THE GREEDY PM - LUST, GREED, CORRUPT PRACTICES......

Posted by admin.....By
    Choo Sing Chye   
    Ipoh has changed so much
    over the years since the Tin bust, nobody seems to know that Ipoh used to
    be synonymous with tin.
   
    The last time I
    met a friend who was born after the Tin-bust, I asked him in jest, “Do you
    know what Ipoh 's famous for?R21;
   
    He gave me a
    blank look. Anyway, not wasting any time, I told him, “Tin-lah.” “If there
    is no tin, Ipoh wouldn’t be here. It would be just another Orang Asli
    settlement. He squinted his eyes and responded, “Are you sure? I thought it
    was Nga-Choy-Kai.”
   
   
    Thanks to
    Barisan Nasional for single-handedly transforming Ipoh from a rich and
    bustling Tin-City to a Nga-Choy-Kai (Bean-Sprout Chicken) industry. Ipoh
    never recovered from this fatal stroke of incompetence and greed to corner
    the World Tin Market. As a result of this, the once vibrant Tin Industry
    was totally wiped out.
   
   
    It all started
    with a shady Egyptian tin trader by the name of David Zaidner. He worked
    for the commodities firm Marc Rich & Co in Switzerland .
   
    Actually, he
    first approached the Indonesian government thinking that they were stupid
    enough to buy his idea of cornering the tin market. But the Indonesians
    smelled a con job and had him kicked out of the country.
   
    Next, he
    couldn’t believe his lucky stars when his idea was accepted with enthusiasm
    by our then brand-new Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir. A plan was quickly
    hatched to corner the World Tin market.
   
    In December
    1980, the state-owned Malaysian Mining Corp. Bhd. named Marc Rich as its
    trading agent in a move that would shock the world commodities industry.
   
    Secret large tin
    purchases were made on the London Metal Exchange and went unabated
    throughout 1981, inducing a worldwide price increase. The strategy was
    cheap and simple. Malaysia had to only pay a 10 percent deposit against
    three-month' s forward purchase contracts.
   
    When the price
    of tin shot up in the world market, the Malaysian government thought it had
    scored a huge victory. But unexpectedly, the price increase attracted many
    world producers to increase tin production and even the United States began
    selling from its strategic stockpiles to take advantage of the
    Malaysian-induced price rises.
   
    Subsequently,
    Malaysia amassed about 50,000 tons of tin and had no other choice but to
    keep buying just to keep prices up. Production continued to soar and even
    unheard-of suppliers started to turn up to cash in on the high tin price.
    The world tin market went berserk and it crashed.
   
    Malaysia lost an
    estimated US$250 million on its failure to
    honour forward contracts, and another local bank lost another US$1 billion in separate losses on
    loans it had made covertly out of its Hong Kong subsidiary.
   
    For five years
    Mahathir categorically denied that Malaysia had anything to do with the
    plan but as outside pressure mounted, Mahathir finally revealed the details
    in 1986.
   
    Marc Rich was
    finally indicted and arrested then extradited to the United States and
    convicted of massive tax fraud.
   
    Think of the
    billions of ringgit taken out of our economy in Perak when the tin price
    went bust. Had Mahathir not meddled with the tin price, we wouldn’t have
    lost 30 years of Tin export income. Perak wouldn’t have been relegated from
    one of the richest states to a poor one like today.
   
    Another good
    example akin to the Perak demise is Terengganu. If all the oil royalties go
    to the people of Terengganu, Terengganu would be an advanced state at par
    with Selangor. But unfortunately, these royalties go to the pockets of BN
    politicians and cronies in the form of “Duit Esan”.
   
    By Choo Sing Chye
    Researched
    from Steven Schlossstein’ s book, Asia ’s New Little Dragons.
   
  
 

MAHATHIR Corrupted the nation!

Condensed from a speech at the 2010 conference of the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association in Sydney in November. Tunku Abdul Aziz is Senator for Penang, national vice-chairman of the DAP, and former vice-chairman of corruption watchdog Transparency International. 

A nation corrupted by Mahathir and cronies

By Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim

Malaysia is, ethically speaking, in dire straits.
Mahathir founded his administration on corruption, lies and subterfuge. He lied to the nation about the many schemes that were blatantly dishonest. Worse, they were criminal, such as gambling with the EPF money, your money and mine, to corner the international tin market, and later the country’s reserves to speculate on the currency market, pitting himself in the latter case against George Soros. The country lost billions.
Mahathir succeeded in planting and nurturing a culture of impunity and disinformation that, even long after he left office, has continued to flourish. Of course, the man who cut his business teeth minding a stall at the Pekan Rabu in Alor Setar during the Japanese Occupation can explain all this away by saying that whatever he did, it was done in the national interest. We have heard it all before.
Corrupt officials do not enforce the law. Our corruption has turned Malaysia into a conduit for human trafficking into Australia. When we add to this the corruption in the ruling elite, the police, the judiciary, the customs and other key institutions, we have a thoroughly ugly picture of a country fuelled and driven by ethically reprehensible behaviour.
We have, as a nation, been truly sold down the “river of no return” by Mahathir, who now continues to set his version of the moral tone of this country. In what capacity I neither know nor care any more. Flood or pestilence, it is business as usual. In this country, we privatise and politicise everything, including corruption.
[Can anything be done] to take Malaysia back to the pre-Mahathir values? It is possible, by turfing out the present administration so that a thorough and complete review of policies and procedures, with mechanisms for checks and balances firmly put in place. All institutions must justify their existence; those no longer relevant will be closed down. Institutions rendered dysfunctional will be strengthened. The deadwood and the corrupt will be encouraged to take early retirement. Meritocracy will be the sole criterion for suitability to lead.
Transforming the administration is not only desirable, but absolutely essential to [claim our] right to a seat at the top table, among the clean nations, that will shape the future of the world.
Change, and complete change, is the answer. Malaysians must decide the kind of future they want.
I am anti-national by Najib’s latest definition because I speak the truth in a foreign country about Malaysia’s unsavoury reputation for massive corruption. I suppose living off corruption as many of our leaders do with panache and impunity is part of being a true Malaysia.
TUNKU ABDUL AZIZ IBRAHIM 

   

Our Young Generation Speaks .......

A reply to Tun Mahathir's atrocious blog post-
by Valerie Mohan on Thursday, October 14, 2010 at 3:20pm
 http://chedet.co.cc/chedetblog/2010/10/human-development-seminar-melb.html#_login

I really don't understand how someone as intelligent as you can come up with statements that are so blatantly ignorant.I'm 25 years old, my grandparents came from Kerala and I only speak English and Malay. I've never been to India , don't speak the language and all I can say is tanah tumpahnya darahku. How dare you talk about fair distribution when you and your cronies have amassed vast fortunes at the expense of others?

I don't see you going out among the less fortunate Malays and equitably distributing your wealth! If I follow from what you wrote you didn't deserve a place at medical school which means you took the place of someone who better deserved it. Which is what is happening all over this country in every arena. Its not racial issues that the people are most concerned about its a lack of competency that is perpetuated because of racial policies. Malaysians would not care if the vast majority of the government were Malay if they were able to discharge their duties competently. If there were 10 doctors and only one was Malay I would go to him if he was best at his job. But we have idiots running this country (the government, the police, the MACC, the judiciary) to the ground and they happen to be a Malay majority so of course people are pissed.

Do you think Malaysians would be angry if the country was well run and everyone's rights were upheld just because it was run by a Malay majority. Take a serious look at the majority of politicians and the rest of the people running the country (non malays included) - they are morons! The government is in shambles, the police are seen as the enemy and the judiciary is a joke - you really think intelligent Malaysians are angry at the Malays in general? We are angry at those in power because we cannot trust you to do what's in Malaysia's best interest, we don't feel safe in our own country, we have no freedom of expression because you need to keep us quiet in order to stay in power and we don't believe that when there is a crime commited you are actually to get to the bottom of it unless it serves your own interests.

This racially charged hate mongering has to stop, it's stupid and unnecessary. The real issue is our country is badly run and yet the government insists on discriminitory policies that seems to ensure its continuity. Did you ever stop to think that the person who's place you took in medical school could have been the one to lead Malaysia the way it deserves? Maybe that merits discussion? 

 

Tennessee Waltz - Patti Page (Stereo)

The soothing, melodious voice of Patty Page has always remain in my memory. I first heard her over the loaud-speaker of a movie theater - THE HAPPY THEATER in Padang Serai KEDAH, Malaysia (my old old hometown where i grew up as a kid). I was then merely 10 years old, circa 1952. Our house was situated juz 200 meters or so frm this movie theater and whenever there is an Western movie on, the theater would play western songs (blaring frm its loud-speakers...naturally in those days there was no law to control "noise" pollution) and one of those songs is this soothing waltz number by Patty Page. But when it played a lively march tune we all knew the show is going to start.

'PM's private secretary pocketed RM200m'

'PM's private secretary pocketed RM200m'

Wan Azizah of PKR officially condemned KETUANAN....

Wan Azizah struck at Umno's soft spot

Columnists

Written by Kim Quek

Thursday, 02 December 2010 10:43

PKR President Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail seemed to have struck at the Achilles' heel of Umno when she officially condemned 'Ketuanan Melayu' (Malay the master race) as the fraudulent ideology that has propped up Umno all these years. their political power. As a result, the majority of Malays and bumiputera have remained poor and neglected despite 53 years of Umno rule. Calling the Malays to discard this ideology, she said: "The concept of Malay supremacy must be left behind so that our children will grow up with the vision of a dignified race." By any democratic standard, Wan Azizah's clarion call to abandon racism must be applauded as the voice of reason that is in consonance with fundamental values embraced by every member of the world community. After all, isn't it true that the last country practicing institutionalized racism - South Africa - had given up its racist policy 20 years ago? Though Malaysia has largely escaped the kind of world condemnation accorded former apartheid South Africa, thanks to BN government's skilful image polishing, nevertheless, endemic racism remains a plague that has sabotaged national integration and thwarted economic growth. Ketuanan Melayu indefensible   Perhaps aware that Ketuanan Melayu is indefensible in the eyes of the world, Umno was at a loss as to how to respond to Wan Azizah's unexpected frontal assault. On the other hand, to defend the ideology would be to invite worldwide ridicule and condemnation. And that would not be pretty, keeping in mind that with the myriad of modern communication gadgets instantly transmitting news and messages, international backlash could be swift and unpalatable. So, after a short interval to recover from Wan Azizah's surprise initiative, responses began to drip in from Umno's top leaders, but these are either evasive or irrelevant, and none has dared to take Wan Azizal head on. Deputy Umno President and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin described Wan Azizah's assertion as an attempt "to salvage a sinking ship", and to regain public support after a divisive party election. What about the Ketuanan issue? Not a word of rebuttal. Umno Vice President and Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi said Azizah was "only trying to divert public attention from the party's serious problems." He said PKR wanted to please the Chinese and Indians to gain their support for the next general election. Again, he avoided touching the Ketuanan issue. Not unexpectedly, the dirty job of savage counter-offensive was left to Umno's ultra racist wing Perkasa. Its youth leader Arman Azha Abu Hanifah attacked Azizah as "political prostitute". He said that she and other PKR Malay leaders owed their professional achievement to Ketuanan Melayu policy and that they had now betrayed the race for the sake of gaining Chinese and Indian support. Interestingly, Arman's bad manners and insensitive blast at other Malay leaders seem to justify Azizah's advocacy to abandon the Ketuanan mentality so as to regain dignity for the race. It is not only abhorrent conduct to call a respected national leader "prostitute", but his inference that Malays are not capable of achieving success unless they are propped up by racial favouritism is outright humiliating to the race. In fact, Arman's crass outburst has unwittingly made him the best poster boy of the ill fruits that Ketuanan Melayu has borne. However, the icing of the cake in this episode is undoubtedly the novel theory put up by the vociferous Umno cabinet member Nazri Aziz to deflect Wan Azizah's criticism. He said Ketuanan Melayu is not about the Malay race, but about the Malay Sultans. He said the word was coined to protect the sovereignty of the Malay Rulers, not to emphasize racial supremacy. Glaring evidence of racism While Nazri may consider himself ingenious in coming out with this new interpretation to escape the Ketuanan trap, it sure holds no water. The bedrock of Umno's hegemony is its racial ideology which has captivated its core supporters, and Ketuanan Melayu has been coined to symbolize Malay supremacy. It is through the indoctrination and implementation of this ideology that Umno has been able to win election after election; and Umno is not about to give it up for whatever reason. That Umno has practiced pervasive racism is manifested in the gradual and progressive Malay-nisation of the entire government machinery since the 1969 racial riots until it has become an almost mono-racial entity. This applies to our civil service, army, police, judiciary, attorney general's chamber, election commission, anti-corruption commission, various statutory bodies and even government-linked corporations. These publicly funded employees are not only almost entirely Malays, but are indoctrinated to be loyal to Umno while remaining hostile to its political adversaries who include Malays. If Nazri insists he is right, he can put his interpretation to the test by asking his Umno cabinet colleagues whether they agree that Ketuanan Melayu is not about Malay dominance or Malay power but about Malay Sultans. I bet none will agree. If Umno denies that it has embraced the racist Ketuanan Melayu as its core ideology, it should explain its persistent racist conduct and answer some questions such as the following: Delivering her policy speech during the party's annual congress on Nov 27, she said that the Malay supremacy concept was used by Umno's elites to deceive the Malay masses for self enrichment and for maintaining their political power. As a result, the majority of To keep silent would be to acquiesce to Wan Azizah's assertion and that would spell trouble - big trouble. For it is through inciting the primordial instinct of race that Umno hopes to scrape through the coming national election. So, how can Umno give up Ketuanan Melayu? When Selangor's Pakatan Rakyat Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim proposed that the mono-racial Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) open up 10% of its student admission to non-bumiputera and foreign students, why did top Umno leaders including then minister of higher education Khaled Nordin condemn Khalid Ibrahim as "traitor selling out Malay special privileges"? When the Selangor state-owned PKNS' (Selangor Development Corporation) general manager retired in late 2008, Khalid wanted to appoint deputy general manager Wong Siew Moi as acting general manager. Why did Umno and PKNS staff protest against the appointment on the ground of her ethnicity, if Umno was not racist? When the Perak state government under Pakatan Rakyat during its tenure in 2008 wanted to grant land titles to have-nots of all races who had long occupied the land (majority being Malays), why did Umno leaders criticize the move to grant land titles to non-Malays as a betrayal of Malay interests?

My Letter for December 2010 - THEtree #36

PLEASE CLICK IMAGE TO VIEW READABLE VERSION.