Malaysia needs more heroes like Tony Pua to help expose scandals like this!

Najib abusing his position to save Utusan!

Recently Najib gave Utusan Malaysia his endorsement when he urged government departments, government-linked companies (GLCs) and Bumiputera firms to advertise more in the Umno-owned Bahasa Malaysia daily to ensure the newspaper's capability to compete in the long term. This is an outright abuse of his position and wrong! Utusan is a private company spewing out racist lies and slander. On top of that to name a street road after this UMNO own company is a shiok sendiri exercise that is abusing his power! 

I like the response from the article below taken from Malaysian Insiders.

How far does one go to support fiction? In Utusan Malaysia's case, it goes as far as getting government departments and state companies to advertise in the Umno-owned newspaper to ensure its survival.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's push for his party paper today to get such advertisements has to be seen in that light - an endorsement for fiction writing which the daily indulges in from time to time.

After all, no other Malaysian newspaper has lost as many defamation cases as Utusan Malaysia in the last few years.

In opening the 75-year-old newspaper's new office today, Najib said Utusan cannot rely solely on circulation to stay in business and that advertising is needed to keep the news company afloat.Despite its fiction writing putting Malaysians at loggerheads with each other, here comes the prime minister asking Malaysian taxpayers to fund this party newsletter to ensure it can compete in the future.

And this is where money from the GLCs and government departments come in. After all, most of the private sector have ditched advertising in the daily over its racial slant in recent years.

But make no mistake, the advertising ringgit from GLCs comes from taxpayers, many of them educated Malaysians who live in urban areas - the same voters who rejected the politics of racism and chauvinism espoused by Utusan Malaysia.

What would they think of this latest move then, to use their hard-earned money to support a paper prone to fiction? Wouldn't that money be better used to mitigate the effects of rising costs?

Is keeping Utusan afloat a priority for this government over the livelihood of most Malaysians?

And renaming the Jalan Enam road where the Utusan Malaysia office is to Jalan Utusan is a priority and pride for this government?

“Jalan Enam has no meaning. It will be renamed Jalan Utusan,” Najib announced at the opening of the newspaper's new building.

What really has no meaning is supporting such fiction that causes racism and makes people argue with each other. That is what Utusan and its editors have done and were found guilty and fined in a court of law.

This government has a country to run and an economy to grow, not put priority on helping a newspaper survive because it belongs to the ruling party. - September 13, 2013.

The VINDICATION of Lim Kit Siang!

Finally Tanda Putera admitted to their slander. But the damage is done! How do they fix this? What is more sickening is that this film cost the govt RM4.8million.

Tanda Putera producer finally apologises to Lim

11:45AM Sep 13, 2013

More than a year after the film 'Tanda Putera' was embroiled in controversy with its Facebook page accusing DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang of urinating on a flagpole, the film's producer has finally issued an official apology.

"We, Messrs Pesona Pictures Sdn Bhd, unreservedly apologise to Lim Kit Siang for the embarrassment caused by the abovementioned publication which is devoid of truth," it said in a statement uploaded on Facebook this afternoon.

In an earlier posting yesterday, theFacebook site of the film based on the May 13, 1969 race riots attributed the faulty allegation it made July last year to a junior social media administrator.

"The administrator at that time, who was also our friend, received a link from a visitor who sent a picture of Lim Kit Siang with the wrong caption.

"Our junior administrator did not do it on purpose, but he thought it was correct, so he uploaded it," the posting reads.

The caption had said Lim urinated on the flagpole outside the house of the then Selangor menteri besar Harun Idris.

Yesterday's 'Tanda Putera' Facebook statement said the mistake was promptly rectified and claimed that the administrator and film producer have since apologised, though it did not specify to whom.

However, it noted that there were demands for an apology onFacebook where the posting originally appeared: "No problem, we will do it (apologise on Facebook)," the posting says.

"The picture and caption were not our creations but were sent to us," it adds.

Elaborating on the faux pas in the latest official apology today, the film's producer said Lim's photograph and erroneous caption was posted on theirFacebook page by a subscriber and was spotted by the page's administrator.

"Innocently believing the same to be in some manner relevant to the movie Tanda Putera, he proceeded to copy and save them onto theFacebook's photo album.

"The publication thereof was purely an inadvertence, without any malice or bad faith intended," it said.

However, the company said it stood by the content of the 'Tanda Putera' film.

Apology missing
This is the first public apology made. It was absent in the prominent public rebuttal by film director Shuhaimi Baba on Aug 15, 2012, almost a month after the controversy first erupted.

Shuhaimi (right) had merely said that the erroneous posting was removed and that at no point did Lim appear in the film.

However, she insisted that the urination incident was real, though not by Lim himself.

'Tanda Putera' chronicles the relationship between former prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein and his deputy Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman in the midst of the 1969 race riots, which continues to be a divisive topic, and more so today as a result of the controversial film.

Lim has repeatedly denied the urination incident, seen as a provocation for the 1969 race riots, pointing out that he was in Sabah when the May 13 tragedy broke out in Kuala Lumpur.

He had also urged the filmmakers to apologise over the allegation.

On Monday, Lim, who is also DAP national adviser, commenced legal action against Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia and former information minister Zainuddin Maidin for repeating the 'urination' allegation against him.


AND even through Tanda Putera has completely bomb in the box-office, the film director Datin Paduka Shuhaimi Baba has already begun work on her next movie for which she is expecting another government grant!!!! WTF!

WE NEED TO VOTE BN GOVT OUT TO SAVE MONEY ON USELESS FILMS!

French prosecutors: Najib sought US$1bil for Perimekar

From Malaysiakini

French public prosecutors probing shoddy deals in French-Malaysian arms deals found evidence that then-defence minister Najib Abdul Razak had sought US$1 billion (RM3 billion) for local company Perimekar from French shipmaker DCN's subsidiary DCNI.

According to prosecution papers revealed by NGO Suaram today, a fax shows that Najib had asked for the amount for Perimekar as a condition for a meeting with him on July 14, 2001.

The fax,dated June 1, 2001 was from Francois Dupont, the Malaysian representative for private company Thales Asia International, to one D Arnaud.

The document, one of 153 shown to Suaram, was seized by French police from the office of Henri Gide, an officer with Thales.

However, no copy of the fax was provided to media at the press conference today as Suaram said it is not allowed to take the documents out of France.

Instead, the NGO, which is pursuing a civil complaint against state-owned DCN for allegedly paying 114 million euros in defence kickbacks to Perimekar, provided media with notes from its French interpreter.

According to the notes, Dupont had in the fax detailed out the chronology of visits and future actions during a visit to Malaysia, including details of “negotiation meetings with the Ministry of Defence and the management members of Perimekar”.

“(In the negotiations) two contract proposals would be mentioned (from DCNI to Perimekar as well as between Perimekar and the Malaysian government).

“(Dupont) finally indicated a meeting with Datuk Seri Najib in France on July 14, 2001 with the condition that DCNI offers a maximum sum of US$1 billion for Perimekar’s stay (in France),” it reads.

Malaysia purchased two Scorpene class submarines in 2002.

Perimekar is owned by Najib’s associate Abdul Razak Baginda, who was acquitted on a charge of abetting in the murder of Mongolian translator Altantuuyaa Shariibuu, without his defence being called.

Razak Baginda’s company paid 360,000 euros

According to Suaram, another document obtained by the prosecutors revealed that Terasasi Sdn Bhd, a company owned by Abdul Razak and his father, was also linked to the scandal.

Suaram's interpreter noted that prosecutors had on Aug 22, 2011, obtained an invoice faxed to Terasasi Sdn Bhd on Sept 19, 2004, to the then-chief executive officer of Thales, Bernard Baiocco, for the purpose of “success fees”.

The invoice states that 359,450 euros (RM1.43 million) was to be paid into a bank in Petaling Jaya, while a handwritten note on the fax reads:

“Razak demande si ce SF peut etre pris en compte assez vite. Le Support Fee suit avec un rapport (Razak is asking whether the SF can be paid into the account quite urgently. The support fee follows with a report.)”

However, Suaram director Cynthia Gabriel said the prosecutors were still trying to determine whether the ‘Razak’ stated in the note refers to Najib or Abdul Razak.

‘The Great Malaysian Robbery’

Referring to the case as “the Great Malaysian Robbery”, Gabriel said the prosecutors also found “a slew of companies” had been formed to muddy the money trail.

“More retro-commissions have surfaced, allowing the misuse of bodies such as a pilgrimage fund (Lembaga Tabung Haji) and the military pension fund (Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera).

“The Malaysian and French people have clearly been misled, cheated and robbed of their monies through blatant corruption and mismanagement of funds in the name of national safety and security,” Gabriel (right) said.

As such, Suaram demanded that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission open investigation papers on these new revelations and for the Malaysian government to cooperate with the French inquiry.

It also demands that the Defence Ministry lists out to Parliament the companies involved in the procurement process involving DCN and the commissions paid.

This ain't just politics! Thay are National Issues that will effect us ALL!!!

Tony Pua has been a real blessing to the Malaysian Public. He has been consistently raising national issues that effect us all!! From the Kedai 1Malaysia to the over price Military boats! He has been a thorn in BN face!

Recently he has highlighted a 3 key issue that the BN government is doing that is very worrying!

1. USING EPF Money to loan to people for political reasons!

Its national publicity secretary Tony Pua (right) blasted Prime Minister Najib Razak and Federal Territories Minister Raja Nong Chik's “feeble attempt at justifying the use of EPF funds” for the scheme, that he said abused the people’s retirement funds for political purposes.

“Firstly the prime minister must be castigated for having the cheek to claim that the RM1.5 billion is aninsignificant amount relative to the EPF fund size.

“Regardless of whether it is RM1.5 million or RM1.5 billion or even RM15 billion, the EPF funds must be managed stringently and not be subjected to abuse,” said Pua in a statement today.

He said Clause 26 of the EPF Act permitted the fund to lend money to federal and state governments as well as registered corporate bodies in the country, but not to individuals, in this case, private home buyers.

“No where in the Act does it say it can provide loans to individuals to acquire low-cost apartments using the property as a collateral.

“Despite the ‘guarantee’ from DBKL, the loans are being made out directly to the property owners who may or may not have contributed to EPF,” Pua added.

Therefore, he said, the social housing loan scheme is in breach of the Act.

Nong Chik's flawed logic

On Monday, Raja Nong Chik reportedly announced an "easy financing scheme" for 20,000 eligible PPR tenants and potential buyers who could not obtain bank loans.

The opposition criticised the government for abusing the people’s retirement savings for the BN’s alleged “vote-buying on a whim”.

Pua, who is also PJ Utrara MP, further attacked Nong Chik’s (right) excuse that EPF account holders had no cause for concern as the properties the scheme will be funding are collateral-worthy.

“If the low-cost properties are so collateral-worthy, that the market price is much higher than the purchase price, then why can't these loans be made via commercial banks and not through EPF social lending programmes?

“If DBKL is able to provide the guarantee, and the guarantee is even "better than normal corporate property", then surely, banks will be rushing to provide the loans and not shy away from them,” said Pua.

The MP suggested the government borrow directly from the EPF instead.

“The federal government if need be, can borrow directly from EPF as it does normally, for its social welfare programmes. The EPF should not, however, be directed to provide loans directly to the general public and put itself at risk of default by the individual borrowers.”

He said that while he supported the government’s move to aid the poor to own homes, it should not be “at the expense of abusing Malaysian workers' retirement savings”.

Therefore, said Pua, Najib as finance minister had a duty to ensure compliance with the EPF act by stopping the loan scheme.

EPF abuse ‘despicable and disgraceful’

Meanwhile Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar continued slamming the loan scheme as a sign of “the abject failure of the government to provide proper home ownership assistance to the needy using its own funds”.

“This is a case of blatant abuse of public funds in the form of workers’ retirement savings for political mileage especially to win votes among the urban poor and low-income earners ahead of GE13.

“The EPF is not the personal piggy bank of the BN government,” said Nurul Izzah (right), who is also PKR vice president.

“Abuse or misuse of public funds, disguised as a social welfare programme is despicable and disgraceful,” she added.

Nurul Izzah said EPF contributors had every right to question the scheme and whether the venture will maximise returns for their savings at the lowest possible risk, as the Fund has a duty to safeguard the contributors’s interests.

“Although the so-called ‘guaranteed returns’ of 5.5 percent seem rather high, do they commensurate with the risks undertaken in the best interest of EPF contributors?” she asked.

She reiterated the fact that commercial banks staying away from such loans indicated it was a high risk venture.

Present unpaid EPF loans a lesson

She further questioned if the guarantee by DBKL was sound, as it was contingent on timely repayment of the loans by the house owners.

“What will happen if a huge number of - i.e. more than 20 percent of home buyers - fail to service their loans and this shortfall exceeds the amount of the reserve redemption account?

“Will DBKL be then able to buy back all houses for resale later? In this case, will DBKL be able to offer the guaranteed returns to EPF?

“A cursory glance at past government budgets will highlight the amount of yet unpaid loans to the EPF,” she said.

2. West Coast Expressway: 134% Increase in Cost?!

3. False Sugar Subsidy

Another issue is the I Care proPublish Postposal which make for very scary reading!!

Please go read up on the I Care proposal! It will scare you to find out just how UnCaring the govt really is!

Every Malaysian must read - Very Well Written !!*

This article by *By Dr. Azmi Sharom, a law lecturer, well educated, well read...a person who refuses to accept what is going on, who feels the injustice not only for the Malays as he too is a Malay but for all Malaysians ...... he is really a anak Malaysia....*

*We want PR not because We Love PR, **We just **want a** CHANGE** !*

*Actually we will vote PR because We Still Love BN. After all it was started by great and honest leaders of the past.*

*Its for the good of BN that we vote for PR and for better future for the people at the same time.*

*What happens, when PR **become** New Government:*

*We have a New Goverment with **Less Experience in **CORRUPTIONS** and **SCANDALS.....good for people*

*We have a STRONG** and** RICH Opposition with **50 years Experience in **CORRUPTIONS** and **SCANDALS. They know the ins and out of corruption and scandals, so they can better check the PR government........ also good for people and for BN*

*BN will do their BEST to EXPOSE those who **CORRUPT,**because BN has 50 years of experience in **CORRUPTIONS*

*Final Result:*

*RAKYAT** MENANG*

* **TWO** party system is........... BORN *

*We vote for** CHANGE.......** because we** LOVE**................MALAYSIA*

*"The world is a **DANGEROUS** place not because of people who do **EVIL**, but because of good people who look on and **DO NOTHING ABOUT IT**"Albert Einstein* * *

Check out my previous posting to see a Barisan National resume on how experience they are with corruption!

*All (including former) Malaysians must know - By Dr. Azmi Sharom*

*Dr. Azmi Sharom**- All Malaysians must know. Malaysia has never been an Islamic State as our Constitution is very specific on it. It was the Mental Mamak (our equivalent to Singapore 's MM) who lied all the way when he declared Malaysia as an Islamic Country and therefore State in 2001.

Lim Kit Siang immediately corrected him but he being the person he is insisted that he was right. Jokers like Ling Liong Sik, Samy Vellu and Lim Keng Yaik of course did not object and quietly agreed with him and so did the other BN leaders.

This mamak has damaged our country through and through. MM also passed the Syariah Law in Selangor in 1995 with the help of MCA, MIC, and Gerakan.

Ask MCA, MIC and Gerakan why they support an Islamic State and passed laws to support it, and now complain that DAP is supporting an Islamic State, when DAP has never ever agreed to do so.. The evidence is beyond doubt, it is in the public domain, ask them, the shameless ones, do they have an answer?*

*Worth listening to this recording. Our constitution is the most altered, amended, and modified constitution in the whole wide world.

We must never ever let UMNO get back their 2/3rds majority ever again. If they do, then our country will go to the dogs. UMNO will again start changing the constitution like there is no to-morrow. It will be changed to suit UMNO, just like they changed the constitution/rules/laws to allow for gerrymandering of the consituency, where a rural constituency with an electorate of 5,000voters is entitled to vote for one MP/DUN, whereas in urban localities, an electorate of 100,000 can only vote for one MP.

What sort of democracy do you call this? Can someone out there enlighten me.

Whether you're pro-BN or pro-opposition, please, do not, in your wildest dreams ever allow UMNO their 2/3rds majority. Don't ever let Malaysia go the way of Zimbabwe , Somali, or Myanmar .

An interesting speech by Dr. Azmi Sharom; an Assistant Professor of Law at UM. He explains the CONSTITUTION: the Malaysian supreme law.

Listen to this, it's interesting and refreshing.

For people who think that only BN can govern properly. Think again.

Once BN gets back their 2/3 in Parliament they will start amending the Constitution. Then we won't have the Constitution that protects

ALL.

Educate yourself about what the supreme law of the land says. Then vote wisely.

Please spread this like wildfire...make it one of the most viewed. *

*You will help educate people about our law. *

Jordan Lee

65 Reasons Why Barisan Nasional will be wiped out soon

So much money wasted over the years! Thanks to BN! How can the Opposition do any worst?

1. PKFZ RM12bill

2. Submarine commission RM500mil

3. Sime Darby RM964mil

4. Paya Indah Westland RM88mil

5. Posmalaysia (transmile) RM230mil lost

6. Eurocopter deal RM1bil wasted?

7. Terengganu Stadium Collapsed RM292mil

8. MRR2 repair cost RM70mil

9. Maybank Overpaid BII RM4bil

10. Tourism -NYY kickback RM10mil

11. 3 paintings bought by MAS—————– RM 1.5M

12. Overpayment by Sport Ministry————- RM 8.4M

13. London 's white elephant sports complex —- RM 70M

14. MATRADE repairs ————————– RM 120M

15. Cost of new plane used by PM————– RM 200M

16. InventQ irrecoverable debt —————- RM 228M

17. Compensation for killing crooked bridge —– RM 257M

18. Lost in selling Augusta ——————— RM 510M

19. Worth of AP given out in a year ———— RM 1.8B

20. Submarines (future Muzium Negara artifacts)- RM 4.1B

21. PSC Naval dockyard ———————— RM 6.75B

22. The Bank Bumiputra twin scandals in the early 1980s saw US$1

billion loss (RM3.2 billion in 2008 ringgit)

23. The Maminco attempt to corner the world tin market in the 1980s

is believed to have cost some US$500 million. (RM1.6 billion)

24. Betting in foreign exchange futures cost Bank Negara Malaysia

RM30 billion in the 1990s.

25. Perwaja Steel resulted in losses of US$800 million (RM2.56 billion).

26. Use of RM10 billion public funds in the Valuecap Sdn. Bhd.

operation to shore up the stock market

27. Banking scandal of RM700 million losses in Bank Islam

28. The sale of M.V. Agusta by Proton for one Euro making a loss of

€75.99 million (RM 348 million)

29. Wang Ehsan from oil royalty on Terengganu RM7.4 billion from 2004 – 2007

30. For the past 10 years since Philharmonic Orchestra

was established, this orchestra has swallowed a total of RM500

million.Hiring a kwai-lo CEO with salary of more than RM1 M per annum !

31. In Advisors Fees, Mahathir was paid RM180,000, Shahrizat

Abdul Jalil (women and social development affairs) RM404,726 and Abdul

Hamid Othman (religious) RM549,675 per annum

32. The government has spent a total of RM3.2 billion in teaching

Maths and Science in English over the past five years. Out of the

amount, the government paid a whopping RM2.21 billion for the purchase

of information and computer technology (ICT) equipments which it is

unable to give a breakdown. Govt paid more than RM6k per notebook vs

per market price of less than RM3k through some new consortiums that

setup just to transact the notebook deal. There was no math & science

content for the teachers and the notebooks are all with the teachers'

children now.

33. The commission paid for purchase of jets and submarines to two

private companies Perimeker Sdn Bhd and IMT Defence Sdn Bhd amounted

to RM910 million.

37. RM300 million to compensate Gerbang Perdana for the RM1.1 billion"Crooked Scenic Half-Bridge"

38. RM1.3 billion have been wasted building the white elephant Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) facilities on cancellation ofthe Malaysia-Singapore scenic bridge

39. RM 100 million on renovation of Parliament building and leaks

40. National Astronaut Programme – RM 40 million

41. National Service Training Programme – yearly an estimate of RM 500 million

42. Eye of Malaysia – RM 30 million and another RM5.7 million of free ticket

43. RM 2.4 million on indelible ink

44. Samy announced in September 2006 that the government paid

compensation amounting to RM 38.5 billion to 20 highway companies.

RM380 million windfalls for 9 toll concessionaires earned solely from

the toll hike in 2008 alone.

45. RM32 million timber export kickbacks involving companies

connected to Sarawak Chief Minister and his family.

46. Two bailouts of Malaysia Airline System RM7.9 billion. At a time

when MAS incurring losses every year, RM1.55 million used to buy three

paintings to decorate its chairman's (Munir) office.

47. Putra transport system bailout which cost RM4.486 billion.

48. STAR-LRT bailout costing RM3.256 billion.

49. National Sewerage System bailout costing RM192.54 million.

50. Seremban-Port Dickson Highway bailout costing RM142 million.

51. Kuching Prison bailout costing RM135 million.

52. Kajian Makanan dan Gunaan Orang Islam bailout costing RM8.3 million.

53. Le Tour de Langkawi bailout costing RM 3.5 Million.

54. Wholesale distribution of tens of millions of shares in

BursaMalaysia under guise of NEP to cronies, children and relatives of

BN leaders and Ministers worth billions of ringgits.

55. Alienation of tens of thousands of hectares of

commercial lands and forestry concessions to children and relatives

of BN leaders and Ministers worth tens of billions of ringgits.

56. Since 1997, Petronas has handed out a staggering 30 billion

ringgit in natural gas subsidies to IPPs who were making huge

profits.In addition, there were much wastages and forward trading of

Petronas oil in the 1990s based on the low price of oil then. Since

the accounts of Petronas are for the eyes of Prime Minister only, we

have absolutely no idea of the amount.

57. RM5700 for a car jack worth RM50

58. Government-owned vehicle consumed a tank of petrol worth RM113

within a few minutes

59. A pole platform that cost RM990 was bought for RM30,000

60. A thumb drive that cost RM90 was bought for RM480

61. A cabinet that cost RM1,500 was bought for RM13,500

62. A flashlight that cost RM35 was bought for RM143

63. Expenses for 1 Malaysia campaign paid to APCO?

64. RM17 billion subsidy to IPP

65. USD24 million diamond ring for Ro$mah --- cancellation of order

This is not even the full listing on all of BN corruption and inefficiencies yet! Isn't it scary?!? If we were not bless with so much natural resources such as Tin, Petrol, Oil Palm and etc we would have been bankrupt by now!

Other things that are unfair in Malaysia today!

1. AG still charging Kapal Singh with sedition over remarks involving the Perak Sultan

while they refuse to charge Kedai Rakyat 1 Malaysia for endangering the health of the normal rakyat with false information.

2. New salary scheme top-ranking government servants will be paid as much as RM80 000 a month while some drivers get just a RM1 70 increase in monthly wages earning.

AG expecting to get a big pay cheque for the great work he put in Anwar's case!

3. Teoh Beng Hock case vs NFC and Sharizat!

One was investigating corruption worth RM2400

The other was for RM300million!

One was investigated by top MACC officials and had all night interrogation!

The other had tip off that they are going to be raided! (even the news reporters were there first before the MACC officers arrive!)

Some corrupt UMNO people may have to find a new CASH COW to steal from but you can wait till the COWS COME HOME before we see any real justice here!!!

What is fair?

Anwar, 64, was charged on Aug 8, 2008 under Section 377B of the Penal Code with committing carnal intercourse against the order of nature. (NOTE: This charge is with consent of the "victim" not force rape)

He was accused and acquitted by the High Court of sodomising Mohd Saiful

Is it fair that Saiful, a 20+ man that is 6feet tall get an appeal at the cost of the the reputation and funds of the Malaysian Government, just so that he can defend his dignity?

WELL HE GOT HIS APPEAL!

How about Abdul Razak Baginda? A close friend of Najib who was charge and also acquitted with the murder (blowing up with military gred C4 explosive) of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a pregnant Mongolian women!

Did her family see justice and get an appeal?

NO WAY!

Deputy public prosecutor Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah, who is leading the prosecution, said in a statement today that there would be no appeal because the trial judge had made a finding of fact in acquitting Abdul Razak.

Anwar's acquittal was also on point of fact! So why is there an appeal!

The answer is here!

Najib More Concerned About KR1M Profits

From Tony Pua's blog

I read with both amusement and consternation the Prime Minister’s statement on Bernama yesterday that “the ridicule and criticism hurled by the opposition at the 1Malaysia Shops (KR1M) has helped to raise sales at the outlets.”

Dato’ Seri Najib Razak even goaded the opposition to make more criticisms, “I would like to encourage them (the opposition) to carry on with their criticism” when visiting his own constituency of Pekan where KR1M has been opened for a month.

It is hence clear that the Prime Minister is not the least bothered about the health and welfare of ordinary Malaysians, not even that of his own constituents.

The criticisms coming from Pakatan Rakyat on KR1M is regardless of whether the store sales go up or down. The criticisms are made on the issue of whether the Government’s subsidies are being used to profit particular businessmen, whether consumers are being fleeced or their health compromised.

The Minister of Health, Dato’ Seri Liow Tiong Lai has confirmed that the 1Malaysia Fresh Milk, which was sold significantly cheaper by KR1M compared to other retail stores, was contaminated with the Escherichia coli (E.coli) bacteria which is the cause of food poisoning and occasional deaths.

The Ministry of Health has also confirmed that the 1Malaysia Growing Up Milk Powder for children 1 year old and above contained excessive amount of Vitamin A, more than double the limit set by Institute of Medicine (IOM) for children 3 years old and below. Excessive doses of vitamin A may cause Hypervitaminosis A, resulting in damaged liver, asthma, skin discoloration, hair loss and other effects.

In addition, at least 2 products – oyster sauce and sweetened creamer - were confirmed to have breached health and safety regulations per the Food Regulations Act 1985. What is more, no less than 5 products were labelled wrongly, including inferior products being sold as superior goods.

Selected comparison of prices of 1Malaysia products against their counterparts in other hypermarkets has also shown that there’s little difference in prices, and certainly a far cry from the 30% to 50% cheaper claim by KR1M. This is despite a RM40 million subsidy given by the Government to Mydin to open these shops.

Yet, despite all of the above, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak has chosen not only to waive any punitive actions against KR1M for breaking so many laws, but instead decided cosy up to KR1M and its private owners. He did not even attempt to admonish KR1M owners for the above transgressions.

There can be no other conclusion from the above but to say that the Prime Minister isn’t interested in whether it is the rakyat or the businessman who is profiting from the RM40 million subsidy; that he doesn’t care if KR1M sold products which were unhealthy or of inferior quality; and that Dato’ Seri Najib Razak is only interested in KR1M making lots of sales and profits for its private shareholders.

Najib should be made responsible for this!

From Malaysiakini

Shares of the company behind the MyEmail email project plummeted today, after the company revealed yesterday that it suffered heavier losses than initially reported due to a typo.

The Edge reported that Tricubes Bhd shares fell by 2.5 sen to 18.5 sen today as of 12.30pm, after it told Bursa Malaysia that its accumulated losses stand at RM17.24 million for the financial year ending on March 31, 2011, not RM7.3 million as reported in its 2011 Annual Report.

This followed the company’s submission of the audit of its annual report to Bursa on Sept 7.

The financial daily cited the report as saying that there may be “material uncertainties” that cast doubt on the the company’s ability to continue.

Its survival is dependent on securing more contracts to survive, as well as the support of bankers, creditors and shareholders, it said.

“Currently, the group has secured several contracts and is planning to secure additional contracts with various government agencies and commercial banks for its existing and newly developed products,” the report was quoted saying.

Tricubes is best known for its appointment by the federal government for the email project - then known as the 1Malaysia Email project - to provide Malaysians with a secure email account for correspondences and monetary transactions with the government.

However, the project would cost 50 sen per correspondence, drawing brickbats because critics argued that there are already freealternatives. Despite that, its shares shot up from 5.5 sen to 32.5 sen over a week, after Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak announced the appointment on April 19.

The company was thrown into the spotlight again when it was awarded a contract to collect traffic summonses for the Royal Malaysian Police on Nov 16, prompting another share spike.

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NFC caps a long string of scandals

COMMENT For weeks, just in time for Umno's annual general assembly which opened yesterday, the party has been embroiled in an embarrassing scandal involving a 2007 government decision to spend RM300 million to establish a national feedlot corporation to slaughter as many as 60,000 cattle annually under Islamic halal dietary requirements.

The scandal seems emblematic of a long series of such situations that imperil Prime Minister Najib Razak's vow in April 2010 that the government "can no longer tolerate practices that support the behaviour of rent-seeking and patronage, which have long tarnished the altruistic aims of the New Economic Policy."

The National Feedlot Corporation (NFC), as it is known, has never slaughtered 10 percent of the projected total and has since scaled back its target to 8,000 head but hasn't been able to meet that target either.

Worse, the company has been losing millions of dollars every year - while pouring funds into two RM10 million condominiums in Kuala Lumpur, among other things, and spending RM800,000 for overseas travel and entertainment.

The scandal is doubly embarrassing because the agreement to establish the NFC, made when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was prime minister, went to the family of Shahrizat Abdul Jalil (right), the
minister of women, welfare and community development and head of the women's wing of Umno.

Her husband, Mohamad Salleh Ismail, is the chairman. Her three children are respectively the chief executive officer and executive directors of the company. None had any experience in cattle production or beef supply prior to the establishment of the company.

The report of the NFC's operations was contained in the 2010 report of the auditor-general, which was delayed for weeks before it was finally released. The scandal has generated tensions inside Umno, with some reformers demanding that Shahrizat be forced out of her job as minister.

However, the leadership has circled the wagons to protect her. In particular, Muhyiddin Yassin, the deputy prime minister, has said there was no case to be brought against her. Muhyiddin was the agriculture minister in 2006 when the project was approved. Others who have come to her defence are Abdullah Badawi and his son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin, the head of the Umno Youth Wing.

The NFC scandal is said to have the potential reformers worried because party operatives thought they had the Selangor electorate turned around and that they could take the state back from the opposition Pakatan Rakyat in national elections expected to be called early next year.

However, Asia Sentinel has been told, the refusal to hold anybody to account in the feedlot scandal could well turn the tide back against them, especially as other patronage scandals continue to bubble up.

Mahathir's cadre of 100 super-rich bumis

The depth and breadth of the scandals also calls into question moves earlier this year with Najib launching a series of programmes to develop bumiputera, including allocating an RM2 billion fund for development.

In the 2012 budget, Najib also announced the government would allocate RM200 million to guide 1,100 high-performing bumi companies with the potential for listing on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. Critics are concerned that the patronage system will continue unabated.

The current Umno general assembly was hoped to provide a dramatic backdrop for Najib to win back disaffected Malay voters.

For decades, this patronage has involved highway construction and defence contracts and a variety of other government arrangements with Umno cronies in a plan formulated by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

His ambition was to create a cadre of 100 super-rich bumis who in turn would help rural Malays into prosperity under a ‘konsep payung', or umbrella concept routed through Umno, much the way he envisioned driving the country into industrialisation through massive
projects.

However, many of the companies eventually collapsed and are being supported by government institutions such as Kazanah Nasional, the country's sovereign investment fund, or the Employee Provident Fund.

Contained in the same 2010 auditor general's report, for instance, is a passage on the decision to privatise a 77-km stretch of highway from Senai to Desaru in Johor.

The land acquisition turned out to have doubled - from RM385 million to RM740.6 million - with the road surface described as "undulating." The project completion "was not in accordance with specifications, causing damage to the road surface and endangering road users."

The company failed to complete construction within the stipulated period of the contract. However, the construction agreement didn't specify damages in the event it wasn't completed. Required maintenance is described as "unsatisfactory."

The company that won the RM1.7 billion contract is Ranhill Corp Sdn Bhd, which has long been described as Umno-linked. It is partly owned by Lambang Optimia Sdn Bhd. Both are headed by Hamdan Mohamad, described as Malaysia's ‘water baron', who operates several utilities and power companies.

He was one of several ethnic Malay businessmen who followed former PM Mahathir's vow to take Malaysian companies overseas. Another shareholder is YPJ Corp Sdn Bhd, an arm of the Johor state government, and yet another appears to be Umno itself, which owns a minority share through an account at Public Bank Bhd, according to records.

Ranhill has had a lackluster two to three years, capped by disaster earlier in 2011 when its Libyan operations were caught between the Muammar Qaddafi forces and those of the Libyan rebels aided by Nato air strikes.

Overpriced defence hardware

Also, earlier this year, Deftech, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DRB-Hicom, won a contract without an open tender to produce and deliver 237 eight-wheeled armoured personnel carriers to the Defence Ministry.

DRB-Hicom is 55 percent owned by Etika Strategi Sdn Bhd, which is wholly owned by billionaire Syed Mokhtar Al Bukhary, one of Mahathir's targeted bumiputeras and a man who is extremely tight with Umno.

Opposition member Tony Pua (left) complained on the floor of Parliament that the average price of RM29.4 million for each unit compared unfavourably with a Portuguese Army purchase of 363 similar vehicles for the equivalent of RM4.4 million each from the Swiss MOWAG CmBH Corp, Malaysia is paying a 6.6-fold increase over the Portguese purchase.

Saudi Arabia, he said, bought 724 such vehicles for the equivalent of RM9.9 million from General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada, with Malaysia paying almost three times as much government officials said the contracts don't compare with each other and that the government is getting more equipment, maintenance, etc. for its money.

"Further research has revealed that DRB-Hicom will be acquiring the AWC technology from a Turkish company - FNSS Defence Systems Inc which manufactures the Pars 8x8 AWV models," Pua said.

"With this deal, Malaysia will be its first foreign customer for this vehicle. What is perhaps of greater alarm is the fact that FNSS has announced that they have sold 257 units of Pars 8x8 AWVs to Malaysia for approximately US$600 million or RM1.83 billion or only RM7.1 million per unit," Pua said in a prepared statement - considerably different from what the Malaysians said they bought the vehicles for.

Pua also complained about the cost of six offshore patrol vessels from Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd at RM1 billion each in the aftermath of another total fiasco.

The auditor-general, in a 2007 report tabled in Parliament, alleged that a contract to build naval vessels given to PSC-Naval Dockyard, a subsidiary of Penang Shipbuilding & Construction Sdn Bhd, which was owned by another Umno crony, Amin Shah Omar Shah(right).

PSC-Naval Dockyard, which was taken over by Boustead, contracted to deliver six patrol boats for the Malaysian Navy in 2004 and complete the delivery in 2007. Those were supposed to be the first of 27 offshore vessels ultimately to cost RM24 billion plus the right to maintain and repair all of the country's naval craft.

But only two of the 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 100 and 383 uncompleted items aboard them respectively.

The original RM5.35 billion contract ballooned to RM6.75 billion by January 2007. The auditor also reported that the ministry had paid out RM4.26 billion to PSC up to December 2006 although only RM2.87 billion of work had been done, an overpayment of RM1.39 billion, or 48 percent. In addition, the cabinet waived late penalties of RM214 million.

Between December 1999, according to the auditor-general, 14 "progress payments" amounting to RM943 million despite the fact that the auditor-general could find no payment vouchers or relevant documents dealing with the payments.

AG: Serious financial mismanagement

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.

Once called ‘Malaysia's Onassis' by Daim Zainuddin, Amin Shah was in trouble almost from the start, according to a report in Singapore's Business Timesin 2005.

Eventually Boustead PSC was born out of the Royal Malaysian Navy's dockyard facilities which were to provide ship repairs and maintenance services. Under the corporatisation programme advocated by the Malaysian government, the dockyard was set up as Limbungan TLDM, a wholly-owned government company.

It has modern facilities to meet the maintenance requirements of the Royal Malaysian Navy fleet, from hull repairs to major overhauls and from radar refitting to weapon systems refurbishment.

The six patrol boats have now cost five times what the Royal New Zealand Navy paid for its patrol vessels, bought at only RM210 million each from BAE Systems, the second largest global defence company.

The irrepressible Raja Petra Kamarudin in early November found that the Philippines was buying Hamilton-class patrol ships from the US that would be deployed to the West Philippine Sea area to secure the country's natural resources.

The latest one is to be transferred by the first or second quarter of next year, to guard energy projects in Malampaya off Palawan.

"Malaysia is going to buy six patrol boats at a total cost of RM6 billion or RM1 billion per patrol boat. Of course, Malaysia's patrol boats are going to be far advanced and more sophisticated than those of the Philippines who paid only RM31.5 million for theirs," he wrote.

"The Philippines's patrol boats can only patrol the waters. Malaysia's patrol boats can...well...patrol the waters."

- Asia Sentinel

Summary of the Auditor General's Report 2010

According to Malaysiakini report, MACC has yet to resolve cases of wrongdoing in government procurement since 2006 where prices were grossly inflated,"

The Auditor-General’s Report 2006 highlighted the case of a technical pen valued at RM160 being bought by the Defence Ministry for RM1,146 and a car jack worth RM50 being bought by the Youth and Sports Ministry for RM1,664.

The following is a list of things highlighted from the 2010 Auditor General's (AG) report. Lets see if the BN govt and the MACC will do anything about this!

1. RM2.57 million was paid to 1,975 pensioners/pension recipients who are deceased!

2. RM462.46 million has been allocated to build and repair the roads from 2005 to 2010 but the roads continue to suffer from structural problems.

3. Kindergartens in Kedah and Kelantan stored dry food in toilets, drawers and store rooms. The report also noted that some of these items were found to have passed the expiry date, were exposed to insects and placed next to chemicals like paint.

4. Defence Ministry refused to take stern action against 10 errant contractors who were awarded contracts worth RM76 million for work delays despite being notified by the Auditor-General’s Office.

The 2010 AG’s Report noted that instead of severely censoring them, the ministry extended their contracts.

5. Prime Minister’s Department overpaid a tupperware supplier by RM5,584 for purchases made for a poverty eradication programme in Terengganu.

6. Six companies, awarded contracts worth RM92.04 million, had only managed to complete 19 out of the 87 clinics as of December 2010.

The ministry is unable to impose the RM3.29 million penalty for the delay because of its failure in issuing a formal notifications.

Due to the delay, the project cost had soared by RM11.27 million and medical facilities worth nearly RM2 million are not utilised till now

7. Soft loan of RM250 million and a 5 000 acre land in Gemas to set up the National Feedlot Centre NFC in 2008 failed to hit its target of breeding 8 000 cattle last year.

Under the 9th Malaysia Plan the centre is expected to produce 60 000 cattle by 2015.

An audit check found production in 2010 was only at 3 289. This project is strongly linked to minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s family

(see here for more details here)

8. The Defence Ministry Mindef overspent its budget by RM23 63 million between 2008 and 2010

The ministry made improper payments that led to the government dishing out an allowance to soldiers who skipped training while failing to pay those who actually attended.

9. RM142 million RazakSAT satellite that malfunctions barely a year after the launched. The satelite took 1328 unusable mapping images that were inaccurate by up to 37km!!

The operational lifespan of RazakSAT is three years But the RazakSAT satellite failed to function fully on August 30 2010 a year and sixteen days from launch date !

10. Mara training centre paid RM25 500 for 150kg of sugar

In addition to that they also made the following purchase!

-an Elba EO-5086 oven with the actual market price of RM419, purchased at RM1,200,

- a Trio TPM-1000 stand mixer was purchased at RM1,200 when its actual market price is RM698,

-a RM100 foldable bed was bought at RM500,

-a RM799 Cornell CSM-PH988S mixer which was purchased for RM1,560,

-Toji International gas stoves at market price of RM59.90 but bought at RM200 per unit,

>> Hair clippers purchased at RM325 each when its actual price is RM165, and

>> Pensonic blenders bought at RM140 each when its actual price is RM60.

Giatmara's main objective is to conduct technical and non-technical skills programmes to help the poor gain a steady income.

A more comprehensive list is here!

11. Tourism Ministry overpaid nearly RM270 million for advertisements

12. Tourisim Ministry also spend RM1 95 million to buy 1 000 racks — RM1 950 per rack — to hold its tourism pamphlets

13. Only two out of 300 computer laboratories for Sabah schools have been constructed since the government began its RM160 73 million project in April 2008

14. The Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry has yet to pay RM110 67 million it owed to more than 70 000 farmers under a scheme to encourage a higher rice production

15. Malaysian Marine Parks Department (JTLM) spent a whopping RM56,350 for a pair of night vision Marine binoculars, 29 times more than its market value of RM1,940.

16. Marine Parks Department also purchased common items like laptops printers DVD players and LCD televisions for RM192 694 when their total value should not have exceeded RM20 193

See more details of their corruption list in the link here!

17. Universiti Malaysia Pahang's seven-year delay in the completion of Phase 1A of its campus in Pekan resulted in an additional of RM22.31 million borne by the government

The report also criticised the poor workmanship of the contractors and questioned the university's decisions which resulted in the delay and extra costs.

18. 23 specially bred horses bought by the National Sports Council (NSC) for equestrian and endurance contests failed to meet criteria set by the Federation Equestre Internationale.

The 23 horses had cost RM5.66 million when bought in 2008 via direct negotiations that did not obtain the Finance Ministry’s approval,

19. National Sport Council has used a big portion of funds allocated for the development of athletes for other purposes.
Of the RM3.65 allocated, RM2.25 million or 61.6 percent was used for advertising in the electronic and print media to promote the main sports.

20. The Health Ministry was ticked off by the attorney-general in his 2010 report for neglecting to collect RM5 million in rental for a Sabah hospital building and neglecting to account for all its equipment.

The ministry was also criticised for neglecting to keep tabs on the RM48.6 million worth of equipment bought from SMC, with some 468 including beds and sofas missing during the audit.

In addition, RM3.8 million worth of equipment purchased from SMC were found to be out of order.

21. RM165.3 million system, which was completed in March 2008, is yet to be put to use, with passengers still not able to collect their bags at KL Sentral.

22. Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) spent a staggering RM770,000 to supply electricity to a single house under its Rural Electricity Supply Project (BELB),

TNB approved a RM65,193 project to supply electricity to five abandoned houses at a village in Bera, Pahang.

23. The 77km Senai-Desaru Highway in Johor found to be a bumpy and faulty because the roadworks that ‘did not meet specifications’.

24. Three districts in Terengganu were found not to have distributed school uniforms and bags to poor children because of a possible hiccup in 2010.

Further, some of the unused school uniforms and bags had been kept in storerooms and found to have been damaged by termites.

25. Sorry state are the sporting facilities at the Kuantan Gymnasium, Rompin Weightlifting Centre of Excellence and athletes' dormitories in Kuantan.

This is despite spending RM9.14 million for sports development from 2008 to 2010.
The report says seats in the gymnasium were covered with a thick blanket of dust, while the roofs leaked and grime filled the toilets.

26. Tourism Malaysia old scandal still unresolved.

27. Probably the worst and scariest of all is this!!

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) approved loans worth an astounding RM55.1 billion not backed by government guarantees.

However, the Auditor-General’s Report 2010 found only one of the 13 debtors was qualified to obtain a loan without such a guarantee. That particular debtor was extended credit worth RM21.3 billion.

Screwing up our tax money is one thing! But screwing up with our retirement fund is so much worst!!

The urgency to removed BN from power cannot be emphasize more in this area!!

Overall nine federal ministries and departments overspent last year’s overall operational allocation by a total of RM3 73 billion!!!

Lets see if the PAC or MACC will take any action!

Not surprisingly our very own DPM still see nothing too wrong with the AG report!

Let us remember this corruption acts when we go to the ballot boxes!!