I'm Confuse, Do you?...

SAMBUTAN ULANG TAHUN UMNO KE 66

I'm really confuse here. As I know, UMNO was once being declared as illegal organization (pertubuhan HARAM) by court of law. Later those morons re-registered it with the name of UMNO (BARU).

Now they are celebrating ulangtahun UMNO ke-66 instead of 24.

Can anybody especially UMNO members clarify this matter? Which one is the correct, 66 years or 24?

May I thank you for the clarification made? Tak tahu kita bertanya, bukannya BODOH SOMBONG

 

Minimum Wage Policy....

RM900.00 as announced by PeeM would be our national minimum wage for all industries in Peninsular Malaysia except domestic category. There are pros and cons in any issues which include this minimum wages policy depending on what perspective angle you are looking at and/or which shoes are you in?

As for me, my concerns are:-

1. Either minimum wage can match the level of productivity of staff towards good ratio on cost vs profit.
2. Is the inflation will be flying high namely on items which is not controlled by KERAjaan?
3. Are the staff benefits will be reduced to only basic as required by Employment Act 1955 to substantiate the higher overhead cost?

Of course there are many mores but the above 3 are my priority.

I may not good in economic impact analysis as a result of the announcement of minimum wages but logically speaking, if the cost is higher, definitely the price will follow suit. Simple interpretation without having to have Phd in Economic or butt licking attitude. 

KPDNKK will be down to earth in making inspection on the prices but what can they do for those uncontrolled items. Citing example, can they (KPDNKK) take action if mamak restaurant charging RM1.50 per glass of plain water? The answer is NO as the item is not listed as controlled item. Please refer here for list of controlled items.

The most they can do is checking either there is a price list or not or threat the owner with 1001 actions to be taken. Mind you people are smart and not stupid nowadays. That's all, full-stop leaving all people suffering despite having noted their minimum wage id RM900/month. 

Pity Sawarakians and Sabahans only to get RM800/month even though their cost of living and prices of controlled items is much higher than Peninsular Malaysia. 

• Maybe because no matter what people there will vote for B-eNd. 
• Maybe KERAjaan is scare and try to win back people here.

I said MAYBE and this word will refer to its own meaning. 

Well, only time will tell you.....

Labour Day Special Announcement....

I can't wait to know how much is the minimum wage to be announced by PeeM either tonight or tomorrow. My target is RM800/= as a blanket policy or nearly to the minimum basic pay for newly joined Police Constable. 

At the same time, how much the prices hike would be on goods which are not listed as control items, services and many more?

MINIMUM WAGES POLICY vs PRICES HIKE = INFLATION???

Minimum Wage Policy... View No. 2

I DO not agree with those who argue that the introduction of the minimum wage scheme would cause inflation to go out of hand.

On the contrary, lowering wages or stagnating them would make workers’ lives unbearable and is a sure-fire way to erode the nation’s economy and well-being of its citizens.

Industrialists and employers in developing countries are in the habit of bandying around words like efficiency, productivity and competitiveness, in a master design to lower labour costs.

But what do we see on the ground in most of the first world countries? High wages.

If we do not have a minimum wage scheme, employers may be tempted to lower the wages as much as they want in the frightening name of “inflation”.

The truth is that the act of lowering wages will trigger our industries to become less efficient, productive and competitive.

High wages are the incentives that propels technical and business innovation and, without them, we would soon become just another low-wage country struggling to eke out an existence.

History tells us that, for instance, in Australia and Argentina around the beginning of last century, were two of the richest countries per capita in the world.

Argentina which opted for a low-wage economy has virtually marked time and presently is behind Australia by over six decades.

So we must ask ourselves: What augurs well for our future and the future of our children?

Using inflation as the whipping boy to stifle wages is just a ruse by employers to enhance their profiteering and vested interests.

The private lives and well-being of the employees must be balanced against the profiteering by crass merchants.

Should the minimum wage be implemented, it is hoped that employers will not offset their “losses” by increasing the working hours of the employees. This would bring us back to square one.

Should this happen, family life will be disrupted. Spouses will be seeing less of each other and kids will be having a gala time on their own or with friends.

The authorities must oversee the situation in that material gain is not overtaken by family and social priorities.

Source from here...

Minimum Wage Policy...View No. 1

LATELY, there have been plenty of discussions regarding the minimum wage implementation in Malaysia. I’m not a business owner but I feel imposing the minimum wage at this time is not the right step. The minimum wage concept is a double edged sword.

Let’s analyse the core issue here. The cost of living is rising and the salaries of the lowest earners are insufficient. Raising income sounds fine in this equation, but let’s not forget that what goes around actually comes around.

Opponents of minimum wage say that employers are greedy and only think of profits. To a certain extent, this is correct. Let’s get real. Entrepreneurs rarely sacrifice their own goals, otherwise they would have been running a charitable organisation.

Who are we to be so naive to think that manufacturers will not increase prices based on operating costs having risen? Look at the increase in the price of sugar and flour.

Malaysians should have learned by now that it actually helps provide the truly greedy entrepreneurs with the perfect excuse to increase prices.

I say perfect because unlike sugar and flour, nobody else but the employers know the true incremental cost as a result of increasing wages.

Let’s look at the impact of such incremental costs on businesses, and ultimately employees.

If we remember the days of the financial downturn, both employee numbers and working hours were reduced. The same will happen because the name of the game is controlling cost-revenue ratios.

Malaysia would be less attractive to investors simply because the cost of doing business would have risen again. We should not forget that these investors bring in cash as well as keep our citizens gainfully employed.

With minimum wage, a majo-rity would have better pay, but those in non-core areas would have to go because the cost of having surpluses now would become untenable.

Even worse, over time, these foreign investors could pack up and leave for lower cost countries where a good portion of the population can converse in English and command lower pay.

This leaves Malaysians with fewer job opportunities and when this happens the problem would extend to middle wage earners.

Worse, local workers will gradually be replaced by foreigners, whom I suspect would not fall under the jurisdiction of the Act because applying the minimum wage to foreigners would certainly kill off SMEs, unless businesses increase prices, and that puts us back at square one plus inflation.

The right manner of addressing this issue is to look into the causes, or to address the core areas of discontent.

I believe if we concentrate on providing reasonable public healthcare, housing and education to every Malaysian, we would’ve solved the problem.

Source from here...

Two Set Of Laws Governing Malaysian.....

Malaysia has a peculiar and warped set of values; its elite get away with misbehaviour and serious crimes, while the rest of the population are kept in servitude and submission. Should anyone need convincing, various news reports will show that our law enforcers treat the Umno elite differently from the common rakyat.

One example is the treatment of three Muslim girls who were arrested on March 24, for being scantily clad while pole dancing at a nightclub in Nilai. They were charged under section 21 of the Minor Offences Act 1955 (Act 336) which carries a maximum fine of RM25 or a two-week jail term.

The magistrate Mohamad Izwan Mohamed Noh sentenced the girls and fined them RM25. He admonished them, urged them to be remorseful, and told them to desist from committing further immoral, indecent behaviour.

He said, “This is important as you cannot tarnish the image of your families”.

The maths is not difficult to do. It is probably going to cost the prison service more than RM25 per person to house them in jail.

Anyway, when faced with the prospect of a fortnight in a Malaysian jail, who wouldn’t opt for the RM25 fine? A good pole dancer can pick up hundreds, if not thousands of ringgits in tips in one night alone. If the fine is supposed to be a deterrent, then it has failed miserably.

This magistrate was conscious of family values and self-respect. So why are politicians involved in multi-million scandals treated with kid gloves?

For months, we were bombarded with details of the National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) corruption scandal which involved the Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and her family.

Impersonating royalty

Can anyone recall an authoritative figure or even a religious leader giving the Shahrizat family a telling off for “tarnishing the image of their family”?

If Shahrizat’s husband had not been charged with criminal breach of trust (CBT), public anger would have been unleashed like a dam bursting its wall.

Have her children been let off scot-free? Has a deal been done to salvage their reputations? The public wants to know if the RM250 million will be recovered.

Last week, Mohamad Nedim Nazri, the son of Minister in the Prime’s Department, Nazri Aziz, was involved in a violent assault on a security guard at a luxury condominium in Kuala Lumpur.

Nedim had refused to observe the management’s strict rules regarding visitors and tried the daft tack of impersonating royalty.

Nedim is not only tarnishing his own family’s reputation but is also tarnishing the reputation of every royal family in Malaysia.

It is possible that the security guard, who is allegedly a Bangladesh national, was not taken in by the Malaysian serf-like adherence to royalty. Perhaps, Nedim’s deception lacked the finer nuances of royal behaviour.

The charade failed, the security guard was unimpressed and Nedim was livid. The upshot was that the guard was assaulted and Nedim made the news, again. It is alleged that Nedim’s minder, an ex-policeman, beat the guard up.

Setting a trend

In 2004, Nedim was allegedly implicated in the death of a law student from Sheffield University. Despite witness statements from the victim’s girlfriend and other professionals stating Nedim’s involvement, the charge of manslaughter was instead levelled at five Thai immigrant labourers.

These are the new facts about Nedim. One is a fluke. Two is a coincidence. Three, if there is a third incident, will be a trend.

Nevertheless, within a few days, the police cleared Nedim of assault. Meanwhile, his father, Nazri, said that he could not be responsible for his son’s actions.

So is there any point telling both father and son not to tarnish their family image? Unsurprisingly, cynics find it impossible to believe that anything could tarnish the image further.

There is one positive outcome of the Nedim case. Contrary to popular opinion, the police are not inefficient as they are made out to be. They can act and investigate quickly, if they want to.

Political observers believe that the improved performance of the police is for the benefit of Umno in the coming 13th general election. Umno ministers cannot be dragged down by their children’s careless disregard for the law. If necessary, these misdeeds will be swept under the carpet.

The run-up to the general election has been revolutionary. Suddenly, the law enforcement bodies, police and other government agencies are bending over backwards to exonerate Umno ministers.

Moreover, these government agencies are now tripping over themselves trying to blame the other for not doing their duty in the past. Witness the MACC claims that it is not afraid of investigating corruption, but that it is the DPP which is unwilling or reluctant to prosecute.

When Kartika Dewi Sukarno was arrested for consuming beer, her life was dangled before the world and subject to intense scrutiny. She was also within an inch of being flogged. Yet no one can recall a drunk Muslim politician or their children being subject to humiliating treatment. Only a fool would believe they are teetotal. Everyone, who has been clubbing in Kuala Lumpur, has seen these people drinking.

When a group of Penan girls and children were raped by loggers in the Sarawak jungles four years ago, it was a foreign NGO which revealed to the outside world that this was happening to our own people. Despite public condemnation, the police dragged their feet and politicians came up with a range of excuses why the crimes were fabricated. To date, justice has not been served.

Clearly, Malaysia is governed by two sets of rules. One for the haves, another for the have-nots. With the 13th general election around the corner, even the authorities are desperate to be seen to be doing something, when otherwise they were quite content to do nothing.

Mariam Mokhtar is a FMT columnist.

Soi Lek Dare Not Release Debate Transcripts Says Guan Eng...

Selangor MCA’s police report against me yesterday only highlights MCA’s desperation to cover up MCA President Chua Soi Lek’s performance of making personal attacks, lies and divisive tactics during the historic Mandarin debate on 18.2.2012 “Is The 2-party system becoming a 2-race system”?

Making another 10 or 100 police reports against me by Selangor MCA can not hide the fact that Chua has so far refused to release his own debate transcripts in Bahasa Malaysia and English.

Shy to release transcript

Chua Soi Lek’s refusal to release his own debate transcript in Bahasa Malaysia and English will only prove to non-Chinese speaking Malaysians that he focused on making personal attacks, lies and adopted divisive tactics during the historic Mandarin. Not only did Chua made personal attacks against me during the historic debate on 18.2.2012, even his predecessor Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat was also not spared.

I had refused to trade personal insults or indulged in personal attacks with Chua during the debate as I believed that a debate should be a contest of ideas, ideals and principles. Chua knows releasing his own debate transcripts will only expose himself as indulging in baseless personal attacks against me as well as Ong Tee Keat. Worse Chua will also be exposed for his divisive tactics and lies against the record of PR.

Star newspaper caught lying

MCA and Chua are using their control over the BN mass media to whitewash Chua’s personal attacks and twist the outcome of the debate into lies. Even the Star was compelled to apologise to me in their enthusiasm to whitewash Chua’s performance. Facts and figures do not lie. Let the debate transcripts speak for themselves.

In the interests of historical veracity, Chua should emulate what I have done by releasing the debate transcripts in Bahasa Malaysia and English for the benefit of non-Chinese speaking Malaysians. Yesterday I have released my debate transcripts in Bahasa Malaysia. Today I release my debate transcripts in English which clearly showed that unlike Chua I did not launch any personal attacks against Chua’s past or record.

Lim Guan Eng is the DAP secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister

Appended below are the transcripts of Guan Eng's speech and replies during the debate (without Chua Soi Lek's) - Mandarin version also available:

Introduction, Lim Guan Eng:

First of all, I would like to thank the organisers for this live televised debate. Televised debates mark a new chapter in Malaysian political democracy because it is an important element in the democratisation process. I hope that from today onwards, televised debates will be a common phenomenon in the Malaysian democratic system just like in Europe and the United States.

Thus, I believe what Malaysians really want to see is a debate between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, to see who really deserves to be Prime Minister.

Whoever isn’t brave enough to debate, don’t hope to think of becoming Prime Minister.

Chua suggested that DAP is being used by PAS. If we observe UMNO amongst the Malays, UMNO claims that PAS is being used by DAP. Therefore, I believe this self-contradictory statement is a dirty tactic employed by BN. I wish to stress here that Pakatan Rakyat component parties, be it PAS, PKR or DAP, we never use each other. We are only prepared to be “used” by the people! At the same time, we are also not anti-Malay or even anti-non-Malay; we are merely against a government that is riddled with corruption!

I feel that today’s theme, “Is A Two-Party System Becoming a Two-Race System?”, is quite strange. Because, there already exists a two-race system at the present moment, and we want to change it into a two-party system. This two-race system, which is BN’s long-held ideology since Independence until now, has BN dividing the people into Malays and non-Malays, this is a ‘divide-and-rule’ strategy. The Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had had said, “I am a Malay first, then only a Malaysian.” Is this 1Malaysia or is this Bluff(Tipu) Malaysia? This is indeed a two-race system.

On the other hand, a two-party system is premised on ideology, ideals and principles, without racial discrimination because we are all Malaysians.

In BN, UMNO only takes care of the Malays, MCA only takes care of the Chinese, MIC only takes care of the Indians, Gerakan... I don’t know takes care of who???.... That’s BN with their “you take care of your race, I take care of my race”. That is a two-race system! Conversely, in a two-party system, we are all brothers and sisters, we take care of each other; every Malaysian is part of one big family!

UMNO always proclaims “Malay Supremacy”. Does the MCA not see this, hear this or feel this, and thus are not brave enough to stand up to them? Hence, we still hear that the Chinese are immigrants(pendatang) and do not deserve equal rights.

PR is different from BN. We don’t want “Malay Supremacy”, what we want is “Rakyat(People) Supremacy”! Anwar not only speaks about “Rakyat Supremacy” in front of non-Malays, but he also says the same thing to the Malays. Will UMNO leaders dare to stop proclaiming “Malay Supremacy” and instead support “Rakyat Supremacy”.

When the people or PR leaders expose abuse of power or corruption and question the Police or the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, we are accused of challenging the Malay institutions – this is a two-race system, because corruption does not discriminate against the colour of one’s skin. The late Ahmad Sarbaini, the customs officer who lost his life, is he not a human being?

Pakatan Rakyat wants to abolish corruption, BN wants corruption. PR wants to ensure leaders who are honest and a government that is clean, including public declaration of assets of government leaders, open tenders, now this is a two-party system! Most importantly, the real corrupt officers must be caught, and not slandering the poor innocent Teoh Beng Hock.

My opponent always says: “Other races become government, Chinese become opposition”. This is totally wrong. In truth, “BN MCA becomes opposition, PR DAP becomes government” is what worries MCA. Not only does the Chinese support PR to bring change, the Malays do so as well, if not PR would not have been able to gain 40% Malay support and the political tsunami would not have happened. Without the political tsunami I believe I would not have the opportunity to stand here as the Chief Minister of Penang and Chua would not have the chance to become the President of the MCA.

In a democratic system, a two-party system requires alternating governments. Let the BN fall and become the opposition, let PR rise to become the government. If PR does not rule well, then the people have the right to change again after five years. This is a two-party system, with alternating parties ruling, only then will the people have a better life.

Question from the moderator:

The Chinese community have welcomed a two-party system since 1980. If we refer to the 2008 results, the amount of votes given to BN and PR are about the same. This shows that half the people are happy with BN while the other half harbour hopes for PR. Does this mean that both parties have achieved a two-party system? How would your party seek to win the other half?

Answer from LGE:

If PR is given the chance to rule, our policy will bring benefits to the people. Today, inflation is rising, our income is not enough to make ends meet. We want to reduce the people’s burden. If we become government, we will abolish the North-South Expressway and the Penang Bridge tolls. We will also increase oil royalties from 5% to 20% for Sabah and Sarawak.

I know, since Penang gave RM100 to senior citizens every year, BN has copied. Not only BN has copied, MCA too has copied. So, besides thanking Chua, they(MCA members) should also thank the Penang State Government. If we take power at the federal level, we wish to inform all 2.1 million senior citizens in the country that we promise to give RM1,000 every year. These are the benefits of alternating governments.

They are judged on their policies. We want to become a policy state not a police state.

Answers for the Q&A session:

LGE: Was that Perak Exco Ma Han Soon? I think we all know that when PR was the government in Perak, it was PR which started the initiative to grant land to schools and permanent land titles to new village residents and the poor. However, since BN became government, this has been abolished. Because of that, I feel that you have no right to question anyone.

On the question of the Penang State Government making empty promises, I wish to stress that we have fulfilled all our election promises. On why the Sungai Nyior toll has not been abolished, we must remember that this is under the power of the Federal Government. We have not taken over the Federal Government, so be patient.... When we have taken over the Federal Government, of course we will abolish it, as well as the North-South Expressway and the Penang Bridge tolls.

However, even though we have not abolished the Sungai Nyior toll, we have built a road to bypass the toll plaza, so it is the same, no need to pay toll.

The success of Penang, I believe has been proven. After March 2008, everyone can see, touch and feel the changes that have happened. In Peninsular Malaysia, the first dual lingual road signs in Chinese were erected in Penang. The first Tamil road signs in Malaysia are also in Penang. For the first time in Penang, we also have road signs in Arabic, all due to the success of the PR Government. Penang’s success in combating corruption is also notable, resulting in praise from Transparency International. If there are people who are guilty, we will not let them get off scot-free, and the fact the Penang has zero corruption has been recognised by an international organisation. When we say we don’t take money, we don’t take money. Thank you.

Questions to each other:

CSL: We hear populist policies, giving RM100, abolish this, abolish that... Can you, on this stage, tell us what is the community development and economic model of Pakatan Rakyat so that Malaysia can escape the low-income trap and achieve high income status, including implementing the promises in the Buku Jingga?

LGE: I believe this is the difference between myself and Chua. He is not anxiously concerned about corruption, while I am very anxiously concerned about corruption. We need to have a framework for administrating the country’s affairs. What is the plan to bring economic development? I wish to use the Penang model as an example.

This is the result of the Penang Pakatan Rakyat State Government’s practice of “money makes money”. This system stresses four key aspects. First, “money raise money” through cooperation between the private and public sectors (Public Private Partnerships) in executing development projects. Secondly is “money earns money” through an open tender system, the State Government can cut costs. Third is “money creates money” through innovation and creativity. Finally, “money saves money”. If we don’t take money, for sure there will always be money to be saved.

Therefore, the Penang State Government has enjoyed a budget surplus every year for four years, and is able to give back to the people through our Senior Citizens Programme with RM 100 every year, and RM1,000 one-off to beneficiaries of senior citizens who pass away.

Even newborn babies get RM200 under our Golden Child Programme. When Barisan Nasional was ruling Penang, not a single sen was given, but with the principle of “money makes money”, we have given benefits to the people of Penang, and this is actually an anti-corruption dividend!

In addition to that, in Malaysia, I believe that if we abolish corruption, we will be able to save a lot of money and give back to the people. This is our promise, Penang is the best proof! If we dare to fight corruption, we will definitely have money. Thank you.

Answers to the Q&A and Conclusion, LGE:

First of all, I would like to rebut certain accusations that the Penang State Government has not given land to Chinese schools. I feel this is not only lying to yourself but also lying to others. This is because we have proof, even the schools can verify that the Pakatan Rakyat Government has given land. Don’t forget, the Pakatan Rakyat State Government has now institutionalised allocations to all school streams, not just Chinese schools, also Tamil schools, Sekolah Agama Rakyat or religious schools and private Chinese schools. Before, there was nothing, and now they receive yearly allocations.

Here, I would like to make a plea to all Malaysians. Be brave enough to change, we must not surrender our destiny to fate. We deserve equal opportunities. No longer must we kneel down and beg. We must boldly rise up with dignity to seek change! We do not want to be lied to anymore, change now! Look, the MCA President too has changed, for the first time he is debating with the Rocket. But this debate is not as important as whether MCA dares to say “No” to UMNO?

Why say “No” to UMNO? Because UMNO uses racial and religious sentiments, including supporting PERKASA to inflame and divide the people! Secondly, UMNO abuses laws that impinge upon human rights. UMNO condones corruption, Shahrizat’s case with the cows is only the tip of the iceberg. Even more serious, in the last 10 years, RM1 trillion of illicit funds (corruption money) has been illegally taken out of the country. How do we account for this? This is why we want a two-party system.

As what the former MCA President Ong Tee Keat described MCA’s cooperation with UMNO. He said, “Before at least MCA could eat the leftovers dishes on the table, but now the best they can hope for are the breadcrumbs.”

Many Malays have not enjoyed the fruits of development of this country. They don’t get RM250 million to raise cows, because most of the “good fruits” have been eaten by BN cronies leaving to the people only the “dead” fruits.

The problems faced by the Chinese community, I believe everyone knows there are many problems. Besides the problem of the private school certificates (UEC) not being recognised, Chinese schools do not get enough allocation funds, teachers who are not proficient in Chinese are sent to Chinese schools, there are also problems with temporary teachers that have not been resolved. But issues of unequal access to the economy and jobs, I believe are not only faced by the Chinese, but also by other races. That is why we have to take this chance to work together with the other races to bring about change.

What we stress now is about the future of our children. The future of my generation has already been robbed by BN for 50 years, don’t let our children’s future be robbed as well. Therefore, we are awaiting the chance to change.

This morning before I came, I told my daughter that if given the chance, I would like to be the voice of her generation. I hope to provide policies that will enable you to live here and not to migrate. We must give importance to talent. Remember, only by appreciating, emphasising and choosing talent can the future of Malaysia be bright and prosperous.

Look at South Korea, in 1970, their average per capita income was only USD260 in 1970 Malaysia was better, we had USD380 then. However, South Korea has now surpassed Malaysia. Now, our average income is USD7,760 while South Korea has reached USD20,000! Why has South Korea become a high income nation while Malaysia has failed? The main factor is that South Korea is a democratic country, practices a two-party system, has an alternating change of government. Therefore, if we want to change, if we want Malaysia to become a high income nation, we must be brave to rise up for change, we must be brave to realise a two party system. This path is not easy, but I wish to remind everyone, our cooperation with PAS, PKR is based on a written manifesto. It has been announced in public, PAS has their ideology, DAP has our ideology, but don’t forget, PAS has never caused the death of a single Chinese. Let us be strong, will ourselves to change. Even though the path may be difficult, but for the sake of our younger generation, we must complete this journey of change!