Low ratings on TV spells trouble for Najib

Low ratings on TV spells trouble for Najib

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak may be quite happening with his Facebook skills, savvy walkabout campaigns and “People First, Performance Now” slogan, but his poor ratings on-air over TV3’s prime time programme Soal Jawab recently smacks of trouble.

According to research company AGB Neilsen, Najib’s appearance on the show recorded an all-time low of 270,000 viewers. A shocking revelation for any national premier.

Neilsen’s record showed that when his cousin, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammudin Hussein and maverick parliamentarian Kulim Bandar Baharu’s Zulkifili Noordin took to the same show, viewership soared hitting 487,000 and 438,000 respectively.

Respectable figures, according to sources at TV3 because prime time slots, which are between 10pm and 11pm, usually draw 1.5 to 2 million viewers.

PAS deputy president Datuk Mahfuz Omar said the fact that “people switched off or changed channels” at the time just showed that Najib was losing his credibility and charisma within the party and outside.

“It just shows the rakyat don’t want to hear his rhetoric anymore. Not watching Najib on air is like a protest against his leadership. But what’s surprising is that his own Umno members, said to be over two million, didn’t catch it.

“If this trend continues, it will lead to yet another ‘grand design’ to overthrow Najib, the way they did to Pak Lah (former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) after his popularity dipped sharply," said Mahfuz.

Meanwhile, Sungai Petani parliamentarian Datuk Johari Abdul said the programme did not deal with the issue of Najib’s credibility or his scandal-ridden tenure.

“The rakyat want answers and they are not getting it. They have lost faith in him as a prime minister because todate, he has not come clean on several issues and criminal allegations. We are not accusing him of murdering Altanthuya, but until now he has not denied it and this gives the impression that he is trying to hide the crime," he said.

According to Johari, Najib’s credibility is at an all-time low because of his link to several scandals, including the submarine purchase and missing jet engines.

Nonetheless, his expensive PR machinery will continue to exploit Umno-BN’s extensive reach over the local mainstream media and position him as the people’s champion.

Email us your comments to editor@freemalaysiatoday.com

Indira gets custody of daughter from Muslim husband

Indira gets custody of daughter from Muslim husband

UPDATED

By Clara Chooi

KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 — After a long drawn out and bitter battle in the courts, kindergarten teacher M. Indira Gandhi was finally granted custody of her 22-month-old daughter Prasana Diksa at the Ipoh High Court today.

High Court Justice Wan Afrah Wan Ibrahim made the decision in chambers this morning and issued an order for Indira’s Muslim-convert husband to hand over Prasana immediately.

Indira’s husband, now known as Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah, did not hand over the child immediately however as he had not brought her to the court for today’s decision.

Instead, he left the court immediately with the Perak Religious Department officials.

According to the officials, Mohd Ridzuan would not be able to return Prasana to his wife immediately as the toddler was presently in Kelantan.

Indira’s lead counsel M. Kulasegaran told reporters outside the courtroom later that the judge had made the decision as it was in the family’s best interest for Prasana to return to her mother and be together with her other two siblings, Karan Dinish, 11, and Tevi Darsiny, 12.

“Also, the judge said that Mohd Ridzuan does not even have a steady job,” he said.

Kulasegaran added he hoped Mohd Ridzuan would abide by the court’s order and return the child immediately.

“The court has also allowed him visitation rights at once a week,” added Kulasegaran.

Prior to the decision, Kulasegaran said that the counsels from the Perak Religious Department had objected to Justice Wan Afrah presiding over the case as the matter should be referred to the Syariah Court.

“However, the court decided that it had the jurisdiction to hear the matter as Indira is a non Muslim. Furthermore, being a non-Muslim, Indira cannot go to the Syariah Court,” he said. Meanwhile, in a separate court, Indira’s application to seek leave for judicial review to quash the conversion of her three children to become Muslims was postponed to April 3.

Outside the court, a teary-eyed Indira told reporters that she was relieved with the decision and happy that she would finally get to be reunited with her youngest daughter again.

“It has been very difficult for me all this time. I cannot wait to see her again, I hope she will be returned to me as soon as possible,” she said.

Indira has been embroiled in a fierce custody battle for her children with her husband since early last year. She has also been trying to ensure that her children, who were converted to Muslims without her knowledge by her husband, remained as Hindus.

Ku Li: Malaysia has become ‘like the Malayan Union’

Ku Li: Malaysia has become ‘like the Malayan Union’

By Debra Chong

KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 — Maverick Umno man Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah today (picture) likened present-day Malaysia to the highly unpopular Malayan Union idea forwarded by British colonialists in 1946, noting the way the Barisan Nasional (BN) government is running the country.

The Kelantan prince added that a review of the arrangements between the federal and state governments was greatly needed to restore each state’s “constitutional rights” which had been stripped away over the years.

“Putrajaya behaves as if we are a unitary state and not a federation,” the longest-serving federal lawmaker said at a public forum highlighting Federal-State relations organised by the Bar Council here today.

“Ironically we have become in practice the Malayan Union which an earlier generation resisted and defeated,” Razaleigh added, noting that the federal government had usurped the state’s powers and controlled with an iron-fist the state’s resources and even its right to decide how religion should be practiced.

“This is unconstitutional and must be resisted with just as much vigour as we resisted the Malayan Union. Malaysia is not viable in the long run as a unitary state,” the Gua Musang MP stressed to the organic crowd which turned up — it numbered between 50 and 70 at most — but which included ambassadors from Canada and Belgium.

Razaleigh noted that the balance of power between the federation and the states had been upset and was now tilted in favour of the central government and “concentrated in the hands of the Prime Minister”.

He said a review was greatly needed right the imbalance and suggested it could be done either by a vote in each state’s legislative assembly or through the Conference of Rulers.

Razaleigh who was responsible for setting up the national oil company, Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), had earlier attacked the Barisan Nasional-led federal government for its persistent denial against paying oil “royalty” to Kelantan.

He noted the denials have been splashed in newspapers and repeated by government officials must be looked as seriously because “the Federal government’s authority over these resources, as in all other things, is an authority derived from the original sovereignty of the states.”

Ex-top cop Ramli acquitted of graft

Ex-top cop Ramli acquitted of graft

KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 — Suspended police Commissoner Datuk Ramli Yusoff has been acquitted of three corruption charges by the Sessions Court here.

Judge M Gunalan ruled today that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against Ramli, who was the Commercial Crimes Investigations Department (CCID) chief when he was charged and suspended from service in 2007.

He was charged with failing to declare ownership of 20,000 Telekom Malaysia Berhad shares, 154,000 Permaju Industries Berhad shares and interest in two office properties worth RM1,032,840.

Ramli, 56, was alleged to have committed the offences at the office of the then Anti-Corruption Agency’s deputy public prosecutor in Putrajaya on Sept 17, 2007.

The CCID supremo had also been charged separately in the Kota Kinabalu Sessions court for allegedly using police aircraft to view two pieces of property in which his real estate company had an interest.

That case, too, ended in an acquittal for Ramli when, on July 27 of last year, Sessions Court Judge Supang Lian said: “The prosecution failed to prove a prima facie case and the accused deserves to be acquitted and discharged.’’

MORE TO COME

The Middle Ground: The brewing storm of GST

The brewing storm of GST

http://romerz.blogspot.com/2010/03/brewing-storm-of-gst.html

The Malaysian federal government intends to implement a General and Services Tax (GST) by the third quarter of 2011. Now you may ask what is GST and how will it affect you? I wondered too that is why I took the opportunity to attend the GST Forum organized by PR (mentioned in my previous post) and listened to those who provided an opposing view to that of the government's propaganda through the main stream media.


Let me add a qualifier here first. Before I went to this forum, I was of the opinion that GST is a form of taxation that Malaysia must take one day for the well-being of the country on the long run. However one thought kept bugging me which is corruption and leakages. I kept wondering if it was prudent to raise additional revenues for the government by taxing the length and breadth of Malaysian society (at the expense of those hardest hit - the poor) when the likelihood of these additional revenues may end up wasted or worst still in the pockets of a select few.

Of course I was also looking at it from a selfish point of view as a current taxpayer. Despite knowing that GST is a "good" form of taxation, I was apprehensive of being dealt the double whammy of paying GST and also paying income tax, taxing the poor tired 15% further!

Currently in Malaysia, only 15% of the 12 million workers pay taxes, ie. 1.8 million Malaysians are carrying the burden of supporting 27 million Malaysians. Not that the other 85% of Malaysian workers do not want to pay taxes but the reality is, they don't earn enough to be taxed - the sad fact of Malaysia being stuck in the middle income trap which experts and even the government realizes.

Ok, now you know where I stood on GST before 8.00 pm today, before I heard YB Tony Pua, YB Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad and En. Rafizi Ramli spoke tonight at the forum moderated by YB Liew Chin Tong.

I will not try to explain what GST is or how it works and how it affects EVERY SINGLE Malaysian as that will take too long. You have to find out yourself and believe me, you better want to find out as this GST thing is going to affect you in more ways than you have been told by the government propaganda machinery which in turn could and most likely will shape the political future of the country which has ramifications on life as we know it in Malaysia. It is that serious!

Think of it this way. Everybody knows whatever form of additional taxation is what most sitting governments would avoid unless it is absolutely necessary because of the backlash from the electorate. Did you know that when Canada introduced GST in 1991, the government was brought down at the following general elections in 1993? The political party who introduced GST in Canada eventually disbanded in 2004!

So why is the ruling BN government even contemplating this GST move given the present challenge to its rule by PR since 8 March 2008? Surely they are not suicidal nor do they have a death wish do they?

The simple answer is the country is going BROKE! The present economic model of affirmative action (of the selective kind) without expanding capacity is bleeding the country dry. Imagine this. Despite the huge bumper profits from Petronas these last five years, the BN government saw it necessary to operate an increasing budget deficit for the last 12 years! So much so that the nation's current debt is 50+% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP measured annually) and this is an untenable situation. Experts say that when a country's debt is around 65% of GDP, the country will no longer be able to sustain its interest payments without expanding its principal debt!

And we are close. Just imagine that in 2009 alone, we added another 7.4% of GDP to our national debt! Another two years of 7.4% and we would reach 65% of GDP and the downward spiral begins!

Unless the government finds new sources of revenues to contain and reduce the spiraling borrowings, our future borrowings is going to cost even more when our international risk rating drops further. Simply put, after 12 years of irresponsible fiscal management (when Malaysia's economic bubble burst in 1997), we are now spiraling downwards in a free fall.

Enough said on this and let us not dwell on the past of lost opportunities which our oil money could have done for us if used prudently and wisely and not on popularity measures to keep a political party/coalition in power.

Oil money which had financed 40% of our annual budget is running low. Please refer to my earlier posting on our oil money : Malaysia's oil - 14.26 years left. Make sure you read the comment from an oil industry player about being a net importer of oil in 2 years!

Let us instead look at what the federal government could do before hardship is brought upon most Malaysians through GST.

The government has to make a choice, simple as that. Right now they are twiddling their thumbs because they are faced with an impossible situation - country or self and these two don't mix!

As rightly pointed out by the speakers from PR, why is the government reluctant to review the lop-sided agreements to the IPPs whilst at the same time considering raising utility rates which will only burden the rakyat further? Why is the government unwilling to acquire the north-south highway when PLUS recently declared a profit of RM1.3 billion when the government compensated them RM800 million for not allowing them to raise toll? As the speakers pointed out, the entire length of the north-south highway could be acquired by the government and the acquisition paid for in seven years if we didn't have to compensate PLUS yearly through lop-sided agreements!

Why are there no open tenders for government procurement when the Penang state government has shown that they could turn around a RM34 million budget deficit for 2008 (estimated by the previous BN government) into an RM80+ million surplus in the same year!

There are many more examples of silly wastage and inefficiencies of the delivery system by way of patronage, cronyism, corruption, and what have you simply because those who manage our national economy are in a limbo. Don't believe me? Read the Auditor-General's latest report. If there were no inefficiencies and leakages in government spending, RM28 billion could be saved!

RM28 billion which could postpone the GST until after the 13 GE!!!

Simply put, UMNO/BN knows the country is in trouble but to cure Malaysia from her ills would mean taking action against the very people they depend on to remain in power. They know that Malaysia cannot continue this way as eventually when the majority goes hungry, they will be out of power also. But what choice do they have if they want to continue to enjoy the perks of power if not to push the buck to gullible and indifferent Malaysians?

After all we allowed them, those who took the easy way out of "not wanting trouble' and "looking after the rice bowl"! Which brings me back to the 15% of tax paying Malaysians. We are in an unenviable position, to push the load of sustaining the country to the other 85% (who will be harder hit than the privileged few) or to continue remaining silent but under our breath, curse the UMNO/BN system of governance for our woes?

Will you take the trouble to understand GST and all its implications for the country or will you simply shrug your shoulders and say "qua sera sera"?


As the representatives from PR said, they are not against GST per se. They only oppose it because GST should be a last measure which will inevitably bring more hardship on Malaysia's poor when other measures to curb the leakages and corruption has not been explored yet, really explored with political will even if it means undermining the "base" on which the ruling elites depends on to remain in power.

Sad isn't it when we all (ruling elites included) know that we as a nation is in serious trouble but are are unwilling to make a righteous move to correct it. Why? All because of power, fear, and the need to keep our stomachs full.

The forum ended at 10.30 pm and as I left the venue to get some dinner, I couldn't help but thinking we are in for some hard and tumultuous times (which might tear at the very fabric of our multi-racial society) if this GST is not postponed until UMNO/BN and their broken way of governance is put to a stop.

As YB Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad put it, the insistence of the BN government to go forth with the implementation of GST would be a boon to PR, much more than the jailing of Anwar could in Sodomy 2! So then why are they trying so hard to educate ordinary Malaysians to rise and protest against GST? Wouldn't it be better if they let UMNO/BN bite the rakyat where it hurts most and pave the way for PR to Putrajaya?

The sad fact is whilst those like I who want to see an end to racial politics of the UMNO/BN kind, also realizes that it may be too late then when the 65% debt ratio is breached come when PR inherits the federal government at the next GE.

Such is the complexity of Malaysian politics and governance that we the poor electorate is forever asked to juggle between real and propaganda. Tough shit really when both sides overplay their hands without care for the rakyat who only want simple truths!

Anyway in closing, when I left the forum at 10.40 pm, I felt that I was much the wiser for having attended the forum and whilst still believing that a GST form of taxation is the way forward for Malaysia, I concede that we must defer its implementation so long as UMNO/BN are not willing to sacrifice themselves so that Malaysia could prosper for the sakes of us all.

I will from henceforth, devote a large portion of my blog to GST and all its implications until those who fear it most do the right things to prevent hunger on a widespread scale which will inevitably be played up on the racial scenario.

All I can say is watch your pockets and and remember how much debt you want your descendants to carry. Please don't come complaining to me when you have to pay more for your "char koay teow" when the shit hits the fan!

The onus is upon us and are we that stupid not to see all the warning signs of an economic policy gone wrong?

I refuse to be stupid anymore even if it means I have to "thump" table with friends who are seduced by Najib's 1 Hollow Malaysia!

Ps. Doc Edu, this is only 25% of what I have to say about GST! You know what I mean without being long winded, I hope! 1Malaysia? IT IS AN ILLUSION!

A very sad illusion! Which those from our midst still can't see! Know what? I don't blame them but ourselves for not being able to to convince those whom we see daily!!!

Perhaps it is time time to change our "friendship" protocol?

Pop the Champagne Guys!!!

PKR sacks Zul Noordin

By Clara Chooi

PETALING JAYA, March 6 — PKR sacked its controversial Kulim-Bandar Baru MP Zulkifli Noordin (pic) today in a move to rid the party of a lawmaker who has become a major liability for the Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

The decision was reached this evening when the party’s supreme council decided to endorse the recommendations made by the disciplinary board.

The council convened a meeting from 3pm this evening to deliberate on the board’s investigation report, which was completed yesterday.

The rebel MP was referred to the board for infringing a party gag order by lodging a report against Shah Alam PAS MP Khalid Samad over the “Allah” row and for his criticism of DAP’s Lim Guan Eng.

He was one of the few MPs expected to join the likes of Datuk Seri Zahrain Hashim, Tan Tee Beng and Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri, who recently resigned to become Independents.

Zulkifli has been adamant about not wanting to quit, telling the media that he wanted to stay on to fight his case.

When party affiliations don’t matter, personal manifestos should

from MalaysianInsider:-

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Zeffri Yusof is an ex-journo and all-round informavore. Zeffri believes in the force of Reason, human goodness and dignity, and the "machahood" of man. He's on and off ontwitter.com/zeffri

When party affiliations don’t matter, personal manifestos should

MARCH 5 — Thanks to s**t stirring MPs like Zul Noordin and “newly independent minds” like Tan Tee Beng, Datuk Seri Zahrain Hashim and Fairus Khairuddin, one can hope that the majority of Malaysian voters have been taught a lesson they won’t soon forget.

For the next time we visit the ballot box, let’s demand some well-in-advance straight answers from our running candidates because it’s evident that we can’t rely on some of them to keep their story straight (hey, some might mistake it for integrity).

It may be naive of me for even suggesting it, but it seems that far too many of our MPs don’t share the basic principles of the political parties they represent.

How else can we explain the fact that BN only needs seven more MPs to cross over to regain its two-thirds majority?

But perhaps I ask too much. What has also been made abundantly clear again earlier this week is that the entire Pakatan Rakyat coalition filled up their candidacy roster in the last general election with whatever they could muster — quality ... and in certain cases, ability and decency, be darned.

It’s obvious that for MPs like Zul Noordin, the official position and manifesto of the coalition he happens to represent do not even come into play. I can only imagine how he gleefully decided he was going to run for his own private reasons, rode the popular sentiments at the time, and duly got lucky.

I say lucky because unkind commentators have already said it: letak tunggul kayu pun boleh menang — such was the tsunami of opinion at the time of the 12th general election.

The injustice is compounded when the voting public — his voters — are screwed because we only gain insight into his position on pressing issues of the day much, much later; “after” he gets elected and decides to go all maverick on us (no, not like Tom Cruise in “Top Gun”; besides his B2 licence ride doesn’t qualify).

As disgruntled voters, we can hold out in hope that once all the s**t stirring, frog jumping and trimming of fat is done; the real lean muscle (can I call it the phat?) are the ones left over to continue for the next GE.

Moving forward from this daily unfolding debacle (soon, I hope), I believe it’s only fair that all right-minded MPs, ADUNs and would be candidates-for-office declare, in advance, their principles and personal manifestos to the voting public.

In the age of free blogging resources, Facebook and Twitter — and with 68 per cent of Malaysians using the Internet and over 90 per cent on cellular phones — this shouldn’t prove very hard. Because as voters we deserve to know, damnit.

We want to discern the wheat from the chaff, so that if and when our MPs decide to screw us later, we can turn around and call them out for the liars and chumps that they are.

So here’s a sample voter’s request for MPs and candidates: at the very least, put down clearly where you stand on the following core issues:

1. Secular separation between religion and state; or theocracy with syaria law?

2. Equality of all Malaysians regardless of ethnicity, sex and sexual orientation; or special positions for some?

3. Affirmative action for all underprivileged citizens; or selective affirmative action for a majority?

4. Opinion and stand on Bangsa Malaysia; opinion or stand on “Ketuanan Melayu”.

5. Freedom of religion, including freedom “from” religion, and what you understand by it.

6. View on detention without trial.

7. View on freedom of speech, including a free, independent media.

8. View on the Parliament, executive, judiciary and royalty.

I would argue that knowing a candidate’s stand on all of the above is infinitely more important than whether he or she is BN or PR because what is also equally evident by now is that we do not have clearly delineated teams in our political sphere.

A political coalition is only as good as its common ground and, guess what, denying BN its two-thirds majority is not a long-term common ground. Surprise, surprise — by now none of the component parties in both PR and BN has any more common ground left.

For how else can you explain Umno and PAS disagreeing on Ketuanan Melayu, yet pally pally for enacting firmer syaria laws? Or DAP, PAS and MCA sharing the same opinion on the Allah issue, or Umno in Perak forgetting its past history with the institution of royalty.

So yes, we are going to demand to know our candidate’s principles and their stance on all of those important issues — including their reasons — because, hey, voters also want to know if their candidates have actually put some modicum of thought into what they stand for (or perhaps I am asking for too novel a concept)?

Lest we forget: the people are the boss. We deserve to know whether our candidates are actually representing their party, or just there to party.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.