 |
| So, is Hadi Awang saying PAS can work with MCA, Gerakan and MIC because they support Hukum Hudud? |
So, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) Prime Minister Najib Razak’s Umno, not Barisan Nasional (BN), is consolidating faster than the Opposition can in politics?
What does this mean to Malaysians and Malaysia?
It means the country’s next general election (GE), likely to be a snap GE14, will be Umno-PAS (read as racist Malays) vs The Rest of Malaysia!
Whether MCA, Gerakan or MIC win any seat is irrelevant to the Umno-led BN ruling coalition.
Should the leaders of the Umno lackey parties fail to win any seat, they can be appointed Senators after GE14 and be given insignificant Cabinet portfolios just to give the multi-racial impression.
That is what is happening in Malaysian politics, should Umno and PAS strike a electoral pact for GE14.
No wonder PAS’ Hadi ‘Umno-loving’ Awang was so confident when he confirmed with the media that he would be re-tabling his Private Member’s Bill aimed at expanding the powers of the Syariah Court in next month’s Parliament sitting.
“Yes, yes,” he told reporters after a courtesy visit to the Federation of Hokkien Associtions at Wisma Fujian, on Sunday (Sept 18, 2016)
The Bill seeks to empower the courts to enforce punishments ― except for the death penalty ― as provided for under Syariah laws (Hukum Hudud) for Islamic offences listed under state jurisdiction in the Federal Constitution.
In his speech, Hadi, who is Marang MP, reiterated that non-Muslims should not fear the Bill as the Syariah court has no legal jurisdiction on them.
Where do you think MCA, MIC and Gerakan will stand in Parliament when the Bill is tabled? They will all be absent, on sick leave?
No News Is Bad News has selected three stories of the day for the convenient reading of its visitors and readers:
"BOMBSHELL: UMNO HAS STRUCK ‘ELECTION DEAL’ WITH PAS, ONLY AWAITING HADI’S GREEN LIGHT – REPORT
Politics | September 19, 2016 by | 0 Comments
Many friends, especially those who don’t read Chinese, have been asking me about Nanyang Siang Pau’s exclusive news on the front page yesterday (Sept 18, 2016) entitled ‘Umno-PAS cooperation to win power in Selangor; a pact not to fight each other’. The screenshot of the news piece is now widely circulated beyond the Chinese-reading audience.
The piece, quoting unnamed sources, suggested that Umno and PAS had negotiated a deal, and now waiting for PAS president Hadi Awang to give his green light. The deal, according to the story, will involve an election pact which will ensure both Umno and PAS would not contest against each other, so that Umno will battle Parti Kedilan Rakyat while PAS faces Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah).
It is hard to ascertain how genuine and accurate the report is but the possibility of a full-fledged Umno-PAS electoral pact should not be discounted. Indeed, it is just a logical extension of the increasingly closer ties between Umno and PAS.
We should welcome this development as it provides clarity for national political realignment. What is needed now is clarity, and further consolidation of those who are against Najib Abdul Razak.
For the past year since the demise of Pakatan Rakyat, there are voices within the anti-Najib forces that wanted to work with PAS in the hope of achieving a ‘one-to-one’ fight in the coming general election. If the Nanyang news report is to be believed, however, it is clear now that PAS is not interested at all.
There was also a theory that a 4 percent Malay vote swing would dislodge Umno if there were cooperation with PAS. However, with the recent electoral boundary redelineation proposal that is clearly biased towards Umno, this marginal seat theory is now discredited.
I am still of the view that the political and economic conditions provide the basis for a Malay gelombang (wave). But this can only be achieved when there is clarity in the national realignment.
We will have to make a choice between those who want to maintain the status quo, i.e. supporting Najib’s corrupt regime as well as the Umno-PAS agenda of racial politics, and those who are for real change and reform, i.e. Pakatan Harapan, anti-Najib ex-Umno forces such as Bersatu leaders, and majority of Malaysians.
Realignment has to start with those who want change and reform. There is an urgent need for consensus now to clarify the situation because PAS’ leadership of today is merely an extension branch of Najib’s Umno.
An Umno-PAS pact will put tens of thousands of PAS members in a quandary as many of them have been fighting Umno and Barisan Nasional for years with their brand of inclusive Islam that is no longer the main agenda of the current leadership.
Hence, clarity is needed for Malaysia’s political realignment to shape choices for everyone, including PAS members who want to fight Umno and not work with Umno.
LIEW CHIN TONG is the MP for Kluang, Johor DAP chairperson and DAP national political education director."
“‘I HAVE SPOKEN TO MY CHILDREN, I HAVE EXPLAINED’: ANWAR ADAMANT ON WORKING WITH DR M TO OUST NAJIB – APOLOGY OR NOT
Politics | September 19, 2016 by | 0 Comments
KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim avoided answering today if he would forgive his once sworn political nemesis Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who has now become his ally.
“I mean, of course we have suffered immensely.
“I have forgiven a lot of people, a lot of times, but my concern is the present, because people in the present should stop this harassment and injustice,” Anwar said when met by reporters at the court complex here, stopping short of answering if he would extend his forgiveness to Dr Mahathir, who had sacked him as deputy prime minister 18 years ago.
Last week, Anwar’s second daughter Nurul Nuha said that former prime minister Dr Mahathir must publicly apologise to her father and admit his past transgressions against the opposition leader.
Nurul Nuha told Malay Mail Online that Dr Mahathir must own up to the “trumped-up” sodomy and corruption charges against Anwar back in 1998 before even thinking about forming any alliance with the jailed PKR de facto leader.
Dr Mahathir showed up in court on September 5 for a case involving Anwar, who was filing an interim injunction application at the High Court to stop the National Security Council (NSC) Act 2016 from being enforced.
Both leaders, however, have remained tight-lipped on whether or not the move was a form of reconciliation.
“I have explained. The problem was that this came [all of] a sudden. I had no opportunity to speak to my children before that, but now since I have explained to them the circumstances, it is enough,” Anwar said today when prodded further.
Anwar and Dr Mahathir also issued a joint statement today condemning the NSC Act that provides the government with sweeping emergency powers.
The NSC Act, which came into force last month, proposes to allow the National Security Council — which would be chaired by the prime minister — to take command of the country’s security forces and to impose strict policing of areas deemed to face security risks, including having the powers of search and arrest without warrant.
– Malay Mail"
"‘ECONOMIC CHARLATAN’ NAJIB & CO SLAMMED: ENOUGH OF SELLING SNAKE OIL, THE PEOPLE ARE SUFFERING – DR M CAMP
Politics | September 19, 2016 by | 0 Comments
THERE is no need for me to mention any name, either to honour, dishonour or humour, the person involved in this particular issue. I am sure the person I have in mind is assisted by scores of officers to respond to people like me.
Being alone, I cannot hope to win on word count. Also, unlike him I do not have big media to carry my message far and wide. But I shall persevere.
For the benefit of students of government, politics, economic and finance let me restate that it’s incorrect to compare our national debt with that of rich countries and say that ours is low.
This is a false comparison, unless of course the intention is to mislead the uninformed and feed more the dedak to the people.
Yes, Japanese government debt is very high – 229 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It’s the highest in the world. But Japan is a rich country and its economy is huge.
It is the third largest after the USA and China. Its nominal GDP is US$4.2 trillion. Ours is just over US$300 billion. The Japanese government debt amounts to US$10.6 trillion compared to ours at US$157.5 billion.
According to one pro-government blogger who uses a pseudonym, the govt debt was RM407.1 billion or 53.15% of the GDP in 2010. On March 17 last, in a parliamentary reply, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) disclosed that sovereign debt amounted to RM630.5 billion, which was at 54.5 per cent GDP. The government’s self-imposed limit is 55 per cent. Let’s remind ourselves that Mohd Najib is Finance Minister since 2008. (Watch here)
But Japan has more people to share the debt. It has nearly 200 million compered to 24 million that we have. Their GDP per capita, according to World Bank national data, was US$32,477 while ours is US$9,766 – three times more – in 2014.
And there isn’t an RM50-billion (US$12.5 billion) scandal in Japan. The worse scandal they ever had was the Lockheed Corporation kickback of US$1.8 million to Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka back in the 1970’s.
Even for that he was stripped of his post, arrested, tried and found guilty by two lower courts. He died of a heart attack before the trial could be finalised. Compared to the 1MDB scandal, the Tanaka-Lockheed scandal was chicken feed – dedak.
Other developed countries are also highly indebted partly because lenders are willing to lend them money to them at lower interest rates than when they lend to the developing countries. In the case of Japan, most of its borrowings were domestic.
We are Malaysians and we are talking about our country. For good or evil, this is where most of us are born, live and die. We have to desire to migrate to Japan, Greece, Indonesia, the Philippines or Vietnam.
What High Income?
During 1986 recession, the government cut ministers’ salaries and froze the salaries of civil servants. All were required to sacrifice. You can’t ask the ordinary rakyat to sacrifice when politicians and civil servants are treated favourably.
Under the rule of Prime Ministyer (Datuk Seri I Mappadulung Daeng Mattimung Karaeng Sandrobone Sultan Abdul Jalil) Mohd Najib Abdul Razak, civil servants are given salary increases and bonuses when rest of the rakyat suffer due to rising cost of living.
Not only that government debt is high – equivalent to almost 55 per cent of the GDP – the people too are badly indebted. Our household debt is among highest in the world.
According to the 2014 statistics of the Bank for International Settlements, at 68.9 per cent of the GDP, Malaysians were the 16th most indebted people in the world and the 2nd among developing countries. Thailand at 15th led the household indebtedness among developing countries. Japan at 66 per cent was immediately below us.
To show growth, the government kept borrowing and encouraged the people to do the same. Mohd Najib and his advisers believe that a high growth rate would help burnish his image.
In reality, most rakyat are not concerned with high GDP and good rating. They don’t understand and they don’t care. They are concerned about the bread and butter issues of daily existence – the rising cost living, unemployment, their children not getting Mara study loans and Khazanah scholarships being awarded to children of politicians and rich people.
They are angry that everything has gone up in prices and in the midst of all that Mohd Najib went ahead with the implementation of the good and services tax (GST). Now everybody has to pay tax and has less money to spend. And when they don’t spend, Mohd Najib has less GST to collect. It’s a vicious cycle.
The challenge is to break this cycle. Taking the money from everybody and redistributing it to some through 1Malaysia Peoples Assistance (BR1M) does not appear to improve the sustainability of the economy.
The better way is to let the hardworking people to keep their income and spend it the way the want. The government must go back to supervising and, where necessary, controlling the supply of goods and services and their prices. There appears to be no control whatsoever in the last few years apart from occasional “raids” on hawkers which are mostly photo opportunity for the media.
If growth were the measure of a country’s success, then Angola and Equatorial Guinea, where growth used to be 30 to 40 per cent, would be the most successful countries in the world. But their people are among the poorest.
Growth does not reflect the true state of a country’s economy these days. There are other factors that have to be taken into account. Distribution of wealth is more important. But our wealth distribution has been on the decline for the past decade and inequality is widening.
If people are suffering and are unhappy, their quality of life is falling and they can’t afford to pay for their daily needs, what good is the government’s growth statistics?
The government claims we have escaped the middle-income trap and on the way to becoming a high-income country by 2020.
What nonsense this is.
Would the people who are selling the high-income snake oil dare deny that our per capita GDP has in fact declined – from US$9,766 in 2014 to US$9,291 last year and US$8,821 so far this year?
Wallahuaklam."
Politics | September 19, 2016 by | 0 Comments
KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim avoided answering today if he would forgive his once sworn political nemesis Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who has now become his ally.
“I mean, of course we have suffered immensely.
“I have forgiven a lot of people, a lot of times, but my concern is the present, because people in the present should stop this harassment and injustice,” Anwar said when met by reporters at the court complex here, stopping short of answering if he would extend his forgiveness to Dr Mahathir, who had sacked him as deputy prime minister 18 years ago.
Last week, Anwar’s second daughter Nurul Nuha said that former prime minister Dr Mahathir must publicly apologise to her father and admit his past transgressions against the opposition leader.
Nurul Nuha told Malay Mail Online that Dr Mahathir must own up to the “trumped-up” sodomy and corruption charges against Anwar back in 1998 before even thinking about forming any alliance with the jailed PKR de facto leader.
Dr Mahathir showed up in court on September 5 for a case involving Anwar, who was filing an interim injunction application at the High Court to stop the National Security Council (NSC) Act 2016 from being enforced.
Both leaders, however, have remained tight-lipped on whether or not the move was a form of reconciliation.
“I have explained. The problem was that this came [all of] a sudden. I had no opportunity to speak to my children before that, but now since I have explained to them the circumstances, it is enough,” Anwar said today when prodded further.
Anwar and Dr Mahathir also issued a joint statement today condemning the NSC Act that provides the government with sweeping emergency powers.The NSC Act, which came into force last month, proposes to allow the National Security Council — which would be chaired by the prime minister — to take command of the country’s security forces and to impose strict policing of areas deemed to face security risks, including having the powers of search and arrest without warrant.
– Malay Mail"
"‘ECONOMIC CHARLATAN’ NAJIB & CO SLAMMED: ENOUGH OF SELLING SNAKE OIL, THE PEOPLE ARE SUFFERING – DR M CAMP
Politics | September 19, 2016 by | 0 Comments
THERE is no need for me to mention any name, either to honour, dishonour or humour, the person involved in this particular issue. I am sure the person I have in mind is assisted by scores of officers to respond to people like me.
Being alone, I cannot hope to win on word count. Also, unlike him I do not have big media to carry my message far and wide. But I shall persevere.
For the benefit of students of government, politics, economic and finance let me restate that it’s incorrect to compare our national debt with that of rich countries and say that ours is low.
This is a false comparison, unless of course the intention is to mislead the uninformed and feed more the dedak to the people.
Yes, Japanese government debt is very high – 229 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It’s the highest in the world. But Japan is a rich country and its economy is huge.
It is the third largest after the USA and China. Its nominal GDP is US$4.2 trillion. Ours is just over US$300 billion. The Japanese government debt amounts to US$10.6 trillion compared to ours at US$157.5 billion.
According to one pro-government blogger who uses a pseudonym, the govt debt was RM407.1 billion or 53.15% of the GDP in 2010. On March 17 last, in a parliamentary reply, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) disclosed that sovereign debt amounted to RM630.5 billion, which was at 54.5 per cent GDP. The government’s self-imposed limit is 55 per cent. Let’s remind ourselves that Mohd Najib is Finance Minister since 2008. (Watch here)
But Japan has more people to share the debt. It has nearly 200 million compered to 24 million that we have. Their GDP per capita, according to World Bank national data, was US$32,477 while ours is US$9,766 – three times more – in 2014.
And there isn’t an RM50-billion (US$12.5 billion) scandal in Japan. The worse scandal they ever had was the Lockheed Corporation kickback of US$1.8 million to Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka back in the 1970’s.
Even for that he was stripped of his post, arrested, tried and found guilty by two lower courts. He died of a heart attack before the trial could be finalised. Compared to the 1MDB scandal, the Tanaka-Lockheed scandal was chicken feed – dedak.
Other developed countries are also highly indebted partly because lenders are willing to lend them money to them at lower interest rates than when they lend to the developing countries. In the case of Japan, most of its borrowings were domestic.
We are Malaysians and we are talking about our country. For good or evil, this is where most of us are born, live and die. We have to desire to migrate to Japan, Greece, Indonesia, the Philippines or Vietnam.
What High Income?
During 1986 recession, the government cut ministers’ salaries and froze the salaries of civil servants. All were required to sacrifice. You can’t ask the ordinary rakyat to sacrifice when politicians and civil servants are treated favourably.Under the rule of Prime Ministyer (Datuk Seri I Mappadulung Daeng Mattimung Karaeng Sandrobone Sultan Abdul Jalil) Mohd Najib Abdul Razak, civil servants are given salary increases and bonuses when rest of the rakyat suffer due to rising cost of living.
Not only that government debt is high – equivalent to almost 55 per cent of the GDP – the people too are badly indebted. Our household debt is among highest in the world.
According to the 2014 statistics of the Bank for International Settlements, at 68.9 per cent of the GDP, Malaysians were the 16th most indebted people in the world and the 2nd among developing countries. Thailand at 15th led the household indebtedness among developing countries. Japan at 66 per cent was immediately below us.
To show growth, the government kept borrowing and encouraged the people to do the same. Mohd Najib and his advisers believe that a high growth rate would help burnish his image.
In reality, most rakyat are not concerned with high GDP and good rating. They don’t understand and they don’t care. They are concerned about the bread and butter issues of daily existence – the rising cost living, unemployment, their children not getting Mara study loans and Khazanah scholarships being awarded to children of politicians and rich people.
They are angry that everything has gone up in prices and in the midst of all that Mohd Najib went ahead with the implementation of the good and services tax (GST). Now everybody has to pay tax and has less money to spend. And when they don’t spend, Mohd Najib has less GST to collect. It’s a vicious cycle.
The challenge is to break this cycle. Taking the money from everybody and redistributing it to some through 1Malaysia Peoples Assistance (BR1M) does not appear to improve the sustainability of the economy.
The better way is to let the hardworking people to keep their income and spend it the way the want. The government must go back to supervising and, where necessary, controlling the supply of goods and services and their prices. There appears to be no control whatsoever in the last few years apart from occasional “raids” on hawkers which are mostly photo opportunity for the media.
If growth were the measure of a country’s success, then Angola and Equatorial Guinea, where growth used to be 30 to 40 per cent, would be the most successful countries in the world. But their people are among the poorest.
Growth does not reflect the true state of a country’s economy these days. There are other factors that have to be taken into account. Distribution of wealth is more important. But our wealth distribution has been on the decline for the past decade and inequality is widening.
If people are suffering and are unhappy, their quality of life is falling and they can’t afford to pay for their daily needs, what good is the government’s growth statistics?
The government claims we have escaped the middle-income trap and on the way to becoming a high-income country by 2020.
What nonsense this is.
Would the people who are selling the high-income snake oil dare deny that our per capita GDP has in fact declined – from US$9,766 in 2014 to US$9,291 last year and US$8,821 so far this year?
Wallahuaklam."
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