Buang yang bodoh ambik yang bangang...

Kalu betoi ini bermakna Kedah akan kehilangan 

seorang stand up komedi yang versatile...

Pakar kesihatan US meramalkan kita akan mencatatkan angka 5 ribu kes sehari menjelang bulan MAC, Rupa2nya ia berlaku sebelum tamatnya bulan Januari... Jadi apa guna darurat ? Apa guna PKP? Ini hanyalah kemahuan PM Din dan gomen tebuk atapnya yang sedaq depa dah hilang majoriti. MCO dan SOP apa benda? Ni plan B gomen PM Din untuk lanjutkan daruratlah...

Why PN will win GE15 with a landslide...

I wish to explain my prediction that Perikatan Nasional under the leadership of Muhyiddin will easily win GE15 with a two third majority in its favor. At the end of this article, I will paint some scenarios for the choices that Malaysians may have to make with this in mind.

Whether the election is called in two years time or a few months after August 1 the result will favor PN. PN is very strong now and will reach its pinnacle of strength when it succeeds in dominating Umno. The following are my reasons for this inevitable result that I foresee. Malaysians may disregard this prediction but I think they are living in a fantasy world with their heads in the sand.

Firstly, PN got the Budget approved and that brings in the power of buying influence with projects, lucrative appointments and more projects. The Emergency was the last jigsaw puzzle for them to use the money without being questioned by anyone under the penalty of dire consequences. The war chest is complete.

Secondly, PN will, in a few weeks or months, finally ‘own' Umno, its number one friend and enemy. Umno has lost its wind, sail and ship when it waited too long to threaten a pull out. Once again the PPBM leadership has pulled the rug from their friends; first was PH and Tun M and now Zahid and Company. With a minority government, Muhyiddin declared an Emergency.

Most critics have argued that the Emergency is of no use to fight the pandemic when the present laws and agencies are well equipped to handle it. Two weeks on, the Emergency powers have not helped reduce drastically the numbers.

With the Emergency powers, PN has bought precious time to influence the Umno Division Heads to their side. As I had predicted, calls on Zahid to step down is now heard louder and louder. The directive of Ahmad Maslan for MPs to write to the YDP Agong on retracting the Emergency has fallen on deaf ears.

For all Umno people's grand shouting of Menjaga Maruah Melayu dan Islam, the currency is still money, projects, titles, positions and Mercedes. Thus, with Umno under its arm pit, PPBM will dictate the lion's share of the Parliament seats with Umno a meager second and PAS with a number almost equal to Umno. Umno the lion has become Umno the begging mice.

Third, the stupid quarreling PH has made the work of PN in getting the confidence of the Agong easier. Who in their right mind would give Anwar and PH the trust to govern? Anwar only controls about 90 seats excluding the others who are with Pejuang and Warisan. Even if Muhyiddin looses another 10 seats, he will still be effectively in charge of a working ‘majority'. As long as Anwar, Tun M and Shafiee act like dogs quarreling over the shadow of a bone in the water, all of them will drown together.

Fourthly, the Malays with the Islam-under-threat narrative has grown and is thriving unchallenged. Most of the middle class Malays are busy looking for non-SOP mosques to pray, paying ustazs to teach them how to read the Qur'an better and pray many prayers, the Malays are entrenched with such party as PAS. That is why the Kedah MB's silly antics and outburst have not brought on any comments from the Malay academia or NGO's or even middle class individuals.

The Alcohol issue, the LGBT threat issue and soon the RUU 355 will make certain that PAS delivers the ‘Islamic Heaven' to Malays in their lifetime. Progressive Muslim thinkers in Amanah, ABIM, IKRAM and public universities are keeping quiet waiting for God knows what. Perhaps they are waiting for a miracle from Allah. They should review the Qur'anic Verse that Allah only help those who strive hardest to change themselves.

If these NGO's, political parties and intellectuals do not present the Malay voters with a different narrative of an inclusive and a developmental Islam like what the UAE is doing, then Malaysia will be entrenched in a Talibanized state in less than a decade. PAS has been given a blank check to do whatever it wants with the Malays lapping them all up to go to heaven.

Fifth, the civil society, with all their good and honest intentions for a progressive and liberal Malaysia, will inevitably strengthen the Islam-under-threat narrative. The main weakness of civil society fighters are their failure to understand war strategies and tactics of engagement. First, they work as individuals and secondly they never change their communication and engagement methods. For 20 years I have seen good and righteous civil society leaders worked hard and spoke loudly for their causes but unchanged in their speaking and engagement methodology. The more they speak and act, the more PAS gains in support.

Thus, with all those reasons and with the support of public university academics in upholding Islamic conservatism, PN will win in a walk. They will enjoy two thirds majority. They have already proven their strength in Sabah and they have loyal friends with GPS in Sarawak. The election, to me, is a foregone conclusion.

What, therefore, can change the outcome of this prediction? 

First, if Anwar were to present to Sabah and Sarawak what I have been saying all along, then there is a chance of a PH victory. I have said that PH must offer the Prime Minister and Deputy PM posts to both Sabah and Sarawak with 50% cabinet posts for those two nations. This will drastically shift the Malay-Muslim narrative by force and take the wind out of the Peninsular extremists. The future of Malaysia depends entirely on a change of narrative about Malaysia for Malaysians and not just for Malays only. But, will Anwar give up his claim to PMship? I don't think so, but I will be most happy if I am proven wrong.

Secondly, if the Islamic NGO's team up with Amanah and work hard at flooding the social media and prime media with a counter narrative, then there is a glimmer of hope for the PH. If they still stay on the sideline, Amanah will not get a single seat because Malaysians won't vote for it anymore.

Finally, if civil society wake up and smell the roses and rethink their strategy as in a war game instead of in their idealistic world, that can help the other two efforts significantly to reforge the meaning of Malaysia.

What if the three changes do not occur? What then is the option for Malaysian to salvage the idealism of their country?

I am hard pressed to say it but worse comes to worse, Malaysians must think strategically when their political parties and NGO's fail them. Malaysians must ensure that MCA and MIC win most of their seats so that the two can become kingmakers and as a powerful balance against the extremism of PAS. That was a painful thing for me to say but I am an academic and a pragmatic person and do not easily get lost in the world of idealism and ideologies. My feet must always be rooted to the ground even if my spirit soar beyond the boundaries of time and space.

Thus, Malaysians, these are the challenges ahead. What will we do or should do for the best of our children and their future? We may have to make a choice which we don't like but that may be the only choice we have. - Prof Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi

Malaysia reports 5,728 new COVID-19 cases, 

second consecutive daily record...

cheers.

Ostad PAS cakap RELA anak haram lagak lebih dari polis...

 

‘Anonymous Malaysia’ Beri Amaran Ancam Kerajaan...

PAS' political soul-searching 

contains oppression...

PAS loves power. Don’t get me wrong; PAS does not love power more than your next politician. They are willing to play the game of sacrificing your principles, trade your horses for benefits and they understand that a route to power is always better than none at all.

PAS loves the sensation of power. As a state government, they are no stranger to controversies in flaunting the wealth of their positions. Buying expensive cars is a must, increasing salary is an option and feeling sorry for enjoying these is not a necessity.

You cannot blame them. Nobody wants to be in the opposition forever. For the longest time, they have failed to find a reason to overcome the animosity with Umno, the last political hegemon. Only on the eve of 2020 did the opportunity come knocking at their door: A Malay-Muslim government.

With 18 seats in Parliament, they became infinitely valuable to Bersatu and Umno’s tug-of-war, and they could finally call themselves the “kingmakers”. State power is nothing compared to federal power. The salary is a few folds higher, the allowances and benefits more comprehensive, and the aura, the smell and the feel of prestige overcome you.

But comfort comes at a price for a small party like PAS. They make the kings, but they are not the kings. In terms of decision-making power, they are but negotiators who concede more than they win. All former opposition parties have to go through this uncomfortable transition in government.

Three months after joining the government, PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man (below) admitted that PAS is now a different party. The rapturous days of pursuing Act 355 to allow for partial implementation of hudud are over. The fire of activism has extinguished. Tuan Ibrahim may have spoken too soon. The “forced moderation” has started to threaten the identity of PAS. Without something religious to fight for, they are fading into irrelevance.

More and more Malay supporters are starting to recognise that PAS did not make the government more Malay, or more Islamic. These are functions that could be fulfilled by Umno and Bersatu. After all, what voters needed was a symbolic reassurance that their rights are not threatened. Very few want a total Islamic transformation of the country – something even PAS might not necessarily want.

As time passes, PAS supporters no longer harbour hopes for PAS leaders at the federal level to pursue Islamic policies the way they campaigned before. None of PAS leaders' policies or statements in federal government are Islamic in nature. Forced moderation and mundane administration have taken over.

Therefore, the only hope is at the state level. Kedah’s Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor was eager to carve out a name for himself. By the end of 2020, his state’s local council demolished a 50-year old Hindu temple in Taman Bersatu, Kuala Kedah. It was considered a safe target for political mileage because he had grounds of illegality, which on a religious freedom perspective is oppressive, but on a purely political calculus, made sense to him.

When the arguments got heated with minority leaders, Sanusi (below) managed to fit in a casual racial slur of being “drunk on the toddy of popularity” – an awkward and insulting self-proclaimed “metaphor”.

Sanusi’s recent cancellation of Thaipusam as a religious holiday follows from the lineage of picking petty but oppressive fights against the minorities. The arguments he made were factually incorrect (mixing 2014 with 2017) and logically unsustainable (MCO ruling out any celebration, thus no point of a holiday).

This approach of reasserting their identity will continue. A few days ago, PAS vice-president Idris Ahmad was publicly pushing for an anti-LGBT taskforce. He said that the current laws were not tight enough to prevent “toxic lifestyle (promoted) openly through social media”.

PAS’s women’s chief Nuridah Mohd Salleh went even further by calling this an “act of love” to “save LGBT” from gender confusion. The contradiction is too obvious when it came in only a few days after the prime minister’s commitment to hate speech.

More and more, we will see patterns of PAS leaders advocating for the oppression of minority groups, and worse, sustaining its justification on flimsy and inconsistent reasons. This is PAS finding its place in the political landscape, which at its most powerful, it is struggling not to look weak.

I am convinced that these are still political posturing and nothing more. In that sense, we could be comforted, because at least we know the oppression is not sincere. But how comforted can we be when the politics come at a real human cost? - James Chai

Di Malaysia, bila gagal kasi darurat lapan bulan...

Emergency rule gimmick exposed,

stocks plunge, MCO to end, patients 

to pay own bills at private hospitals...

As expected, the controversial and half-baked second MCO (movement control order) lockdown comes and goes – without any improvements. Supposedly to be effective from Jan 13 to 26, 2021, the MCO 2.0 was later extended until Feb 4. Had the partial lockdown not been extended, today would be the expiry of the 14-day lockdown. But does it matter?

 

On Jan 13, the country recorded 2,985 Covid-19 new cases. Today, 14 days later, the health ministry reported 3,585 new cases. In fact, there were 3 days within the 14-day lockdown that saw more than 4,000 cases. Worse, we did not see a single day that new cases drop to below 3,000. That alone proves the pandemic has gotten worse – not better – despite the MCO.

In the same breath, it also proves that the Proclamation of Emergency announced by the backdoor Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Jan 12, which comes a day after he announced the MCO 2.0, has been nothing but a political gimmick to cling to power. He can claim whatever he likes, but Muhyiddin is an illegitimate leader who has lost his majority support in the Parliament.

After the declaration of a state of emergency, a convenient tool to suspend the Parliament to prevent any attempt to topple him, the prime minister took pains to explain to all and sundry that there will be no curfews or military rule. He also assured that civilian government will continue to function. Investors were told that it’s business as usual. He must have thought investors were dumb.

 

One of the funniest things that happened immediately after the emergency order was the opinions offered by some local university professors and self-proclaimed economists or analysts. The bootlickers claimed investors were incredibly happy with the emergency rule because it provides political stability. If that’s true, perhaps the entire world should go into the state of emergency.

 

Some analysts at CIMB said the extraordinary great powers accorded to Muhyiddin under the emergency rule could help the backdoor government implement concrete solutions to the country’s health crisis and economic downturn. They had no idea that such a draconian act will not only fail to fix the pandemic, but also undermine investor confidence.

It was amusing when a pro-Muhyiddin blogger argued that an emergency rule was actually good for investors. On the day PM Muhyiddin declared the state of emergency, the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) plunged to below 1,600 points. Subsequently, the government tried to support the stock market, pushing the KLCI to above 1,640. Today, the index plunged to 1,575.31 points.

When Muhyiddin announced the emergency order, he claimed that it was absolutely necessary to combat the Coronavirus, hiding the facts that it was actually his lustful for power that the third wave first started. The current third wave, triggered by Muhyiddin’s second coup to snatch power in the state of Sabah, has been spreading like wildfire since Sept, 2020.

 

The power-crazy prime minister also passed the ball to the King, arguing that under the emergency rule, the monarch can make the necessary decree to tackle the virus, including ordering private hospitals’ facilities to be taken over by the government if public hospitals are overwhelmed. Yesterday, the Health Ministry said 96 private hospitals have agreed to provide Covid-19 treatment.

But there’s a catch. Even though the private hospitals may now treat Covid-19 patients, the patients have to pay from their own pocket. Apparently, the clueless and incompetent backdoor government is still discussing about the treatment cost and the mechanism for insurance companies to cover these expenses. Naturally, hospital coordination is still on the drawing boards.

 

So what’s the point of a state of emergency when only the rich can afford to go to private hospitals for Coronavirus treatment, while new cases stubbornly stay above 3,000? Does not this mean the emergency rule is not meant to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic because apparently the government has just started to study about insurance coverage, expenses and whatnot?

What happened to the trumpeted King’s power in taking over private hospitals to save valuable lives under the declaration of emergency? If Muhyiddin regime was not interested, or too afraid to offend the stakeholders of the private hospitals, then why did he rush for an emergency rule in the first place. Obviously the reason is to rule with absolute power like Adolf Hitler?

But the best part is an admission by celebrity Health Ministry’s director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah yesterday (Jan 25) that the current MCO 2.0 lockdown may not be extended beyond Feb 4. He revealed the government’s concern about the damage to the country’s economy if the second MCO (Movement Control Order) lockdown is prolonged.

Seriously? It was already bad that a half-baked MCO 2.0 was rushed without a proper study and consideration just over two weeks ago. And now the same clueless government wants to end it even when Covid-19 new cases stay above 3,000? After the expiration of current MCO, the government will possibly reinstate the more relaxed Conditional MCO (CMCO).

Now, here’s the hilarious part. If MCO 2.0 is actually not appropriate because it affects the country’s economy, as suggested by director-general Noor Hisham, why even introduced it in the first place? It appears that it was an admission that the MCO 2.0 was a huge screw-up from the beginning – indirectly proves that the lockdown was unnecessary but designed to justify an emergency rule.

The current MCO 2.0 comprises characteristics or SOPs (standard operating procedures) that look more like the previous CMCO rather than the highly successful MCO 1.0 first introduced in March 2020. The fact that the ministry of health is satisfed that a CMCO is sufficient proves again that the proclamation of emergency was not about tackling the pandemic at all.

 

International Trade and Industry Minister Azmin Ali rubbished on Monday (Jan 25) calls for a total lockdown despite the unrelenting Coronavirus outbreak. Instead, the gay minister has mooted more stringent procedures. But it was Azmin who told manufacturing stakeholders last Friday that the Health Ministry was considering a “total lockdown” if the MCO 2.0 fails to show improvements.

Not only the hopeless government shows utmost incompetence, it also contradicts and flip-flops among its ministers and head of departments. Even if it’s a correct strategy to scrap MCO and replace it with a milder CMCO, will the regime also withdraw the emergency order on Feb 4? If not, can PM Muhyiddin explain why he still needs the state of emergency until its expiry in August 1?

With just about a week to go before the Feb 4 Judgement Day, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today that the National Security Council (NSC) special meeting has not decided on the next course of action. He said the government “is still listening” to different opinions because it cannot afford to take the risk of seeing 2.8 million people losing their jobs – an important vote bank.

It would just cost the cash-rich government RM5.6 billion if it pays the 2.8 million people RM2,000 each for a strict lockdown to fix the problem once and for all. After all, did not the genius Finance Minister Zafrul insisted a GDP growth of between 6.5% and 7.5% for 2021 despite the emergency declaration and the second round of the movement control order (MCO 2.0) enforcement? - FT

Kenapa perkara berkaitan PKP diumumkan oleh Ketua Pengarah Kesihatan? 

Bukankah ianya sepatutnya diumumkan MKN? Pelik bin ajaib...

cheers.

Darurat bukan penyelesaian masalah pandemik...

King of temberang from Marangi...

Hal basikal yg Anwar naik tu pun jadi isu besaq. Takdak isu yg lebih baik nak di utarakan, basikal yg roda besaq dua ketoi harga lebih kurang RM3,200 tu pun macai,walaun dan unit propaganda tebuk atap  boleh buat cerita. Ada yang cakap harga basikal tu mahal puluh2 ribu. Nah tengok sendiri lah berapa harganya...

Basikal yg Khairi Jamaludin jatuh langgar lubang hujung tahun lepas itu taknak pula dihebohkan oleh geng macai,walaun dan unit propaganda tebuk atap. Bukankah harga basikal yg KJ miliki itu bernilai RM45,000 seperti yg di telah dedahkan oleh Pinarello pembuat basikal premium Itali itu sendiri. - Gino Marvela

Syed Saddiq nails Home Minister in affidavit...

In an explosive claim in a court affidavit, Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman revealed that home minister Hamzah Zainudin had “enticed” him to support the government if he wanted his new party Muda’s registration to be approved.

The former youth and sports minister said this happened in the Dewan Rakyat during the Budget session when he brought up the matter with Hamzah since the Registrar of Societies (RoS) came under his purview. “He told me that I had never voted in support of government bills as an MP,” Syed Saddiq said in his affidavit in support of obtaining leave for a judicial review application over the refusal of the RoS to register Muda.

Syed Saddiq said the minister went on to say that even if he opposed government bills, he should stay away from the Dewan Rakyat when voting took place. “I was shocked. I replied that I cannot abdicate my duty as an MP and will always vote in accordance with my conscience and the interest of my constituents,” he said in the affidavit sighted by FMT.

Syed Saddiq said he met Hamzah at his office in the Parliament building on Nov 3 last year at about 10.45am to discuss Muda’s registration. Upon enquiry of the status, Hamzah said he had not received any letter from him (Syed Saddiq) appealing for assistance.

He claimed Hamzah told him that the official route for registration was insufficient and that it was necessary for him to write to the minister directly. Syed Saddiq submitted a letter to Hamzah on the same day, giving him the background of the matter and requesting for assistance to expedite Muda’s registration.

On Nov 10, he said the minister’s political secretary informed him that he had forwarded the Nov 3 letter to the RoS with a note to look into the matter. Syed Saddiq said on Dec 13, he again communicated with Hamzah on the status of the registration but the minister said: “I should commit to the prime minister and again reminded me that I had been voting against the government.”

At that time, MPs were scheduled to vote on the 2021 Budget on Dec 15 and there was much uncertainty, tension and anxiety. A failure to pass the budget would be tantamount to a loss of confidence in Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and which could have led to his resignation.

Earlier this month, Muda’s 13 sponsors led by Syed Saddiq filed the leave application to quash the RoS and the minister’s refusal to register the party. They also want to compel the RoS to register Muda as a political party within seven days of a court order.

The leave application is scheduled to be heard via a virtual hearing before judge Mariana Yahya tomorrow (Monday) and FMT understands that the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) would be raising a preliminary objection.

The AGC said it was premature for Muda to seek legal remedy as it had yet to exhaust an appeal to the minister within 30 days after the RoS had first rejected the application. On Jan 6, the RoS rejected the registration without giving any specific reason. Muda filed its application to register the party on Sept 17 and submitted its revised constitution on Oct 6. - fmt

Arrogant and Racist PAS Tells Indian Hindus 

To Fly Kites, Don’t Need Their Votes...

UMNO warlord Johari Abdul Ghani, a former finance minister, arrogantly said in 2010 that minorities Chinese and Indian votes were not needed for his party to win the general election. The former Titiwangsa MP once said – “We just want Malay votes. There is no need for Chinese or Indian votes.” In short, the ethnics Chinese and Indians can go fly kites for all UMNO cares.

 

His arrogance indirectly caused UMNO-led Barisan Nasional coalition to lose popular votes for the first time in history in the 2013 General Election. It only won 47.38% of total votes. Johari himself barely survived and won by razor-thin 866-majority votes in Titiwangsa constituency. Of course, he lost the seat in the subsequent 2018 General Election.

 

It was only after he lost that Mr Johari finally realized his mistake for offending the non-Malays. Lecturing his fellow colleagues, he said in 2018 – “They can take pride in winning in their respective constituencies, but their statements which offended the non-Malays led to many of their comrades in UMNO and Barisan Nasional paying the price in urban areas.”

UMNO won the battle but lost the war. The United Malays National Organization won all its racist battles against ethnics Chinese and Indians. Even after it lost its popular votes in 2013, UMNO continued its arrogance and racism policies against the minorities. In 2018, UMNO was defeated – stunningly lost power for the first time in 61 years since independence in 1957.

 

Today, another short-sighted idiot follows Johari’s footstep. Kedah Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) Muhammad Sanusi (above) arrogantly said his PAS Islamist party does not need the Indian Hindus’ votes after Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) threatened to not support PAS in the next 15th General Election. Essentially, PAS was telling the ethnic Indian to fly kites for all the Islamist party cares.

 

Amusingly, both MIC and PAS are part of the backdoor Perikatan Nasional government, which is no longer legitimate after losing its simple majority support in the Parliament but illegitimately and shamelessly clings to power by declaring an emergency rule. At the centre of the problem is PAS warlord Muhammad Sanusi’s extraordinary hatred for the Indian community.

Apparently, Sanusi had unilaterally announced the cancellation of Thaipusam, declaring that there would be no public holiday for the religious festival due to MCO lockdown. It immediately triggered criticisms because unlike the state of Kedah, other states still maintain Thaipusam as a “public holiday”, even though a nationwide celebration is cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic.

 

UMNO Warlord Johari Abdul Ghani

The insensitive and racist Kedah chief minister has argued that since the Thaipusam celebrations are cancelled, the public holiday is also cancelled. The simpleton Sanusi’s illogical argument could not be accepted because he deliberately refuses to recognize that celebrations can still be done at home or privately even if it cannot be done in public or on the street.

 

Going by his twisted logic, must the public holiday for Hari Raya Haji (Eid Al-Adha) be cancelled if the celebrations for the Muslim festival have to be cancelled due to the Coronavirus? He didn’t seem to understand, or pretends not to understand, that cancelling the celebration and cancelling the public holiday are two different things altogether.

Not only the Indian community is furious with the PAS Islamist party’s disrespect – even bullying – of the rights of minorities in Malaysia, but it has also attracted displeasure from the Chinese community. If today, PAS can disrespect the celebrations, traditions and cultures of the Hindus, the racist and extremist Islamist party can do the same to the ethnic Chinese.

 

It appears that PAS is on a mission to “Talibanize” the multi-ethnic and multicultural Malaysia into an extreme and radical country that would adopt violent instead of moderate Islamic values. Currently drunk with power, whatever the Islamist party does not like about the minority non-Malays, they would bully and intimidate by taking away their rights.

 

It’s not an exaggeration to suggest that PAS is worse than UMNO. Despite a corrupt and racist party, at least UMNO had not plunged to a level as radical as cancelling Thaipusam public holidays. But under Muhyiddin regime, the country increasingly becoming very obsessed with getting rid of whatever remains of second-class citizens’ culture and rights.

MIC, a component party of Barisan Nasional, is supposed to represent the Malaysian Indian community. The cancellation of the Thaipusam public holiday is indeed a slap in the face of MIC. Strangely, despite being humiliated by PAS, not a single UMNO-Malay minister has come out to defend their little brother MIC, making the Malaysian Indian Congress look like a pariah.

This is not the first time that the anti-Hindu Kedah chief minister has bullied the ethnic Indians. The PAS state government had previously demolished two Hindu temples. But when criticised, the PAS leader chose to mock and insult the Indian community instead, telling the minority ethnic group that they should not be “drunk on the toddy”.

Malaysia Thaipusam

It’s not hard to understand why even a low-ranking warlord like Muhammad Sanusi, who took over as Kedah state leader from Mukhriz Mahathir last year, has been so daring in humiliating MIC leaders. After the 2018 General Election, the Malaysian Indian Congress is reduced to only 2 seats in the Parliament – its worst performance since the party was established in 1946.

It was already bad that MIC, a minor component party of the Barisan Nasional, has consistently been fed with crumbs from the once powerful UMNO table. It’s now worse that MIC is being told publicly by PAS, a minor partner of the “Malay government” of Perikatan Nasional, to have the dignity of not relying on non-Indians votes to win seats in the next election.

 

Yes, Sanusi might be arrogant and racist, but MIC leaders like its president SA Vigneswaran and deputy president M Saravanan deserved to be humiliated for not having the dignity to pull out of the backdoor government. To make matters worse, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin did not even care to calm the situation, but allows both PAS and MIC to play the racial and religious cards.

 

Like it or not, it’s true when the Kedah chief minister said the disgraced MIC could not even attract Indians’ support, let alone telling the community to support PAS. However, karma is a bitch. While up to 95% of Chinese voters had voted for opposition Pakatan Harapan, about 70% to 75% of Indians voted for the same coalition, allowing it to win in 2018 before losing it after 22 months later through betrayal.

As the political landscape becomes extremely volatile, it’s not cast in stone that the current Perikatan Nasional will stay intact and will not disintegrate before the next election, paving a way for three-cornered contests again. What happens if bitter rivals Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan somehow decide to join forces to topple Perikatan Nasional, forcing PAS to choose sides?

Unless PAS is absolutely sure it will partner with PM Muhyiddin’s party PPBM (Bersatu) come rain or shine, which the Islamist party will most likely not, it’s silly to burn the bridge with Indian voters over petty matters like Thaipusam holiday. It may not sound a lot, but a swing of 10% of Chinese or Indian votes can make the difference between a victory and a defeat in a three-cornered fight.

PAS is incredibly arrogant today largely because the fake holy men thought all the three biggest Malay political parties – UMNO, PPBM and PAS – will stay united forever, hence will capture 99% of Malay votes. That equation, unfortunately, will change if UMNO quits the coalition. More importantly, PAS’ Taliban behaviour pushes ethnic Chinese and Indian with no choice but to support the opposition. - FT

cheers.

Judge who jailed Najib for 72 years transferred...

Story kat sini...

Judge Nazlan Ghazali’s learned written judgment convicting Najib earlier impressed me as one of the finest I have read. That this gem of the Malaysian judiciary is now abruptly taken off from a series of impending high profile corruption cases (mostly involving 1MDB) is an unmistakable signal that the dirty tentacles of politics have taken hold of our judiciary to enact political trade-off for the regime’s survival. 

Following a series of acquittals of political bigwigs of the BN era, Nazlan’s transfer now confirms that we are firmly on a trend rolling back to the darkest days of Malaysian judiciary. There is no doubt in my mind that we have yet to see the worst of governance without principles and without direction under Muhyiddin’s leadership. - Kim Quek

Malaysian Bar president Salim Bashir and a retired judge both say the transfer of judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali is a “normal” matter. Nazlan had found former prime minister Najib Razak guilty of seven counts of corruption last year, making Najib the first former prime minister to be tried and convicted on criminal charges for actions taken while in office. Najib has filed an appeal.

A Bar Council memo yesterday stated that Chief Judge of Malaya Azahar Mohamed had directed Nazlan’s transfer from the Kuala Lumpur High Court (Criminal 3) to the Kuala Lumpur High Court (Civil 2) effective March 1.

“It’s a normal administrative transfer,” Salim told FMT. “The judge is required to finish off his part-heard matters before his transfer date, and if he cannot, then he will need to report to the CJM (Chief Judge of Malaysia) on the status of the part-heard cases for further direction.

“If the matter is before him and it is part-heard, he needs to speed up hearings on all such matters before the March transfer order.”

The High Court is set to deliver judgment on Feb 3 on whether former Felda chairman Isa Samad is guilty of corruptly receiving about RM3 million from the purchase of a hotel in Kuching six years ago in a case being heard before Nazlan. Nazlan was initially scheduled to preside over the RM6.6 billion criminal breach of trust (CBT) case of Najib Razak and former Treasury secretary-general Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah this September.

However, the case will now be heard before High Court judge Muhammad Jamil Hussin according to a letter received by the prosecution from the High Court deputy registrar on Oct 7 last year. - fmt

11 days from now on February 3rd 2021, Judge Nazlan is supposed to deliver his judgement on that Isa Samad case. That is just 11 days away. 

So what will happen to that Isa Samad judgement now? Since he has been transferred will Judge Nazlan still deliver his judgement on Isa Samad? Or will the decision on Isa Samad be postponed ?  Will another judge take over? The case has already been heard, case is closed. Only waiting for the judgement on February 3rd - so can another judge take over at this juncture? Sounds odd.  

Interesting that Justice Nazlan was also slated to hear the Najib / Irwan Siregar case in Sept 2021. More importantly the Najib appeal at the Court of Appeal is also coming up in February (15th??) 2021. That is less than a month away. The people expect justice to be done. - Syed Akbar Ali 

Ostad balak dan juai ayaq sungai 

mana kisah pasai perpaduan...

MIC menyelar Menteri Besar Kedah, Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor sebagai “angkuh” dan “rosak” berikutan keputusan beliau membatalkan cuti perisitiwa untuk sambutan Thaipusam di negeri itu. Timbalan Presiden MIC, M Saravanan berkata keputusan Sanusi itu menyerlahkan sikap angkuh dan jahil beliau terhadap penganut Hindu.

“Sungguhpun cuti Thaipusam adalah budi bicara kerajaan negeri, keputusan (pembatalan cuti peristiwa) itu mempamerkan keangkuhkan kerajaan pimpinan PAS di Kedah,” kata Saravanan dalam kenyataan. Beliau kesal kerana Sanusi tidak mengadakan sebarang rundingan dengan pemimpin pusat MIC yang mewakili kaum India dalam kerajaan Perikatan Nasional (PN).

Sanusi mengumumkan Thaipusam bukan cuti peristiwa untuk tahun ini kerana sambutan perayaan pada 28 Jan itu dibatalkan berikutan pelaksanaan Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan untuk memerangi Covid-19. Sebelum ini Kedah, Selangor dan Pulau Pinang saban tahun mengisytiharkan cuti perisitiwa untuk Thaipusam. - fmt

Kalau cuti peristiwa diberikan, dalam suasana SOP PKP yang ketat, kebanyakkan rakyat akan meluangkan masa di rumah bersama keluarga.Tapi... kalu cuti peristiwa dibatalkan,maksudnya pekerja perlu masuk pejabat dan pelajar yang menduduki peperiksaan penting perlu hadir ke sekolah.Yang mana lebih kurang risiko? Otak balak dah lama tak buat lawak - Saif Nasution

Story kat sini...

UMNO is ignorant 

that they are doomed...

At this point in history Umno is facing the threat of going extinct. There are two possible ways that Umno will go extinct.  The first method is if they are in power - which they were for 62 years and they lost GE14. Now they are back in power and they will likely lose GE15. Or not win a majority. This is because when they were / are in power they continue with their usual self - the party leaders become rich and they will work for their own interests. Thats how they lost GE14 and thats how they will lose again.

The second method they will go extinct is when they lose power. Because UMNO is so dependent on money, the moment they lose power they run out of money and the party will just die like a fish out of water. Without money they are out of their element. So either way Umno is doomed. 

Making matters worse for this party is their continued insistence on appointing or electing really dumb people to important positions in the party. One such character is Ahmad Maslan IQ 3.85.  Ahmad Maslan continuously makes stupid statements that make him the butt of jokes and ridicule. And since he is now the Secretary General of the party, his antics also reflect on the generally low opinion the majority of voters seem to have about Umno. 

From moronic statements like 'only PhD holders would understand the need for a general election now' to his latest suggestion that MPs petition the King - which has been ignored by most UMNO party leaders  "Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan’s call to petition the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to hold a special Parliament session has been met with lacklustre support from party MPs." Is the UMNO party too dumb to understand that having these clowns as party office bearers at this lowest point in the party's history will hammer the final nails into Umno's coffin?  

The Emergency and the MCO has given Mat Maslan and his boss the lame duck Zahid Hamidi the excuse to postpone the Umno assembly that was scheduled for end January 2021.  Rumour has it that had the assembly been held Zahid, Mat Maslan and others would have come for a serious shelling and possible eviction from their posts.

Recently another chicken shit book has been going around "37 Dalil Mengapa Zahid bla bla bla".   This is back to Umno's chicken shit culture of surat layang, backstabbing, secret deals and the usual crap that gets them nowhere.  The party has not changed. 

Their president is facing 87 criminal charges in Court and the party still has got no teloq to just tell their president to take a hike.  Instead they have to resort to writing chicken shit books, surat layang and such crap. 

They do not know what is leadership anymore. They dont even know how to ride RM45,000 bicycles - they fall into potholes. On a bicycle? The party of doom. - Syed Akbar Ali 

cheers.

Joseph Biden the 46th POTUS...

Joseph Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the U.S. shortly before noon ET. Minutes earlier, Kamala Harris was sworn in as vice president, the first woman to hold that role.

Joseph Biden emphasized themes of unity and recovery in his inaugural address, messages that he returned to repeatedly on the campaign trail on his way to victory over President Trump. "We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue,” he said.

 

Mr. Trump didn't attend the inauguration ceremony. Instead, he left White House this morning for Florida. Mr. Trump vowed a return to the public stage. “I will be watching. I will be listening,” he said. “We will be back in some form.” - wsj

Joseph Biden mengangkat sumpah jawatan sebagai Presiden Amerika Syarikat ke-46 menggantikan Donald Trump yang sengaja tidak hadir upaca itu. Donald Trump mengakhiri pemerintahan buruk empat tahun telah cabut lari ke Florida menggunakan pesawat Air Force One tiga jam sebelum itu.

As he departed the White House on Wednesday for the final time, President Trump left President-elect Joe Biden a note, a White House official confirmed. There are no details yet on what the note says. The decision by Trump to leave a note is in keeping with a presidential tradition, but comes as a bit of a surprise.

Trump has otherwise bucked precedent by not meeting with or speaking to the president-elect following Biden's win, which Trump spent weeks contesting. Trump will not attend Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday.— Morgan Chalfant

How will PM vaccinate 27m 

people in a year?...

On Monday, the prime minister assured the country that our Covid-19 vaccination programme is on track and that the government expects to vaccinate 80 percent of our population or 27 million people over a period of 12 months, beginning from March. The 12-month vaccination timeline given by the prime minister is certainly very encouraging compared to the grim 18-month vaccination timeline given by Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation Khairy Jamaluddin just last week.

Notwithstanding the glaring different timelines given by the PM and Khairy, I must stress that the prime minister’s given assurance that the government’s vaccination programme is “on track” is not enough. The country’s vaccination programme is of huge national interest and importance, and the prime minister owes a duty to the public to lay out its full plan on how the government intends to fulfil its promise to vaccinate 27 million people in 12 months.

Details of the national vaccination programme have not even been unveiled by the government. Has it been finalised and presented to the cabinet for approval? Without details, how can we be sure if the country’s vaccination programme is on track? In addition, from what little facts that have been given to the public by the government, the numbers provided by the government also do not add up.

In order to achieve the prime minister’s target of vaccinating 27 million people in a period of 12 months, we would have to vaccinate an average of 2.25 million people a month starting from March. Do we have confirmed delivery dates and the quantities of all the vaccines we need to vaccinate 2.25 million people a month?

So far, the only confirmed timeline for vaccine delivery to Malaysia this year as announced by the government is the staggered delivery of 12.8 million doses of the Pfizer-NBioTech vaccine which will only be sufficient to fully vaccinate 6.4 million people. This falls far short of the 27 million people target set by the PM to be vaccinated within a year.

I stand to be corrected but in order to vaccinate 27 million people with two doses of the Covid vaccine, we will require 54 million doses available in the country to carry out two million vaccinations a month to reach the target announced by the PM.

Without confirmed delivery dates of the exact quantities of other vaccines such as AstraZeneca and Sinovac to Malaysia, how will the government be able to successfully achieve its promise to vaccinate 27 million people in one year?

Going further, Health Minister Adham Baba has also announced the good news that 500,000 of our frontliners will receive the first dose of their vaccination in the first quarter. However, does this mean that the rest of the general population, especially the vulnerable groups, the elderly and high-risk groups, will still have to wait for the second batch of delivery of the Pfizer vaccine in the second quarter of the year before they can get vaccinated?

The PM’s plan to vaccinate 27 million people within one year will be the biggest vaccination exercise in history to be undertaken by our government and which will require an unparalleled and massive undertaking to set up vaccination centres all over the country, deploy thousands of trained vaccinators, manpower, and other resources to effectively roll out the vaccination programme.

The PM cannot merely expect the people to place full confidence and blind hope in the government on the PM’s bare assurance alone that 80 percent of the country’s population will be given vaccination within one year without any specific details.  Time is of the essence and I repeat my call to the government to unveil the national vaccination programme plan to the public without any further delay. - Gooi Hsiao Leung,mk

 

cheers.

MCO 2.0 di 5 buah negeri & KL bakal dilanjutkan...

Kasi Menteri2 penyamoon,macai2,lebai2 dan walaun2 tu jadi volunteer dulu...

Clear confusion over reopening of schools...

Some parents, teachers and those who work in schools are confused and scared. They have asked why schools are set to open next week (Jan 20) despite the proclamation of emergency. Some businesses are allowed to continue as normal, some travel is permitted, but they have been informed that the overall aim of the emergency and MCO is to control the spread of the infection and to stop our hospitals from being overwhelmed.

But things are not so certain for schools, and the concern here is whether the resumption of classes will expose the students, teachers and staff members to the virus and add to the spike in Covid-19 cases. Like one staff member recently said, many families held kenduris and went on year-end holidays to visit friends and relatives. What will happen, the staff member asked, if one child or teacher who went on holiday brings the infection to school?

Another parent was more critical of the education ministry, questioning the need for two deputy ministers. The parent also asked what the education minister and his two deputies have said about protecting school children and the teaching staff.

“My elderly parent lives with me and I worry that my child might be infected at school and spread it to my mother. My husband is diabetic. He is vulnerable,” the parent was reported to have said. “We are told that the healthcare system is under a lot of strain. Is it wise to open schools now? The information for parents is sketchy. I do not feel safe sending my children to school.”

The quality of the online lessons provided by the ministry has also been questioned by the students and their parents. One person, who pities his younger sister who has to study online, said she is not enjoying her lessons, misses the social interaction and engagement with her teacher, and is depressed. More importantly, he said, they live in an area where the internet connection is bad at the best of times.

Likewise, a social observer said even if students have the best tablets affordable, the technological advantage is rendered useless if they live in an area which has dodgy internet connection. Parents, understandably, are wondering if the government will have a change of heart next week, and make a U-turn about opening schools.

“I wish they would decide quickly, instead of deciding at the last minute and making an announcement late at night,” one parent said. “Many parents either have to work from home, or have jobs which are allowed under the present rules. This means that if schools are shut, we have to arrange for babysitting or childcare services.

“We can’t just leave our children at home unsupervised. Even if we work from home, we still need to make arrangements to accommodate the children’s educational needs, and buy extra food. “Another of my friends has three school-going children. All three have to share one tablet. Just imagine the inadequacy of online learning for them.”

So, will the education ministry close schools next week and force all students, except for those taking exams, to study online? Are teachers happy with the extra precautions, such as physical distancing and provision of PPE? Have public transport and school buses been modified for social distancing?

What has the teachers’ union said about next week’s school opening? Is it satisfied with the precautionary measures taken to protect the teachers, students and staff members, including ancillary employees like cleaners and caterers? All parties would appreciate ample warning if schools are going to be shut again, so that they can prepare. - Mariam Mokhtar

Where are the 150,000 

laptops for students?...

What is the latest planning for home-based learning and when will 150,000 laptops promised in Budget be ready for students? The Education Ministry has further postponed the school opening. As at January 18, there is only one green zone in the whole peninsula – Cameron Highlands. At the same time, the whole of Melaka, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Selangor, Perlis and Penang are red zones.

 

In contrast, when the ministry made the decision to close all schools in November, there were 16 red zones in the peninsula. It is obvious that home-based learning is inevitable and we can predict that many students will be ordered not to return to school for the foreseeable future. Therefore, it is crucial for us to know what are the ministry's latest plan for home-based learning.

 

It was announced in the Budget 2021 speech that GLCs and GLICs would contribute RM150 million into Tabung Cerdik to provide laptops to 150,000 students in 500 schools as a pilot project.

 

The ministry conducted a survey involving 670,000 parents of 900,000 pupils between March and April last year and found that 6% of students have their own computers, 5.67% their own tablets, 9% their own laptops and 46% have smartphones. However, there were also 36.9% of students who did not possess any device with which to follow online lessons.

 

Therefore, to ensure that home-based learning can be carried out effectively, the ministry should explain to the parents, especially those from the B40, when these 150,000 laptops will be ready and distributed to the students.

 

At the same times, students are asked to download digital textbooks when they resume their school sessions. When the digital textbook project was started, it was not meant to replace the hardcopy immediately, but to be used as an alternative. During Pakatan Harapan's time, digital textbooks were available for download while hardcopies were still given to students. 

I appreciate the efforts of the current ministry to introduce digital textbooks to parents and students, but hardcopies should also be made available before school sessions resume because, as found out by the survey, nearly 37% of the students do not possess any digital device. Even for those with a digital device, prolonged usage of digital devices is not advisable for young children. Therefore, parents and students should be given the option to collect textbooks from school for their home-based learning.

 

The ministry should know by now that a "one size fits all" approach that does not take into account variances in Covid-19 cases, income level and the digital gap across districts and states is not going to be helpful or successful. – Teo Nie Ching, MP Kulai

cheers.