Selamat Hari Kemerdekaan, Malaysia!

May God save Malaysia from corruptions, violation of human rights, violence, and grant every rakyat a peaceful and harmonious country that everyone of us would feel proud for being a Malaysian.

The love for my own country, is something far beyond what words can express.
It's not how many Malaysian flags you wave around, its not about how grand and emotional the celebration is;

it is merely a proud feeling for being an anak bangsa Malaysia.


Happy 52nd birthday, Malaysia :)



Below is the poem, Pahlawan Kemerdekaan by Usman Awang.

PAHLAWAN
jika hilangmu tanpa pusara
jika pusaramu tanpa nama
jika namamu tanpa bunga
penjajah mengatakan engkau derhaka
maka engkaulah pahlawan yang sebenarnya

Gema seabad silam
Inggeris datang meredah Pahang
bersama peluru bersama senapang
membunuh menangkap setiap pejuang

Sungai Semantan berubah merah
bukan sarap hilir ke kuala
bukan rakit mudik ke hulu
arus merahnya menjulang mayat
pahlawan bangsa pahlawan rakyat
tujuh liang dadanya tersayat

Pahlawan!
Untukmu derita untukmu penjara
bukan bintang tersemat di dada
semangatmu api negara berdaulat
namamu terukir di jantung rakyat.

~ Usman Awang
(Dalam Puisi-puisi Pilihan, DBP)

C Guevara

Racist Demonstration Over Hindu Temple

Ordinary Malaysians dont have to do a thing to be thrown into jail under ISA.
But these people, The UMNO minions?
They publicly humiliate Hinduism by stepping on the head of a cow, an animal which is holy to Hindus.




Can Malaysians tolerate this anymore?
UMNO is the culprit behind all these planned, racist demonstration, obviously.
The main reason behind all these is to get Malaysians hating each other, thus the biggest winner is of course the racist party, UMNO.What they have done will eventually give their own religion a bad name, too.

Anyhow, I hope that Malaysians are smart enough not to get fooled by the lousy acting skills of UMNO.

Satu lagi projek 1Malaysia daripada Najib Tun Razak.

A group of UMNO barbarians.

"The law is made to protect me (UMNO Minions), Not Malaysians"

News report taken from The Malaysian Insider

Protesters threaten bloodshed over Hindu temple

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal

SHAH ALAM, Aug 28 — A group of Malay-Muslim protesters claiming to be residents of Section 23 have threatened bloodshed unless the state government stopped the construction of a Hindu Temple.

Amid chants of "Allahuakbar," the group also left the severed head of a cow at the entrance of the State Secretariat here as a warning to Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.

The "residents" said that the construction of a Hindu temple in a 90 per cent Malay- Muslim neighbourhood was insensitive because activities there would disrupt their lives.

They claimed that the "noise" from the temple would disturb their own praying, and that they would not be able to function properly as Muslims.

The group of 50 over protestors marched shortly after Friday prayers from the Shah Alam State mosque to the State Secretariat.

“I challenge YB Khalid, YB Rodziah and Xavier Jeyakumar to go on with the temple construction. I guarantee bloodshed and racial tension will happen if this goes on, and the state will be held responsible,” shouted Ibrahim Haji Sabri amid strong chants of “Allahu Akbar!”

Ibrahim identified himself as the Deputy Chairman of the Resident’s Committee against the building of the temple in S23 here, which is perceived by some as being a Muslim majority area.

He told the press that the state should move the temple to Section 22 as ‘originally planned’, and also labelled Khalid a “traitor to the Malay race and Islam”.

It is understood that the protest is an immediate reaction towards the Selangor MB’s visit to the Hindu temple site yesterday, an act seen by the "residents" as disrespectful to the Muslims of the community.

A symbol of objection?... The cow's head being paraded by the protestors in their march. - Picture by Choo Choy May

Mohd. Zurit Bin Ramli, who claims to be the secretary of the "Coalition of Malaysian NGOs" echoed Ibrahim’s stand on the matter, saying that it was irresponsible on the part of the state government to approve the construction as there was apparently a “90 per cent” majority Muslim population in Section 23.

“With a temple on our residential area, we cannot function properly as Muslims. The temple will disrupt our daily activities like prayers in the Surau. We cannot concentrate with the sounds coming from the temple,” stated Zurit.

When asked whether members of the protest were affiliated with any organisations or movements, Ibrahim claimed that the people present today were members of PAS, PKR as well as Umno who are “united in the name of Islam and the Malay spirit.”

The state government was also accused of lying to the people of Selangor.

The Chairman of the Residents Committee, Mahyuddin Manaf excitedly proclaimed that the committee would uncover “the lies” and find proof of the state’s misconduct.

“Khalid Ibrahim wears a mask of a Muslim, but in truth he is a liberal. PAS stands to lose out as a result. I voted for PAS as well as Khalid in the past elections,” Mahyuddin claimed. (eleh... tu kan taktik camne orang UMNO cakap bila dah kalah.. )

The issue first cropped up when the Selangor government proposed that the Sri Mariamman temple be relocated from Section 19 to Section 23.

C Guevara

Tee Kiat " Cleaning Up" MCA

News from Malaysian Insider

SOI LEK SACKED


By Lee Wei Lian

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 – The split in the MCA took a turn for the worse tonight with the presidential council deciding to sack deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, on the recommendation of the party’s disciplinary committee.

The expulsion of Dr Chua is ostensibly his punishment for tarnishing the party’s image over the disclosure in late 2007 of a secret recording showing him engaging in sex acts with his mistress.

He had resigned as a minister and from all party posts last year after admitting to being the man in the footage, but won in the party elections last October as deputy president of MCA.

But Dr Chua and party president Ong have been barely on speaking terms.

"This evening after much deliberation the presidential council made a decision to accept the disciplinary's recommendation to expel Chua from the party with immediate effect," Ong told reporters tonight, while reading from a prepared text.

He said he would explain the decision to sack Dr Chua to Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Ong also said that Dr Chua had 14 days to appeal the decision to the party's central committee.

The Malaysian Insider understands Najib was shocked at the decision, as are other Umno and BN leaders, as many of them feel that an MCA on a path of destruction is the last thing the ruling coalition needs.

Ong has denied being behind the decision to dredge up his deputy’s sex scandal even though the party’s disciplinary committee had decided early this month to go ahead with a hearing despite the fact that the complainant had withdrawn the allegation.

The party’s decision today will be seen as a move by Ong to shore up his own position in the party, but brings him on a collision course with MCA’s senior partner in the Barisan Nasional (BN), Umno.

"Maybe by sacking me, Ong believes he can sleep better and the party will be more stable," said Dr Chua.

He said he would not join the opposition and denied being behind a move to call an EGM, although he would endorse it to save the party.

Asked if the disciplinary board gave any grounds for recommending a sacking, he replied: "I tarnished the party image. That is a severe crime. I am lucky they did not sentence me to death."

Dr Chua had only recently been appointed by Najib as BN’s coordinator in Pakatan Rakyat-held states.

Ong has also been in a beleaguered position in recent weeks because of his ongoing tiff with BN backbenchers’ chairman Datuk Tiong King Sing over the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.

Tiong, the CEO of PKFZ turnkey contractor Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB), has accused Ong of taking a RM10 million donation and for taking free flights on the company’s private jets.

Ong has, in turn, filed a RM500 million lawsuit against Tiong, in an escalation of the open quarrel which has badly embarrassed BN.

Umno leaders have urged Ong to settle the dispute with Tiong, but the transport minister is now attempting to portray himself as someone who has been trying to expose wrongdoings over the PKFZ scandal.

The tough action against Dr Chua today will be seen as an attempt by Ong to shore up his own position as there are now rumblings within the MCA against him for dragging the party into the PKFZ saga.

Yesterday, six party divisions in Perak openly called for Ong to be suspended over the allegations that Tiong had donated the RM10 million.

The MCA has already clarified that it did not receive the donation while Tiong has called for Ong to open up his bank accounts for scrutiny.

More divisions, especially those from Dr Chua’s home state in Johor, are expected to join their Perak counterparts in calling for Ong’s removal.

C Guevara

PAS Secured Permatang Pasir

An unofficial report revealed that PAS candidate for Permatang Pasir by-election has won. With his opponent, Rohaizat, scored only 5065 votes, Mohd Salleh Man successfully defended the state seat with 9718 votes.

Only 73.1% voters turned up at today's polling center to cast their votes, which is approximately 10 per cent lower than the previous 308 general election.


C Guevara

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C Guevara

The Mystery Letter - Translated Version ( English )

Translation found at comments section (written by *******, August 20, 2009 5pm )
Source: http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/25886/84/

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BRIBERY, MISCONDUCT AND CORRUPTION OF A SUPERIOR OFFICER OF MACC SELANGOR


Respectfully, we would like to refer to the subject above.


We would like to inform you that we, officers of the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC), feel obliged to expose the misconduct and bribery of a senior officer of the MACC, Deputy Director (DD) MACC Selangor PKPj I Hishamuddin bin Hashim, in connection with the case of TEOH BENG HOCK and another case involving the bungalow of DATO' SERI DR MOHAMAD KHIR BIN TOYO in Section 7, Shah Alam, Selangor.


2. For YBhg Tan Sri/Dato/Tuan/Puan's information, DD was directly involved in the investigations on the fraud case of the Selangor State Government's funds for YB Ean's (ADUN Seri Kembangan) allocation. His involvement was not just on official orders, but he has also given instructions to his subordinates to find, with any means possible, any evidence of wrongdoing by the Selangor State Goverment. He acted in this fashion because he has made a conspiracy with Khir Toyo to topple the government of Selangor. These (gelojoh) actions directly resulted in the death of Teoh Beng Hock. There arise a few suspicious questions that we, officers of the MACC Malaysia, ask on how Teoh Beng Hock could have died. We suspect the DD's involvement in the death of Teoh Beng Hock based on the following:


i) DD had ordered all MACC officers involved in the operation that he not be directly involved in the case. In fact, he was the one who gave all the orders in this operation and other operations in MACC Selangor. In fact, he was afraid to be involved directly because this could expose his conspiracy with Khir Toyo.

ii) The chemical investigators have discovered fingerprints and male DNA on the front side of both sides of Teoh Beng Hock's belt. Based on our, the officers of MACC Malaysia, knowledge, the DD has an individual style of investigative techniques which include interrogating a suspect by holding the front of his belt, lifting him a few times while shaking him.


iii) The process of collecting DNA on MACC Selangor officers was performed in 2 sessions. In the first session of collecting DNA, the DD made every effort to evade giving his DNA sample. The DD was said to have given his DNA sample in the second session, but suspicions arise because the DD gave his DNA sample in the privacy of his own office while all other MACC offiers including the MACC Director have given their DNA samples in a meeting room in the presence of many other individuals. Why did the DD give his DNA sample in a secretive fashion? Was the DNA provided really his DNA? We, the officers of the MACC Malaysia, feel puzzled that there was no one else in the presence of the DD when he allegedly gave his DNA sample? We recommend that the DNA Test on the DD must be done again, witnessed by a group of people who can be trusted.


iv) We have been informed that the DD had ordered his subordinates to erase/clean the fingerprints on the window that Teoh was believed to have fallen from. This was proven when the police could not find any signs of fingerprints, new or old, on the window. The question is, why did the DD order that this be done?


v) We suspect, based on information we have obtained, that the DD did not touch his punch-card when he left the office on the 16th of July 2009, at 6:10 am. This is important because it can prove that the DD was the last person to see Teoh. The question is, why did he not touch his punch-card when he is a person who always touches his punch-card. For the record, he is very diligent with his punch-card.


3. For YBhg Tan Sir/Dato/Tuan/Puan's information, the DD in question is very influential in the enforcement of investigation operations around Selangor and the rest of Malaysia. In MACC Selangor, he is the most important person who decides whether a case should be prosecuted even if the power should rest in the hands of the Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP). His decision is prompted by his personal interests and those of his co-conspirators. So, it is no surprise that he led the MACC Selangor Investigative Unit for decades, at least since the Selangor state government was under the helm of the Barisan Nasional government (Khir Toyo) until now. He was promoted ahead of schedule, from Grade 41 to Grade 54, over the course of 16 years without transfer to other positions or locations other than that of the MACC Selangor. Based on the MACC, any officer who has been promoted or who has worked for more than 5 years in a state should be transferred to a different location to avoid the officer being involved in local bribery. One of the reasons he was never transferred is because he was tasked to "take care of" the position of Dato' Seri Dr Khir Toyo in Selangor. As a result, Khir Toyo also "took care of" his position in Selangor as a favour.


4. As a result of his position in MACC Selangor for these many years, he has been involved in various cases of bribery and misuse of power. Some of the incidents of bribery or misuse of power that we have investigated are as follows:


i) Closing the case of Khir Toyo connected to the approval of a road construction project, in Sekinchan running 20.5 km valued at RM 92.5 million to a contractor that was nearly blacklisted, Meram Holdings. According to the JKR's estimates, the road should have cost less than RM 50 million. The subcontractor that did the work on the project was Cabaran Wangsa, owned by Pua Kim An, the landlord of a house that had once been rented by Khir, while another company director, Ahmad Tarmizi Tajjeury is a Khir crony that was also given 100 acres of land at a profit to him of at least RM 20 million.


ii) Owning assets that exceed his emoluments such as:
a. Owning a few rental houses of which one is a two storey terrace house that was purchased at a favourable price from Pemaju Kumpulan Lebar Daun Development Sdn Bhd, as a result of the closing of the case against the Group Executive Chairman, Dato' Noor Azman @ Noor Hizam bin Mohd Nurdin. The case was investigated by the then BPR Selangor for a few years together with various other houses owned by him. To remove public and subordinate suspicions, he lived in the Government Quarters in Kg Atap, Kuala Lumpur.


b. Owning a Petronas petrol station on the left of the Federal Highway KM 8.6 - 8.7, Section 1, Federal Highway, Shah Alam, 40000 Selangor (near the Melati Roundabout, Shah Alam to Klang bound, registered under the name of his brother. The petrol station only just began operating this year (2009), part of which was built above a Chinese cemetary. He managed to get the site to build the petrol station because of his power, which was exercised in the era of Khir Toyo's government in Selangor.


c. Owning several plots of land around Shah Alam, in which one of them is believed to be beside the new SACC Mall registered under the name of a wife of a MACC Selangor driver named Abdullah b Azim, a full time homemaker in her late 30s.


iii) He has been caught in close proximity with a subordinate officer, Investigator rank, named Nor Azlina bt Mustafa besides the Shah Alam Lake early in 2009 by 2 police officers. He showed his identity card (MACC) and informed the police officers that he and the officer were in the middle of an operation and they were released. These "intimacies" between him and the Investigator were repeated and are common knowledge of many including his own wife. The only action taken by the Department was transferring the officer involved to the MACC Headquarters in Putrajaya. This was not effective because Azlina is still always with the DD in the Selangor office.


5. This letter was written to uphold justice and prevent the further abuse of power especially in the MACC and throughout Malaysia. We in the MACC are fed up to see his antics which have the blessings of the powers that be, like the saying "beraja di mata, bersultan di hati". We in the MACC are at lost in finding departments/institutions/NGOs that can champion this issue so that appropriate actions can be taken.


6. We, the officers of the MACC, are touched and thankful that YBhg Dato'/tuan/puan could expose this issue to the people and the authorities so that an organisation/NGO can take the appropriate action, or an independent investigation, can be taken and raised to the Cabinet. This is very important because it involves the integrity of a serving officer of a department that upholds the laws involving human integrity. The DD is now making every effort to press his subordinates to find any faults involving ruling PKR in the hopes that the PKR-led government will fall in Selangor and his secret will be safe. For your information, the DD is now very afraid whenever news about Dato' Seri Khir Toyo is released in the press and he would be very afraid if the case would expose his involvement.


7. We hope that any brave individuals or organizations can spread this information so that our actions can be brought to the attention of responsible and trusted authorities and that justice can be done. We are unable to do this ourselves because he has a "cable" with the powers that be.


8. Cooperation from YBhg Tan Sri/Dato'/tuan/puan is much appreciated and we hope that through your action, much more information can be brought to light involving individuals with no integrity. We hope that this will cleanse the MACC and its officers from further involvement in bribery and corruption.


Sekian, terima kasih


"BERKHIDMAT UNTUK SPRM/NEGARA YANG DICINTAI"


Kami yang menurut perintah,


PEGAWAI-PEGAWAI SPRM MALAYSIA



C Guevara

The Mystery Letter

The FULL, ORIGINAL MYSTERY LETTER REGARDING BENG HOCK's DEATH has been fully published in Raja Petra's blog. The shocking revelation on the mysterious death of Teoh Beng Hock was sent to the family members of Beng Hock, his lawyer, and some Member of Parliaments. The letter was typed on papers with MACC letter head, and was signed by " Pegawai-pegawai SPRM Malaysia". Khir Toyo and the Deputy Director of Selangor MACC are claimed to be directly involved in the whole drama.

Click Here to READ


May the truth prevail.



C Guevara

Permatang Pasir by-election

Nomination day: 17th August 2009
Polling day: 25th August 2009

This is the official announcement by the SPR on the date of nomination and polling day following the sudden death of Permatang Pasir assemblyman, Mohd. Hamdan Abdul Rahman on 31st July 2009.

This is the 8th by-election held since the last general election held on 8th of March.


C Guevara

Govt. Considers Internet Filter

What's up this time?
ISA? C4? MACC? Murders? Corruptions? Racism? Police Violence? Corrupted Judiciary sys.?

Well, of course I'm talking about our Barisan Nasional government here, but this time Rais Yatim has got a new tricky idea to "help" Malaysians to decide on what websites they intend to surf.
It's the internet filter similar to that which the Chinese communist government planned to introduce to their people.

Perhaps Rais Yatim did not know that even the Head of MACC thinks that having child pornography is "perfectly normal", our minister suddenly has this fear that our country will collapse due to illegal websites. So, he suggested that Malaysian government will assist in filtering out 'inappropriate' web sites, well of course, including bloggers.

It's no doubt another effort to prevent people's voice to be heard; especially after several violent crackdowns on peaceful demonstrations and media's attacks on opposition parties, its not hard to imagine that our government would abuse the internet filter for their own political purposes.

By keeping an eye on bloggers, censoring news materials, videos and photographs, Barisan Nasional could easily keep every Malaysian in the dark about news which they consider "sensitive" and "damaging" to the nation.

I would not be too surprised if all future Malaysians have to put on a recording device and GPS on their bodies all the time for the easy-tracking and monitoring by our sick voyeur government.


Read the following passage from Malaysian Insider to know why is Malaysia moving backwards in everything else while other countries are way ahead before us in the era of technology.

Malaysia mulls ‘Green Dam’ despite China’s failure

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 6 — Despite a guarantee of no censorship in Malaysia's Multimedia Super Corridor, Datuk Seri Rais Yatim's ministry is evaluating the feasibility of putting an Internet filter blocking “undesirable websites” — similar to China's aborted "Green Dam" software.

The study is to be completed by this December and the results will be handed to a shadowy unit monitoring blogs and websites although the decision on implementation will lie with the National Security Council headed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Critics say any move to filter the Internet is against the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Bill of Guarantees apart from being largely ineffective as most Internet surfers can circumvent filters through proxy servers.

"It is a waste of time," Dhillon Andrew Kannabhiran, chief executive officer of Internet security firm Hack in the Box, told The Malaysian Insider.

But the Information, Communication and Culture Ministry has conducted a tender exercise calling for companies to put proposals to assist the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) evaluate an Internet filter.

The move comes on the back of proposals to register bloggers, most of whom are said to be anti-government, and the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition parties to have a larger Internet presence.

According to tender documents seen by The Malaysian Insider, the tenderer is:

• to evaluate the readiness and feasibility for the implementation of Internet filter at Internet gateway level, through assessments on the existing infrastructure and existing products in the market.

• to evaluate and estimate costs for the implementation.

• to study the existing legal framework in addressing content filtering and no censorship issue, including the impacts that are caused by the implementation to Internet users and the Malaysian economy.

The successful tenderer is also to visit Internet services oroviders (ISPs) and question them on various issues apart from studying countries which have some form of Internet filters to study the suitability for the Malaysian environment.

Among the recommended countries are India, Pakistan, Australia and Hong Kong. It is not known whether these countries use filters or what they are filtering.

Rais himself said last May that the proposal by some quarters for bloggers in Malaysia to be registered required in-depth study.

“The idea is good, but we have to see it from the legal aspects and from the aspect of freedom of Internet use. We have to see whether registering bloggers is in line with the provisions of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. We should not be hasty in implementing the proposal,” said the veteran minister.

But the move to filter blogs and websites is another matter altogether, Dhillon said.

"Filtering is 1990s technology and nobody is doing it anymore. Content-based filtering is so out of date that anybody can circumvent it easily using proxy servers," he said, adding "even my mother can do it, it is not difficult."

He pointed out that the government can implement the filter system and provide some short-term impact to those seeking to go to “undesirable” sites but "human nature is such it can find a way around it."

"The government is wasting money and just playing catch-up," Dhillon said.

He also pointed out that filtering content is censorship and goes against the MSC Bill of Guarantees Article 7 that reads "Ensure no Internet censorship".

"No matter how they want to word it, it is semantics, any move to tell us where we can go, what we can read is censorship no matter how they justify it," Dhillon added.

China controversially planned to install the “Green Dam Youth Escort” Internet filtering software on all computers but delayed implementation last July 1 although officials said it was only "a matter of time" until the software was installed.

In a notification to all users, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said: "In order to build a green, healthy, and harmonious online environment, and to avoid the effects on and the poisoning of our youth's minds by harmful information on the Internet, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), Civilisation Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and Ministry of Finance, in accordance with the Government Procurement Law, have used CPC financial capital to purchase one-year exclusive rights to use ‘Green Dam Youth Escort’ Green Online Filtering Software (hereinafter referred to as ‘Green Dam Youth Escort’) along with related services so that the whole society may use it free of charge. After comprehensive testing and pilot use, the software has been shown to effectively filter harmful content in text and graphics on the Internet and has already satisfied the conditions for pre-installation by computer manufacturers."

But the country's Internet users mounted a vociferous campaign against the policy that led to the MIIT delaying using the filter which officials claim will help to curb access to pornography, particularly by younger users.

Internet users say the image and keyword filter blocks pornographic, violent and politically sensitive content and monitors behaviour and fear it will be used to curb access to information and keep track of users.

Green Dam has also come under fire for exposing users to security breaches, with experts warning it could easily be hacked, and a US-based software firm is threatening to sue the Chinese developers for copyright infringement.

Industry bodies, the US government and others had also called on China to abandon the project.

C Guevara.

Is this Najib's 1Malaysia?

Utusan Malaysia, being one of the UMNO-owned dailies, is now asking the Malays to fight back. The contents of one of the report in Utusan Malaysia today has directly, and publicly insulted non-Malay communities and, worst of all, it's calling on Malays to resist equality and dominance of non-Malays in every aspect of this country.


This is not the first time Utusan has been hostile towards opposition party and linking them with non-Malay dominance, but so far this is what some people call Najib's biggest challenge to prove his 1Malaysia ideology. To provoke anger in one specific race to suppress another race is just so wrong.

Is Najib reacting to this issue? Most probably he's just going to shut his ass up and as usual, rationalize the actions of Utusan by blaming everything on the opposition party.

Should the people believe Najib's promises to bring peace, unity and prosperity to all Malaysians? Unless he does something against Utusan or personally apologize for this incident, I dont think he is capable of walking the talk he has been boasting about recently.

I believe most of the Malays are able to digest this action as a mere political gimmick, but surely, the racist column of Utusan is amplifying the damage to our national unity.
Well, of course, none of the UMNO leaders have balls to defy Utusan's uncivilised action, simply because they're the ones who are orchestrating all these racial provocations to enhance their political positions - without racism, UMNO is virtually non-existent.


And Najib, you SUCKS.



C Guevara

Yasmin Ahmad Dies at 51

Yasmin Ahmad
1958-2009

One of the most prominent filmmaker and director in our country, Yasmin Ahmad, was pronounced dead yesterday at 11.25p.m. She was rushed to the hospital from Sri Pentas after passing out on the spot.

"Sepet" is her signature filming product and many other Petronas advertisements have also brought her into the walk of fame. In her works, the messages she tried to convey to the public, which are mostly related to care, love and affections, have touched thousands of people across our nation.

Yasmin was a fighter for all Malaysians. She had always wanted to promote unity among different races in Malaysia, which is an applaudable effort that many of our politicians failed to do. She was a True Malaysian.

In one of her latest posting in the blogspot, she mentioned about Beng Hock's death and wished that it had never happened in Malaysia. She even described Beng Hock's death as a "nightmare". It was only a few days before she died from an unsuspected stroke attack.

May God be with her soul, always. Rest in peace Yasmin, Malaysia has just lost another good Samaritan.



Sepet is a must watch..... for ALL Malaysians.





She speaks the truth... The truth that even we find it hard to accept sometimes.





This advertisement cost me not only my tears but also a reminder of how important it is for us to count our blessings and to always share our love with the unfortunate ones....








C Guevara

Say NO to Bloodshed in Malaysian Politics!

People showed different reactions towards the tragic death Teoh Beng Hock. Like many of you, I am truly saddened by his death. But some people are not. Some people chose to look at this issue through the prism of politics and ethnic. Anyone with sound mind can tell you straight away that Beng Hock's death is unusual. He was detained in the MACC office and never released according to the CCTV footage; which is contrary to what the Anti-corruption commission had told the world. He died falling from the MACC office.

However, that 'some people' like UMNO members, who reacted to this case with arrogance and even voiced out their support for MACC, are trying to do some cover up for the suspects. Utusan, Berita Harian and TV3 have been used by UMNO to constantly bombarding Malaysians with information that would lead people to think that DAP had forced Beng Hock to jump, or that Beng Hock committed suicide.

Blog posts are written by anonymous writter making up absurd stories to tarnish the image of Ean Yong Hian Wah, Ronnie Liu and many other oppotision members. They borrowed Beng Hock's life to launch attacks on the opposition party; the same thing our government is always doing to those who are against their will.

Royal commission has been formed, yet, its not to probe into a certain aspects of Beng Hock's death.

What's the point of all these? Denying, avoiding, hiding and falsifying information related to Beng Hock's death is the problem to solving this puzzle now.

I still remember how Altantuya's immigration record was being completely cleared; and the real murderer who ordered the murder of her is still a free man out there. She was killed by a C4 hand grenade. And now, Beng Hock died falling from the MACC office. What had they done to deserve this sort of death sentence?

Many other criminals like Mahathir, Lingam, Khir Toyo et c, who violated the law infront of everyone are still out there trying to undermine unity among Malaysians.

The truly sad thing is that these people are constantly receiving support from people who thought they could bring about peace and prosperity to this country by being racist and corrupted.

Please dont let Beng Hock's death end up as another unsolved mystery; it clearly reflects the darkness within our country's dominant political parties and its time for us to fight back, and change before its too late.

Voice up your support and concern to Beng Hock's family and the future of all Malaysians, lets reject UMNO, racism, and bloodshed in politics.


C Guevara

Investigation Updates - Teoh Beng Hock's Death

Selangor State police chief comm Khalid says that they suspect that Beng Hock fell from the 14th floor, which is the MACC office where the victim was interrogated the whole night. The finding of some fine metal pieces belong to the window frames on the spot where Beng Hock's body was found led them to this hypothesis.

Besides, the CCTV footage also shows that in fact, Beng Hock DID NOT leave the MACC office at all until he was found dead on the 5th level of Plaza Masalam.

During the investigation process on the mystery death of Teoh, the police had also retrieved a mobile phone owned by Beng Hock from the MACC officers.

Khalid together with Musa Hassan also said that the investigation is already half way to completion.

News, information translated from Malaysiakini.com Mandrin Version.


C Guevara

Justice for Beng Hock

-Why did Beng Hock hang around in the MACC office after being released?

-Why was Beng Hock, not a criminal suspect, being interrogated for 8 hours, non-stop, until 3.45a.m in the morning?

Who are the MACC officers who interrogated him? What happened to them?

-How did Beng Hock fell from the building? Which floor and place did Beng Hock fell down from?

-Wasn't there any witness when Beng Hock fell ?

-The Chief of MACC claimed that Beng Hock wasn't in their custody anymore when he fell. Who was the last person who guided Beng Hock out from MACC Office which requires security card for access?

-If nobody guided Beng Hock out from the MACC Office, he must had fallen from the MACC Office. Who was in the office when Beng Hock fell if this is the case?


More news, photos, updates on Beng Hock from Justice For Beng Hock.

This is really creepy...Scary...
God knows who did this and how it happened... He's watching us All the time.
May the truth and justice prevail soon.
Rest In Peace, Beng Hock.




C Guevara

Chua Jui Meng Joins PKR

The former Health Minister and the ex-president of Bakri MCA division has officially crossover to Parti Keadilan Rakyat today. After resigning from all his MCA post and quit his former party, he told the media today that Teoh Beng Hock's death is the tipping point in his decision to join PKR.


CLICK HERE TO READ " WHO KILLED TEOH BENG HOCK?"

Beng Hock's future In-law broke into tears while paying her last respect to him.

Article taken from Malaysian Insider

MCA’s Jui Meng jumps to PKR

UPDATED

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid

PETALING JAYA, July 18 — Former MCA vice-president Datuk Chua Jui Meng, who lost two bids for the party's top post, confirmed his worst-kept secret and officially joined Parti KeAdilan Rakyat (PKR) today in a boost for the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) that has been wracked by differences between its three allies.

It is understood the former health minister had submitted his forms earlier and today’s announcement at a PKR forum was a formality, party sources said.

Former MCA Senator Datuk David Yeoh and former Lumut MP Datuk Yap Yit Thong also announced they were joining PKR to applause from the 1,000 members at the forum in Bandar Sunway here.

Chua and PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim were earlier enthusiastically greeted with loud cheers when they turned up at 3.30pm for the “The Truth Behind the Scandals: Perak, PKFZ and the BN Conspiracy” forum held at the Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa.

The party members also strung up a banner that said “Congratulations to Chua for joining PKR”.

“I am resigning as a member of MCA and with the permission of PKR's de facto leader, I'm announcing that I'm joining PKR," Chua said as the crowd shouted “Reformasi”.

“I'm convinced that today I'm standing on the right side of history, especially at this defining moment of history, I'm joining this party.”

The 64-year-old lawyer quit as Bakri MCA division chief two days ago, after leading the division for the past 23 years. He ran for the MCA president’s post twice but lost to Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting in 2005 and Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat last year.

But he told his division he would stick with MCA and was giving up his post to allow fresh blood, asking them to give their undivided support to Tee Keat as party president.

At a press conference later, Chua said he was misquoted by the press. "I did not deny nor did I confirm," he said.

The MCA did not pick Chua to defend the Bakri parliamentary seat in Election 2008, leading to its loss to DAP's Er Teck Hwa and making it the sole opposition seat in Johor.

His defection is the latest sign of fractious politics in the MCA as deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek was recently issued a notice to appear before the party disciplinary board over his 2007 DVD sex scandal.

Chua also said MCA was destined to doom if it continues to be a mono-race party and this, he said, became one of the many reasons for leaving a party he has served since 1976.

"I noticed that I and Anwar share the same ideals. I believe in the two-party system and this is under heavy attack by the Umno-led government. This precipitated my decision to join them," he said further.

Chua also said that the sudden death of a PR political aide, Teoh Beng Hock, became the tipping point in his decision to join PKR, saying the incident, among others, prompted him to join in PR's fight in reforming the country.

MCA, he said, was no longer able to make the changes desired by the people as long as it bows down to what he calls the bullish leadership of BN's masters Umno.

Veteran Barisan Nasional leaders who have recently defected to PKR include former law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, MCA’s former deputy Wanita leader Dr Tan Yew Kew and former Gerakan veep Dr Tan Tee Kwong.

Anwar said Chua will definitely have a prominent post and role to play in the party. It will be decided once the party supreme council convenes.

C Guevara

Who Killed Teoh Beng Hock?

Teoh Beng Hock was found dead on the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam, which is just a few steps away from the office of Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

He was a groom-to-be, soon going to wed his fiancee this weekend. However, after being interrogated by the MACC officer, Beng Hock's family received the news of his death the next afternoon.

According to Tan Boon Wah, the Kajang Municipal Councillor who was also summoned to the MACC office told the media that they were threatened, mentally and physically during the marathon interrogation conducted by the MACC. Foul languagues, racist slurs are among the unprofessional techniques used by the gangster-like MACC officers to force them to admit guilt in corruption case.

The concept of 1Malaysia is again proven another slogan(slogan only) by the unscrupulous government.

MACC didnt seem to care much about PKFZ scandal, Khir's Palace, Zakaria's Palace and many other cases which cost Malaysians billions of ringgit every year, but they're particularly interested in selectively picking up issues on the opposition parties. Although they claimed that they treated every individual equally, the results produced by MACC failed to convinced the public on their 'neutral position' in handling corruption cases.

Reacting to this incident, generally, Malaysians mourned the dead and showed their sympathy to Beng Hock's family. Contrary to the the majority Malaysians who are still in a shock as a result of Beng Hock's death, our government ministers and the head of MACC were quick to defend themselves, even before the opposition party started to condemn the incident.

Shukri responded immediately to the media and said that they did not have any CCTV fitted on the MACC building.

Khir Toyo defended MACC and said it should not be held responsible for this tragedy.

Nazri tried to relate Beng Hock's death with suicide case by claiming that "they do not know when Teoh was going to jump from the building."


The both MACC government is in a state of denial. They refused to be responsible to the death of Beng Hock even though he died in the custody of MACC and, on the building as well.



Government urged people not to make wild speculations or allegations; they expect all the citizens to keep quiet and forget about this isssue. But, what's the point of that if they themselves do not act accordingly to the law, and acted in a very secretive manner as if they're do not want other people to keep an eye on them? They're not transparent enough to even speak for themselves in this case.

People will judge with their sound minds and with their own eyes no matter what. Government is not our God and they have no control over our basic rights to voice out opinions.

I believe that suicide is a very highly unlikely answer to Teoh's death.
While the police are carrying out investigations on this tragic political drama, I can't help but to wonder, Who Killed Teoh Beng Hock?


C Guevara

MACC and the Mystery, Tragic Death of Teoh

Teoh Beng Hock, the political secretary of Ean Yong Hian Wah, died within the building of MACC, while being detained by the MACC. Hence, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission will be fully responsible to his death. Is this a mere suicide case? Or was it a carefully planned assasination? If this is a plot, WHO will be the primary suspect?

I guess only MACC can tell.
I really hate to think about it, but there is a feeling inside me telling me that an operation to wipe out Pakatan Rakyat's territories from the map of Malaysia has just begun.

News report from The Star:

SHAH ALAM: A man died after having fallen off Plaza Masalam here where the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has its office on the 14th floor.

The man is believed to be Teoh Beng Hock, political secretary to Selangor executive council member Ean Yong Hian Wah, who was taken in for questioning by the MACC Wednesday evening.

The body was discovered by a janitor at 1:30pm on Thursday on the fifth floor of the building. Police have yet to give a positive identity, but DAP officials say it is Teoh.

The Plaza Masalam building where Teoh fell to his death.

According to police sources, Teoh was released at 4am on Thursday after having been held overnight. He was supposed to have returned later Thursday with several documents requested by the MACC.

Selangor Chief Police Officer Deputy Comm Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar, who confirmed that a body had been found, said police would be interviewing the man who was last seen with Teoh.

"There is not going to be any cover-up in investigations and I assure the public and his family we will conduct a thorough investigation into his death.

"We have requested for private and government pathologists to be present and assist us in our investigations," he said.

Several Selangor executive council members were at the scene Thursday afternoon.

DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang said he and other Pakatan Rakyat leaders would be meeting the MACC at 10am on Friday.

On Wednesday, MACC officers raided Ean Yong’s office at the state secretariat building. They seized a desktop computer belonging to the state government, as well as a personal laptop belonging to Teoh.

Teoh, a 30-year-old former journalist with Chinese daily Sin Chew Jit Poh, was taken to the MACC office to assist in its investigations over the alleged abuse of constituency development funds.

C Guevara

Official resutls for Manek Urai's by-election

UPDATED 9.16p.m. According to the official and final results,


PAS: 5348 votes
UMNO: 5283 votes

PAS won the Manek Urai by-election by a slight-65-majority votes over UMNO's candidate.
Mohd. Fauzi Abdullah is officially elected as the DUN of Manek Urai state seat by the Kelantanese.



C Guevara

2000 Majority Votes for PAS Candidate at Manek Urai?

UPDATED 7.31pm

PAS Says: Mohd Fauzi Abdullah, PAS candidate for the by election in Manek Urai is expected to win over his BN opponent, although the votes are still being counted at the time of this report.


BN Says: BN candidate beats Mohd Fauzi Abdullah by 30 votes / 200votes (Two versions)

C Guevara

Najib's Sweet Promises

Najib announced a series of government's new priorities, which he claimed would benefit the people of Malaysia during his 100th day on the throne as the PM of this country.


What had he done in this 100 days, and are they parallel to his One Malaysia slogan? Violation of human rights like the illegal detention of Wong Chin Huat, racist remarks to create racial tension by his deputy, Muhyiddin are a few of the many "remarkable" achievements in this 100 days under the new administration.


Just like some of Najib's announcements before like the "New PSD Scholarships" and the "Scrapping of 30% Bumi Quota in investment industry", his new announcements possess vague concept of One Malaysia and I doubt if these new measures will benefit average Malaysians to any great extent.


For example, the 20% rebate for road users who pay for toll more than 80 times in a month's time. An average Malaysian who are forced to pay toll each day to work will pay only about 60 times of toll in a month, and yet, it is already a great burden to an average- income family who struggle to make ends meet each month with that little bit of salary. These people will continue to pay full rate for the toll, which in fact they're not suppose to pay a single cent in the first place.


For Kampung people, paying for toll which can cost more than 100ringgit in a round trip(from Perak to JB) is a burden that our filthy rich minister will never understand or experience.


Few other 'efforts' are like combating crimes and corruption, complete the processing of citizenship application by the end of this year are equally unclear in terms of How they will be carried out and What standardized measures will be applied to make sure they will reach the target as promised.


Under Abdullah's reign, red tape in the public services has been significantly reduced, for example, citizens can now obtain their passports in less than half-day's time after application.
The question here is, can Najib deliver these sweet pledges, or will they end up like some of Abdullah's failed slogans like the Tak Nak campaign and also the vow to curb corruptions?


You'll be the judge, later.


Below is the article taken from Malaysian Insider

To mark 100 days, a cut in road toll and a slew of promises

By Lee Wei Lian

KUALA LUMPUR, July 11 — To mark his 100th day in office, the prime minister pledged that his government would be accountable to voters.

He also announced a slew of measures, including a cut in road tolls and an increase in the number of individual taxi permits, in a bid to build on his high approval rating so far to win back support for the Barisan Nasional (BN).

In a televised address to the nation, Datuk Seri Najib Razak also outlined the focus of his administration would be in six key areas:

• The prevention of crime;

• The fight against corruption;

• Access to quality education;

• The improvement of the living standards for the lower income group;

• Improvement of rural infrastructure;;

• Improvement of public transportation.

“We must be responsible to the rakyat. It is all about performance now, performance driven government,” he told a special gathering at the KLCC Convention Centre here to mark his 100 days in office.

Despite scoring an approval rating of 65 per cent in a recent poll by the independent Merdeka Center, Najib has come under fire from his allies and rivals alike in recent days, especially over his reversal of the English policy and also the economic liberalisation programme.

He appears to be ignoring the criticism and is now staking his administration on winning over ordinary Malaysians.

Besides offering motorists a 20 per cent discount for those who use toll roads more than 80 times a month and increasing the number of individual taxi permits by 3,000, he also announced:

• The allocation of 44,000 units in public housing projects to be offered for sale to tenants;

• A 50 per cent reduction in license fees for petty traders in the Federal Territories;

• Drastic steps to be taken to combat crime and graft of which details would be announced later;

• A pledge to settle birth registration issues in east Malaysia;

• A pledge to settle citizenship applications in East Malaysia;

• A pledge to build up to 1,500 kilometres of rural roads;

• Efforts to be made to improve water and electricity supply to east Malaysia;

• A reduction in the cost of motorcycle riding courses from RM500 to RM211;

• A new Amanah Saham 1 Malaysia with 10 billion units offered for sale to all Malaysians above 18.

The prime minister stayed on his signature 1 Malaysia message throughout the event and the festivities reflected that.

There was no talk of the supremacy or privileges of any ethnic group.

Instead, the increasingly familiar refrain of unity among all races and putting the public first was repeated several times.

Formalities were noticeably low key, save for the red carpet, and the seating arrangements were deliberately left open to encourage cabinet ministers to mingle with the public.

“Whether Malay, Chinese, Indian, Sikh, Iban, Kadazan, Bidayuh, Orang Asli, Siamese, we are all Malaysian citizens. If we can move together as one team, one people, one nation, we will be greatly successful,” said Najib.

Perhaps to drive home his commitment towards fostering racial unity and acceptance, the printed text of his speech was delivered to him by a symbolic retinue of 11 children consisting of different ethnicities from east and west Malaysia.

The most humorous moments came when Najib reminisced about his walkabouts during the first few days of office, when he visited derelict flats, ate “tosai” in Brickfields, bought fake Louise Vuitton bags at Petaling street and inhaled the stinking pollution at the infamous Pudu bus station so much so that “the smell still sticks till today.”

He noted that his directives to improve conditions at the locales he visited are being carried out quickly, including a makeover of the Pudu bus station and plans for a Little India in Brickfields.

He left unanswered, however, the question of what happens if the prime minister is too busy or unable to do walkabouts?

Najib also extended an olive branch to critics of the government’s human rights record.

“The era of government knows best is over,” he said. “We will consult the public including on the review of the Internal Security Act and this includes consulting the Bar Council and other NGOs.”

C Guevara

My Thoughts on PPSMI

Final decision has been made to reintroduce the teaching of maths and science in mother tongue from year 2012 onwards. This massive change will be accompanied by an increase in the hour of English lesson, and also some other policies aiming at strengthening the basic command of English language among Malaysian students.

There has been a series of protests and data provided by NGO to rebut the effectiveness of PPSMI in educating our children nowadays. Question has been raised by the parents whether our teachers were ready to conduct math and science classes fully and effectively in English. While few teachers can communicate fluently in English, many students especially those who do not have english-speaking background and also students in the rural areas failed to receive benefits from the implementation of PPSMI.

Personally, I second the decision made by the cabinet, although they should have realized the problems occurred in PPSMI long ago and fixed the problems right away.

People must accept the facts that:

1. Most Malaysians and their kids do not have english-speaking background, and therefore, what they need is a more effective and acceptable way of learning their second or third language.

Malaysian kids should be given more English language lessons and be exposed to a series of effective ways of learning the international language.

2. PPSMI was not carefully planned and its strategy failed miserably although hundreds of millions of ringgit was generously poured into this education project.

Besides wasting a large sum of money to corruptions and ali baba projects, the time, energy and money spent on our education policies are obviously impotent effort to help improving the standard of English language among our students, let alone learning math and science in English (PPSMI).

Funding for more teaching materials and training for English teachers is absolutely necessary to increase the command of English of Malaysian students.

3. Teachers did not receive adequate trainings, time, and resources to switch the language medium in math and science subjects from BM to English. In fact, especially in national schools, MANY teachers are still using Bahasa Malaysia to conduct math and science lessons.

4. It is one of the dumbest idea to learn language through math and science, or otherwise. Before children can start learning math and science from the books, they MUST be able to, at least, understand the usage of language itself. Language acts as a MEDIUM to deliver messages and knowledge, while Math and Science are very technical and complicated SKILLS for the young.

Attempting to master math and science through a language medium which they are not familiar with, is just not going to work out. PPSMI is useless unless everyone in Malaysia is ready to adopt the use of English in their everyday lives; this would mea our Bahasa Malaysia and other languages will lose their values and priority on this land.

5. Not learning Math and Science in English does not necessarily means we will become not competitive internationally. Japan, Germany and France are good examples of how the native language of one country can provide their own people with the most updated technologies and information. Please don't tell me that we cannot make it because we're Malaysians; if we never try, we will never achieve anything.

What we need are more passion and realistic hard work in developing our own knowledge and ideas in the field of science & technology; it doesn't make us a more clever nation by learning everything else in English if we can't even construct a proper sentence using that language.

6. I left out this point earlier.

To teach math and science in mother tongue is vital for primary school level. During primary school level, children start to fortify their command of languages. Children in primary school level are best educated in their mother tongue for math and science subjects. Teaching Math and Science in a language which students are familiar with will obviously yield better results.

However, PPSMI can be retained in the higher secondary school level when they have stronger command of English ( which is a second language to many Malaysians), to equip them for the next level of higher education, like STPM, Matrikulasi and Universities . It's during secondary school when students will most probably have sufficient confidence and ability to learn new knowledge in their second language.

Below is the news report from The Star:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MATH AND SCIENCE BACK TO BAHASA, MOTHER TONGUE (UPDATED)

KUALA LUMPUR: The Cabinet has decided that the medium of instruction for Maths and Science will revert to Bahasa Malaysia in national schools and mother-tongue languages in national-type schools from 2012 onwards.

The reversal of the Teaching of Math and Science in English (PPSMI) policy will be done in stages, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said on Wednesday.

He however added that there will be greater emphasis on learning the English language.

English literature will be re-introduced, as will subjects on grammar and composition.

Beginning 2012, students in Year One and Year Four in primary schools, and Form One and Form Four in secondary schools, will learn Math and Science in Bahasa Malaysia.

The change will not affect those in Form Six and Matriculation.

The two subjects will be taught in two languages until 2014 for other students, he said.

“The gap between rural and urban students has widened since PPSMI started.

“Only 19.2% of secondary teachers and 9.96% of primary teachers were sufficiently proficient in English,” he said, explaining the Government’s decision to revert to the old system.

On efforts to emphasise the learning of English, the number of English teachers would be increased by 13,933 -- retirees would be hired, as well as foreigners if need be.

Primary schools will also increase English classes by 90 minutes a week.

There have been calls from various groups for the policy to revert to before 2003, when the subjects were taught in Bahasa Malaysia in national schools, and either in Chinese or Tamil in national-type schools.

The issue has seen a rare alliance between Malay and Chinese educationists, who are against the switch, although there are also calls by many parents and entrepreneurs for English to be maintained.

C Guevara

FREE Bike Towing Service and Flat Tyre Repair on Penang Bridge

I last used Penang bridge not long ago, and as usual, there were at least 2 motorcycles getting flat tyres on the bridge. Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd(PBSB) had to pick up sharp objects that caused flat tyres to vehicles using a modified truck with magnetic field at the bottom front, targeting mainly at Nails. These nails arent there for no reason; they provide the mechanics some business who are there waiting on the bridge like preying vultures. A normal flat tyre repair which costs around 10 ringgit will now price even higher on the bridge, usually double the normal rate.

However, PBSB is offering towing services and flat tyre repair motorcyclist, without any charges.

Just call PBSB Bridgeline at 1300-1300-03 or use the emergency telephone on the bridge to have your free motorcycle towing and flat tyre repairing services. This service is available from 7am-8pm daily.

Full details from articles below, taken from The Star.

BUTTERWORTH: Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd (PBSB) is now offering free towing services for motorcycles which break down or experience a flat tyre on the bridge.

Penang Public Works, Utilities and Transportation Committee chairman Lim Hock Seng said the move was aimed at preventing unscrupulous mechanics from imposing exorbitant charges to fix flat tyres on the bridge.

“Some mechanics have been charging between RM25 and RM30 to replace the inner tube of motorcycle tyres when the cost is only about RM10 to RM12 at workshops.

“Most motorcyclists pay the high charges as they have no other alternative when their vehicles stall on the bridge,” he said, adding that while the towing service was free, motorcyclists would have to bear their own repair costs.

Motorcyclists, he added, could call the PBSB Bridgeline at 1300-1300-03 or use the emergency telephone on the bridge to report their breakdown.

“A tow truck will be deployed to send the motorcycle either to PBSB-designated repair sites off the bridge or to the nearest workshop,” he said Saturday, adding that the service, which began last Wednesday, was available daily between 7am and 8pm.

PBSB deputy general manager Abd Rahman Hassan said it had received numerous complaints of unscrupulous persons scattering nails on the bridge to “make a fast buck”.

“With assistance from the police, we will continue to keep a close watch to reduce such activities,” he said, adding that there were 422 cases of motorcycle tyre punctures reported on the bridge in 2007 and 260 between January and September 2008.

C Guevara

Send Bob to Berkeley!

Being rejected a scholarship doesn't mean you cannot pursue your dream overseas.
This is a tale of how a high achiever who is offered a place at University of California, Berkeley, trying to raise his education fund here in the internet. By selling virtual real estate in the form of advertising space, can he reach the target of raising 150,000 dollars for his tuition fees in a month's time?

1 Dream
1 Month
150,000 USD

By the way, I'm very impressed with Bob's determination, efforts and idea to fund raise for his education fees. I mean, how many Malaysian youngsters nowadays can come out with such a special way to realize their dreams?

Spread this news around, and let's send Bob to Berkeley!

Note: All fundraising activities on SendBobToBerkeley.com have ceased because Bob has finally decided to accept the scholarships offering him a place at University College London. I did not notice this changes until the next day after this article had been posted. Thanks



Below is a copy of press release from SendBobToBerkeley.com

SendBobToBerkeley.com Launched!

Bobby is a 20-year-old dude from Malaysia who just completed his A-Levels. He has gained admission into the University of California, Berkeley for Fall 2009. He thought he was going to win a scholarship from Khazanah Nasional, a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund - having qualified himself to the final 4th round with 4 other applicants from the thousands who applied. But he was proven wrong. He somehow blundered his most important last interview and was left stranded.

Being an international student, Bobby would have to pay close to $50,000 per year to study in UC Berkeley. Thus a 4 years university education would cost close to $200,000. Bobby's parents are willing to loan him $50,000 but the rest will have to come from his self initiative.

Bobby decided to embark on an Internet project to fundraise the remaining $150,000 in 30 days on a novelty advertising idea - selling virtual real estate as advertising space. Bobby has designed rows of properties such as office tower, bungalow houses and camping tents to suit different prospective business owners. Owners of these properties are free to 'renovate' (customize) the properties and to link to any webpage on the Internet.

The price of real estate starts from $50 per property for Camping Tents. Log on and join the sale of the virtual properties now before they run out!

C Guevara

Bumi Equity Quotas and FIC Abolished; with New Guidelines

Here is a more detailed insight on the new guidelines for investment industry which was announced by Datuk Seri Najib. The step to slash the equity quotas is followed by a set of new rules for publicly listed companies. Public share holding spread to bumiputera investors are now increased to 50% from the previously 12.5%. Read the below article for further information on many other changes on the policies.

Source:The Malaysian Insider

Najib slashes Bumiputera equity quotas, FIC role

Changes are here, Najib telling investors today. - Picture by Choo Choy May

KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 — Malaysia today made sweeping changes to its capital markets to boost foreign investments, cutting Bumiputera equity quotas for share offerings and in fund management firms while trimming the role of a powerful but conservative panel overseeing such investments.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak dropped the 30 per cent Bumiputera equity requirement for Malaysian firms seeking public listing, the cornerstone of the New Economic Policy (NEP), but they will now have to offer 50 per cent of the public shareholding spread to Bumiputera investors.

The public shareholding spread is currently 25 per cent which effectively sets the minimum allocation for bumiputeras at 12.5 per cent.

“The 30 per cent requirement remains but it is a macro objective,” the prime minister told reporters after announcing the changes while launching the InvestMalaysia week and meeting with senior fund managers.

He said the Bumiputera equity condition within the public spread will reinforce the competitiveness of Bursa Malaysia.

Najib also cut the powers of the Foreign Investments Committee (FIC), immediately repealing its guidelines covering the acquisition of equity stakes, mergers and takeovers.

The FIC will no longer process any share transactions nor impose equity conditions on such transactions — which has been its mainstay up to yesterday.

Najib also said FIC approval for property transactions will now only be required when it involves a dilution of Bumiputera or government interest for properties valued at RM20 million and above, while other transactions, including between foreigners and non-Bumiputeras, will not require approval.

“In addition, to further ease raising funds from the capital markets, post listing fund raising exercises will no longer be subject to any equity condition,” Najib said in his speech, adding this deregulation will immediately support existing listed companies seeking to raise funds and reduce the friction cost of compliance.

Najib, who is also Finance Minister, also liberalised ownership in the wholesale segment of the fund management industry, allowing total ownership for qualified and leading fund management companies seeking to be in Malaysia.

He also raised the limit for foreign shareholding in unit trust management firms to 70 per cent, from 49 per cent previously.

To boost the local markets, Najib has set up a private equity fund, called Ekuiti Nasional Berhad (Ekuinas), with an initial capital of RM500 million to invest in private sector funds, to promote genuine partnerships and a fully commercial approach.

He disclosed that Bumiputera participation through Ekuinas will be based on merit. The fund will eventually grow to RM10 billion.

“There should be no doubt that Malaysia welcomes foreign and local investors and participants. We can achieve high income by creating more opportunities for growth rather than protecting our narrow turf. We can only achieve our social equity goals by expanding the pie,” said Najib.

“A high income society must be socially inclusive. It must provide incentives to those who have a lot yet be fair to those who have a little. It must lead to high returns to companies and entrepreneurs who invest, better and higher incomes for those who are employed and greater capability for those who require assistance to help themselves or to get help from the government. Above all, a high income society must be one where every Malaysian feels they have a place and a promising future under the Malaysian sun.”

When asked about a possible backlash from the bumiputera community during the press conference, Najib later told reporters that he does not expect one. “It is a win-win situation,” he said.

“These moves are necessitated by two major factors – the economic environment has changed drastically and the FIC has not produced the desired results. Any new instruments for growth with equity must be more market friendly. The new policies will make our economy even more vibrant and put the country quite high up on the investor’s list.”

Yakcop in a press conference today. - Picture by Choo Choy May

While there is no more equity condition imposed by the FIC, there could still equity restrictions from sector regulators such as Bank Negara, the Energy Commission and the Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board.

While there is the condition that half of the public shareholding spread be allocated to bumiputeras via balloting, the condition will be waived if there are no bumiputeras willing or able to take up the allocation.

Najib added that the FIC can be considered retired and a new unit will be created under the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) to monitor bumiputera participation in the economy as well as property transactions valued above RM20 million that involve dilution of bumiputera equity.

“You can say that the FIC no longer exists and a new unit created by (minister in the prime minister’s department) Tan Sri Nor Yackop will be created to replace it in the EPU,” he told reporters.

More details on the new private equity fund, Ekuinas, which is designed to boost bumiputera participation in the economy are expected to be announced later. But for now, the government has revealed that the initial funds will come from the budget and it will report to the prime minister with the EPU having a supervisory role.

It will be run by professionals and not civil servants but owned by the government. It will focus on nurturing bumiputera businessmen in sectors considered to be high growth such as education, tourism, oil and gas and ICT.

“We still have a number of instruments to help bumiputeras such as PNB (Permodalan Nasional Berhad), Mavcap (Malaysia Venture Capital Management Berhad), scholarships and training,” said minister in the prime minister’s department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop in a briefing to reporters. “What we are doing is removing the hindrances to investors. Local and foreign investors hesitate to come in because of the FIC. With higher growth, bumiputeras will also benefit.”

He also said that the FIC is a “blunt tool” for wealth distribution and noted that RM52 out of RM54 billion in shares allocated for bumiputeras between 1984 and 2005 have been “sold quickly.”

Figures provided by the government puts the bumiputera equity figure at about 19 per cent currently.

Nor Mohamed added that he thinks the new measures will make the country investor friendly and competitive overnight and that investment in the country will increase by “leaps and bounds”.

Foreign fund manager Shireen Muhiudeen of Corston-Smith Asset Management says that the announcements are a “step in the right direction.”

She approved of the elimination of the bumiputera quota when raising new capital and the higher ceiling for foreign ownership in stock broking companies saying that it may increase competition and help bring down loading charges.

She however wanted the government to provide more details on the impact of sector regulation on investors.

Head of research at OSK Research, Chris Eng says that the changes will have help market sentiment and attract new listings to Malaysia but does not see any immediate impact.

“Big companies have no problem getting bumiputera investors anyway when raising new funds,” he points out.

He expects the main beneficiaries of the new policies to be investment banks as there would be less regulation for them to deal with.

He also sees the property sector benefitting from foreign investment in the long term but not in the short term as he forecasts a property glut to happen around 2012.

In other announcements, government linked companies (GLCs), will have to focus on core activities and dispose of non-core activities and not compete in areas best left to entrepreneurs.

They will also be required to compete on a level playing field with the private sector.

“There is no issue of the government providing assistance to GLCs by virtue of its shareholding to the detriment of private sector competition,” said Najib.

The lifting of the 30 per cent quota on new public listings is effective immediately and will affect companies currently applying to list.