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.