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Criminal Councillors in Ampang?

July 3rd, 2008
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It seems that two nominees to a Selangor municipal council have been accused of having been involved in criminal activities just few days before they are to be sworn in as Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) councillors next Tuesday. Those two candidates are being investigated by the police following complaints by the public. NST reports that three of them have problems.

At least three candidates, already issued appointment letters as
councillors, are being scrutinised following claims by an Ampang
resident that two had police records for robbery and involvement with
the underworld. Another is alleged to have served time under preventive laws. Checks with the police confirmed that at least one had a criminal record

I have to blame the committee (including Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin) who vetted the nominees. The naming of councillors were delayed for three over months due to different selection process as compared to previous government.

Khalid had said that the three-month delay was due to the time taken to vet the list, which was sent to the respective councils last
week

However, all candidates should have been vetted by ACA, police, Insolvency Department, Bank Negara, Syariah court (for muslims), MPAJ and the rest of the cavalry. This would have ensured a better selection of candidates. Candidates who won’t be disputed.

Now, Khalid Ibrahim says it will take another 6 months to vet the candidates, and those found guilty will be removed.

Over the next six months, we will check the backgrounds of all the 288 councillors selected by the state government

Zuraida also clarified that:

Zuraida said a committee had vetted the list based on certain criteria and quotas. “We had submitted names of people who have worked hard and shown consistent performance. “The two nominees in question were genuine in helping us. They did not take a single sen from me,” she said. Zuraida added that the nominees would be removed if there was evidence of criminal activities.

Meanwhile, MPAJ boss created an escape route by denying any knowledge:

MPAJ president Mohammad Yacob said he was shocked by the allegation. He said the council did not have any details of the nominees because the state government provided the list.

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Islamic NGOs protest against building houses of worship

July 3rd, 2008
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Well, the actual statement says:

Abdul Rahman said the memorandum also protested against the unrestricted construction of houses of worship of all races without consideration for racial sensitivities.

The memorandum was given by a coalition of 100 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Selangor today. Some 200 representatives of the NGOs, led by Datuk Abdul Rahman Palil, handed the memorandum to the sultan’s naval aide-de-camp (ADC) Commander Ahmad Ramli Kardi at Istana Bukit Kayangan.

The statement above sounds very vague and not to mention dangerous. What is meant by “unrestricted” and “consideration for racial sensitivities”. In Bolehland, that is usually associated with a one-sided argument for the privileged race.

I think these people should not butt in on issues that is not related to their religion. Its not as if the authorities are planning to demolish a mosque and build a gurdwara on it or using the temple to convert muslims. This is what makes the rest of Malaysians tick and become wary of their religion.

Let each neighborhood have its own set of places of worship so that people don’t have to travel far. We have seen in Penang and Malacca where various institutions basically on the same street without problem for centuries.

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Perak UMNO apologises over Hamidah’s racial insult

July 2nd, 2008
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Following the furore over Perak Sungai Rapat assemblyperson Hamidah Osman’s racial insult in the state assembly, the state UMNO and BN had publicly apologized.

In a statement, state Umno secretary Datuk Ramly Zahari said the
remarks of Hamidah, who is also Gopeng Wanita Umno chief, were
regrettable.

“As such, Umno and Barisan apologises to
those, especially the Indian community, who felt slighted or
offended,” he said yesterday.

“Although she has retracted her words at the state assembly,
it is felt that we should still extend our apologies in order to
maintain the good relationship among the races,” said Ramly.

“We hope it will be accepted with an open heart by everyone,” Ramly added.

In NST, the following is mentioned:

In a statement faxed to the New Straits Times office here yesterday
evening, Perak Umno liaison secretary Datuk Ramly Zahari said he was
instructed by state liaison chairman Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali to
issue a statement on the matter.

He said Tajol Rosli wanted the
matter dealt with quickly for fear it would affect race relations since
the issue had drawn flak from the public.

Ramly said Perak Umno
and the state Barisan Nasional regretted “the slip of tongue” by Sungai
Rapat assemblyman Hamidah Osman and “apologised to all quarters who are
unhappy with the remark, especially the Indian community”.

“Hamidah had retracted her statement in the state assembly.


“Nevertheless, to maintain a good relationship among the
races, we hope this statement of regret and apology will be accepted
with an open heart by all parties,” he said.

Ramly admitted that Hamidah had uttered a remark which insulted the
Indian community, but maintained it was merely a slip of the tongue.

Her statements caused much anger in the community, with many police reports being made and at least two protests being held.

MIC’s Samy Vellu also expressed unhappiness over her statements.

For the record, Hamidah had apologized 3 times publicly to community. Time to move on. We forgive, but not forget.

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Cronyism in PKR led Selangor?

June 29th, 2008
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Frankly speaking, I can’t accept the ridiculous reason given by Rusli, Anwar’s younger brother that both Anwar and MB Khalid Ibrahim never knew of his appointment as Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Berhad’s (KDEB) special advisor in APRIL, just a month after general elections.

Rusli said that in April, he was appointed special advisor to KDEB
president Abdul Karim Munisar with no executive power and is not a
member of the board of director in any companies held by KDEB

Its not a matter of knowing or not knowing, but a critical issue of public perception. Surely the brother is not so stupid to realise the implications when people hear about his appointment, given that KDEB is state owned investment arm. This is the sacrifice that people in politics have to make. When a person joins politics and hold (virtual) power, the whole family plus relations suffer due to the public’s expection of ethics. He should have not accepted the position in the first place.

If people can question Mahathir, Badawi, Samy Vellu, Ong Ka Ting, Ling Liong Sik, etc., surely can question Anwar! This is not “baseless accusations” but the perception created in the eyes of the public.

Even though Rusli has resigned, the damaged has been done. More ammo for BN and especially Toyo’s Selangor BN.

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Unit trust scheme to reverse Indian equity drop

June 26th, 2008
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The hottest news among the concerned Indians surely have to be the news that Indian equity DROPPED to 1.1% from previous 1.2%. This is a big blow to MIC, and if used properly, will spell the end of Samy Vellu and MIC. For all they claimed on stages and advertised in papers, what we ended up with is a drop in equity. When everyone else registered positive growth, ours went the opposite way. Even though the value of investment increased (by/to?) RM575.2million or 9% within the period 2004-2006.
Unless there is proof that from 2006 to 2007, some sort mini miracle happened to improve the percentage…it will be a body blow for MIC.

Yeah, equity may not be all, but as it is an indicator fondly used by other races, so I guess its fair that we too treat it as an important indicator.

The non-privileged, normal Malaysians share increased from 40.6 percent in 2004 to 43.9
percent in 2006, meaning the Chinese community’s hold increased 3.3%, far more than the privileged and Indians communities.

For non-bumiputeras, it increased from 40.6% in 2004 to 43.9% in 2006. Chinese ownership group saw an increase from 39.6% to 42.4%, while for Indians it showed a slight decline from 1.2% to 1.1%.

However, there was a decline in foreign ownership from 32.5% to 30.1% while for nominees, it fell from 8.0% to 6.6%.

Also, the contentious “privileged’ people equity is being put at 19.4% whereas alternative figures quote more than 45% (google for ASLI’s report on bumiputra equity), increasing from 18.9% in 2004. ?During the period, individual ownership increased from 15.0% to 15.1% while for institutions, including Permodalan Nasional Bhd, it increased from 2.2% to 2.6%. The government’s target under the 9MP is to attain bumiputera equity ownership between 20% and 25% by 2010, which excludes government companies like Petroliam Nasional Bhd and Khazanah Nasional Bhd. The equity ownership is based on the par value of the shares and not on market capitalization.

The irony is privileged people’s equity increased 0.5% and below are among the measures to reach the target of 20 to 25% being introduced by PM:
» Read more: Unit trust scheme to reverse Indian equity drop

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