Anwar Ibrahim |
- Malaysia The 4th Most Corrupt Nation in The World But Not a Sound From Najib
- ETP Will Make Malaysians Poorer in 2020
- Malaysia’s Anwar Says Sodomy Conviction Would Bolster Opposition Ahead of Polls
- Kerajaan BN Belanja Berbilion Ringgit Untuk Jawatan-jawatan Klon
- Internet Giants Tells US Not To Follow Malayia
- Tak Kira Apa Keputusan,Saya Akan Lawan Demi Keadilan
| Malaysia The 4th Most Corrupt Nation in The World But Not a Sound From Najib Posted: 15 Dec 2011 06:26 PM PST For the first decade of the new century, Malaysia has lost a staggering RM1.08 trillion (US$338 billion) in illicit outflows which is the fourth highest in the developing world. In the period 2000-2009, China lost US$2.74 trillion in illicit financial outflows and was the developing country with the largest illicit outflows, according to a country ranking published in the report. Mexico ranked second, with US$504 billion and Russia third with US$501 billion while our closest-ranked regional neighbour is the Philippines, who at 13th place lost US$121 billion. Illicit outflows can be taken as a benchmark or indication of the scale of corruption. This means Malaysia has the most corrupt set of leaders in Southeast Asia, who are also the 4th most corrupt in the world, stashing the massive amounts of money they plunder overseas. The Global Financial Integrity (GFI) reported in January that RM930 billion flowed out of Malaysia from 2000 to 2008, growing to RM218 billion per year from an initial RM71 billion in that period. Malaysia lost RM150 billion in illicit outflows in 2009. The report elaborated further by stating that the increase was "at a scaled seen in few Asian countries" and continued added, "The volume of illegal capital flight from Malaysia has come to dwarf legitimate capital inflows into the country in recent years." Bribery, theft and kickbacks The warning bells were sounded as early as January 2011 by the likes of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, who questioned the apathy shown by the government towards the problem of illicit outflow via corruption and tax evasion practices. Corruption – bribery, theft and kickbacks – accounts for the other half of illicit flows and dominate the Middle East, North Africa and developing Europe, the report said. The falsification of import/export invoices, known as trade mispricing, accounts for just over half of all illicit financial flows and is particularly prevalent in Asia and the West. To stem the tide, Bank Negara Governor, Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, tabled the Money Business Services Act in March; an act that has since came into effect on December 1st. The new law supports the development of a more dynamic, competitive and professional money services business industry, while strengthening safeguards against money laundering, terrorist financing and illegal activities, according to Bank Negara. Half-hearted Act Yet, the Act seems too little too late, since it is a mere knee-jerk reaction to a decade old problem. After a decade where Malaysia has lost RM1.08 trillion, in-action by the Barisan Nasional government has cost us dearly. This is a governement that has been bleeding money for the longest time and is prime for an economic implosion that would default the country. With inflation clocking in at 3.4% in September after touching a 27-month high of 3.5 per cent in June, food inflation remains the biggest concern, increasing to 5% year-on-year in September from 4.6 per cent in August. Malaysians are headed for hard times with less value for the ringgit in their pockets as opposed to the cost of living. And what has been the Finance Minister's response to this? None. Not a sound, only grandiose announcements from Najib Instead, we have had a grandiose announcements to make Malaysia a high income society and the further abuse of public funds to sponsor failed projects such as the NFC, a national cattle livestock project. The sudden rush to have a revision of the public service pay-scheme is a veiled attempt at soliciting more tax money yet at the same time to secure the civil service as the "fixed-deposit" for the upcoming 13th General Election. The arresting measures that were rushed into place have merely been a means to secure an election win, whilst the whole country steams towards default. The fact that annual illicit outflows from Malaysia has grown from RM71 billion to RM218 billion per year points to the ineffective counter-measures placed by the Finance Ministry and Bank Negara to stem the problem. Put bluntly, the measures failed. Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is also the Finance minister, has nothing to show for his time in office, despite having taken over the top job in April 2009. The silence of the Finance Minister is telling. One cannot help but ask if Najib, the person responsible for the financial health of the nation, is on top of things. Is it a priority of the Finance Minister? Is the Barisan Nasional government working hard at fixing the financial state of the nation? Such issues concerning Malaysia's financial state only enforces the notion that Malaysia is truly heading towards default much like Greece, and as forecast by Minister in the PM’s Department, Idris Jala, who predicted bankruptcy by 2019 due to inability to service ever growing debt |
| ETP Will Make Malaysians Poorer in 2020 Posted: 15 Dec 2011 05:26 PM PST Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim today warned that Malaysians will become poorer in 2020, with an additional 1.7 million people earning below RM1,500, under the current Economic Transformation Programmes (ETP). In addition, he claimed the brainchild of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak will widen the income gap in society based on the projection of ETP. During a dinner organised by Selangor state government at an upmarket hotel in the capital, Anwar delivered a speech titled 'Debunking ETP: Widening Income Gap’ to some 150 guests including foreign ambassadors, economists, academicians, MPs, party leaders and journalists. He said the two important assumptions made by the ETP to justify that Malaysians will earn a gross national income (GNI) per capita of RM48,000 by 2020 were questionable. First, the 3.6 percent annual wage growth predicted from 2010 to 2020 is over optimistic, because the average growth was only 2.6 percent annually in the past 10 years according to the Human Resources Ministry, and the real wage growth from 1984 to 1997 in the manufacturing and plantation sectors was only 2.3 and 2.8 percent respectively, according to the Asian Development Bank. “This is further verified by the National Employment Return Study of 2009, involving a sample of 24,000 employers and 1.3 million workers which found that 33.8 percent of the workers were paid below RM700 per month. “If this were to be extrapolated nationally, it suggests that up to 34 percent of our workforce earn below the national poverty line,” he explained. Another fundamental flaw, said the former finance minister, is the 2.8 percent average rate of inflation estimated for the period up to 2020, because the average inflation between 2001 and 2005 was 4.8 percent, and 6.6 percent between 2005 and 2009, as a result of the 2008 crude oil price rally worldwide. “The inflation assumption is crucial to arrive at the magical target of RM48,000 GNI per capita by 2020 that has become the pillar of ETP. “If inflation, as we have seen in the last few years, grows higher than 2.8 percent in the next few years, real wages will be lower and the GNI per capita target of RM48,000 is nothing more than a number on a fancy ETP brochure,” he elaborated, adding that the environment of high energy and high commodity prices will persist. He then pointed out that if the inflation rate was 4 percent and wages were to grow at the unrealistic 3.6 percent rate annually for the next 10 years, there will be an additional one million Malaysians earning below the equivalent of today’s RM1,500 per month in 2020. Should the inflation rate stay at an average of 6 percent, there would be an additional 1.7 million Malaysians earning the same amount in 2020, he warned. Bleak picture “The additional 1.7 million urban poor will complete the bleak picture that ETP tries hard to gloss – that is by 2020, there will be between 7 million to 8.3 million urban poor with monthly earnings of RM1,500 and below; according to ETP’s own projections,” he said. Contrary to what was promised by the ETP, Anwar claimed that the rich will be richer in 2020 should the ETP model of economic development continues. “Based on the information provided in the official ETP documents, one can construct a business model to ascertain the proportion of economic value going to the employees versus the profits retained by corporations.” The analysis done by PKR based on the ETP information, he said, showed that ETP and Entry Point Projects (EPPs) will cause real wages to stagnate with only marginal increase over the years, while most of the economic benefits will be retained by corporations. “In 2009, the GNI of RM661 billion, the ratio of employee compensation to GNI is 40 percent. This simply means that 40 percent of the economic value generated by our economy goes to workers in the form of wages. By 2020, this ratio will drop to 33 percent. Anwar described the ETP as “nothing more than a continuation of a flawed economic model mired with corruption and a rent-seeking culture that rewards the ruling echelons at the expense of the majority”. “Its promise to deliver a high income nation status by 2020 is also a fallacy,” he added. The PKR de facto leader noted that the most important facet of the ETP are the 131 entry point projects (EPPs). But most of them are nothing more that large-scale infrastructure projects that will consume a large amount of public funds either directly from the public coffers or through funding arrangements with government-linked companies (GLCs) or government-linked investment companies (GLICs). “If the previous mega projects’ track records are anything to go by, these EPPs also come with huge financial risks to the public due to this government’s poor corporate governance,” he said, citing the example of the newly constructed palace where the project cost ballooned from the initial RM400 million to more than RM1 billion. “There is also a risk that the diversion of public and GLC/GLIC funds into these EPPs may effectively reduce the nation’s flexibility to deploy fiscal means to manage the economy in the future as Malaysia continues to battle its deficit problems,” added Anwar. |
| Malaysia’s Anwar Says Sodomy Conviction Would Bolster Opposition Ahead of Polls Posted: 15 Dec 2011 05:11 PM PST Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim says a conviction in his sodomy trial would only strengthen his opposition alliance ahead of elections. Anwar also vowed to keep fighting for justice even if he was put behind bars. He faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of sodomizing his male former aide. The court announced Thursday it would deliver its verdict on Jan. 9. Anwar says he is surprised at the early verdict date and questioned if it was being rushed to keep him from contesting national elections widely expected next year. A conviction in the two-year trial would prevent Anwar from running in the polls. Prime Minister Najib Razak has denied Anwar's allegation that the government cooked up the charge to crush his political career. |
| Kerajaan BN Belanja Berbilion Ringgit Untuk Jawatan-jawatan Klon Posted: 15 Dec 2011 09:43 AM PST Tahukah anda, sejak daripada tahun 2008 sehinggalah pada penghujung tahun 2010, kerajaan persekutuan BN yang didominasi oleh Umno telah membelanjakan lebih daripada RM138 juta bagi membiayai kos operasi dan membayar elaun-elaun serta faedah ahli-ahli Jawatankuasa Kemajuan dan Keselamatan Kampung-Persekutuan (JKKKP). JKKKP ini telah ditubuhkan di negeri-negeri yang diperintah oleh Pakatan Rakyat, seperti Selangor, Pulau Pinang, Kedah dan Kelantan yang sejak daripada dahulu lagi telahpun mempunyai Jawatankuasa Keselamatan dan Kemajuan Kampung (JKKK) lantikan peringkat negeri yang asal. JKKKP ini telah ditubuhkan di semua perkampungan di negeri-negeri di mana BN telah dikalahkan dan kehilangan kuasa di dalam pilihanraya umum yang lalu bagi mencabar kewibawaan JKKK asal yang sedia ada. Manakala bagi negeri-negeri yang masih ditadbir oleh BN, JKKKP tidak ditubuhkan kerana JKKK lantikan negeri masih dikuasai oleh mereka. Tujuan pembentukan dan perlantikan JKKKP ini adalah jelas, BN tidak dapat menerima hakikat bahawa mereka telah ditolak oleh rakyat dan kekalahan mereka di dalam pilihanraya umum yang lalu, justeru daripada itu, menggunakan kaedah sedemikian (JKKKP) untuk mencabar dan melawan kesahihan JKKK di negeri-negeri di bawah Pakatan Rakyat. Inilah disebut JKKK Klon yang digelar JKKKP. Ada juga Penghulu Persekutuan! Selain daripada JKKKP lantikan kerajaan persekutuan BN untuk mencabar kewibawaan JKKK asal yang sedia ada, BN turut melaksanakan perlantikan Penghulu-penghulu Persekutuan bagi mencabar para Penghulu-penghulu asal perkampungan yang telahpun dilantik oleh kerajaan-kerajaan negeri Pakatan Rakyat. Perbuatan kerajaan persekutuan BN yang sehingga kini masih enggan mengiktiraf sepenuhnya kerajaan-kerajaan negeri di bawah pentadbiran Pakatan Rakyat yang dipilih oleh rakyat dengan melantik JKKKP dan Penghulu Persekutuan di kawasan-kawasan dan perkampungan-perkampungan di negeri-negeri tersebut telah mengakibatkan perbelanjaan boros wang rakyat yang langsung tidak berfaedah kerana wang-wang tersebut hanya diberikan kepada para penyokong BN yang menganggotai JKKKP dan menjadi Penghulu Persekutuan. Dah ada Penghulu Klon pula yang bergelar Penghulu Persekutuan. Wakil-wakil Rakyat Klon turut wujud Dalam pada itu, kita juga dapati bahawa wakil-wakil rakyat klon turut wujud di kesemua kawasan-kawasan parlimen dan dewan undangan negeri yang dimenangi oleh Pakatan Rakyat, yang digelar sebagai Penyelaras Parlimen ataupun Penyelaras Dewan Undangan Negeri. Para Penyelaras-penyelaras BN Parlimen dan Penyelaras-penyelaras BN Dewan Undangan Negeri ini adalah dilantik secara terus oleh kerajaan persekutuan BN melalui Jabatan Perdana Menteri (JPM) dan lantikan-lantikan mereka dikawal selia oleh Unit Penyelarasan dan Perlaksanaan (ICU) JPM. Bagi mengurus tadbir para Penyelaras-penyelaras BN peringkat Parlimen dan Dewan Undangan Negeri ini, ICU telah membentuk Pejabat Pembangunan Negeri (SDO) di setiap negeri-negeri yang ditadbir oleh Pakatan Rakyat bagi membayar gaji dan faedah para Penyelaras-penyelaras BN tersebut sambil menguruskan peruntukan kewangan untuk mereka. Gaji yang dibayar kepada para Penyelaras-penyelaras BN Parlimen dan Dewan Undangan Negeri ini adalah sama dan setaraf dengan elaun-elaun yang diterima oleh para Ahli-ahli Parlimen dan Ahli-ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri yang dipilih secara sah oleh rakyat melalui pilihanraya umum. Justeru daripada itu, para Ahli-ahli Parlimen dan Ahli-ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri Pakatan Rakyat dinafikan hak mereka untuk mendapat peruntukan kewangan untuk kawasan-kawasan yang diwakili oleh mereka sebaliknya, ianya telah disalurkan pula kepada para Penyelaras-penyelaras BN. Jelaslah bahawa hak-hak para Ahli-ahli Parlimen dan Ahli-ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri Pakatan Rakyat telah dinafikan terus walaupun mereka-mereka ini telah dipilih secara sah oleh rakyat jelata, kerana peruntukan kewangan mereka telah dirampas oleh para Penyelaras-penyelaras BN yang mendakwa kononnya, merekalah "wakil rakyat" yang sebenarnya. Tetapi rupa-rupanya mereka ini (para Penyelaras BN) hanyalah wakil-wakil rakyat klon. Klon-klon JKKK, Penghulu dan Wakil rakyat yang diwujudkan oleh kerajaan persekutuan BN ini jelas menunjukkan bahawa BN yang didominasi oleh Umno ini masih enggan mengiktiraf wakil-wakil pilihan rakyat yang sah mengikut perlembagaan dan lunas-lunas demokrasi yang sedia ada. Di samping itu, kewujudan klon-klon JKKK, Penghulu dan Wakil rakyat yang dilantik dan digaji oleh BN ini juga telah jelas membuktikan BN terlalu boros di dalam mengejar dan mengekalkan kuasa mereka, wang-wang rakyat dibelanjakan berbilion-bilion Ringgit dengan begitu sahaja di mana rakyat jelata langsung tidak mendapat sebarang faedah pun akibat daripada pengklonan jawatan-jawatan dan kedudukan tersebut. Tujuan BN melaksanakan pengklonan kesemua jawatan dan kedudukan JKKK, Penghulu dan Wakil rakyat tersebut hanyalah politik jijik semata-mata, iaitu untuk mencabar kewibawaan dan kesahihan kerajaan-kerajaan negeri dan wakil-wakil Pakatan Rakyat yang sedia ada. Kalau begitu, kenapa tidak BN-Umno ini klonkan sekali jawatan-jawatan Ketua Menteri, Menteri Besar dan Exco-Exco Negeri di Selangor, Pulau Pinang, Kedah dan Kelantan bagi menyempurnakan sepenuhnya keengganan mereka mengiktiraf demokrasi dan kuasa rakyat untuk mengundi wakil-wakil pilihan mereka? |
| Internet Giants Tells US Not To Follow Malayia Posted: 15 Dec 2011 07:35 AM PST The founders of Google, Twitter, Yahoo! eBay and other Internet giants expressed concern to the US Congress over legislation intended to crack down on online piracy. They warned that the proposed legislation will give Washington the power to censor the Internet, much like that employed by China, Malaysia and Iran. The Stop Online Piracy Act has received some bipartisan support in the House of Representatives and is the House version of a bill introduced in the Senate known as the Theft of Intellectual Property Act, or Protect IP Act. The legislation has received the backing of Hollywood, the music industry, the Business Software Alliance, the National Association of Manufacturers, the US Chamber of Commerce and other groups. But it has come under fire from digital rights and free speech organisations for allegedly paving the way for US authorities to shut down websites, including foreign sites, without due process and threatening the architecture of the Web. The founders of the leading Internet companies added their voices to the chorus of opposition against the bills in an open letter to Congress published Wednesday in several US newspapers, including The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. “We’ve all had the good fortune to found Internet companies and nonprofits in a regulatory climate that promotes entrepreneurship, innovation, the creation of content and free expression online,” they said in the letter. “However, we’re worried that the Protect IP Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act – which started out as well-meaning efforts to control piracy online – will undermine that framework,” they said. The legislation threatens to “require Web services, like the ones we helped found, to monitor what users link to, or upload,” they said, warning that this would have a “chilling effect on innovation.” Deny right of due process They said the bills would also “deny website owners the right to due process” and “give the US government the power to censor the Web using techniques similar to those used by China, Malaysia and Iran.” “We urge Congress to think hard before changing the regulation that underpins the Internet,” they said. “Let’s not deny the next generation of entrepreneurs and founders the same opportunities that we all had.” Signatories to the letter included Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Twitter co-founders Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone and Evan Williams, Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake, Yahoo! co-founders David Filo and Jerry Yang, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley, PayPal co-founder Elon Musk, Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales. - AFP An Open Letter to Washington However we're worried that the Protect IP Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act — which started out as well-meaning efforts to control piracy online — will undermine that framework. These two pieces of legislation threaten to: Require web services, like the ones we helped found, to monitor what users link to, or upload. This would have a chilling effect on innovation; Deny website owners the right to due process of law; We urge Congress to think hard before changing the regulation that underpins the Internet. Let's not deny the next generation of entrepreneurs and founders the same opportunities that we all had. Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape and Andreessen Horowitz |
| Tak Kira Apa Keputusan,Saya Akan Lawan Demi Keadilan Posted: 14 Dec 2011 10:54 PM PST Selepas pernah berada di penjara selama enam tahun, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim bertekad akan terus berjuang demi keadilan tidak kisah bakal keputusan kes liwat, yang akan diumumkan 9 Januari depan. "Ia tidak berbeza, di penjara ataupun di luar, saya akan berjuang untuk keadilan," kata beliau kepada pemberita di kompleks mahkamah Jalan Duta di sini, di akhir sesi penggulungan kes peringkat pembelaan, tengah hari ini. Ketua Pembangkang ini menambah, beliau pernah melalui kehidupan di penjara dan mendapati ia bukan sesuatu yang sukar untuk dilalui. Anwar , bekas timbalan perdana menteri, telah dikenakan hukuman penjara atas kesalahan liwat dan salah guna kuasa selepas dipecat pada 1998. Beliau dibebaskan pada 2004. Bagaimanapun pemimpin berusia 64 tahun ini berkata kenyataan beliau tidak harus dianggap sebagai satu kekalahan. "Ia bukan satu persoalan secara sukarela mahu ke penjara. Untuk apa sebab? Sebab saya memutuskan untuk tidak menyertai semula Umno, sebab saya memutuskan untuk melawan mereka atas sifat rasis dan dasar-dasar tidak adil mereka?" katanya. |
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