Umno Youth joins Pakatan Rakyat for delay in AES

A life-or-death issue - The Choice

Updated: Don't flip-flop, Sir ... - The Mole
Pro-AES protest in Penang - NST


Original posting:
A good time to make demands. With GE just round the corner, anything's possible. If we haven't heard KJ speaking the Guan Eng lingo, now we are hearing it. Or perhaps in calling for the AES to be delayed, he hadn't known that all four Pakatan states had just demanded for the very same thing. See the two reports below.

The AES, a (BN) government-initiated state-of-the-art anti-traffic offender system, was proposed years ago, had obviously approved by Cabinet and had gone to Parliament for debate after debate. Why all of them are having second thoughts is not what irks me - they all sway easily; what troubles me is that these politicians had all the time in the world to make up their minds, demand and get briefings, inform their constituents, get feedback from the people, etc.

But they have all chosen to speak up now after the system is up and running and after thousands of traffic offenders have been booked. Why?

I was told that when the GE is just around the corner, the PM will be more "willing" to make all kinds of concessions. I know what Guan Eng and the Pakatan people want but I am not too sure what KJ and Umno Youth are asking ...

UMNO Youth proposes deferment of AES implementation

BernamaTuesday, October 30, 2012

• 

Umno Youth wants campaigns to be organised to educate the public on the necessity of the AES system

KUALA LUMPUR -- Umno Youth wants the government to defer implementation of the Automatic Enforcement System (AES). 

Its head Khairy Jamaluddin said a review of the system was necessary to rectify weaknesses in it.

"The system itself is very good but from feedback, we found that there are too many weaknesses that need to be rectified, among them, location and its practicality in certain areas. 

"It isn't that we are not in favour of the AES; in fact we fully support it as it can discipline road users. We only want to ensure that the people would not be encumbered by the weaknesses if it is implemented now," he told reporters after chairing Umno Youth's executive committee meeting at Putra World Trade Centre here today.

Khairy said the government should also organise campaigns to educate the public on the necessity of the system. - Bernama

Pakatan states to block AES cameras rollout

The Malaysian Insider's report here

Crooks United gets two new heroes

How a Malaysian physics grad swerves in and out of a ticket after he got caught beating the red light!



Apanama has the story in Why Malaysia needs AES.

Here's another why: An elected rep who's quick to condemn the authorities for every crime that happens is a serial traffic offender himself (and he hasn't denied it!). The PKR assemblyman from Teja refuses to pay up the fines because he said he'd be enriching some so-called cronies.

A Chinese daily says it's Teja assemblyman

PKR rep is defiant, see his tweets here

 What's the message he's sending to the people? That it is OK to beat the red? That it is OK to break the law?

Aidil Adha and the sacrifices moderate Muslims keep having to make

Iain Buchanan

In Whose Moderate Muslims?, which we hope is the first of many more exclusive and thought-provoking articles for The Mole by the author Iain Buchanan, we confront an environment where not-so-moderate people - extremists, even - tell others the virtues of being what they are not, ie moderate.  

Buchanan says the West demands Muslims fit themselves into its definition of the moderate Muslim but the West has itself failed to abide by the same standards. 

The way to initiate true dialogue between moderates is for the West to take the first three steps to address its own failures.  

• 
  
• 
  
• Firstly, combat the growing influence of "Dominionist" ideas (such as Seven Mountains theology) in Christian evangelical strategy, especially in non-Christian countries; 
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• Secondly, put an end to Christian predacity disguised as love and charity; 
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• Thirdly, disavow the promotion of Christian Zionism by missionary agencies.

".. if (these steps) are taken, at the very least, the behavior of Christian evangelicals in the world at large will be less driven by zealots and less riven with deceit. And a dialogue can begin between moderate people."

In this spirit of korban (sacrifice) for the better, I wish my Dear Readers a blessed Aidil Adha. Selamat Hari Raya Haji.

Why not a 100-storey tower at KLIA2?

Muscat airport's 100-storey tower

At last, Tony F says I do to KLIA2 - Bernama
Air Asia-MAHB working on Service License Agreement, says Tony's lady CEO - Bernama

Original article
So, Air Asia boss Tony Fernandes' plan for a 10-storey headquarters in KLIA2 was rejected by the Department of Civil Aviation? Blogger Zakhir Mohamad has the story in The Tale of Shrinking Tower and Reach. He said DCA rejected Tony's plan because the proposed HQ would block the air control tower, which purportedly pissed the man off and said the DCA should build a taller air control tower! You can tell that Big Dog is not a big fan of Tony's.

But a minute of Googling and I began to wonder if Tony is starting to aim too low these days. Why not build a 100-storey HQ for Air Asia in KLIA2! You think I mock? Read about the 100-storey building they're buidling at Muscat airport in Oman, a building that will contain an air traffic control reaching 100 meters in height!

Updated:
Some readers have informed me that my posting about the 100-meter tower in Muscat is correct but there won't be a 100-storey building after all. My mistake, my apologies.

Here's my response to two commenters who pointed out the error in my comment box:

Dear Homophobic and Arifin Ismail,
Thank you for pointing out the mistake. Indeed, the proposed Muscat airport building will be the highest in the city BUT is not going to be 100 storey tall. My bad.
One floor is about 3 metres so Tony's proposed 10-storey building would reach about 30 metres. a mere one-third the height of the Muscat airport tower.
Cheeria!
2:46 PM

Malaysia Discriminated

And we thought Canada was different! Here's something our vociferous advocates for everything free and fair could take up for the future of our country.

Or do they speak up only if it's against their own Government?

Full story h e r e

The Slate has a commentary, A Protectionist Country blocks two more deals

"This protectionist instinct has crept with French-like stealth into sectors hardly in the realm of national economic security, like the home improvement business ... Canada, it appears, is no longer quite so open for business."

Talk about things French, what has Suaram has been a little quiet since the French government prosecutor told Malaysia's official news agency Bernama that there was no Scorpene trial as reported by the Opposition-backed media in Malaysia.

Hang this Judge!

We've seen how it was OK to rape a minor if you're a star. Now, two brothers are sent to the gallows for killing a burglar! What's the matter with our judges? Seasoned journo Nuraina A. Samad, whose sister had caused the death of a robber a few years ago, has thrown her support behind the two Indonesians. She asks in her latest posting Never Hurt A Robber, Burglar or Intruder:

"What were they supposed to do? What are we supposed to do when someone breaks into your home? What kind of signal is the court giving?"

Prominent blogger Syed Akbar Ali is as peeved as he highlights in his latest posting Fairness of Court Judgments Come Into Question the cases of Somalian pirates who might get away with maximum 14 years in our prison and a Malaysian who got only six years for killing a Nepalese!

I say time to tell Malaysians that judges are ordinary human beings. The really bad ones ought to be sacked!

GLC bosses' pay and the Poll

Sime to file appropriate action on bloggers?

Sime Darby is in the blogs again, this time over a proposed resolution for the coming AGM to approve share schemes for the employees and the bosses. 

1. GLC bosses and their pay: A rewarding election issue for the Opposition

My first thought when I read Big Dog's posting was: "Ah, and the PRU13 is just around the corner!" Because they are government-linked, as their name suggests, GLCs are a favorite punching bag of the Opposition. Especially so during election season. This one on Sime Darby is going to be a big and easy target for them in the run-up to the 13th General Election. 

Forget about the scheme being great for the 100,000 employees of Sime Darby. The Opposition doesn't care. Their focus will be on:  

The fact that Sime Darby wishes to reward a. its CEO and b. someone related to a Director  

The fact that the CEO has been around hardly long enough 

The fact that Sime Darby had just exited from a very rough patch that involved millions of RM in unexplained losses and alleged mismanagement.  

And the fact that those rough patches have resulted in at least a lawsuit filed by the former CEO against the Board of Directors, which is still on-going

Timing is everything. Just the other day, PAS' Mahfuz Omar raised hell in Parliament over Tabung Haji CEO Ismee Ismail's pay and perks. The guy's RM70k a month salary in 2011 has been raised to RM85k from this year. He's overpaid, Mahfuz said, comparing Tabung Haji's size to EPF's and Ismee's pay to EPF CEO's pay (RM50,000 a month). Read Mahfuz: Explain Tabung Haji CEO's pay packet. 

In the run-up to PRU12 in March 2008, the pay and perks of GLC bosses became an election issue to win a war of perception that Abdullah Badawi's regime was CEOs-friendly but did not really give two hoots about the general working population and, therefore, wasn't that people-friendly. We can expect more intensified attacks in the run up to PRU13.

2. Sime Darby's side of the story:

For Immediate Release Friday, 19 October 2012 
False and erroneous allegations made against the Chairman, Board of Directors and senior management of Sime Darby

Sime Darby is responding to certain allegations and accusations that have recently been posted on certain blogs with regard to a proposed long term incentive plan for eligible employees of the Group. The information contained in these blogs is wrong and thus the opinions posted are not founded on fact. The proposed performance-based employee share scheme is still subject to the approval of shareholders at general meeting.
The two blogs and the comments posted have caused embarrassment to the Chairman, Board of Directors and the senior management of Sime Darby. The company takes a serious view of these baseless accusations and the inferences therein and will take appropriate action to protect the reputation of the organization.
An official from Sime Darby has contacted one of the bloggers and informed him of his mistakes. Despite having notified him of his errors the previous day, he has yet to correct the offending post or remove it, which suggests that his intentions are malicious, vexatious and mischievous. The post has attracted undue attention and perpetuated his mistaken assumptions.
A summary of the erroneous statements and the actual facts is listed below: 

No.	Accusations	Actual Facts
1.	EGM on 8 Nov to approve a special ‘grant for selected employees’ – in the form of free shares	Sime Darby Bhd will hold an EGM on 8 November 2012 to seek approval for the performance-based employee share scheme – a scheme that aims to drive long term sustainable performance of the Group as well as to attract, retain and motivate employees based on their performance and the fulfillment of certain performance conditions and targets. The fulfillment of these targets will enhance total shareholders’ returns and the overall performance of the company which will benefit all stakeholders.
2.	The reward is not to the 100,000 Sime Darby staff worldwide but only to two individuals.	For employees working in Malaysia, executives of all grades including the executive director will be eligible to participate in the proposed scheme. For those employees based outside of Malaysia, executives of job grade VP II and above will be eligible to participate in the proposed scheme.
3.	Only two employees have been nominated for the scheme, Dato’ Bakke for 3 million shares and Nur Tania Yusof for 200,000 shares	Under the listing requirements, separate resolutions are required to be passed by shareholders to approve the grants of shares to Dato’ Bakke as the executive Director and Nur Tania being a person connected to a Director of Sime Darby Berhad. However all executives of VP II and above are eligible to participate in the scheme. It is wrong to suggest that these two individuals are the only two who will benefit from the proposed scheme.
4.	The practise of giving away ‘free shares’ is very odd	Sime Darby is not the first organization in Malaysia to implement such a performance-based share scheme. Other companies like Axiata, Bursa Malaysia and Maybank have implemented similar schemes earlier.
5.	Why is Sime Darby’s Board of Directors at liberty to determine which senior management or employees are entitled for these ‘free shares’ at a time when the public is demanding for greater accountability?	The scheme envisages the establishment of a Board committee to implement and administer the proposed scheme. This is standard practice in all organisations. It would be ludicrous to expect external parties to determine performance and rewards.

Other facts
·        In the case of the President and Chief Executive, the proposed performance-based employee share scheme allows for the granting of a maximum of 3 million shares over the 10-year scheme period. This number of shares will be vested on a staggered basis and only in the event of exceptional performance both at individual and enterprise level for the 10 years and subject to fulfillment of stringent performance-based conditions. The shares will only be vested in the grantee three years after the grant, subject to vesting conditions. These criteria will apply to all eligible grantees.
·        The Board has built in safeguards into the process that will ensure that the interests of the company and its shareholders are at all times safeguarded.
The blogs posted on the performance-based employee share scheme are misinformed and reflect the lack of appreciation and understanding of industry practices on performance-based reward schemes. 

3. Click on the links to read the offending postings. 

a. SANTA MUSA IS COMING TO TOWN by Big Dog 

b. WHAT IS SANTA MUSA UP TO?  by A Voice

Big Dog has carried a link to Sime Darby's clarification and I believe A Voice is also giving Sime Darby the right to a reply. That's the appropriate thing to do. 

Since 2006, the year of the "world's biggers plantation companies' merger" that gave birth to Sime Darby, the two bloggers have been blogging religiously about the transnational corporation. Their records speak for themselves. 

Malaysia played no role in Bangsamoro ...

UPDATES:  

1. The Unspinners suggests in Kepura-puraan Anwar terhadap Bangsa Moro that after beconing the Malaysian DPM, the Pakatan Rakyat de facto leader began to distance himself from the MILF's struggles and may even have tried to sabotage it! 

2. Just Read, an expert on foreign affairs when he was a newspaper journalist, comments on former Philippine President and Anwar's good buddy Joseph Estrada's opposition to the agreement and Malaysia's continued involvement in the peace process. In his latest posting here, he reminds his readers that Estrada had failed to resolve the Mindanao Muslims issue. "He was the one who sent in the army to murder hundreds of them. Has he forgotten about it?"

ORIGINAL POSTING:

And that's not the Malaysian PM at the signing?

... if you go by this man's statement! I must reproduce here Anwar Ibrahim's statement of congratulations to Manila and MILF for the recent Framework agreement on Bangsamoro. I must reproduce it in its entirety because there is not a single mention of his own country's positive role in helping make this long-drawn process happens. No mention at all about Malaysia's continued role as an independent third party to oversee the peace process. Not a single credit to his countrymen when credit is due.

Pakatan Rakyat welcomes the recent peace agreement that was signed between the Government of Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).  Our congratulations to President Benigno S Aquino III and MILF led by its Chairman, Al Haj Murad Ebrahim through the efforts of Dean Marvic Leonen, Chairman of the Philippine Negotiation Panel for having worked together to forge a new step toward peace with the signing of the framework agreement.

This framework agreement on the Bangsamoro presents the opportunity for true and lasting peace in Southern Philippines.  As the next step involves the formation of a Transition Commission, we urge that all stakeholders for peace should include MILF, MNLF, political players in Mindanao as well as the indigenous peoples for sustainable peace in Muslim Mindanao.  The Principle of Inclusivity is fundamental to lasting peace and must involve all stakeholders in the Moro issue. 

The ethnic and tribal diversity of the Philippines demands a wider forum for sustainable peace.  Engagement of only one specific party may exclude the interests of other players in the dynamics of Philippine politics.

In this light, Pakatan Rakyat with its own history of political diversity will send a delegation of its senior Parliamentarians to meet long time friends and counterparts in the Philippines to better understand the underlying issues relating to sustainable peace. 

Our approach will be inclusive in nature and will focus on ensuring that there is no marginalisation of population groups so that all affected peoples throughout this region can enjoy dividends from a lasting peace.  We hope that all conflict issues in the region will be addressed in order to find a truly lasting peaceful solution.

The agenda of the official delegation from Pakatan Rakyat will be to meet with government authorities, MILF leaders and other political stakeholders in order to contribute to a peaceful Philippines.

Compare this with the the US' response:

Read Barking Magpie's take h e r e.

And for a little bit of history, read Syed Akbar Ali's Bangsamoro: Congrats to the PM

Edelman's response, claim etc

Dear Readers,
The following is Edelman KL's response to my posting on Monday here. The PR firm said it posted the response directly on my blog but, unfortunately, it did not reach me. I retrieved the following from its website here, thanks to a link at The Mole :-

Response to Comments Made by Rocky’s Bru Blog Post on Edelman

October 16, 2012

The recent blog post on Edelman posted by blogger Rocky’s Bru generated a lively debate among various interest groups. Read below for Edelman’s reply. 

The recent blog post on Edelman posted by blogger Rocky’s Bru generated a lively debate among various interest groups. In reply to various comments made, Edelman has posted their response directly onRocky’s Bru blog as well as The Mole (subject to moderator approval).

The full response here:  

The Edelman Trust Barometer is a Proprietary study on what drives Trust in the four key institutions of state (Government, Media, Business and NGO). This is a global survey cond​ucted by StrategyOne(Edelman Berland), a global market research institute, consistently over the past 12 years and encompasses 30,000 respondents in 25 key markets throughout the world. In Malaysia, Edelman launched this study for the first time in 2012, fully aware that ‘Trust’ forms the basis of any lasting relationship. The study obtained feedback from 1000 Malaysians (general public) and has an overlay of 200 informed public (college educated, media savvy, urbanites) calculated to reflect the general population of Malaysia. This is a first-of-its-kind study for Malaysians by Malaysians.

The data for our initial year reflects how Malaysians rate trust in the four institutions measured. The results, in a nutshell, place Malaysia in a neutral Trust zone, with trust in government here very much in line with global results. It will be useful to see how Malaysians perceive Trust as related to these institutions in the upcoming surveys.

What we hope to achieve is intelligent, apolitical discourse on how and where trust can be earned by listening to the feedback of our fellow Malaysians. This is not about anyone preaching, but solely listening to what the sampled Malaysians are saying. Our hypothesis on what the data means remains our professional opinion. Nothing more. The data that will be collated from the 2013 edition – which will be the 2^nd study for Malaysia - due for release in early 2013, and years following, would certainly prove interesting as we can now track the baseline on all the metrics measured. The global results are presented at the WEF at Davos by Richard Edelman every year.

Rocky had commented on the ‘monopoly’ on Government contracts.  Fact is, Edelman has been invited to and won business against other multinational and local PR firms solely on merit. To be absolutely clear, there are no ‘recommendations.’ We strive to go in with insight and research-based strategies and strong understanding of the client’s requirements. My humble opinion - three government clients hardly constitute a monopoly. Let me tell you we have lost a few too, but that’s the prerogative of the client to decide.

This is a firm that is focused on recruiting and training bright young Malaysians in the field of strategic communications, providing professional and cross-cultural experience that is incomparable. To knock these hard working young Malaysians, who make up 90% of our current team of 35, would be to unfairly dismiss the professional PR talent pool that we are working to cultivate.

I invite anyone who feels aggrieved or ‘heard from sources’ to email raymond.siva@edelman.com and I guarantee a personal response. Provide name and contact details, so we can respond accordingly with context and transparency.

Edelman has been in Malaysia since 1984, and we are proud to play our part to upskill and develop the PR services sector in Malaysia to international standards, in partnership with fellow professionals in the media. On that note, I am more than happy to engage and discuss the results of our inaugural survey with you and anyone else who is interested to provide constructive feedback.

Raymond Siva

Managing Director

Edelman Malaysia

Read also Edelman claims study on public distrust in Govt presented to the Prime Minister's Office

Unsporting officials on suing spree

Except for a few exceptional personalities, our sports bodies are generally infested by unsportsmanlike and usually politically-linked individuals who aren't helping much in bringing back medals and glory for King and country. They are now proving to be unsporting, too! These officials are certainly not winning the hearts of journalists - and even bloggers - with lawsuits aimed at shutting up criticisms.

I suppose these officials reckon they have a better chance winning court cases, at least! 

One sports journalist who is currently being sued by the legal counsel of the Malaysian Sports Council for reproducing a newspaper article (by another journalist) on his blog says "it is the suing spree season" in Another Court Case. 

Fellow bloggers - both journos and non - are following his case closely. 

Read also Another Journalist Sued.

AES 101 for some MPs (Morons in Parliament)

updates: AES and UGLY Malaysians

Lokasi kamera diberitahu, papan kenyataan amaran diletakkan lebih awal, kamera juga terpampang secara jelas. Sekiranya, masih ada pemandu yang memandu dengan laju sehingga ditangkap gambarnya dan disaman, jangan salah kan sistem ini. Salahkan diri anda sendiri yang terlalu bengap dan tak faham bahasa. Jangan gunakan alasan seperti `mengkayakan kroni' untuk menutup kebodohan anda.-Sistem AES pun nak dipolitikkan? 

Original posting:-
AES burdens the traffic offenders, mo, NOT us taxpayers! Unlikely as it may seem, Mohamad "Hang Ambiga" Aziz, the BN MP for Sri Gading, shares one thing in common with Lim Guan Eng s/o Lim Kit Siang: both MPs want the Automated Enforcement Sytem (AES), which has caught some 63,000 traffic offenders on hi-tech cameras in the first 8 days of action, to be reviewed or/and delayed.

Both of them said the AES was going to be a burden on the people and on the tax payers.

Take Guan Eng's statement in the FMT today:

Milk the people? Come on, YAB, you ought to do better than that! How is the AES a burden to the rakyat when the only people who will get penalized are those who flout the traffic rules? If the AES is a tool to "milk" those who speed, drive recklessly and beat the traffic light without regards for the safety of other people, I say by all means, milk them!

Guan Eng's unlikely ally in this is the six-time Barisan Nasional MP for Sri Gading, Mohamad Aziz. Yep, the same one who suggested that Ambiga S, the Bersih & Pakatan poster girl, be hanged for her "treasonous acts".

Aziz Sri Gading said last week (read here):

"The system was postponed three times prior to this but we see it as more of a burden to the people after it was finally implemented. If possible we hope the government can nullify the 60,000 traffic offenders identified through the system." 

p.s. While the politicians do what they know best, ie politicize issues, the Consumer Association of Penang (CAP) has urged the authorities to enforce AES system to punish traffic offenders. According to the Transport Minister, AES cameras have been proven to reduce accidents. 

Australian Senate says NO to Ambiga and Nick X

updated: Ambiga's chauffeur-driven and lives in a million-ringgit pad? Barking Magpie's problem with ingrates in Ambiga told by Australia, Malaysia is fair country for everyone

I understand the Malaysian government has argued that the last election must have been fair—it lost its two-thirds majority in the parliament. - Bob Car, Australian Foreign Minister, when answering questions in Parliament last week from Nick X, a friend of Anwar Ibrahim

The good Australian

Original posting:
The following transcript between Bob Carr, the Australian Foreign Minister, and Nick Xenophon is not something Ambiga S would want you to know. The Pakatan poster girl was in Australia recently to plead the Opposition's case that election in Malaysia isn't bersih, but the official response from Down Under was a total letdown for her.

You can't blame the Aussie government, though. By any standard, the election in Malaysia has been bersih. I would add that the two-thirds majority wasn't the only thing it lost: it also lost control in five of the states, something which was unprecedented in Malaysian electoral history. As a result of the election, the Prime Minister lost his premiership!

In last Thursday's senate debate, Nick X made a rather pathetic attempt ("The tear gas was real, Minister Carr ... ") on behalf of the Opposition in Malaysia to pressure Canberra to intervene in Malaysia's domestic affairs.

Bob Carr was emphatic:

 "Whether we send observers to a Malaysian election would be a matter for the Malaysian government. We would not have any way of initiating such a proposal; we would respond to a request from them for election observers. I understand that the Malaysian Election Commission itself may be seriously considering inviting international observers to monitor the election..." 

p.s. Ambiga has cried "harassment" against Bersih leaders because she was "briefly stopped" by our Immigration on her way to see Nick X in Australia. Read Malaysians Must Know the Truth's Now Immigration stops Ambiga at airport. 
Hehe .. briefly stop pun tak boleh? Next time the authorities - police, Immigration Department, customs, etc - briefly stop me, I can cry harassment?

Mr Harrington, the Edelman boss, needs to improve his PR

Updated: PR firm's study QUESTIONED [The Mole, 15-10-2012]

Edelman PReaching local media how to do the job?

“The principal issue where trust (towards the local media) is lacking is when there’s a presumption that there’s an untold story, and that it isn’t being shared fully, thus causing readers to be more cynical.” - Matthew Harrington, Edelman global CEO 

This Mat Saleh PReacher needs to talk to his local pr boys and girls to get a better picture of the local media scene. Seriously. A public relations man trying to tell journalists and editors what trust is about?

Untold story? Do not get me started, Mr Harrington. We know Edelman is BIG in Malaysia, that you guys get a lot of government jobs, especially with PEMANDU. In fact, Edelman has become almost a monopoly where government-related agencies are concerned.

And yet, the level of distrust in the Malaysian Government (according to your barometer) remains high. How is that, Mr Harringto?

According to the 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer for Malaysia, Malaysians placed a high level of trust in NGOs and business, with 58% of the general population trusting both institutions to do “what is right.”

This compares with the public trust in Government (52%) and media (46%), providing business and NGOs a license to lead the agenda to build increased trust and deeper relationships with the Malaysian public.

Not much difference is there!? Public trust in Government (52 per cent) and media (46 per cent). How does Mr Harrington propose to improve public trust in Government? Increase next year's budget for Edelman, perhaps? Give ALL government PR works to Edelman?

Why am I worked up? Journalists and pr dudes have a special bond in Malaysia, we deal with each other a great deal on a daily basis. We teach and guide our pr friends on how to get their messages into our pages and air time. We both know that if a piece of news is too p.r.-ish, readers will not trust us (the media0.

Mmmm. Maybe that is what's happening: too much PR in government and media. Too much Edelman.

p.s. NOTE TO EDITORS: I suspect that if you guys should stop sending your reporters to cover events organised by Edelman, the barometer of trust in you guys will suddenly and mysteriously improve in Harrington's report next year. Try it.

Read the StarBiz's interview with Harrington, published today, here.
The news on the barometer in NST in January NGOs, businesses most trusted institutions in Malaysia, survey says

Now Pengerang's RAPID gets Pakatan's, er, nod

THEN ... We will kill Pengerang!

but NOW ... We will not kill Pengerang!

PAKATAN's RAPID FLIP-FLOP. That's the thing about some of these Pakatan politicians, they politicize first and think later. And the component partners don't talk to one another. PKR says Pakatan will abolish RAPID, PAS says Pakatan supports the project. Luckily, they are not the government. RM60 billion RAPID is Malaysia's largest development project to date; if the Government of the day had been half finicky, the nation would go down the drain.

Which one is which now? Well, since Salahuddin's statement is the most recent on from Pakatan, we'll have to assume that his statement overrides his comrade from PKR Chua Jui Meng's, the former Health Minister. If we can assume that Pakatan's official stand is to support the RAPID project, well and good. So RAPID and Petronas, you guys "can continue (your) development in Pengerang". Hehe, looks like Salahuddin Ayub is practising on how to speak like a Menteri Besar already ...  

But seriously, it is wise of Salahuddin to come clean on this and distance PAS and himself from Chua's statement. I think he knows that the people in the area are going to come down hard on him and Pakatan if they try to stop the project and deny them their share of the spoils!  

I think Salahuddin realises that RAPID is not a project that will benefit only the people in Pengerang or Johor, it will be the catalyst for Malaysia's growth.  

We shall wait for Chua Jui Meng to come around and do a back-flip, rapid-ly.

MC is for the sick

Sick ex journalists. MC is what you'd want the doctor to give you when you are sick and can't make it to work. For Bujai, it stands for Malaysian Chronicles and he says this MC makes him sick. As a journalist, I try not to go there but it's hard not to smell a stench. 

Harder still is to have the knowledge that an ex-journalist, Wong Choon Mei, is driving the portal.

Read Malaysian Chronicle and the Jungle People.

Bujai, however, is not the first to see through Choon Mei. Hantu Laut fell sick last year and wrote Wong Choon Mei: Don't try to teach your grandma to such eggs.

A Scorpene trial in their own dark minds

Read the articles in the Star here and read it again, if you like, in the New Straits Times here. Both quoted the interview given to Bernama by Yves Charpenel, a French government prosecutor. Mr Charpenel says contrary to claims made by some parties, there is no Scorpene trial in Paris or anywhere in France.

There is only a trial by the media, he said.

And true enough: one such media, The Malaysian Chronicles, pro-PKR to the very core, clutches at straws to save the day for its political masters today in What no trial: French lawyers debunk Bernama report on Scorpenes hearing. 

"Whether Yves was accurately quoted and reported in the right context remains to be seen. However, William Bourdon, the French lawyer acting for Malaysian NGO SUARAM has debunked the Bernama report.

"Yves Charpenel's statement is absolutely contradictory with the current investigations. The Tribunal deGrande Instance has convened a criminal inquiry of which SUARAM has been accepted as a civil party since March 2012," Bourdon, who was deported from Malaysia when he came to brief his client last year, said in a statement released by SUARAM late on Monday night.

"Upon completion of the inquiry will the investigating judge make the decision of whether the case goes to full trial. It's the investigating judge that makes the decisions not the prosecutor. To our knowledge the current prosecutors in charge of the case have not made any such statements as suggested by Charpenel. The two Judges, Roger Le Loire and Serge Tournaire continue their investigations on the Scorpene inquiry”.

Charpenel

In the end, they contradict each other! The truth will prevail, always and in all cases. We have been watching this charade for too long. It is indeed time to end this irresponsible politcally-motivated game of perception that Anwar and Co are playing on all of us.

I'm not advocating we cry treason. No need for that. We know who's lying now. Mr Charpenel is a government prosecutor. Mr Chapenel does not represent the Malaysian Government. He represents his own Government.

Mr Bourdon, on the other hand, represents Suaram. And Suaram does not represent me or you. Who does it represent?

Ah, Chamil Wariya (versi 2012)

Updated: First, a small correction. Chamil's cerpen (short story) was published by Mingguan Malaysia, which is the weekly edition of Utusan Malaysia. The Mingguan has its own set of editorial staff and is headed by its own Editor.

YB Teresa Kok was a character in the original Politic Baru YB J. I spoke to Chamil on the phone to get the real story about the "apology". An intriguing episode, indeed! 

First and foremost, Chamil said he did not attack Utusan Malaysia or its editors in his "apology" to YB Teresa Kok. "I was making references to the professional conduct of a certain editor".  

Secondly, he did not apologize to Teresa Kok for defaming her. "I cannot apologize for something I did not do. But I'm sorry if the cerpen that was published by Mingguan Malaysia had hurt her or any of my readers' feelings".

And what was published by Mingguan on 12 Oct 2008, according to Chamil, was not what he had written. 

In the original cerpen he had sent to Mingguan for publication, Chamil actually had the real YB Teresa Kok as one of his characters. Chamil describes YB Teresa in the cerpen as quite the opposite to what the fictional YB J, the main character in the cerpen, stands for!  

In the cerpen that was published in Mingguan, however, the real YB Teresa Kok, the MP for Seputeh, was replaced (without Chamil's consent) with another fictional character YB Su Lan, MP for Sepohon Beringin. 

What was the wisdom of introducing YB Teresa Kok as a character in a fiction? 

Chamil explained to me that he had done so in his original cerpen so that nobody could accuse him or Mingguan Malaysia of trying to malign Teresa indirectly by way of the fictional YB J. 

"If you have the real YB Teresa and the fictional YB J in the same story, you can tell that they are two different personalities altogether." 

In her suit, Teresa claimed Chamil’s article contained defamatory contents that either directly or by implication or by imputation referred to her. She contended, among others, the article implied she was a racist, an untrustworthy person and a bad politician. Teresa, also a Selangor state executive councillor, said it lowered her esteem in the eyes of the public and exposed her to public scandal, ridicule, odium and contempt. Among others, she sought compensatory damages of RM30mil from the defendants.

Original posting

Four years earlier: My Oct 2008 posting on Chamil

Malaysian bloggers once hailed Chamil Wariya as the RM100 million cerpen writer but now some of them are demanding that the journalist quit his position as the Malaysian Press Institute for the apology he issued to YB Teresa Kok, which effectively got him off the hook of the RM100 lawsuit the politician slapped on him over his fiction, Politik Baru YB J, which was published by the pro-government daily Utusan Malaysia, but which has left that newspaper having to defend itself not just against Teresa but also against Chamil's new and unexpected claim.

I've gotten sued before and I have been threatened with suits too for postings on this blog. I've had to express "regret" outside of court and issued an "apology" inside court along the way. And as in my case, I am sure Chamil would have also given up his right to speak openly about the "settlement". Unlike Chamil, though, I have never had to blame anyone for the offending articles I had posted, so Chamil's decision to turn against his former colleagues in Utusan Malaysia is intriguing, to say the very least.

And it's not even over a news report or analysis. It's a cerpen. A work of fiction!

Read CW should resign from MPI.
Ah, Chamil Wariya .. (versi 2007)