Don't be alarmed. No shot was fire. No blood was spilled. No one died yet.
But the news and blog speculations on attempted political murder on Anwar Ibrahim is gaining momentum (and even MalaysiaDigest is hit with queries from Google on Anwar Ibrahim assassination). Anwar Ibrahim is still alive and kicking and definitely upset by the recent accusation that he sodomized an aide.
Staunched supporters of Anwar Ibrahim's Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), meanwhile are arguing that the sodomy claim are total lies, fabricated and a may be a cooked up plan by the Abdullah Badawi Administration to deflect the attention to the involvement of the Deputy Prime Minister's wife in a murder crime.
Saiful Bukhari Azlan, Anwar Ibrahim ex-aide who made the Police report that he was sodomized might also be an insider from Badawi Administration who are planted into PKR and to spy on PKR and perhaps, assigned with a mission to brought down Anwar Ibrahim politically. Anwar Ibrahim is getting ever powerful and a big threat to Badawi Administration and it is only natural for Badawi to setup Anwar for the second downfall.
So for now, is Saiful Bukhari a victim of Anwar crime or villain in attempted to politically murder Anwar Ibrahim ?
If Saiful is being used as a pawn to smear Anwar political image, someone is sure not doing his homework as Saiful personal background is not clean either. Even before he became an aide to Anwar (when he was still in the UNITEN university) there were plenty of grudges against Saiful. Most of his varsity mates know him for his political ambition and it is not a surprise that he resort to such thing as accusing the de facto leader of the opposition party (Anwar) of sodomizing him.
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Updates:
* Feb 04, 2010 - Saiful Bukhari Azlan vs Anwar Ibrahim sodomy trial - Day 2
* Feb 03, 2010 - Saiful Bukhari Azlan vs Anwar Ibrahim sodomy trial - Day 1
This post contained photos of Saiful Bukhari Azlan, the Anwar Ibrahim (the defacto leader of the opposition parties) sodomy accuser. For the next few months, Saiful Bukhari Azlan will be a famous name for being the accuser of Anwar Ibrahim second sodomy case.
Saiful could also be very very rich for claiming that Anwar Ibrahim sodomised him and someone may have paid him millions for bringing up the accusation. On the other hand, if luck and justice is with Anwar, Saiful will be dirt broke for paying Anwar damages as Anwar is suing him now.
On with the photos show:
Wife of Anwar Ibrahim showing a photo clip of Saiful Bukhari Azlan
Saiful Bukhari Azlan (left) with Khairil Annas Jusoh (right) work for Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak
Saiful Bukhari Azlan with fiancee, Janna Mohd Zaki ... engagement day
Saiful Bukhari Azlan with fiancee, Janna Mohd Zaki...Bernama TV English newscaster and his sister, Tatie 
Saiful Bukhari Azlan with an unidentified man #1
Saiful Bukhari Azlan with an unidentified man #2
MD Updates: Jul 01, 2008: Mohd Saiful (5th from left) with Azalina (in blue apparel), a federal minister.
Whose conspiracy was it ?
Related posts:
* Tahun Liwat-meliwat Malaysia made easy
* Janna Mohd Zaki suddenly have fans and sympathizers
* Saiful Bukhari got a blog
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The month of June 2008 have been filled with incidents that make most Malaysian jittery and nausea. It first started with the government jacking up the prices of petroleum and diesel. And the cost of every other thing goes up in tandem.
Next, SAPP from Sabah push for a motion of no confidence vote of PM Abdullah Badawi at the Parliament. An action unheard of among BN component party.
Then, Raja Petra of Malaysia-Today made a Statutory Declaration stating that the wife of the Deputy Prime Minister was at crime scene. A very damaging allegation to the DPM and it some way, the PM is pull into the scene. Anwar Ibrahim could not be more happier with those trouble hitting PM Abdullah Badawi, that is until now. Tide is also against Anwar himself.
And now, the Police are investigating a sodomy claim by an ex-aide to Anwar Ibrahim, the defacto leader of the opposition coalition. Anwar Ibrahim denies the claims and there were also report that Anwar Ibrahim life was threaten and he is now taking refuge at the Turkey Embassy as a precautionary measure.
Most Malaysian viewed the latest incident as a fabrication of political image assassination of Anwar Ibrahim and there were also speculation that the incident was cooked up to distract media and citizen attention to a more damaging claim by Raja Petra Kamaruddin that the wife of DPM was involved in a murder crime.
Updated:
* Aug 24, 2008: Anwar Says No To Wallahi, Wabillahi, Watallahi
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Source: english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2008/06/200862942632307631.html
Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia's opposition leader and former deputy prime minister, is facing new accusations of sexual misconduct.
The opposition Keadilan party said that he had been accused of sodomising a male aide.
Anwar told Al Jazeera on Sunday that the allegation was a political attack from the government after his opposition party and its allies made big gains in March elections.
"This is because there is growing support for the People's Alliance [group of opposition parties] among members of parliament ... the government is under threat and there is also a lot of disgruntlement among the Malaysian public against the abuse of power and economic woes," he said.
Ku Chin Wah, Kuala Lumpur's police chief for criminal investigations, said police were investigating the complaint.
No formal charges have been made.
Police declined to identify who made the complaint but the opposition Keadilan party said that Saiful Bahari, one of Anwar's aides, had been arrested on Saturday and "forced" to make a statement saying Anwar had sodomised him.
'Dirty tactics'
Anwar was ousted from government in a power struggle in 1998 amid charges of corruption and sodomy.
Anwar revealed "I fear for my safety ... my friends are very concerned for my safety. I was beaten to near death when I was in detention"
He was convicted on both charges the following year and served six years in jail before the sodomy conviction was overturned.
The fresh accusations, Anwar says, are "dirty tactics" to cover up evidence of government misconduct and evidence tampering.
"I have ... made it known that I have in my possession, documents implicating the inspector-general of police and the attorney-general in misconduct, including the fabrication of evidence in the cases launched against me in 1998 and 1999," he said.
"I fear for my safety ... my friends are very concerned for my safety. I was beaten to near death when I was in detention ... but they [the authorities] have given a flimsy statement that I will not be arrested for now."
Abdullah Badawi, Malaysia's prime minister, denies Anwar's charges.
"The government has no intention of wanting to make life difficult for him or to harass him," Abdullah said.
Police investigation
Ismail Omar, Kuala Lumpur's deputy police chief, confirmed a sodomy complaint had been lodged but said Anwar would not be arrested "at the moment".
"We will investigate this report first. We will look into it and carry out the necessary steps before issuing any warrant of arrest," AFP news agency quoted him as saying.
If eventually charged, Anwar could face 20 years in prison.
Param Cumarasamy, the former UN special rapporteur on the independence of lawyers and judges, says the government's handling of the incident will be carefully scrutinised, both by the Malaysian public and by the international community.
"It is just not Anwar that is going to be on trial here. Once again, the entire institute of justice is going to be on trial," he told Al Jazeera.
"The question which will be asked, is whether Anwar will receive a fair prosecution."
Anwar led an alliance of opposition parties to unprecedented gains in elections in March, wresting a third of parliamentary seats and five states from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.
Since then he has claimed he has the support of enough members of parliament to form a new government.
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Source: thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/6/29/nation/20080629114410&sec=nation
PUTRAJAYA: Parti Keadilan Raykat leaders decided Sunday morning that the party's de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim stay at the Turkish Embassy for his safety after he received death threats.
(Latest: Allies, opponents react to Anwar sodomy allegation).
His family visited him at the Embassy at Jalan U Thant Sunday evening, PKR vice-president Azmin Ali said.
At a press conference earlier Sunday, Anwar's wife and PKR president Satin Seri Wan Azizah Ismail said the death threats had come less than a day after an aide of Anwar's had lodged a police report alleging he was sodomised by the one-time deputy prime minister.
She said PKR had released pictures of the aide showing him with cabinet ministers and their high-ranking staff, which she claimed was evidence of political assassination.
Anwar was was sacked by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad over similar allegations in 1998.
Federal CID director Comm Datuk Mohd Bakri Zinin said the police would conduct a thorough and fair investigation into the sodomy allegations.
They will also investigate the allegations before taking a statement from Anwar, he said.
Earlier Sunday, Current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi reiterated that the Barisan Nasional Government was not behind the latest allegation of sodomy against Anwar.
Stating that he was shocked on hearing the police report lodged by an aide of Anwar on Saturday night, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he would leave the police to conduct investigations on the allegations and to take the necessary action.
He said he or the Government did not instruct the police to take any action.
On Anwar's statement that the allegations were a complete fabrication to kill his political career, as in 1998 when he was sacked as Deputy Prime Minister, Abdullah said the Government had nothing to do with the police report.
"We are not (involved). Umno and Barisan Nasional did not plan to trouble, disturb or accuse him.
"I believe even my friends like (Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri) Najib (Tun Razak) did not have any intention to do such a thing to him," he told reporters here on Sunday after launching the Bumi Hijau programme.
Abdullah said the alleged victim has the right to lodge a police report if it had really happened.
When asked if Anwar would be arrested following the latest allegation, Abdullah said he did not want to speculate on the matter and would leave the matter to the police.
Meanwhile the aide, who had started working at PKR about three months ago to help in the 12th general election, had lodged a police report alleging sodomy by the PKR leader at about 5.45pm on Saturday.
The man, in his 20s, is being treated at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur.
Anwar called for an urgent press conference at 1.20am Sunday morning to deny the allegations.
In a statement read out by PKR vice-president Sivarasa Rasiah at a hotel in Shah Alam, he described the allegations as “total fabrication”.
The statement, which was also faxed to media offices, said: “The police report lodged against me today is a complete fabrication. I believe we are witnessing a repeat of the methods used against me in 1998 when false allegations were made under duress.”
Sources said police were waiting for the medical report from the hospital before proceeding with investigations.
They also said Anwar was expected to be called up by the police to have his statement recorded.
DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang posted in his blog early Sunday morning that he had spoken to Anwar over the phone and "he is expecting the worst."
"SMS and phone calls have been flying around of imminent police action against Anwar Ibrahim.
"I have spoken to Anwar over the phone and he is expecting the worst," Lim said.
Sodomy allegation
Anwar and his adopted brother Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja were found guilty by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Aug 8, 2000 on the charge of sodomising Anwar's former family driver, Azizan Abu Bakar, at Sukma's apartment in Tivoli Villa, Bangsar, between January and March 1993.
Anwar was sentenced to nine years' jail while Sukma received six years and ordered to be given four strokes of the rotan. Sukma was also convicted by the High Court on a charge of abetting Anwar in the commission of the offence.
In 2003, the Court of Appeal dismissed their appeals.
Anwar was first convicted for corruption on April 14, 1999 and was jailed for six years.
He should have been released on April 14, 2003 after a one-third remission but had to start serving his sentence for the sodomy offence, which the court ordered to be served consecutively.
Anwar was freed in 2004 after the Federal Court acquitted him of the charge of sodomising his former family driver.
The three-person Federal Court bench reached a 2-1 majority decision when they allowed the former deputy prime minister's appeal and overturned the conviction and nine-year jail term six years after his sacking as deputy prime minister.
The panel headed by Federal Court judge Justice Abdul Hamid Mohamad also allowed Sukma’s appeal.
Court of Appeal judge Tengku Baharuddin Shah Tengku Mahmud concurred with Justice Abdul Hamid while Federal Court judge Justice Rahmah Hussain dissented.
Justice Abdul Hamid Mohamad held that from the record of appeal, he found evidence that the appellants were involved in homosexual activities and was inclined to believe that the alleged incident at Tivoli Villa did occur.
However, he said the Federal Court could only convict Anwar and Sukma if the prosecution had successfully proved beyond reasonable doubt the alleged offences stated in the charges based on admissible evidence and in accordance with established principles of law.
"We may be convinced in our minds of the guilt or innocence of the appellants but our decision must only be based on the evidence adduced and nothing else," he said.
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1. Chef Wan : The chicken saw me coming… that’s why she crossed!
2. Pak Lah : Err… did the chicken really cross? I didn’t know about that. Let me check with my Agriculture Minister.
3. TDM : Dia tak seharusnya melintas, bahaya tu… ayam ni mudah lupa.
4. Anwar Ibrahim : Of course the chicken will cros over. I has said so! And there’s no money involved.
5. Chief of Police : It’s alright for the chicken to cross. As long as they don’t assemble more than 5, they are not breaking any laws.
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I came across a student blog where he post his updates in participating in an English debate competition. His team represents the state in a national level competition BUT only allowed if his team has a BUMIPUTRA representative.
Okay, I myself is a bumiputra but when it come to competition, you want the best members, the best candidates and not just a member of certain race to fill up the racial quota rule. That rule on the racial quote on a team is not only STUPID but darn stupid.
The objective of a competition is to field your best and try to win. How can you win with a handicapped team (because the rule say you have to include BUMIPUTRA member and what if you can't find the best bumiputra member, or that fella is not good enough) ? That would break your competing spirit. And no wonder, Malaysia alway f#$k up in international competitions !!
How can Hishammuddin Hussein, Malaysia Minister of Education allowed this kind of racist rule to be practiced in school. His education policy should encourage competitiveness among students regardless of race and religion. Allowing racist rule in school only teach the young generation to be racist among each other when they became adult in later life.
Read the student frustration on the racial rule in his blog below:
* Dead Ends & Frustrations Pre-Debate Competition
* The Bumiputra Rule in Malaysia's English Debate Competition
Updated:
* Aug 20, 2008: Racist teacher still teaching
--
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Pak Lah was so disappointed with his cabinet for being inefficient and corrupt that he decided to call on Lee Hsien Loong and ask him how he managed to have such an efficient and incorruptible cabinet.
On hearing Pak Lah's woes, PM Lee said, "Simple, Pak Lah, I choose able men for my cabinet." Pak Lah asked, "Yes, but how do you know that they are able?"
PM Lee replied, "Just ask them simple questions to test their intelligence, don't need to be too difficult. Let me illustrate to you." Just then, Tony Tan was walking by, PM Lee called out to him, "Hey Tony, come over here." Tony obediently walked briskly over. PM Lee asked, "Tell me, Tony, who is your fathers son ?" Tony Tan immediately replied, "Me! Of course."
PM Lee turned to Pak Lah and said, "See, all my ministers can answer this question. Why don't you go back and try." Pak Lah thank PM Lee and left. Once he was back, he immediately summoned Najib, his deputy, and shot the question at him, "Tell me, Najib, who is your father's son?"
Najib was shocked beyond words and did not know the answer. After a while, he recovered and said, "Boss, let me find out and I'll tell you tomorrow." Pak Lah, a bit disappointed, agreed, hoping that Najib will give a good answer tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Najib was panicking that his boss was testing him. He tried desperately to find out the answer from his staff, but none of them knew the answer. The next morning, he decided to call George Bush for help. Surely the most powerful person in the world must know the answer.
When Bush picked up the phone, Najib said, "Hello, Bush, can I ask you a question?" Bush, very busy, replied, "Alright, but it better be good !" Najib quickly asked, "Tell me, Bush, who is your father's son?" Bush was fuming, "Of course it's me, you stupid !" and he slammed the phone down.
Satisfied that he's got the answer, he confidently walked into Pak Lah's office and said, "Boss, I've got the answer to your question." Pak Lah, happy that his deputy wasn't that dumb, said, "So tell me quick, who is your fathers son, Najib ?"
Najib confidently replied, "It's George Bush !"
Pak Lah slapped his own forehead in disgust and said, "No you stupid, it's TONY TAN !"
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Related posts:
* Pak Lah and a little girl
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Yesterday afternoon, I received an SMS from a friend from Sabah, saying that Kota Kinabalu traffic came to a halt because everyone are queuing up at petrol stations to top up their tank due to some news saying that the petrol stations will close their business for three days starting today. That traffic jam in turn make more suffering to other people and business.
Then the news spread to Sarawak. The news or rumours triggered panic buying of petrol in East Malaysia.
Malaysian are a bunched of immature KIASU and KIASI. KIASU in Chinese Hokkien is scare to lose (in Malay it is Takut Rugi) and KIASI in Chinese Hokkien is scare to die (in Malay it is Takut Mati).
The rumour is totally fake. There is no way the petrol station going to close their business en-block. Petrol station have the obligation to sell petrol so long as their station have stock. If they closed their station, I can tell you that two things will happen to the oil retailers (or petrol station operators):
1. There will be a lot of Police reports and those operators will be sued by angry public
2. Or enraged public will burn down the petrol station.
No matter how dissatisfied the petrol station operators are with the oil companies (oil company raising their rental) and the banks (bank have increase their credit card commission), they have no right to close their station. Imagine the essential transportation vehicle like ambulances, taxis and buses stranded in the middle of the road without fuel. Imagine parent having their children stranded at school because their car run out of fuel. If those thing happen, the petrol station operator WILL GET REPERCUSSION from the public. I'm certain of it. Maybe myself will take matter in my own hands.
So to those Malaysian who are KIASU and KIASI, please make better judgment on those rumour. If the people continue to be KIASU and KIASI, it will make it even easier for the government to manipulate them with fake news.
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Source: thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/6/25/nation/21648054&sec=nation
Rumour leads to jams at Sabah kiosks
KOTA KINABALU: Petrol stations throughout Sabah saw long queues of panicked vehicle owners after word spread that the stations were closing for three days.
The panic-buying started at about 3pm, and queues at petrol stations caused massive traffic jams.
At 5pm, the police were forced to go around in patrol cars and advise people by using loudhailers not to resort to panic-buying as there was no truth to the rumour.
In some interior areas like Keningau, the queues stretched for more than 2km. Some stations even ran out of petrol.
Sabah Shell Corporate Affairs and Government Relations for Sabah / Labuan head Datin Lucy Yong assured customers that there was no truth to the rumour.
“Shell retail stations nationwide will remain open during normal operating hours and will continue to accept credit cards and subsidised cards,” she said in a statement.
A Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry spokesman warned kiosk operators against going on strike to demand higher commissions.
Sabah Petroleum Dealers Association president Charles Soong said dealers in the state were only suspending credit card sales following an association directive.
In Miri, hundreds of heavy vehicles were seen queuing up at petrol stations.
It is learnt that in Lawas, the northernmost exit point from Sarawak into Sabah, there was also panic-buying of petrol.
I received an email from a friend regarding unofficial response from PETRONAS officials on the current alternative media and public hostility (via chain mail and blogs) toward PETRONAS.
Please read the email extract below:
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Dear all,
After reading all the chain mails and blogs, I feel called to reply, because of the relentless attacks and allegations -- most of which are inaccurate or baseless -- against PETRONAS.
PETRONAS' STAFF SALARY & BONUS
1) The salaries paid to PETRONAS' employees are not as high as people think. At best, they are just industry average. And these are not attractive enough for some who left PETRONAS to find work at other companies (mainly from the Middle East ) which are willing to pay more. Why do they pay more? The oil and gas industry worldwide has been facing acute shortage of qualified or experienced personnel, so most companies are willing to pay lots of money to entice and pinch staff from their competitors.
Bonus? There has NEVER been a bonus amounting to 6 months or 12 months throughout the 33 years. On average, it is 2 months. But don't ever think we don't deserve it. We more than deserve it. A lot of us work really hard, some in the most extreme of conditions. Those who have been to and worked in northern Sudan , for example, would testify that it's like working in a huge blower oven. Southern Sudan , on the other hand, is almost all swamps and mud. Imagine having to go through that kind of heat, or waddling in muddy swamps, day in and day out.
QUALITY OF CRUDE & REFINED PRODUCTS
2) Malaysia produces about 600,000 barrels of crude oil per day (and about 100,000 barrels condensate). Of this crude volume, 339,000 barrels are refined locally for local consumption. The rest is exported (and yes, because it has lower sulphur content it fetches higher prices).
Malaysia also imports about 230,000 barrels of crude oil per day, mainly from the Middle East , to be refined here. This crude oil contains higher sulphur and is less expensive (so the country gains more by exporting our crudes). In Malaysia , this crude is processed by PETRONAS at its second refinery in Melaka, and also by Shell at its Port Dickson refinery.
Different refineries are built and configurated to refine different types of crude. And each crude type yields different percentage of products (diesel, gasoline, kerosene, cooking gas etc) per barrel.
But most importantly, products that come out at the end of the refining process have the same good quality regardless of the crude types. That's why PETRONAS, Shell and Exxon Mobil share the same pipeline to transport the finished products from their refineries to a distribution centre in the Klang Valley . The three companies collect the products at this centre accordingly to be distributed to their respective distribution networks. What makes PETRONAS' petrol different from Shell's, for example, is the additive that each company adds.
PETRONAS' ROLE, FUNCTION & CONTRIBUTION
3) A lot of people also do not understand the role and function of PETRONAS, which is essentially a company, a business entity, which operates on a commercial manner, to mainly generate income and value for its shareholder. In this case, PETRONAS' shareholder is the Government.
In 1974, when PETRONAS was set up, the Government gave PETRONAS RM10 million (peanuts, right?) as seed capital. From 1974 to 2007, PETRONAS made RM570 billion in accumulated profits, and returned to the Government a total of RM335.7 billion. That is about 65% of the profits. That means for every RM1 that PETRONAS makes, 65 sen goes back to the Government.
Last year, PETRONAS made a pre-tax profit of RM86.8 billion. The amount given back to the Government (in royalty, dividends, corporate income tax, petroleum products income tax and export duty) was RM52.3 billion. The rest of the profit was used to pay off minority interests and taxes in foreign countries (about RM7.8 billion - PETRONAS now operates in more than 30 countries), and the remaining RM26.7 billion was reinvested. The amount reinvested seems a lot, but the oil and gas industry is technology- and capital-intensive. Costs have gone up exponentially in the last couple of years. Previously, to drill a well, it cost about US$3 million; now it costs US$7 million. The use of rigs was US$200,000 a day a couple of years ago; now it costs US$600,000 a day.
A lot of people also do not realise that the amount returned by PETRONAS to the Government makes up 35% of the Government's total annual income, to be used by the Government for expenditures, development, operations, and yes, for the various subsidies. That means for every RM1 the Government makes, 35 sen is contributed by PETRONAS.
So, instead of asking what happens to PETRONAS' money or profits, people should be questioning how the money paid by PETRONAS to the Government is allocated.
CRUDE EXPORTS & FUEL PRICES
4) A lot of people also ask, why Malaysia exports its crude oil. Shouldn't we just stop exporting and sell at cheaper prices to local refiners? If Malaysia is an oil exporting country, why can't we sell petrol or diesel at cheaper prices like other oil producing countries in the Middle East ?
I guess I don't have to answer the first couple of questions. It's simple economics, and crude oil is a global commodity.
Why can't we sell petrol and diesel at lower prices like in the Middle East ? Well, comparing Saudi Arabia and other big producers to Malaysia is like comparing kurma to durian, because these Middle Eastern countries have much, much, much bigger oil and gas reserves.
Malaysia has only 5.4 billion barrels of oil reserves, and about 89 trillion cubic feet of gas. Compare that to Saudi Arabia 's 260 billion barrels of oil and 240 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Malaysia only produces 600,000 barrels per day of oil. Saudi Arabia produces 9 million barrels per day. At this rate, Saudi Arabia 's crude oil sales revenue could amount to US$1.2 billion per day! At this rate, it can practically afford almost everything -- free education, healthcare, etc, and subsidies -- for its people.
But if we look at these countries closely, they have in the past few years started to come up with policies and strategies designed to prolong their reserves and diversify their income bases. In this sense, Malaysia (and PETRONAS) has had a good head start, as we have been doing this a long time.
Fuel prices in Malaysia is controlled by the Government based on a formula under the Automatic Pricing Mechanism introduced more than a couple of decades ago. It is under this mechanism that the complex calculation of prices is made, based on the actual cost of petrol or diesel, the operating costs, margin for dealers, margin for retail oil companies (including PETRONAS Dagangan Bhd) and the balancing number of duty or subsidy. No retail oil companies or dealers actually make money from the hike of the fuel prices. Oil companies pay for the products at market prices, but have to sell low, so the Government reimburses the difference -- thus subsidy.
Subsidy as a concept is OK as long as it benefits the really deserving segment of the population. But there has to be a limit to how much and how long the Government should bear and sustain subsidy. An environment where prices are kept artificially low indefinitely will not do anyone any good. That's why countries like Indonesia are more pro-active in removing subsidies. Even Vietnam (which is a socialist country, by the way) is selling fuel at market prices.
PETRONAS & TRANSPARENCY
5) I feel I also need to say something on the allegation that PETRONAS is not transparent in terms of its accounts, business transactions etc.
PETRONAS is first and foremost a company, operating under the rules and regulations of the authorities including the Registrar of Companies, and the Securities Commission and Bursa Malaysia for its listed four subsidiaries (PETRONAS Dagangan Bhd, PETRONAS Gas Bhd, MISC Bhd and KLCC Property Holdings Bhd.
PETRONAS the holding company produces annual reports which are made to whomever wants them, and are distributed to many parties and places; including to the library at the Parliament House for perusal and reading pleasure of all Yang Berhormat MPs (if they care to read). PETRONAS also makes the annual report available on its website, for those who bother to look. The accounts are duly audited.
The website also contains a lot of useful information, if people really care to find out. Although PETRONAS is not listed on Bursa Malaysia , for all intents and purposes, it could be considered a listed entity as its bonds and financial papers are traded overseas. This requires scrutiny from investors, and from rating agencies such as Standard & Poor and Moody's.
BOYCOTT PETRONAS?
6) The last time I checked, this is still a democratic country, where people are free to spend their money wherever they like.
For those who like to see more of the money that they spend go back to the local economy and benefiting their fellow Malaysians, perhaps they should consider sticking to local products or companies.
For those who like to see that the money they spend go back to foreign shareholders of the foreign companies overseas, they should continue buying foreign products.
FINAL WORD (FOR TODAY)
I'm sorry this is rather long, but I just have to convey it. I hope this would help some of you out there understand something. The oil and gas industry, apart from being very capital intensive, is also very complex and volatile. I'm learning new things almost every single day.
Appreciate if you could help to forward this response to as many contacts as possible to counter the subversive proposal out there.
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When Dr Mahathir Mohamad labeled his ex-Cabinet buddy Samy Velu as racist, Palanivel the deputy president of MIC is worry that the Indian community will shy away from Barisan Nasional.
The issue is between ex-buddy Dr Mahathir and Samy. Not between Dr Mahathir and the Indian community. Furthermore, both characters are no longer in power and are no longer key players in Barisan Nasional movement.
Anyway, Palanivel and Samy should have look into the plight of the Indian community before the General Election or when they were still in power.
Palanivel should be busy enhancing the relationship between the current leaders of Barisan Nasional and the Indian community instead of being petty about Dr Mahathir Mohamad's personal view.
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Source: thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/6/20/nation/20080620154930&sec=nation
Dr M's words will drive Indians away from BN, says Palanivel
KUALA LUMPUR: MIC deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel has urged former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad not to make statements that will further fan racial sentiments and hatred among the people.
He said Dr Mahathir should be honest in his opinions and statements, as people had become more politically aware.
“His most recent statement on Hindraf as Tamil racists will only further drive away Indian votes from the Barisan Nasional to Pakatan Rakyat.
“It is sad to note that the former PM is not aware of the fact that Hindraf includes many non-Tamil and even non-Hindu Indians. He is wrong to say that Hindraf leaders only represent Tamil racists,” he said.
Palanivel said besides remembering his own roots, the former PM should realise that PAS, PKR and DAP were all with Hindraf during the recent general election.
The former deputy Women Family and Community Development minister was commenting on Dr Mahathir’s remarks that MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu was “racist”.
Palanivel said it appeared that the former PM had lost sight of the big picture in his continuous war against Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
“What civil society wants today is more freedom to be heard. The people of all races believe that the ISA is proscriptive and hinders the process of democracy. To pick on any one race and say that it is racist, is simply causing mischief,” he said.
Palanivel said past leaders and those who had lost their positions were busy apportioning blame on why Barisan lost and in doing so were only confusing supporters and non-supporters.
“Using rhetoric to subtly cover their self-interest is not going to work because people have become more politically aware,” he added
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad (TDM), the ex-Prime Minister is calling his ally and ex-cabinet minister Datuk Sri Samy Vellu as racist.
TDM stated that the people behind Hindraf are racist and since Samy Vellu is supporting their cause, Samy Vellu is a racist too. Samy Vellu is currently lobbying for the release of the Hindraf leaders currently under detention. When Samy was still in power, he keep silent when Hindraf members demonstrate in the street. Buat tak tau. Hindraf then outcast him. Now he backing Hindraf to get sympathy.
As mentioned in previous post, it is too late for Samy to show his support for the Hindraf leaders just to regain support from the Indian community that he sidelined before the General Election 2008. Supporting the cause of Hindraf now is obviously a ploy for Samy to get free and cheap publicity.
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I stumbled upon Raja Petra Kamarudin archived post on the above mentioned subject. Indirectly, RPK is mentioning that the Malay (especially those UMNO members) are jittery when it come to religion or when non-Malay criticized Islamic teaching.
It seems that only the Malay can criticized non-Malay of being racist or for disagreeing with certain policies that involved Islamic rules. Non-Malay are expected to keep their mouth shut on Malay rights or issues and Islamic issues.
By the end of his post, RPK is concluding that the Malay are more concerned of Islam understanding than bothering about social ills (that coincidentally affecting the Malays themselves).
If this continue, the Malays will sucks like the Arab sucks.
DID YOU KNOW:
* There are at least 150 million Muslim in China today.
* Islam was established in China in 651, 20 years after the death of prophet Muhammad (when Malaya and Malay Archipelagos are still jungles and the inhibitors are monkey, elephants and tigers).
Freedom of religion
Church and mosque co-exist, in Egypt.
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Source: malaysia-today.net/blog2006/holds.php?itemid=7989
Get me to the church on time
By Raja Petra Kamarudin
I’m getting married in the mornin’!
Ding dong! The bells are gonna chime.
Pull out the stopper!
Let’s have a whopper!
But get me to the church on time!
Get Me To the Church On Time: music by Frederick Loewe; lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner.
My mother’s name is Barbara Mabel Parnell. A couple of years after World War II she became a Muslim and adopted the ‘Muslim’ name Bariah Kamarudin. Kamarudin is of course my father’s name while the ‘maiden’ name Bariah was suggested by Tengku Ampuan Bariah Terengganu who was in England then with the late Sultan of Terengganu (then the Raja Muda of Terengganu) and father to Malaysia’s current Agong. You could say Tengku Ampuan Bariah Terengganu, who is my father’s cousin, ‘named’ my mother (and they have the cheek to say I would have the gall to insult the Agong who is sort of my second-cousin by marriage).
About 25 years or so later, my wife too became a Muslim. She was informed by the then Grand Imam of the National Mosque (Masjid Negara) that she can retain her original name, Mable James Anthony Lee. The wife of Raja Adnan Raja Abdullah, the one-time Deputy Director of the Special Branch and my brother’s father-in-law, suggested my wife take a ‘Muslim’ name and she proposed the name Marina. So my wife became Marina Lee @ Mable James Anthony Lee.
My sister, Norita, married an Englishman but he retained his English name when he converted to Islam in front of Pak Abas, my Tok Guru from Terengganu who is also one of the PAS grassroots leaders and the ‘strongman’ of Kampong Kolam in Kuala Ibai, a PAS stronghold on the outskirts of Kuala Terengganu which Umno has never been able to conquer.
When my mother first stepped foot in Malaysia a year before Merdeka, my father’s relatives were delighted that my father had married a ‘Mem’, a novelty in those days, and that she had ‘masuk Melayu’. My mother would indignantly correct them by saying that she ‘masuk Islam’, not ‘masuk Melayu’. She had become a Muslim, not a Malay, and she was proud of her Welsh heritage.
Malays have this misconception that if you become a Muslim then you have become a Malay. And they would refer to converts as mualaf, in particular Chinese converts. It is peculiar they do not regard Indian converts as mualaf but Indian Muslims. Why are Chinese mualaf while Indians are Indian Muslims and Caucasians ‘masuk Melayu’? Did I not say that the Malay mind is a very weird thing?
I made about nine or ten trips to China from the early- to mid-1990s and have toured the remotest parts of China where Malaysians have never been before. Some parts of China that I visited the people there have never seen a Malaysian in their entire life or know where Malaysia is (and they were surprised that Malaysians look like Mat Salleh). And there are many Muslim restaurants even in these remotest parts of China so food, therefore, was no problem.
There are probably around 110 million or so Muslims in China spread out all over the country with the majority in the four autonomous regions. Beijing has a whole street of Muslim restaurants and the variety is so exciting because it is almost like a gourmet’s United Nations. In the rural areas the choices are not that varied and it is very difficult to detect which are halal restaurants and which are not. But if you ask the locals they will be very happy to point to the right restaurant and only on entering the restaurant will you know that they are Muslim-owned from the verses of the Quran adorning the wall.
The oldest mosque in China is in Canton which was built 100 years after the birth of Islam. On the outside the mosque looks like a Chinese temple complete with moon-gate entrance and all; but once inside there is no mistaking that it is a mosque.
What awed me was that the Muslims I met speak Arabic and when I told them that I do not speak Arabic they were very surprised. They asked me whether I can read the Quran and when I replied that I most certainly can they were perplexed. They wanted to know how I can read the Quran when I do not speak Arabic. And when I replied that I am just like 99% other Malaysian Muslims who read the Quran without being able to speak Arabic, they shook their heads in disbelief at this demonstration of Malaysia Boleh.
Yes, Chinese Muslims are mualaf as far as Malays are concerned. But the Chinese were already Muslims 700 years or so before the Malays when the Malays were still Hindus, Buddhists or worshipped trees in the jungles. And the Chinese Muslims speak Arabic while most Malays, save a handful, do not. And Malays look down on Chinese Muslims as second-class Muslims. Much the Malays do not know outside their very small world.
In an article called ‘Si Binatang Raja Petra Jantan Jalang Biadab’ that was published in an Umno website, they asked this question:
Masihkah Raja Petra ke Gereja lagi menemani isteri? Nak tanya Raja Petra, apa agama isterinya sebenar? Nak tanya saja.
This is another peculiar trait of the Malays. They are very concerned about what religion you profess. They demand to know if you are a Muslim or Kafir (infidel). They treat this as their right to demand you inform them of your religion. Muslims are good people because Islam is the true religion and is above all other religions which are considered false. So they must know if you are a Muslim or Kafir so that they can gauge whether you are a good or bad person. “Islam adalah agama suci yang kita pegang,” said this same article in that Umno website.
This high and mighty attitude make Malays very arrogant and they carry this holier than thou chip on their shoulder. Non-Muslims should not take offense though because they are not the only target of these people. Muslims like me who they view as not ‘true’ Muslims also suffer persecution.
Malays want to dictate what kind of Muslim you should be and if they discover through an anonymous SMS that you are in the process of leaving Islam they will rise in anger and demonstrate their displeasure, even if it is not true. Heaven forbid you leak that you are really leaving Islam. You will face the full wrath of the Malays. And if for one second they suspect that you are not their type of Muslim but of a different ‘sect’ they will come down hard on you. You must not only be a Muslim but you must be their type of Muslim as well. That is the Malay mind.
It is quite pathetic really and I sometimes do pity Malays who spend their whole life preoccupied with finding out what type of Muslim you are and whether you have secretly left Islam rather than worry whether they could instead be deviant Muslims. They of course assume and insist that they are following the correct Islam and if they differ from you then you, and not them, are the deviants. They will not accept the possibility that you are right and they are wrong. They are most definitely right and you are most certainly wrong.
Let us look at a hypothetical situation. Say you walk into a mosque on a Friday and shout, “The Bible is the true Holy Book and the Quran is false” or “Jesus is the Son of God and Muhammad is a fake”. This will be just like walking into a Manchester pub wearing a Liverpool jersey. Rest assured you will not walk out of that mosque in one piece. Okay, now say you protest when Malays declare the Bible false and that Jesus is not the Son of God. The Malays will argue that they are allowed to say this because Malaysia is a Muslim country.
See this e-mail which was published in The People’s Parliament to demonstrate what I mean:
Most of my friends are Malays and through them I learnt the language. I feel that I’ve a certain bond with them, until the topics of Malay privileges and Islam are discussed. I usually just listen and do not put my two cents because I’m usually the only non-Malay. From their discussion, I’ve come to understand how they view the non-Malays. Generally, we should never question their privileges as we should be grateful that we still get to retain our Chinese names, surnames, Chinese schools etc. We should never complain. And they have no qualms criticizing Christianity to my face, e.g., the Bible is corrupted through many translations, comparing against the Koran being “suci” as directly from God.
I’ve always wondered what made them feel so special that they can criticize but we do not dare in their face. Now I understand that no matter how they wronged other races, they are somehow protected – e.g., the May 13 incident. I think the govt owes the families of the victims an apology. Because of that tragedy, the Chinese generally think that Malays have the tendency to be violent; and the Malays think that they have the upper hand as they can threaten the Chinese into silence. I’d be grateful if you would share your thoughts and view on what I’ve said.
Okay, another hypothetical situation. Say you repeat this same thing in England, which is not a Muslim country but a Christian country. Will it then be considered allowed? No, of course not! The Muslims will still protest and hold demonstrations. The bottom line is, Muslims are allowed to whack others but others are not supposed to whack Muslims. And this is the Malay mind as well. So Malays, like these Umno types, resent anyone whacking them, their party, Ketuanan Melayu, the New Economic Policy, and anything at all considered ‘sacred cows’. But they can scream, even in ‘sacred’ places like Parliament, that Islam is the religion of this country, the Malays own Malaysia, and if the non-Malays or non-Muslims do not like this they can leave the country and migrate to another country.
Malays can give Qurans to non-Muslims but non-Muslims who give Bibles to Muslims must be sent to prison. Non-Muslims can convert to Islam in droves but even if just one Muslim leaves Islam there will be blood on the streets. Malays can label DAP as racist but if the Chinese label Umno as racist they will make a police report and charge you under the Sedition Act and try to take away your citizenship as well. Malays can question as to whether you have left Islam and have become a Christian and now go to church but you must never question the Malays as to whether racial discrimination goes against Islamic teachings and whether both the Quran as well as the Prophet’s last sermon lie testimony to this.
Malays are very concerned about whether you pray, how you pray, whether you believe in God, whether you really think that Prophet Muhammad is the true Prophet, and so on. Once you pass all these ‘tests’ of the articles of faith with flying colours this will make them very happy. Their happiness rests with you being a Muslim and the type of Muslim that they approve of on top of that. Okay, so you drink, gamble, have sex with another man’s wife, visit the brothel once a week, and, to top it all, take bribes from Chinese contractors, pig farmers, brothels, illegal gambling outlets, drug haunts, etc. That is okay. The Malays will not demonstrate on the streets because of all this. But if you go to church, notwithstanding that you lead the life of Mother Theresa, then God have mercy on your soul. What bad you do is not important. Whether you share their same belief is.
And this is why that particular Umno website is very concerned whether I still follow my wife to church. That is the most important thing in the world to them and the entire future of this country and the fate of future generations depend on them knowing this most crucial piece of information. Oh, by the way, more than 90% of those in our police lockups are Malays. And 90% of those Malays in the lockups are there because of drug related offences. And 70% of those who are inflicted with AIDS are Malays. And 90% got AIDS because of their drug habit. And this has been going on since the 1970s. And states or areas that have the highest incidences are the predominantly Malay states or areas. But none of these people go to church. They don’t even go to the mosque, temple or synagogue. So of course the Umno website does not worry about them. It is when they go to church that the Umno website will start getting very concerned. That and only that is what matters.
Who exactly are responsible for Sarawak waters ? Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) required additional men to expand their workforce to monitor Sarawak waters. MMEA have a good intention but considered this ...
What is the main purpose of Sarawak River Board ?
What is the main purpose of the Marine Police ?
What is the main purpose of Jabatan Laut Sarawak ?
Do Malaysia have the Navy or not ?
All the above agencies or departments have their enforcement squads but their duty is what ? Lepak at base ?
This is another case of mis-management of resources whereby manpower are not deployed efficiently.
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Source: theborneopost.com/?p=37016 State needs 430 more maritime enforcers Agency director-general urges locals to apply for the job KUCHING: The state needs at least 430 additional uniformed staff to serve with the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), to be able to effectively monitor Sarawak waters. According to MMEA director-general Admiral Datuk Mohd Amdan Kurish, at the moment the agency in state is facing shortage of enforcement staff. “We need to beef up our manpower to be able look after our territorial waters satisfactorily, and towards this end we are now recruiting more staff,” he told a press conference yesterday. The conference was held in conjunction with his visit to the agency’s state office at Jalan Setia Raja here. Urging locals to apply for the job, he said the agency will recruit about 1,600 new staff who will be deployed nationwide. Those interested can surf the agency’s website at www.mmea.gov.my. According to Amdan, two intakes are carried out every year with 230 recruits per intake. Those accepted will have to undergo nine months training - six months in Johor and another three months in Kuantan. He said between 40 and 50 staff were being deployed to the state per intake. According to him, the limited number of recruits per intake was due to constraint in the present training facilities. Amdan also told reporters that the agency here would like to intensify and effectively enforce maritime laws in the state’s waters. This, he said was to prevent smuggling activities and encroachment by foreign fishing vessels, and the flouting of laws by local fishermen. He noted that the common mistakes committed by local fishermen were not sticking to the fishing regulations and conditions of their licence. He disclosed that there were 17 cases of encroachment last year while for the early part of this year, 12 cases were recorded. Amdan also commended the effort of the agency here, saying that one of its major successes was to foil an attempt by a Singapore-registered ship to smuggle 100,000 litres of diesel from Muara Tebas last April. The case, he said had been referred to the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs. He told reporters that MMEA was also entrusted with carrying out search-and-rescue operations.
Millions of Ringgit have been spent on development of Tanjong Manis port, Sibu as a hub for deepsea fishing (fish landing facilities) and yet, certain facilities are either not there or uncompleted.
Tanjong Manis port was developed years ago but remained under utilized due to lack of facilities and infrastructure (like roads) linking Tanjong Manis and Sibu. Millions has been thrown into the project since it's inception and the result is a blue elephant. If not manage properly, the project will turn into a white elephant soon.
The only parties benefits from the projects are the constructions companies who built the half-cooked facilities. The fishing companies are not using it to the fullest and I guess those jetty are only good for leisure fishing instead of servicing its intended purpose.
Another poor management of development project by the state government.
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Source: theborneopost.com/?p=37062 Bid to regulate fish landing facilities at port KUCHING: A special team will be set up in two months’ time to draw up a concrete plan of action to regulate better use of fish landing facilities at Tanjong Manis port, said Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed. “I have been briefed by the Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM) manager that the cold storage and water treatment facilities have yet to be completed,” he told reporters after a meeting at the Ministry of Modernisation of Agriculture at Bangunan Masja in Petra Jaya here yesterday. “We have invested RM360 million to build the facilities including a cold storage which is now 60 per cent completed and the water treatment which will be completed in four months’ time.” Mustapa said with the completion of the facilities, fish landing is expected to increase significantly. “In the first five and a half months this year, the total amount of fish landed was 340,000 metric tonnes valued at RM1.9 million which is a very small amount,” he said. Assistant Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture (Farmers Organisation and Cooperatives) Datuk Peter Nyarok Entrie, permanent secretary to Ministry of Modernisation of Agriculture Datu Jaul Samion and Beras Corporation Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Mohd Kamaluddin Mohd Effendie were also present at the meeting.
Here's an update on the merging process between SPDP and PRS, two party components of Barisan Nasional Sarawak . The two parties have shortlisted three names to be considered for the new party. The proposed new names are listed below:
1). Bersatu Rakyat Sarawak (Beras),
2). Demokratik Rakyat Sarawak (Deras) or
3). Bersatu Progresif Rakyat Sarawak (BPRS)
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Source: theborneopost.com/?p=37118 Three names shortlisted for merger By Raynore Mering Seven names suggested for proposed new party formed by SPDP-PRS merger KUCHING: The Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) and Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) took a major step towards their merger last night, when they announced three shortlisted names for their new party. Bersatu Rakyat Sarawak (Beras), Demokratik Rakyat Sarawak (Deras) or Bersatu Progresif Rakyat Sarawak (BPRS) are the three names now being considered from a list of seven proposed names. The names were announced at a press conference after a brief meeting between the merger committees of the two parties at Toh Yuen Restaurant in the Hilton Kuching at about 10.30pm. SPDP secretary general Sylvester Entrie Muran said they hoped to get feedback from the grounds on which of the three names were most suitable for their merged party. He pointed out that the two committees have agreed that their parties should merge. “After several meetings between the merger committees, we both agreed on the merger in the best interest of our parties,” he said. SPDP’s merger committee is headed by the party’s deputy president Datuk Peter Nyarok and his members are Entrie and senior vice president. The chairman of the PRS merger committee is Datuk Billy Abit, who is a PRS vice president, and his members are vice president John Sikie Tayai and secretary general Wilfred Nissom. Abit pointed out that he was “standing-in” as chairman of the committee for Datuk Dublin Unting, who is recuperating at the Normah Medical Specialist Centre following a stroke. Asked what the urgency was in announcing the three names, Nansian replied that Dublin had actually wanted the names to be made known before he was hospitalised. “He (Dublin) had actually called me at about 10.30am on that day (May 22, 2008, when Dublin was hospitalised) and said that we should announce the names,” he said, adding that they had held the announcement back until PRS decided that Abit should stand in for Dublin. The committee said the announcement had nothing to do with political developments in Sabah yesterday. The Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) intends to support a motion of no confidence against the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Monday. He added that there was no time table set for the eventual merger, and that the two committees would meet again to decide on the name of the new party as well as other relevant matters such as the leadership of the party.
The government plan to upgrade the living standard of the nomadic Penans in remote Sarawak has alway been half-cooked and non holistic.
To raise the living standard of the Penans, they must be encourage or educate to settle down and provide them with basic infrastructures like roads and electricity, facilities like clinic and schools and job opportunities like farming projects or cottage industries. Without job opportunities, they are better off living their nomadic lives and hunts for food in the jungle.
Being a minority group, the Penans are also rakyat Malaysia and at the moment are treated unequally and they too deserved the benefits and development enjoyed by the rest of Malaysian.
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Education can turn Penans into settled people By Lucas Jalong Bato MIRI: It is a waste of effort to get the semi-nomadic Penans to change their way of life without transforming their mindset first. Having come to this conclusion, a former councillor of Baram District Council (BDC) strongly believes that the most effective means of converting them into a settled community is by educating the children. Anthony Lawai Karing (pictured right) may not be a qualified sociologist or anthropologist, but he interacts daily with several Penans who come to his shop at Long San in upper Baram. They come from their nearby settlements to buy necessities such as sugar and salt. Other times, they come to send their children to St Pius Primary School. “During my dealings with them I would encourage the parents to let their children continue going to school, and I would explain to them the importance of education,” said Lawai to The Borneo Post yesterday. The parents sometimes stay for a week at Long San’s Umai Sakai (a sort of rest house) to be near their young children. Admittedly education would not bear fruits immediately, but Lawai is confident that over time they would be on par with other Malaysians. “Spending millions of ringgit on non-educational projects for them won’t work if their minds are backward,” he continued. To drive home his point, he recalled an occasion when some civil servants told a group of Penans that they had a government-funded project for them. It was a good, well-intended project and the Penans were glad. The catch was they were to work on ‘gotong-royong’ basis. To the puzzlement of the officers, they asked how much they would be paid. They refused to work without pay. “Had the officers known that these people had not been educated about ‘gotong-royong’, they could have used a different approach,” said Lawai. On how the Penans are doing around this time, he observed that more and more of the parents are sending their children to the school at Long San and the dropout rate is decreasing. “I was told that there are 109 Penan children at St Pius primary school and there are at least 20 in secondary school,” said Lawai. On Uma Sakai at Long San, he promised to seek assistance from the district council to maintain it. “Electricity should be connected to the house. Presently, while the rest of Long San is well lighted at night, the house is in darkness,” he said.
By Mohamed, from Cairo
Disclaimer: Arabs, read at your own discretion. This piece is objectively racist (whatever that means).
I'll start by saying that I am an Arab, descendant of Ramses someway or another (i.e. Egyptian), who believes in Allah and that prophet Muhammad is his messenger. I am also a few other things which are irrelevant here.
Now let me start over. Arabs suck.
Isn't this what we've been taught in school. Pre-Islamic Arabia was in shatters. I happen to agree.
Arabs used to burry their infant girls alive, tribes went to war for decades in a row, cursing each other in their poems, enslaving people, and being extremely narrow minded with absolutely no tolerance. I think we weren't taught wrong at school. Surrounded by two empires, Persia and Rome, none of them cared to seize control of Arabia. Nothing but headache out of doing that.
God decided to take on the challenge, and send his message (Islam) to that lousy group of people. And sure it was a challenge, a new religion to a group of intolerant, stubborn, and violent bunch of desert dwellers. Sure it was a challenge, they sent 60 men, one from each tribe, to kill the prophet. He's one of you, assholes. They threw him with rocks in AlTae'f, and drove him out of Mecca.
Eventually, God proved His point. He ruled, and His message got through. Even Arabs can be tamed with Islam. For a while there, Arabs (most of them) did understand Islam well, were able to follow it properly, to rule and govern right. Did you see what happened when we did that, a Muslim civilization arose, from Andalusia and southern Europe out to China. Spread by the sword, by the merchants, or by the good deeds and words of the people, whatever. It spread, the empire was strong, science, culture, art and humans developed, and the standard of living was reaching new peaks.
So what's gone wrong now?! (something we're not told about in schools). Arabs are being themselves again, misunderstand and misuse Islam, and even worse, claim that our ill traditions are part of Islam. Burry our women alive (instead of infant girls), go to war with each other, enslave those less fortunate than us, becoming again intolerant and narrow minded. Well, God ain't gonna challenge us again, we've had our chance. God and His messenger are not going to be there for us all the time, dammit. We're on our own now.
Its our turn to take it on again, no guidance, and no help to show us the way. Give up those fucked up old Arab/Pharaonic/Pakistani/... traditions, and embrace the tolerant Islamic values without staining them with our cultural ills.
Oh, and regarding Arab nationalism. Arab nationalism my ass. Its never gonna happen.
I should have another piece on how Egyptians suck. But just quickly, if Islam was able to tame the Arabs for a while, it stood helpless with Egyptians and couldn't mend them! And yet, some how Egyptians were able to get their country praised in the Quran a few times. We really know how to get our way with the authorities, eh!
Think Arabs are better than that? Refute my claims. Think Arabs are just that, no need to mention it again, thanks.
Ok, do I really have to be fair?! Traditional Arabs are generous and good hosts, and are the native-speakers of a great language. That doesn't balance things out though.
Article source: Arabs Suck by From Cairo, With Love.
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