Negara sedang tenat, Najib Razak masih pertimbang beli kapal perang baru yang harganya berbilion-bilion. Mungkinkah beliau sudah dapat penderma baru?
BATALKAN HASRAT PEMBELIAN KAPAL PERANG KELAS MISTRAL YANG DIANGGARKAN BERNILAI RM3 BILION
Saya memetik satu laporan oleh The International Business Times bertajuk “France Russia Mistral Ships Update: Malaysia To Buy Aircraft Carrier” bertarikh 26 Ogos 2015 mengenai hasrat Kerajaan Malaysia membeli sebuah kapal perang pengangkut helikopter dari Kerajaan Perancis.
Akhbar-akhbar antarabangsa turut melaporkan bahawa Menteri Pertahanan Perancis, Jean-Yves Le Drian bakal mengadakan perjumpaan dengan Menteri Pertahanan, Dato’ Seri Hishamuddin Hussein dan Perdana Menteri, Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak dalam rangka lawatan 2 hari ke Malaysia bermula semalam.
Rombongan beliau akan turut disertai oleh wakil-wakil dari industry persenjataan Perancis termasuklah Dassault Aviation, Thales, Safran, DCNS, DCI dan MBDA (seperti kenyataan rasmi Kedutaan di Malaysia pada 27 Ogos 2015).
Berita-berita ini padan dengan desas-desus bahawa lawatan Menteri Pertahanan Perancis itu adalah untuk merundingkan penjualan sebuah kapal perang kelas Mistral kepada Kerajaan Malaysia.
Semakan mengenai kapal perang kelas Mistral yang dilaporkan secara meluas merujuk kepada dua buah kapal perang pengangkut helikopter kelas Mistral yang pada asalnya ditempah oleh Kerajaan Russia.
Kapal-kapal yang dinamakan Sevastopol dan Vladivostok ini sepatutnya diserahkan kepada Kerajaan Russia tahun 2014 dan 2016 tetapi tergendala apabila Kerajaan Perancis membatalkan kontrak penjualan itu ekoran rekod buruk hak asasi manusia Kerajaan Russia.
Semakan juga menunjukkan sebuah kapal perang kelas Mistral ini dianggarkan berjumlah sekitar USD600 juta dalam tahun 2012.
Mengambil kira kenaikan harga dan kadar matawang terkini (anggaran kos USD650 juta pada kadar matawang RM4 kepada USD1), ini bermakna kos pembelian kapal perang kelas Mistral ini boleh mencecah RM2.6 bilion.
Mengambil kira kontrak penyenggaraan dan bantuan teknikal yang selalunya bernilai ratusan juta, saya menganggarkan pembelian ini boleh memakan RM3 bilion dana rakyat.
Itu tidak termasuk pembelian helikopter yang diperlukan sebagai melengkapkan kapal perang kelas Mistral ini.
Saya menyeru supaya Dato’ Seri Najib Razak dan Dato’ Seri Hishamuddin Tun Hussein membentangkan kepada Parlimen dalam sessi akan datang penjelasan-penjelasan berikut:
1. Kenapa Kerajaan Malaysia berniat membeli sebuah kapal perang yang direka dan dibina untuk armada laut Russia yang strategi pensejataannya begitu berlainan dari Malaysia? Bukankah lebih baik sebarang tempahan kapal baru mesti mengikut strategi jangka panjang tentera Malaysia?
2. Berapakah kos keseluruhan pembelian kapal ini termasuk dengan pembelian helikopter dan kontrak-kontrak bantuan teknikal? Jumlah ini perlu dibentangkan kepada rakyat sebelum sebarang keputusan dibuat.
Pembelian kapal selam Scorpene terpakai semasa Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak menjadi Menteri Pertahanan dahulu telah mengundang pelbagai kontroversi termasuk pembayaran komisen sehingga RM500 juta dan skandal pembunuhan gadis Mongolia Altantuya Sharibu yang masih belum selesai.
Kini, pentadbiran beliau dilaporkan ingin pula membeli sebuah kapal perang yang dibina untuk negara lain semasa ekonomi negara merudum.
RAFIZI RAMLI
AHLI PARLIMEN PANDAN
1 SEPTEMBER 2015
Malaysia To Buy Aircraft Carrier...
PKR has questioned Putrajaya's intention to purchase a RM3.5 billion French-made Mistral warship when the country is facing an economic downturn.
At a press conference today, PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli referred to a report in The International Daily dated
Aug 26, which said French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is
leading a defence industry delegation to Malaysia on this deal.The team reportedly arrived yesterday, and would meet Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and Defence Minister Hishamuddin Hussein.
Rafizi said the French struck a deal to sell two custom-made warships to Russia and delivered them in 2014 and 2016 respectively, but the deal was cancelled due to Russia's dismal human rights record.
Now, he added the French do not know what to do with the two ships and are planning to sell one of them to Malaysia.
"The warship's estimated cost was US$650 million in 2012," he said, adding this was just the building cost.
The full cost, he added, which includes arming of the warship as well as training and maintenance is expected to be around US$3.5 billion or RM14 billion. - mk
Barisan kepimpinan Parti Amanah Negara.
Harapan Baru kini parti politik...
Pengerusi Harapan Baru (HB), Mohamad Sabu hari ini mengumumkan Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) digunakan sebagai nama rasmi wadah politik HB.
Bekas timbalan presiden Pas yang lebih dikenali sebagai Mat Sabu berkata, HB telah mengambil alih dan akan menjenamakan semula sebuah parti politik sedia ada iaitu Parti Pekerja-pekerja Malaysia sebagai Amanah, dan butirannya akan diserah kepada Pendaftar Pertubuhan (RoS) secepat mungkin bagi mendapatkan kelulusan.
"Kami telah memutuskan untuk muncul melalui sebuah parti politik golongan pekerja...apa pun pindaan nama serta perlembagaan parti akan kita kemukakan kepada RoS dan kemudian akan dilancarkan pada 16 September 2015.
"Dengan permulaan ini, ia sekali gus menampilkan sebuah lagi parti politik Islam di tanah air," katanya dalam sidang media di sini.
HB merupakan platform bagi golongan profesional Pas yang dikatakan kecewa selepas ditolak anggota parti itu melalui muktamar tahunannya Jun lepas.
Mat Sabu berkata, kesemua keanggotaan mereka dalam Pas secara rasminya gugur sejurus HB mengambil alih Parti Pekerja-pekerja Malaysia.
Sebelum ini, gerakan itu berhajat untuk menggunakan nama Parti Progresif Islam (PPI), sebagai nama rasmi parti politiknya, namun RoS menolak permohonan itu.
Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, yang juga Menteri Dalam Negeri, sebelum ini dilaporkan berkata bahawa permohonan itu ditolak kerana Islam adalah hak untuk semua orang yang beragama Islam dan penggunaan nama itu pada parti politik boleh menyebabkan kekeliruan.
Pada sidang media sama, Mat Sabu turut mengumumkan jawatankuasa Amanah, yang diketuai beliau sebagai pengerusinya, Ahmad Awang sebagai penasihat umum, bekas naib presiden Pas, Salahudin Ayub sebagai timbalan pengerusi, Ahli Parlimen Parit Buntar, Datuk Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa sebagai naib pengerusi, Ahli Parlimen Kota Raja, Dr Mariah Ahmad sebagai ketua wanita, dan Mohd Sany Hamzan sebagai ketua pemuda.
Selain itu, turut dilantik dalam jawatankuasa itu ialah Mohd Anuar Mohd Tahir sebagai setiausaha agung, Asmuwi Ani sebagai bendahari agung dan bekas ketua pemuda Pas, Suhaizan Kaiat sebagai setiausaha organisasi.
Sementara itu, antara bekas pemimpin Pas yang tersenarai sebagai anggota jawatankuasa Amanah ialah Ahli Parlimen Kuala Krai, Dr Mohd Hatta Md Ramli; Ahli Parlimen Shah Alam, Khalid Abdul Samad; Ahli Parlimen Sepang, Mohd Hanifa Maidin, bekas Menteri Besar Perak, Datuk Seri Mohd Nizar Jamaludin, dan Timbalan Pesuruhjaya Pas 1 Kedah, Datuk Phahrolrazi Mohd Zawawi.
Mat Sabu berkata, pihaknya menjangkakan seramai 35,000 anggota akan didaftarkan menjelang pelancaran rasmi parti itu pada September depan.
Dalam pada itu, beliau berkata, pihaknya akan menunggu kelulusan RoS sebelum mula membincangkan dengan DAP dan PKR tentang penubuhan Pakatan Rakyat 2.0.
Selain itu, mereka juga akan melihat perkembangan terkini mengenai situasi di Sarawak sebelum memutuskan untuk bertanding atau tidak dalam pilihan raya negeri yang dijangka dalam masa terdekat.
Tambahnya, buat masa ini, Amanah akan mengadakan kerjasama politik dengan kerajaan negeri Pulau Pinang, Selangor dan Kelantan yang masing-masing dipimpin DAP, PKR dan Pas. - Bernama
PAS rebels defect to M’sian Workers Party
CCTV America News
Bersih 4: Who is the biggest loser...
The critics say Bersih (more correctly Bersih 2.0) lost credibility because Bersih 4 was “short on Malays”.
Critics say Bersih lost credibility because politicians – opposition politicians at that – dominated speech-making during Bersih 4.
Who are the critics?
It will not do to ask whether the critics were on the ground. To suggest their opinions don’t count because their information was gained from second-hand sources is as silly as suggesting those who’ve not been to Gaza can’t protest against those who oppress Palestinians in Gaza.
What I realised from being on the ground is that you only get a picture of things immediately around you: if you start in Chinatown you’ll think everyone in the rally is from the Chinese community.
What I realised from being on the ground is that you can hardly move during the rally. People are so pressed together that it takes enormous effort to move from one end of a street to another, and sometimes you approach a dead-end and have to change course.
What I realised from being on the ground and occasionally being near enough a stage to hear what was being said, is that Chinese politicians deliver their messages in near-flawless Malay to Chinese crowds! (I choose not to say Bahasa Malaysia.)
“Occasionally being near enough” is important. Most protesters wouldn’t have heard the speakers because even state-of-the-art portable outdoor sound systems have limited reach, the crowds are very noisy and people blow vuvuzela horns.
(May the fleas of a thousand camels infest the armpits of those who sell vuvuzela!)
Soon there will be analyses of aerial photos and good estimates of how many were on the streets during the rally. It’s important to note that not all of them were rally protesters and that not all protesters wore yellow shirts.
The analyses will give a good estimate of the total number of people who turned up.
The analyses will not give a good estimate of their ethnic composition. Only post-rally surveys – which will most likely be conducted by the Merdeka Center for opinion research – will give us a halfway-decent measure of the ethnic composition.
I wrote “half-way decent” because from August 15-21, the Merdeka Center surveyed support for Bersih 4 and, on August 28, reported that only 23% of ethnic Malay voters supported the rally.
Pollsters hate to be wrong; I hope Merdeka Center will recognise that any meaningful difference between their “prediction” and the actual outcome may be attributed to the government’s response to Bersih 4 in the week after their first poll.
(I also hope their future polls will be conducted over shorter periods. A week is a long time in politics.)
Regarding ethnic composition, there are other factors to consider.
First, unlike in the past, Malaysia’s purportedly Islamic party, PAS, did not support Bersih 4.
Therefore, members of the Malay community from the East Coast states – which are dominated by PAS-aligned politicians and civil servants – were absent.
I wrote “purportedly Islamic” because I believe a truly Islamic party would have joined others in expressing outrage over calling corruption “donation” and over allowing the accused to control the investigations of accusations against himself.
Secondly, many members of the Malay community are civil servants – who were issued with notices prohibiting them from attending Bersih 4 and who are required to attend the government-sponsored Merdeka Day celebrations the day after Bersih 4. In my opinion, the civil service are the third biggest losers in Bersih 4.
Corporations who forbade their employees from attending Bersih 4 are the third biggest losers; the third place is shared with corporations who collaborated with the government to disrupt Bersih’s communications.
Now, a few thoughts about critics who say opposition politicians hijacked Bersih 4.
In my opinion, such remarks are made by critics who are either critical of civil society activists in general, or are new to civil-society activism.
Such critics have no idea how few civil society activists are able and willing to get onto a stage – let alone being capable of rousing a crowd of noisy, pressing thousands.
Such critics ignore the fact that members of the ruling coalition issued warnings that their members who participated in Bersih 4 would be subject to disciplinary action!
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, an Umno member who showed up “to show support” for Bersih 4, may be referred to Umno’s discipline committee.
The biggest loser is the Barisan Nasional government. The people’s vote of no-confidence in the prime minister is loud and clear.
Will MPs vote out the prime minister? If they don’t they will be the biggest losers of Bersih 4. – Rama Ramanathan,tmi
cheers.
No comments:
Post a Comment