Mama Mia! It's the Chief Justice!

Not all judges are nice. Many are nasty, some spiteful, others viciously offensive. I do not want to be one of them.

Being a judge means leading a terribly lonely life. Which means: - no socializing, no friends, no party, no drinking (unless you are ok with drinking alone). I am no party animal, but to be devoid of a social circle seems a tad bit cruel.

Browsing lazily on the weekend daily, I chanced upon a photo in the Saturday Metro (Saturday, 20 December 2008) under “Events”. There it was, a photo of Chief Justice Tan Sri Zaki Tun Azmi, standing grandly, attending the Mamma Mia! Gala musical show; flanked on his right and left by ministers and corporate leaders. Egad! I thought. Isn’t the Chief Justice socializing?

I did a quick check on judges’ conduct and found the following provisions in the Judges’ Code of Ethics 1994: -

Section 3 (1) A judge shall not—

(b) conduct himself in such manner as is likely to bring his private interests into conflict with his judicial duties;

(c) conduct himself in any manner likely to cause a reasonable suspicion that—

(i) he has allowed his private interests to come into conflict with his judicial duties so as to impair his usefulness as a judge; or

(ii) he has used his judicial position for his personal advantage;

(d) conduct himself dishonestly or in such manner as to bring the Judiciary into disrepute or to bring discredit thereto;

I am no expert on a judges’ code of ethics but the photo shows the Chief Justice surrounded by SP Setia director Datuk Eddy Leong, Datuk Fu Ah Kiow, Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy, Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai, The Star’s group chief editor Datuk Wong Chun Wai and SP Setia managing director and CEO Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin.

Here is the Chief Justice, seen socializing with members of the corporate industry and members of the MCA. To make matters worse, the Mamma Mia! show that day was hosted by SP Setia and was dedicated to all of SP Setia’s business partners, corporate clients and customers. Which makes one wonders, who is the Chief Justice to SP Setia: - Business partner? Client? Customer?

The appointment of Tan Sri Zaki as Chief Justice has received a lot of flak due to his rather illustrious background. He holds many directorships in many companies prior to his appointment, including being a director to PETRONAS and the Board of Trustee for SP Setia. He was also the legal advisor for UMNO.

His rise in the judiciary has also been of concern, having being appointed directly to the Federal Court as a private practitioner, by-passing several senior judges along the way. All in all, he spent less than 5 years in the judiciary before being made the Chief Justice.

Tan Sri Zaki began his job by announcing that he would get tough and take action against errant judges to prevent the image of the judiciary from being tarnished. But judging from these Mamma Mia! photos, he has taken the lead in tarnishing the already battered image of the judiciary.

- by The Dandelions @ Dandelions.Wordpress

Chua: Why skilled M'sians don't come home

The government has failed dismally in attracting skilled Malaysians to return home from abroad to serve the country, said MCA deputy president Dr Chua Soi Lek.

“As at the beginning of last year, there were 985 applications, of which 485 were approved. Of those approved, only 330 Malaysians have returned,” Chua told a press conference yesterday.

“On average each year, only about 50 Malaysians have returned to work here.”Chua, who heads the MCA Government Policy Monitoring Bureau, blamed the failure of the programme - launched in 2001 - on various factors including implementation weaknesses and red tape.

“The 2009 budget allocated RM47.7 billion or about 23 percent of the total for education and training. In 2008, the government sponsored 17,000 students in universities abroad,” he said. Despite this, the government has failed in stemming the brain-drain, resulting in many Malaysians preferring to live and work abroad.

“There is no systematic human capital retention programme in terms of job placement and career development. Very often these students, including post-graduate students, feel frustrated and disappointed with their job-postings,” Chua said.

“Frustration and disappointment are the driving factors of the brain-drain.” As early as 2005, the human resources minister had reportedly said the programme had been unable to entice professionals to return.

Only 665 applications had been received, of which 279 were approved - comprising 94 in the medical sector, 59 in Information Technology, 50 in accountancy and finance, and 12 in science and technology.

Many applications were rejected because these did not meet the criteria or were from fresh graduates.

Brain Gain Programme fails

“There are two main programmes targeting the repatriation of human capital. The first is to encourage citizens with expertise residing overseas to return to Malaysia. The other, involving the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, is the ‘brain gain’ programme to increase the number of researchers, scientists and engineers (RSE).

The plan is to achieve a ratio of 50 RSE : 10,000 labour force in priority areas by 2010. The programme, launched in December 2006, “suffers many weaknesses”.

These offers have not been taken up. If their families’ needs are not looked after, the workers will not return. Bureaucratic procedures and the time taken for approval of applications are another setback.

The process can take more than six months (to apply for tax exemption and permanent residence for non-Malaysian spouses and children). Malaysian scientists working in developed countries expected salaries five times higher than that paid locally. Also, the lack of sophisticated scientific facilities or state-of-the-art equipment, laboratories and facilities are disincentives.

A holistic and a more attractive package that includes opportunities for career advancement and job satisfaction is needed. An open economy with investor- and business-friendly policies is more likely to attract them back.

Establish world class research centres and ensure our universities are free from overt controls. The package of incentives must also encompass assistance for job searches, business start-ups and family relocation.

What To Do If Stopped by Malaysian Police

WHAT TO DO IF STOPPED BY MALAYSIAN POLICE

This is is very useful information. Please pass it on to your friends and family.............especially the women folk!

The next time you are stopped by persons who claim they are plain clothes police, you are under no obligation to answer their questions or follow their orders, lawyers said today.

'A Policeman who is not wearing his uniform does not have the authority to stop anyone,' lawyer and human rights activist Sivarasa Rasiah said.

Procedures to follow in the event you are stopped by uniformed police Officers while driving:

1. Stop the car and wind down your window.

2. If the police officers ask for your documents, request to see their IDs first.

3. If you are satisfied about their identity, ask them if you are being summoned, and for what offence.

4. Produce your identity card and driver's license and wait to collect
your summon ticket.

In the event that the police officers ask you to follow them to the police station:

1. Ask if you are under arrest and for what offence.

2. If you are not under arrest, you have the right to leave.

In the event you are flagged down by persons you believe could be plain clothes police:

1. Do not stop because plain clothes police officers do not have the authority to stop you.

2. Drive to the nearest police station and lodge a report. (The same procedure applies to pedestrians)

In the event the police come to your house:

1. Do not let them in before checking their IDs.

2. If you are not satisfied, phone the nearest police station and confirm if they had been sent to your house.

3. You are under no obligation to allow them into the house if they don't have a search warrant.

4. Do not go with them if you are not under arrest.

In the event persons who claimed to be plain clothes police come to your house:

1. Do not let him in because they do not have the authority to do so.

2. Lodge a report at the nearest police station.

Sivarasa was commenting on the alleged gang-rape of an 18-year-old Uni student by four men claiming to be police officers on New Year's Eve. The girl said that her car was stopped in Taman Tun Dr Ismail in Kuala Lumpur and were asked by the men to open the car bonnet. She was then told that she had committed an offence and ordered to follow the men to a police station.

The girl was driven in her car along the North-South expressway to the Tapah-Cameron Highlands road before she was raped in an oil palm estate.

This incident, and many others, have sparked confusion over the procedures which motorists must follow when flagged down by the police. The most common problem is that most people take instructions without determining if the other person is really a cop,' lawyer Annie Santiago said.

However, if you are stopped by a uniformed policeman, then you are required to stop. But you need not get out of the car because you are not expected to do so, Santiago said.

The other rule to follow is to provide your identity card only when you are asked to do so. 'Even then, you should get his ID first to confirm if he is a cop. There is no harm in calling the relevant police station to verify if he is supposed to be on duty that day,' Sivarasa said.

Both lawyers said that motorists should never follow an officer to the police station unless one is under arrest . 'If you are not sure, and your instincts tell you that something is wrong, then drive off to the nearest police station and lodge a report,' Sivarasa said.

In response to the alleged gang-rape of the 18-year-old, Women's Aid Organisation executive-secretary Ivy Josiah called on the police to launch an education program to teach the public about their rights to prevent them from being victimised by bogus police officers.

How can a good religion want to make people to be bad?

By RPK:

Malaysia can pride itself in knowing that regardless of what religious celebration it may be, its ethnic groups will come together as one to honour the event', the mainstream newspapers reported Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as saying.

'Malaysia", he said, 'was blessed, as the people not only had great respect for each other's religion, but also for the religious occasions that the different segments of society celebrated'.

'A religious occasion, including Hari Raya , is a day when we seize the opportunity to visit our friends and strengthen our ties as true Malaysians. In our everyday lives, we prioritise aspects of goodwill and understanding towards each other, including on religious matters, which are deemed sensitive,' Abdullah said.

Have you noticed how politicians and religious people -- especially if they are politicians masquerading as religious people -- always say one thing to the non-Muslims and another to the Muslims?

When the Indians and Chinese start showing signs of restlessness, they will talk about multi-racial, multi-cultural tolerance and all such crap. But to an all-Malay or all-Muslim audience, when they think that the non-Malays or non-Muslims are not within earshot, they will talk about the 'enemies' of the Malays and warn us that the kafir can't be trusted and can't be taken as our friend because they are the millennium-old enemies of Islam.

Thess public displays of keris-waving are small potatoes. The non-Malays were meant to see that. They knew the TV cameras were on and that what they said and did was being beamed live, straight into the living rooms of Malaysians.

But what they talk behind closed doors would make even our First Prime Minister and Bapa Merdeka, Tunku Abdul Rahman , who in his days was accused of being a Chinese running dog who sold out the Malays, turn in his grave .. Yes, the Tunku was ousted because he 'gave in' too much to the Chinese. But it was in the Tunku's days that Malaysia was most peaceful, until someone came out with the 'bright' idea of how to unite the Malays under a common cause.

Can I be so bold as to say that in the Tunku's days, the Malays were less religious? Not a single Malay senior government officer's home did not have a bar, well-stocked with beer, brandy, whisky and wine that would make any pub turn green with envy. That was during the Merdeka era when you could admire the lovely legs of Malay women and when bare-back knee-length skirts were the 'in' thing. Miss Malaysia would be a sweet, young, Malay, lass in a bikini who would give the Chinese and Indian girls a run for their money...!

... now the Malays have become more religious. No longer will you find any bar in Malay homes. The army no longer toasts with wine but with syrup. And even then toasting, a western custom, is frowned upon...

But that is good. Malays have discarded their jahiliyah days or era of ignorance. Malays are now more Islamic. And Malays are told that we must not celebrate Christmas or wish the Chinese or Indians Kong Hee Fatt Choy or Happy Deepavali as this goes against Islamic teachings.

Why, therefore, is Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi saying what he said, as reported by the mainstream media? Does he not know what he is saying goes against what Islam stands for, at least according to what the religious people tell us?

Or is this a case of saying one thing to the non-Muslims and another to the Muslims? I suppose this is what politics is all about. You have to tailor your statements to suit the audience. And what Abdullah said was meant for the non-Malay ears, not for the Malays.

...

Religion is supposed to be good, not only Islam, but any religion for that matter....But if religion is good, then why are religious people bad? Why is it when I meet unreligious people or atheists, I see good people? And why when I meet orthodox religious people, I see bad people?

...If religion is good, then religious people should be good and unreligious people or atheists should be bad. But why is it the other way around? And this does not apply to only Muslims.

I gave a talk to a group of pro-Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Umno people a few weeks ago. In that crowd was one whom I would classify as an ultra-religious person. When I pointed out that corruption is bad and that we must oppose it, he replied that corruption is okay.

I then argued that Islam says that corruption is Riba' (usury) and that there are 80 levels of Riba' and that the sin for the lowest level is equivalent to the sin of sexual intercourse with one's own parent. He agreed and said that this is actually one of the sayings ( hadith) of the Prophet Muhammad.

I was flabbergasted. There I had before me a religious man . He was preaching to me and saying that the present secular system of government has to be rejected in favour of an Islamic system. He blames the ills facing this nation on the fact that we have turned our backs on Islam and chose instead a western secular system over the Islamic system as prescribed by the Prophet Muhammad. But corruption is okay, he argued.

If even just one Muslim were to leave Islam and become a Hindu, Christian or Buddhist, then it is the duty of all Muslims to violently oppose this. Apostasy is forbidden and the prescribed punishment is death. And Muslims must run riot on the streets and burn buildings and kill people if anyone tries to leave Islam. No Muslim worth his salt will disagree with this. This is not violence, this is not extremism, this is not a threat to national security; this is defending the dignity of Islam .

But if you march peacefully to the Agong's palace or to Parliament to hand over a Memorandum, this is not allowed. The police must arrest you, beat you up, and the leaders or organisers must be detained without trial under the Internal Security Act. This is what Islam asks us to do and is mandatory.

Ask any Malay-Muslim leader. Ask any imam in the mosque. Ask any Mufti. Ask any Religious Department official. Ask anyone from Pusat Islam. None will disagree that the peaceful marchers need to be dealt with harshly and detained without trial under the Internal Security Act. And none of these same people will disagree that apostates need to be dealt with harshly and rioting, and burning buildings, and killing people are necessary in defending the dignity of Islam.

Most of the police are Muslims, but they act violently towards peaceful marchers. Most of the government leaders are Muslims, but they act harshly towards peaceful marchers. And they say that they do this to preserve the peace, which is required by Islam.

But if you 'insult' Islam or try to become an apostate, then you must accept the violent punishment. And this is not violence or harsh or a threat to national security. This is defending the dignity of Islam. And corruption is okay. Cheating in the elections is okay. Abuse of power and authority is okay. Wastage of public funds is okay. Denying you your fundamental rights is okay. Using the mainstream media to lie is okay. Threatening the non-Malays is okay. Persecution is okay. Detention without trial is okay. Assaulting detainees under police custody is okay.
Just do not insult Islam or try to leave Islam. That is not okay and the use of violence to oppose this is also okay.

I see religious people and I see bad people. I see unreligious people and atheists and I see good people. How can religion be good if religious people are bad? How can religion be from God if the product of religion is bad people? Yes, that is what troubles me this third phase of the 27 years of my life.

The more people pray, the worse they become. People who never pray are wonderful people. How can this be? Police officers pray. Government leaders pray. But they are terrible people. There must be something terribly wrong with praying . Is religion merely a scam? How can religion be right when those who profess religion are so wrong?

Sure, I have heard the old argument time and time again. There is nothing wrong with religion. It is the people who are wrong for not following what the religion really teaches us. But why? That still does not explain it. Why is it people who are religious become so bad? Is religion not supposed to guide us to become good? If religion has failed to turn us into good people then surely religion and not people is what is wrong.

...I need to find out whether religions really exist or whether they are mere human inventions and old wives tales. Fruit from a poisonous tree will always be poisonous. It can never be any other way.. And the fruit from a good religion must certainly be goodness. It can never be any other way.. But that does not seem to be what is happening here.

Today, we are told that Muslims support detention without trial. Today, we are told that 1.5 million Malays from 395 Malay NGOs support the government in its use of the Internal Security Act against peaceful marchers.

Many are angry that those 31 from HINDRAF are not going to be tried for attempted murder after all. They want blood. They want the blood of the BERSIH and HINDRAF marchers. They want the blood of those who merely exercised their God-given right of free expression.

These 1.5 million Malays are followers of a good religion. They say only Islam is good, all other religions are bad. And those with no religion whatsoever or atheists are even worse. But these people from the good religion want the government to do bad things.

That is what troubles me to no end. How can a good religion make people want to be bad? ....Raja Petra Kamarudin

Put Mukhriz out to pasture

'How to put Mukhriz out to pasture'

Joe Fernandez Dec 8, 08 2:07pm

Jerlun MP Mukhriz Mahathir’s days as a parliamentarian, Umno Youth leader and office-bearer in any society in Malaysia could be ended if any complainant secures a conviction in court against his statement on the vernacular-school system.

Senior Sabah lawyer Marcel Jude Joseph wrote in his column in English-language daily Borneo Post yesterday that Mukhriz could not hope to escape the wrath of the law, based on legal precedent.

On Dec 1, Mukhriz had told a press conference in Parliament House that the federal government should end the vernacular-school system so that Chinese and Tamil schools could be streamlined into one “Malaysian education system”.

Marcel said Mukhriz could not use ‘good faith’ or ‘national unity’ to explain his stand, as he has encroached on one of four ‘sensitive issues’ entrenched in Article 10(4) of the constitution, as per the 1971 amendment.

Read with Section 3(f) of the Sedition Act, these cover vernacular schools; the citizenship rights of non-Malay Malaysians; the sovereignty of Malay rulers; and the special provision for Malays, Orang Asli and the natives in Sabah and Sarawak as per Article 153.

Echoing DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang, Marcel pointed out: “The 1971 constitutional amendment imposes an absolute prohibition from any questioning, even removing the parliamentary immunity in parliamentary debates by classifying them as sedition offences under Section 3(f) of the Sedition Act.

“If there is rule of law with impartial and independent administration of justice, Mukhriz would be charged and found guilty of sedition, stripped of his parliamentary membership, as well as disqualified from taking part in parliamentary elections or holding office in any society for five years if fined RM 2,000 or jailed for a year.”

Marcel cited two decided cases to back his argument:

• Melan Abdullah v Public Prosecutor (1971) where Utusan Malaysia was found guilty of sedition, for a sub-heading Hapuskan Sekolah Beraliran Tamil atau China di Negeri ini (Abolish Tamil and Chinese medium schools in this country); and

• Mark Koding v Public Prosecutor where the Sabah MP was found guilty of sedition when, in Parliament in October 1978, he had called for the closure of Chinese and Tamil primary schools.

‘Political mileage’

Marcel further wrote: “If Mukhriz wants to be able to publicly pursue his proposal of a single education system resulting in the closure of Chinese and Tamil primary schools, (or debate the three other sensitive issues), he must get the constitutional provision on the four entrenched issues amended and repealed.

“Similarly, no one can ask for a repeal of Article 153 on the grounds that the Reid Commission had originally proposed a 15-year sunset clause, unless the 1971 entrenched sensitive issue provision in the constitution is amended or repealed.

“The same applies to the two other sensitive issues - the sovereignty of the Malay Rulers and the citizenship rights of the non-Malay Malaysians.”

Marcel noted that in calling for the abolition of Tamil and Chinese vernacular schools, Mukhriz had claimed that national schools could help address the problem of non-Malays misunderstanding the concept of ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy).

“His (Mukhriz’s) remarks appear designed to tap the support of the Umno grassroots but is likely to add fuel to the debate on race relations,” he added.

6 Mistakes by Sabahans!

"SIX MISTAKES BY SABAHANS"

The First Biggest Mistake
made by the Sabahan leaders was that they concurred with the crafty Malayan leader Tunku Abdul Rahman to form a nation called 'MALAYSIA' not knowing that the Malayan leader(s) under UMNO had a hidden agenda of colonising Sabah and Sarawak in a true sense of the word. We could have been happy in the safe hands of Great Britain until such a time when the Sabahans could take over the administration and rule on our own. Look at Brunei as a case in point. Like the 'fairy tale' the Bruneians could only whisper to your ears and say "we live happily ever after".

The Second Biggest Mistake
was the Sabah and Sarawak leaders' inability to read between the lines when Singapore was ejected from the Federation of Malaysia in 1965. The ejection from the Federation means that the MALAYSIAN AGREEMENT signed by the four countries which formed the Federation namely, Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak is NO longer valid. Therefore, Sabah and Sarawak should have also made a declaration that they were longer parts of the Federation at the point of time Singapore came out. Sabah and Sarawak would have been independent countries today.

The Third Biggest Mistake
was when we agreed to sign an agreement to give away 95% of one of our most valued natural resources - OIL - without any sense of personal reservation and pride. It is like giving away your only begotten son to a monster looming at your backyard to be sacrificed for nothing without even attempting to fight it off. This bad decision had caused Sabahans to be the poorest in a land of the most bountiful. This situation will go on in perpetuity without us seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, unless we put up a fight.

The Fourth Biggest Mistake
was when the Sabah leaders allowed the rapist UMNO came and spread its wings to Sabah. Now Sabahans are being "raped" by the 'sex-maniac' UMNO again and again and again and again and again and again 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year without any sign of stopping. That explained the perennial problem of ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS in Sabah. UMNO have no intention, whatsoever, to solve this problem because they see them as the only way to help them to perpetuate the Ketuanan Melayu by turning these illegal people into their permanent voters in every subsequent General Election. For they are now the majority in Sabah. That explained the decision to go at length to distribute the Green Cards to them a few of days ago at the expense of the genuine Sabahans in the interior of Sabah many of whom still do not possess the Malaysian ICs.

The Fifth Biggest Mistake
was when Sabah leaders and the Sabahans still clung to UMNO's Barisan Nasional in every General Election despite the non-stop "raping" taking place at every turn. Even in a situation where the Sabah and Sarawak have now become the LIFE GIVER of UMNO at the Federal level, UMNO are so blinded with 'lust' that Sabah and Sarawak are still treated as Illegitimate Children in favour of the severely election-battered MCA and MIC.. With this very obvious lopsided policies of UMNO and rampant discrimination of KL towards Sabah one may be prompted to ask this question, "What came into the heads of PBS, UPKO, PBRS, LDP leaders?" Only SAPP had come to their senses and turned their back on UMNO's BN. Bravo to you SAPP leaders!!

The Sixth Biggest Mistake
will be for Sabah leaders and Sabahans to allow once again our very own natural resources - GAS - to be channelled to Bintulu and once again start believing in the sweet talk of "Romeo UMNO" that a Petro-Chemical will be set up in Sabah and only excess Gas is channelled to Sarawak. Datuk Dr. Jeffrey is right that no one knows for sure of any of such "excess gas" at all given the fact that Petronas had never been transparent to the rakyat of Sabah in the more than 30 years of operation. So, Juliet, be wised up, Romeo's promises are only meant to be broken!!Whether the above Mistakes are in fact mistakes or just mere Stupidity on our part I will leave it to my fellow Sabahans to make the judgement. And it is up to us whether we want a change or remain in the status quo. The American people, especially the white people, had recently made a decisive move for a CHANGE propagated by a minority black leader, Barack Obama. Could not we Malaysians in Sabah take a que from them? May God open our eyes wide!

(excerpt from SAPP blogsite)

Are the non-Malays in Sarawak and Johore making the same mistakes by supporting the BN = UMNO blindly?

The English at National Registration Department website!

This is from a page from the official website (English) of the National Registration Department or Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara Malaysia...

It's enough to make you cringe!

1. I'm 17 year old, when should I change my identity card replacement?

A person whose had got first-time identity card namely during old 12 year, are required change again his identity card when have reached the age 18 year. If this change made within life time 18 - 25 year, no any penalty imposed.

2. I already 25 year old and still not have my own identity card. What shoul I do?

To them not yet own identity card although already aged more 16 year are advised to come to any nearby NRD to apply identity card past record. Applicant and promoter must showed up together to be interviewed, bringing with together following documents:- Applicant Born Certificate / AnakAngkat's Certificate / W's Form Or Applicant Enter Permit / Confirmation Form National Standard(if concerning) Promoter Identity Card

3. I a foreign citizens and have gotten permit of entry from Jabatan Immigration Malaysia. Whether I qualified to apply identity card? What is conditions for I apply identity card.

You qualified to apply identity card with permanent resident status(Red). Applications requirements is bringing with permit of entry and passport and copy both of them and application fee as many as RM 40.00. Applications can be made in NRD Putrajaya Headquarters and NRD Branches only.

4. Is there any payment am being imposed in case happened damage for chip in my identity card.

Chip damage who is not due to purposely destroyed, misuse and others within one year from the date of submission card is give replacement by free, and if card period has been held by the applicant exceeding one year, payment as many as RM 10.00 imposed.

5. How many payment am being imposed if I loss identity card?

Lost identity card would be charged follow loss number. Please see payment schedule.

6. How long MyKad's application period can be completed?

MyKad can be completed within 24 hours as applicant whose opted to take MyKad in NRD Putrajaya headquarters. For applicant opted to take MyKad in any NRD branches office in Peninsula of Malaysia, then MyKad would be completed within 10 working day while 30 working day for applicant opted to take MyKad in any NRD branches office in Sabah, a Sarawak or Labuan. MyKad's charter completed this only involve applications from Warganegara Malaysia and prayer not problematical only.

7. Could I change address without change my identity card?If I can how many rates imposed?

Yes. With payment RM2.00 and new address information would be updated inside chip. If you want change identity card one time, the charge is RM10.00 .

8. Is it NRD receive payment other than cash ?

Yes, NRD comply accept payment electronically namely via credit card, card debit and MEPS. However, there were limit minimum sum accept to payment via credit card there is as many as RM 50.0

And this is the website of a major Government department you know. Still believe that we can teach Malaysian children English on 45 minutes a week?

Mukhriz Mahathir's forked tongue and splitting hair

First it was reported:

"Umno Youth chief aspirant Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir has called on the Government to abolish the vernacular school system to enhance unity among the people. He said a single school system was the only way to check racial polarisation.

Then he said he did not call for vernacular schools to be closed down:

"I said the system should be one. I don’t think the issue of closing schools arises. That is the last thing I want," he said when commenting on the flak he received after it was reported on Monday that he had called on the Government to abolish the vernacular school system to enhance unity among the people and that a single school system was the only way to check racial polarisation.

"The school remains the same physically and it is the system that needs changing where the medium of teaching would eventually be one, which is Bahasa Malaysia, except for Science and Mathematics," he said, adding that it would include religious schools.

Duh! That is really splitting hair there, if not plain speaking with a forked tongue! The attempt to hoodwink all and sundry continues with the son carrying on the work of the father.

Of course, the first statement wins him enough votes to be the Youth Chief comes March 2009, and the second statement puts him back in the good book with those who at first disagreed with him.

Let's look closer at what he said:

Now he has admitted what he said, just that he meant not physically closing the vernacular schools. Duh again! What the people were protesting about was his proposal to make those schools effectively NOT 'vernacular' any more. That is of course in effect closing them down AS vernacular schools.

His proposal would be that the schools cease to be vernacular, which is the same as "closing down vernacular schools". So what the heck is he trying to pull? Sure was trying to split the hair to hoodwink as many people as possible, if not all.

Please comment after reading this so more voices could be heard.

Push Factors in Malaysia

People emigrate from one Country to another based on the pull and push factors of the two Countries concerned.

There are so many more push factors in Malaysia, so much more than pull factors, existing or being created, that more and more Malaysians have emigrated.

In this blog let's discuss the social, political and other issues related to the pull and push factors in Malaysia.