Najib defends Isa: Was he kidding in France?

Najib made a defense for Isa when questioned recently in France.  The Bernama report that was published in The Malaysia Insider (read here) gives us an amusing side of our beloved PM.

Najib said former Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar Isa, who was found guilty of breaching party rules, was punished for his offence while he also lost the mentri besar’s post and Umno vice-president’s post.

…….

“This (Isa’s offence) is only a technical matter in the party and he has already paid for his deeds,” said Najib when asked by a student on the decision to pick Isa for the Bagan Pinang by-election.

Isa was found guilty of money politics in the 2004 Umno election and was suspended for six years which eventually was reduced to three years (read here).  This is not a mere breach of party rules.  It is clearly an act of corruption.  It is not only [emphasis mine] a technical matter in the party.  If his action is a not acceptable within Umno, it is also not acceptable in the realm of Malaysian politics.  This is not a private affair within Umno.

Is money politics a small matter after all? 

Smoke Screen ala Malaysian Style?

So many uncanny things have happened that can’t be explained with people attempting to incite fear amongst the rakyat to seemingly illogical positions of ministers and public institutions.

A very insightful posting by Haris Ibrahim (read here) posits a very real and present danger looming in the background.  The question is, who is the mastermind and who is positioned to rise above the ashes?  Is it Najib?  Or Muhyiddin?  Or is there a hidden hand behind it all?  Sounds like a conspiracy theory but Haris sounds very sane and reasonable.

A Subdue Merdeka Coming Up

From The Malaysian Insider

AUG 28 — It must be quite telling that this year’s Merdeka Day celebrations appear subdued. Not a lot of flags, buntings, pomp and pageantry in the streets.The official excuse is the Ramadan fasting month and fears over the A (H1N1) flu outbreak that has claimed 71 lives. No sense in having the usual march past involving a cast of thousands if they are likely to fall sick, either from fasting or the flu.

There is another dark cloud in the horizon as Aug 31 National Day festivities this year is really being marred by religious and racial fault lines.

The Shah Alam Hindu temple relocation is the latest issue to join a host of other issues like protests over rock concerts, no beer sales, the caning of Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno and the growing argument that minorities have to make way in Malay-majority areas.

Should a protest against a Hindu temple get so extreme and out of hand with Muslims stomping a cow head, knowing full well the animal is sacred to the religion.

As Umno Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin asks, how would Muslims feel if others burned or stepped on the Quran if the situation was reversed?

(Read here for the complete Malaysian Insider article.)

Adding to this, the backdrop casts a gloomy shadow this coming Merdeka Day.

Ong-Chua Will Implode MCA

Many Malaysians couldn’t care less about the MCA internal fight between the President Ong Tee Keat and his now ex-Deputy President Chua Soi Lek. After much “careful” deliberation, Ong announced the sack of Chua and that rocked the Malaysian political scene.

This pivotal move made the PM and the rest of BN masters speechless and shocked.  Why such a sudden move?  Why now?  Why at all?  At least, most of everybody thought that the Chua sex DVD scandal was behind us all but no, the witch hunt has just completed.

The shame that Chua brought to the MCA was too much and must be dealt with, so thinks the Ong-team.  More thinks that the power base of Chua is too much and must be dealt with.  They were starting to agitate the MCA pool with Tiong alleging Ong’s “graft”.  So to tackle the root of the “problem”, the root must be pulled out.  Chua must be “sacrificed”.

Pematang Pasir – Reality Test Tuesday

UPDATE:

Result for Permatang Pasir by election

Pas current majority – 4,557 (65.5%)

Mohd Salleh Man (PAS) : 9,618

Rohaizat Othman (BN) : 5,067

Majority : 4,551

Turnout : 73.1% (14,832)

Spoiled votes: 44

Original Posting:

In the last general election, Mohd Hamdan secured 11,004 votes to defeat Barisan’s Ahmad Sahar Shuib by a 5,433-vote majority (66.39%).

The Permatang Pasir constituency has 20,290 voters, including one postal voter, comprising Malay (72.36%), Chinese (25.85%), Indian (1.63%) and others (0.16%).

Come Tuesday, we shall see the face off between Rohaizat (Umno) vs Salleh (PAS) and the reality test if Manek Urai’s momentum for the BN will repeat itself.

Much has been said about the character attack against Rohaizat which is not needed to be repeated here.  Tun M feels that BN has picked the wrong candidate.  Muhyiddin bites his tongue and goes for his guns in support for Rohaizat.  Surely, Lim Kit Siang’s call to BN to withdraw Rohaizat will fall on deaf ears.  The candidate is picked.  Rightly or wrongly, BN will have to go all out to defend this candidate.  After all, it is not about the candidate but the party, so they think.

Minister with an attitude!

This MalaysiaKini.tv video clip below shows an unbelievable attitude demonstrated by a Minister of the Malaysian Government.  When I saw this, albeit in an edited footage, it saddens me to think that he is a representative of the Rakyat and the Cabinet of our dear PM, Najib.  In fact, I was very taken aback by such a show of attitude to the media.

Well, as in all Internet postings, you must verify the veracity of what you read.  Just watch the clip and come to your own conclusions.

When you realize that he is the Minister for Information, Communications and Culture, it makes you wonder how he will fare in this job.  He has shown very little culture in his communication to the media from this video clip.  I certainly hope that this was his “off day” and not his standard approach.  He, for one, must know that this episode will be captured and published in the public and so he should have treaded with care and dignity.

Perhaps, he needs to attend Handling The Media 101 as he must have missed the class.  What gall he has to sneer at the press making snide remarks about “where where you educated” and “cakap orang putih” when a reporter asked him a question in English.

Is this a matter of right or wrong?  I suppose not.  He is, after all, the Minister and we are nobody.  He has the right to speak down at us.  Serve us right for voting him!

As for the rest of us, let us learn ourselves and also teach our children NOT to behave like this.  Our dear Minister has left us a very good visual lesson of what to NOT DO! Perhaps that’s what he wanted to teach us.

Thank you YAB Minister.

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H1N1 – What we all need to know

It is very important for us to arm ourselves with all the information on H1N1 to protect ourselves and our families.  The following information is extracted from various sources published on the Internet, all found in this one location now.  I trust that you will find it helpful.

Meanwhile, douse yourselves and loved ones with the vitamins needed to boost your immunity system.  Protect yourselves from contracting flu.  Wear a mask if you think you have the flu.  Stay away from others.  Don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth if you have the flu then touch others.  If you know someone who may have the flu, stay away from them, at least 1m away.

Let’s all be vigilant to watch all the symptoms and go to the hospital immediately if you detect any of the telling signs.

Take best care of yourselves.  God bless!

H1N1 – Why is Malaysia having the worst fatality rate?

Worldwide H1N1 statistics as at August 15 (read here).

205,785 infections

1,569 deaths

157 countries

The worldwide fatality rate is 0.76%.

Malaysia has 2,253 infections with 59 deaths as of this morning (read here and here).  Our fatality rate is 2.6%.

The numbers are as accurate as that can be found on the internet at this time.  Regardless of the rate of error, the results are scary.  Malaysia is almost 3.4 times the worldwide average rate of fatalities from H1N1.

Is it that our numbers of infected H1N1 patients are not accurately reported?  Are the deaths mis-reported and is not related to H1N1.  For now, the stats is all we have and we must trust it.

This is not something to prove Malaysia Boleh!  Malaysians must be protected and promptly treated to be safe and well.

It is scary when teachers, students, kids, dads, moms, grandpas, grandmas are all dying around us.  What is MOH doing to prevent a national disaster?

Having news bulletins, posters, awareness programs, educational instructions, websites all talking about H1N1 is just not enough.

What is the MOH doing at the hospital and clinic level?  The medical treatments, the diagnosis accuracy, the reporting, the quarantine, the hospitals, the vaccines, the whole 9 yards of proper handling that the government can do appears to be falling apart.

The private sectors are doing theirs, scanning temperature and providing hand cleansers and other awareness measures.

But at the front end of the pandemic, we have a serious challenge.  The public is kept in the dark why there is not enough vaccine, why people are turned away from hospitals and not verified on the H1N1 infection but just sent home, why are people told to come back only when it is life threatening, etc.  Why? Why? Why?

That’s the part the MOH must do and do well.  The statistics is but an indicator of how bad the situation is and how good the MOH is faring.  Right now, it sucks!  And it’s scary.

Our reports on infection is skyrocketing but the death rate is climbing faster than ever, faster than other countries.  It shows that we may not know what we are doing.

MOH!  Do what you must.  There is no time to lose!  Malaysia must not lose another life to H1N1.  No political talk please, Mr Minister!  Just make it right for all Malaysians NOW!

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Questions Unanswered – Remains Unanswered

The death of Teoh Beng Hock at MACC Shah Alam office remains a mystery before the inquest begins today and now adjourned to 5 August (the inquest was adjourned today).  So many questions, so few answers, and more questions arise each day.  Will we get any answers to the untimely death of Teoh or will this chapter be closed with little public accountability?

There are many blogs that have the public scrutinizing this very high profile public incident.  Lots of budding amateur CSIs analyzing from pictures taken at the crime scene (Rights2Write – read here).  Lim Kit Siang provided a precursor to the inquest on his interview today (read here).  Another curious article by Raja Petra (read here) strokes more questions to be answered (compare the two pictures in that article).

The following crime scene picture is graphic and may be offensive to some viewers.  Viewer discretion is adviced.  Continue only if you know what you are doing.

Reversal of using English to teach Maths and Science by 2012

Today, we read of the Government’s decision to “end the policy of teaching mathematics and science in English or PPSMI in both primary and secondary schools effective from 2012” (read here).

Muhyiddin Yassin, the Education Minister, says it was a fair decision that was carefully made after analysing the implemention for six years.

Muhyiddin had admitted in Parliament last month that students had not shown significant improvement in the two subjects over the past six years.

Interestingly, he and MOE officers had supposedly “briefed” Tun M on this decision probably to avert a backlash from the person who pushed for the teaching of Maths and Science in English six years ago (read here) and said that Tun M accepted this policy change.

Virtually immediately, Tun M came back saying he expressing “disappointment with the government’s decision to scrap his policy of teaching mathematics and science in English, saying it will affect future generations” (read here).  He claims his recommendations was not taken into consideration after giving them to Muhyiddin during their meeting.