Isnin, 24 September 2012

MY VOICE FOR NATION

MY VOICE FOR NATION

PR leaders: Tunku Aziz is a BN agent

Posted: 24 Sep 2012 01:29 AM PDT

Ex-DAP leaders: We are not with Tunku Aziz

Posted: 24 Sep 2012 01:24 AM PDT
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ZULKIFLI BIN NOORDIN

ZULKIFLI BIN NOORDIN

Posted: 24 Sep 2012 12:22 AM PDT

Salam 2 all. Alhamdulillah setelah begitu lama menjadi mangsa pencabul cyber, laman blog teman telah dapat dipulihkan. Syabas dan tahniah kepada sahabat-sahabat yang bertungkus lumus cuba menghidupkan semula laman blog ini. Alhamdulillah berkat usaha dan doa semua, akhirnya laman www.zul4kulim.blogspot.com berjaya dipulihkan. Insyallah teman akan mula menulis semula di laman ini. Memang selama beberapa bulan ni rasa dedar juga tak dapat menulis kat blog ni. Facebook pun kena hack. Tinggal twitter je yop, itu pun ada cubaan nak sabotaj tetapi tak berjaya. Satu peringatan teman untuk semua, ada cubaan untuk mengujudkan laman Facebook & Twitter menggunakan nama dan identiti teman. Dan dilaman-laman tersebut, pencabul cyber ni menulis perkara-perkara yan merepek dan mengarut, termasuk mencarut dan lain-lain, kononnya ditulis oleh teman. Tujuannya tak lain tak bukan cuba nak merosakkan kredibiliti teman. Harap mike semua berhati-hati dengan pencabul cyber ni. Teman memang menerima hakikat banyak cubaan untuk sabotaj laman blog ini dan laman FB & Twitter teman. Dengar kate para parasitus kalkatus rakus macam cacing kepanasan dengan blog teman ni yop. Kebenaran itu memang menyakitkan! Apa yan teman cuba tulis adalah menceritakan kebenaran; mendedahkan kepalsuan, pembohongan dan putarbelit para parasit ini dengan politik matlamat menghalalkan cara hanya untuk memenuhi nafsu menduduki takhta Putrajaya (yang pernah mereka cuba nak lelong). The pen is mightier then sword. Tetapi teman juga selalu memperingatkan diri bahawa terlajak perahu boleh ditarik, terlajak kata burok padahnya! Apapun, kebenaran perlu diperjuangkan, kebatilan wajib dicegah. Kepada ALLAH kita berserah, semoga ALLAH memberikan petunjuk & hidayah, dan memelihara aqidah & keimanan kita. Dan semoga ALLAH sentiasa memberikan rahmat dan pengampunan kepada kita semua. Amin. Adios amigos, grasias senor. Zulkifli Bin Noordin Isnin 08 Zulqaedah 1433 24 Sep 2013
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Dr Shafie Abu Bakar

Dr Shafie Abu Bakar

Pesta Mainan Rakyat Dan Silat Di Daerah Gombak Dirasmikan Dato` Menteri Besar Selangor

Posted: 24 Sep 2012 04:40 PM PDT
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Direct Free Kick

Direct Free Kick

TEMBELANG SUDAH PECAH!!!!!... SATU FILEM KOMERSIAL KONONNYA KRISIS AIR DI SELANGOR AMAT TERUK MERUNCING DIKESAN SEDANG MELAKUKAN PENGAMBARAN DISEBUAH PANGSAPURI DIPETALING JAYA!!!!.. SUDAH KANTOII!!! NANTIKAN PENYIARANNYA DISEMUA SALURAN TV TIDAK BEBERAPA LAMA LAGI!!! BELUM SEMPAT DISIARKAN RAKYAT SUDAH DIMAKLUMKAN!!!!

Posted: 24 Sep 2012 01:47 AM PDT


BIAR GAMBAR BEBICARA.... CARA UMNO MEMBUAT PROPAGANDA MURAHAN DENGAN MEMFITNAH KERAJAAN PKR/PR SELANGOR DIBAWAH PIMPINAN TAN SRI DATUK SERI ABD KHALID IBRAHIM.

Antara babak kelihatan, orang ramai beratur mendapatkan air daripada lori bekalan air.

Beberapa buah baldi tertera logo 1M'sia yang bertaburan digunakan sebagai perkakas angkut air berjaya dirakam

Dipercayai lakonan dibiyai oleh UMNO/BN dan penggambaran rahsia dilakukan di sebuah blok pangsapuri di Petaling Jaya untuk dijadikan alat propaganda bagi memberikan persepsi buruk terhadap kerajaan negeri dalam isu air di Selangor..

Penggambaran tersebut dilakukan dengan pelakon-pelakon disuruh beratur sambil memegang baldi dan tong-tong air dihadapan lori tangki air,konon-kononnya mereka sedang berbaris untuk mengambil air dari lori tangki tersebut..

PALING KANTOI LUMAT LUNYAI IALAH KETUA ARAK KEPALA LEMBU, TOWKEH IPAD 1M'SIA,SALAH SEORANG PEGANJUR BERSIH 4.0 CELUP DAN EXCO PEMUDA UMNO SERTA PENGERUSI KRAFTANGAN  DATUK SUHAIMI  KELIHATAN SIBUK DILOKASI PENGAMBARAN!!! 

BELUM SEMPAT DIPACARKAN DIKACA TV SUDAH KENA KANTOI LUMAT LUNYAI!!!!

- Daripada laman web Omak Kau!
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Comments for Wee Choo Keong

Comments for Wee Choo Keong

Comment on Is MAS serious about its Whistleblower Programe? by Joshua

Posted: 24 Sep 2012 08:39 AM PDT

That is the main problem with WB Program. The selected people will be protected all the way. The good example is the case of Nanny Danny. I hope that AJ will learn from his obvious mistakes.

Comment on Is MAS serious about its Whistleblower Programe? by Ahmad Jahil

Posted: 24 Sep 2012 07:46 AM PDT

Very true.
Once these people joined MAS, they lost their marbles and their balls decimated.

Comment on MAS to operate three international routes from KK in Dec 2012 by AZLAN

Posted: 24 Sep 2012 07:05 AM PDT

I agree with MAS Boy…Mr Gooberman ingat orang MAS ni bodoh…Macam kita tak tau WHY HE KEEP FIRING WHOEVER YANG QUESTIONING OR COMMENTING HIS GOD FATHER CREADIBILITY..

Comment on Is MAS serious about its Whistleblower Programe? by Anonymous

Posted: 24 Sep 2012 05:00 AM PDT

What do you expect? Security itself is full of guys who are tainted, and we are not talking about the lower ranks here. The definition of Integrity in MAS is a very subjective one, simply because its enforcement is applied very selectively. 99% of staff do not believe in the WB programme anyway, who wants to be the messenger who will get slaughtered, especially if the person you are WB-ing against is from HR or has godfathers/godmothers in the system. Most staff will rather shut up and watch, so what if the lack of “integrity” is costing the Company millions? Start at HR, how many negligent decisions/actions have been made that has cost MAS plenty, either directly or via cases lost in the Industrial courts – has anybody in HR ever been made accountable? None. And the HR Head is in the WB committee! Who wants to bother with WB-ing?

Comment on Is MAS serious about its Whistleblower Programe? by Fuad

Posted: 24 Sep 2012 04:26 AM PDT

Cerita benar,

Maybe your complaint is only on the blog and not through whistle blower. Blow the whistle loudly, sure they will hear you. If you had complaint through them before but no action taken till date, then ‘yes’ they are not transparent and only move on selective cases.

Comment on Is MAS serious about its Whistleblower Programe? by cerita benar

Posted: 24 Sep 2012 03:26 AM PDT

cerita benar,

Fuad dont waste time with anybody from MACC to come to investigate anything bcos there is a chinese guy ex MACC working in Business Integrity dept and also your security vp is an ex officer from PDRM but my compain went on deaf ears.

Comment on MAS to operate three international routes from KK in Dec 2012 by MAS Boy

Posted: 23 Sep 2012 10:10 PM PDT

I could sense one or two Pariah’s cybertroopers were lurking around in the comments. just ignore them. The pariah just want to see MAS going down. Unfortunately, he is left with one more idiot in the Engineering. Lets see for how long he can hang on. Lets get him out in disgrace like Nanny Danny.

Comment on AJ gave Martin Barrow the boot? by The Gooberman

Posted: 23 Sep 2012 09:54 PM PDT

Anon 10:22 pm

Could you please provide examples where what I have posted has also appeared in “aviation journals”?

Which “aviation journals” and when?

And if you are emoting about “Tony n gang”, what about targeting those individuals who managed MAS into restructurings and bailouts way before Tony F appeared on the aviation scene?

That’s a dubious roll call of “honour”, isn’t it?

And, pray enlighten us, exactly what “aviation industry” are we talking about?

Comment on Is MAS serious about its Whistleblower Programe? by Fuad

Posted: 23 Sep 2012 06:59 PM PDT

It is just a blow job by the management. They are only interested in after the ungraded staffs but when it comes to the management all will be swept under the carpet. Nanny Danny is a clear example. I agree that MAS should invite MACC to send an officer to be a member of the Whistleblower Program if the management really wants to instill confident within the staff.

The mere appointment of the MACC officer tot he committee will itself an immediate boost to the status of the program.

Comment on Is MAS serious about its Whistleblower Programe? by Hantu Kak Limah

Posted: 23 Sep 2012 11:04 AM PDT

So AJ, GE Man has spoken. What else do you want? Go dig out la the issue. You don’t bother small2 things down here la wei.. Go catch the big fishes first then all the corruptions down here will stop. Leadership by example bro!

Unless you are one of the fishes lah…
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Nurul Izzah Anwar

Nurul Izzah Anwar

AsiaWeek: Father’s Girl

Posted: 24 Sep 2012 03:04 AM PDT

13 August 1999

Up close and political with Nurul Izzah, who has proved tougher than anyone expected
By Santha Oorjitham

IT HAS BEEN QUITE a year for Nurul Izzah Anwar. In April of 1998 she left her family for the first time to attend college. Then, one semester into her degree, her father, Anwar Ibrahim, was fired as deputy prime minister and finance minister. Nurul Izzah rushed back to be with her family. Anwar was dragged from their home before her eyes and later charged with abuse of power and sexual misconduct. A lurid trial followed that was rife with homosexual allegations against her father. It ended with Anwar sentenced to six years in prison. At the time just 17, Nurul Izzah watched her mother, Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, take up Anwar’s political struggle and launch Keadilan, the National Justice Party, which will contest upcoming elections.

Before long, the shy teenager was herself traveling the globe and making impassioned, if unpolished, speeches. When she wasn’t doing that she was attending her father’s trial and looking after her five siblings. Nurul Izzah’s sudden plunge into the spotlight drew criticism from certain quarters that she was being used to prop up her father’s political support. Even close relatives expected her to crumble under the strain. And yet, much to her own surprise, she has endured – proving, perhaps, that Nurul Izzah is very much her father’s daughter.

Nurul Izzah was born into politics. When her father and mother were courting, Anwar was still considered a radical and hence an arrest worry. Wan Azizah’s father, Wan Ismail Wan Mahmood, suggested that the couple wait until the political climate improved. They went ahead and married in February of 1980. Ten months later, on Nov. 19, Nurul Izzah (Light of Success) arrived. Early on, her mother recalls, the little girl demonstrated an ability to ride out emotional and physical pain. When she was about three years old, Nurul Izzah fell and hit her head. The cut required two stitches, without anesthetic. “She cried a little,” says her mother, “but she was pretty tough.”

Wan Azizah did not have her second child until Nurul Izzah was four, so she spent a lot of time with her first born and they developed an extraordinarily close relationship, even for a mother and daughter. Eventually, the house was filled with the chatter and play of six children, five girls and a boy. From the beginning, Nurul Izzah played the capable big sister to the rest.

Wan Mahmood recalls a “very active little girl, very cheerful, very bright.” They would sing English and Malay songs together, with Nurul Izzah holding a cup like a microphone. While many people say the girl later became shy, her grandfather, who ran the government’s Psychological Warfare Unit for some 30 years, says from the beginning he saw “her quality, her personality, which is extroverted, not shy. She could get along with anybody, young or old.” It was after Nurul Izzah started school, recalls her uncle Rusli Ibrahim, Anwar’s younger brother, that she became more withdrawn and focused on her studies. “Her heart was in her education because she’s the eldest,” he says. “With five under her, she had to show the best to her younger brothers and sisters.”

During her early childhood, Nurul Izzah did not see much of her father; his political career was just taking off and he was always busy. Things changed, however, when she was 12; Anwar had been named deputy prime minister and, she recalls, he decided to make more time for his family. When her father went overseas with her mother, she says, he called his children every day. “We always tried to have family dinner three or four times a week,” says Nurul Izzah. “Most days, he’d come home for lunch and we’d discuss.” Politics, however, rarely intruded, and Nurul Izzah says she made it personal policy not to ask her father about his job. Until, that is, her friends at school began complaining to her about the controversial Bakun Dam project in Sarawak. Then she asked her father “why it was still on when all the nature foundations were condemning it. He would say: ‘What can I do?’”

During those days, the family lived in the seven-bedroom deputy prime minister’s official residence in Kuala Lumpur’s tony Damansara district. In truth, Nurul Izzah never liked the place. It was old. There were termites. The plumbing was cantankerous. And the grounds were almost surrounded by jungle. It was creepy at night. “We were used to our own house, and this was so grand,” Nurul Izzah recalls. “It was not ours; it was government property. My father would scold us if we didn’t turn out the lights and would tell us not to waste electricity.” Farang, one of Nurul Izzah’s friends, slept over and recalls they wouldn’t move around in the house at night but would lock the bedroom door and listen to CDs.

Nurul Izzah’s room was crammed with books. Among her favorite writers were Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters and the World War I British poet Wilfred Owen, of whom she had posters. Owen seems a strange choice for a contemporary girl, but Nurul Izzah says his verse struck a chord. “When I read it, I saw the value of life, how war destroys everything. The notion of death and how you should treasure life.” Although she was in the science stream at the Assunta Secondary girls school, Nurul Izzah wanted to do English Literature as an A-level subject, so she took outside tuition. “We would argue about literary terms,” says her former teacher, Veronica Loo. “She’s very artsy and has a literary streak which she inherited from her father.”

At home, Nurul Izzah played the piano but later took up the guitar – inspired by her favorite band Radiohead, a British alternative act. She especially likes the song “Paranoid Android,” which goes like this: When I am king you will be first against the wall/With your opinions which are of no consequence at all/Ambition makes you look very ugly/Why don’t you remember my name/Off with his head.

An A student, Nurul Izzah was a prefect throughout school. At first she was reluctant to take the post. “She wanted to keep a low profile,” Loo recalls. “She was afraid [the prefectship] was [offered] because of who she was.” By all accounts, Nurul Izzah made a good prefect – “stern,” says her pal Farang, “but not too strict.” But Nurul Izzah didn’t like the job. “It reminded me so much of the police,” she says. “I had to give out detention slips.” Her friends recall a quiet student who wanted to be treated like everyone else and shied away from being photographed. Nonetheless, Nurul Izzah revealed a talent for the stage and was active in the English Literary and Debating Society, which put on regular concerts. In 1996, she played the Lady of Shalott in a dramatization of the Alfred Lord Tennyson poem. Her parents were in the audience. “I ‘died’ in front of them,” she says. “I loved it!”

That was before Nurul Izzah began wearing a tudung, the headscarf favored by traditional Muslim women. She insists there was no pressure from her father, that it was her decision. “I was growing up. Everyone wants to look beautiful, but it’s a form of decency and modesty.” By then, Nurul Izzah had finished her O levels and was preparing to start university. In the interim she studied the guitar, French and the Koran. “My father didn’t want me to waste my time,” she says. When she wasn’t busy studying, Nurul Izzah and her friend Farang went to movies and slept over at each other’s homes. “But I didn’t meet boys,” she says. “My parents were quite strict.”

Nurul Izzah decided on a bachelor of science in chemical engineering. “I wanted to go to Cambridge, but my father wanted me to go to a local university because he was promoting local studies. I understand what he was saying now. I can always do my masters overseas.” Farang recalls “there were lots of tears” when Nurul Izzah headed north to Petronas University of Technology in small-town Tronoh, Perak. Farang and Wan Azizah went up to Tronoh to settle Nurul Izzah in. They hung up her Radiohead posters and pertinent sentences from the Koran. “It was my first time living away from home,” says Nurul Izzah. “My father called me every day.” On Aug. 9, the day before Anwar’s 51st birthday, she wrote to him. “I said: We’re so lucky our task in life is only to study, get good grades and get a degree. I don’t have to fight for a cause. I’m reminded of your time [as a student radical] and I wonder how you did all that. It was amazing. I wish I had something to fight for.”

IN LATE AUGUST, her father’s calls became more sporadic. Rumors were circulating on campus that he was in trouble. But Nurul Izzah, the good student, had no time to read the newspapers and, besides, she was busy studying for her exams. On Sept. 2, 1998, Nurul Izzah was preparing for the mathematics final, to be held the following day. On her way home from college, she caught sad looks from fellow students, but no one said anything. She wondered: Why are they looking at me like that? At about 7:30 p.m., her best friend called and said: “I’m so sorry.” Nurul Izzah asked why. “Haven’t you heard?” the friend replied. “The PM has sacked your father.” Nurul Izzah broke down in tears. Finally, at midnight, she managed to get her father on the phone. “He said: ‘Izzah, be brave. I will fight on. Take your exam and don’t worry about me.’” The next day at school, no one seemed to know what to say. “I think they were scared,” Nurul Izzah says. “I didn’t really get to know everyone because I was new there.” But she recalls close friends rallying around her.

Nurul Izzah wrote her math exam and returned to Kuala Lumpur. By then the electricity and the water to the official residence had been cut off. The family moved back to their home in Damansara Heights. For the next three weeks, crowds poured into the house, churning the garden into a sea of mud. Outside, vendors set up stalls selling food, drinks, tapes of Anwar’s speeches and bumper stickers calling for “Reformasi.” Then, on Sept. 20, balaclava-clad members of the Special Action Forces smashed their way into the house, as police helicopters swept the grounds with blinding searchlights. The authorities bundled into a van Anwar, his wife, Nurul Izzah and the rest of the family – except for one daughter who was left behind in the chaos. Later, her father was transferred to a police car and taken to prison. He was charged with five counts of corruption and five of sexual misconduct. Nurul Izzah’s life had changed forever.

Over the next few months she would watch her father fight for his political life. She would endure the seedy allegations of his alleged affairs with his private secretary’s wife. She would listen to even more sordid testimony about her father’s alleged homosexual dalliances with her mother’s former driver Azizan Abu Bakar, and Anwar’s adopted brother, Sukma Darmawan Saasmitaat Madja, a man Nurul Izzah has known since childhood. She watched as the police dragged into court the mattress her father allegedly used for his trysts. For her, the 77-day trial was a “test of patience.” Now, she is attending Anwar’s trial on charges of sodomy (illegal in Malaysia), which she characterizes as “tougher.” Never does a day go by when she is not worrying about “the verdict, about my father.” She looks sadder in court these days.

In the aftermath of Anwar’s sacking, arrest and conviction, many of Nurul Izzah’s friends abandoned her, says Rozela Mohamad Dahlan, 19, a former schoolmate who lives near the family. “That shouldn’t happen to her,” says Rozela. “Maybe they were afraid and their parents didn’t allow them to see her.” Farang says: “That was the sad part. It really disturbed her. Now, she’s seeing who are her true friends.” But Nurul Izzah is empathetic. “My friends were quite supportive, but they’re scared. They are well-to-do and busy getting their degrees.”

Either way, the sleepovers and movies with Farang and Rozela are over. Nurul Izzah is all politics these days. Rozela professes amazement at her friend’s sudden transformation. She recently accompanied Nurul Izzah to a political event, where she wore a sash that read: “Puteri Reformasi” – or Princess of Reformation. “She talked about reformasi, the struggle,” says Rozela. “I was quite surprised; she’s changed a lot.” Nurul Izzah, adds Rozela, is still the same person on the phone – “very talkative. But her thinking is getting more mature. If I make stupid jokes, she advises me like a sister.”

Nurul Izzah is a poignant symbol for both her father and the reformasi cause, partly because many of the people who support Anwar are young like she is. Nurul Izzah has yet to address a hostile crowd – and given her age and experience most people are going to give her a break. In speeches, she tends to focus on her father’s situation and the need for young Malaysians to be more forthcoming about their views. When audience members ask questions about politics, one of her mother’s aides sometimes assists. And she has received more than one nasty e-mail to her father’s website. At other times she has played to sympathetic ears, including those of Presidents B. J. Habibie of Indonesia and Joseph Ejercito Estrada of the Philippines. In Manila, Nurul Izzah also met Kris Aquino, TV host and daughter of ex-president Corazon Aquino. The two young women had much to talk about, specifically what it is like to be thrust into the political limelight when your mother takes up the father’s mantle.

There are those who consider Nurul Izzah’s teenage politicking unseemly, not to mention the fact that a young Muslim woman is hobnobbing with elderly gentlemen, however eminent. “She has been made use of by certain parties to give speeches, to condemn the Malaysian government and Dr. Mahathir Mohamad,” says Ibrahim Ali, deputy minister in the PM’s department. “When a daughter speaks of her father, she will say he is correct. It takes a third party, rather than the wife or daughter, not to be emotional.” Nurul Izzah denies she is being manipulated for political purposes. “I have to clear [my father's] name and the family honor. How can I just sit there and do nothing?”

Nonetheless, there is much speculation that Nurul Izzah will follow Anwar and one day run for public office. She was supposed to return to university in June, but has taken another six months off. Anwar’s lawyers and her mother’s doctor friends are urging Nurul Izzah to ditch chemical engineering for political science; she is resisting the notion. When she was on a speaking engagement in Wales recently, Malaysian students asked her if she wanted to become a politician. “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it,” she says. And she has become notably more concerned with her public appearance. In the past, even when she started wearing the tudung, Nurul Izzah favored casual attire. These days, when she goes out, she is wearing the baju kurung, the traditional Malay tunic and long skirt.

Typically, Nurul Izzah leaves the house before nine a.m., accompanied by one or more of her sisters. Traffic willing they spend half-an-hour with their father at the court lockup before he heads to court. If the session is open to the public – sometimes the judge holds an in-camera session – Nurul Izzah watches the defense and prosecution tussle over procedure and legal technicalities. Later, Anwar’s daughter attends to her political obligations. Usually she speaks to students, but more recently she has been heading into the kampungs to address ordinary people.

At the family home on Jalan Setiamurni 1, much has returned to normal – and much hasn’t. The grass has grown back, but the broken panels in the front door and window are boarded up – a deliberate reminder, perhaps, of the state’s heavy-handedness. The dining room has become a meeting room, and the corridor leading to the library (now an office) has been blocked off with a sign that reads: “Only workers allowed entry.” Today, Nurul Izzah shares a room with her mother. Her four sisters also share a bedroom. They are too scared to sleep alone. To her younger siblings, Nurul Izzah is no politician, no Princess of Reform. She is still the big sister that she has always been.

Extracted from Asiaweek.com

http://www-cgi.cnn.com/ASIANOW/asiaweek/99/0813/sr1.html

Soalan-soalan Parlimen Penggal ke-5 Mesyuarat Ketiga 2012

Posted: 23 Sep 2012 11:22 PM PDT

Assalamualaikum w.b.t dan Salam Sejahtera…

Berikut adalah soalan-soalan yang saya bangkitkan di dalam Sesi Parlimen Mesyuarat ke-3 bagi Penggal ke-5 ini.

Soalan Jawab Lisan

1. Puan Nurul Izzah binti Anwar [Lembah Pantai] minta Menteri Belia dan Sukan menyatakan jumlah bilangan orang yang menyertai rombongan Malaysia ke sukan Olimpik di London. Nyatakan senarai nama atlet dan jurulatih dan lain-lain.

2. Puan Nurul Izzah binti Anwar [Lembah Pantai] minta Menteri Dalam Negeri menyatakan :-

(a) statistik-statistik terbahagi yang jelas untuk jenayah yang berlaku pada lima tahun lepas ; dan

(b) peratus keseluruhan anggota polis yang ditugaskan untuk siasatan jenayah dan usaha yang diambil menugaskan semula anggota polis dari Jabatan lain ke Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah

3. Puan Nurul Izzah binti Anwar [Lembah Pantai] minta Perdana Menteri menyatakan butiran-butiran skim pelindungan baharu yang diberi kepada anggota-anggota peronda Rukun Tetangga (RT) di mana di bawah skim insurans tersebut, sebanyak RM40,000 diperuntukkan untuk melaksanakan skim itu dan ianya dijangka akan bermula pada tahun depan.

4. Puan Nurul Izzah binti Anwar [Lembah Pantai] minta Menteri Luar Negeri menyatakan penjelasan mengenai lawatan Member of the Standing Commitee of the Central Bureau of the Communist Party of the People’s Republic of China yang dikatakan bertujuan untuk merapatkan lagi hubungan di antara Kerajaan Malaysia dengan Kerajaan Parti Komunis dan menyatakan sama ada ini membuka pintu kepada Kerajaan dimasuki pengaruh komunis.

5. Puan Nurul Izzah binti Anwar [Lembah Pantai] minta Perdana Menteri menyatakan langkah-langkah Kerajaan yang diambil bagi mengelakkan terjejasnya harga pasaran hartanah dan lebihan hartanah yang tidak dijual dengan pengumuman projek KLIDB dan Kuala Lumpur International Financial District (KLIFD) memandangkan KLCC masih lagi mengalami 17 peratus kekosongan hartanah.

6. Puan Nurul Izzah binti Anwar [Lembah Pantai] minta Menteri Perdagangan Antarabangsa da Industri menyatakan adakah Kerajaan akan mengkaji semula pengurusan permit import kenderaan (AP) bagi penghapusan duti eksais kereta seperti yang diumumkan oleh Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed.

7. Puan Nurul Izzah binti Anwar [Lembah Pantai] minta Menteri Kerja Raya menyatakan :-

(a) jumlah projek ‘sakit’ Kementerian dalam tempoh perancangan 2012-2013 Rancangan Malaysia Kesepuluh (RMK-10) dan jumlah kerugian yang dialami oleh Kerajaan akibat kelewatan; dan

(b) tindakan yang diambil terhadap kontraktor yang tidak menyempurnakan projek mengikut jadual.

8. Puan Nurul Izzah binti Anwar [Lembah Pantai] minta Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan dan Kesejahteraan Bandar menyatakan senaraikan tanah-tanah yang bertaraf institusi yang wujud dan juga yang telah ditukar taraf seperti kes IPD Brickfields atas keputusan kabinet semenjak tahun 2000.

9. Puan Nurul Izzah binti Anwar [Lembah Pantai] minta Menteri Pelajaran menyatakan penjelasan mengenai bilangan graduan yang telah berjaya menemui pekerjaan selepas mendaftarkan diri ke dalam program Skim Latihan 1Malaysia yang dilancarkan pada 1 Jun 2011 dan sektor terbesar yang tela menerima para pekerja dari program tersebut.

Soalan Bertulis

1. Puan Nurul Izzah binti Anwar [Lembah Pantai] minta Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan dan Kesejahteraan Bandar menyatakan jumlah surat tawaran Skim Pembiayaan Khas PPR-MTENDPA DBKL Fasa 1 yang telah diedar mengikut lokasi dan kawasan Parlimen. Nyatakan juga jumlah yang menolak surat tawaran dan sebab-sebab yang diberikan.

2. Puan Nurul Izzah binti Anwar [Lembah Pantai] minta Menteri Kewangan menyatakan penjelasan tentang perjanjian khas mengenai pembekalan bahan api antara MAS dan Petron Sdn Bhd yang terjamin boleh mengurangkan kerugian MAS sebelum ini.

3. Puan Nurul Izzah binti Anwar [Lembah Pantai] minta Menteri Pengangkutan menyatakan rasional Advanced Air Traffic Systems (M) mendapat projek KLIA2 walaupun syarikat tersebut telah kalah dalam bidaan untuk mendapat kontrak itu.

4.  Puan Nurul Izzah binti Anwar [Lembah Pantai] minta Menteri Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri menyatakan sebab Malaysia telah bersetuju kepada syarat-syarat dalam Perjanjian Perkongsian Trans-Pasifik (TPFTA) yang memberi hak istimewa kepada pelabur-pelabur asing dan syarikat-syarikat swasta dan menghadkan kuasa Kerajaan untuk menguatkuasakan undang-undang pengendalian syarikat-syaikat ini.

5.  Puan Nurul Izzah binti Anwar [Lembah Pantai] minta Menteri Pertahanan menyatakan adakah Syarikat Sapura berjaya menepati kesemua spesifikasi Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (ATM) di dalam projek Network Centric Operations (NCO).

Wawancara The Malaysian Times bersama Nurul Izzah Anwar

Posted: 23 Sep 2012 07:39 PM PDT

September 21, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, 21 Sept : Naib Presiden KeAdilan (PKR ) dan Ahli Parlimen Lembah Pantai Nurul Izzah Anwar hari ini sekali lagi mencabar Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan dan Kesejahteraan Bandar, Senator Datuk Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin berdebat berkaitan berhubung isu skim pembiayaan khas menggunakan dana Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja (KWSP) bagi memastikan masyarakat umum mengetahui isu sebenar penggunaan dana tersebut.

Katanya, sehingga kini tiada jawapan yang diberikan oleh Nong Chik dalam usaha membela rakyat berpendapatan rendah sekaligus membantu golongan miskin bandar memiliki rumah.

"Matlamat skim pembiayaan khas itu iaitu memastikan warga miskin bandar memiliki perumahan. Beliau ambil RM300 juta dengankadar pinjaman 5.5 peratus, pinjaman kepada warga kota untuk beli rumah PPR tapi mereka dicaj kadar faedah sebanyak 6.5 peratus iaitu satu peratus masuk Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan.

"Saya syorkan kita boleh ikut negara-negara lain iaitu tiada caj faedah yang dikenakan kerana mereka miskin. Bukan kita kata, dapat rumah percuma atau sebagainya, mereka bayar, tapi tak kan lah mahu dicaj kadar bunga sedangkan Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil dengan projek Pusat Fidlot Kebangsaan (NFC) dapat dua peratus.Ini sememangnya tidak masuk akal,"katanya dalam satu temubual eksklusif bersama The Malaysian Times (TMT) di sini hari ini.

Nurul Izzah menambah, Nong Chik pernah menyatakan di Parlimen bahawa penduduk di Wilayah Persekutuan tidak mempunyai sebarang masalah untuk membayar perbezaan caj sebanyak RM85 dan perkara ini diulas tanpa sebarang maklum balas daripada penduduk kawasan tersebut.

"Saya tahu warga PPR mempunyai masalah dengan perbezaan caj yang dikenakan kerana gaji mereka pun tidak seberapa. Jadi saya fikir melalui jawapan-jawapan ini dan saya cabar, kalau beliau rasa cadangan-cadangan beliau lebih baik, ok..kita debat. Isu ini sahaja. Tapi sampai hari ini belum lagi berani untuk sahut cabaran saya," jelas Ahli Parlimen Lembah Pantai itu.

Februari lalu, Nong Chik menyatakan hasrat untuk berdebat dengan tiga Ahli Parlimen dari Pakatan Rakyat iaitu Nurul Izzah, Ahli Parlimen Petaling Jaya Utara Tony Pua dan Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, wakil rakyat kerusi Kuala Selangor berhubung isu penggunaan dana KWSP.

Ketiga-tiga ahli pembangkang itu kemudiannya menyatakan persetujuan menyertai debat tersebut namun, cabaran yang dilaungkan oleh Nong Chik sehingga kini dilihat seperti pepatah melayu 'berkokok di luar gelanggang, bila ke tengah menyusup di bawah kelengkang'.

Skim Pembiayaan Khas ini telah diumumkan oleh Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak pada 28 Januari lalu, yang mana skim berkenaan bertujuan membantu golongan berpendapatan rendah memiliki rumah di Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur.

Sekitar 25,000 bakal pembeli telah diberikan surat tawaran oleh DBKL dan pembiayaan sepenuhnya kepada rumah yang dianggarkan bernilai antara RM21,500 dan RM35,000, akan diberikan kepada mereka oleh KWSP.

Sedia bertanding dengan Nong Chik

Ahli Parlimen Lembah Pantai itu juga menyatakan bahawa beliau mengalu-alukan Nong Chik untuk bertanding pada PIlihan Raya Umum ke-13 (PRU-13) di Lembah Pantai dan yakin pencalonan Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan dan Kesejahteraan Bandar itu tidak akan memberi kesan kepada prestasi khidmat beliau di kawasan tersebut.

Nurul Izzah berkata, PR tetap akan memberi khidmat terbaik kepada penduduk di kawasan Lembah Pantai meskipun menerima tentangan hebat daripada pihak-pihak tertentu.

"Saya masih menunggu beliau mengumumkan dirinya sebagai calon tapi beliau belum buat lagi.saya masih menunggu; baiknya Menteri Wilayah memberi khidmat di Lembah Pantai . Rasa tersentuh jiwa sekiranya beliau bertanding," ujarnya sinis.

Ditanya lanjut sama ada pencalonan Nong Chik akan memberi kesan kepada pengundi di kawasan Lembah Pantai yang dipimpin mereka, Nurul Izzah berkata ia bukan hanya melibatkan calon kawasan berkenaan.

"Kami (PR) buat apa yang kita mampu dan kita ambil maklum balas dengan positif. Kami akan cuba pastikan apa yang diminta oleh penduduk dan rakyat dapat dipenuhi dari masa ke semasa.

"Tapi malangnya apa yang kami lakukan tidak mendapat liputan media bahkan ada arahan sehingga gambar dan berita saya dipadam. Namun, itu tidak menghalang untuk saya berjuang untuk penduduk Lembah Pantai dan paling penting penduduk di kawasan ini mempunyai seorang wakil rakyat yang tidak takut bersuara," katanya.

Perbezaan kepimpinan Nong Chik dan Shahrizat

Selain mengulas lanjut mengenai kerjaya politiknya, TMT turut meminta pandangan Nurul Izzah mengenai perbezaan kepimpinan Nong Chik dan bekas Ahli Parlimen Lembah Pantai Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil .

"Saya letakkan begini, kedua-duanya Menteri. Shahrizat menteri ketika itu dan menteri yang dipilih, kemudian dilantik sebagai Senator. Pun begitu, saya tidak dihalang daripada segi tekanan diberikan dari agensi kerajaan, masjid-masjid, banner saya tidak dikoyak, dirobek dengan kasar dan sebagainya.

"Tapi ini semua berlaku di bawah pimpinan Nong Chik. Jadi saya tertanya-tanya, termasuklah serangan malam berdarah di Lembah Pantai. Batu dibaling, serangan dan sebagainya," kata Nurul Izzah.

Nurul Izzah berkata, sebagai ahli politik, pemimpin perlu bertarung secara professional dan bukannya menggunakan taktik kotor mahupun melemparkan berita-berita retorik terhadap pesaing masing-masing.

"Daripada sudut pandangan saya , Nong Chik terlalu ghairah menyalahgunakan kuasa. Ini kerana, semasa kepimpinan Shahrizat saya diberi kebebasan untuk berceramah, berkempen atau sebagainya namun di bawah kepimpinan Nong Chik, dewan pun saya tidak boleh gunakan. Keputusan bukan dibawah DBKL dan saya tahu arahan keluar dari siapa.

"Atas sebab itu saya nampak Shahrizat lebih berpengalaman meskipun terdapat kontroversi lain mengenai beliau. Saya hargai Shahrizat kerana beliau bersikap professional dalam pertarungan politik. Dalam politik, kita wajib ada padang sama rata. Jangan kita takutkan orang mahupun penduduk tempatan," jelas Nurul Izzah.

Dipetik dari The Malaysian Times:

http://www.themalaysiantimes.com.my/wawancara-tmt-bersama-nurul-izzah-anwar
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SUARA PERAK

SUARA PERAK

Posted: 23 Sep 2012 09:29 PM PDT
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Anwar Ibrahim

Anwar Ibrahim

Tough Challenge To Heal The Divides in Malaysia

Posted: 24 Sep 2012 12:15 AM PDT

From News.Scotsman

Anwar Ibrahim aims to upset the political status quo in multicultural Malaysia, writes Eddie Barnes.

Anwar Ibrahim is an unnoticed, softly-spoken presence in the smart London hotel where he is staying. But, in a year which has seen plenty of unexpected political revolutions across the world, here is the man who may lead the next one.

Dr Ibrahim is about to return to Malaysia where his coalition is preparing to try and usurp the ruling Barisan Nasional alliance which has run the wealthy south-east Asian country for the last 50 years. The BN is faltering, failing to meet the expectations of an increasingly sophisticated urban class and beset by allegations of vote-fixing, corruption and cronyism.

But, in a country which is divided by religion and between its dominant Malay, Chinese and Indian ethnic groups, the challenge is both to demonstrate an alternative and to put it into practice.

Dr Ibrahim, who is in town with Azeem Ibrahim, the Scottish businessman who acts as one of his international aides, has one of the great political back stories. The foremost Muslim activist of his day, he was groomed in the 1980s and 1990s by Malaysia's authoritarian ex-prime minister Mahatir Mohamad to be leader of the main Malay party, UMNO, which dominates the BN alliance.

But, as the pair moved apart, Mr Mahatir brutally cast him aside and, within weeks, Dr Ibrahim faced trumped up sodomy and corruption charges. He was sentenced in 1999 to six years in jail, getting out in 2004. Now, at the age of 65, and suffering from a chronically bad back, he has turned fire back on his old party colleagues, forming a cross-racial alliance of his own, called Pakatan, which makes the Conservative-Lib Dem team look like childhoold sweethearts. In the middle, Dr Ibrahim's new PKR party represents mainstream Malays who want an alternative to the status quo.

On his right is the Islamist group PAS, whose members would like to introduce Hudud (religious) laws to the country. To his left he has the Chinese-Indian DAP, which wants to guarantee a secular future of the nation, and better rights for the country's non-Malays.

It already looks tough for him – only last week, people in the DAP were complaining about plans by PAS to introduce Hudud. In Malaysia, a huge pro-?democracy rally earlier this year called Bersih (or "Clean") demonstrated the enormous desire for fair elections. Dr Ibrahim's coalition stands on that ticket of a more open country with a free press. He notes: "You cannot suggest that society is not prepared to experience a more mature democracy. For ten years you can blame the British for the poor education and people not familiar with the system. But not after 50 years."

A modern traditionalist, he avoids easy categorisation as a Muslim leader, and is easy to misrepresent. He says he is not a liberal and remains rooted in the Islamic movement. But he says he believes in taking a "hard line" on harsh views on both sides of the debate.

On the violent reaction to the blasphemous video insulting Islam, he agrees there is a "problem with the Muslim psyche … people are easily enraged and emotional." As to the outrage displayed by Malaysia's governing class, he declares: "The hypocrisy of these fellows talking about defending Islam when they are so blatantly corrupt and unjust. That is the ruling clique all over."

But he also accuses the West of bias against Islam. He has a deep love of America and its founding values, but adds: "Even the so-called more sophisticated Americans are so filled with Islamophobia. I have a better understanding of Christianity than they do of Islam."

What he wants is an intelligent response. He scorns the "crazy" move by Malaysia's ministry of education last week to publish a much-mocked guide on how to spot if someone is a homosexual (which remains illegal in conservative Malaysia).

So can he win? He doesn't think the election will be clean, accusing UMNO of bringing in "phantom voters" from the neighbouring Philippines and Indonesia to bump up their support. "There are very high expectations," he concedes. He says he needs to convince Malay voters that, in a racially divided society, he is going to keep their interests at heart. "But I think we will make it this time. I am really confident."

Kerugian Mata Wang: Anwar Arah Bank Negara Henti Perniagaan

Posted: 23 Sep 2012 10:35 PM PDT

KeadilanDaily

KUALA LUMPUR 24 September: Ketua Pembangkang, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim berkata, beliau telah mengarahkan Gabenor Bank Negara, Tan Sri Jaafar Hussein untuk menghentikan serta merta amalan perniagaan tukaran mata wang (forex) oleh Malaysia ketika dalam kerajaan.

"Saya selaku Menteri Kewangan ketika itu minta (perniagaan itu) dihenti serta merta.

Perniagaan forex (mata wang) dibuat sebelum 1990, sebelum saya menjadi Menteri Kewangan.
"Perniagaan forex ini dilakukan dengan kebenaran Menteri Kewangan sebelum itu dengan persetujuan Perdana Menteri ketika itu," kata Anwar.

Beliau menjelaskan demikian selepas diprovok Ahli Parlimen Rembau, Khairy Jamaluddin yang mencelah mengatakan Ahli Parlimen Ipoh Timur, Lim Kit Siang, pernah meminta Anwar meletak jawatan berikutan kerugian tersebut pada 1993.

"Tidak ada masalah (untuk jawab) Ipoh Timur. Ada perakuan. Memang ada kerugian yang dinafikan. Saya dah bercakap dengan Tan Sri Jaafar. Dia beri penjelasan walaupun belum mendapat maklumat.

"Walaupun dia tak bertanggungjawab (secara) langsung, tapi dia pilih untuk meletakkan jawatan. Peliknya Nor Mohamed Yakcop pula diangkat sebagai Menteri," tegas Anwar menjelaskan, Nor Mohamed ketika itu pemimpin Bank Negara yang bertanggungjawab di bawah Seksyen Forex Trade (dagangan matawang).

Terdahulu, Ahli Parlimen Permatang Pauh dalam soalan bertulis meminta kerajaan menyatakan langkah-langkah yang diambil untuk mengurangkan kadar perbelanjaan Persekutuan.

Ini memandangkan sumber pendapatan negara yang tidak berkembang secara signifikan, serta peningkatan hutang negara ke paras yang membimbangkan berjumlah RM437 bilion dengan defisit yang terus meningkat.

Rugi 5.7b: Kecam Soros Tetapi Angkat Pegawai BNM Ke Taraf Menteri

Posted: 23 Sep 2012 10:22 PM PDT

Malaysiakini

Kenapa spekulator matawang George Soros dikecam sebagai penyangak, ketika pihak yang bertanggungjawab atas kerugian RM5.7 bilion Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) melalui dagangan pertukaran asing (forex) dinaikkan pangkat?

Perkara ini dipersoal Lim Guan Eng (DAP-Bagan) kepada timbalan menteri kewangan Donald Lim di Parlimen hari ini.

“George Soros dicaci penyangak yang jejas pertukaran mata wang asing tapi adakah kerajaan sedar masa itu Bank Negara juga terlibat kegiatan sama, berjudi dengan wang negara dalam pertukaran mata wang asing?” soalnya.

Menuding jari kepada Nor Mohamad Yakcop (BN-Tasik Gelugor), Lim berkata, kenapa bekas pentadbir kanan Bank Negara itu tidak dipersalahkan, sebaliknya dinaikkan pangkat sebagai menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri.

“Ini bukan ‘Janji Ditepati’, tetapi ‘jampi ditepati’,” sindirnya.

Donald sebelum itu memberitahu Dewan Rakyat bahawa BNB rugi RM5.7 bilion pada 1992, seperti dilaporkan dalam laporan tahunannya pada 1993.

Sementara itu, Ketua Pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim berkata, beliau sebagai menteri kewangan pada masa itu mengesahkan dagangan tukaran asing berlaku sehingga menyebabkan kerugian besar dan mahu ia dihentikan serta merta.

Katanya, telah merujuk beberapa pihak, beliau difahamkan aktiviti itu dilakukan bawah seksyen forex BNM bawah selian Nor Mohamed Yakcop.

Soros: Blamed For Dr M’s Currency Gambling, Now Bogeyman For Najib’s Scorpenes

Posted: 23 Sep 2012 10:16 AM PDT

Malaysia Chronicle

Trapping Suaram (Suara Rakyat Malaysia) for whatever reasons is alike plodding on a dangerous path for UMNO and this will further dip Barisan's hopes in the next general election.

Suaram is a body that is apolitical and operates on the basis of social justice for all Malaysians. Founded in 1989 the aims and objectives are for the protection and promotion of human rights and the development of public awareness in Malaysia.

As reported, UMNO leaders have insinuated that the American non-governmental organisation (Open Society Institute presently called Open Society Foundation) that funded Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) is linked to currency speculator George Soros.

To promote democratic government

It was alleged that Open Society Institute (OSI) channelled funds in excess of US$ 180,000 (RM558, 556.92) to Suaram the period 2007 to 2010.

By virtue of this – the Soros factor – UMNO is beating the political drum to dupe the rakyat that it is "immoral" for Suaram to accept money from the organisation.

Suaram cannot be blamed even if it has received the funding. The network of Open Society Foundations or OSF (named Open Society Institute or OSI until 2011), is a grant making operation started by George Soros, aimed to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform.

OSF works to build alliances across borders and continents on issues such as combating corruption and rights abuses. This is far from any anti-money laundering or pro-terrorism activity that can be classified under the Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001.

Suaram has no record whatsoever of being a body that promotes terrorism. Neither is Suaram in cahoots with Soros to damage the country. Yet, to some UMNO leaders Soros was alleged to have "damaged" the country's economy in the past.

Soros was never the "devil"

For political reasons, the chorus calling for the demonising of Suaram has included many other pro-UMNO NGOs and also the former prime minister, Mahathir Muhammad. They feel that it's wrong to accept aid from any organisations that are connected to Soros.

Little do these armchair politicians or proponents of virtues realise that Soros was never the "devil" that caused the 1997/98 Asian Financial Crisis that involved Malaysia. As for Malaysia the real "devil" could have been leaders from among UMNO's rank and cronies.

Soros was politically perceived by Mahathir as the perpetrator of the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis. Soros was the individual who sabotaged the country's economy, so was the allegation by UMNO leaders echoing what Mahathir had said about Soros during the financial crisis.

Both Soros and Mahathir were actually into currency speculation but the former was too nifty for the latter. In fact, currency speculation was nothing new during Mahathir's tenure as prime minister.

The Malaysian economy was actually incapacitated a few times by local currency speculators more than what Soros had done in Asia.

It was bad governance; an economic bubble and the involvement of local currency speculators who made Malaysian economy vulnerable and the country lose billions when Bank Negara started the FOREX business well before 1997.

Soros is a businessman

Soros is a businessman who knows about the economy and of course the prime interest of any businessman is to make money. Mahathir was a politician who knew little about the economy but tried hard to become one.

But being economically handicapped at the time he had to depend on some of his trusted "expertise". When politicians and their inept cronies get into business, more often than not they damage the economy.

It was alleged that more than US$6 billion was lost in the FOREX market during Mahathir's tenure as premier. Malaysia’s foreign reserve was gambled away in 1992-1993. In fact it was alleged that Bank Negara, during Mahathir's time, was involved in global speculative activities tacitly as early as in the 1980s.

Mahathir's penchant for mega projects

Mahathir's penchant for mega economics projects did not work either. It only exacerbated the situation when investors had low confidence of the nation's economy. Investors trickled in only for quick gains.

More than RM6 billion was unnecessarily spent to build Telecoms tower in Kuala Lumpur and the high rise PETRONAS buildings that did not benefit the country much. The multi-billion ringgit national car project went awry and the buying of the RM300 million Lotus racing car plant did not bring much benefit to the national car industry.

The billions spent on the MSC (multimedia super corridor) venture was more hype than accomplishment. The abandoned Bakun project in Sarawak brought colossal loss to the economy.

The bailing out of failed companies and Bank Bumiputera perpetually dented the nation's coffer at the time. Billions of Employee’s Provident Fund and PETRONAS dollars were used to bail out projects given out to cronies at inflated prices without tenders and all this incurred a big financial loss to the country.

Non-performing loans

More than a billion was lost for the "purchase" of the Skyhawks from the US that was not delivered to the country. RM6 billion was lost in Perwaja Steel Mill. More than RM3 billion was burnt in the BMF scandals.

Cronies were allowed to borrow millions from local banks without collaterals that ended up becoming non-performing loans.

More than RM3 billion was lost from the London Tin scandal when the US released their Tin Stockpile. From 1992-93 the country experienced more than US$6 billion FOREX lost by Bank Negara. The list goes on.

As usual, the economic buffer was the hard-earned PETRONAS dollars – without which the country would have gone bankrupt.

Both shared a common desire

Just before the financial crisis economists warned Mahathir that if Malaysia did not manage its economy and finance right, it would suffer the same fate as countries that had observed their currencies tumbling.

In 1992 the battleground between Mahathir and Soros was the London foreign exchange market. Britain's FOREX market was the focus of many speculators who wanted to profit from the market instability at the time.

Both expected that they were going to make money from the British.

Mahathir expecting the pounds to appreciate gave the green light using billions of US currency from Bank Negara's foreign reserves to speculate on the British pound sterling.

Soros – the global FOREX player – expecting the fall of the pound borrowed 10 billion pounds from British banks and changed the money to German Mark.

Malaysian speculator, Mahathir lost

On Sept 16, 1992, unable to stand the economic and market pressure on its overvalued pound, Britain, instead of floating the pound, officially devalued its currency causing the pound to fall.

Soros, who took the loan from the British banks, repaid it in pounds which was then cheaper and pocketed the difference of more than US$1 billion.

While the Malaysian speculator Mahathir lost about US$4 billion.

As reported, later in 1993, Bank Negara again lost another US$2.2 billion in speculative activities. Malaysia's total loss by this time stood at US$6.2 billion. The actual figures for Bank Negara losses were never revealed, though.

Both the "gamblers" had the same desire – to make money. But in the end when Mahathir failed, Soros made the money. The stark difference here was that when Mahathir used the nation's money to bet, Soros used his own fund. The latter of course was more righteous in this game of FOREX gambling.

Why then demonise Soros and his charity work? The only reason must be because he was perceived by none other than Mahathir that he was a currency speculator. For political reasons, leaders within UMNO have forgotten and forgiven Mahathir for his past "gambling" habit.

Lack of investor confidence

Soros earned a billion dollar profit from speculating against the British currency in 1992. Malaysia got her fingers burnt.

Preceding the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis the annual economic "growth" rate of Malaysia was reported to be 8.5 percent for 6 years – from 1990 to 1996.

But a lack of investor confidence soon attributed to a wave of currency depreciation in the inflated economies of Asian countries at the time. Soros being a shrewd currency speculator could foresee the economic collapse of a few Asian countries.

In mid-1997, when the Thai Baht depreciated his fund managers sold US$10 million of Thai baht to make a fortune. He did not sell Malaysian ringgit or any other currencies. The depreciation of the Thai Baht was enough to lead to a domino effect on some other Asian economies, including Malaysia.

It only showed that the economies of these countries were not resilient enough.

Short-term investors pulled out their funds in droves resulting in the economic crisis in Malaysia. The value of the Malaysian currency fell by more than 50 percent from RM2.50 to RM3.80 to US$. The stock market index dropped and at one point hovered around 300 points.

The "Mahathir factor" too affected the stock market then. The country's stock market fell each time after Mahathir spoke against the economic market system.

To Soros, currency speculation is a business. He confessed that he had no time taking part in currency speculation for political purposes.

A serious business

Before June 1997, there were already signs on the wall that Malaysia would face with economic problems but this was ignored by Mahathir citing "sheer jealousy" of western countries as the reason.

During the crisis it was the low confidence level of investors in the country that led to huge capital flights sensing that the economic bubble was going to burst. Even prior to this crisis the economy of the country did not justify to the confidence of markets – a reality that Mahathir did not want to admit.

After being badly mangled, the aftermath of the financial crisis made Mahathir say that currency trading is unnecessary, unproductive and immoral during the IMF and World Bank meeting in Hong Kong which took place in mid-September 1997.

But the same was not mentioned after Bank Negara lost US$6 billion or more in FOREX trading. UMNO leaders cannot be too naïve not to comprehend this setback to the nation's economy.

To Soros, currency trading is business and weak governments have to be cautious not to create a bubble burst upon being tested by currency traders. Managing a nation is a serious business.

Singapore, Brunei and Japan, for instance, were the least affected during the 1997/98 financial crisis because of their economic resilience.

Finding scapegoats

Other UMNO leaders did not dare question or speak up against Mahathir, instead danced to the master's tune in blaming Soros for the latter's self-made debacle.

UMNO is always good at finding scapegoats. Instead of opening up the case relating to the Scorpene Scandal the leaders are trying to strike Suaram with the "Soros factor" – exploiting on the fund Suaram received from OSI.

However, the rakyat are not that irrational to buy UMNO's political ploy. They are just fervently waiting for the French court to reveal the truth about the Scorpene Scandal that involves UMNO, the country's top leadership and his cronies.
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