BN has every reason to fear Guan Eng

Bloomberg's reports on Penang's progress has BN trembling

In the first seven months of 2011, Penang won 3.6 billion ringgit ($1.2 billion) of approved foreign manufacturing investment, ahead of the 3.4 billion ringgit that went to Selangor, the state that surrounds the capital Kuala Lumpur, a government report showed last month.

It’s not the first time the state has set the pace for technology investment in Malaysia. Penang, a base for the spread of British influence in the 18th century, was the center of a manufacturing push in Malaysia’s shift from rubber and tin production in the 1970s, attracting companies including Intel Corp. (INTC) and Robert Bosch to assemble chips and build car radios.

Penang’s economic resurgence may bolster the opposition alliance’s claim it can be an alternative to the National Front, which has run the country since independence from British rule in 1957. A national election may be called with 60 days’ notice at the discretion of Prime Minister Najib Razak.
“A lot of this has to do with the dynamism of the chief minister,” said Ong Kian Ming, a political analyst at UCSI University in Kuala Lumpur and columnist for the Edge newspaper.

Lim has managed to keep Penang attractive for international companies even as Najib focuses federal support on regions such as Johor and Sarawak, where his ruling coalition has among its biggest parliamentary-seat majorities.

Penang had 16 percent of the country’s approved foreign manufacturing investment from 2006 to March this year, government data show. The state, a tourist destination with beach resorts and a colonial-era town designated as a United Nations World Heritage site, made up 8.1 percent of Malaysia’s gross domestic product in 2009, based on constant prices.

“The change in government meant that you have reenergized this place,” said Chris Ong, who owns boutique hotels converted from heritage buildings in Penang. “The old state government was here for far too long.”

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Who is suposed to vote in Malaysia?

Unless you are an immigrant this government is not interested in your vote

What do you expect if you spend money, sweat and tears to get Malaysians to go out and vote? Let's say you even produced a video and distributed in on YouTube. Why, of course the Malaysian government would want to ban it! How dare you ask Malaysians to vote?




Ban on Pete Teo's UNDILAH! video on all state TV stations

Producer says the ban is ridiculous 

However, if you are an illegal/legal immigrant you are always welcome as we (BN) need your vote very much, thank you!


600,000 foreigners made eligible to vote for BN

Election Commission denies being involved in citizenship-for-votes scam

FREE MyKads for immigrants

Bangladeshis deprived of their voting "rights"

Muhyiddin: Malaysians should be grateful and vote for BN

As usual, Home Affairs Minister Hishammuddin says everything is under (BN) control!

Only the women have balls in Gerakan

Gerakan Wanita calls for Koh Tsu Koon to quit while the men remains silent

Gerakan's president has received a tongue lashing from the women for under performing and only interested in being Najib's sycophant ("Kodak moments" as Joceline Tan puts it so well!).



In a thinly-veiled but stinging attack on Gerakan president Koh Tsu Koon, the party's Wanita chief Tan Lian Hoe said that the wing was embarrassed over the party's weak leadership.


Gerakan Wanita ashamed of their President

JR: We hear you and we are all ashamed of Koh and BN too! That's why we in Penang booted Gerakan out!

Joceline Tan: No leadership seen in Gerakan and none forthcoming

 

Where were you on August 31?

Najib slips out quietly to Perth on Independence Day while exhorting the nation to spend thriftly

While this may be old news to many, I just caught this article where he made the following comments while in Perth on a supposedly private visit (but using Malaysian government's money, no less):

"We deliver what we promise; we will not promise you the sun, the moon and the galaxy. That will be for others to promise."

"We must be prudent and spend only what we can afford," he said.


RM 9 million spent for Najib's trip to Perth

While in Perth, Najib made a hasty visit to see some students there. To make matters worse, national news agency Bernama reported the students in Perth as praising Najib to the skies.

Compliments like "awesome" were used to describe his speech to them. But the overkill annoyed the students and many of posted the true situation on Facebook, again exposing the lies that surround the first couple.

"They totally changed and added stuff that we never said. And the whole thing was done before the speech and not after. I feel it is rather silly and unnecessary," Malaysiakini reported the student as saying. 

RM83 million paid to UK public relations firm FBC Media to improve Najib's image

Latest: Mahathir advises Najib to delay election as long as possible so that he can enjoy his last days as PM longer

Sad Cafe is iSad too

The man who left us too soon

For myself I will remember him as the one who made me crazily hooked on his products, from the time I could only gaze longingly at the Lisa which sat at the office of one of our expatriates in the 90s, to the shiny white iPod which was far too expensive for me to own during the 00s, and finally, and thankfully when he made it affordable to all of us.




Goodbye Mr Apple... make iHeaven a blast!
 

We can always make Koh Tsu Koon look good!

Ex-CM Koh is now a daredevil cyclist!

It all started with the Kwong Wah newspaper advertisement showing appreciation to the 1Malaysia Bicycle Ride on 25 September 2011 which was held in Straits Quay Penang. The original picture was posted with the headline on the same day.


Now you see him!

But the advertisement picture inside the same newspaper was showing Koh Tsu Koon riding next to the Najib, which is the Prime Minister of Malaysia. But the fact is: Koh Tsu Koon was never in the picture! The incriminating picture was enhanced by an image editing tool such as Photoshop, showing Kok Tsu Koon there like a miracle.


Now you don't

Since both the original picture (headline) and the enhanced picture (advertisement) were posted in the same newspaper, some readers had noticed that and commented this phenomenon on major social networks such as Facebook and forums.

That day Koh Tsu Koon was left behind the bicycle team after he had a minor altercation with the other riders. Some might even say he was knocked down by some mischievous Penangites?



Well, we would like to reveal to our readers that Koh is actually a much better cyclist than what the state media had tried to portray.


Koh the circus act!


Koh the matador!


Koh meeting the future Queen of England!

Photo credits: Let's Go To Penang and Stop The Lies

JR: At least now we know how he managed to get beside Najib in all those photo-ops!

Cartoonist says Najib is a clown

Najib's transformation is a good cartoon

Hear the one about the Malaysian cartoonist who tried to sue the government?

Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, better-known among comic fans as Zunar, is still trying to figure out the punch line. As the government in Kuala Lumpur begins to ease decades of strict political control, Mr. Zulkiflee is stepping up his yearlong battle to lift a ban on his comic books that he says shows the limits of Prime Minister Najib Razak's new, high-profile program to bolster free speech and strengthen political rights in this resource-rich, majority-Muslim nation.



Typical gags revolve around Mr. Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, secretly dictating everything that happens in the country. Others poke fun at shadowy politicians tearing up blueprints to bring down the cost of living to focus instead on bringing down their political rivals—tame fare for audiences in the U.S. or Britain, perhaps, but a radical departure from the norm in Malaysia.

"Mr. Najib isn't removing the sedition laws, which can also be used to stop political comment," Mr. Zulkiflee said, referring to rules that criminalize alleged attempts to stir up dissatisfaction with the government.

"People who want to publish newspapers or maybe even cartoons still have to apply for permission, too," he said. It's all a public-relations stunt."

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BN resorting to lies to win election

BN starts its lies campaign

BN is now using the Malaysian News Agency (Bernama) to propagate lies to help gain a foothold in the oncoming general elections where it is believed they will fail badly. The latest onslaught of lies come in the form of accusing Penang CM Lim Guan Eng of badmouthing the southern state off Johor in an interview with Radio Australia.

BN is immoral - says UMNO Youth,

DPM Muhyiddin showing off his minute brain

BN: Pakatan's anti-corruption policies are torturing us!

The Sun: Lim Guan Eng did not even mention Johor

Radio Australia: Lim has brought resounding progress to Penang


Spot the clown!

Ths Star: Penangites take revenge by knocking down bumbling Koh Tsu Koon cycling in Penang

Oops! Sorry, wrong funeral picture

The Star is 40 and cannot even get a correct picture

Much has been said about The Star not reporting the truth lately. Now after 40 years it is indeed senile as it has just acknowledged it can't even get the correct picture for a funeral piece. The Star yesterday printed a picture of a badminton legend who just passed away but then realized (OMG) it was the wrong picture!


"Wonder if this is the correct funeral parlor?"

The Star: We are sorry for featuring the wrong picture


JR: Wonder what else did they get it wrong all these years, hmmmph....

Ooops! Sorry, we were not colonised by the Brits

Eminent Professor Khoo Kay Kay Kim says we were never colonised

After 54 years of independence we are now being told by a Professor Emeritus that Malaysia was never colonised by the British. OK, so now what did we seek independence from in 1957? And who were the communists fighting against? Are all our history books going to be rewritten again? Now all this is becoming very confusing as it seems history has been twisted or is now being twisted to serve the government of the day.


NO publicity stunts either (image from Malaysiakini)

Majlis Profesor Negara: Malaya tidak pernah dijajah

Dr M: The Brits only behaved like colonialist

Muhyiddin: We were colonised! We had to be colonised! If not who can we blame for our problems?

Penang Regains Its Shine Again

Economist says Penang Getting Back Its Mojo

Whom to thank?

When the Democratic Action Party won the state’s legislative assembly three years ago, it became the first opposition party to triumph in Penang in more than 40 years. The victory presented a direct challenge to the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition that has ruled the country continuously since independence in 1957. Penang’s new leader, Lim Guan Eng, says that the federal government has an “ambivalent” attitude towards him, cutting off some funding but not undermining his authority. “They don’t want us to get any credit, but they can’t afford to see us fail”.

The revival of Penang was already under way in 2008, but Mr Eng’s new policies have helped it along. He has become the first governor in Malaysia to open up all state tenders to competition. This has entailed dismantling the special preferences for ethnic Malays that have underpinned the BN’s rule since the early 1970s. That was when the Malay majority institutionalised affirmative action for themselves, to the disadvantage of ethnic Chinese (a majority in Penang), who were perceived to have got unduly rich. Mr Eng claims that by reforming the system he has ended the cronyism and corruption that wasted money under previous regimes.

Adapted to the national stage, such policies could transform the way that the Malaysian federal government conducts business. Mr Eng says that the savings he has made by ending the “old systems of patronage” allow him to spend money on new social programmes instead, such as modest handouts for the elderly. These policies are popular, and the assault on corruption pleases foreign investors. Little wonder, then, that Penang has become a political weathervane as much as a lesson in economic development.

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Whom to blame?

18 years in power and nothing to show for it

Gerakan should apologize to everyone in Penang

The Star: Koh Tsu Koon has been well rewarded by BN for his failures

The Star: Koh has been "bad" since 1993

Angry Malaysians

Why Our Politicians and The Star Don't Get It

In a recent comment piece in The Star, the paper’s Group Chief editor, Wong Choon Wai asked, “Can we stop being angry people and try to make sense of the issues affecting the nation?” Tan Seng Hai responds:

This is in response to Wong Chun Wai’s ‘On the beat’ column “Of Angry Birds and angry Malaysians”: The Sunday Star, 24 July 2011) where he asked Malaysians to stop being angry on the many issues affecting the nation.

It was a very well written piece, well placed and sounded almost logical and rational to those who read only the mainstream media.

Allow me to give Wong 10 good reasons why Malaysians are angry … in fact Malaysians are very, very angry.

1) We are angry that we have been denied our constitutional and democratic rights to a peaceful gathering. We are angry at the police brutality on a frail, tender 65-year-old auntie who was sprayed with chemically laced water and tear gassed for exercising her democratic rights when she was walking alone to demonstrate peacefully what she believes in.

2) We are angry at the lies, the biased reporting and the cover-ups by mainstream media (The Star included) to serve their political masters. We are angry at the way the mainstream media demonise Bersih 2.0.

3) We are very angry at the double standards of the police in arresting activists and opposition politicians. While some self-proclaimed nationalists and race champions openly spew seditious statements to incite religious and racial hatred and no action was taken against them, others were arrested for merely wearing yellow T-shirts.

4) We are angry with the Home Minister and the IGP for their handling of the recent series of events occurring in the country. We are angry with the lies and denials they make in light of clear evidence from photos and videos.

5) We are angry at the continual police harassment and intimidation of civil society groups and activists who are perceived as a threat to the political hegemony of the current BN government. The arrest of a bus-load of Parti Sosialist Malaysia (PSM) members on trumped-up charges of trying to revive communism and rebelling against the Ruler is blatant police harassment and intimidation.

6) We are angry at the Home Ministry and the police for using the outdated and draconian Emergency Ordinance (EO) to detain the PSM 6 without trial. We are angry that they were detained on flippant charges of trying to revive communism, waging war against the Ruler and inciting people to join Bersih 2.0.

7) We are angry at Prime Minister Najib for his hypocrisy in saying one thing and flip-flopping the very next moment. We are angry at him for having an audience with the Pope to improve bilateral ties and immediately on returning back to Malaysia, he publicly questioned the Malaysian Christians by saying “We wish to tell our friends, the Malaysian Christians… if they respect us, we will also respect them.”

8. We are angry that Royal Commissions after Royal Commissions have been set up and recommendations have been made to improve our institutions but no significant changes have been made. We have not forgotten the Royal Commissions to investigate the Lingam video, police brutality on Anwar Ibrahim while in police custody and Teoh Beng Hock’s death while in MACC custody.

9) We are very angry that there are too many deaths in custody of several authorities and nobody is held accountable and responsible for the deaths. We are angry that 1535 detainees have died in police custody between 2003-2007, 1300 illegal foreigners have died in immigration detention camps between 2002-2008 and two deaths in MACC custody most recently. We are angry that one death is one too many and wonder how many hundreds more went unreported and unnoticed.

10) We are angry that the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) and the EO continue to be used and abused by the authorities. We are angry that there are still 25 persons detained without trial under the ISA and 819 persons detained under the EO.

Wong Chun Wai asked, “Can we stop being angry people and try to make sense of the issues affecting the nation?” But the real ‘gem’ of his article was when he asked “Or better still, just laugh at them (the issues)?” I wonder if Wong has found it in his heart to laugh at Auntie Anne Ooi (Auntie Bersih) or the PSM 6 who endured the uncertainty of being put in solitary confinement indefinitely without trial. Did he laugh at the Teoh Beng Hock and Sarbani issues?

Wong, I wonder if you are laughing?

- Tan Seng Hai is a Penang-based activist