Desaru Golden Beach Resort

Some photo to share during my previous trip to Desaru. And i found out that the resort we stayed (Desaru Golden Beach Resort) is the resort that organize Desaru Thriathlon which we (Me, Boon Keat, and a friend of TBK) participated in year 2002 representing UPM. Two (2) teams were represented UPM, we were one of the team, 2nd last, while the other UPM team was Champion. As i only cycling in the team, therefore i "completed" the Triathlon by swimming 50m in the sea, and running for 1 hour on the beach.

WE REPRESENTED UPM BEFORE LER.....Don't Play-play.

Off to Gua Musang, Kelantan

I will be away to Gua Musang, Kelantan today for a stakeholder consultation. See you tomorrow night. It will be my 1st time to step on Kelantan soil. A moment to remember!

You can always call my handphone.

此刻，我们槟城人最需要的（上）

二零零七年十月二十五日 上午十一时三十五分


文：梁友瑄

身为槟城人，常会有一股莫名的自豪感。

自豪于这座小岛，也自豪于自己是这座小岛的子民，总会觉得没有什么食物可以媲美槟城美食了，也没有一个地方可以像槟城一样，岛上充满闲情逸致的气息，蔚蓝的海洋、漂亮的美景、戏剧演出活动，既没有都市的冷峻，却也不致于走在潮流的末端。

槟城是那么的好，我们常这么以为，以致“孕育”出“大槟城主义”一词。在他州朋友的眼里，跟槟城人在槟城以外的地方用餐，可能会有不愉快的经验；对许多槟城子民来说“槟城什么都好”，好到让别人受不了。

我也常以生于槟城，长于槟城为荣，即便出国以后，“槟城”总是不时挂在我嘴边，他是我生命的泉源，最初的立足点，它和我共同拥有年少岁月的回忆，不论我们怎么在岛上的大街小巷狂奔乱窜，始终还是在它的怀抱里。

这种自豪感，在我来到台北以后也未曾消失。才深深发觉，一旦心里刻上“槟城”的印记，这辈子都将难以磨灭。

在台北的这几年，我试着以较理性与客观的角度审视自己的“槟城情结”，发现这错综复杂的情感中，槟城人的部分自信心，有时候竟来得莫名奇妙，说穿了，这是一种具排他性的岛民心态，这种内容空洞的自信心，常使我们不知为何而自豪，却非如此不可。

也因此，我们忽略了槟城的不好，形成一种自溺，槟城好槟城什么都好，因此我们忘了或下意识忽略槟城现有的疮疤，继续开心过日子。

槟城的公共交通系统不好；治安不好；河很臭；槟城的购物中心无休止的开了一家又一家，却永远没有足够的休闲场所；槟城没有读书风气；没有更多选择以外的电影；槟城人对槟城的文化古迹冷漠；槟城人不知道槟城文化是什么；槟城人事实上爱着槟城却不够了解槟城。

我曾经半开玩笑的跟台湾朋友说如果把台湾值得借镜的部分搬到槟城，那我大概就可以不离开槟城了。

然而说到底，槟城仍需要改变，我们必须摆脱那种过于自大的自信，也不能终日只抱着好吃的食物与亲友直到生命终止的那一天。

OKU - GOD Punished?

Is sitting on wheelchair is God punished? Then how about all OKU - Orang Kurang Upaya that live on this planet? Datuk Badruddin Amiruldin (BN-Jerai) said it. An insult to all human!

Quote from NST:

"An angry Badruddin shouted back at Karpal. "You are no better. Calling us (BN MPs) animals... you insult people. Now you are sitting in a wheel chair. God has punished you."

Unfazed, Karpal said his wheelchair "status" was temporary and that Badruddin should not panic when his antics in the house was revealed. "

Compensation, Again?

What the hell!!!!

Why should we pay again? Why every time when there is a failure of project, Rakyat need to pay again?

Now the compensation of Crooked Bridge in JB/Singapore agreed to pay by BN lead Government is RM292.5m.

Who is behind the Gerbang Perdana (the constructor)?

On Broga incinerator issue, the constractors are demanding another millions of Ringgit of compensation from BN lead government, again. Who pay?

WE Lah, Rakyat!!!!!!! You think Pak Lah meh?

Off to Kota Tinggi / Desaru

I will be away to Kota Tinggi / Desaru today and shall be back to KL Friday night.

Another stakeholder meeting.

Genting founder dies

TheStar:

"Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, founder and honorary life president of Genting Group, passed away at 11.20am Tuesday at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre. ".

NST:

"Founder and honorary life president of the Genting Group Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong died in the early hours of Tuesday morning at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre. "

Kwong Wah:

云顶集团创办人丹斯里林梧桐今早10时许在梳邦医药中心与世长辞, ...

SinChew:

90歲的雲頂集團創辦人丹斯里林梧桐今日（週二，23日）早上在雪州梳邦再也專科醫藥中心病逝。

MY DEEPEST CONDOLENCES

Plasma Donation: 55th

Received a call from Pusat Darah Negara on Friday while i was in Jab Imigresen Kajang to renew my expensive passport. So, after finished my passport renewal activity at PKNS (not Kajang), i need to rush to Kepong for praying & then to PTD for my blood donation.

Seem like blood bank is running low of blood supply. If you are healthy, please donate your blood / plasma / platelet at PTD.

Open Monday till Saturday. Thursday & Friday open from 7am till 8pm, if i am not mistaken!

PLEASE DONATE WHILE YOU CAN!!!

8th Kuok Foundation Scholars' Reunion Dinner 2007

8th Kuok Foundation Scholars' Reunion Dinner 2007

Date: 20 October 2007
Time: 6.00 pm - 11.00pm
Venue: Shangri-la Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
Theme: Retro 70’s


This was my 3rd time attending the scholars' dinner, in 2002 (with Pui Ling), 2005 (alone as PL was pregnant) and 2007 (me & PL). FYI, PL also a Kuok Foundation scholar.

I obtained the loan from Kuok Foundation during my 2nd year study in UPM, while Pui Ling obtained her half loan half grant during 3rd year in UPM. Therefore, both of us are scholars.


Main Objectives of Kuok Foundation:
1. To foster, develop and improve education of all kinds and in such manner as may from time to time be decided upon by the Foundation, including the founding and maintaining of scholarships and chairs at schools, colleges and universities.

2. To subscribe and grant donations to any cause, person, corporation, institution or organization and to grant study loans to students for higher education.

3. To contribute towards scientific research and teaching and to provide medical and surgical facilities and services of all kinds.

4. To organize, carry out and support schemes for the relief of human suffering, improvement of the standard of human life and the treatment of sickness and diseases.

5. To assist, aid and give relief to the poor and needy who by reason of age, ill-health, misfortune or infirmity are wholly or in part unable to maintain themselves and their dependents by their own exertions and in particular widows and orphans, victims of fire, floods, famine, war or calamity and those in need of moral or social rehabilitation or welfare. Provided that the person who is to be the object of such relief is a suitable and worthy object of such relief or appears capable of deriving permanent benefit, bearing in mind that the object of this endowment is the encouragement of self-help and rehabilitation of those in temporary or inevitable distress and not the encouragement of idleness or vice.

6. To support health, sporting and recreational activities by donating towards hospitals, sanatorium or other institutions for developing, maintaining and regaining bodily or mental health and strength.


To know more on the study loan application, please visit Kuok Foundation Bhd's website.

If you are scholar as well, you can join Kouk Foundation Scholars Club (KFSC), KL & Selangor.

Lifetime Member: RM 500

Yearly Member: RM 50

The motto:

"Charity can be fun!"

TIME TO CONTRIBUTE BACK TO SOCIETY

Theme: Retro 70's

Some dancing performance

Staffs of KFB

From Left: Ms Lynette Ng (GM of KFB), PL, me.

She is the one who interviewed me & PL back in 1998 & 1999

Dessert

KIMI - The Champ

Picture taken from planet-f1.com

Final Score:

1. Raikkonen 110

2. Hamilton 109

3. Alonso 109

After Japan's race, Raikkonen was behind Hamilton 18 points. With two consecutive P1 finished for Kimi and a retired race at Shanghai & P7 (Brazil) for Hamilton, Kimi over take Hamilton and became Champion.

Alonso: Raikkonen a worthy Champion

NO HOLDS BARRED: Gelombang Kuning

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

From the seventh to the ninth of November 2007, Umno will be holding its Annual General Assembly. The last party election was in 2004 so it is actually time for another one. However, it appears like they are, again, postponing the party election so that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi can remain the unchallenged Umno President until at least 2009 -- that is after the next general election. This postponement will allow Abdullah to purge the party by dropping the remnants of the Mahathir regime from the general election candidacy list and all his people can then be put in place before the party election is held. This will also mean it will be very difficult for anyone to mount a challenge to unseat him in the 2009 party election.

There is much speculation that Abdullah might close the convention with an announcement that he will be having an audience with the Agong the following Monday to request the dissolution of Parliament to enable the Twelfth General Election to be held on 25 November 2007. Or maybe he will meet the Agong beforehand to inform His Majesty that he will be making the announcement on Friday, 9 November 2007, of the dissolution of Parliament.

25 November 2007 is one of the four dates the feng shui master gave Abdullah for the Twelfth General Election to be held. The other three are 19 May 2007, which has since passed, 15 December 2007, and 15 March 2008. This is the same feng shui master who gave Abdullah the 21 March 2004 date to hold the Eleventh General Election that saw Barisan Nasional sweep 91% of the seats in Parliament, the most impressive performance ever.

Political observers, however, feel that 25 November is too early to hold the general election as MCA and Gerakan are not ready yet. According to the word on the ground, there will be a massive swing of Chinese support to DAP, which may end up getting 20 to 25 Parliament seats. There is the added danger that Penang might fall to the opposition -- or at least the Chinese seats might fall even if Umno still retains its seats in Penang. This would mean that even if Barisan Nasional can still retain a simple majority in Penang it will be an Umno government minus a two-thirds majority and with a very strong opposition presence in the State Assembly.

Umno appears to still have 70% Malay support nationwide (and 50% in Kelantan and Terengganu) but Chinese support has shrunk to only 40%. This augurs well for DAP -- and probably for PKR as well in ‘Chinese’ constituencies where they field Chinese candidates. PKR has the potential to secure five to eight Parliament seats with PAS bringing in another 25 to 30 in Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu -- giving the opposition a combined 50 to 60 seats in Parliament.

Of course, this still allows Barisan Nasional a 72%-77% majority in Parliament from the present 91% -- more than the two-thirds majority it needs -- but 50 to 60 opposition voices in Parliament will certainly make life very uncomfortable for the ruling coalition.

Barisan Nasional is not sitting pretty though. It has injected hundreds of thousands of ‘new’ voters into Kelantan and Terengganu to ensure its Gelombang Biru (Blue Wave) will achieve the Pembangkang Sifar (Zero Opposition) campaign it has launched. The Terengganu Gelombang Biru campaign proved successful in 2004 when PAS was reduced to just four State seats with 28 State and eight Parliament seats falling to Barisan Nasional. The 2004 election success in Terengganu merits the same campaign being implemented nationwide.

Sabah, a PKR target, has seen an influx of 1.5 million foreign voters while Kelantan and Terengganu have about one million or so combined. This almost assures Barisan Nasional a clean sweep of Sabah, Kelantan and Terengganu. In the other states where ‘foreign participation’ is a bit more difficult, opposition supporters have been relocated to other constituencies while government supporters have been moved in. Then there are the postal votes, which invariably are always in favour of the ruling party, plus the dead voters and those above 100 years old still on the electoral roll -- and the previous elections have proven that they always come back from the grave to cast their votes.

DAP has discovered that many of its supporters have been removed from the electoral roll while ‘new faces’ have been added to the list. Since some constituencies saw margins of only 1,000 to 2,000 votes, 2,000 voters moved out and a new lot of 2,000 moved in would mean that Barisan Nasional can win with a most comfortable margin. Expect many of the DAP kingpins to be sent into retirement. Lim Kit Siang alone has lost 8,000 votes over the last few months. Bye-bye Kit Siang and Guan Eng. Maybe you can now become a fulltime blogger like me.

Yes, the outcome of the Twelfth General Election has already been decided even before Parliament is dissolved. Barisan Nasional is serious about its Gelombang Biru and Pembangkang Sifar program. In 2004 it was 91% as follows:

UMNO: 35.9% of the popular votes and 110 seats or 50% of the seats.
MCA: 15.5% of the popular votes and 31 seats or 14% of the seats.
MIC: 3.2% of the popular votes and 9 seats or 4% of the seats.
Gerakan: 3.7% of the popular votes and 10 seats or 4% of the seats.
Others: 5.5% of the popular votes and 39 seats or 18% of the seats

Total BN: 63.8% of the popular votes and 199 seats or 91% of the seats.

Opposition: 36.2% of the popular votes and 20 seats or 9% the seats.

This time around Barisan Nasional wants 100% of the 219 seats which they hope to win with about 70% of the popular votes.

Anyway, that is what Barisan Nasional wants, but the people are not sitting pretty either. In anticipation of the dissolution of Parliament soon after the Umno General Assembly on 9 November and the general election being held on 25 November, BERSIH, the coalition for free and fair elections, is holding a rally at 3.00pm on Saturday, 10 November 2007, at the Dataran Merdeka in front of the Selangor Club. The target is to gather 100,000 concerned citizens who will then march to the Istana Negara to present a Memorandum to the Agong calling for massive electoral reforms. It is going to be a sea of yellow or Gelombang Kuning (Yellow Wave) as many will be dressed in yellow. This will be the peoples’ response to Barisan Nasional’s Gelombang Biru.

Electoral reforms are long overdue. Not only are voters being transferred out and foreigners being registered as voters, but many who never registered as voters in their entire life have found, much to their surprise, that they are now registered voters. Who do you think will be voting in their place? In the last election many who voted in the same constituency for the last 20 or 30 years found that they had been transferred to another state. They then rushed to their ‘new’ polling station and found that they had already voted. In short, someone had voted in their place.

Gerrymandering, ‘phantom’ voters, ‘imported’ voters, transferred voters, postal voters, etc., can of course work to a certain extent. But when the swing is massive even this can’t help. This would be when Barisan Nasional plays the race card and threatens the voters, in particular the Chinese voters, with another ‘May 13’ if the ruling coalition loses its two-thirds majority in Parliament or ‘Chinese’ states like Penang fall to the opposition. Well, if they try that ‘Remember May 13’ trick again, the opposition will come forward to address it.

To demonstrate what I mean, read this old article I wrote in 20 August 2000 called ‘Politics of Fear’. This is what I said then:

Two days ago, Umno Youth confronted the Chinese about the demands the Chinese had made, a long time ago, during the Tenth General Election. Why, after almost a year, does Umno Youth dig this issue up? Why did they not confront the Chinese then, at the time the demands were made, back in 1999? Is it because they needed the Chinese votes then but no longer need it now?

Maybe it did take Umno Youth almost a year to realise what the Chinese demands were, or to pluck up the courage to stage an illegal demonstration in front of the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall. I was told it was a boisterous demonstration complete with four-letter words -- and I am not talking about the Umno word (which is also a four-letter word) but of the ‘F’ type. Some people were roughed up and one journalist-photographer was assaulted.

But that’s not the issue. The Chinese tried to pacify the Umno Youth demonstrators and explain what the demands were all about, but Umno Youth would hear nothing of it. Taking a very confrontational stand, Umno Youth told the Chinese they refuse to listen to any explanation and insisted that the Chinese apologise. Again, the Chinese tried to explain the issue but Umno Youth shouted them down and would not allow them to. Umno Youth only wanted an apology and nothing less.

Umno Youth was very abusive and vulgar in their treatment of the Chinese. Clearly their intention was to spark an incident but the Chinese knew better than to engage Umno Youth in a boxing match. The Chinese knew, either way, they would come out the loser.

Umno Youth has given the Chinese a week to apologise and warned the Chinese that they run the risk of angering the Malays if they do not. This, in turn, raises a greater risk of racial tension, possibly followed by a racial conflict. In short, if you don’t play ball, there may be another May 13 looming over the horizon.

Yesterday, the Chinese announced that they will not apologise, as there is nothing to apologise for. Furthermore, the issue is ‘dead’ and had already been previously clarified to everyone’s satisfaction.

Both sides will not back down so it is now a stalemate.

This was a major booboo for Umno Youth. They have thrown the challenge and the Chinese have stood firm. What will Umno Youth do next? If Umno Youth keeps quiet it will lose face so will it now start a racial conflict as promised?

Anyway, what Umno Youth is going to do is not important as it is no longer significant in Malaysian politics. Maybe when Anwar Ibrahim was the Umno Youth leader people took notice. Since then Umno Youth is seen as merely Mahathir’s tool to provoke issues whenever Umno proper cannot be seen to be behind it.

What is more interesting in this whole issue is that Barisan Alternatif (BA) is going to make history and change the way the many races in this land live with each other. Yesterday, PAS, DAP, PRM and keADILan had a ‘roundtable conference’ in Kuala Lumpur. The conference had nothing to do with the Umno Youth threat. It was to plan the opposition’s strategies for the future. I must admit it was a fantastic conference and if they implement all the plans adopted it is going to make the opposition coalition a very credible alternative to the ruling government. But that is a story for another time.

At this conference, the youth members from the four Barisan Alternatif parties pledged to stand united in the face of Umno Youth’s threat. And they will be issuing a media statement to that effect in a day or two.

Pemuda BA (and three out of the four BA Youth leaders are Malays mind you) is going to tell Umno Youth that the Malays will stand united in defence of the Chinese. If Umno Youth tries to harm the Chinese they will first have to cross the line of Malays. The Malays in BA will stand between Umno Youth and the Chinese.

“Let the Umno Youth Malays kill the BA Youth Malays first before they can touch the Chinese,” said one Malay from keADILan.

“The Malays will stand between Umno Youth and the Chinese,” said another Malay from PAS.

“It is time we stop talking about Malays and Chinese and start talking as Malaysians,” said the DAP chap.

“PRM will take the initiative of drafting the press release to tell Umno Youth that Pemuda BA is guaranteeing the safety of the Chinese,” said the PRM Youth leader.

I felt a tear in my eyes. Umno Youth may not realise it but they have just made history. Their threat to start another race riot if the Chinese do not apologise has brought the Malays forward. The Malays are now standing in defence of their Chinese comrades. The Malays are prepared to face their fellow Malays in protecting innocent Chinese lives.

What really moved the crowd was when Dr Hatta Ramli of PAS got onto the stage and announced to the assembly of Malays, Chinese and Indians that Umno Youth would have to “step over our dead bodies first before they can harm the Chinese” (“langkah mayat kami dulu”).

The hall reverberated with applause. I felt like crying. My wife is, after all, Chinese, though of Siamese descent. 43 years of independence and, finally, Malaysians have learnt to set aside racial differences and stand up for one another. Yesterday we stopped being Malays and Chinese and emerged as Malaysians. What a great Merdeka Day celebration this 31 August is going to be.

Umno Youth had better be warned. Nearly half the voters voted for the opposition the last general election. It is also said that more than 70% of these people are Malays, as the Chinese had been intimidated into voting for the ruling government.

Maybe Umno Youth is trying to win back Malay support by showing how aggressive they are and that they will take no shit from the Chinese. But this move has backfired badly, just as Dr Mahathir’s move to put Anwar in jail for 15 years has.

Umno Youth has not won back the Malays. They have only forced the Malays to come out in defence of the Chinese. And, to make matters worse, Umno Youth is probably going to now lose the support of the Chinese, which they had in the first place.

The Chinese were scared the last election. They were scared because they thought they were on their own. Now that they know the opposition Malays in BA will not let any harm come to them there is no longer any reason to be scared of Umno.

Umno Youth had better be warned. The Malays in BA are not just paying lip service. They mean what they say. The Malays in BA are determined that race riots are a thing of the past. The Malays in BA will take the punches first before a single Chinese hair can be harmed. The Malays in BA are not ‘talk only’ like Umno Youth but are ‘battle seasoned’ through years of Reformasi. And there are more BA Malays than there are Umno Youth members.

If at all any good has come out of the Reformasi movement it is that Reformasi has successfully set aside race and elevated justice as the rallying call. Umno is all about ‘Malay rights and privileges’. Reformasi is about justice for Anwar and justice for all Malaysians.

Sign of Warning

Yesterday world oil price hit 87.61 USD (Nymex Crude Future) and today Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shafie Apdal asked Rakyat be prepared for higher fuel, not this year, but definitely next year which is about 78 days away.

When is the fuel price going to raise is still depend on when the General Election is going to be held. If the GE fall in November 2007, for sure 1st January 2008 is the day. But if GE fall next year March 2008, is the government going to share the burden for another 3 months? Can they "tahan lagi" ?

When most Malaysian still celebrating the feel-good-factor of 1st Malaysian being sent to ISS at the expenses of all tax payer which cost us USD 30m, Rakyat that live on earth are suffering from shrinking ecomony of Malaysia. Price of goods are getting higher, money is shrinking everyday. But yet our Najib said that the money spent on Space Tour was not directly from rakyat, it was from money buying Sukhoi jet fighters. But where the hell the money of buying Sukhoi come from? From the space ke?

Save the Judiciary: Please support!

人权律师哈里斯依布拉欣（Haris Ibrahim）上个月号召连署向国家元首苏丹米占再纳阿比丁（Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin）请愿设立皇家调查委员会调查“资深律师参与游说晋升法官”短片，迄今已有3241人响应，距离五千人(5000) 的目标不远。

上述连署运动是在9月25日开跑，目标是征求五千人连署签名；而截至昨天下午，哈里斯依布拉欣的号召已获得3241人响应。

有意响应连署的公众，可将英文姓名及身份证号码电邮至：savethejudiciary@gmail.com

Email your name & IC to savethejudiciary@gmail.com to support for Save The Judiciary, calling to set up Royal Commission of Inquiry.

Jeff Ooi: Ahemm... (Now) 'I know what you did last summer'

MCA controlled The Star had this interview with Jean Todt, Ferarri chief executive officer. Is MCA_controlled_The Star purposely published it due to the tension between MCA & UMNO or coinsidently.

Quote from The Star:

“Sailing is something I need time for. Maybe in the future, I might go sailing in a boat. Last Christmas and during the New Year, I sailed on a boat with the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) in Australia and it was a great experience. I’m not an expert. I do follow the America’s Cup, but for me, racing cars is more exciting.”

That time, (last year December) is summer for Australia as well as the worst flood in the history in Johor where Johor was flooded not once but twice in a week). Our PM went there for holiday and to open a nasi kandar restaurant that eventually gulung tikar later.

Read more at JeffOoi. Can't read my english? Then read here, mandarine.

Anyway, watch out this weekend F1 at Brazil, i am Ferarri's fan what, go Kimi!

Morning Sun

A new day begin.

Time To Strike Back!

The place i stay now (Belimbing Height - Bukit Belimbing) is at the border of MPSJ & MPKj. There is a road separating the MPSJ and MPKj. I paid my Cukai Pintu to MPSJ all the while.

The road has no name, no yellow line, it is leading to a Water Tank uphill (jalan mati) that supply water to nearby residents. We have been parking our cars there for more than 3 years. Until recently, a developer that build Semi-D behind our blocks start complaining that thier lorries can't move to the site due to some idiot who simply park the cars. Then start lah the summon era from MPKj officer.

Question is:

1. The road belong to which Perbandaraan?

2. Is Sunday also a working day for MPKj? Why so hardworking?

3. Why the Developer's banner (iklan) that promote the new housing area does not have the license number display at the banner? Is that because Double Standard apply to developer and citizen? Is that because developer has more power and MPKj also no say in this?

4. Developer requested car owners not to park at the road near the hill. Why MPKj still summon those cars park at other area? Because this is a GOLD MINE for them to increase thier revenue as they know, most aprtments have a lot of cars parking outside near the road.

We will strike back!

Stay tuned for more update in the near future.

Off To Miri tonight

Need to fly there tonight and shall be back to KL on Friday 11.50pm. I will help all Muslims friend to observe is there any moon appear in the sky since i will fly above the cloud.

By the time check out from LCCT, then i will celebrate Hari Raya at airport.

Mean while, you will not get me as i will stay DEEP in the jungle where there is nothing but "raining" type of RTM1 & RTM2, Celcom signal with 1 - 2 bars at certain area where i will stay. Then you should understand, why Sarawak always under BN. I will try to watch our 1st Malaysian who fly to space in Miri even though his status still not clear, Space Flight Participant or Cosmonaut.

Try to SMS this number, my colleague HP at 019 - 220 4354. I will try to SMS you back whenever i got the message.

SELAMAT HARI RAYA

17 years on, Penang Indians ‘have nothing’

Athi Veeranggan
Oct 8, 07 12:12pm Malaysiakini

When the standard of living among some sections of Indian Malaysians falls lower than that of foreign workers in the country, tough questions have to be asked.

And community leaders are asking the questions - with plenty of scepticism, too - in the wake of a Penang government pledge to lend a “strong helping hand” to some 150,000 Indian Malaysians in the state.

Last week, Chief Minister Dr Koh Tsu Koon said a comprehensive policy would be drawn up to upgrade the standard of living of the community.

But with speculation growing that a snap election could be called by March next year, community leaders wonder if Koh is attempting to make up lost ground and if the decision only amounts to an election gimmick.


United Hindu Religious Council president G Mugunthan said Koh should have kick-started such a policy when he was sworn as the state’s third chief minister 17 years ago - not now.

“Since Gerakan took over the Penang chief ministership after the 1969 general election, Indians have been marginalised, sidelined and discriminated against. They have not reaped the benefits of economic prosperity enjoyed by the state over the past three decades,” he said.

“The community now lagged far behind others, including even foreign workers.”

National Silambam Association Penang branch treasurer L Balasupramaniyam also claimed that migrant workers from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Indonesia are far better off than the majority of Indian Malaysians in Penang.

He said Koh will not need feedback from Indian grassroots leaders to formulate and execute the policy because “it’s open for all to see that Indians are the most marginalised community in the state and country”.

“It’s shocking that it has taken 17 years for the Penang chief minister to realise this,” he said.

Koh had announced the policy when officiating the People’s Progressive Party state annual general meeting, and had called on local Indian leaders to provide feedback to assist the state government.

This is not the first such announcement. Two years ago, he said the state government would set up a special fund to provide soft loans at a low interest rate to Indians to finance business ventures; further their education at either public or private tertiary institutions or to acquire vocational skills; expand property ownership; and increase their economic stake. The fund has yet to materialise.

Difficulties confirmed

The Penang government has long been aware of the Indian Malaysian community’s difficulties.

In 1997, it commissioned and funded a study on the socio-economic status of Indians. More than RM100, 000 was spent on a survey conducted by the Socio-Economic and Environment Research Institute (Seri).

Between November 1997 and February 1999, it polled 3,100 Penang Indian households in 27 residential areas, focusing on employment and income distribution; participation in the corporate, professional and business sectors; social development; youth and children; housing and community facilities; and education and skills.

The findings of the study told an appalling story of neglect:

• 80,000 or 60 percent were wage earners in the lower income brackets.

• Average monthly income was between RM500 and RM1, 000 per household.

• Seven percent were living in hardcore poverty.

• About 80 percent in the manufacturing industry, Penang’s biggest revenue earning sector, were low-level workers.

• Involvement in the tourism sector, the state’s second highest revenue earner, was virtually non-existent.

• About 50 percent of private companies did not have a single Indian employee.

• The share in paid-up capital investments in the state were a mere 0.2 percent.
• The majority were indulged in traditional businesses due to lack of funds, bureaucratic red tape, racial discrimination and difficulty in securing loan.

• Nearly 30 percent were squatters or living on temporary occupation licence (TOL) land.

• About 75 percent of pupils in 28 Tamil primary schools had failed to achieve the minimum pass-mark of `C’ in all six subjects in the Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah public examination.

• At secondary level, 80 percent of pupils had stopped schooling after Form Five.

• Many Indians were involved in alcohol and drug abuse, domestic violence and child abuse.

• Nearly 40 percent of the state’s suicide cases involved Indians.

Publicity stunt?

Although the state government then announced it would use the Seri report as the foundation of a comprehensive policy to upgrade standard of living for the community, there has been no follow-up action.

Mugunthan said the findings were unambiguous that Indians lag far behind other communities because of unequal distribution of state wealth.

Balasupramaniyam pointed out that 50 years of independence and capitalism have not done the community any good.

He said the state government has yet to start a comprehensive programme to increase Indian share in the state economic pie and improve academic achievement by investing in physical infrastructure and teaching facilities in Tamil schools.

Discrimination in terms of jobs and salary, especially in the private sector, has affected the livelihood of several generations of Indian Malaysians, he claimed.

“It’s clear that Koh’s recent announcement is only to fish Indian votes. He knows that the majority are disgusted and disillusioned with the Gerakan-led state government,” he said, pointing out that the need is to redress the imbalance instead of carrying out frequent publicity stunts for political mileage.

“Otherwise, the state will soon have a large pool of impoverished people, dominated by Indians. The symptoms are there. This could trigger serious social problems,” he warned

H107 : A103 : R100

Three (3) man battle now for the Driver Championship after Hamilton failed to finish the race at Shanghai and will be decided on last leg of race at Sau Paulo, Brazil on 21 October 2007.

Who will win the title?

Hamilton Win - If he finish P1 or P2.

Alonso Win - If he finish P1 & Hamilton finish P3, both same point at 113 but with Alonso won more race.

Raikkonen Win - If he finish P1, Hamilton finish P6 and above with Alonso P3.

Based on the survey conducted at F1 website, Raikkonen is slightly leading Hamilton. Of course i cast my vote to Raikkonen.

《解构民政神话－－反思国阵执政槟州35年》

This book will be launched on 25th October 2007 by Ng Wei Aik. Get it for RM 15.00. If pre-booking now, RM 10 you can get it! Please support him!!

For more information, click here.

Quote from the Blog:
这本书厚达128页。除了作者本身所撰写的“反思国阵执政槟州35年”大作之外，另外还有附录一些个人作品与专访文章。我还另外邀请民主行动党秘书长林冠英、槟州主席兼丹绒区国会议员曹观友，以及我中学至大学期间的死党丁国亮写序。

本书订价15令吉。扣除成本后，所有收入将充作本人面对来届全国大选的竞选经费。因此，敬请各位善长仁翁、乡亲父老、男女老少给予多多支持。

从即日起，有兴趣者可通过预订方式，用10令吉购得这本书。这种优惠仅限于所有的预订者。

国家大难临头

Prof Madya Din Merican Join PKR at the age of 68. Why at this age? Even a Grandfather also wish for a change, what say you?

TIME TO CHANGE!

"国家大难临头，迫使他这个年龄的人也要站出来改变现状"

汀马立肯表示，他已68岁，有五名孙子，通常这个年纪的人已无需为他人奋斗，只需为自己奋斗；但眼见国难当头，各个领域每况愈下，他选择参政贡献自己的力量。

The BolehLand: The ACA Strike Back

Instead of investigating the lawyer, Judge, Tan Sri, etc., ACA demand PKR to disclose the whistleblowers or face the bloody jail under Anti-Corruption Act 1997 - face two years jail, a fine of RM10,000 or both. PKR's Sivarasa and Sim were served with a notice to provide information under Section 22(1)(c) of the Act.

What is the bloody reason?
ACA justifies it to their need to compile evidence to determine the authenticity of the clip.

What a bloody idiot!!!

But Sivarasa & Sim rather take the panalties in efforts to protect the source. In this Bolehland, everything is Boleh!

反贪污局今天援引《1997年反贪污法令》第22（1）条款，命令向该局举报“律师参与游说任命法官”丑闻的人民公正党副主席西华拉沙及前副首相安华的政治秘书沈志勤透露提供录影短片的消息来源；西华和沈志勤若不在一星期内透露详情，可被起诉，而最高刑罚是罚款马币一万元或监禁两年，或两者兼施。

Now is 999

Back to 999 even for handphone.

"And callers can expect their calls to be answered within 10 seconds or after four rings." ....

Please count next time when you make a call but please don't make prank call. They can track you now, faster.

Hope we all do not need to call that number.

HH in Action again

Is it Super Man? Or Scary Movie? or Dragon Dance?

Maybe all the above is correct. But for me it is more like Dragon Dance with "chiuk-chiuk". Nowadays he got a lot of saliva, all wet his shirt.

Yesterday start calling Poh-Poh, Kong-Kong, Ah Yee, Aunty....... wow. Another word that he is now always speak is "Chiuk-chiuk ah" besides "mum-mum". Time to hide the "chiuk-chiuk" ...... getting addicted to it.