Who do you fear more now? !

This is ok for UMNO and UTUSAN!

This is "buat hal!" WTF!

After 53 years of Merdeka (Independence), the Barisan Nasional (BN), especially the MCA, never fails to constantly warn non-Malays of PAS’ strive for the implementation of hudud laws under an Islamic state. But what the MCA fails to condemn is BN-Umno’s declaration that Malaysia is already an Islamic state.

And since Malaysia is already an Islamic state, what is there for non-Malays to fear anymore? Unless you are saying PAS and Umno’s Islamic state are different. This is illogical because the Malays in PAS and Umno profess the same religion – Islam.

And Islamic laws are only applicable to Muslims, NOT non- Muslims.

What is very clear today is that Malaysians, especially non- Muslims, must be very afraid of Taliban Umno. The Umno-controlled Utusan Malaysia on Thursday (Dec 30, 2010) continued with its fanatical Taliban-like attacks on DAP’s Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching.

Utusan Malaysia published a front-page story titled “Teo Nie Ching makes trouble again” along with a picture of her performing aerobic exercises with men and women in the Masjid Taman Cheras Jaya compound at the recent Maal Hijrah carnival. The newspaper accused her of wearing tight-fitting clothes. She is pictured wearing a white T-shirt and track pants, as were the other Muslim participants.

It is also timely to point out that the Umno-friendly Malay rights group Perkasa had also demanded that Syariah laws be enacted to ban non-Muslims from entering mosques and suraus. In its attacks, Perkasa must have forgotten or conveniently left out MCA, Gerakan and MIC leaders who have also been entering mosques to attend community functions.

However, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders, including PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, had defended Teo over her mosque visit. Teo was reported to have said that although her act may cost her party Malay votes, she would continue engaging Muslim voters through community functions whenever she is invited by a mosque in her constituency.

Yesterday Kelantan Umno Youth questioned the appropriateness of the state government's decision in allowing Wali Band, a popular band from Indonesia.

Wali Band is scheduled to perform at the Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium in a charity concert for Palestine, organised by the Palestine mission secretariat with the cooperation of the state government.

So who are fanatics now?!?!

The fact that there are Muslims and mosques willing to invite Teo to grace community functions show that there are many
rational Muslims or Malays who refuse to ape the ways of Taliban Umno Malays.

But, do be afraid, be very afraid of Taliban Umno and Taliban Utusan Malaysia.

With cases like body snatching, assaulted and threatened into converting to Islam, making Christian hide their cross during Christmas, BTN and many more cases, BN is making PAS look mild!

Of course the joke of all this is that although they used Islam as a tool to champion their cause, they themselves are a bunch of crooks themselves! I just hope that most Malaysin will realize that in UMNO, corrupt politician, accused rapist, playboy, and suspected murderers are among their highest ranking leaders!

Selangor 1 Malaysia ban is stupid!

But this UMNO's Utusan article is far worse!!!

Taken from Malaysiakini

After a series of articles condemning Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching for entering a surau, Utusan Malaysia is now accusing her of “causing problems again” during an aerobics exercise event at a mosque compound. The front-page report accused her of wearing “tight clothes” during the function at the launch of the Maal Hijrah (Islamic new year) function in the compound of the Taman Cheras Jaya mosque on Dec 12. The report also featured quotes from pro-Umno blog Ruang Bicara Faisal (RBF) which accused Selangor PAS of practising double standards. Citing PAS-ruled Kelantan's gender segregated payment counters at shopping centres, dinner tables and sporting events, the blogger said that the party turned a blind eye to what goes on in mosque compounds in Selangor. “PAS' fatwa in Selangor is different. Men and women are allowed to have aerobics exercise in a mosque compound without segregation. “Even better when their elected representative wears tight clothes for a function held in conjunction with Maal Hijrah,” said the anonymous blogger, as reported by Utusan. The report also quoted the blogger as also accusing Teo's party DAP and PAS of lacking principles and being willing to do anything for the sake of seeking popularity. Teo bites back This is the second timeUtusan had homed in on Teo's activities with her Muslim constituents, with the first questioning her appearance at a breaking of fast function in a mosque in Kajang. In an immediate reaction to today's report, Teo saidUtusan's report represents its “extremist” attitudes and is bent on promoting racial and religious tensions. “I would not be dictated by the 'rules' set by Utusan or Umno because I believe Umno is not qualified to teach Islam,” she said in a posting on her blog andFacebook page today. She argued that she had done nothing wrong by accepting the mosque's invitation to attend the event, and moreover, she was well-received by the participants at the event. “So, what's wrong with me attending events organised in the compound of a mosque or surau when invited? What is wrong with me exercising at the mosque carpark along with others? “Why is my effort to get closer to the voters and foster greater understanding regarded as wrongful by Utusan and Umno? “Am I wrong because I've violated the teachings of Islam or is it because I'm a DAP politician?” she wrote on her blog today. 'PM gives Utusan immunity' Teo also lashed out at Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak for failing to live up to his speech at the 43rd International Convention of the World Chinese Language Press Institute for news organisations to be the “promoter of moderation”. She accused Najib of failing to put a leash on Utusan and allowing the daily to promote narrow and dangerous views on race and religion. “It is clear that Utusan is not the promoter of moderation but the promoter of extremism. But will the premier or the home minister take action against Utusan?” she asked.

Track suit and a t-shirt is tight clothing ah?!?! Utusan newspaper people are b

eyond stupid!

I found this pic on the net! I don't think it is real but you decide which one is more offensive to you!

Rais Yatim needs to come out and defend himself against such accusation!

This man was allegedly accused of rape.

The Prime minister at the time, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy, Najib Abdul Razak were privy to this distasteful revelation.

But true to fashion, they had to protect the ‘good name’ of Umno. And themselves.

The matter was serious enough and could have brought down a government, but no investigation was carried out to see if there was any truth in the allegation.

Perhaps, senior members of Umno already know that there are several rapists, murderers and psychopaths making up their ranks.

Justice for the rape victim was the last thing on the collective minds of these men. What mattered most was to protect Umno.

The leaders knew that under normal circumstances, the alleged rapist could have carried on with his job and play an important role in society, like nothing had happened. This is Malaysia, after all, where whitewashing is a favourite pastime.

The fact that this man had put his name up for nomination for the post of Commonwealth secretary-general complicated matters. The fact that Malaysia’s bid was going to be successful did not help.

If this man was selected as Secretary-General of the Commonwealth that March 2008 he would have to be based in London.

If the girl who was raped managed to successfully press charges or if some stubborn journalist got wind of the story and unearthed the sordid details, this man’s past and his crime, would have been exposed.

Scotland Yard or Interpol would have had to detain him and carry out investigations. The Commonwealth, Malaysia and Indonesia would have a diplomatic scandal of cataclysmic proportions. Our name would be “mud”.

So Abdullah Badawi and Najib did the next best thing. They persuaded the candidate to withdraw his nomination and blame it on “personal matters”. That way it would not tarnish the administration. They too, played their part and professed ‘shock’ at his ‘sudden’ announcement.

They must have told the alleged rapist that although they could easily protect him in Malaysia, their power and influence could not extend to the United Kingdom where the rule of law is adhered to.

But for Wikileaks and the cyberwhispers, all these rape allegations have blown out into the open.

This is the same minister who, in early 2010, warned Muslims to not immerse themselves in the Internet and told Malaysians that “….Twitter and Facebook are tools of the West that can erode Malaysian culture…”

No wonder he told us to be wary of the Internet. How ironic then that in the end it was the internet that brought about his downfall.

For more reading check out this website

A true 1 Malaysia story?!?

* All names have been changed to protect privacy. (From Malaysiakini)

The name on the identity card (MyKad) reads Ravichandran a/l Muniandy*. For the 17 years of his life, this gangly teenager has lived as a Hindu, and yet his MyKad states that he is a Muslim.

But at least he has a MyKad - received three years after he first applied for it, and only because his father, Muniandy, had made a scene at the National Registration Department (NRD) in Putrajaya.

"We applied when he was 13, but even then the registration officer there tried to reject the application, saying that his mother's name is Malay so my son's name must be changed to a Malay name too. I refused, so they told me to go to Putrajaya," Muniandy said.

The second application was lodged with the boy's name, Ravichandran a/l Muniandy, as per his birth certificate, but nothing came out of it, and the boy was forced to sit his PMR with only the application slip.

"We went to the (NRD) branch several times and were told the card never arrived, so I went to Putrajaya, and they made us submit another application, again with a Malay name," he said.

After an altercation with the NRD officers, both at the counter and at the legal department, Muniandy managed to convince them into retaining his son's name as per his birth certificate.

"But the officer told me that they could not guarantee that his religion on the card will not be Islam," he said.

Ravichandran's sister Saraswathy is 15 years old and still awaiting her MyKad. If she is as 'lucky' as her brother, she will receive hers in time for the SPM examination, but her case might be more complicated.

Assaulted and threatened into converting to Islam

Born during a tumultuous period in her parents' life, her birth certificate was claimed by officials to be missing and the replacement states that Sarawasthy's religion and that of her parents is Islam.

Her name on the birth certificate is 'Sarawaswathy binti Kamal Shah' - the name religious officials forced onto her father.

Her mother Laila, a Muslim, was pregnant with her when religious department officials broke into their home after midnight to conduct a raid, acting on a tip-off.

"They broke open the front door and wiped the 'pottu' off my wife's forehead. We were so afraid - they had surrounded the house," said Muniandy, tears welling up in his eyes.

That was not the only time - after the first incident, the family absconded only to be found out again when Muniandy insisted in having his and his daughter's names on the birth certificate reflect their Hindu faith.

"We were raided again, I was beaten up. They took my wife and children away and told me to go to the religious department to 'negotiate'.

"They put me in a tiny room and put on (the azan) on loudspeaker," he said, of the many things done to him in an effort to make him convert to Islam.

But what sounded like brainwashing sessions masked as 'counselling' failed, and Muniandy survived the ordeal by agreeing to change his name to a Muslim name on his identity card, albeit not converting.

A white-collared worker, Muniandy said that almost two decades ago, he was advised by an Islamic welfare organisation that if he did not have faith, then he should not convert.

The organisation provided him with a card which states a Muslim name, adopted without converting, and with this the couple registered their marriage and lived as Hindus.

Muniandy never changed his name to the Muslim one at the NRD.

NRD officers added 'Muslim elements'

"It was a difficult time (after the raids). My photo was published all over the country and people harassed me at my workplace, so I lost my job," said Muniandy, who now has five children, with the youngest in primary school.

The family has had to live in fear of both religious persecution from officials and vigilantes, moving house at least five times in the past 20 years, sometimes after threats from parang-wielding Muslims.

For the past few years, life has been relatively quiet. Muniandy now has an understanding employer, and the principals of the national schools which the children attend have also registered the children as non-Muslim after the parents explained the situation.

But the MyKad issue remains for Saraswathy, who was told to reapply with a Muslim name, a problem that is likely to recur for her younger siblings.

The couple's other daughter's birth certificate also carries a Muslim name but the two younger boys' birth certificates have neither the religion of their parents nor the term 'bin' (to denote that they are Muslims).

"In my application for my (second daughter's) birth certificate, her name was (Shantini) a/p Muniandy, but her name is printed as Shantini binti Kamal Shah," he said.

Another son has the name 'Shah' added as a middle name by the NRD officer who claimed that he should have a 'Muslim element' in his name.

Other NRD officers have also blocked Muniandy from dropping the 'Kamal Shah' alias from his identity card, even though his MyKad states that he is Hindu, for unclear reasons.

"This NRD officers insist that we must all have Muslim names, Malay names. But how would they know what our faith is? I have nothing against Islam, but I don't want to desecrate Islam by taking a Muslim name or declaring myself Muslim but living as a Hindu," he said.

No freedom of religion

What Muniandy essentially wants is to raise his children as he sees fit, and for his children to be provided identity cards to reflect what they really are.

But for some, this seemingly harmless request would amount to heresy, and that removing the word 'Islam' from his children's MyKad is actually a case of apostasy.

With cases like Muslim apostate to Christianity Lina Joy meeting a dead end, and a happy ending on Malaysian shores remaining unlikely, this is precisely why Muniandy is fighting so hard to obtain identity cards for his children.

"This is so that they can sit for their exams and then later, hopefully, study abroad and live there... there is no freedom of religion here," he said.

Lina was not the first and only person to renounce Islam in Malaysia. Likewise, the story of Muniandy and Laila is in no way unique.

Quietly, all around Malaysia, many Muslims enter into marriages with non-Muslims, without their spouses converting.

Such choices made by consenting adults, however, have deeper repercussions for children born into such marriages.

Assumed to be Muslim by virtue of one parent's religion by seemingly well-meaning NRD officers, these children later face lengthy legal battles to renounce a faith they know nothing about.

I wonder if this is truly what Najib have in mind with his 1 Malaysia policy? If this is so I think we will be in better hands with PAS!

Can Malaysians tell the difference between criminals and police!?

Taken from Malaysiakini

For being frank with the police, 34-year-old Chia Buang Hing was detained for five days and beaten up until he vomited blood.

The businessman, who is frame-maker, narrated the "horrific" incident today, saying that the police bashed him up, threatened and robbed him of RM13,000 in cash he was carrying - all for the expired road tax of his wife's car that he was driving.

Chia's (left) nightmare began about 11pm on Dec 18, as he was driving from his house in Tropicana to Kota Damansara, where traffic police had set up roadblocks.

Having spotted the expired road tax, one of the police officers asked for his driver's licence and identification card.

It was then, he said, that the officer spotted stacks of RM50 notes, totalling RM7,000, sticking out of his pocket and demanded that he hand them over.

Chia said he refused and insisted he be issued with a summons but as the officer kept asking for the money, Chia warned that he would lodge a report. Then the assaults began.

"I tried to take his picture with my mobile phone, but I was repeatedly punched by him and two other officers.

"One of them then handcuffed me and I screamed for help (but) I was shoved inside a police car and beaten again," he said, adding that there were several witnesses to this, including a security guard and a friend of his who was in another car.

Chia said he was carrying a total of RM18,000 that he had collected from his three frame-making shops that night, with RM10,000 in his pockets and RM8,000 in the car.

'My money was thrown into the toilet'

The father of two said he was then taken to the police station in Kota Damansara and again assaulted.

"I was outside a toilet at the station and seven officers kicked and stepped on me until I vomited blood and sustained injuries on my face.

"Then, one police officer took the RM7,000 from my front pocket and RM3,000 from my back pocket and they threw it on the floor."

"He (the officer) became angry when I demanded the money be returned and he threw the remainder he was holding into the toilet and hit me again."

Chia said the police then ordered him to write a report that his sustained the injuries in a traffic accident and when he refused, they threatened to plant a blood-stained machete and drugs in his car and get him locked up for a long time.

At about 3am the following morning, he said, he was threatened by an officer that drugs would be injected into his bloodstream. He was later assaulted again, by as many as five officers, at the police station and at another place he could not identify.

One thing he managed to do, Chia said, was to leave his bloodied fingerprints in many parts of the police station that he had been dragged to.

"Only when they saw that I was barely surviving - as I had vomited blood and white foams were trickling out of my mouth - they took me to the hospital. By the time we got there, it was already 7 in the morning.

Magistrate ignored his complaints

Chia was taken to the Sungai Buloh Hospital and after that to the Petaling Jaya magistrate's court, about 10am, for a remand order against him.

He said he informed the magistrate of his ordeal but he was ignored. The magistrate ordered Chia to be remanded by police until Dec 22 on suspicion of possession of drugs and weapons.

During that period, he said, he was taken to a officer at narcotics department in the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters.

"He told me there was no case against me and called up the men who had abused me. He advised me to lodge a report and allowed me to contact my family," Chia added.

He said that he was then released on police bail and RM5,000 was returned to him.

Segambut DAP MP Lim Lip Eng (left) assisted Chia in lodging his report at the Mutiara Damansara police station yesterday.

Lim said the investigating officer accompanied them to the Kota Damansara police station where most of the Chia's bloodstains been removed, but there were some under a table, behind a mirror and under a cupboard, which were photographed by police.

'Nobody is above the law'

Malaysiakini was later informed that the Selangor police contingent headquarters has officially taken over the matter.

A task force has been set up to investigate the complaint in detail. There will be no cover-up in the investigation, police said in a text message.

"Nobody is above the law. If there is evidence, the persons responsible will be charged in court," added the contingent's officer in-charge of criminal investigations, Mohd Adnan Abdullah.

Price of Kopi Susu to increase by an extra 20 cents! See other price increase here!

Taken from Malaysiakini

The proposed 20sen increase in beverage prices announced by the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Coffee Shop Association from Jan 1 totally debunks Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's claim that price increases will have a "minimal impact" on Malaysian households.

DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua said Chinese newspapers in reporting the statement of the association yesterday said the prices of "kopi susu" (milk coffee) and "teh susu" (milk tea) would go up from RM1.20 to RM1.40 a glass.

"This translates to a massive 16.7 percent increase in prices," the Petaling Jaya Utara MP (left) said.

"In fact, the white sugar price, inclusive of a 20sen hike in January, on top of the 25sen and 20sen a kilo increases in July and December, means that sugar price alone has increased by more than 55% this year."

Since July, he added, the government had launched a surprise "Five-in-One" price hike, raising the prices of RON95 and RON97 petrol, diesel, white sugar and liquified petroleum gas (LPG, including cooking gas) by between 2.8 percent and 15.2 percent.

On Dec 3, or less than five months later, the government announced another series of price increases for RON95 by 5sen a litre to RM1.90, diesel by 5sen a litre to RM1.80, LPG by 5sen to RM1.90 a kilo, with sugar now tagged at RM2.10 a kilo.

Pua said even the price of herbal tea was not spared, for it would increase from RM1.10 to RM1.30 a glass, or a hike of more than 18 percent, despite Pemandu's claim earlier that it would increase by only 1.2 percent.

He pointed out that the Star had on Dec 20 reported that evaporated milk and sweetened creamer were expected to increase by 30sen a can next year, after a 5sen and 10sen increase respectively in April and October this year.

"This marks an overall increase of up to 20 percent within a year," he said.

PM, Pemandu claim minimal impact

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak announced in July that price increases would have "minimal impact" on Malaysian households and this was reiterated by minister in the Prime Minister's Department Idris Jala who pledged "little effect", quoting the Pemandu Subsidy Rationalisation Factsheet.

Pua said Pemandu "demonstrated" in full page advertisements in the major mainstream newspapers that the new price of teh tarik, after taking into consideration the price increases of fuel and other goods, would be around RM1.0155, or an increase of less than 2sen.

Some people in Pemandu, he said, had failed in their mathematics, for its factsheet states a mere 0.6 percent increase in the teh tarik price and 0.5 percent price hike for milk coffee, putting to disgrace Pemandu's calculations that a glass of teh tarik and milk coffee would cost only between RM1.20 and RM1.28.

In fact, Pua said, Pemandu claimed that out of the 70 daily food and drink items listed on its Subsidy Rationalisation Factsheet, no item was expected to see a price increase of more than 1.9 percent, even after the most recent rounds of price hikes.

"There is a clear contradiction in the teh tarik prices between the factsheet issued in July, where the price was RM1.00, as compared with the new base price of RM1.20 in the December factsheet. The mysterious 20 percent increase in the base price between July and December remains unexplained.

"Secondly, and more importantly, BN and Pemandu live in a parallel imaginary universe where price hikes would only be increases of 1sen or 1.55sen," he said.

Pua said the people were disappointed the BN government was prioritising its "subsidy rationalisation" efforts on items that were worsening the living conditions of the man-on-the-street, but didn't lift a finger to "rationalise" the huge RM8 to RM10 billion subsidies given to independent power producers (IPPs)

"These IPPs are making billions of ringgit in profits annually, despite repeated promises not to do so. This is a complete mockery of the prime minister's slogan of "people first", for it demonstrates that the people's interests don't come first under the BN government."

Will the people know who really cheated them?

I have been cutting out Malaysiakini's news to place it on my blog because of stories like this. This story will probably never see the pages or screen of our main stream newspaper or TV.

I believe it is my patriotic duty to tell all Malaysian when stories like this happens!

Taken from Malaysiakini

Land on which the Kampung Melayu Pekan Rawang surau is located was sold to private hands by the Selangor government in 2002, then controlled by BN.

The surau is now slated for demolition, triggering protests.

Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim's political secretary Faekah Husin(left) said the plot was held by SAP Holdings Sdn Bhd, then held by state investment arm Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Bhd (KDEB).

In 2002, KDEB released its shares in SAP Holdings Bhd to private ownership. The same year, the state government approved a joint-venture project on the land between SAP Holdings and another company Mahamus Sdn Bhd.

In a statement, Faekah said the facts run contrary to claims by Umno leaders who are championing the residents' cause to campaign for the surau to be preserved.

She singled out Zainal Abidin Sakom as among the Umno leaders involved.

“Zainal Abidin has no moral or legal right to accuse the current state government for this mess because he was part of the state administration which not only released rights in SAP Holdings but also approved the project,” she said.

'Umno and MCA responsible'

She also revealed that the current board of directors of SAP Holdings are Abu Bakar Mohd Amin, Norihan Mohd Bakri, Tan Kok Yee, Chong Fook Sin, Chew Siew Ying and Chew Ting Teck.

The company's shareholders are Chew Ting Teck, Hung Te Hsin @ Ang Teck Thieng, Siaw Kwee Mow @ Sia Hock Chai, Sip Kew Yin, Tan Kok Yee, Tan Pang Kuan, Chow Soon Tat @ Chew Soon Tat, Chew Teng Meng @ Francis Chew, Chew Siew Ying and Dhew Teng Fook @ Chow Teng Fook.

Commenting on demonstrations against the state government by Kampung Melayu Pekan Rawang residents, Faekah said they are targeting the wrong party.

“The facts clearly show who had forsaken the rights of the people. Instead of demonstrating against the state, it may be more appropriate for the demonstrators to take their complaint to the offices of Umno and MCA,” she said.

However, she gave an assurance that the state government will work with the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department to find a solution to ensure that Muslims in the village can continue their religious

This Oxford graduated should be the Finance Minister instead..

Taken from Malaysiakini

Petaling Jaya Utara parliamentarian Tony Pua has challenged the government to show how it intends to pay for the estimated RM36 billion mass rail transit project, on which work is due to begin next July.

This is especially since Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd, which is behind the project, has yet to recoup construction costs from the light rail transport (LRT) project completed more than a decade ago, and is unlikely to be able to do in the next 20 years so at prevailing fares.

“The (2009) audit report on Prasarana showed that the current average LRT fare of RM1.60 has to be increased to nearly RM9 for infrastructural costs to be fully recouped within the next 20 years despite the LRTs costing the federal government less than RM8 billion, nearly five times less than the proposed MRT system,” Pua (left) said in a statement.

“It is highly misleading for the prime minister to espouse the viability of the project by claiming that it will generate gross national income of up to RM4 billion per annum when the interest servicing cost for the project at completion may in itself come up to more than RM2 billion each year.”

Pua said concern also stems from the fact that Prasarana is already “heavily indebted with RM8.5 billion in bonds” and is even unable to service the interest costs.

The government-linked company was ticked off in the Auditor-General's 2009 report for “making accumulated losses of RM840 million as at December 2007, in part due to suspicious activities and management”.

To make matter worse, the government has allocated RM2.5 billion to pay for Prasarana-issued bonds which are due in November 2011, Pua said.

'What about the Spad report?'

While the MRT system will benefit Klang Valley residents, the government may be jumping the gun by planning to commence construction before a holistic land transport plan is unveiled by the Land Public Transport Commission (Spad) in September 2011.

“In fact, Spad is still unable to declare, as at today, backed by a thorough and professional study that the MRT is the best option for the Klang Valley in the near future, as opposed to cheaper alternatives like buses or even trams based on travel patterns and population statistics,” Pua said.

But giving due credit, Pua lauded the premier for announcing that the MRT project will be tendered out openly via nine project parcels.

“We call upon the government to be completely transparent with the entire plan, design and financial impact of the MRT project to convince the rakyat…that it will not become an unsustainable project which will leave our future tax-payers with billions in debt.”

4.5 Million on First Ladies Summit! But where is the first lady?

Taken from Malaysiakini

The recent First Ladies Summit came with a price tag of close to RM4.5 million at the government's expense.

The brainchild of the prime minister's wife, Rosmah Mansor, the inaugural summit hosted 15 wives of heads of state from around the world - although mainly from African countries - in Kuala Lumpur in October.

In a written reply to the Dewan Negara today, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil revealed that the total expenditure for the three-day summit came up to RM4,498,949.99.

In response, PKR senator Syed Husin Ali baulked at the figures, claiming that Rosmah is not even the nation's rightful First Lady.

“Why is the First Ladies Summit organised by our prime minister's wife when, in our country, the First Lady is the Permaisuri Agong?

“This brings into question the basis of giving RM4.5 million to the PM's wife to organise this meet while no role was given to the Permaisuri Agong,” he told a press conference at the Parliament lobby this morning.

The summit, themed 'A Child Today, A Leader Tomorrow', was aimed at highlighting the need to nurture children who will be future leaders.

'Encroachment by Permata'
During the press conference, Senator Mumtaz Md Nawi from PAS questioned the involvement of the Permata Negara programme - another of Rosmah's initiatives - with different government agencies.

“We appreciate the concern of anyone in looking after the welfare of children.

"But in aparliamentary democracy, there have to be boundaries in the programmes involving the Women, Family and Community Development, Education, Higher Education, Youth and Sports Ministries and the Prime Minister's Department," said Mumtaz (left in photo).

“This is especially since there has been an announcement that thePermata Negara programme would involve teenagers.

“To what end is the power of the Prime Minister's Department or the prime minister's wife being used in outlining a national policy?”

Rosmah had said in June that the Education Ministry would be taking over the programme from 2012 when two relevant laws are amended.

Permata - which started out as an early childhood learning programme - has also been allocated RM111 million in the 2011 Budget.

'Najib spent half his time overseas'

Meanwhile, Syed Husin noted that premier Najib Abdul Razak has spent more than half of his time in power overseas.

Revealing the written reply to him by Minister in Prime Minister's Department Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, Syed Husin said that Najib had spent RM8,724,895.91 on his 42 trips abroad over the span of one-and-a-half years.

In the 588 days between April 3, 2009 and Nov 19 this year, Najib had also spent 274 days abroad.

“Why is he spending so much time overseas when there are a lot of problems in the country, especially at the expense of the taxpayers?" asked Syed Husin.

“I want to know what are the benefit and returns of spending so much time and money on travelling so often.”

MOST SHOCKING GOVT EXPENDITURE!! part 3

COMMENT In 2008, opposition figures pushed for an investigation into the procurement of 12 Eurocopter helicopters costing RM2.3 billion that they contend was conducted improperly. It is claimed that the Defence Ministry massively overpaid by more than RM1.4 billion when buying aircraft from Eurocopter for the Royal Malaysian Air Force.

The complaint claimed that Malaysia signed a letter of intent to acquire 12 Eurocopter EC725 Cougar helicopters for the sum of RM2.3 billion when Brazil paid only US$1.2 billion for 50 units of the same model.

The questions Malaysians want answered are: Is the Malaysia government buying the best aircraft in terms of value for money? Was there a feasibility study conducted to compare prices and functionality of these copters? In the first place, why was there an issue with the proposed purchase that necessitated the Public Accounts Committee to conduct an investigation?

The year before that in late 2007, the auditor-general had tabled a report in Parliament alleging that a contract to build naval vessels given to PSC-Naval Dockyard, a subsidiary of Penang Shipbuilding & Construction Sdn Bhd, owned by Amin Shah Omar Shah was in serious trouble.

The Malaysian company was contracted to deliver six patrol boats for the Malaysian Navy in 2004 and complete delivery by April 2008. Those were supposed to be the first of 27 offshore vessels ultimately to cost RM24 billion. The contract included the right to maintain and repair all of the country's naval craft. However, only two barely operational patrol boats had been delivered by mid-2006.

There were 298 recorded complaints about the two boats, which were also found to have hundreds of uncompleted items. The original RM5.35 billion contract ballooned to RM6.75 billion by January 2007.

The auditor-general attributed the failure to serious financial mismanagement and technical incompetence stemming from the fact that PSC had never built anything but trawlers or police boats before being given the contract by then defence minister Najib Razak. The report had found the value of the contract should only have been RM4.9 billion and that two vessels delivered to date were both found to be defective.

Sub-standard equipment issued

Another scandal concerned not only the amount of money wasted on defective equipment but the fact that the Army actually allowed these products to be issued to soldiers.

Some 5,000 defective ballistic helmets were issued to soldiers even though the Army was aware of the helmets' weaknesses - its testing team had conducted tests on them and concluded that these helmets did not meet the armed forces requirements.

Instead of holding the contractor, Seri Mukali Sdn Bhd responsible and demanding redress, the Army issued them to its combat units. This amounted to criminal negligence and a dereliction of duty on the part of those responsible for making the decision.

A case in 2004 had an international dimension. US authorities arrested and charged Pakistani national Jilani Humayun for his alleged role in shipping contraband military goods to Malaysia, from where they were re-exported to Iran.

He was also charged with conspiracy to commit money-laundering and mail fraud. The sensitive dual-use hardware, which was funneled through an as yet unnamed Malaysian company, included parts for F-5 and F-14 fighter jets and Chinook helicopters.

There were also question marks surrounding the 2004 proliferation case involving Scomi, a company owned by then prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's son Kamaluddin, which was allegedly involved in supplying dual-use technology to Libya's clandestine nuclear-weapons programme. Buhary Syed Abu Tahir, a Sri Lankan national with Malaysian permanent residency, sat with Kamaluddin on the board of Scomi-linked company, Kaspadu.

Documents obtained by the Associated Press reveal that Buhary was the chief financial officer of Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan's underground nuclear-proliferation network. How he was able to forge such high-powered alliances with Malaysia's political elite is a question that remains unanswered.

Jets left to rot in the Californian desert

The choice of aircraft and other military equipment by the Malaysian Armed Forces has often baffled observers. The operational problems faced by the newly acquired Hawk fighters in 1996 – avionic components prone to breakdowns and spare parts slow in arriving – turned out to be because the Hawks used were new models!

The RMAF experienced a critical moment earlier in 1996 when almost all the Hawk advanced jet trainer squadrons were grounded because of components shortage. As a result of this problem, the RMAF was unable to meet its target of training sufficient numbers of pilots to fly the more sophisticated jet fighters like the MiG-29 Fulcrum and the F/A-18 Hornets.

The pilots need at least 1,000 flying hours on the Hawk or other fighter aircraft like the F-5E air defence jets before they can fly the Fulcrums or Hornets. By then, the maintenance cost of the aircrafts had gone up and the government had to foot the bill for the spare parts.

The case of the missing Skyhawks is even more remarkable. The Malaysian government had bought 88 Vietnam War-era A4 Skyhawks from the US for less than US$1 million (US$1=RM2.58) each in 1985. However, the cost of refurbishing the aircraft with new avionics, engines, and armaments ended up to be RM320 million.

Fifty-three of the aircrafts were taken out of the desert. Out of these, 40 were refurbished to be flown by the RMAF; 12 others were cannibalised for spare parts and one brought back for maintenance training. The balance (35 jets) was left in the California desert. They were never brought back but were placed under the management of a company in the US which paid the parking charges for years.

In November 1993, “the Defence Ministry invited local and international companies to bid for the airframes of 35 RMAF A4 Skyhawk fighter bombers mothballed in the United States.” From 2000 to 2003, RMAF decided to take back the aircrafts in order to sell them off, but discovered that we no longer legally owned the aircraft.

Choppers falling out of the sky

Besides having to pay for the exorbitant military budget through the years, the human casualties and the loss of these very expensive aircraft is not acceptable.

Apart from the tragic loss of lives of our servicemen and women, one wonders if we have been short changed by the arms suppliers or if there has been compromises on the price, quality of the equipment or even if we have adequately trained personnel to fly these ultra-modern, high-tech jet fighters.

And of course, the quality of management and system of accountability have been called into question often enough in the armed forces.

From 1968 to 1997, the crashes of Sikorsky Nuri helicopters had claimed 73 lives in all.

Defence Minister Syed Hamid Albar, who was in the United States at the time, said there was no plan to retire the Nuris; instead, the remaining Sikorsky 61A-4 Nuris would be upgraded to extend their life span. They had been in service for 22 to 30 years up until 1997.

From 1970 to 1995, there were four De Havilland Caribou aircraft crashes killing at least 17 servicemen. Then there was the crash of the Super Puma helicopter in January 1994 in which four crew members lost their lives.

The Super Puma was on its way to fetch then deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim and his delegation in Kangar when it crashed. It was the 15th crash involving aircraft of the Royal Malaysian Air Force since 1990 – five involved the Pilatus PC-7 basic training aircraft; four were A-4PTM Skyhawk fighter bombers.

The other incidents included the Alouette III helicopter, the Cessna 402 aircraft, a Nuri helicopter and Hercules C-130 transport aircraft. It was remarked that we have lost more aircraft and pilots through accidents than through war combat.

Fifteen years later, the loss of two jet engines does not say much about the culture of maintenance or accountability at the RMAF. Nor does it say much about the role of the mainstream press in Malaysia in reporting and pursuing these vital questions involving the purchase and maintenance of Malaysia's military equipment.

The RMAF still had its Italian-made Agusta A-109C and Sikorsky AS61-N1 helicopters for VIP transport. But instead of tightening up and solving these shortcomings after each aircraft crash, it has only given the Defence Ministry an excuse to buy more and more expensive aircraft as replacements.

After the spate of crashes involving the rather expensive Hawks in 1996, a comment by the Air Force Chief Lt Jen Abdul Ghani Aziz was a giveaway – he grumbled aloud that simulator training was necessary to prevent accidents; it would help prepare pilots to cope with emergencies.

However, this suggestion was quickly shot down by then defence minister Syed Hamid, who said the government would not be buying simulators before acquiring new aircraft for the Air Force because the cost of this equipment was too high.

We thus have a Catch-22 situation of our armed forces wanting the latest expensive military toys but not being able to afford the necessary accessories which can help to prevent wastage and tragedies.

Spending not subject for discussion

There is no doubt that ever since the Malaysian peoples' 'political tsunami' of March 8, 2008, the BN government has been forced to be more circumspect about authorising any big defence procurements for fear of losing electoral support.

For instance, the government was forced to stall the planned purchase of the Eurocopter EC 725 helicopters. Nevertheless, this has not stopped the same BN government from allocating a record RM23 billion, or 10 percent, of the total development allocation under the Tenth Malaysia Plan for defence and security.

It is clear that the government could get away with such huge defence budgets during the last few decades because of the erosion of these safeguards in our democratic system, viz. dominance of the executive over parliament; loss of public accountability; absence of Freedom of Information legislation; inadequate separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary; poor safeguards for civil rights.

The defence minister has recently reiterated that “security and defence matters are not subjects for discussion.”

Nevertheless, it is important that while Pakatan Rakyat highlights the corruption involved in arms procurements by the BN, they also present their alternative defence policy to the rakyat at the next general elections.

TAKEN FROM MALAYSIAKINI

The above is an excerpt from 'Questioning Arms Spending in Malaysia: From Altantuya to Zikorsky', a new book by KUA KIA SOONG. The author is a former MP, college principal and a human rights activist. 'Questioning Arms Spending in Malaysia' is available at all major bookstores.

Interesting Govt's Spending Part 2

From Malaysiakini

COMMENT Defence spending accelerated across the board after Prime Minister Najib Razak, called “the driving force” behind Malaysia's military modernisation programme by Foreign Policy in Focus, became defence chief in 2000 - his second tenure in the ministry.

His shopping list included battle tanks from Poland, Russian and British surface-to-air missiles and mobile military bridges, and Pakistani anti-tank missiles, F/A 18 jet fighters, submarines from France and Russian Sukhoi Su-30 fighter aircrafts.
The BN government has been far from transparent in its arms purchases. Instead of calling for competitive bidding on defence contracts, the government has insisted that its military procurement be conducted through private negotiations because of security considerations.

Very often, contracts are given to companies which have links to political leaders. Approving officers, for obvious reasons, then approve projects forwarded by relatives or friends of political leaders.

Once in a while, compromises in the Malaysian armed forces are revealed by retiring civil and armed service personnel. For example, on Aug 8, 1996, on the eve of his optional retirement from the Air Force, RMAF Chief Lt Jen Abdul Ghani Aziz took to task ex-RMAF officers-turned-defence-equipment-suppliers for selling unsuitable and obsolete equipment, and thus compromising the safety of their former colleagues.

The account of how DCNS International of France and the Spanish shipmaker won the contract to build two Scorpene-class submarines for the Malaysian Navy is an example of the non-transparent manner in which defence contracts are awarded and the importance of political connections in gaining these contracts.

The following are some of the sleaze involved in Malaysia's military procurement:

The 'arms for aid' scandal

The 'Arms for Trade' scandal involving the funding of the Pergau hydroelectric dam in Malaysia, revolved around the linking of arms sales (worth RM5 billion) to British overseas aid in the form of Aid-and-Trade Provision (ATP) funding.

The linkage came to light when a senior civil servant in the British Overseas Development Administration (ODA), Tim Lankester, objected to the funding of the un-economical and environmentally damaging dam in 1991 but his objections were over-ruled by the then foreign secretary, Douglas Hurd.

The investigations by the British press into the reasons for the UK government's proceeding with the funding of the dam project in Kelantan centred on the linkage of the two deals, which was against stated government policy.

The scandal highlighted the links between arms transfers and aid provision in the Conservative government's record. It was stated British government policy that there could be no such linkage. This government policy was based on the 1966 Overseas Aid Act.

Allegations of corruption were levelled at the Malaysian government, specifically in theSunday Times.

It provoked a backlash by Mahathir Mohamad's government which announced a 'Buy British Last' policy in 1994.

Soon after, the editor of theSunday Times at the time, Andrew Neil lost his job as editor because of the political impact of the investigations of Pergau.

While the mainstream press in Malaysia published hardly anything on the 'Arms for Aid' scandal which had erupted in Britain in 1994, the British press had a field day which subsequently led to Mahathir's second trade boycott against Britain.

Grisly murder of Altantuya

It took the brutal murder of a Mongolian national, Altantuya Shaaribuu in 2006 to shock the nation and for questions surrounding the purchase of two Scorpene submarines to be asked in this country and in France. Altantuya, a Mongolian translator, was shot in the head on Oct 19, 2006, and then blown up with C4 explosives which are available only from Malaysia's military.

According to testimony in the trial, Altantuya accompanied her then-lover Abdul Razak Baginda to Paris at a time when Malaysia's Defence Ministry was negotiating through a Kuala Lumpur-based company, Perimekar Sdn Bhd, to buy two Scorpene submarines and a used Agosta submarine produced by the French government under a French-Spanish joint venture, Armaris.

Perimekar at the time was owned by a company called Ombak Laut, which was wholly owned by Abdul Razak, who is a close associate of then defence minister Najib. The contract was not competitive.

The Malaysian Defence Ministry paid 1 billion euros (RM4.5 billion) to Amaris for the three submarines, for which Perimekar received a payment of 114 million euros (RM510 million). The total cost of the submarines purchase after including infrastructure, maintenance, weapons, etc, has since risen beyond RM7 billion.

Deputy Defence Minister Zainal Abdidin Zin told the Parliament that the money was paid to Perimekar for “coordination and support services” although the fee amounted to a whopping 11 percent of the sales price for the submarines.

Altantuya, by her own admission in the last letter she wrote before her murder, said she had been blackmailing Abdul Razak, pressuring him for US$500,000. She did not say how she was blackmailing him, leaving open lots of questions.

While two former bodyguards of the then deputy prime minister and defence minister were subsequently found guilty of her grisly murder, it raised suspicion of an official cover-up since their motives were never divulged to the public nor probed in court.

Altantuya had had a relationship with Abdul Razak Baginda, a defence analyst from the Malaysian Strategic Research Centre think-tank, which has close ties to Najib. She had worked as Abdul Razak's translator on a deal to purchase Scorpene submarines from France.

In October 2006, the French newspaper Liberation claimed that Altantuya was informed that the commission paid by Armaris, the French-Spanish consortium involved in Malaysia's acquisition of the submarines of one billion euros (RM4.7 billion), had been deposited in a bank account in Malaysia.

The commission of 114 million euros was allegedly paid into the account of Perimekar, a company that Razak Baginda controlled and Altantuya had flown to Kuala Lumpur with her cousin to demand her share of the commission, which was to have been US$500,000.

Altantuya was reported missing on Oct 19, 2006 by her cousin who lodged a police report and sought help from the Mongolian embassy in Bangkok. She was later discovered murdered and her remains were found in a forested area in Shah Alam.

Two jet engines stolen

Experts say that Malaysia's Air Force suffers from too many aircraft types and aircrafts that fail to keep up with recent purchases by its neighbours. The recent case of the missing jet engines was by no means exceptional when seen in the light of these scandals.

Two F-5E fighter aircraft engines costing RM50 million from the Royal Malaysian Air Force went missing in May 2008 and a police report was lodged in August that year. It was only towards the end of 2009 that the theft of two jet engines was reported in the media.

The possible reason the government did not disclose the loss in 2007 was because the general elections was nearing. Had they done so, the opposition would have had a gala time ridiculing the government.

According to Najib, there was no cover-up on the theft of the jet engines. The jet engines went missing when he was the defence minister in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's cabinet. It was reported that a brigadier-general and 40 other armed forces personnel had been sacked over the incident.

They were not charged. There was no court martial. It appears the general and several others lost their pension but upon appeal they got it back.

The thefts and subsequent sale of the parts would have affected national security and also have international implications. The United States, which sold the hardware to the RMAF, would surely want to know who the buyers were. Indeed, there is a good possibility that investigations will go international.

N Tharmendran (photo), one of the accused, has since emerged to accuse the RMAF of torture and persecution.

The above is an excerpt from 'Questioning Arms Spending in Malaysia: From Altantuya to Zikorsky', a new book by KUA KIA SOONG. The author is a former MP, college principal and a human rights activist. 'Questioning Arms Spending in Malaysia' is available at all major bookstores.