Results that matter but why was he hated?

My favourite football coach was Brian Clough.
He managed to transform a 2nd division side, Nottingham Forrest into a
European Champion using old footballers, and yet the British public
don't like him or that is what the journalists will like to convey.

Brian Clough was never offered the coaching for England or even
Scotland. If he had coached England, I'm sure, England will be a World
Cup holder. Even Scotland will become World Champion.
There is something about Brian Clough that make me doubt that he will
want the job in the first place. Despite him being competitive, he
loves peace of mind more than anything else. His competitiveness made
him unpopular with the public, but this is the price you pay if you
want success. The ultimate judgement is for the players to decide. If
the players like him, despite his harsh treatment, that will make him
a good and nice person indeed.

Mourinho has the same intelligence and driving sprit as Brian Clough
but has even the strength to withstand all the mental pressures. We
have yet to see his greatness. He also suffer the same fate as Brian
Clough. The press don't like him. I was worried when he was out of
football for a long time. He should be able to uplift any team into
greatness but I would like him to see him lead a rich team to even
greater achievements and beautiful, intelligent and efficient game.
Imagine Mourinho leading Real Madrid. I wonder if he lasts a season in
Real Madrid.

Detractors will argue that Mourinho wins by losing forgetting that he
won 3-1 against Barcelona in Milan. Mourinho may not even last a
season in Real Madrid that fire coaches every month. Mourinho lost in
European Championship last year to MU. Every coach need time to
adjust.

Even sport journalists know the potentials of people like Mourinho but
somehow they don't like him to succeed. They prefer someone who is
more diplomatic and a liar. That is what I call those people who are
charming and saying nice words all the time. They care more for their
ego than results. In fact that is what most people want to do anyway.
They want themselves to succeed, not others, and they call this team
spirit.

And yet team spirit is about sacrifice. It is not about our egos. We
should be able to work together with people with different views and
styles because that is why they are more successful than ourselves in
their fields. It is not about sacrificing talent in order to fit into
a team in the name of discipline. Discipline that does not contribute
to result is a misplaced discipline.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/european_football/article7111127.ece

From Times Online
April 29, 2010
Jose Mourinho enjoys finest hour after conquering Nou Camp
Matt Dickinson, Chief Sports Correspondent, Barcelona
1 COMMENT
RECOMMEND? (1)

José Mourinho reached the Champions League final with Inter Milan last
night after a 1-0 loss away to Barcelona that he described as "the
most beautiful defeat of my life".

It was an achievement, he said, that even surpassed winning the trophy
with Porto in 2004, but, inevitably, it was also an occasion that
involved the Inter coach becoming embroiled in yet more controversy.
At the final whistle, Mourinho celebrated the 3-2 aggregate victory by
sprinting across the pitch, where he was confronted by Víctor Valdés,
the Barcelona goalkeeper, who thought the Inter coach was taunting the
Nou Camp fans. The pair grappled.

"I was celebrating with my fans; it is my right to do that," Mourinho
said. As for the loathing of the Barcelona supporters, he shrugged it
off. "If I came here and lose all the time, they love me," he said. "I
always say that the team that wins all the time, it is very difficult
for them to lose. I was a bad loser when I came here and lost 2-0 in
the group stage."

Mourinho's achievement in steering Inter to their first European Cup
final since 1972 is all the sweeter for knocking out two former clubs:
Chelsea in the round of 16 and Barcelona, the holders and the side
most people considered almost unbeatable.

RELATED LINKS
Inter hold off Barca to reach Champions League final
Special One puts Premier League rivals in shade
Mourinho can manage another masterstroke
Inter will be favourites to beat Bayern Munich in the final at the
Bernabéu, Madrid, on May 22, when Mourinho could become only the third
coach, after Ottmar Hitzfeld and Ernst Happel, to win the European Cup
with two different clubs.

His stock as a manager who guarantees success could scarcely be
higher. As for complaints that his teams are overly defensive, never
more so than at the Nou Camp last night, when they clung doggedly to a
3-1 first-leg advantage, he proudly stated that Inter were "a team of
blood not skill". They had no choice than to defend in numbers, he
said, having lost Thiago Motta to a controversial dismissal in the
28th minute.

"We played to win at home," Mourinho said. "Tonight we played as we
could. It was the same style we played against Chelsea. And the style
against CSKA Moscow, when we could win 5-0 or 6-0. And the style
against Barcelona in the first leg when we could have won 5-3.

"Barça controlled it early on and logically with ten men we had to
defend, but we controlled it with our spirit and organisation. We made
huge sacrifices.

"They had the ball more, but it is Barça that take the ball from you
and don't give it back.

"This match was difficult with 11 players. With ten against 11 it was
historic. It is an incredible joy. I have already won a Champions
League, but today was even better."

Mourinho said that he had been bombarded with text messages straight
after the game, including from former colleagues at Chelsea. "I have
so many messages from them," he said. "I know how they felt when they
lost. And friends are friends."

But it is he who, to the envy of Roman Abramovich and Co at Stamford
Bridge, stands on the brink of claiming the trophy. A treble also
looms, with Inter in the final of the Coppa Italia and chasing the
Serie A title. And Mourinho says that he is far from finished.

"I am 47 so I have 23 years to coach," he said. "If Lord helps me and
gives me health, I'll coach for 23 more years and I'll lose, I'll win,
I'll cry, I'll jump. I have so many years in front of me."

Could it involve working at Barcelona, he was asked. "It is possible
that my career ends in another place," he replied. "It is a thin line
between the love and hate that fans have for you."

poor aircon installation causes millions of RM losses

Current Installation Practise, not following Installation Manual.


Old way of installing. Should be the correct way.


My current Sharp Installation manual.


Below is a copy of the reply to Sharp Roxy sales. Their authorised
technican had gone to my house paid with my warranty claim.
Unfortunately he does not find anything wrong with my installation.

I use my knowlege of thermodynamics which Physics and Chemistry SPM
students should be able to apply in analysing the correct way to
install aircons.

The key is hot air rises.
The higher the temperature difference, the higher is the heat
transfer.
When a lower temperature pipe meets with a higher temperature pipe,
the lower temperature will increase in temperature(hotter), while the
higher one will become cooler, i.e. temperature lower.

I suspect the position that we install our aircon is also wrong. We
tend to install our split unit aircon about 7 feet above the floor.
There is a .5 degree temperature difference based on my infrared
temperature reading of the concrete wall.

1)The higher the aircon blower is inside our room, the hotter is the
intake air making it less efficient.
2) Also, cold air sinks and will seep out through gaps in our doors.
Only if the aircon air flow exceeds the amount that leak out, will the
cold air slowly rises from the floor level, and thus lowering the
temperature of our body. If we sit down, it will be only about 3 feet.
If you stand up, it should be lower than 6 feet.

3) So why should we put the blower above 7 feet? There is no need to
cool the air above our head.

Despite my strict instruction to install the aircon at 6 feet, my wife
instructed the installer to install at 7 feet and she thinks that this
is low enough. Aesthetics is more important than efficiency to her. I
think this is the reason why all over the world, they install aircon
at high places on the wall.

Putting the air intake at the bottom of the blower may help to speed
up the cooling since the intake temperature is cooler. We need to
exhaust at higher altitude in order to spread the cold air around the
room faster as well.

I shall upload the photo of the Sharp aircon installation manual at my
blog othmanahmad........

****sent to Sharp Roxy **********
For your info, your authorised technician had come to my house but he
mentioned that this is normal practise, unlike the olden days for my
National Aircon which uses two insulator tubings for each copper pipe.

If this is true, consumers all over Malaysia are losing millions
because of the drop in the efficiency of their aircons which are not
installed correctly even by your authorised aircon installer.

Just a drop of 5% in the efficiency of our aircon will mean that I
shall lose thousands of RM in a few years time.

> I suspect the contractor engaged by my supplier, Top Kinabalu, at Kota
> Kinabalu, Mr. Hua didn't install my Sharp Aircon properly. The use only a
> single insulator to put the two copper pipes together. In the installation
> manual, each copper pipe should be insulated separately.
>
>
> This causes hot pipe to mix with cold pipe making each one less cold for the
> room, and less hot for the compressor to cool efficiently. This causes me
> to lose up to 20% of Aircon efficiency despite the cooling function still
> functioning.
>
> Since my view is not accepted by the dealer since the dealer is not an
> expert in Air con installation, I was asked to get confirmation with the
> supplier of the aircon, i.e. Sharp, in order to check the installation of my
> aircons.
>
> I notice this error when I compare with my National Aircon. Each copper pipe
> has it's own insulation.
>
> Since this contractor is supposed to have installed thousands of aircon
> already, I fear that many customers of all brands had been affected. Since
> each brand of aircon may require a different installation style, I request
> that you send your representation to comment on the installation of my Sharp
> aircon. I notice also that the screws used are too small for such heavy
> aircon compressor.
>
> This may cause safety concerns.
>
>

60MB/s speed

Just installed DLINK 5-port Gigabit Ethernet DGS-1005D for RM150.

I used self-installed and crimped Cat5e cable using. The other PC is
just at the next room but the length of the cable is more than 10m.
I'm surprised that my 5 year old Cat 5e cable can still connect at
such a high speed, despite passing underneath a hot zinc roof.

I used to connect my PS3 at the ground floor using a 10m Cat 5e cable
dangling over the window but for a short while using Fast Ethernet. It
worked but when I connect my old SMC router, b type, with the cable,
it is now damaged and one port of my Linksys Wireless router is
damaged. I am scared of using cables dangling outside our house walls.
It will lead to damage due to induction with lightning. The zinc roofs
and brick walls provide some sort of screening against excessive
induced voltages.

So far there is little need for high speed video streaming for my PS3
because PS3 cannot accept lots of video formats, especially the .mov
format for my camera. Despite having gigabit speed, my PS3 still
cannot be connected to my main PC upstairs. Thinking of the best ways
of drilling through the floor after learning about my damaged port and
router.So near, and yet so far.

Malaysian Muslims have very low faith/Iman

Just attended friday prayer this afternoon.

The Imam cite a verse from Prophet Muhammad that had been a guidance
for me all this time:
"If you see something wrong, stop it with your hands if you are
strong, or use your tongue if not strong enough, or at least with your
heart".

Unfortunately this is not the complete verse. I only learned this
afternoon that there is an additional phrase:
"If you only use your tongue, it shows that you have a low Iman/Faith
in Islam". This phrase had been hidden from me all these years.

This shows clearly that I have very low Iman because I only know how
to protest with my tongue, not with my hands, i.e. take concrete
actions. Only Anwar Ibrahim and PAS have the right Iman/Faith.
Most of us just do not have the correct amount of faith in Islam. No
wonder I and my statesmen are punished by living in the poorest region
on Earth despite having such abundance of resources and beauty.

Re: Writings From Wan Hamidi

This is just an accusations and without any valid fact. It may be true
based on logic but very racist in attitude.

If we leave racism behind, you'll find the truth.

It happened to my cousins at batu Sapi Sandakan, the most beautiful
piece of land in the world that is now turned into the ugliest place
on earth equivalent to a shit hole.

A chinese immigrant worked with their grandparents at BAtu Sapi as
fishermen.
Their grand parent was promised the Batu Sapi based on the british
customary law because he was a native.
When the British departed, they sold the whole land to the chinese
immigrant.
The question is, how could the chinese immigrant have the money to buy
the land in the first place?
He was just as poor and uneducated as the natives.

He must have got advise from chinese bank clerks and took up loans to
finance the purchase of the land.
In those days, very few natives went to school in order to become
clerks.

Many stories of land being sold in Tanjung Aru because of debts. The
chinese will just let the native fishermen take provisions from his
shop without charging at first. Later on charge interests for non-
payments. The natives don't bother to check the prices and interest
rates of of the goods sold. They end up selling their land to settle
these debts.
How could fishermen sell land right near the beach in order to move
inland where he cannot fish at all?

My friends grand parents were Arabic traders. He used to own almost
the whole of Sandakan Town. When he died, he passed it to his
descendents that turned into drunkards. Who enticed him to this state?
It was the chinese businessmen who pretend to befriend him and let him
into a drunkard stupor so that he will sell all his land cheaply to
them.

These are documented reasons why these people lose their lands unlike
the false accusations made below devoid of any fact.

Contrary to most opinion, the natives know the value of land, at least
those who have land titles. They just lose their land because they
were manipulated by unethical chinese businessmen. Actually any
businessman will do the same but the chinese are the most numerous in
those days.

Nowadays, these businessmen could be the natives themselves and the
victims could be gullible chinese also.

The fact remains that the majority chinese had managed to manipulate
the situations to get the upper hand in the early days of Malaysia
because they are the most educated and business minded. They exploit
the systems to their advantages due to lack of enforcement of laws.
Even now this exists with banks exploiting their clients with
"incontestable, irrevocable terms for their managers to calculate
interests and charges at will" for all car and housing loans in
Malaysia.

I imagine it was much worse in those days. It had led to the racial
discrimination that exist today making the chinese the richer ethnic
groups. That is why, even in USA, the affirmative action is devoted
mostly to Education in order to close the income gap between ethnic
lines.

Malaysian laws and systems are also not efficient enough to stop
unethical and discriminatory practises unlike in USA.

On Apr 14, 12:27 pm, "mm" <m...@gmail.com> wrote:
>       We Malays are great. We want a pension for life from cradle to grave
> and the pension must be great enough to enable us to dongdang sayang daily.
> It is what ketuanan Melayu is all about.
>
>         > READ MORE HERE:http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/opinion/wan-hamidi-hamid...
>
>           By: Wan Hamidi
>
>           Umno, the Malay Chamber of Commerce, Perkasa, Ibrahim Ali, and
> what not are shouting, ranting, raving, screaming and hollering about 'nasib
> Melayu' or the plight of the Malays, in particular the Malays of Penang.
>
>           I don't know what Ibrahim Ali was doing back in the mid-1970s but
> judging from the age of many of those others in the crowd I think many of
> them tak sunat lagi back in the mid-1970s. Tak sunat lagi means you are so
> young that you are not circumcised yet and your little dick still has its
> foreskin.
>
>         Yes, back in the mid-1970s -- 35 years or so ago when I was still in
> my 20s and not even 30 yet -- I was already fighting to improve the lot of
> the Malays. And 35 years ago those shouting, ranting, raving, screaming and
> hollering today were either too damn young or were not even born yet.
>
>         We realised even back then that if something were not done the
> Malays would be left out. We realised that unless something were done now,
> 35 years ago, the Malays would be left behind. So we sat down with various
> Malay leaders and those who walk in the corridors of power -- the Prime
> Minister included -- to plan and chart the future of the Malays. And we did
> this for more than twenty years from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s before I
> decided it was a lost cause and that I had better move on to other things.
>
>           The problem we faced was as what the then Minister of Trade and
> Industry Rafidah Aziz said: Melayu mampu daya maju tapi tak mampu daya
> tahan. This came from the Minister herself and means the Malays can be
> viable but can't be sustainable. Malays can achieve success but can't
> sustain the success.
>
>           The Minister then revealed details and lamented about all the
> wealth the government gave the Malays in the form of land, concessions,
> permits, 'pink slips' on new stock exchange listings, and whatnot, which, if
> the Malays had kept, would mean the Malays would have far exceeded the 30%
> target of the New Economic Policy.
>
>          But the Malays did not keep this wealth. The Malays sold it. The
> land, concessions, permits, 'pink slips' on new stock exchange listings, and
> whatnot, were all sold. So the Malay holding reduced and ended up in the
> hand of the non-Malays. This was what troubled the government, the Malay
> leaders, those who walk in the corridors of power, and us in the Malay
> Chamber of Commerce.
>
>         So they now lament about how left behind the Malays in Penang are.
> They should chart the progression of the Malays in Penang from 224 years ago
> until today and analyse at what point it went up and went down again. Were
> the Malays driven out? Were the Malays pushed out? Or did the Malays sell
> out? And why and how did the Malays sell out?
>
>         There is such a thing called the law of supply and demand. There is
> such a thing called market forces. There is such a thing called willing
> buyer, willing seller. When there is a demand there will be a seller. And
> since there was a demand for land in Penang then for sure the landowners
> would sell. It is all about making a profit.
>
>         So Penang developed. It became known as the Pearl of the Orient. So
> the capitalists moved in, as capitalists always do anywhere in the world
> where there is money to be made. And the Malays saw the route to easy and
> quick cash available to them. So they sold their land for a lot of money and
> moved on to another place where the land was cheaper. Now they could have
> their cake and could eat it too. They sold their small piece of land in
> Penang for a lot of money and bought an even bigger piece of land, say in
> Kedah, for a small amount of money and still had a lot of money left to go
> to Mekah, send their kids to university, and whatnot.
>
>          Today, many of those old folks and landowners of the 1960s and
> 1970s are dead. They are no longer alive. Their land in Penang had been sold
> off long before they died. And their children and grandchildren no longer
> own land in Penang . This is because the old folks had sold it off when they
> were still young or before they were born.
>
>           Today, the Malays are angry because the land in Penang is owned
> mainly by the non-Malays. But this is so not because the non-Malays stole
> the land but because the Malays sold it for a lot of money. It is what any
> property owner would do when the property they bought for RM100 two world
> wars ago can now fetch RM500,000 on the open market. Only a fool would turn
> down RM500,000 in profit.
>
>         The more the Malays scream about being left behind in Penang the
> more the Malays would look stupid and would be revealing their weaknesses.
> Back in the 1970s the government already sighed and lamented that come the
> year 2000, the Malays would still be left with nothing.
>
>         We can help the Malays, the government said. We can do, what you
> want us to do. But if the Malays just sell off whatever we give them, then
> come 2000 the Malays would still end up with nothing. And then the Malays
> would turn round and blame the government. The Malays would say the
> government does not care about them. They will never admit that the
> government did so much for the Malays but the Malays chose quick cash
> instead of sustaining and maintaining for the long term what the government
> gave them.
>
>           Say what you like about Rafidah Aziz and those many of the 1970s
> and 1980s era. They did try and they tried very hard. I should know because
> I was part of it. But we all knew that it was a futile effort. We can try to
> help the Malays to get rich. But they will not stay rich. They will sell all
> for quick cash and then will become poor again. And then they will blame the
> government because they are poor.
>
>           This was anticipated 35 years ago back in the 1970s. And the
> government told us this would happen. But we still tried. And now it is
> proven that the government was right, 35 years ago.
>
>         Today, Pakatan Rakyat is ruling Penang . But Penang was founded 224
> years ago back in 1786.
>
>         Tomorrow, Pakatan Rakyat would have ruled Penang for exactly two
> years. For 222 years before that it was not Pakatan Rakyat that was ruling
> Penang . But Pakatan Rakyat is being blamed for 224 years of Penang history.
>
>           Yes, Perkasa, the new 'Malay rights' movement headed by Ibrahim
> Ali. Ask Ibrahim Ali how much the government gave him since the 1980s. In
> the 1970s when I was already fighting for the Malays he was still a student.
> Ask Ibrahim Ali to total up everything the government gave him the last 30
> years or so. That figure should come to at least RM200 million-RM300
> million.
>
>           How much does Ibrahim Ali still have left? Can he even find RM1
> million in his bank account? Where did all that hundreds of millions go?
> Yes, ask Ibrahim Ali to ask himself all these questions. Then he will
> understand what happened to the Malays. What happened to the Malays is
> exactly what happened to him. He sold off everything and spent all the money
> just like those other Malays. And now he blames the Chinese because he is
> broke.

Chinese the largest recipient of Hard Core Programs

Despite clear evidences that the Chinese are among the richest ethnic
in Malaysia, they are also the largest recipient of the monthly RM300
hard core poor recipients.

My cousins, who do not have any husband, living in shit infested
place, only receive zinc roofings every election time, relying on
their sons who are paid below poverty level. These sons also have
families of their own to look after despite having such low wages.

This information is told by the Welfare Ministry who handle this hard
core programs with the intention to tell the poor natives to apply for
the hard core poverty eradication programs.

How could this happen in a BN controlled state such as Sabah. These
poor natives are all strong BN supporters and they only demand these
zinc roofs come election days. It never occurred to them to demand the
RM300 per month programs because nobody told them anything.

The simple reason is that, the natives are so poor that they are
uneducated, that they cannot afford even to go to the ministry and
fill up the forms. The chinese, despite being labelled as hard core
poor, can afford the trips and education to fill in the forms.
Probably even bribe the welfare officers to expedite the processing.

The best solution, is the pay all those above the age of 60 RM300 per
month. Only then will it be fair for everybody.

Despite all the UN statistics indicating that the natives are much
poorer than the chinese, it is the natives that get the least
allocation of help for the hard core poor. What is BN's strategy? To
win over the chinese votes while neglecting the natives that have
always supported them stupidly?

State government more important for Bread and Butter issues

Zaid is right. The state government is more important for bread and
butter issues.
If the voters are only interested in bread and butter issues such as
land titles and garbage collection, then since PKR is the current
state government, no matter what the result of the MP election is, an
BN MP will not help them at all. It will make it worse.

This is confirmed by the voters comments in this article.

Why on Earth Sabahan MPs be so scared in crossing over to any party
they wish at the MP level when the people already got the state
government that they want?

sabah already got the BN, touted as more Islamic than PKR that had to
sleep with the racist DAP, as the State Government. As normal bread
and butter issues are handled by the State Government, why not topple
BN at the Federal Level in favour of someone who can give more grants
to Sabah State Government directly, i.e. PR.

The total grants may be the same as pointed out by Musa Aman, but it
won't solve the bread and butter issues of the State since it is
handled by the Federal Government, not the State Government.

What sort of stupid arguments that Sabahans had succumbled to, to the
point that Sabah is now confirmed as the poorest, not only in Malaysia
but the whole world, despite having such immense natural resources and
natural beauty.

BN sees easy shot with Zaid as goal keeper
WED, 14 APR 2010 11:40
By Zainal Epi

KUALA KUBU BARU: Barisan Nasional sees an easy battle now that PKR is
fielding former minister Zaid Ibrahim as its candidate for the Hulu
Selangor parliamentary by-election.

For one, Zaid is not a local boy, and so he is not in touch with local
issues which the upcoming by-election is expected to focus on. Worse
still, he may not be able to blend with the locals, some voters here
say.

The semi-urban voters of the constituency are mostly working in
factories, plantations and their own land and bread-and-butter issues
are their daily worries. National issues, which Zaid is fond of and
which brought him into the limelight, are treated as "extraneous" and
do not concern them.

"I heard of him (Zaid). PKR members told me he is a righteous man.
It's good but what we want here is someone who can relate to us,
someone who can help us solve our local problems such as licensing,
garbage collection, developing the town so that our business can
grow," said one shop owner here.

But PKR de facto chief Anwar Ibrahim probably has other plans for
Zaid. Anwar may be looking at the larger picture: Zaid is not just a
man representing 64,500 voters; more importantly, he is someone who
can be a great asset in Parliament to address the bigger issues.

While Anwar probably wants Zaid to be a national player as an MP, the
main concern for the party now is how to sell Zaid to the local
voters. The 198-majority votes garnered by the late Zainal Abidin
Ahmad in the 2008 general election was "unreal" because it reflected
more a general anti-government sentiment than a liking for PKR,
according to folks here.

Office worker Rosmina Ismail, 44, said voters wanted someone whom they
could relate to.

"The late Zainal Abidin was an intellectual but he came across as a
people's man whom the semi-urban voters could relate to. He was simple
and down-to-earth.

"We thought PKR would have picked a local man but instead it chose a
prominent personality, someone we find difficult to communicate with,"
she said, with two friends nodding in agreement.

For BN, the early prediction of an uphill battle has now ceased as it
sees Zaid a candidate with "loads of baggage".

"It is good for us that PKR is fielding Zaid. It will be a pleasure to
fight him here. Our chances of winning are better now since he has
lots of baggage with him," said Jerlun MP Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir.

The Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister believes that
Zaid's past disciplinary problems when he was in Umno will be his
undoing.

Other BN MPs shared similar sentiments: the field is clear now and the
goal post is wide open for a good shot; there is no need for a
penalty.

Despite BN's "feel good" sentiment, the ruling coalition is not
without problems. With just two days to go for the coalition to name
its candidate, squabbles within the MIC may just blow away BN's
chances of walking away with the coveted prize, come April 25.

Former three-time MP G Palanivel is still being pushed hard by party
president S Samy Vellu while the preferred choice among Umno division
members is MIC deputy Youth chief V Mugilan.

Whoever the candidate is, some local folks said they would prefer
local boy Mugilan who is known to be affable and easy to get along
with.

The ball is now in BN's court: it must field a suitable candidate who
can win the hearts and minds of the local people. More importantly, he
must be someone who can effectively serve the people after the battle
is over.

If BN fields the wrong candidate, then PKR may romp home with a bigger
majority.

Future directions of Low Cost Airlines

This article is interesting but let me share my recent experiences
with Air Asia(Low Cost) and MAS(Normal).

On our trip to Penang, my old mother who has difficulty in walking had
to endure the up and down the stairs in Air Asia despite paying for
the Wheel Chair, so I decided to by our own Transit/Transport Chair in
our trip to Kuching. The ticket was more expensive as MAS(MHlow) at
about RM700 for the return trip, excluding wheel chair and food.

On our trip to Kuching, despite paying in advance of up to 2 months,
MAS tickets was cheaper as well to Kuching. We decided to split our
groups into 2, one Air Asia, the other MAS. This is how we discovered
that MAS can be cheaper even 2 weeks before a flight.
On top of that, those on Air Asia has to endure flight changes fro 2
pm to 6.45 am. We had to wake up early in the morning.
My brother also lost a luggage(ikan terubuk masin) while waiting for
the check in. During MAS flights, this is very rare because their
passengers tend to be well-to-do.

So always keep your ears and eyes open. Never assume that Air Asia is
always cheaper.

Spirit Airlines' $45 carry-on fee meets resistance
Updated 6h 48m ago | Comments 208 | Recommend 7 E-mail | Save |
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Plans to start charging for putting bags in overhead compartments have
some federal officials talking about taking action on unfair "hidden"
feees.
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By Dan Reed, USA TODAY
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and a U.S. senator are threatening
to halt a move by Spirit Airlines to charge passengers for stowing
bags in the overhead bins on its planes.
LaHood vowed over the weekend that his agency would address Spirit's
new charge, which could cost customers up to $45 to carry on a bag,
along with what he calls other unfair or hidden fees.

"We're gonna hold the airline's feet to the fire on this," LaHood said
in an interview published on the Elliott.org travel site. "I think
it's a bit outrageous that an airline is going to charge someone to
carry on a bag and put it in the overhead. And I've told our people to
try and figure out a way to mitigate that."

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday he'd propose legislation
declaring carry-on bags to be "reasonably necessary" to air
transportation unless the Treasury Department reverses its recent
ruling that carry-on bags aren't necessary. That would make such fees
subject to federal taxes the same as fares.

Schumer said passengers "have always had the right to bring a carry-on
bag without having to worry about getting nickel and dimed."

TODAY IN THE SKY: Spirit CEO: Sen. Schumer 'seems to have spoken
without knowing all the facts'
The threats come as airlines here and overseas increasingly impose new
fees and increase others on services that used to be an amenity or
even a necessity and included in the price of a plane ticket.

Ryanair, the leader in Europe in imposing what the airlines call "a la
carte" fees, hasn't abandoned the idea of putting pay toilets on the
airline's Boeing 737s. Stephen McNamara, Ryanair's spokesman, said
that Boeing hasn't gotten back yet on his airline's request to see
whether the toilets are feasible.

TODAY IN THE SKY: Ryanair pushes ahead with plan for toilet fee
Such a move isn't likely soon, though, because it could require
extensive and expensive modifications to existing planes and raise
questions by regulators.

Here in the U.S., threats by the government to step in to halt fees —
even Spirit's — are raising questions.

"This industry is still deregulated," said Terry Trippler, the veteran
travel agent and commentator. "Spirit Airlines has the right to run
their business the way they see fit. If customers don't like it, they
will fly someone else."

The fees help prop up U.S. airlines' ledgers, which have posted $60
billion in losses the last 10 years.

Consultant Jay Sorensen, who has championed a la carte pricing, said
consumers like the low fares fees help underwrite.

"I don't know if anyone likes the idea of fees," he said. "But people
like the low fares charged by the airlines that are associated with
these fees."

Bala vs Anwar

Bala claimed that he was offered RM5 million for retracting his
declaration that Najib is connected to the Altantuya's murder but
then, retracted his declaration again.
Maybe Bala was not paid as much as what he had hoped for, or Anwar
counter offered the RM5million. Is Anwar that much richer and more
powerful than the government of Malaysia?

If Bala rescinded the first SD for RM5million, how much could he be
offered in the first SD. Certainly much less than RM5 million. How
about the 3rd retraction? Can Anwar afford more than RM5 million?

Bala could just be an honest person trying to tell the truth but
feared for his life but he has to run away in order to safeguard his
life. If the Anwar was the person threatening him, why didn't he talk
to even his family after making the 2nd SD.

Why did he disappear forever, even from police and interpol despite
breaking the laws in retracting SDs and these SDs concern the lives of
people that are accused of Murder?

Just imagine the difficulties of anyone in trying to provide evidence
against the ruling party. Just imagine what Anwar had to go through
even now and yet Anwar had been doing it for more than 30 years.

http://www.thesundaily.com/article.cfm?id=45438

Najib's brother quizzed by MACC over Bala's SD
By Giam Say Khoon

Datuk Seri Mohd
Nazri Abdul Aziz

KUALA LUMPUR (April 12, 2010): Minister in the Prime Minister Datuk
Seri Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz today said that two key witnesses,
including the prime minister's younger brother, implicated in private
investigator P. Balasubramaniam's statutory declaration (SD) on the
murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu have already been questioned.
Disclosing this during a press conference in the parliament lobby
today, Mohd Nazri said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)
had questioned Datuk Mohammad Nazim Razak and businessman Deepak
Jaikishan who were implicated in Balasubramaniam's SD last year.

"We have (interrogated Mohammad Nazim and Deepak). That's it," he said
when asked for confirmation.

Earlier, in a written reply to Tian Chua (PKR-Batu), Mohd Nazri
informed Parliament that the case was still open and investigations
are at a standstill because the MACC is unable to secure a testimony
from Balasubramaniam.

Tian Chua had asked about the status of investigation into
Balasubramaniam's allegations.

"We are trying to get his (Balasubramaniam's) statement from his
lawyer who is not telling where he is for his safety," said Nazri.

Last November, Balasubramaniam alleged in his SD that Deepak had urged
him to withdraw his declaration made on July 2, 2008 which linked
Mongolian model Altantuya's death to Najib. He also claimed that
Mohammad Nazim, an architect, had offered him RM5 million to retract
his declaration.

Najib has repeatedly denied speculations that he is in any way
connected to Altantuya's death. -- theSun

Malayans, not Malaysians are obese because of late night eating

I have just come back from Penang and Kuching and observe their eating
habits.

In Penang, they eat even late at night. I used to observe it in KL
more than 10 years ago where people have dinner at midnight.

In Sabah and Sarawak, most restaurants are closed before midnight.
Even the seafood restaurant that we visited in Kuching already closed
before 8 pm. In fact were the last customer.
Unlike in Penang. The restaurant at Seberang Perai, only open at 5pm
and closes at 3am. Even at 1 am, it was so crowded.

Sabah and Sarawak makes up 60% of the area of Malaysia and much more
obvious in the map of Malaysia, and population wise it makes up a
quarter of Malaysia and growing more rapidly.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/4/11/nation/6034589&sec=nation

Sunday April 11, 2010

Malaysians getting obese - by eating too heavily at night
By FLORENCE A. SAMY
newsdesk@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: More Malaysians are keeping awake till late to indulge
in what is becoming a top national pastime – tucking it in at 24-hour
eating joints.

Yes, we are practically eating round-the-clock. If you are still not
convinced, take a look at the goings-on at mamak shops close to and
way past midnight.

These shops have sprouted up all over the country to satisfy the
cravings of Malaysians who are gorging on calorie-packed late night
meals with hardly a care – and getting obese in the process.

Statistics show that the prevalence of obesity among Malaysian adults
increased by a staggering 250% over a 10-year period from 1996 while
the number of overweight has increased by 70%.

The National Health and Morbidity Survey in 2006 showed that two out
of every five adults or 43%, were either overweight or obese and an
alarming situation where the number of obese adults had more than
tripled over a decade, from 4% in 1996 to 14% in 2006.

Besides that, about 38% of youngsters aged between 12 and 18 were
classified as overweight.

A recent survey involving 10,000 students showed that 24% of those
aged between six and 12 were either overweight or obese.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai is obviously a very worried
man, with more Malaysians at risk of being seriously ill due to
uncontrollable eating.

"It has to change ... an unbalanced diet and eating late at night,''
he cautioned. "In the past, we used to have two meals. These days, we
are eating five to six times daily with late-night suppers at mamak
stalls,'' he said after launching the Malaysian Council for Obesity
Prevention (MCOM) here yesterday.

MCOM, which comprises 13 professional bodies and NGOs, was set up to
help the government counter the problem of obesity in the country.

The minister, an avowed vegetarian, spoke of another worrying trend –
meat is fast becoming a staple-diet here. A diet rich in red meat
causes high cholesterol which leads to cardio-vascular disease.

"Available data on the prevalence of overweight and obesity indicates
that the problem we face may be more serious than those in other
countries of the region," he added.

Being overweight and obese, he said, would lead to chronic diseases
such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and even cancer.

According to statistics, 14.9% and 43% of Malaysians aged above 30
suffer from diabetes and hypertension respectively, with 20.7% of
adults over 18 suffering from high cholesterol.

Liow said 300 nutritionists would be employed to serve at government
clinics nationwide to help tackle obesity problems by creating
awareness on the dangers of unhealthy eating.

Malaysian Council for Obesity Prevention (MCOM) president Jong Koi
Chong echoed the minister's concerns, saying the unhealthy eating
trend was becoming a major problem.

"Our metabolic rate is very low at night making it easy for fat to
accumulate in the body.

"Most 24-hour restaurants serve food that is high in fat, calories and
cholesterol. Sadly, more of our young are picking up bad eating habits
from adults,'' he added.

Musa Aman wants to shut down Sabah State Government

By saying that Sabah does not need additional oil royalty because the
Federal Government already allocates billions of ringgit for Sabah
means that Musa does not need a single cent of oil revenue or whatever
revenue generated from the state because the Federal Government can
give to Sabah.

Since Sabah has no more money, better shut down the state government
of Sabah and surrender everything to the Federal Government like
Labuan. This is the ultimate aim of the UMNO in Sabah. To turn Sabah
into Labuan, for the sake of development and peace.

Is the development worth it? Just look at Labuan. Who benefits the
most from the so called Labuan development?

Is that what Malaysia was all about?

April 06, 2010 17:29 PM
Sabah CM: Federal Government Has Always Been Generous To Sabah
KOTA KINABALU, April 6 (Bernama) -- The federal government has always
been generous to Sabah and has provided billions of allocation to spur
the state's development, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said.

It was therefore important to keep this in mind when talking about
petroleum royalty, he said, stressing that the federal government had
done a lot to accommodate Sabah's needs over the years.

"What is important now is not only talking about (an increase in) oil
royalty but how much money the federal government has kept on pouring
to Sabah in terms of development.

"We are very grateful because the federal government normally approves
our requests. As far as the state government is concerned, we are very
happy with the way Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has been
treating us," he told reporters after launching the k@Borneo Portal
here, Tuesday.

The portal, which can be accessed at www.kborneo.com, is a
collaborative effort of three nations, namely Malaysia, Indonesia and
Brunei to identify, preserve and store information materials regarding
Borneo online.

Musa was asked to comment on former Finance Minister Tengku Razaleigh
Hamzah's statement that it was up to the people of Sabah to call on
the state government to re-negotiate the oil royalty, which is
currently at five per cent, with the federal government and Petronas.

Musa said Sabah received billions of funding for every Malaysia Plan,
and also through Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) projects and
injection of fund under the economic stimulus package.

"It's not a matter of pursuing (the increase of oil royalty), it is
our money.

"But even if they (federal government) decide not to increase the
percentage, they have given more money to the state; so, it's the
same," he said, adding that Sabah was allocated more than RM20 billion
for the current Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP).

-- BERNAMA

Judges can be sued

This is very interesting indeed.

http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/128506

Law of contempt review may be necessary
M Ramalingam
Apr 7, 10
1:01pm
I refer to the Malaysiakini report Matthias Chang admitted to
hospital.

The law of contempt is entrenched in our justice system so that the
course of justice is not deflected or interfered with.

However, it should be used as a last resort and should be most
jealously and carefully guarded and exercised lest it becomes totally
arbitrary and unlimited.

I feel sorry for Mathias Chang. The right to criticism is a part of a
birthright of all subjects but that right cannot and must not be
stretched to the indignity of the court.

Contempt of court is an offence of a criminal character. A judge has
the inherent jurisdiction to severally reprimand the person or indeed
jail him if it can be satisfactorily proved that he has brought the
court into disrepute.

In this case, the judge has been judicious enough to grant the person
a chance to apologise for bringing the course of justice into
disrepute. However the power of the judge is institutionally
safeguarded and it is indeed rare for a judge to be cited for
contempt.

There seems to be some uncertainty as to whether a judge acting
contrary to the law can also be liable for contempt in his own court.
There is a special provision in India's Contempt of Court Act 1971,
dealing with contempt by a Judge.

Section 16: Contempt by Judge, Magistrate or other person acting
judicially

(1) Subject to the provisions of any law for the time being in force,
a judge, magistrate or any other person acting judicially shall also
be liable for contempt of his own court or of any other court in the
same manner as any other individual is liable and the provisions of
this Act shall, so far as may be, apply accordingly.

This is one area of law that should be further researched although in
Malaysia, too, we have other provisions that recognise this, ie,
Chapter XI of the Penal Code under the heading Offences Against Public
Justice, for example:

Section 219: 'Whoever being a public servant, corruptly or maliciously
makes or pronounces in any stage of a judicial proceeding, any report,
order, verdict, or decision which he knows to be contrary to law shall
be punished with a term of imprisonment for a term which may extend to
seven years or with fine, or with both.'

Section 218 deals with a public servant framing an incorrect record or
writing with intent to save a person from punishment or property from
forfeiture. Section 204 deals with destruction of document to prevent
its production as evidence.

Section 19 states that the word 'judge' denotes not only every person
who is officially designated as a judge but also every person who is
empowered by law to give, in any legal proceeding, civil or criminal a
judgment.

It is interesting to research as to whether judges in his Majesty's
Court in Malaysia have ever been cited for contempt.

It is not uncommon for judges themselves to sometimes abuse or misuse
their powers. If they do so knowingly, they themselves would be guilty
of a misuse of power and thereby can be cited for contempt. The
provisions stated herein above would give legitimacy for a judge,
prosecutor or any public servant to be cited for contempt if a case of
such action is brought before the court.

As a matter of fact, Section 21 defines public servant to include
every judge. A review of the law of contempt may be necessary so that
Justice could be tempered with mercy.

A case in point is that of Adorona Properties and Boonsum Boonyanit.
The highest court of the land has confirmed the perverse judgment of
the unjust judges. Can those judges be cited for contempt? Can there
be any hope of a recourse for those who have lost their land in this
way?

The writer is past regional vice-president, Commonwealth Magistrates
and Judges Association, London.

Will APCO ever admit that it has links with Israel?

Even if APCO were to have links with Israel, will it ever admit?
I doubt it but it is just too coincidental that 1Israel comes at about
the same time as 1Malaysia.
And APCO was also in Israel at about the same time.

Although I am a muslim, I have no grudge against APCO for proposing
the 1Israel and now the 1Malaysia, as long as the idea is reasonable.
If 1Israel entails cooperation with Palestinians in supporting their
rights, all for the better but if it were to deny Palestinian their
rights, it is another matter. I am beginning to wonder if 1Malaysia
has any hidden agenda.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Israel
One Israel was formed by Labor leader Ehud Barak in the run-up to the
1999 elections ....

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/58124-apco-did-work-for-israel-in-the-90s
APCO did work for Israel in the 90s
KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 — APCO's denial that it ever did any work for
the Israeli government has proven untrue as a Straits Times report
revealed that filings with the US Justice Department show otherwise.

The international public relations firm "entered into an agreement in
1992 to provide services for the Jewish state.

"In written queries about the State Department filing, APCO said it
worked with another associate company on a project for the Israel
government at the time."

APCO's deputy managing director B. Jay Cooper said, "The work, which
was primarily in the media area, involved acquiring US government
money for Russian immigrants' housing in Israel."

Cooper went on to explain that APCO "was then owned by Grey Global
Group."

"In 2004, APCO did a management buy-out and cut all ownership ties
with the Grey Global Group," he said. "APCO Worldwide, with new
ownership, is today's company."

APCO's own public relations nightmare began when Opposition Leader
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (picture) alleged that the prime minister's 1
Malaysia campaign was APCO's idea and closely mirrors former Israeli
prime minister Ehud Barak's One Israel campaign.

Anwar had suggested that One Israel was conceived by APCO.

The link, while tenuous, could weaken Malay support for Datuk Seri
Najib Razak's administration.

So far, APCO and senior government officials have denied that it has
any links with Israel.

But Anwar, speaking in Parliament yesterday, dropped another bombshell
when he said that APCO's link with the Malaysian government began well
before 1 Malaysia.

Anwar also zeroed in on Asero Worldwide, an APCO associate, that
specialises in homeland security and is headed by Israeli security
experts.

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/58721-anwar-is-scared-says-nazri
Anwar is scared, says Nazri
By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani

KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 — Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz (left) claimed today
that Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was "panicking" after
he dared the government to suspend him from Parliament if it planned
to continue its support for Zionist Israel.

The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department said that Anwar's
claims were outrageous and showed that the Permatang Pauh MP was
scared.

"Why is he panicking? Who said that this matter is an Israeli matter?
We want him to retract that is all. If he does not retract then we
will go ahead. Anyway I don't know what is going to happen to him, I
am just referring him to the disciplinary committee? Why is he scared?
Coward," he told reporters in Parliament.

Last night, Anwar condemned the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration
for its willingness to seek advice from a company linked to "the
murder of the Muslims in Palestine".

The Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leader is currently facing the possibility of
suspension over his attack on the government's link with Apco and his
claim that the company was also the brains behind Ehud Barak's One
Israel campaign.

The government will to refer Anwar to the parliamentary Rights and
Privileges Committee over his inability to provide concrete evidence
to support his allegation that 1 Malaysia was taken from One Israel.

APCO has denied its link with Barak's One Israel and said that the 1
Malaysia initiative was conceived prior to the company's appointment.

However, Singapore's The Straits Times has revealed that filings with
the US Justice Department showed that the international public
relations firm had entered into an agreement to provide services for
Israel in 1992.

The motion to refer Anwar to the Rights and Privileges Committee will
be tabled before the parliament on April 22.

NEM want to retain workers through low wages

http://www.neac.gov.my/sites/default/files/Chapter%206%20-%20How%20do%20we%20get%20there.pdf
page 116

NEM suggest that income is only what is paid by employers but
Malaysian employers pay below poverty line.
Why should brilliant Malaysian workers work in Malaysia if they are
paid more overseas????

NEM claims that labour is the most important resource and yet do not
support high wages to retain them.

Just as NEM claims that it wants a high-income economy and yet do not
support high wages for workers, insisting that
income be determined by employers based on the skills of the workers.

Wake up from your stupidity. Facts point out clearly that for the same
skills, workers are paid much lower in Malaysia.
A nurse in Malaysia is paid 5 times lower than in Singapore. Similarly
for unskilled workers.

High income
emanates from skilled people applying
their talents to successfully meet the
economic challenges faced by society.
Malaysia cannot miss the opportunity to
put its most valuable resource to work.
Therefore, Malaysia must remove barriers
preventing its brightest people from gaining
skills, while enticing these gifted people
to remain within its borders.

NEM is against high wages for workers

http://www.neac.gov.my/sites/default/files/Chapter%206%20-%20How%20do%20we%20get%20there.pdf
Page 114.

Despite what the government says, NEM is not to increase wages of
workers. There is no minimum wage at all so the wage can be ZERO,
which is very common in Malaysia, disguised as Industrial Training.

This is enforced by the incessant statements in NEM that the most
important aspect is the training of workers, which is again working
with ZERO or subsidised(negatie) wages in Malaysia.
My daughter had undergone the Aircraft Maintainance Course, so called
pioneered by Najib when he was Defense Miniser but not a single hour
of the practical training,( at zero wage, under hazardous conditions,
without any worker protection rights at all, and yet supervised by MAS
Engineers, according to normal aviation safety standards,) recognised
by DCA.

Is there any hope for anybody to get training that is recognised by
world standards that are to be conducted by educational institutiions?
None whatsoever.
Only the employers can train their workers to the standard that it
wishes to adhere based on market conditions. If employers can get away
with cheap or zero wages, they will adjust their market to that level,
which means low quality products. There is no incentive at all for
employers to train their workers in order to produce high quality
products to compete in world markets.

If a government institution, Polytechnic Shah Alam, failed to produce
qualified aircraft technicians, despite instructions and lecturers
from MAS in a course that follow IASA standards, fail to produce a
single hour of certified training, what hope is there for other
courses that do not have such close contact with industry? This is
despite the costs incurred by the government. In fact, it is the most
expensive course in public educational institutions
probably due to the subsidised and yet useless(unrecognised) practical
training conducted at MAS.

My daughter and her other top students in Malaysia, had to work for
MAS with below poverty level wages(RM1200/ month), for 3.5 years more
in order to get a license. Even this is not sure because MAS cannot
afford to spend a lot of time training their workers.

Just ask any of the top corporations in the world. My example was
Telekom Malaysia when it was under Cable and Wireless. It had
educational institutions within the company to train techniicians for
2 years with a curriculum and equipment that will put diploma courses
in private and public universities to shame. Unfortunately this
educational institution is dismantled to the point that what is left
in current TM is only 2 weeks of training.

Just imagine. How can Boeing or Toyota companies roll out their
advanced models if they don't train their workers themselves? Is there
any educational institution that can train workers in the highly
secret models that Boeing and Toyota roll out every year?

Safety net is urgent but not in the way of the NEAC views which are
directionless anyway.
It is an alternative to minimum wage. If you can get paid RM1000 per
month doing nothing, do you still want to work for RM500/month?
This is the amount paid in Hong Kong if you are unemployed.

Minimum wage is only important if the safety net is not implemented
fully, such as in Malaysia.
Since it is impossible to provide a complete safety net, minimum
income is always desirable if you want high-income economy.

Alas, the Malaysian government is not interested in implementing a
high-income economy but likes to publicise it because of its political
impact.

The Malaysian government likes to go against history and real examples
such as Singapore and United Kingdom, in favour of their narrow minded
views of economy.
The only secret that Singapore applies is just to follow world
standards and norms, nothing so special about it. Just enforce
international standards in regulations and designs.

Malaysia has similar laws and standards, but never follow them.
Sometimes they may appear to follow standards but it only occurred
after a clear disaster has happened. That is why I call Malaysia as
never having followed any international standard. They only follow
when they deal with outsiders because they cannot hide, such as
Aviation Standards that have strict international audit and
investigations.

Building a stronger safety net is urgent
Malaysia's social protection system, as
in many Asian countries, is still evolving.
While it is relatively well-developed, there
are major gaps and inefficiencies. Poverty is
less widespread but there remain selective,
vulnerable groups and pockets of intractable
poverty. Inequality remains a pressing issue.
Despite substantial subsidies available to
the population, the disadvantaged are still
not getting access. Safeguards are needed
to protect individuals from catastrophic
outcomes and to soften income shocks for
the most vulnerable. Some have suggested
that a formal minimum wage might be helpful
to cushion workers against such shocks or
downturns. The NEAC strongly believes
this would be a wrong approach and in fact
could exacerbate the situation by reducing
competitiveness and reducing employment
opportunities.

NEM is just mumbo jumbo

http://www.neac.gov.my/sites/default/files/Chapter%206%20-%20How%20do%20we%20get%20there.pdf

If it were just mumbo jumbo, there is no way for us to implement it.
For guidance NEAC should refer to BEM via its EAC. EAC has the
guidance of the international Washington Accord defining standards for
Engineering Professions.

The principle applied by EAC is simple: you must be able to measure
objectively your targets or plans.

NEM fails to do this.

As one NUS professor from Ipoh, advised me as well as my colleagues;
keep it simple so that we can implement and measure it. I myself was
guilty in trying to be correct in implementing complicated targets.

One clear target of the Singapore Government policy is simple:
Increase per capita income of Singapore in world currency. So
Singapore government implements strategies of defending Singapore
dollar's value while increasing salaries of government servants,
which by the way, include salaries of all University Lecturers.

In just 20 years, Singapore has the second highest per capita income
in Asia.

6.1.1
Restoring market prices for goods and
services will improve economic efficiency
but may initially raise consumer prices
and costs of doing business

Remove subsidies but with such high prices, it will increase poverty
and reduce market for products for local consumption as people have
less salaries.

Cannot remove subsidies unless the poor are given cash handouts from
the gain made by governments in reducing subsidies, already done by
the cash handout when petrol subsides were reduced.

The political repercussions is from the rich and huge consumer of
material subsidies, such as distributors.

n Practices that promote fair and equal
opportunity will inspire market confidence
and create a competitive economy but
may lead to political repercussions

This report may appear to sound as though it removes Affirmative
Action, but affirmative action is designed to promote fair and equal
opportunity for every citizen by reducing rampant and obvious results
of racial discrimination.

Even China practises affirmative action by giving favour to their own
citizens of the special economic zones over that from other states
within china.

n Reduced dependence on foreign labour
encourages firms to move up the value
chain or embrace automation while those
that cannot will exit, costing some local
jobs

Singapore relies a lot on foreign labour but the difference is in the
salaries of these foreign labour.
While Malaysia favour low salaried foreign workers, Singapore and
other developed nations favour high salaries foreign workers.

n Flexible hiring and firing reduces entry
and exit costs for businesses while wage
levels will better reflect skills; but the
perception of less job security will irk
unions

Flexible hiring and firing means that employers can disregard
principles of justice in employment contracts but ALL DEVELOPED
nations have strong UNIONS that can defend the rights of their
workers.

This is unlike Malaysia and ALL UNDEVELOPED nations that DO NOT ALLOW
UNIONS to be strong.

NEM is just perpetuating a critical policy that has made Malaysia so
UNDEVELOPED and with the continuation of this backward policy, will
never achieve DEVELOPED status in the forseeable future.

Singapore may appear to restrict union activities, but NTUC is very
powerful and prominent in Singapore.

Faster connectivity will facilitate further
integration into global markets but requires
greater openness in the telecommunication
market

There is already great openness in Malaysian telecom market with so
many small players entering the market but most of these have gone
bankrupt.
Despite giving concessions to competitiveness in order to allow them
to grow. Wimax is a good example. TM was not allowed to operate Wimax
and yet these small players refused to provide infrastructure for
their networks, relying a lot on TM networks.

n Greater decentralisation in decision making
will achieve speedier implementation and
effectiveness but may result in diluting
federal government power

The advantage of decentralisation is only apparent if geograhical and
monitoring efficiencies are achieved.
It does not have to be dilution of Federal powers, only centralised
Federal powers where decisions are only made at KL.

NEM abandons Affirmative Action

USA under Bush dismantled the Affirmative Action policies created by
Clinton and the result is a disaster for the world to see. The
greatest nation on earth suffering under the worst economic disasters
that the world has ever seen, only to be saved by Affirmative Action
policies.

If USA had opted for the dogs eat cats policies favored by Bush and
now the Malaysian NEM, The world will suffer from a bad economic
disaster.

Now the NEM claimed to apply Afifrmative Action based on needs. This
is nonsense and misleading. Affirmative Action as practised in USA is
never based on needs but based on ethnic lines or strategic needs.
Just because you are poor, you deserve government aid, just as the
rich Banks do not deserve any help; only charity is based on this
principle, not affirmative action.

Affirmative action was introduced in USA in order to reduce racial
discrimination and not to reduce poverty. It was applied to elite
university entrance based on racial quota to the point of lowering
slightly, entrance requirements for certain races that have a
disproportionately low representation in top universities.

In USA it is the white dominance of the economy despite the presence
of large pockets of poverty among white people.
In Malaysia it the chinese dominance of the economy despite the
presence of large pockets of poverty among chinese people.

This is interpreted as clear proof of racial discrimination practised
by these dominant people in perpetuating their dominance in the
economy especially those that practise open unregulated economy that
had led to the economic disaster in 2006 in the first place, such as
USA in 2006 and now Malaysia.

Sunday April 4, 2010

Knock the NEM at your own peril
The Star Says . . .

TO conceive of something like the New Economic Model requires honesty
and realism. To implement it in the way it is intended requires
responsibility and courage, undaunted by attempts to distort or
subvert it.

For example, there is the carping complaint that the NEM does not
possess an ethnic agenda, which really should be a compliment in multi-
ethnic Malaysia.

Those who still need the crutch of an ethnic agenda should look for it
under corporate restructuring or genetic engineering, not 21st-century
national policy.

Much the same goes for complaints that the NEM contains no ethnic
stake in economic distribution. The reason is simple: it's about the
inclusive provision of opportunities based on need, not an exclusive
divvying up of the goods based on presumed favouritism.

Those who set "fairness" against "equity" only trip themselves up, as
if inequities can be fair. These crass voices typically emanate from
that netherworld of partisan NGOs angling for political leverage,
reeking of political opportunism and delinquency.

To argue that any particular community cannot compete in an open
tender system after more than half a century of independence is a
gross insult to that community, unless one is referring to those
spoonfed into a state of passive incapacity.

To compete, people must first feel competitive, not complacent.

The malcontents who oppose the NEM also reject the proposed Equal
Opportunities Commission.

The EOC functions to sustain the laudable purposes of the NEM, akin to
the central pillars of the erstwhile New Economic Policy: economic
restructuring and national unity, by decoupling economic function from
ethnicity.

True, the EOC's decisions should not contravene the Federal
Constitution. But neither should thoughts, sentiments and actions
against the EOC and its work.

Those who say the NEM and Article 153 of the Constitution are
incompatible understand neither. Article 153 gives broad powers to the
Yang di-Pertuan Agong, not intemperate rabble-rousers, in deeming what
is "reasonable" on bumiputra rights.

Those who denigrate the NEM on clearly racial grounds flirt with
sedition and are playing with fire.