result, the used car buyers stopped buying used cars. When people could not trade in their old cars, new car sales also dropped to the bottom. The car industry almost died. And that time I had met the Minister in charge and blogged about the issue BEFORE they went ahead and implemented the fiasco. So the Gomen was forced to backtrack and flip flop again. Sekali lagi they did not listen to OutSyed The Box.

Folks all these fiascos have happened despite Pemandu, Pemudah, Penghisap Candu, ETP, GTP and dont know what else.

Now is the turn of this Minimum Wages - a major bungle, perhaps the Mother of all Bungles by the Gomen. This one is really going to kill the cat. No more nine lives after this.

If the Gomen really thinks this Minimum Wages Policy is so good, then please implement it before the General Elections.

Just implement the Minimum Wages for three months and see what happens. After that lets go in for the General Elections. I can assure you the country will have a new Government.

Then Tan Sri Muhyuddin can set up an SME to manufacture kopi jantan. Dato Sri Najib and Rosmah can try the "good quality used handbags" business.

If the Opposition had any brains and they really want to win the General Elections, then they too should fully support this Minimum Wages Policy. (This is where my concern is maybe the con-sultan who dreamed up this Minimum Wages Policy is an Opposition spy. Have you thought about that Dato Sri Najib and Tan Sri Muhyuddin?)

In three months, factories will start closing. People will start losing their jobs. Unemployment will go up. Inflation will start galloping. The BN will lose the general elections.

Some people say that Minimum Wages have been implemented in America, Europe and Australia. I would like to say "So what"? In fact that is what I want to say 'So what'?

Malaysia is NOT America, Europe or Australia. When America implemented their minimum wages policy they were already the wealthiest nation in the world with the highest per capita GDP in the world. Even the European countries and Australia were already rich countries with educated, productive and high income populations. They were definitely not poor countries.

The vast majority of their workers were already earning incomes way above the poverty line. They implemented their Minimum Wages policy from a position of strength, not from a position of weakness. Their Minimum Wages Policy was designed to help the minority of workers who fell through the cracks and suffered low wages.

This would include older and less educated workers, high school kids looking for summer jobs, the disabled and other such groups who often suffered poor wages. In the early 1900s child labor was rampant in the US. Women and children suffered serious wage discrimination at the hands of employers.

Minimum Wages in the US helps a small portion of their workforce. Here are some figures :

"(In the United States) Among those paid by the hour in 2009, 980,000 were reported as earning exactly the prevailing Federal minimum wage. Nearly 2.6 million were reported as earning wages below the minimum. Together, these 3.6 million workers with wages at or below the minimum made up 4.9 percent of all hourly-paid workers"

Folks, the total size of the giant American workforce is over 140.0 million workers. Minimum Wage workers make up 2.5% only of their workforce. I think similar figures would apply for Europe and Australia. These are rich countries where the vast majority of workers (97.5% of their workers in America) are productive and high income workers who earn money way above Minimum Wage.

Their Minimum Wage policies are designed to help the 2.5% or 3% minority who suffer specific issues. Their Minimum Wages is like a social welfare policy to help this 2.5% minority. It does not add significant costs to their economy that can kill businesses or send inflation soaring to the sky.

In contrast, Malaysia is not yet a rich country. We are only pretending to be rich. Unlike the US, we will be implementing Minimum Wages that will impact a large number of workers and huge sectors of our economy. For example, the SME's make up 99.2% of our economy and employ 59.0% of our workforce.

Minimum Wage works best in the rich countries, where the vast majority of the workers are already high income because of their education, skills and high productivity. They implement a Minimum Wage Policy as a social safety net for a minority of workers who may not have the skill levels prevalent in their society.

Think of it this way - should Indonesia and Bangladesh also have a minimum wage policy? Should Indonesia say 'all our workers should be paid at least RM350 a month' (this used to be the salary of an Indonesian maid in Malaysia not too long ago). Can the Indonesian economy sustain such a minimum wage policy? I dont think so.

They are a poor nation. They are not very productive. As a result their economy does not have enough jobs for their people. In Indonesia, India and Bangladesh there are so many people who are jobless that people will compete to work to earn a salary that is just enough to buy food.

Huge sectors of our workforce in Malaysia suffer low productivity. And this low productivity is increasing. Minimum wage will only cause more disruption.

Air Asia : "Now Everyone Cannot Fly"

2012-03-06T15:25:00.003+08:00

Tony Fernandez took over Air Asia in 2001. In 11 years of rock and roll growth, Air Asia has become the largest low cost carrier in Asia. This is a fantastic achievement by any measure.

However the intermittent announcements by Air Asia that they are cutting routes indicates not everything is going on as planned. I hope they do better. We really want our Malaysian companies to do well and succeed. It is good for the country and for all of us. Maybe 11 years down the road a reality check is due.

The frequently heard comment even among Cabinet Ministers is that Air Asia flies in about 10 million visitors to Malaysia annually.

A top CEO of a conglomerate pointed out recently that many of these passengers were "stolen" from MAS. There is much truth to this. In the past few years, even my family and I have travelled almost exclusively on Air Asia. Before we used to travel on MAS. So to say that Air Asia flies in an extra 10 million "new" visitors into Malaysia is perhaps quite off the mark. They have actually taken business away from MAS.

Air Asia does take the Nobel Prize for publicity stunts, aggressive ads and staying firmly in the public eye. Do you all remember when Bali suffered the bomb attacks? People just stopped going to Bali. Stepping up to the plate, Tony Fernandez announced that Air Asia would provide one million free tickets for flights into Bali. (The return flight saya tak tahu - usually they charge higher fares for the return flight). Immediately Tony Fernandez received huge publicity and the everlasting gratitude of the people of Bali.

But did anyone stop and figure things out a little ? One million free tickets is a lot of flights. Considering an Airbus A320 seats 140 passengers, that works out to 7142 flights. If AA flew just one flight a day to Bali, it would take 19.5 years to give away all those one million free tickets to Bali. Surely a lot of gimmickry was involved. It was a publicity stunt. The fact that the headline grabbing announcements were made while the ashes of the Bali bombings were still warm does exhibit some ruthlessness.

Similar to the claims of having brought in 10.0 million visitors to Malaysia.

Then Air Asia also went head to head with MAS on many routes, including in Sabah and Sarawak. In the face of AA's stiff competition, MAS retreated from these routes. AA became the monopoly operator on some of these air routes. Now Air Asia themselves are cutting back and shutting down these 'unprofitable' roots. So from "now everyone can fly" it has become "now everyone cannot fly" on some of these air routes.

A few days ago I also received this sms from someone :

"Air Asia is in mess. Biz model not working. Can't fly to Brisbane and Qatar for not paying. Singapore not gonna service their Airbus."

If true this can be quite serious. The fact that Air Asia has been cutting some routes entirely is no mere coincidence. I also think that the recent share swap where Air Asia has become a shareholder in MAS is perhaps a lifeline for Air Asia. I dont think it adds much value to MAS.

I received another sms from another former top gun in our corporate circles. The sms said :

"I luv ur Air Asia Mas conversation (btw a little bird whispered to me that the MAS share swap with AA comes with NO due diligence #*?- go check out). Yes - they were appointed during Badawi's time. Was Azman Mokhtar a "sizzling" investment banker b4 joining Khazanah? Smith Barney apparently calls him a "Duffer" - find out when he was in Smith Barney what was his outstanding achievements? Then Bina Fikir? Asset unbundling? In ***** we say "angkat kain sarong jual semua". Also if you look @ BOD of Khazanah you have mostly Melayus who failed - Azlan Hash*m one of them."

I received this sms after my post on Khazanah Nasional. So the MAS share swap with AA was done without a DUE DILIGENCE? If so, that is not very prudent at all for MAS.

But why would super duper, high flying Air Asia enter into a share swap with MAS? Especially without a DUE DILIGENCE exercise? Maybe Air Asia does need to enter into a share swap with MAS in a hurry. They bought 200 Airbuses last year and are cutting routes at the same time. That does not sound right at all.

For example MAS has good technical back up and repair facilities for their planes including the Airbus. If it is true that "Singapore not gonna service their Airbus" then of course Air Asia's tie up with MAS will assist in servicing the 200 new Airbuses.

In the past AA has built up a not so good reputation of not paying their bills on time especially to MAS for technical services and Malaysia Airports for airport facilities. I hope this share swap does not result in MAS holding the short end of the stick again. MAS is a taxpayer owned airline.

Somehow I get the feeling that the MAS - Air Asia share swap is the beginning of another flight into the unknown for MAS. I also get the feeling the folks in Air Asia have their flight paths mapped out a bit more carefully.

AA's business model based on breakneck growth may have to be relooked. The pace is perhaps really breaking their neck. I think there is a huge market that really appreciates the services provided by AA. Some fine tuning and clear focus on better delivery should take them to greater heights.

Houses Which Generate And Sell Excess Electricity

2012-03-06T13:59:00.002+08:00

A rising trend of super-efficient, solar-powered new homes allows homeowners to combat rising energy costs by giving back to the power grid. Some owners are even realizing a small profit from their home's power-generating capacity.

Intelligent house layout and design, and home features such as dual-pane windows, air-tight duct work and high-caliber wall and attic insulation are curbing energy consumption. And when coupled with solar energy, captured through photovoltaic panels, these homes are becoming their own mini power plants that feed electricity to the grid.

In 2009, U.S. homeowners paid an average $2,200 for energy use in their homes, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. A growing number of homeowners have the opportunity to zero-out that cost.

See: Green Homes That Give Back to the Grid

"It's too good to believe," said Dave Spencer of his net-zero-energy home in Gainesville, Fla. Last month, his energy bill was $2.01 -- and that was just because of service fees -- after receiving over $10 in credit for energy his home generated. Both semiretired, Spencer and his wife, Sandy, moved into the 1,752-square-foot home last October and have not paid for any energy yet, he said.

Sounds too good to be true?

Gainesville, FL builder Tommy Williams Homes tout 'net-zero' energy cost units.
Photo: Tommy Williams Homes

A recent Yahoo! Real Estate study found that 50 percent of 1,545 U.S. adults polled said beinggreen is a requirement of their dream home.

The Spencer's new home is part of a niche, though growing, segment of the U.S. housing market -- net-zero-energy homes, many of which use solar energy to achieve net-zero-energy use vs. consumption. In the sun-sparse days of winter, energy consumption often exceeds generation, but in the sunny days of summer, energy generation often far exceeds consumption.

As of February 2012, 37 homes have been rated net-zero-energy or better on the industry-standard Home Energy Rating System e-scale of the U.S.-standard auditor. This number could grow 1,000 percent or more in 2012 if projects continue as planned.

Kitchen view of a model for the net-zero-energy SheaXero home.
Photo: Shea Homes

"Interest has been off the charts," said Todd Louis, vice-president of Tommy Williams Homes, the Florida-based building company that built the Spencers' home. So far, the company has built and sold four, and has plans to build 35 to 40 more in 2012. The price of their net-zero-energy homes are still $30,000 to $40,000 higher than those that are not net-zero-energy, said Williams, but that margin is dropping with a decline in photovoltaic costs. The Spencers paid $250,000 for their home.

Shea Homes, a large builder in the West, announced last month that it plans to make net-zero energy or near-net-zero energy homes the standard model for new homes in all 10 of its retirement communities in Nevada, Florida, Washington, California and Arizona.

If interest in the communities mirrors last year's level, that could mean 500 to 600 solar-paneled, high-efficiency homes, 80 percent of which will be net-zero energy, said a Shea Homes spokesperson. (To achieve net-zero-energy, solar-power-enhanced homes have to be on lots that allow a certain amount of sun exposure.)

Don Asay bought one of the new Shea Homes, which feature blown-in cellulose wall insulation, dual-pane windows, a 20-amp outlet for an electric car in the garage, and solar panels, when he heard about the solar deal. He was already looking at a house in a Las Vegas-area 55-plus community built by Shea Homes.

High-caliber insulation, like attic-coating foam, are among
the technologies that make homes energy efficient.
Photo: Ryan J. Stanton

Shea Homes has long featured extremely energy-efficient designs, though the upgrade to solar panels could be costly -- around $30,000, said Asay. He and his wife were considering the upgrade, but when the announcement was made that the new net-zero homes, with solar, were only $7,000 more than the previous base model, they jumped: "Sign us up."

Nexus EnergyHomes, in the Northeast, has already built hundreds of single-family net-zero homes in Philadelphia's museum district, in South Carolina and Maryland, and has plans for hundreds more, including a net-zero energy exclusive, 59-home subdivision in Frederick, Md.

The market is listening.

Residential green construction has skyrocketed from 2 percent of new homes in 2005 to 17 percent of new homes in 2011, according to a McGraw Hill Market survey report. The same report found that 61 percent of customers are willing to pay more for homes that are energy-efficient and have other green features.

"The paradigm of construction is changing," said Phil Fairey, director of the Florida Solar Energy Center, an important partner in the recent growth of the net-zero energy home movement. "Now, greater efficiency doesn't cost you more," he said.

And the cost of solar energy, he added, has dropped 50 percent over the last two to three years -- from about $8 per watt to $4 per watt.

"It's not a huge trend yet," said green homebuilding consultant Carl Seville, "but it's growing slow and steady." Right now, there are pockets of demand like Austin, Texas and the West Coast, he said, but the movement is slowly spreading.

It's not so much that homes are generating so much more energy with photovoltaics, said Seville, but rather that builders are becoming more savvy about home design and energy efficiency.

A well-designed, well-built home without energy generation can get pretty close to net-zero energy efficiency, he said, and energy generation takes it over the top.

Minimum Wage : Ekonomi Melayu Hancur, Inflasi Dua Angka

2012-03-05T10:12:00.004+08:00

Some really obtuse discussion is going on among people who have not had the experience of even running a pisang goreng business, suffering costs, having to pay workers salaries and other basic things related to business. People who do not even understand basic ideas of "Selling Price Less All Costs = Profit" are talking wild stuff about setting minimum wages.

Here is an example :

MTUC: We will not accept anything less than RM900

PETALING JAYA: The proposed minimum wage should be at least RM900 per month, says MTUC. The amount would help to lift the poor out of poverty, its president Mohd Khalid Atan said yesterday. “We will not accept anything less than RM900. “If it is going to be below RM900, what's the point of the Government trying to become a high-income nation?” he asked.

I say Mohd Khalid Atan, I also have a question for you. Why do you stop at RM900 per month bro? Why not set the minimum wages at a comfortable RM2500 per month. Hang buang masa saja minta gaji minima RM900 sebulan? Letak saja syarat kita nak gaji minima RM2500 sebulan.

Come on man, Khalid. You are the President of the MTUC. Takkan the President of the MTUC only wants to ask for a miserable RM900 per month as the minimum wages?

Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan Khalid Atan is actually a penderhaka. Khalid ini sebenarnya tak peduli langsung nasib pekerja dan ahli MTUC. Dia minta gaji minima RM900 sahaja sebulan. Gaji minima RM900 boleh beli apa? Lebih baik kalau gaji minima jadi RM2500 sebulan. Bolehlah kita beli TV, bayar yuran kolej, beli perkakas rumah yang lebih baik, beli kereta, pergi bercuti 'Now everyone cannot fly' dengan Air Asia dan banyak lagi. Tapi Khalid Atan minta gaji minima RM900 sahaja.

The question is how did Khalid Atan get this magic figure of RM900?

Ok lets move ahead a few steps. Here is more rational thinking about minimum wages.

"MEF executive director Shamsu-ddin Bardan .. echoed concerns raised by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad over the negative impact of minimum wage on Malaysia's economy.

Even in America the introduction of minimum wages about 50 years ago caused serious unemployment problems in their country. There is always a residual unemployment rate of about 5% in America. This residual unemployment is caused by the imposition of minimum wages. But that is America - the most advanced economy in the world.

Malaysia is completely different. We are NOT America. Here we also have serious racial imbalances. (Remember in Malaysia everything has a racial element). Our worker productivity is falling. But which racial group is suffering the most? Our education system is failing miserably. But which racial group is failing miserably the most?

Dont believe me? Here is another report from today's Star. Read for yourself :

Local grads not up to mark

Graduates emerging from the national education system are failing to meet the expectations of prospective employers due to a lack of critical thinking skills and poor communication.
“.. six out of 10 graduates from Malaysian universities taking as long as six months to find a job. “The other 40% take even longer,”
“.. universities are churning out graduates who don’t have the requisite skills to enter the workforce. “.. lack of proficiency in English limits their ability to communicate beyond the borders of Malaysia .. lowers their confidence and curtails their ability to add value in the workplace,”
.. many new graduates lacked the critical thinking skills required to keep up in a constantly changing and increasingly competitive world. “What’s the point in having good academic results when they can’t communicate, can’t conduct a proper conversation and have no confidence?” — Bernama.

Now let me ask you - which racial group do you think they are talking about here? Ada ke anak China yang baru lulus belajar dari University tak tahu nak cari kerja? I dont think so. I just met a young Chinese girl "new graduate" who possibly has quite a few job offers (New Zealand grad with excellent language and interpersonal skills). So she can pick and choose what job she wants. Dia nak jadi investment banker sahaja - nothing else. And she is shopping around. I dont think the report from The Star here is referring to her.

So even our university graduates cannot find employment. Dont forget : which racial group? Now, if university graduates cannot find employment, then what about the hundreds of thousands of SPM leavers who do not qualify to go to university or college? Depa nak cari kerja di mana? Nak jadi Mat Rempit kena ada motor dulu. Tak ada motor tak boleh jadi Mat Rempit pun.

This is the situation in the country folks. And now Mohd Khalid Atan the President of the MTUC wants the minimum wages to be raised to RM900 per month? Ok Khalid this is what will happen. Now if I want to hire a salesgirl for my shop I will advertise : Kelayakan : Ijazah First Class Honours. Gaji : RM900.

Why should I hire an SPM holder or a PMR holder for RM900 for a salesgirl job when there are so many thousands of unemployed university graduates who can be hired for the same job? Even the Government's 'Unemployed Graduates Scheme' (Skim Perintis) only pays the unemployed graduates RM800 per month. So now the university graduates will be putting the SPM holders out of work. Once again : which racial group?

But here is the real troubling news :

Minimum wage soon

The Government has decided on the national minimum wage and the details will be announced by the Prime Minister.
.. did not elaborate if a fixed amount had been reached by the Government ..
.. all relevant factors such as cost of living, inflation, demographic trends, the effects on employers and the economic impact were taken into account during deliberations.
“We believe there is basis for this (minimum wage) but we don't want to make a rash decision,”
Govern-ment was looking at a minimum wage of between RM800 and RM1,000 for some 3.2 million workers in the private sector.
Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Sham-suddin Bardan warned that some 200,000 small-time employers are likely to cease operations as they could not afford to pay higher salaries.
He added that the implementation of an across-the-board minimum wage would incur a production cost increase of between 30% and 40%.

Other than Dr Mahathir's comment above, the most sensible statement has been made by Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Sham-suddin Bardan.

Shamsuddin feels that up to 200,000 small time businesses will shut down. Assuming each small business provides employment for five people, it means that about 1.0 million people will be made jobless. I agree fully with Shamsuddin here.

How exactly will this happen? Lets take a Tom Yam stall - the main stay of the ekonomi Melayu in many places.

Say a Tom Yam Stall employs two PMR qualified kids at a salary of RM400 each (RM800 per month). The Tom Yam stall sells 30 bowls of Tom Yam a day. After paying salaries, the Boss fellow who runs the stall may pocket say RM2000 per month. With the RM2000 he has to feed his kids, pay for school, pay for this and that. Despite being Boss of a Tom Yam stall, he is barely making ends meet.

Now comes the Government's grand idea to raise the minimum wage to RM900 per month. Overnite the Tom Yam stall's salary costs have gone up to RM1800 per month - an incremental of 125%.

The problem is just because the Government had a spark of genius, does it also guarantee that the sales of Tom Yam will also go up by 125% (to match the increased salary costs)? The day after the Minimum Wages are implemented, will the sales of Tom Yam magically increase to say 40 bowls a day? Not likely at all. That is not how the world works.

The SPM holders, the PMR holders who work in the Tom Yam stalls will suddenly become "high income" workers - as per the Prime Ministers wishes. The PM would have waved the magic wand : "By the powers vested in me I decree that you shall be high income".

So on the morning the Minimum Wages are imposed, all the Tom Yam stalls in the country (and all the kedai emas, small factories, furniture dealers, plastics factories, fish sellers, jagung rebus sellers, kedai kopi, three star hotels, backpackers motels, bus companies, kedai gunting rambut etc) will all see a huge jump in their salary bills WITH NO ACCOMPANYING INCREMENT IN THEIR SALES. Kos niaga akan melonjak naik tapi jualan perniagaan pula tak naik.

What will happen? A few things can happen :

Scenario 1. The Tom Yam stall will have no choice but to call their suddenly "high income" PMR and SPM qualified workers and say, 'Guys you are all high income now. Congratulations. But our sales of Tom Yam have not doubled or tripled. You guys are "high income" now but my business remains the same - not high income. So I cannot afford to employ you any more. You are fired."

Then not being able to afford to hire workers anymore, the Tom Yam stall will also shut down. This is what Shamsuddin Bardan meant when he correctly said, "some 200,000 small-time employers are likely to cease operations as they could not afford to pay higher salaries."

So now three people become unemployed - the "high income" SPM qualified workers plus the Boss of the Tom Yam stall. Taking Shamsuddin Bardan's figure of 200,000 businesses closing shop, up to 1.0 million people are going to become unemployed. Folks this is NOT an Insha Allah situation. This is a certainty. It will happen. Just wait and see.

Scenario 2. The Tom Yam Boss will say "Haiyya sekarang gaji sudah tinggi, tapi jualan Tom Yam pula sama juga. Tak naik pun. Habis macam mana saya nak bayar gaji pekerja saya? After thinking for like two seconds he will say, "I know. I will increase my prices of Tom Yam." Why? Because costs have incerased lah - that is why. I have to cover my costs"

Folks, the Tom Yam stall is not the Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat - which dishes out free money to the poor. The Tom Yam stall does not have a magic wand. The Tom Yam fellow lives in the real world.

He has to cover his costs so that he can pay his "high income" PMR and SPM qualified workers their higher salaries. When he raises the prices of his Tom Yam, it means inflation. Dulu Tom Yam lima Ringgit, sekarang naik jadi lima Ringgit setengah (RM5.50). That is a 10% inflation rate already. Folks, this WILL happen. This is NOT an Insha Allah situation. This is a certainty.

All around the country, businesses will raise their prices to cover the "high income economy" minimum wages.

(Bro, pikiaq lah sikit. Minyak naik 20 sen satu liter pun harga barang naik gila. Gula naik lima sen satu kilo pun harga barang naik gila. Ini pula gaji setiap pekerja naik DUA ATAU TIGA RATUS RINGGIT SEBULAN harga barang tak naik ke? Hangpa sekolah kat mana?)

Folks, if these minimum wages are imposed there is going to be double digit inflation in the country. There is going to be economic chaos.

Harga Tom Yam akan naik, tambang bas, teksi semua akan naik, harga sayur, ikan, daging, handphone, TV, kasut, baju, beras, ubat gigi etc semua akan naik gila. There will be rampant inflation in the country. I predict double digit inflation.

So before, those earning RM500 would pay RM5.00 per bowl of Tom Yam. Now they are earning RM900 per month (earnings increase of 80%). The wage bill for employing them has increased by 80%. Surely the price of the Tom Yam will increase at least 10% to RM5.50.

Multiply this by all the products that you can find in a supermarket - there is going to be crazy inflatio. So at the end of the day, the gains made by imposing a minimum wage will come to nothing. It will be back to square one.

Workers get high income salaries but the prices would have all increased.

When inflation goes to the sky, all the other monthly salary earners in the country (fixed income earners), especially the 1.0 million Civil Servants will also suffer serious financial difficulties. Harga naik, gaji tak naik, terasa lagi sempit, tak boleh nak bernafas.

In brief, if the minimum wages are implemented, a few things will happen :

1. small businesses that employ two to five workers will be forced to shut down because they must pay higher salaries with NO increase in their sales. About 200,000 businesses can be affected (according to the MEF).

2. maybe about a million people will become unemployed.

3. This new 1.0 million "SPM and PMR qualified" unemployed will compete for jobs with the over hundred thousand unemployed university graduates already floating around in the market.

4. there will be rampant inflation in the country - maybe up to 10% or more. This will effectively neutralise the benefits of a higher minimum wage.

5. Fixed income earners like Civil Servants will also suffer the effects of higher price inflation.

My suggestion is : Just leave things alone. Every time the Government starts having any kind of wet dream, people get nightmares and the country suffers. A higher income is only possible if you become more productive. Increase the productivity of our workforce.

Teach them useful skills, marketable skills. Teach them to be useful and productive members of our society who can contribute positively in society. That alone will be sufficient to make them 'higher income'.

Teach them English. Drop the Agama indoctrination. Teach them the extremely high economic value of good discipline. Teach them to be on time, to look at all human beings as potential customers and business partners, irrespective of race, religion, language or whatever. Cut the crap and teach them to cut the crap as well.

No Surprise - Khazanah Director Scandal Pula

2012-03-04T14:45:00.002+08:00

Folks some of you obvious cronies and cissies send me comments whining that I complain too much. Well on Friday, I received this sms from the top gun of a pretty huge Government outfit. Read for yourself. I have ch**ged the name for obvious reasons.

"Bro, seen the Andrew Sh**g insider trading story in FMT?? All I can say is, what goes around, comes around!! Have a good weekend."

Thanks for the info Bro. This is the story of a Director of Khazanah Nasional Bhd whose name has been implicated as being involved in insider trading.

What is insider trading? Insider trading is using privileged information (that you have received usually in your capacity as a person holding trust and fiduciary responisbilities) to enrich yourself by buying shares in the stock market etc. This is a crime punishable by Law in most countries including Malaysia. More importantly it is ethically and morally wrong.

OK two things first. First of all the mainstream media has been totally silent on this revelation about the Khazanah Director. Not just the mainstream media but the DAP will also NOT be taking up this case because the Khazanah Director involved is a Chinese. The DAP usually makes most noise when it is non-Chinese who get their fingers dirty.

The news came out in the Opposition Blogs. You can read it here and here : "Khazanah director accused of ‘illegal shares’ deal".

So arent we glad that the Blogs are free and unfettered? Dont forget folks - it was Dr Mahathir Mohamed who set up the Multi Media Supercorridor, brought in the Internet and had Parliament pass our Internet laws which so far have guaranteed absolutely no censorship of the Internet. (Maybe because it is such an impossible thing to do). So we can read about scandals that are otherwise covered up by the mainstream media.

Secondly : A perceptive Blogger friend of mine said it correctly the other day that "90% of the Government's scandalous financial problems" (including the lembu condo case, the Khazanah Nasional - Medini fiascos, the MAS fiascos, the MAS - Air Asia share swap (maybe another fiasco) and now this "insider trading" involving this Khazanah Nasional Director and many, many more troubling money related issues) all revolve around just one Cabinet Minister.

Just one big trouble causer Minister who has been causing financial trouble for this country since his name first appeared in public about 20 years ago (also involving huge financial losses).

Scheming, dishonesty, corruption and plain stupidity seem to plague this fellow, his cronies and the many people associated with him. And now this scandal involving the Director of Khazanah Nasional is no exception. The bungling and dishonest escapades involving this Minister revolve around one thing only : money. Money and nothing but money. A very predictable man indeed.

Yet the rest of the Malaysian Cabinet Ministers (especially the mulut terngangga type who dont know jack sh*t about anything) think the world of this Minister. In the valley of the blind, the one eyed man is king. In a brain dead Cabinet, a half witted door stop can pull the wool over all the Cabinet Minister's eyes. Here is a picture of a door stop.

OK now back to the "insider trading" scandal involving the Khazanah Nasional Director. You can go and read the story yourself. I do not normally quote these Opposition websites but in this case, the information was publicly exposed in a Court of Law during the course of a divorce case. And also a Police Report has been made. Meaning this information is (or should be) in the public domain.

"(FMT) - A director of the Khazanah Nasional Bhd has been accused of transacting in shares in companies in which the investment holding arm of the government had an interest.

Andr*w Sh*ng Lao Ten, 66, has been named in a police report which alleged that he had failed to disclose that he had been transacting in these shares and thus possibly breaching the Companies Act 1965.

Andr*w was appointed a director of Khazanah since J**y, 2008.

According to the police report lodged by one Tan T**g H**g, 47, Andr*w’s sister Sh*ng L**n, was given a “blanket authorisation” to transact shares on his behalf using their brother, Jam*s Sh*ng’s trading account.

Tan is the husband of Sh*ng L**n, and is now involved in a divorce proceedings in the Kuala Lumpur High Court with the latter. He stated in his report that these details were revealed by Sh*ng L**n herself in open court.

“According to Sh*ng L**n, following this blanket authorisation, she had transacted shares for and on behalf of Andr*w for the period between 2007 and 2011. According to Sh*ng L**n, the profit and losses from these transactions belong to Andr*w,” wrote Tan.

The report said that shares which were transacted on behalf of Andr*w Sh*ng, include – but were not limited to – “Tenaga Nasional Bhd, UEM Land Holdings Bhd, Telekom, Time dot Com, Time Engineering, Astro, and Axiata”.

The report said that Khazanah has interests in all the companies mentioned and listed the percentages in shares Khazanah possessed within those companies.

Tan said in the report that Andr*w should have made disclosures of these interests. He also said said that Khazanah had confirmed that Andr*w had made no such disclosures.

Please note the following points :

1. According to the police report ..Andr*w’s sister Sh*ng L**n, was given a “blanket authorisation” to transact shares on his behalf using their brother, Jam*s Sh*ng’s trading account.

(My comment : This is already fishy. The sister was authorised to trade on his behalf but using yet another brother's trading account. Obviously this was meant to hide the "paper" trail. Very clever - very difficult to prove in Court).

2. report said shares transacted include "Tenaga Nasional Bhd, UEM Land Holdings Bhd, Telekom, Time dot Com, Time Engineering, Astro, and Axiata”.

3. report said Khazanah has interests in all the companies mentioned

4. report that Andr*w should have made disclosures of these interests.

5. Khazanah had confirmed that Andrew had made no such disclosures.

Tak payah panjang cerita. Dia ni kroni siapa? Menteri Kabinet diperbodohkan. Kerajaan diperbodohkan.

Melayu diperbodohkan oleh para kolonialis Arab

2012-03-04T10:33:00.003+08:00

This is from a Blog reader.

Oleh Pihak Tertentu

Setiap kali orang Melayu bertelagah pasal isu Israel-Palestin, aku rasa meluat. Sebab-sebabnya macam ni. Dulu ulama Arab cakap haram mengiktiraf atau berdamai Israel, sehinggakan Presiden Mesir Anwar Sadat ditembak mati. Orang Melayu berpegang kepada 'fatwa' ini melebihi kuatnya daripada orang Arab sendiri.

Hari ini, negara seperti Mesir dan Jordan mempunyai hubungan diplomatik penuh dengan Israel sementara Qatar, UAE dan Oman mempunyai hubungan perdagangan dengan Israel. Ulama-ulama Arab seperti Yusof al-Qaradhawi sendiri yang mengapi-apikan pemimpin Melayu (dari Pas dan Umno) mengenai isu Israel-Palestin ini beliau sendiri mendapat layanan istimewa dari negara seperti Qatar. Ulama Arab seperti ini muncul dalam TV kerajaan negara Arab yang berkawan dengan Israel. Apabila dijemput berceramah di negara ini, berapi-api menyeru orang Melayu menentang Israel.

Cuba bayangkan, mereka (negara Arab) senang-senang berbaik-baik dengan Israel tanpa dikecam oleh ulama mereka sementara kita pula bertelagah mengenai isu ini. Pada saya, pedulikan sahaja isu ini. Kalau Wall Street Journal tanya, cakap sahaja, "We support whatever solution decided by Palestinian people. Our interest is only the well-being of Palestinian people."

Cukuplah menyusahkan hidup kami di sini. Kerana fatwa ulama Arab zaman dahulu, hari ini kita tidak memberi salam kepada orang berlainan agama, tetapi mereka di Arab Saudi pula bebas memberi salam kepada orang Amerika, Filipino dan sebagainya yang berlainan agama.

Orang Melayu yang tidak membaca Quran gemar membuat kenyataan "Yahudi dikutuk oleh Quran". Memang benar terdapat ayat mengutuk orang Yahudi, ini kerana kebanyakan nabi diutuskan kepada kaum mereka.

Tetapi bagaimana dengan ayat Quran mengenai "orang Arab itu paling kuat munafiknya..". Kenapa ayat ini tidak digembar-gemburkan di kalangan orang Melayu? Nampaknya fikiran kita orang Melayu telah dikolonialisasikan oleh Arab demi kepentingan mereka. Kita bertindak seperti hamba politik mereka.

Setiap kali ahli politik Melayu, Anwar Ibrahim atau Mahathir, menyentuh isu ini, aku naik meluat.

Daim says voters fed up.

2012-03-04T09:29:00.004+08:00

This is from The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Voters may choose not to cast their votes as they are fed up with the constant bickering between the Government and opposition parties, said Umno veteran Tun Daim Zainuddin.

He added that this might cause the turnout rate to be low in the general election with a possibility of a hung parliament.

In an interview published in China Press yesterday, Daim said to prevent this situation, Umno and Barisan Nasional component parties must be loyal and vote for the coalition.

He said if not, the Opposition might win more parliamentary seats and the number of seats would be almost equally matched with Barisan.

Currently, the country has 222 parliamentary seats.

He said the country would have to suffer for a long time if there was a hung parliament.

Daim predicted that Pakatan Rakyat would retain the Penang and Kelantan state governments but it might lose Kedah.

On the current political crisis in Kedah, Daim said Barisan had a good chance to recapture the state.

“If there are right candidates, the Barisan can win Selangor. The prerequisite is to have new faces,” he said.

On Pakatan’s chances in Umno’s stronghold of Johor, Daim said it had a very slim chance.

“The Chinese voters do not like party- hopping candidates but the Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has appointed Datuk Chua Jui Meng, who left MCA and joined the PKR to be the Johor PKR chairman,” he said.

Daim said there might be 20% of the Chinese voters, mostly from rural areas, who would vote for Barisan in the election.

He said the people still wanted to vote for Barisan but they wanted to see changes in the coalition, adding that the people did not want a government which was always arguing.

Citing the example of the Kedah crisis where some state executive councillors rejected the Mentri Besar’s leadership and the sacking of Selangor state executive councillor Datuk Dr Hasan Ali, Daim said the people had given a chance to the Opposition to form a government but they continued to fight.

“Just imagine if the opposition parties had a chance to form the Federal Government, how big the fight will be. At the end of the day, I think the people will prefer to vote for Barisan,” he said.

My comments : Again a perceptive observation by Tun Daim. The BN may not win back Kelantan and Penang. My prediction is the DAP will maintain Penang with a slim majority only. Hence when the State Legislature reopens after the elections, there will be chaos in the State Legislature. Guan Eng is going to have a huge headache running the State. There may also be 'katak lompats'.

The BN may also face a tough challenge holding on to Perak. The point made by Tun Daim about new faces and making changes is most relevant. The old Jurassic Park candidates have to go.

This is where the leadership of Najib Tun Razak is faltering. The people keep seeing the same old corrupt faces trying to make a reappearance again and again. In Kedah, in KL and elsewhere.

Dato Sri Najib, choose these corrupt and tainted leaders (yound or old) at your peril. If we suffer a hung Parliament or the BN loses Perak and cannot regain Kedah - it will be your head on the block. You will be kicked out of office. It happened to Slumberjack, Tengku and Hussein Onn. You may become a Tun much earlier than you expected.

Saya tak faham lah Dato Sri - apa pasal Dato Sri sayang sangat all these goons, goofballs and money grabbers? What type of hold do they have on you? Apa pasal Dato Sri takut sangat?

Proton Loses Money, MAS Loses Money, Khazanah Sells Family Silver. Dont Worry, Everything Is Under Control.

2012-03-02T11:55:00.004+08:00

Here is a comment from Godfather in my previous post.

Anonymous said...

Syed: MAS has to rid itself of all the leeches. I'm surprised Badawi hasn't voluntarily resigned as Advisor. He gets RM 40k per month, plus a car and a secretary and an office. Sell the paintings that Munir Majid bought from his friend. Then tell the world how much MAS has lost from these stupid purchases. Finally, sell MAS to whoever gives Khazanah the best price. That'll stop the meddling from your friend Azman Mokhtar and will also get rid of Danny. You give MAS away to an experienced operator and it will make money.

Godfather - Friday, March 02, 2012 11:45:00 AM

Anyway here is the news:

Proton Q3 results down

Proton plunged itself deeper into the red with a net loss of RM88.2mil for its third quarter (Q3) compared to RM68.1mil recorded in the previous corresponding quarter. Revenue declined to RM1.43bil from RM1.83bil previously.

Group chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh said the lower profit was largely attributed to lower revenue recorded from domestic sales. “With the increasingly stiff competition faced by Proton, the prospect for Proton does not look rosy...” he said.

Folks, this has been the fate of Proton under the management of people like Chairman Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh, CEO Syed Zainal 'sembahyang hajat' and whoever. Yet we still keep these people in place - year after year. These are the fossils from the Jurassic Park who have been running some of these businesses into the ground for the past umpteen years. I suppose they meet all their KPIs too - without fail, year in and year out.

And Lotus is getting into deeper sh*t. For Lotus I have a solution. The Lotus Elise 2011 sells for less than RM150,000 in the UK. In duty free Pulau Langkawi I think the Lotus Elise also sells for about the same price.

Unfortunately in the rest of Malaysia the Lotus Elise sells for RM245,000. Few people in Malaysia can therefore afford to buy the Lotus Elise. So Lotus suffers poor sales in Malaysia. Kalau tak boleh jual kereta, mesti lah Lotus / Proton akan rugi.

Here is my question : how come Lotus can sell the Elise so cheaply in the UK and in Langkawi? Why not allow the Lotus Elise to sell for the much cheaper RM150,000 price in the rest of Malaysia as well? What is so special about the UK or Langkawi?

At RM150,000 I am sure the sales of Lotus Elise in Malaysia will shoot to the sky. Then the Lotus company can be saved. Or at least Lotus can clear their old stocks of unsold cars. Malaysians can drive high tech cars like the Lotus Elise at much cheaper prices.

Folks is that a good thing or a bad thing? Can the Government of Malaysia please explain why you do not want hard working Malaysians to buy and drive better and higher quality, high technology cars at much cheaper prices? And you still cannot save Proton - which is now making even more losses?

Then MAS is also losing money. There is a huge rip off going on. Now Air Asia is also a shareholder in MAS. Tony Fernandez is so much more cleverer than the boys running MAS. Everyone is a schemer but some people scheme better than others. .

But to whose benefit do they scheme? The airline passengers? The shareholders - ie you and me the taxpayer? I think someone is going to get a ride on a plane. But you and me folks, the taxpayers, we are going to be taken for a ride as well. Just wait and see. I think this is the beginning of something much bigger. There is no honour among schemers.

Despite announcing the largest ever losses of RM2.5 Billion yesterday, MAS still has to take delivery of 23 new aircraft. Here is the news :

MAS is staring at a capital expenditure (capex) of RM6bil this year and RM3.5bil for 2013 because of the aircraft deliveries that have been lined up for this year and next.

This year alone it is going to take delivery of 23 aircraft - five 555-seater A380 which it will deploy for the Kangaroo route (Sydney-KL-London-KL-Sydney); 13 B737-800s and five A330-300s.

Most of these aircraft were ordered during the time of Tengku Datuk Azmil Zahruddin (previous managing director of MAS)

Air Asia has ordered 200 Airbus A320 Neos plus an option for another 100. MAS is getting 23 new aircraft including FIVE Airbus A380 Superjumbos. For comparison SIA has bought 19 of the 555 passenger Airbus A380 superjumbos since 2001 (the development phase of the A380). Maybe MAS is cleverer than SIA.

Folks all these troubled GLC companies suffer the same problems. They are all run by the same dunggus - all the way to its Board of Directors, their controlling companies and the Minister or Ministers in charge of these entire GLC fiasco companies. Dunggus are in charge and nothing is changing.

It is now beyond the Peter Principle already. The Peter Principle states that "in a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence". Thats it folks.

These people at Proton, MAS, Khazanah Nasional, their Boards, their controlling companies, their con-sultans, their Senior Managements, the Minister in charge etc have all risen to their highest level of incompetence. They cannot go beyond this anymore. It is going to be yet a continuous series of losses, losses, and more losses. They have hit their ceiling. Just wait and see.

I personally think there is absolutely nothing wrong with MAS, Proton, Khazanah Nasional or any of the other major GLCS. If I were to run them, I am quite certain they can be turned around, make a profit, do not burden the taxpayer and most importantly they provide products and services closer to market prices. Not just me, but I think many of you can also do the same. All you need is some experience and a determination to do things right. And you must not have greasy fingers.

There has to be a complete overhaul of the human beings, the people who populate this entire chain of command. They all have to be removed. Sorry - but the greater good of the taxpayer is a much better option that protecting the narrow and selfish interests of a few lagards, marauders, nincompoops, pirates and even the corrupt who populate these troubled GLCs. They are all in there folks, they have fully infected the system.

Here is news about Khazanah Nasional's RM5.0 billion profits for 2011. But lets read carefully ya.

Khazanah posts RM5.3b pre-tax profit in 2011

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 19, 2012): Khazanah Nasional Bhd posted an impressive 156.3% jump in pre-tax profit to RM5.3 billion for the year ended Dec 31, 2011 from RM2.1 billion in the previous year, boosted by continuing strategic divestments, particularly the privatisation of PLUS Expressways Bhd.
The government investment arm has declared a record dividend payout of RM3 billion.
A selection of the 20 largest and significant government-linked companies (GLCs) under its stable are estimated to record total earnings of RM19 billion for 2011
Realisable asset value decreasing by RM4.5 billion or 4% to RM108.1 billion
Net worth adjusted declined RM5.2 billion or 6.9% to RM70 billion from RM75.2 billion as at Dec 31, 2010.
The major deals included the sale of a 32% stake in Pos Malaysia to DRB-Hicom Bhd for RM622.8 million
The others are IHH's acquisition of a 60% stake in Acibadem Saglik Yatirimlari Holding A.S.
and the completion of the PLUS Expressways acquisition through UEM Group Bhd and EPF.

And here is more news about Khazanah Nasional :

Diversity pays off for Khazanah

A DIVERSE portfolio of companies under Khazanah Nasional, the Malaysian Government-owned investment arm, is helping to shield its investments from volatile global markets amid dark economic clouds gathering over the horizon presently.

Azman: ‘When we started in 2004, our portfolio was very heavy on utilities, but today it is quite balanced.’

Khazanah's stakes in UEM Land Bhd has surged more than 400% since its listing in November 2008.

Azman explains that figure, however, was not exhaustive per se as companies such as CIMB Bank and Axiata Group Bhd are categorised as Malaysian companies while in practice these were companies which have invested in other parts of Asia.

It is to be noted however, that comparing with 2010 however, these RAV and NWA figures declined slightly in 2011. Its portfolio RAV declined to RM108.1bil in 2011 from RM112.6bil in 2010, while NWA also declined to RM70.0bil from RM75.2bil respectively.

The surge in profits and dividends declared was attributed to continual divestment of its investments especially the recent RM23bil privatisation of PLUS Expressways in 2011, Khazanah says.

In 2011 alone, Khazanah made gains on divestments of RM2bil and made new investments totalling RM5.8bil.

Azman Mokhtar keeps repeating that Khazanah Nasional began operations in 2004 (when Slumberjack took over).

This is so typical of the bullshit coming out of the Slumberjack era. Khazanah Nasional was set up by Tun Dr Mahathir in the 90s. The job of Khazanah Nasional was to open new frontiers in high technology industries in Malaysia and create new high technology jobs for Malaysians. It was part and parcel of the entire technological upliftment of Malaysia together with the launching of the Multi Media Super Corridor.

Instead Khazanah Nasional has now become a company that buys and sells shares in other companies. There is little "new wealth" creation and very little new job creation in Malaysia.

If you ask Azman Mokhtar, 'how many new jobs have you created in Malaysia for all the billions that you have invested' I think he will not be able to give you any answer.

The latest example being an investment by Khazanah Nasional in Turkey. Why should Malaysian taxpayers money be invested in Turkey creating jobs for the Turkish people? Our own graduates are unemployed or unemployable. Pasal apa kera di hutan disusukan padahal anak sendiri kebuluran?

Khazanah Nasional was also supposed to help in the upliftment of the bumiputras. Orang Turki ini bumiputra ke? Other than Boards of Directors who fly first class to attend Board meetings, just how many Malaysians are employed in all the companies which Khazanah has invested in overseas? Can we have a total figure? 10 Malaysians? 100 Malaysians? How many? For what amount of investment : RM5.0 billion? RM10.0 billion?

Khazanah Nasional has become no more than a fund manager - playing the share market, taking positions in companies no different from any other fund manager.

Folks here is a question for you : How many 'Directors of Investments' do you think an investment holding company should have? I would assume just one. Guess how many Directors of Investment Khazanah has? One? Two? Three?

Well Khazanah has eight "Directors of Investments". Yes eight. And how much is each one of them paid? Lets see lah.

1. The Chief of the 'let me spend all the taxpayers money' guy is one Ganen Sarvananthan, Executive Director, Investments

This is the guy who basically tells Azman Mokhtar when to go to the bathroom. Folks say he does all the thinking and talking. Azman Mokhtar just signs on the dotted line. The typical 'Ali Baba' set up. How much is he paid? Well he drives a Ferrari around town - they say. He makes most of the deals for Khazanah. Lagi satu kes India lagi pandai dari Melayu.

2. Ben Chan Executive Director, Investments

3. Michael Jude Fernandes Executive Director, Investments

4. Joseph Dominic Silva Executive Director, Investments

5. Kenneth Shen Executive Director, Investments

To my Perkasa friends, dont worry. Ganen Sarvananthan, Ben Chan, Michael Jude Fernandes, Joseph Silva and Kenneth Shen are actually "young Turks". That means they are also bumiputra. Jangan risau, there are some Melayu as Director of Investments. Here they are :

6. Tengku Dato’ Sri Azmil Zahruddin bin Raja Abdul Aziz Executive Director, Investments - this is the guy who bought the FIVE Airbus A380s for MAS (when he was running MAS). Then he split from MAS and now sits as the Director of Investments at Khazanah Nasional.

7. Dato’ Noorazman Abd Aziz Executive Director, Investments

8. Hisham Hamdan Executive Director, Investments

Somehow I get the feeling the last three Melayus are for the purposes of filling up the "Ali Baba" quota only. Saja nak kasi penuh quota Melayu sikit. Otherwise Khazanah is run by 'young Turks' - bumiputras one and all.

Here is the catch folks. Khazanah made RM5.0 billion in 2011. But a huge chunk of that was made from selling shares in Plus Expressways and also the RM622 million they made from selling shares in Pos Malaysia Bhd.

I say Azman Mokhtar, this was Dr Mahathir's handiwork lah. His free gift to you FROM BEFORE 2004 lah brader.

The Projek Lebuhraya Utara Selatan or PLUS Hiway was completed in 1994 (15 months ahead of schedule - so typical of Dr Mahathir). So the Gomen parked its PLUS shares with Khazanah Nasional. Now, 17 years later, you sell the PLUS shares given to you by Dr Mahathir and make a huge profit and tell the world that you are "very very crever". You keep saying "When we started in 2004, our portfolio was very heavy on utilities, but today it is quite balanced".

Kepala hotak engkau lah. You are now making money by selling PLUS shares which Dr Mahathir gave to Khazanah Nasional Bhd in the 1990s. Jangan bohong.

I say brader Azman Mokhtar, this is the "nenek tua" punya business model lah. I say 'nenek tua' because my mum-in-law once sold very old shares (some of the share scripts were from the 1960s) in Sime Darby, Singapore Press Holdings etc given to her by her father in the 60s and 70s. This is the same business that you are doing man. Selling old shares given to you by your great grandpa Dr Mahathir (Najib is now the third generation PM after Dr M) and then claiming to make a huge profit.

And the Prime Minister is the Chairman of Khazanah - completely oblivious to the wool being pulled by some of the other Board Members of Khazanah Nasional Bhd.

Tony Fernandez Take Over MAS

2012-03-01T21:38:00.003+08:00

Some people I was talking to yesterday say that Air Asia International (AAX) is facing serious problems on some of its international routes. And so they are cutting "unprofitable" routes. The latest being AAX axing its Christchurch run. Please read here.

"In January, AAX said it would stop flying to London, Paris, New Delhi and Mumbai. It is learnt that AAX is moving away from long-haul to medium-haul flights."

The first question that pops up now is what is Air Asia going to do with all those hundreds of Airbuses they have just placed on order at the Paris Air Show in June last year? Just how many planes did they order? Well read here. Air Asia ordered 200 planes plus an option for 100 more. Cost : RM54 billion. Whoever the Airbus salesman, agent, middleman was, he, she, they or it made some huge commissions.

AirAsia places largest ever order with 200 A320neo aircraft

Largest-ever order consolidates A320 Family’s market leading position

Blagnac, 23 June 2011

AirAsia, the largest low cost airline in the Asia-Pacific region, has placed a firm order with Airbus for 200 A320neo aircraft. The contract, announced at the Paris Air Show today, is the largest order ever placed for the A320 Family and makes AirAsia the biggest airline customer for the Airbus single aisle product line worldwide.

Airplane deals generate commissions between 1% to 5% for the middlemen. That is between RM540 million to RM2.7 billion for whoever was the salesman / middleman in Air Asia's 200 planes plus 100 planes deal !!

However, after buying 200 Airbus A320s plus options on another 100 planes, Air Asia is now cutting flights to the world's most busiest destinations like London, Paris, New Delhi, Mumbai and Christchurch. Haiyya then what about less busy destinations around the world like Timbuktu, Ulan Bator and the Falkland Islands?

What will they do with all those 200 new Airbuses? I think I know the answer. I think Air Asia's Sales Department will soon be calling the Purchasing Department at Malaysia Airlines. Here is the conversation. It is fictional ok.

AA : Hellooo Purchasing Dept, MAS. This is Sales Dept Air Asia calling.

MAS : Yes Air Asia how can we help you?

AA : We still have a few more Queen's Park Rangers T shirts to sell to you.

MAS : Oh just send them over. We'll take them.

Air Asia : OK. Thank you for shopping at Air Asia. We also have some Airbus 320 Neo planes to sell. Can you buy them?

MAS : How many do you have?

Air Asia : About 200.

MAS : How many are you selling?

Air Asia : About 200.

MAS : Ok. We'll ask our shareholder Khazanah Nasional. Please wait a couple of days. They will have to ask their con-sultans for the time. Their con-sultans will then call us - we have the watch. Is it ok if we call you too, ok? You know just to double check the time?

Air Asia : OK. We will wait for your call. By the way, we will be going to the Paris Airshow again next year.

MAS : Do you think you will have some free tickets ?

Well folks, excuse me for sounding so serious. Lets lighten up a bit shall we. Lets cut ourselves some slack. Here is some funny news that will make you feel like laughing. Its such a good joke.

Thursday March 1, 2012

MAS posts biggest-ever loss in its history

MAS posted a shocking RM2.52bil net loss for its financial year ended Dec 31, 2011
the biggest-ever loss in its corporate history ..
The RM2.5bil figure for 2011 includes a RM1.09bil provision
“The company is in crisis. group chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said
The non-cash items include RM179mil of stock obsolescence (mostly spares for the B737 aircraft),
RM602mil for re-delivery of aircraft (it will return 52 of its leased aircraft and will incur some cost in making sure they are in pre-delivery condition),
and RM314mil impairment of freighter aircraft (adjusting the freighters to current market value).
By stripping out the RM1.09bil provisioning from the net loss of RM2.52bil, the actual loss incurred by the airline for 2011 is RM1.43bil.
MAS is in dire need of more cash.
needs another 60 days to come up with a plan.
“The plan includes, but not limited to, debt and/equity market options. Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Tune Air..
deputy Mohammed Rashdan Yusof did not rule out the possibility of ..selling non-core assets to raise cash.
Ahmad also disclosed that talks with Qantas were under way
Ahmad remains positive, saying “if we follow our business plan, we should be in the black (this year).''

Lets forget about MAS for a while ok. After all Ahmad says, "we should be in the black (this year). So relax everyone. Chill.

Lets get back to Air Asia. Air Asia's shareholders include that Slumberjack crony, who is partners with the SIL in that EPF company they hijacked before. Of course the Advisor to MAS is none other than Slumberjack himself. Cosy isnt it.

Has anyone heard of Jack The Ripper?

Sabak Bernam MP Gets Six Years Jail

2012-03-01T15:38:00.003+08:00

Have you all noticed that first Khir Toyo and now an MP have been found guilty of corruption, making false claims and so on? Here is the news:

Sabak Bernam MP, aide get six years for making false claims

SHAH ALAM: Sabak Bernam MP Datuk Abdul Rahman Bakri and his aide, Rosli Busro, have been sentenced to six years jail and fined RM400,000 each for making false claims.

The Sessions Court has granted them a stay of execution.

The court on Wednesday found both men guilty on eight counts of making false claims amounting to RM80,000 four years ago.

Other people please take note. The Ministers please take note. Silap-silap nanti you might be sitting on the wrong side of the dock.

Police Brutality & Freedom To Demonstrate

2012-02-29T23:59:00.003+08:00

Police clear Occupy camp outside London cathedral

Anticapitalist protesters who have been camped outside London's St. Paul's Cathedral since last October were evicted by authorities early Tuesday
Police moved in shortly after midnight to clear the campsite pitched on the plaza outside one of London's best-known landmarks.
Some protesters were forcibly moved by police while praying on the church steps. Police said they had arrested 23 people by 9 a.m. Tuesday.
.. eviction by the owners of the site, the City of London Corporation. After Tuesday's eviction, the corporation announced that the site had been cleared and was ready for cleaning.
Police also removed another Occupy London group from an abandoned school in East London. By then, several protesters had already moved on to a third Occupy London protest camp in Finsbury Square in the heart of London's financial district.

Here are some pictures : This is how they get treated in London.

US Navy Develops Game Changing Rail Gun

2012-02-29T23:03:00.005+08:00

While our religious folks are picking their noses, figuring out how to humiliate illegitimate babies for life and while our powerful people are ripping off the country left, right and centre there is more technological development in the US.

This is the US Navy's new railgun - which can fire a 40 pound projectile using electromagnetism. No gunpowder involved. Of course this is just another new method for the Americans to kill people - most likely poor people in poor indefensible Third World countries like Afghanistan or Somalia. You can see the video.

This is the quick info:

Navy railgun began undergoing firing tests last week, the next big step toward putting the electromagnetic superweapon on U.S. warships by 2020. The Navy envisions using railguns to destroy enemy ships, defend against enemy missiles, or bombard land targets.
prototype railgun using an electric-powered launcher rather than gunpowder to fire a huge hypersonic bullet.
weapon capable of hurling 40-pound projectiles at speeds of 4,500 mph to 5,600 mph over 50 to 100 miles (7,240 to 9,010 kilometers per hour over 80 to 161 kilometers).
$240 million test phase
Because of its hypersonic speed produced by the railgun, a projectile shaped like a bullet could deliver devastating damage even without exploding.
".. invested internal funds of more than $20 million for a subscale prototype to move the technology forward,"

Well their test phase cost US240 million (RM720 million). Isnt that cheap - for a game changing weapon that can subdue oil producing Third World countries?

Over here in Malaysia RM720 million can buy you

i. slightly more than a bus station (Tasik Selatan),

ii. maybe two galvanised iron roofed LCCT terminals (the old one)

iii. three lembu farms

iv. pay off Arab land scammers in Medini or

vi. buy five kilometres of airconditioned walkway near KLCC or Jalan Bukit Bintang (built by Petronas).

Just making comparisons.

Mr Prime Minister : Ulamak Menyusahkan Manusia Lagi

2012-02-29T13:21:00.008+08:00

After my Blogpost 'Making Incest Halal?' I received quite a few comments from not very happy Muslims. The following comment was sent to me by Dr Yati Hewett, an experienced O & G doctor who has delivered thousands of babies over the past 20 years. Dr Yati has put pen to paper in quite some exasperation over the silly behaviour of the ulamak type fellows and their followers in the Registration Departments and elsewhere who make the registration of Muslim babies very difficult.

As usual the non Muslims do not suffer such problems. Only the Muslims tie themselves up in knots and fall down all over their own faces. This is Club of Doom behaviour. Please read Dr Yati's comments here. I have a few more comments which follow up after this.

By Dr Yati Hewett.

Dear Sir,

As some one who has been delivering babies for the past 20 years I find the comments made by several parties that arose from the Sister's In Islam seminar titled ' What's In A Name ' last saturday 25 th of February very disturbing.

It was quoted that 85,019 Muslim babies certificates do not have their fathers' names.( NST 28/2/12).

Some of these babies, their fathers actually did the bunk. But there are a lot of these babies or children are living with their married parents in a loving home. In their birth certificates are written' information not available'.

This is a downright lie.

Their fathers had gone to the registration department but was not allowed to declare the births under Section 13 of Birth Registration Certificate Form JPN.LM01. Why can't the National registration Department write in the certificates something like ' Items like such and such as required by Ruling so and so as stated in Circular No. such and such not provided.'

National Registration Department (NRD) cannot do so because there is no such circular. Everything is done by word of mouth.That is why some Registration Offices are more harsh or lenient than others. Ever since this ruling came about 5 years ago, several parents wanted to sue. But they cannot put their hands on it. I am really happy that the President of the Bar Council said his organisation is initiating some form of legal remedy (STAR 28/2/12).

In today's NST , Puan Jainisah Mohammad Noor says now Muslims can declare under Section 13. This is what I mean. Everything is ad hoc. And she also said the NRD cannot do anything . Only the Home Ministry can. But numerous letters has been written to the papers on this matter over the years. Hasn't the Home Minister been listening ? What about the slogan ' 1 Malaysia ' or 'Masyarakat Penyayang '. Or is it lip service only. These 85,019

children deserve to know the answer.

I am beginning to wonder if today's Islam is different from Islam during the Prophet's time. The Perlis Mufti, Dr Juanda quoted that Prophet Muhammad was lenient gave the rights of guardianship to the man who owns up the child in one case. At the same seminar The Chief of Syariah Judge from Trengganu, Datuk Ismail Yahya said that the Fatwa issued by the National Fatwa Council is a muzakarrah which is not law binding.(NST 26/2/12). This ruling is unjust.Then the question now here is : Why must the NRD or the Home Minister follow the Fatwa when there are ulamas who do not agree among themselves ? Isn't there some one at all who sees where this all will lead to ?

I am also inclined to think that there are ulamas who led their lives totally out of sync of modern society. Why the need to put Bin or Binti in the birth certificates ? Have they been through airports where they have to fill embarkation and disembarkation forms ? Don't they know that computers cannot accept lengthy names ? Just treat the birth certificates as a civil document not unlike a car registration card. A lot of Muslim countries do not have Bin or Binti in their citizens names. Why do we have to be different ?

When I deliver a baby, it gives me so much maternal feelings. All I care for is the baby have a mother and father to provide a lovely home. All I want is for the child to live and grow up in a healthy enironment. This is a bit difficult whenever you take your child to the clinics or hospitals or schools when people start asking why the child has no father as implied in the birth certificate.

And when the Chairman of Fatwa Council, Tan Sri Shukor Hassan starts talking about inheritance and marriage akad nikah of the child being not valid, I really got blown away. (NST 27/2/12).

These people come from the low socio economic group. What is there to inherit ? Why talk about marriage when you don't know whether whether the child would grow up into an adult ? And he also said there is no shame involved. With due respect, Tan Sri should come down to earth.

I also hope the Royal Council should be more selective when choosing people to sit in the Fatwa Council in future.

Finally, I would like to suggest the Director General of NRD herself and the Home Minister himself should come out and discuss these issues before the figure touches 200,000. I am appealing to the maternal feelings of the present Director General. She inherited this ruling from the previous Director General.I believe she can make the difference.

Yours truly,

Dr Yati Hewett.

My comment : I hope the political leadership looks into this matter quickly. I seriously hope the political leadership does not try to solve this problem by asking the opinion of the religious idiots. They are the dunggus who cause these problems in the first place. Syaitan tidak boleh membetulkan kesesatan. Begitu juga tikus tidak boleh membaiki labu. . As Dr Yati says, these dunggus will not even know what is a 'Disembarkation card'. Just like they do not understand 'time value of money' and a million other things that have to do with living in the real world.

I will follow up on this subject again later. I just want to conclude this post by reproducing a comment sent to me by a Blog reader. This man's complaint is real. It is also not an isolated case. Here is his complaint.

Anonymous said...

My wife is an orphan. Both her parents died decades ago when she was small. When we were about to get married, JAIS insisted she produced the marriage certificates of her dead parents, otherwise she would need to go through even tougher administrative process.

I decided to bring her elder brother and two of my best friends to Narathiwat to get married. Subsequently both me and my wife registered our marriage in Gombak, only to be called for trial and we were found guilty for marrying outside the country, and each one of us was fined RM 1,000.

One thing for sure, I hate the religious authorities in Malaysia and I really think they are a bunch of bastards who make our lives difficult. Go to hell with their teachings and fatwas.

Monday, February 27, 2012 5:55:00 PM

For now I want to conclude with just one remark. We live in an increasingly complicated and post-modern world. This is the real world. Yet we allow the most uneducated and the most stupid members of our society ie the religious idiots dictate over matters that only makes our lives much harder.

The smartest kids become doctors, engineers and professionals. The not so smart become other things. The school dropouts and those who cannot get entry into any kind of other higher education become the religious graduates, the madrasah graduates, the religious teachers and so on. They become the religious class.

Yet we allow these occupants of the lowest rungs of the intellectual ladder to mess up our peoples' lives. The Government better do something quick. Stop producing these religious morons. Do not give them any kind of authority. They just cannot think. They dont understand anything except their "katak bawah tempurung" version of religion. More later.

MACC To Scrutinise More Ministers

2012-02-28T12:06:00.004+08:00

Let me begin today's post with two jokes.

Joke 1. A robber breaks into a house, ties up the houseowner and says, "Give me all your money." The houseowner says, "How dare you break into my house. Dont you know who I am? I am a Minister in the Malaysian Cabinet". The robber stops for a while, thinks about it and then says, "In that case, give me back all my money".

Joke 2. A robber breaks into a house, ties up the houseowner and says, "Give me all your money." The houseowner says, "Take all the money in my safe. Please dont harm me. I am a Minister in the Malaysian Cabinet". The robber stops for a while, thinks about it and says, "I am so sorry. I did not know you were a Minister. I will not steal from you." The Minister is puzzled. The robber continues, "It is just professional courtesy. Robbers should not steal from each other".

The moral of the story : Ministers should not become robbers. When ministers become robbers, even robbers will know it.

Yesterday at the PICC in Putrajaya, the Prime Minister officiated the "Certified Integrity Officer Programme" which is an initiative by the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) or Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM). First here is the news in brief from the New Straits Times :

MACC to get full access to asset declarations

Move will enhance integrity in the civil service and cabinet
PUTRAJAYA: THE Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner will have access to statutory declarations made by ministers, deputy ministers, chief ministers and menteris besar on their assets.
Najib said he agreed to the recommendation on this matter made by the MACC's advisory board last month.
"It is compulsory to declare every asset disposed of or gained," he said after launching the Certified Integrity Officer programme here yesterday.
MACC Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Abu Kassim Mohamed said he would only focus on assets amassed during the tenure of a minister or deputy minister and that of their immediate family.
"Our concern is if there is a sudden increase in assets during the individual's tenure as a minister or deputy minister that can raise doubts."
Abu Kassim was asked to comment on a statement by Minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, who was against the idea.
Nazri had said that revealing details about the amount of money and properties owned by ministers and their families would expose them to "danger" and make them a target for robbers.

First of all lets dispense with yet another unthinking remark by the Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz. Quite obviously Nazri Abdul Aziz is afraid of letting the robbers know how much money and wealth he has when he says the Ministers declaring their money and wealth "would expose them to "danger" and make them a target for robbers". This statement has about as much sense as Nazri himself (folks thats meant to be an oxymoron).

First of all, the Ministers declare their stash of cash and wealth to the Chief Commissioner of the MACC. This is done in confidence. I hope Nazri is not suggesting the Chief Commissioner of the SPRM is a robber or someone who will expose the infomation about his cash and wealth to some gang of robbers. (This is what it implies).

Secondly robbers do not need to do research in the public library to find out which Minister has stashed away huge amounts of money and wealth.

Hello Nazri, robbers have a much easier method of identifying who has cash and wealth stashed in their houses. They just look at your huge mansion, your expensive flashy cars, your flashy lifestyles or the flashy lifestyles of your family members. Then they will say, "Waah rumah dia besaaaar, waah kereta dia mewaaaah, waah girlfriend dia lawaaa". You know, very simple and basic observations like that. Its an easy method which robbers have perfected over centuries.

Rest assured Nazri, the robbers will not call the Chief Commissioner of the MACC and ask him, 'Hello Datuk. Can you give us your list of Top Ten wealthy Ministers living in the Klang Valley. We are planning a robbery this weekend". Bro, ini tahun 2012 dah. Bila nak berhenti jadi dungu lagi.

In a few places in the Quran, Allah says, 'They fear you more than they fear Me..' This is such a true statement by Allah, Sadaqallaah. If humans feared Allah, we would not have so many problems in this world. Unfortunately humans do not fear Allah. But they do fear each other more. So I hope those Ministers who do not fear Allah as much will have more fear of the MACC instead. Of course this only applies to the Ministers who are planning to emulate the robbers they fear so much.

For those Ministers who are still virgins or think they are virginal and have not unlawfully taken even a scrap of sugar away from a fly - well you dont have to fear anything.

Other than asset declarations by Ministers, the Prime Minister also announced a few other things about the MACC yesterday.

1. The MACC's staff strength will be raised by 150 new staff each year to ultimately reach 5000 people. The MACC now has about 1800 staff.

2. The MACC will also get its own 'Suruhanjaya' or 'Commission' to hire and fire its own personnel. Presently the MACC is dependent on the SPA (Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Awam) for hiring and firing staff. This does not always suit the MACC as well because the anti corruption commission has special needs and skill sets that are required when hiring new people.

3. Political parties will also be required to maintain records of the sources of their political funding. Political funds must be deposited into a specific account. I am sure the Pakatan parties will be a little too worried about this new fangled idea in Malaysia.

Can you imagine - 'Sumbangan ikhlas daripada NGO 'International Friends of Israel' or 'Sumbangan ikhlas daripada George Soros 'Foundation for Democracy' - being made public. Or 'Contributions from Singaporean donors'.

But how do you stop bags of cash being transported around town on election day? Or donations to your favorite charities conveniently located in your favorite politicians constituency?

N'theless I feel this is a good start by the MACC.

Friends, fellow Malaysians, these are the type of issues we should all be championing. All of us - BN supporters, Opposition supporters, NGOs, working people, retired people, housewives etc. These are real issues. And we should keep applying pressure on the system to keep improving the monitoring and control of political funding.

I really like the Singapore system of controlling and monitoring political funding. They limit the campaign spending per voter per constituency. I think we can follow a similar model. Say a constituency has 20,000 voters. Say it is an urban constituency. Say we allow each candidate maximum campaign spending of RM20 per voter per constituency and for a short period of time only. This means the total campaign funding by any one candidate in that constituency cannot exceed 20,000 voters x RM20 = RM400,000 and to be spent within the campaign period announced by the Election Commission.

To make the monitoring tighter, each candidate must open a one time only Bank Account dedicated only for the constituency and for that election only. Once the elections are over, Banks must be required to automatically submit a copy of all such account transactions to the Election Commission for their audit purposes.

There is still the problem of 'cash money in a bag' - this is where the Elections Commision and the MACC may need to use more 'mystery shoppers' and other covert methods to dig them out. We must be serious about this.

Finally folks, all these new recommendations and programs by the MACC are also the result of deliberations by the various advisory panels and boards in the MACC which are populated by members of public, including me.

I often get comments from very disappointed readers asking "So Syed, you are now in the MACC. So what are you all doing? Corruption is still bad in the country". Well folks, I would like to think that these are part of the results of all the discussions and deliberations that are going on. Bear with us. More importantly keep your grouses coming. We are all in this together.

Finally here is a picture of the Malaysian Cabinet 2009. Some of the more handsome pirates are no more in this picture. This is a very exclusive club. There is hardly a person in this picture who is not a millionaire.

I wonder what sort of professional courtesies do they observe among each other?

Making Incest Halal ?

2012-02-27T15:45:00.000+08:00

Here is a news report from The Star

‘Fatwa on name not binding on NRD’

KUALA LUMPUR: The fatwa that the name of a child's father may not be recorded in the child's birth certificate if the Muslim baby is born within six months of the parents' marriage is not binding on the National Registration Department, a forum here heard.

“The NRD is an administrative body and has no business delving into other matters,” Perlis Mufti Dr Juanda Jaya said at a forum, Ada Apa Pada Nama (What's in a name), organised by Sisters In Islam here yesterday.

The fatwa, made at the third muzakarah (conference) of the Fatwa Committee of the National Council of Islamic Religious Affairs in January 1971, ruled a woman who is illegitimately pregnant is allowed to get married but the man, however, cannot be recognised as the father of the unborn baby, the baby cannot inherit from him, cannot be considered his mahram (close blood relative) and the man cannot be the baby's guardian.

Dr Juanda said the fatwa was not enforceable unless the states concerned gazetted it.

He added that it would be different if the Conference of Rulers ordered the National Fatwa Council to discuss the matter and the fatwa formally endorsed by the rulers.

States that had reportedly gazetted the fatwa are Negri Sembilan (in 2002), Terengganu (2005) and Malacca (2005). The Federal Territory gazetted it in 2001.

Last November, the Terengganu government proposed to allow children born less than six months of their parents' marriage to carry the father's name.

Perlis issued a state fatwa allowing this in 2009.

Dr Juanda questioned a ruling in some states, where a woman wanting to marry must produce her parents' marriage certificate.

He encouraged affected parents to challenge the NRD in court if it refused to record the father's name.

Dr Juanda and Terengganu Syariah Chief Judge Justice Ismail Yahya said a distinction must be drawn between punishing for zina (having sex out of wedlock) and denying a child his nasab (lineage).

When asked whether affected parents from a state where the NRD had refused to record the father's name could get the deed done in Perlis and Terengganu, the two men said “yes”.

Fellow panellist Nizam Bashir, a civil law and syariah law practitioner, said the NRD practice contravenes Articles 5 and 8 of the Federal Constitution, which give a child the right to life, privacy, identity to equal treatment under the law and to non-discrimination."

End of article.

My comments begin here :

Dr Juanda Jaya, a Sarawakian, is the very young and outspoken Mufti of Perlis, similar to his predecessor Dr Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin.

Nizam Bashir, originally from Malacca is a lawyer who is now practising in Kuala Lumpur. Both Dr Juanda Jaya and Nizam Bashir are also members of a Quranic Studies group on Facebook which I moderate.

First of all Dr Juanda Jaya, Nizam Bashir and Terengganu Syariah Chief Judge Justice Ismail Yahya should be congratulated because they are speaking up to defend the rights of innocent children to have their father's names properly recorded in their Birth Certificates.

The issue here is that some of the religious authorities do not want babies who are born six months or less from the date of their parents marriage to be recognised as legitimate children. They want to label these children 'illegitimate'.

In other words they want to punish innocent babies if they had been conceived before their parents got legally married. This is typical of the confused version of religion that some of these religious people uphold. To me this is a very cruel thing to do to innocent babies. I think this is also why the Mufti, the Chief Syariah Judge and the lawyer were speaking up at this forum.

Needless to say, the Quran does not say any such thing. This is just another example of extra Quranic ideas that have crept into their religion from outside the Quran.

Any decent human being with civilised views will agree that it is most unfair to punish innocent babies who have absolutely no say over when or how they were conceived by their biological parents.

I am glad that enlightened Muslims like the Mufti Of Perlis Dr Juanda Jaya, Terengganu Syariah Chief Judge Justice Ismail Yahya and Nizam Bashir are standing up for the rights of the innocent babies. Here is that paragraph again :

"Dr Juanda and Terengganu Syariah Chief Judge Justice Ismail Yahya said a distinction must be drawn between punishing for zina (having sex out of wedlock) and denying a child his nasab (lineage).

When asked whether affected parents from a state where the NRD had refused to record the father's name could get the deed done in Perlis and Terengganu, the two men said “yes”.

The Star also reports on Dr Juanda : "Dr Juanda questioned a ruling in some states, where a woman wanting to marry must produce her parents' marriage certificate. He encouraged affected parents to challenge the NRD in court if it refused to record the father's name."

And also the statement by the lawyer Nizam Bashir : "Fellow panellist Nizam Bashir, a civil law and syariah law practitioner, said the NRD practice contravenes Articles 5 and 8 of the Federal Constitution, which give a child the right to life, privacy, identity to equal treatment under the law and to non-discrimination."

What is being argued here is not Islam per se but the F'iqh (pronounced 'fake' in English) or Fiqah in Malay. Fiqh means jurisprudence. I do not know how many more centuries it is going to take for Muslims to realise that it is high time they critically re examine the Fiqh or jurisprudence that often makes their lives so difficult.

This is what the Mufti of Perlis, the Terengganu Syariah Chief Justice and Nizam Bashir were really trying to grapple with at that forum. The problem is not just a 'Made in Malaysia' fatwa dating back to just 1971. 1971 was just yesterday.

If the Muslims really want to progress (and get closer to the real Islam that is found in the Quran) they have to question the very sources of these Fiqh or jurisprudence. They will have to go back six hundred years, eight hundred years or a thousand years and critically re-examine what was written down at that time. Because that is the time period in Islamic history when all these strange ideas first began to be written down. Mesti ada satu penilaian semula.

Sometimes the Fiqh is downright nasty. For example please read this part of the news report again carefully. The Fiqh actually legalises incest. Here it is :

"The fatwa, made at the third muzakarah (conference) of the Fatwa Committee of the National Council of Islamic Religious Affairs in January 1971, ruled a woman who is illegitimately pregnant is allowed to get married but the man, however, cannot be recognised as the father of the unborn baby, the baby cannot inherit from him, CANNOT BE CONSIDERED HIS MAHRAM (CLOSE BLOOD RELATIVE) and the man cannot be the baby's guardian."

What it means is that a baby girl (for example) that is born out of wedlock or is conceived before the parents got married is deemed illegitimate. Because the baby is deemed illegitimate therefore the baby is not recognised as the lawful child of the baby's own biological father.

Because the baby girl is not recognised as the lawful child of its own biological father, therefore when the baby girl grows up, it is lawful - according to the fiqh of the Madhab of Shafie (the Syafie sect) - for the biological father to marry and have sexual intercourse with his own illegitimate daughter.

This is exactly what is meant by the fatwa passed by the Fatwa Committee of the National Council of Islamic Religious Affairs in January 1971 when they said that the illegitimate daughter "CANNOT BE CONSIDERED HIS MAHRAM (CLOSE BLOOD RELATIVE)".

It is lawful under the Fiqh of the Shafie Sect (Madhab Syafie) for a man to marry his own biological but illegitimate daughter.

I first heard about this really incredible Fiqh of Imam Syafie from my wife who studied Law at the International Islamic University in the early 90s. I was shocked.

The English dictionary definition of incest is as follows :

1. sexual intercourse between closely related persons.

2. the crime of sexual intercourse, cohabitation, or marriage between persons within the degrees of consanguinity or affinity wherein marriage is legally forbidden.

Folks, I think we all know what this means. You cannot have sexual intercourse with your father, mother, brother, son, daughter, sister, uncle, aunty and so on. And you dont have to be a Muslim to know this. Even if you are half civilised I think you will know this.

And all this is already inside the Quran. This English dictionary definition of incest that I quote above is no different from the Quran's definition of people with whom you should not marry or have sexual intercourse. Here is the Quran :

Surah 4:22 Do not marry the women who were previously married to your fathers - existing marriages are exempted and shall not be broken - for it is a gross offense, and an abominable act.

Surah 4:23 Haram for you are your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, the sisters of your fathers, the sisters of your mothers, the daughters of your brother, the daughters of your sister, your nursing mothers, the girls who nursed from the same woman as you, the mothers of your wives, the daughters of your wives with whom you have consummated the marriage - if the marriage has not been consummated, you may marry the daughter. Also haram for you are the women who were married to your genetic sons. Also, you shall not be married to two sisters at the same time - but do not break up existing marriages. GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful.

Here the Quran refers to the biological relationship. It is incest if you have sexual relations or marry with anyone as per the list above.

It does not refer to a piece of paper known as a "legal" marriage certificate issued according to the Fiqh of any Madhab, or whether the baby was born six months or less from the date of the parents' marriage acording to the same Fiqh of the same Madhab.

If you are the biological father of a baby, it means you are the father. You cannot deny that at all.

Even without the Quran many civilisations already know this. The Chinese still have the belief that couples who share the same surname should not marry each other. A 'Wong' cannot marry a 'Wong' even though they are not biologically related. The reason they do this is because they wish to avoid any risk of incestuous relationship.

Why are people so afraid of incest? Why does the Quran make incest haram in the two verses quoted above?

Because we all know that incest causes biological problems in the offspring. It is also called "in breeding". Creatures (humans and animals) that are born of in breeding can suffer various genetic disorders.

The famous case was the inbreeding among the Royal families of Europe in the 19th century. Royal cousins from Queen Victoria's household kept marrying their royal cousins in Russia, Prussia and Spain. Although not incestuous it really restricted their gene pool. Quite a few of them suffered haemophilia - a hereditary genetic disorder which was passed by marrying close cousins and relatives. Their blood would not clot. In worse cases they would suffer bleeding through the ears, nose etc and die.

But according to the Fiqh of Imam Shafii, it is ok for a father to marry and have sexual intercourse with his own biological daughter - as long as the Fiqh says his daughter is illegitimate.

That is why I always keep saying - the Muslims must return back to the true Islam which is inside the Quran. If the Muslims keep abandoning the Quran (by ignoring it, by not reading and understanding it, by listening to the confused religious scholars' fairy tales) then that is how long we will need silly, time wasting public forums where we have to fight for the right to write a father's name on a simple birth certificate.

Orang lain dah naik ke langit, dah belah bulan. Kita pula nak isi borang "Birth Certificate" pun tak tahu.

Surah 25:30 "The messenger said, "My Lord, my people have deserted this Quran."

Indeed the Muslims have deserted the Quran

NFCorp clarifies use of loan

2012-02-27T11:38:00.001+08:00

My comment : Folks, you may be wondering why all of a sudden I am posting these news releases by the NFC folks. Everyone has a stake in this NFC issue and not just NFC itself. Public funds (our money) was used.

The time has really come when all this type of wheeling and dealing has to stop. This business nexus (usually running into the milions and billions) between the Goverment, the Cabinet Ministers, their families or their near and dear ones really has to stop. We must put an end to this. It is ethically and morally not right. The Malaysian people will not tolerate this type of illicit relationships anymore.

However the Opposition has also been taking advantage of the situation and blowing things up to suit their own purposes. They have been highlighting what they say are detailed aspects of this NFC case - as though they have direct access to the Board of the NFC. Much of their hype over the details is just that - hot air.

The following clarifications (which have been sent to almost the entire media and the Bloggers) by the NFC seek to explain some of these "technical details" which have been hyped up by the Opposition. I am merely posting their clarifications without any further comment.

Suffice to say they are putting things in black and white. If they are telling the truth, well and good. If they are bending, hiding, being selective etc with the truth, then be informed that this is in the public record.

SAA

news release

FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION

SUNDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2012

NFCorp clarifies use of loan

MP Tony Pua Misleading Public

KUALA LUMPUR --- National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFCorp) responded today to say the opposition MP for Petaling Jaya Tony Pua’s statement that NFCorp had violated conditions of the loan agreement was clearly meant to mislead the public when providing the media with only a selective set of the facts.

His accusations, NFCorp said, did not reflect the full details and true picture on the use of the loan approved by the government for the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) programme.

In a statement to clarify, NFCorp said the loan agreement had to be read concurrently with the implementation agreement, the powers of the company as set out in its memorandum and articles of association and other related documents.

In law, the articles of association represent the understanding between the shareholders of the company on their relationship with each other and the powers of the company as a legal entity on how it would actually conduct its business under the law and in accordance to the Companies Act 1965.

Under the Third Schedule in NFCorp’s memorandum and articles of association, Article 19 (K) entitles NFCorp, “to invest and deal with the money of the company not immediately required in such manner as may from time to time be thought fit.”

NFCorp said that it was important that the loan agreement be read together with the implementation agreement and the company’s memorandum and articles of association for a holistic understanding of MoF’s terms and conditions for the loan.

Also in the same Third Schedule in NFCorp’s memorandum and articles of association, Article 19 (L) states, “To lend and advance money or give credit to any person or company; to guarantee and give guarantees or indemnities for the payment of money or the performance of contracts or obligations by any person or company; to secure or undertake in any way the repayment of moneys lent or advanced to or the liabilities incurred by any person or company; and otherwise to assist any person or company.”

In addition, Article 19 (M) states, “To borrow or raise or secure the payment of money in such manner as the company may think fit and to secure the same or the repayment or performance of any debt, liability, contract, guarantee or other engagement incurred or to be entered into by the company in any way and in particular by the issue of debentures perpetual or otherwise, charged upon all or any of the company’s property (both present and future), including its uncalled capital; and to purchase, redeem, or pay off any such securities.”

NFCorp said the fact that the government subscribed to a preference share in NFCorp would have meant that the authorities had taken cognizance of the powers of the company, among others to extend inter company loans, as provided in NFCorp’s memorandum and articles of association.

The loan agreement signed on 6 December 2007 also provided for the following important clauses which were not highlighted by MP Tony Pua –

12.1 - In the event that the Loan Facility is utilized to fully pay for the purchase of landed properties, the Borrower hereby agrees that it shall create the necessary charge/assignment over such landed properties in favour of the Lender.

12.2 - In the event the Loan Facility is utilized partially to pay for the purchase of landed properties, the Borrower hereby agrees that it shall create the necessary charge/assignment over such landed properties in favour of the

Lender in proportion to the amount of the Loan Facility used for the purchase of the said landed properties, subject to obtaining of agreement by other financiers or parties who contribute to the purchase of the said landed properties. It is hereby understood by the parties that such proportion of the Loan Facility shall rank pari passu with other financing or loans secured for the purpose of purchasing the said landed properties.

In the course of the project implementation, the government had in April 2009 put on hold the building of an Export Quality Abattoir that was to be completed and rented to NFCorp. This was to facilitate a feasibility study of the viability of the feedlot project by an independent consultant appointed by the government.

As such, the effective date on the loan repayment has been renegotiated with the government due to the deferred construction of the Export Quality Abattoir that has yet to be built by the government. The request is for the repayment to only start after the completion of the delayed Export Quality Abattoir.

Had an Export Quality Abattoir capable of 350 heads of cattle a day been built by the government in 2008 and leased to NFCorp as agreed in the implementation agreement, the possibility of the beef production numbers would have been achieved. The contract farmers under the Entrepreneur Development Programme and NFCorp targets would be able to see 246,000 heads of cattle bred by 2015 and deliver 44,000 metric tonnes of beef.

According to NFCorp, it was during this temporary deferment that monies were invested with the objective of ensuring that the company is able to meet its loan repayments. Rather than just placing the monies in money market instruments, it was deemed more prudent a business decision to invest in properties in the short-term. The intention to invest in properties was to hedge the funds in order to protect its value. Clearly this was not a dissipation of funds.

In the event that the Government resumes the NFC programme to construct the Export Quality Abattoir, NFCorp would dispose off its other short-term investments in properties, and the funds and profits will be readily available for the company’s operations.

The property market said NFCorp, is sound and secure, more protected, and less volatile than others, and the investments could be liquidated when the company needs it for the implementation of the bio gas plant, feedlot phase 2 and 3, palm kernel crushing plant and the feedmill.

Just prior to the NFC programme being suspended, NFCorp had taken it sixth draw down amounting to RM64.723 million as per schedule. However, in the following month, the government announced that the Export Quality Abattoir was deferred until a full viability study was done. This made a stringent call for the company to decide what to do with the drawn down funds.

NFCorp said that amounts drawn-down from the special loan account are irrevocable which meant it could not be returned. In addition, the interest rate cost for the funds transferred to the special loan account becomes chargeable regardless of how much of the RM250 million had been specifically drawn down for the various stages of the project.

Therefore, the investment decision was well within the powers of the company as set up in its memorandum and articles of association that provides for NFCorp, “to invest and deal with the money of the company not immediately required in such manner as may from time to time be thought fit.”

NEWS RELEASE prepared and issued on behalf of National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFCorp) by public relations consulting firms - GRA Communications Sdn Bhd and Prestige Communications Sdn Bhd. FOR MORE INFORMATION, please contact GHAZALIE ABDULLAH at +6017 3361090 or ghazalie@gra-pr.com OR HAMIDAH KARIM at +6012 2672397 or hkarim@i-prestige.com.

Bill Maher Savages Republican Candidates

2012-02-26T18:49:00.004+08:00

This is the American stand up comedian Bill Maher's take on the Republican presidential hopefuls in the US. Plus a perceptive view of some issues in America. The language is sometimes colourful. Bill Maher is an intelligent and well informed observer of American society and politics.

NFCorp Replies : The Police Do Not Know The Law

2012-02-26T17:17:00.002+08:00

news release

FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION

SUNDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2012

NFCorp questions motive of director of commercial crimes

KUALA LUMPUR --- Following media reports that Federal Commercial Crimes Investigation Director Datuk Syed Ismail Syed Azizan had stated that police investigations into the RM250 million cattle venture issue had indicated that there were elements of criminal breach of trust (CBT) and cheating, NFCorp is concerned that the statement had been prematurely given.

According to news reports, the statement given suggested that money had been channeled from NFCorp to unrelated companies in which NFCorp held no shares; that certain NFCorp directors also sat on the boards of these unrelated companies; and that the police in view of the above, had recommended for the directors of NFCorp to be charged for CBT.

NFCorp, as advised by its lead counsel Datuk Seri Shafee Abdullah, wishes to address in reply to each of these statements.

Firstly, NFCorp is shocked and puzzled that the Director of Commercial Crimes had prematurely issued such a statement when he himself had admitted that the investigations are still ongoing and therefore still incomplete.

Further NFCorp questions the prudence and motive behind such a statement as it seems to be an attempt to unfairly pre empt the honourable Attorney General’s decision over the matter.

Is the Director of Commercial Crimes attempting to usurp the powers of the honourable Attorney General who in law is the sole authority under the constitution to decide if there is a crime or not for purposes of prosecution, asked NFCorp.

Secondly, the Director of Commercial Crimes seems to have forgotten that the so-called ‘unrelated companies’ of NFCorp where the fund was channeled to, were always meant to be the subsidiaries of NFCorp.

The Commercial Crime division, according to statements given by the directors to the authorities, is aware of the 2009 proposal by NFCorp to the government to novate the loan agreement so as to rationalise the structure of NFCorp to bring in all associated companies and assets within the hold of NFCorp so that the government loan be better secured.

Thirdly, the fact that the directors of NFCorp sat on the board of these associate companies prove exactly the point of the attempt to rationalise the above said structure.

Fourthly, the Commercial Crimes fails to understand the dynamics of the facts and the law in the NFCorp issue.

According to counsel, a loan document is never a document of the nature of a trust. If the loan is used for a different purpose (which is not the case here), it is therefore at worst, a breach of the loan agreement for which a civil remedy has been inbuilt in the loan agreement. It is not a criminal matter.

Counsel also added that the fact of NFCorp wanting to rationalise the various associated companies demolish any perceived dishonest intention on the part of NFCorp and/or their directors.

NFCorp therefore wishes to enquire the police if, in their investigations, they had paid enough consideration to the fact that there is total lacking of the elements of dishonesty in this case, which is a primary ingredient of CBT and cheating?

In the last three and half months, the directors, management and staff of NFCorp had extended its fullest cooperation to both the police and the MACC wherein especially the directors had been subjected to intensive interviews. NFCorp will continue to extend its cooperation to ensure that the truth prevails.

NEWS RELEASE prepared and issued on behalf of National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFCorp) by public relations consulting firms - GRA Communications Sdn Bhd and Prestige Communications Sdn Bhd.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, please contact GHAZALIE ABDULLAH at +6017 3361090 or ghazalie@gra-pr.com OR HAMIDAH KARIM at +6012 2672397 or hkarim@i-prestige.com.

Di Bawah Pimpinan Liwatters, Khalwatters Dan Adulterers

2012-02-26T15:17:00.003+08:00

Yesterday I received this breaking news via sms. A PKR ulama bigwig has been caught for khalwatting with another man's wife in a hotel room in Kuantan around 3:00 am in the morning.

Today's Star also carried the report. Here it is in full :

Top PKR man caught for ‘khalwat’
PETALING JAYA: A high-ranking Selangor PKR leader has allegedly been caught with another man's wife at a hotel room in Kuantan.
He was caught by the woman's husband, who went to the hotel in the wee hours of the morning with their three-year-old daughter.
The 28-year-old woman is believed to be working for a private firm in Kuantan.
The husband, who was accompanied by several friends, later alerted the religious authorities.
Pahang Islamic Religious Department deputy director Datuk Ghazali Abdul Aziz confirmed that the raiding team arrived at the hotel at 3.10am yesterday.
“By the time we arrived, they were already outside the room,” he said.
Ghazali said they were investigating the case for khalwat (close proximity).
“It is too early for any conclusion. The husband is our witness,” he said.
The PKR leader, who had glorified Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as an Islamic leader, is believed to be planning to go to Mecca to perform the umrah early next month.

Lewatnya ya ustaz. Lepas sembahyang isyak ke? Ataupun awal paginya - sebelum sembahyang subuh kut. Takkan berdua-duaan dalam bilik hotel pada jam 3:00 pagi nak 'kaunseling' bini orang pasal family problem ? Kalau orang UMNO pula buat - pasti ustaz sudah tuduh UMNO berzina. Bila ustaz pula buat, its ok ke? Pi dah mabuk.

So the ustaz engaged in a little Sapu Bini Orang action. This seems to be the norm in their camp. The difference is, in this latest Kuantan case, the husband did not consent for his wife to be inside another man's hotel room at 3 am in the morning.

In Liwat's case, the Sapu Bini Orang was done with the husband's consent. Despite the "13 tompok" on that mattress, the husband is cool.

And when Mat Sapu B.O. was caught with that married woman (who at that time was not his wife) in that hotel room in Kota Bharu, they took him to their kangaroo court and acquitted him. He was acquitted on technicalities. I have a strong feeling that this time too this ustaz guy will be let off on technicalities. The unwilling husband will have to seek for justice elsewhere.

What do we learn from all this? The religious people are the biggest liars and hypocrites. They are truly satans. I praise Allah Almighty Alhamdulilah that for the past 25 years since 1987 when I first read the Quran to understand it, I have been able to realise this fact. And I am seeing more and more evidence for this everyday. When you get embroiled in religion like this, it is a one way street - you become liars.

But as long as the village is full of idiots (educated, uneducated, literate or illiterate) you will still be king of the dung hill.

Cops want NFCorp directors charged with CBT

2012-02-26T10:41:00.003+08:00

This is from The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have recommended to the AG's Chambers that directors of the embattled National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) be charged.
...they had recommended that the directors be charged with criminal breach of trust under Section 409 of the Penal Code.
.. police were also investigating the case as cheating, under Section 420. ..police had also frozen the account as well as property bought by the directors using the money drawn down from the loan NFCorp had obtained from the Government.
.. were carrying out money trail investigations.
.. loan money to buy property as investments. NFC's assets have been frozen ...

Here is a picture of Shahrizat doing the Mother Theresa thing.

There is a growing consesnsus that the PM has made a big mistake by not telling Shahrizat to just resign and go. Talk is the PM is taking the "soft" approach. Shahrizat's two year term as Senator ends in March 2012. If her senatorship is not renewed she will automatically have to relinquish her Cabinet post. If this is true then I think it is the chicken way of doing things.

There is growing discontent among the Wanita UMNO against Shahrizat. The Deputy of Wanita UMNO Kamilia something is believed to have almost broken ranks completely with Shahrizat. Well at least some of the Wanita ladies have grandes cojones.

This really silly issue has been dragging for too long and it reflects very poorly on the PM's indecisiveness.

Here is the rule. The post of Cabinet Minister is not a place for you to enrich yourself, your family members, your friends or your cronies - whether legally or not, whether acording to procedure or not. Much higher than laws are morals and ethics. It is morally and ethically wrong. And we should also change our Laws to make these type of things also legally wrong.

This type of "enrich myself" behaviour has to stop. If you want to dedicate your life as a politician and Cabinet Minister it must be because you want to serve the public interest. Not because you want to serve your own damned interests at the expense of taxpayers funds.

The fact that Shahrizat has not yet resigned of her own free will until now, despite all the revelations and now despite this statement by the Police, simply shows that Cabinet Ministers can and do have skins that are thicker than the thickest rubbery lips. It is true that Shahrizat herself has not commited any crime tapi takkan langsung tak ada malu.

Ultimately everything falls upon the Prime Minister. The No 1 man in the country. If the PM tolerates such behaviour then it will be very difficult to repair the rot. It must begin with the PM. The PM must make the right decisions.

Tunisia, Egypt Islamists signal bigger religion role

2012-02-24T21:56:00.002+08:00

PARIS (Reuters) - Islamist politicians in Tunisia and Egypt have begun to lay down markers about how Muslim their states should be - and first signs show they want more religion than previously admitted.
Islamist parties swept the first free elections in both countries in recent months
a key Tunisian party in the constituent assembly and the head of Egypt's influential Muslim Brotherhood both made statements this week revealing a stronger emphasis on Islam in government.
.. Tunisia's new constitution .. draft called Islam "the principle source of legislation" - a phrase denoting laws based on the sharia moral and legal code.
Egyptian Brotherhood .. said his group wanted a president with "an Islamic background."
Secularists in both countries warned voters against trusting the Islamists ... Islamists would gradually insert more religion into the political and legal systems.
Islam is described as Tunisia's religion "and the principal source of its legislation."
.. sharia means all laws must be consistent with Islam .. . if those vetting the legislation impose a narrow reading of Islam.
the draft was more Islamic than expected because "the public that voted for us is a conservative public that wants sharia ..."
EGYPTIAN PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS
.."the candidate must have an Islamic background."
" Brotherhood ...to support someone who is in line with Islamic values and is sympathetic to Islamic law,"
Libya is also transforming its political system
.. Tripoli would take sharia as the source for its laws.
Hundreds of Libyan Muslim Brothers and Salafists rallied last month to demand sharia law.

MobTV.my - "Let's Talk : Syed Akbar Ali on PAS and UMNO"

2012-02-24T12:16:00.001+08:00

http://mobtv.my/talkshow-862.html

OutSyed The Box

Malaysia's Global Competitiveness Down Five Rungs

Behind Every Falling Woman Is A Hubby

Nurul Nadirah's Remains Found

Obama, Pope, Mandela, Castro, Dr Van Helsink, Igor Send Congrats Too

Club Less One

Dr MAZA : Can Non Muslims Go To Heaven?

Qantas To MAS : Use Your Money First Aaaah!

Moving Ahead

Kiamat Makin Dekat

Erykah Badu : Ministry Of Home Affairs Has To Grow Up

Dr Mahathir : "Hukum Hudud ini dibentuk oleh ahli-ahli feqah.."

Clown

Gaji Minima Perangkap Untuk Jatuhkan BN

Air Asia : "Now Everyone Cannot Fly"

Houses Which Generate And Sell Excess Electricity

This is the future already. We should start doing the same thing here. We have more sunshine here than most other places on earth.

Demand spikes for zero-energy-cost homes

Minimum Wage : Ekonomi Melayu Hancur, Inflasi Dua Angka

No Surprise - Khazanah Director Scandal Pula

Melayu diperbodohkan oleh para kolonialis Arab

Daim says voters fed up.

Proton Loses Money, MAS Loses Money, Khazanah Sells Family Silver. Dont Worry, Everything Is Under Control.

Tony Fernandez Take Over MAS

Sabak Bernam MP Gets Six Years Jail

Police Brutality & Freedom To Demonstrate

US Navy Develops Game Changing Rail Gun

Mr Prime Minister : Ulamak Menyusahkan Manusia Lagi

MACC To Scrutinise More Ministers

Making Incest Halal ?

NFCorp clarifies use of loan

Bill Maher Savages Republican Candidates

NFCorp Replies : The Police Do Not Know The Law

Di Bawah Pimpinan Liwatters, Khalwatters Dan Adulterers

Cops want NFCorp directors charged with CBT

Tunisia, Egypt Islamists signal bigger religion role

MobTV.my - "Let's Talk : Syed Akbar Ali on PAS and UMNO"