Friday, December 12, 2014

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim asked what the future holds:for Malaysia Najib rob us of our freedom

.The trail is too cold now, the reek,the odour, the scent, the stench and the smell are all long gone. So, the police dogs only barks around, not knowing what to follow or where to go.in our country, it is the ruling political dispensation of the day that decides the speed and direction of such high profile probes. Everyone knows why it took so long for this probe to reach even questioning stage. Any amount of questioning now is of no use as all evidences and witnesses would have been taken care of. there are so many criminal cases pending agains tMahather and his cronies with investigations in some cases still going on

‘Only those who have plotted against Anwar need to worry.’


 When opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang helm the federal government

PM  Najib will  become UMNO’s immortal hero how the corrupt  Malaysia public sector is perceived to be. It is this single factor which scares the potential investors away.

Malaysia's longest-serving MP Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah says the country's leadership must be willing to listen to advice. – The Malaysian Insider file pic. December 12, 2014.
Compared to previous royal commission of inquiry (RCI) reports, the report on the RCI on immigrants in Sabah is notably thin and has no appendices, DAP Gelang Patah MP Lim Kit Siang said.Another big scam to fool the people. Look at how the government actors in the photo are putting up fake smiles reading a fake report to fool the people.

Finally, an UMNO guy has got out of the feudalistic mindset and starting to question the leadership. This should be the way to ensure good governance and competent leadership.

Najib Inc is concerned about the government’s alleged slow-motion reforms programme and its inability to kickstart the investment cycle. Najib knows this well. But it would rather shift the blame to someone else.Without mincing words,  Penang Umno leader Khairuddin  said the party has many apple polishers who do not dare question their leaders.It’s strange how sometimes the people we care about the most, are the ones that strike us down and hurt us all too frequently. And it’s even stranger how the ones we pay the least attention to are the ones who are always there to help us. Most of us learn the hard way that more often than not, our love is unrequited, at least by a measure of scale. And nobody can deny the fact that it hurts when realisation slaps you in the face and screams “He/she doesn’t care, bro.” It’s never subtle, and it’s never easy. It’s just a good old case of priorities. Truly, you can’t blame someone because their priorities are different than yours, all you can do is learn from them.


With the economy heading toward uncertainty due to plunging global crude oil prices and a weakening ringgit against the US dollar, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is demanding that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak step up and provide decisive leadership for the country.beginning end-May, hopes and expectations rose and there were some policy pronouncements.Globally, 2015 will be a rocky ride. Growth in the US will be tempered by concerns about the US Federal Reserve increasing interest rates and the consequent impact on global liquidity and risk aversion. The eurozone continues to fester with zero growth and deflation. It is by no means clear that a quantitative easing programme by the European Central Bank will be launched or will be as effective as the US QE programme.
Japan is grappling with its own demons and despite an $800 billion stimulus by the central bank, it is again not apparent that there will be a real impact beyond stock market appreciation and yen depreciation. The big question as ever is China. The central bank reducing rates there is a signal that a slowdown looms. The rest of the emerging markets such as Malalaysia Brazil, South Africa, Turkey and Mexico are all dealing with structural issues and will exhibit at best moderate growth.
In response to all these concerns commodity prices have moved down very significantly.He said it is frightening that the economy is rudderless and the captain of the ship is nowhere in sight.
"Where's the leadership in all this? There has not been one statement forthcoming from the prime minister-cum-finance minister alluding to the current state of our economy, let alone the problems the people are already facing and will have to endure."Nothing appears to be done as the Umno Barisan Nasional leaders in typical fashion have gone into denial mode. Surely, it is utterly reckless and irresponsible of the PM and his cabinet to leave the nation in suspense.
"The people need answers. Prime Minister Najib must step up to the plate and explain without any further delay," the opposition leader said at a press conference at the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya today.
The price of crude oil fell below US$60 (RM209.06) a barrel for the first time since 2009, pushing the ringgit to a five-year low of 3.5073 per US dollar this week, Bloomberg reported today.
In painting a gloomy picture, Anwar said the RM25 billion revenue projected by Putrajaya at the Budget 2015 risked being wiped off, and added that the BN-led federal government will be hard-pressed to reduce its deficit to 3% of the GDP by next year.
He warned the country's sovereign rating is at risk of an imminent downgrade and growth will be affected with reduction in domestic economic activity.
He said Malaysians would face a bleak future in terms of higher prices for food products, especially imported foodstuff, due to the plunge of the ringgit against the US dollar.
They will also be further burdened with the coming good and services tax (GST) which would be executed in April, while the decline in prices of crude palm oil, rubber and tin also caused further hardship.
"As usual, instead of taking cognisance of our legitimate concerns and rectifying the situation, the prime minister chose to be the proverbial ostrich in the sand by sweeping financial dirt under the off-balance-sheet carpet."
Confronting about Converting hypocrisy:changing mindset


Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Malaysia’s longest-serving Member of Parliament, is decidedly despondent about his country.
“I cannot recall an experience when Malaysia, after independence, was trapped in a situation similar to that we face now,” he said in a wide-ranging interview with The Edge Review.
Malaysia’s troubled political landscape, where the sensitive issues of race and religion are dominating headlines and public discourse, is being weighed down by the serious deterioration in the country’s economic performance where mounting debt in the public sector and households is leaving the country very vulnerable to external shocks.
Some of these economic problems and difficulties have tended to have racial overtones. On top of that, structural issues persist, such as federal-state relations, especially the opposition states, and with Sabah and Sarawak, and of course corruption. Some people have described the situation as like moving towards a perfect storm, God forbid.
Q: The list of our political woes grows by the day. What do you think needs to be tackled urgently?
TR: People’s welfare comes first. The basic necessities, at reasonable price, should be readily available. The government and its agencies, with the help of NGOs, must monitor the prices of goods and services.
This must be conducted with great  tact. As I said in my letter to MPs on the 2015 Budget, tackling the rising cost of living is the highest priority.
No question about it; the ordinary folks are going to be hit the hardest in the event of a sudden downturn, with the falling ringgit, the higher cost of government borrowing to continue to support BR1M (government cash aid), and the subsequent inflation making worse the already rising cost of living. Poor homeless people in the Kuala Lumpur city centre patronising the soup kitchens in large numbers is highly disturbing.
The Anti-Corruption Commission must go into full swing to minimise corruption in both the public and private sectors. Those who held or hold executive positions must, together with their nominees or trustees, make available declarations of their assets and liabilities.
If the information given does not tally or evidence shows that they could not provide satisfactory answers to queries, then all their accounts should be frozen. Upon conviction, depending on the severity of the case, they should be imprisoned for life.
There shouldn’t be any more lip service on the matter of corruption. 
All enforcement agencies should be policed to weed out the bad from the good if they are to regain the trust of the public. All are equal under the law and subject to the same rules.
The question of security is uppermost in the minds of the people. They want to know that they and their families are safe wherever they are.
The question of sovereignty is a very important one. God alone knows how many non-citizens carry blue identity cards, masquerading as Malaysians for jobs and benefits. Yet, many of our young people, including graduates, are either underemployed or unemployed.
Q: Is the current leadership capable of pulling Malaysia out of this quagmire?
TR: As I said earlier, the political leadership has come through before. With that experience, and if the Prime Minister can take on board the good advice being given, beyond listening to his immediate circle of advisers, even taking the more urgent measures and implementing them quickly, the current leadership should be able to come through again this time. But will they?
Q: Rising government and household debt, leakages in public finance and spikes in the cost of living are among our main economic problems. They also leave Malaysia very vulnerable to external shocks. As a former finance minister, what would be your recipe to deal with these problems?
TR: With the prospect of decreased revenues from Petronas dividends by as much as 37%, coupled with the prospect of a current account deficit looming over the horizon and the threat of a depreciating ringgit leading to higher inflation numbers, I think the government will have no choice but to reduce spending next year.
It may be by as much as 10% if the crude oil price drops to US$60 per barrel for example, and more if it dips lower than that.
To ease the burden on the people, especially the lower income group, the government may have to consider postponing the implementation of the GST, as I have already proposed.
Q: What are the other concerns the country’s economic managers need to focus on?
TR: The government has to rein in the monopolies and concessions, including the disproportionate subsidies to industry. Maybe also, like South Korea has recently done, the government should tax cash outstanding in corporate accounts at home and abroad.
Malaysians, I am told, have a lot of funds held overseas, so why not impose some limitation on their tendency to keep their wealth, especially cash, outside the country?
I also think the government should be more forthcoming in explaining things like the actual government debt position, the worries about 1MDB and the huge debts incurred by some of the oligarchs and so on.
We cannot let the general perception deteriorate to the level of Greece or Ireland as that can quickly turn into a general panic. It will then be too late for the government to impose austerity measures and we may end up having to beg for loans from the IMF and foreign governments.
The government shouldn’t leave things till it is too late. It has be more proactive in these threatening times. Now is also the time for the government to put into motion measures to cut food imports as this has caused a massive drain on our foreign exchange.
The federal government and its agencies, with the cooperation of the state governments and their agencies, must encourage food production by giving incentives so that idle land can be utilised to grow food for the people. Hence the importance of having a good Food Security Policy and System. The government and its agencies must ensure that profiteering is minimised.
Q:  The Umno-led government is becoming increasingly tone-deaf to advice from former leaders, such as former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Tun Daim Zainuddin, your successor in the finance ministry, and yourself. How do you see your role if advice isn’t considered?
TR: The government should be more open and ready to accept good advice and adopt the necessary measures needed to solve the problems highlighted. Even if they don’t accept my views, I will continue to say what I have to say as a concerned citizen and an MP for the sake of the people.
The government must be seen to be listening to the people, especially those in the lower income group, and the young who have placed their future in the government’s hands.
Q: Umno’s appeal among the Malays and Malaysians in general has been slipping. Is the party and the coalition it leads living on borrowed time?
TR: Yes and no. There is such a thing as being in power too long and there are those who say that the BN government may be approaching the end of its shelf life, just like what happened with the LDP in Japan, and the Congress Party in India, or with Winston Churchill the war hero, whose party was rejected by the British people who chose to have more capable managers handle the post-war reconstruction.
So, indeed, as you say, the ruling coalition is living on borrowed time unless the party and the government undertake the necessary reforms and adapt to the changing circumstances, as Umno and BN were able to do all those years before.
But I do not know whether the present leaders are listening to the people, particularly the young. At this moment I am not optimistic that Umno and BN are capable of reforming in order to make a difference. We will have to wait and see. I hope it is not too late.
Q: Will you consider leaving the party if it doesn’t embark on a serious reform agenda?
TR: For the moment I have a platform and am guided by the people who voted for me. As I have said, I do not know whether the party is capable of reforming itself. The issue is whether the leadership is listening and prepared to act accordingly.
I am not sure whether the leadership of the party outside the ruling group is capable of putting their house in order and put their acts together in order to chart a new future for the country.
It appears that the alternative is not that attractive either. We have to be serious about what we are doing, and cannot just bury our collective heads in the sand. I do hope there are enough cool heads to steer things around.
Q: Your thoughts on Petronas and the government’s over-reliance on the national oil company to finance its budget.
TR: This is a long-term concern. That’s why we implemented plans to move away, through industrial diversification, towards non-oil sources. But we are a rich primary producing country and suffer from what economists call the Dutch Disease.
That tends to delay our full industrialisation and get out from this middle-income trap that we are now caught in. We have no choice but to move to a knowledge-based economy, seek a higher value-added industrialisation based on increasing productivity and higher wages, if we are to achieve developed nation status and a fairer society.
Q: As a founding member of the national oil company, was it ever envisaged that oil-producing states would be penalised of their royalties in the event they fell to opposition hands?
TR: Certainly not. Petronas is not a political party but a creature (company) of law. The Petroleum Development Act of 1974 was enacted in order to control the oil and gas resources of the country for the benefit of all Malaysians.
Towards this end, the state of Sarawak spearheaded the move in line with the PDA provisions to vest all its oil and gas rights in Petronas. The other states and the federal government followed suit to vest the oil rights in perpetuity for 5% cash payment.
The agreements were not signed by the state authority with the federal government but with Petronas. Whether the state government is controlled by the opposition or not, is not a matter for consideration by Petronas because these resources belong to the people and the states whether they are oil producing or not.
It is a coincidence that the oil resources are found in the offshore areas of the states which are relatively less developed. This is why a cash payment is paid to the state governments concerned since no oil is found onshore.
The federal government and all the states which vest their oil rights in Petronas are aware of this fact. Otherwise why should a state which has oil onshore expect only 5% payment when they could have all the oil revenue to themselves?
When the concessionaires relinquished the whole of the concession area after 1974, they were given the opportunity to enter into a Production Sharing Agreement. They could work the areas agreed but any area left untouched would have to be relinquished to Petronas for other contractors.
With the enactment of the PDA, it was never the policy to give out chunks of areas to anyone that could enable them to hawk it around for rent. Everyone must be actively involved in the production of oil in areas obtained through open bidding in order to benefit the people of the land. The surplus funds obtained from exploration and sale of oil should help create a sovereign fund for the future generations.
Petronas cannot and should not be treated as a “piggy bank” at any time. It is time that the Petroleum Advisory Council under the Petroleum Development Act be incepted to advise the prime minister on the way forward for Petronas and related energy policy. Proper representation and the right people should be appointed to advise on Petroleum and Energy Policy of the country.
Q: The Malaysian government’s penchant for using draconian laws, such as the Sedition Act, to silence its critics mirrors a theme that is recurring in much of Southeast Asia, where democratisation is either stalling of going into reverse. Could you comment on this?
TR: Democracy has its advantages as well as its limitations. Being developing states, many Southeast Asian countries are under pressure to achieve greater economic progress for their people. Different governments have adopted different approaches to the question of proper governance. Some, depending on internal circumstances and their history, have adopted models of liberal democracy or transparent use of state power, while others take a different route.
The aim, however, is to achieve political participation with accountability. Some are able to undertake political reforms while others are moving somewhat slower towards effective governance through the rule of law and democratic institutions.
Asean, as a whole, once it achieves greater levels of economic integration and prosperity together in the years ahead, and once its people have their basic needs, should push for some convergence for greater openness and democratic practices.

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