Najib in Gaza – Good for Him, Bad for Malaysia

Yesterday, our PM Najib visited Gaza via Egypt. He and Rosmah are both conferred honorary doctorates by the Al-Aqsa University. This is a historic visit as Najib is the FIRST non-Arab country leader to visit Gaza. So, Malaysia Boleh! (for the wrong reasons?)

While the local news celebrate Najib’s curious visit to Gaza on so-called humanitarian grounds and symbolic of Malaysia’s support of the Palestinian plight, President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine expresses REGRET that this visit was made (read here).

Apparently, Najib visited Gaza’s PM Ismail Haniyeh but snubbed President Mahmoud Abbas of West Bank. In fact, Mahmoud Abbas is the overall representative leader of the Palestinians. Mahmoud Abbas is from the Fatah Front and Haniyeh is from the Hamas Front. Both groups do not see eye-to-eye. Hamas is viewed by many as the more militant of the two groups although both are equally volatile.

Gadgets to watch out for in the coming months

I have been keenly watching the development of a few key industry players making further breakthroughs in the fast growing smart gadget marketplace. Allow me to share some thoughts on a few of these devices to watch out for and much information is based on rumors around the Internet and the analysis of technology trends.

I am particularly impressed with Samsung’s Galaxy line of smart phones. The one I look forward to is the Galaxy S4 which Samsung official’s say will be announced soon. This much touted device is expected to have a larger screen than the S3 but the anticipation of a thinner and lighter technology for AMOLED is expected to be incorporated which does not use glass. Samsung has gone far in their R&D in this area, even to the point of developing prototype foldable screens which we can expect in future Galaxy S series.

List of Malaysian Scandals on Wiki Lists

Some soul(s) has maintained a list on so-called Malaysian Scandals (read here). This list goes back a long way in Malaysia’s history. Many have references and perhaps the rest will have their own references over time.

BN Won’t Get 2/3 In GE13

It will be “impossible” for the BN to get a two-thirds parliamentary majority in the next general election – and this could lead to BN head and prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s resignation, to a study says. (read here and here)

There is only a logical reasoning to come to such a conclusion.

The conclusion is one that has to do with the position of PM Najib to remain as Prime Minister of Malaysia. Will he be able to stay or will he be forced to step down?

Here is the simple analysis.

RCI on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah – Premature to draw Conclusions

The RCI in Sabah has recently revealed shocking allegations that there were ICs given out to illegal immigrants and refugees to allow them to vote. However, we must agree with PM Najib that it is premature to draw any conclusions at this time.

The RCI is NOT a court proceeding but will draw possible conclusions from the testimonies of witnesses without any requirement of court accepted supporting evidences. As such, the end of the RCI is as useful as a perception conclusion to agree with what people has thought had happened all along or throwing doubts as to the veracity of the claims.

In short, one CANNOT draw any conclusions to the RCI proceedings and outcome because it is not a judge or jury but a mere inquiry.

BUT, when Tun M comes out to defend himself publicly and PM Najib also supports his position, now we have the ability to draw some primary conclusions to the veracity of the testimonies thus far, and this is what we can surmise.

Azrul – You Must Stay On Until The Inevitable Happens

Bank Islam’s chief economist, Azrul Azwa Ahmad Tajuddin, has recently been suspended as a result of his political and economic analysis presentation at the Regional Outlook Forum 2013 organised by Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) on Thursday 10th January 2013.

Singapore Straits Times broke the news that he was predicting a Pakatan Rakyat victory for the impending General Election. This news caught on like wild fire in many on-line news portals and everyone was throwing their two sen worth of opinion on the matter.

Before long, behind the scene actions had taken place in suspending Azrul. He feels that he should resign now since he expects to be dismissed (read here).

Awang Adek questioned Azrul’s professionalism. Bank Islam’s managing director disassociated the bank from Azul’s views stating that he presented his personal opinions.

Now, how do we discover the truth of what actually happened during the Forum and should Azrul be subjected to this torment and resign?

Historic KL112 – Updated!

Regardless how TV3 or PDRM or Government related cyber troopers try to play down KL112, one cannot help but admit a historic successful rally was held by Malaysians in the same place where Tunku Abdul Rahman declared the independence of Malaya in 1957. This picture (courtesy of Kwong Jit Yit Poh) shows a very clear view of the massive turnout of KL112. More pictures below. You be the judge.

Yes, the organizers are NGOs with their causes and the Opposition Front of Pakatan Rakyat. The Police has been commendable this time with their full support to facilitate such a massive turnout never seen before since the days of Independence. No FRU, no tear gas, no aggressive response, we salute PDRM for a vigilant and healthy progress in serving the public.

Rogue SMS claiming every participant was given RM150 started circulating. Mat Sabu made such despicable messages turn on its head by initiating a collection drive instead. The people who attended had forked out whatever they could to chip in for the expenses of renting the stadium.

Throughout the event, BN cyber troopers attempted to disrupt #KL112 and #HKR112 by insinuating all sorts of negative messages, some which bordered on the ridiculous. People who tweeted never retorted back as if rebutting them is really a waste of time.

KL112: People’s Uprising Rally Date

Saturday 12 January 2013 is positioned by the Opposition together with various NGOs as a historic moment in the history of Malaysia. KL112, short for KL January 12, appears to be building up steam amongst Malaysians who want to be a part of a first multi-party politically led very large scale rally. This is to be bigger than Umno, PAS and other Pakatan Rakyat’s rally. It is supposed to make Perkasa’s rally very pale in comparison. This is beyond members specific. It is a people theme rally, for Malaysia – so says the Opposition.

Strangely but pleasantly surprising, the Police and the Merdeka Stadium caretaker have both consented to the use of the premise and the Police has had discussions with the organizers to ensure public safety and adherence to conditions to prevent undesirable incidents like those during Bersih 3.0 or 418. This is a first and historic arrangement for a rally of this scale (being a desired scale at the moment). Perhaps the public interests by international observers and other countries have driven the BN Government to step very gingerly this time round to ensure no bad press arises from poor treatment of Opposition-led rallies. Lesson learnt from Bersih 3.0. Very good!

Because it is organized by anti-establishment organizations and political parties, road blocks are expected to slow down and intimidate interested parties going into KL. We shall know the real news tomorrow how this will affect the turnout. So far, people who are hell-bent on attending have found ways of getting there. Lesson not learnt from the past Bersih rallies. Not good!

DPM Desperate Appeal To Selangorians

DPM Muhyiddin was reported to appeal to the residents in Selangor to vote for BN in the coming General Election as they are supposedly duped by the PKR-led state government (read Duped for four years – Selangor folks need to choose, says DPM). Muhyiddin cited the BN standard accusation of a purported water crisis to impact Selangor in 2014 if the Langat 2 project is not supported by MB Khalid. Obviously, Muhyiddin forgot to mention how well Selangor had performed in their governance based on the Auditor General Report 2011. They were tops with resounding accolades but this does not augur well for a BN appeal. Furthermore, BN never had such recognition by the Auditor General as long as our memory serves us well.

The appeal appears to be a desperate measure without merit. There must be something BN can latch on since PR is not perfect, far from it. But what can that be?

That is the million Ringgit question that Najib and Muhyiddin are trying to find answers so that they can stump PR and get the residents of Selangor to see the reality of the failures of the state government. Only then will the voters swing over to BN again.

Even when the MSM who favors the ruling Federal Government cannot find real failures of the Selangor state government until today, it appears that the PR government is really doing something dramatically good beyond what the previous BN government can do. And all within the past 4 years.

The voters must be wondering if the same state government continues to rule for many more years, will Selangor continue to prosper and the residents enjoy the fruit of the prosperity?

Terrifying Bounties on US Ambassador’s Life

An incredible life threat on the US Ambassador’s life as well as any US soldier’s life to be rewarded with gold was reported by the Associated Press (read Yemen: Al Qaeda offers bounty for U.S. ambassador, soldiers). This news was carried by The Malaysian Insider and a few other online media.

Quite obvious this is not something our Malaysian mainstream media will carry. Not many US news agencies reported it either.

Upon reading this report, we are very alarmed that the Islamic terrorist group, Al-Qaeda, has issued such a violent and terrifying bounty on the lives of individuals. Clearly, these are people who do not respect nor value life but rather prefer to celebrate death.