I was told the highly contentious NST-UM merger is not going to happen.
Watch out for the announcement.
update 22 dec Zahid Hamidi is also against the merger, here. Expect Zam to echo his deputy minister's sentiments.
So why is the Old Man supporting it? Read RPK's take here.
Rocky,
ReplyDeleteDo you think you can do the same for Karim???
Did the Recital for Karim today?
hang in there, my friend
your are never alone
remember?
Warmest Salaam to you, Karim
Did you hear the good news?
You will. Ameeeen
Read this article (below) that was posted in Malaysia Today, and it made sense why George W. Bush telephoned Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the current OIC chairman.
ReplyDeleteIf the recent meetings between Bush and Badawi were for personal ‘favours’ (purportedly, to not pursue Kamaluddin Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s company’s involvement in nuclear shipment, and also to ‘close one eye’ to his (Badawi’s) role in the ‘oil for food’ programme), then I guess that it’s pay-back time. Could the call from Bush to Badawi be the ‘your turn to return the favour’ demand? With all that Badawi has put Malaysians through, I have no doubt that he’ll sell out the OIC in the blink of an eye….to protect his and his family’s (included the in-law’s) “periok nasi”. I feel sorry for Malaysians, and sorrier for the OIC nations, with this imbecile as its Chair!!
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20/12: Iraq: Bush’s plan for victory revealed
Category: General Posted by: Raja Petra
GUEST COLUMNISTS
Ali Cordoba with Kazi Mahmood
www.worldfutures.info
Bleeding Iraq further, a new Fallujah type of attack and the annihilation of Sunni armed forces are part and parcel of a new strategy that will be revealed by George W. Bush after Christmas of 2006. World Futures can reveal part of this overall strategy of attack, search and destroy against Mujahideen targets and sympathisers in his final bid to prove the world wrong about his Iraq war strategy. The Bush administration is one again agitated by pressures from the neo-conservative movement in Washington. The White House is adopting part and parcel of a neo-cons plan on how to salvage America’s military intervention in Iraq and give it a more human face after the next culling of Sunni children and young men in what seem will be a repeat of Fallujah.
The plan for US victory in Iraq is as follows:
Plan A – Increased US forces on Iraqi soil (The increase will affect combat forces and will reject the ISG (Iraq Study Group's Plan).
Plan B – Hand over Iraq to the Nato (which means Turkey – a full fledge Nato member and a Sunni dominated nation will be enlisted in the direct battles against Sunni insurgents. Turkey will also become a cushion against possible Shiite revolt in Iraq)
Plan C – UN intervention in Iraq with the possible use of Muslim forces from OIC member states.
America’s plan for success is based on Washington’s past strategy of securing cities and preventing civilian losses as in the Vietnam War. The American administration under Bush will then press the Congress and Senate for larger funds to maintain the combat troops stationary in Iraq after their search and destroy missions there.
Nato’s limited success in Afghanistan where insurgency has risen by ten-fold and foreign special forces have been killed by the hundreds may dampen the Nato command center’s enthusiasm to take over the helm in Iraq. France is already pulling its forces out of Afghanistan with the increase in Taliban and insurgent Sunni activities there. It has lost more than 20 special forces personnel since 2003.
Canada may also review its decision to join the forces in Afghanistan where it lost scores of special action forces to the Taliban.
Germany, which is not playing a decisive military role in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, will be called upon to supply combat soldiers for the fresh operations in both countries. This will test Angela Merkel’s support for militarised war against terrorism but sources say the Germans may have World War Two syndrome when it comes to sending combat troops to fight alongside US and British forces anywhere on earth.
Washington is however prepared to go it alone – since Britain is probably pulling out its troops from Iraq beginning 2007 – and it is highly probable that Bush will stick to his personal plan A, which will spell doom for Sunni Mujahideen forces in Iraq.
The next level in the Plan A strategy will be to continue diplomatic efforts with Muslim nations such as Saudi Arabia (majority Sunni) and other key OIC member states. Efforts on the diplomatic front will be aimed at urging the Muslim nations to open talks with Sunni insurgents in Iraq in order to prevent a blood bath against them by reinforced combat forces in Iraq.
In his pre-Christmas speech regarding the Iraq conflict, Bush will stress that victory in Iraq is vital to America’s security. Defeat will lead to regional conflict, humanitarian catastrophe, and increased global terrorism. Giving these as parameters, he will insist that Sunni Mujahideen forces be destroyed in order to establish peace in the country.
The American army has chosen Baghdad as the focal point of the new offensive that will begin right after Bush’s speech. Bush will also tell the world that his diplomatic efforts to quell the violence in Iraq by engaging Iraq’s neighbours - Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia - has failed. He will also state that the political process engaged in Iraq since 2004 to quell any insurgency has also failed and will only become a secondary layer of the new Iraq policy of his administration.
The possibility of removing Noor Al Maliki, a Shiite leader, as Prime Minister of Iraq is also part of the multi-layered Plan A. Maliki is seen as not tough enough on his community that is carrying out most of the street bombings against Sunni residents in Baghdad. However, the US believes that this will only be considered after Washington’s all-out war strategy against Sunni insurgents is complete.
The new Iraq strategy adopted by Bush stems from numerous memo’s that emanate from neo-conservative groups in Washington. These groups have formed a new Iraq study that calls for a strong and sustained increase in US forces combat forces in Iraq. The aim of this strategy, the group headed by Frederick Kagan, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and former associate professor of military history at the US Military Academy, is to secure and protect critical areas of Baghdad. Translated into military terms, this will mean search and destroy Sunni Mujahideen forces and disarm Shiite militias who are currently under the protection of the Iraqi Interior Ministry.
Arab Intelligence sources have gathered information that the Bush administration will put pressure on Iran and Saudi Arabia, seen as the most influential Shiite and Sunni nations, on the movements of the Iraqi insurgents (of both Sunni and Shiite origin). Teheran and Riyadh will be urged not to assist the ethnic groups of their preferences and to support the new US strategy for victory in Iraq.
A separate neo-conservative plan handed to Bush during private meetings between Bush and his advisers with the Project for a New American Century (PNAC) group, formed by neo-conservatives in Washington, calls for the US army to protect Iraqi citizens from insurgent attacks in an attempt to prevent an enlargement of the civil war in Iraq. The group believes that insurgents will have no choice but to engage US troops on the streets of Baghdad if they are not able to target Iraqi civilians. This then will allow the US troops to target its enemy on the streets in open fights, with air support and other sophisticated logistics, the ground forces will then be able to eliminate the Sunni insurgency threat from Iraq.
Bush will be urged by the neo-cons and his political advisers to put the blame of the next level of battle in Iraq on the back of the famed but inexistent Al-Qaeda, in order to gain political mileage and to get the support of as many nations as possible in his latest Machiavellian plan to kill Muslims in their own country.
The Bush administration will probably send more than 20,000 combat troops in Iraq as soon as possible to make sure the new plan is successful. Their mission will be to clear critical Sunni and mixed Sunni-Shiite neighbourhoods to protect them from Sunni or Shiite insurgents. US combat troops are to remain behind in Baghdad to maintain security and to tackle any insurgency groups that would attempt to disrupt the new found peace in Baghdad, considered the city that has to be secured for peace to work in the country.
The neo-cons are pressing Bush to win in Iraq, fearing far greater consequences against their policies in the aftermath of the Bush presidency. They believe there are no reasons to trust a Republicans victory in the next Presidential elections in 2008. Hence, according to them, failure in Iraq today will require far greater sacrifices tomorrow in far more desperate circumstances. They are also telling the American people that a national commitment to victory now will demonstrate America’s strength to ‘our friends and enemies around the world’.
Yeah.... heard the same thing too. It seemed some people have underestimated the objections from the grassroots. To save their faces, they now turn around and claim to be defending the autonomy of Utusan Melayu. Real hypocrites.
ReplyDeleteStill...they have made their money from insider trading, they should just shut up!!!
They couldn't get to sell the sand to Singapore but end up selling Johor territory.
ReplyDeleteThey can't sell (buy up) Utusan but what media territory will tehy end up selling .... Bernama? RTM?
yeah but certain people and parties have already made their killing on the respective stocks.
ReplyDeletecucuparit
I support the Utusan merger, says Mahathir
ReplyDeleteBy Raja Petra Kamarudin
“You are probably going to be very surprised to hear me say this,” said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad when I met him in his office at the Petronas headquarters today. “I support the Utusan merger.”
He was right, I was surprised. That was the last thing I expected him to say. When I requested to meet him to talk about the Utusan merger, I had anticipated a very vocal Mahathir espousing his reasons why he is against the merger. After all, his own son said he does not support the merger and one would expect a son to echo the father’s sentiments -- though if you know Mahathir’s children then you would know that they all have minds of their own, especially the daughter, Marina.
more...
http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/holds.php?itemid=1441
Ithought PM recinded from making decission for the moment atleast. To keep it at later date , once the cloud is cleared. Dia kena jaga air muka Kali. In this episode the accedamy award for best actor should go to KJ. Feeling the heat , he retracted very fast. Fast learner indeed! Dengarkan lah nesihat dari pakar perunding S'pore di Khazanah tu !
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteYou know Singapore was so gung ho in partaking Johore's multi-billion ringgit projects. But when the state is in serious trouble with the floods, did any of the big guns (Parkway etc) come out of their way to help the Johore folks? Don't think so. So much for the bloody Singaporeans wanting to help Johoreans. So I say to my fellow Johoreans, lets stick it to the Singaporeans and tell them to go to Hell.
cucuparit
Can someone comment on the Synergy Drive proposal to merge Sime Darby, Guthrie and Golden Hope? What's the story? Another KJ conspiracy theory? Was the Utusan-NST merger hoo-hah a smokescreen to divert attention from this mother of all mergers? Can someone enlighten us common fools please?
ReplyDeleteBru, macam mana nak jadi gabung sebab kalau tidur sebantal pun, mimpi lain-lain. Faktor paling penting ialah daripada perbualan saya dengan semua peringkat dan kakitangan di Utusan, mereka tidak boleh terima Kalimullah dan Hishamuddin Aun. Mereka tai latar0belakang Kalimullah dan tahu tahap pemikiran Hishamuddin. Pada kami dua-dua mereka tak boleh dijadikan peneraju dalam syarikat gabungan ini. Kami tak respect mereka, ayuh batalkan saja rencana mengarut ini.
ReplyDeleteCucudagang
Rakyat kirim salam dan berharap merger ni tak jadi. Rakyat kata kelau merger ni jadi juga, rakyat juga kata mereka akan kirim salam pada siapa saja bila sampai masanya. rakyat kata alasan perniagaan tak boleh diterima langsung. Atas nama bangsa, soal rugi tak timbul. Kerajaan buat perpustakaan di selueuh negara tu untubg ke? Penubuhan Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) tu untung ke?, malah banyak lagi perkara yang dibuat tidak pun menuntungkan dari segi jangka pendek tapi ia mempunyai faedah yang tersirat. Tapi kalau nak gabung dan nak dengar juga pendapat dua tiga orang yang nampak duit, duit, duit, eloklah buat saja sebab mereka lebih penting dari pendapat rakyat. 'Alau setakat Kalimullah, Hashim Makaruddin, Syed Faizal dan Nasir, banyak orang kat luar yang lebih bagus.
ReplyDelete