Cows in the condos

Where's the best place in Malaysia to rear cows? In condos, it would seem.


The cows-in-the-condo issue is the kind of scandal that the Najib administration does not need, especially now when the next general elections are to held within months.


Essentially the issue began when the Government approved a loan of RM250 million at an interest rate of 2% (i.e. a very soft loan) to the National Feedlot Corp (NFC), which happened to be controlled by family members of Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.


Her husband Datuk Seri Dr Mohamed Salleh Ismail and their three kids run the 'cattle' show.


Sure they started a cow business in the form of a cattle farm in Negri Sembilan, but somehow 'excess' cash was invested in two luxurious condos - each costing RM6.9 million -  in Bangsar which the NFC managers claim are cash cows since they generate rental income of RM18,000 each.


The entire issue was exposed not by the Opposition parties but a government agency - the Auditor-General had described NFC as a mess, and that it was poorly managed and had met only 41.1% of its target for 2010 in its latest report.


But Agriculture Minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar quickly defended Shahrizat's family business and said that the project was a success and had met its targets.


Soon after that politicians from both sides of the divide jumped into the fray - the Barisan folks obviously defending Shahrizat and her family and the Pakatan blokes attacking them.


Malaysians who had no family connections with the top leaders merely tucked into their beef rendang or beef noodles and watched the proceedings.


This kind of 'family' business is exactly the type that most Malaysians are unhappy about since it benefits families of politicians only.


Thus the grouses of Malaysians - even from bumiputras - that they do not benefit from Government decisions would seemingly be justified.


One can argue that there is rental income and there is no loss. On the other hand, one can also argue that public funds meant for cattle rearing should not be invested in condos (unless, of course, one can rear cows in a condo).


But the fact remains that the entire cow business has smeared the reputation of the Barisan government especially with a Minister refuting the findings of a government agency tasked with auditing the finances and operations of the government.


With the elections coming soon, the Barisan government would need to lock up the 'cows' that are still in the closet while the Opposition - of course - would want to break the lock preventing all the 'cows' from stampeding out.


And the average Malaysians? They will still eat beef noodles and beef curry and beef rendang while waiting for more (cow) shit to hit the fan.

The Greek tragicomedy

Well, if you thought the situation in Malaysia is bad, you have to read this...




Author Michael Lewis on the Greek Tragicomedy


Published: Monday, 31 Oct 2011
By: Bob Pisani
CNBC Reporter



I was on Power Lunch recently with Michael Lewis, author of "Boomerang" and many other books. "Boomerang" is a series of essays on the problems that Iceland, Ireland and others have had due to the global debt  crisis. I spent the weekend reading the book, and there is a very amusing chapter on a visit he made to Greece a short while ago. Excerpts below.


On the true debt of Greece: "In addition to its roughly $400 billion (and growing) of outstanding government debt, the Greek number cruncher had just figured out that their government owed another $800 billion or more in pensions. Add it all up and you got about $1.2 trillion, or more than a quarter-million dollars for every working Greek….And those were just the official numbers; the truth is surely worse."


On the absurd wages paid in the government sector: "In just the past twelve years the wage bill of the Greek public sector has doubled, in real terms — and that number doesn't take into account the bribes collected by public officials. The average government job pays almost three time the average private-sector job." 　


On the comical inefficiencies of the public sector: "The national railroad has annual revenues of 100 milion euros against an annual wage bill of 400 million, plus 300 million euros in other expenses…Twenty years ago a successful businessman turned minister of finance named Stefanos Manos pointed out that it would be cheaper to put all Greece's rail passengers into taxicabs: it's still true."


On who caused the debt crisis in Greece: "The biggest problem the banks had was that they had lent roughly 30 billion euros to the Greek government--where it was stolen or squandered. In Greece the banks didn't sink the country. The country sank the banks."


On the banality of tax cheating: "The scale of Greek tax cheating was at least as incredible as its scope: an estimated two-thirds of Greek doctors reported incomes under 12,000 euros a year — which meant, because incomes below that amount weren't taxable, that even plastic surgeons making millions a year paid no tax at all….'If the law was enforced," the tax collector said, "every doctor in Greece would be in jail.'"


"One reason no one is ever prosecuted — apart from the fact that prosecution would seem arbitrary, as everyone is doing it — is that the Greek courts take up to fifteen years to resolve tax cases…Somewhere between 30 and 40 percent of the activity in the Greek economy that might be subject to income tax goes unrecorded…"


On the supposed deception the Greeks used to get into the euro zone in 2001:


"In particular they needed to show budget deficits under 3 percent of their gross domestic product, and inflation running at roughly German levels. In 2000, after a flurry of statistical manipulation, Greece hit the targets. To lower the budget deficit the Greek government moved all sorts of expenses (pensions, defense expenditures) off the books. To lower Greek inflation the government did things like freeze prices for electricity and water and other government-supplied goods, and cut taxes on gas, alcohol, and tobacco. Greek government statisticians did things like remove (high-priced) tomatoes from the consumer price index on the day inflation was measured."


"In 2001, Greece entered the European Monetary Union, swapped the drachma for the euro, and acquired for its debt an implicit European (read German) guarantee. Greeks could now borrow long-term funds at roughly the same rate as Germans — not 18 percent but 5 percent."


"Here, in 2001, entered Goldman Sachs, which engaged in a series of apparently legal but nonetheless repellent deals designed to hide the Greek government's true level of indebtedness…The investment bankers also taught the Greek government officials how to securitize future receipts from the national lottery, highway tolls, airport landing fees, and even funds granted to the country by the European Union. Any future stream of income that could be identified was sold for cash up front and spent."


On witnessing a general strike to protest raising the retirement age: "Thousands upon thousand of government employees take to the streets to protest the bill. Here is Greece's version of the Tea Party: tax collectors on the take, public-school teachers who don't really teach, well-paid employees of bankrupt state railroads whose trains never run on time, state hospital workers bribed to buy overpriced supplies."

Playing a high-risk high-stakes political game?

PAS: Umno used Himpun to revive unity talks


By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
www.themalaysianinsider.com


October 24, 2011


KUALA LUMPUR — PAS today accused Umno of using last weekend’s Himpunan Sejuta Umat (Himpun) as a platform to revive failed unity talks between both parties, using “unfounded” threats of Christianisation as a basis for inter-party co-operation.


Selangor PAS deputy commissioner Khalid Samad told The Malaysian Insider that Himpun’s organisers had tried to portray Islam as being “under siege” just so that PAS members would attend and support the event together with Umno.


“Although Umno has stated that they have nothing to do with the gathering, I think it’s obvious when you have affiliated groups like Perkasa claiming the event unified PAS and Umno.


“It’s yet another attempt in pushing for unity talks between both PAS-Umno... you play the religion card with PAS, you try to pit us against non-Muslims, to make us look extremist... they (Umno) are trying again,” said Khalid.


Malay rights group Perkasa lauded the success of Himpun, saying it unified Muslims even from opposing political factions with the presence of leaders including PAS’s Datuk Dr Hasan Ali.


PAS has said it did not support the gathering, but did not stop its members from attending the event as individuals.


“I think those tied to Umno are making a mountain out of a molehill, just because one PAS leader attended the event it does not mean PAS and Umno are now together in arms.


“Why stoke religious tension? There is no concrete proof of Christianisation threats. We’d best use our time and effort to improving other things in this country — fighting corruption, governance,” said the Shah Alam MP.


Himpun was organised by various right-wing religious groups who called for Muslims to rise up and fight the “challenge of Christianisation”.


The mass rally was mooted following the controversial August 3 raid by Selangor Islamic authorities on the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC), where it was alleged that Christians were converting Muslims.


It is illegal to proselytise Muslims in Malaysia.


Christian leaders have denied claims that Christians were attempting to convert Muslims and have called Himpun’s fight “irrelevant”.


PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan Tantawi said that public support for Himpun over the weekend showed that it was time for the government to enact and enforce Islamic laws in the country.


He said the Barisan Nasional (BN) government should at least “recognise” and “support” Kelantan’s efforts to establish hudud.


“I believe the time is right for Umno to state their preparation to enact Islamic laws because it is part of the demands made by Umno NGOs who supported the Himpunan Sejuta Umat.”


Are pieces of the puzzle now slowly fitting together to reveal the hidden agenda behind recent controversial events?
 
Are the minority Christians being made the bogeyman in a high-risk high-stakes political game orchestrated by the party in power to split PAS and Pakatan Rakyat?
 
Are lies published by 'respectable' newspapers controlled by certain political parties so that Muslims can be pitted against Christians? Like Selangor PAS deputy commissioner Khalid Samad said: "You play the religion card with PAS, you try to pit us against non-Muslims, to make us look extremist... they (Umno) are trying again.”


Is there no regard for the truth in the pursuit of political power? Will the name of God be used in vain by politicians for their own selfish ends?

DUMC raid: Sultan's statement welcomed

Now that there has been some kind of amicable solution to the issue of the raid carried out by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) on the Damansara Utama Methodist Church, it is hoped that everybody - especially the politicians - will realise that such issues are highly inflammatory in a multi-racial nation like Malaysia.


On Wednesday, the Damansara Utama Methodist Church welcomed the statement by the Sultan of Selangor that no one would be charged in connection with the search by JAIS officers at the church two months ago, The Star reported.


Senior pastor Dr Daniel Ho stressed that activities organised by DUMC were meant to serve the community and welfare of Malaysians regardless of race, creed or religion.


“We sincerely ask that all religious communities and places of worship be treated with the utmost respect and not be intruded upon,” he said.


Dr Ho said the church had worked within the boundaries of law and public order.


“We call on all Malaysians to continue to live in peace, tolerance and harmony. We also call on all Christians to continue to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God,” he said.


JAIS carried out the search during a function, organised by non-governmental organisation Harapan Komuniti, at the Dream Centre Complex belonging to DUMC on Aug 3 following a tip-off about an alleged attempt to proselytise Muslims at the dinner.


On Monday, the Sultan had ruled that JAIS' raid on DUMC was legitimate.


But Sultan Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah said that although JAIS had found evidence of attempts to subvert Muslims, it was “insufficient” for further legal action, the Malaysian Insider reported.


The state ruler said therefore no one would be prosecuted, and JAIS will provide counselling to the Muslims who were present in the church during the raid.


“JAIS has submitted to Us the full report of the search carried out at the Dream Centre Complex, Section 13, Petaling Jaya as well as the subsequent actions taken by JAIS. We have thoroughly read in detail the said report and we are satisfied that the actions of JAIS were correct and did not breach any laws enforceable in Selangor,” said a statement from the Selangor Sultan.


JAIS has said that it “inspected” the evangelical church after acting on a complaint that participants at the dinner were trying to convert the 12 Muslims present at the function to Christianity. Proselytising Muslims is against the law in Malaysia.


The raid on the church was the second blatant confrontration by the authorities with Christians, who are a minority community in Muslim Malaysia.


The first was the accusation in May that pastors were teaming up with DAP to install a Christian as Prime Minister and have Christianity as the state religion instead of Islam. This episode was blown out of proportion by Utusan Malaysia, a Malay newspaper with links to Umno. And the accusation was later proven to be a lie.


Two other Umno-linked newspapers - Berita Harian and Harian Metro - reported that Christian organizations were carrying out covert missions to convert poverty-stricken Muslims by offering them cash, free food and housing and the reports appeared days after the JAIS raid on DUMC.


Such incidents will only work against the 1Malaysia concept championed by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.


It cannot be confirmed if these incidents were linked to political strategies, but politicians and their backroom boys must be reminded that religion should not be misused for political purposes. 




Politicians and political strategists should take heed of an old proverb - he who plays with fire will get burnt.

Censuring censorship

The Barisan Nasional government has confirmed that they are really dinosaurs living in the Dark Ages by blacking out parts of an article in the Economist magazine (July 16 edition) about the Bersih 2.0 rally.


In this digital age when information flows so freely on the Internet that even authoritarian governments in China and Myanmar have found it hard to curb the flow of online news and views, the Malaysian government has sadly made itself look comical and outdated.


Those in power in the Malaysian Home Ministry should ask themselves these questions:


1) Who reads the Economist?


The Economist is an upmarket magazine in English that is aimed at the intelligentsia. Would the fisherman, farmer, small-holder, Felda settler or trader (otherwise known as the rural voters) read the Economist? Or do they read Utusan Malaysia or Berita Harian or Harian Metro or Kosmo or the vernacular newspapers/magazines?


Surely the Economist would be too upmarket for them. How many of these rural folks are fluent  in English anyway?


2) Would the reader of the Economist in Malaysia have access to the Internet?


The Economist readers in Malaysia are the urban English-educated elite. They are mostly  degree-holders with high-paying jobs. They are the professionals in the corporate sector. They are the movers and shakers of the economy. They are also political leaders. They have access to the Internet in the office, at home and on the move.


3) If parts of an Economist story are blacked out would Malaysian readers just make a few clicks and go to the Economist's website to read the same story in full?


Of course they would. I did.


4) Can the Home Ministry censor the same story on the Internet?


You gotta be kidding.


So the action by the Home Ministry is counter-productive as it would actually encourage the reader of the Economist to read the web version to find out what was censored.


BTW, only a few thousand copies of the Economist are sold in Malaysia which is peanuts compared to the local newspapers (mostly controlled by Barisan component parties) and magazines that sell by the hundreds of thousands.

The Jews are coming!

When claims were made that the Bersih organisers were financed by foreign Christians and after the police claimed that Bersih supporters were trying to revive Communism, I was actually wondering why the authorities had not blamed the Jews.


It had to come - yesterday, Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia wrote in its editorial that the Bersih rally could lead to Jews and Israel infiltrating Malaysia to topple the government.


According to The Malaysian Insider, the Malay newspaper made the claim in reference to former IGP Tan Sri Rahim Noor's assertion that there were parties who wanted any country that was against Jews and Israel to be toppled.


So now the authorities have blamed almost all the usual suspects - Christians, Communists, Jews and Israel - for somehow or other being linked to the Bersih rally and trying to topple the government. The only 'rogue' that has not been blamed yet is Singapore.


All this is nothing new - and that is the crux of the problem.


The list of rogues is nothing new - it is so old-fashioned, so archaic, so unbelievable. Communists making a comeback? Come on, surely the authorities can do better than that?


In this age of FaceBook, Twitter and new media, such archaic accusations can be perceived as comical.


One may argue that these accusations are aimed at an older, more conservative and rural Malay/Iban/Kadazan audience (and voters) and the urban Twitterers are not the target 'market'.


If that is the case, then the Barisan Government is not touching base with the youths - the college kids, the twenty-somethings, the new gen of voters.


These FaceBookers are impressionable and at the moment they have a bad impression of the Barisan-led Government.


Barisan is taking a huge risk if its leaders think they can depend on the rural, conservative Malay/Iban/Kadazan masses to get them past the post first because the urban and young Malay/Iban/Kadazan voters will try their best to influence their parents back in their kampungs, hometowns and longhouses.


Barisan Nasional needs desperately to connect with the young, urban FB/Twitter generation of voters because they represent the new voice which will get increasingly louder as Malaysia becomes more urbanised.


Barisan may still win the next general election by banking on the rural, conservative (and ageing) voters, but what about the general election after that?


Management gurus will tell you that the rural, conservative (and ageing) community is a 'dying market' or 'shrinking market or 'sunset market' whilst the young, urban FB/Twitter kids represent the 'market with enormous potential' or 'growth market'.


From the management guru's perspective, unless Barisan Nasional explores the 'Blue Ocean' it will probably sail into the sunset as its 'shrinking market' gets smaller and smaller.

One-leg-kick Perkasa?

After all the action is over, after telling his members (if there are any) to "stroll around" Titiwangsa park while the Bersih 2.0 rally took place on Saturday, Perkasa's Ibrahim Ali now wants the citizenship of Bersih leader Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasen to be revoked.


One wonders why Ibrahim was absent from the rally when he had proudly declared that he would stage a huge Perkasa rally to counter the Bersih rally.


And when things fizzled out and Perkasa went limpid, his excuse was that Perkasa did not want to hold a rally as that would have insulted the monarchy.


Is it possible that Perkasa did not hold a rally because it could not round up enough supporters to do so? After all even the Umno Youth 'Patriot' rally in Bukit Bintang managed to attract only hundreds - one report said about 500 turned up - of Umno Youth members. In comparison, there were tens of thousands of Malaysians who turned up for the Bersih rally in various parts of Kuala Lumpur.


Could it be possible that Perkasa has been exposed to be a one-man show? That the Malay supremacist body is merely a - what the Chinese would call - one-leg-kick (yat kiok taak) outfit?


Could that be why not a single Perkasa supporter was seen strolling around in Titiwangsa park on Saturday?