PERWI

Only a short time ago, many Malaysians took comfort in remaining “apolitical”. Those without affiliation to political parties and who felt estranged from politicians preferred to leave the work of governance to others. It is different now.

Malaysians — across ethnic groups, class divisions, religious affiliations and age differences — are becoming more engaged in social and political developments, more interested in reading the news, keener to follow events in society.

Slowly, but surely, we are finding our “voice”. We are learning ways of expressing ourselves peacefully, seeing that we can put aside old fears. We are exploring the strength in our hands, discovering that our opinions, no matter how small or tentative, count too.

Engagement — individually and collectively — is at the crux of a functioning democracy. Engagement begins with awareness and interest, blossoms through conversation and action, and matures with wisdom, understanding, and compassion for others. It can be a powerful force for positive change. It can also be destructive, if we are not careful.[more]

66 of Malaysia’s top NGOs have issued a joint statement

This was the only proper and democratic way to break the current standoff between the Pakatan Rakyat and Umno-Barisan Nasional, they said.

The group of 66 also supported the popular view amongst Perakians that Pakatan Menteri Besar Nizar Jamaluddin was still the legitimate chief minister, and not Umno’s Zambry Kadir.<more>

Showdown Perak - follow the rule of law !

Civil society groups have called for transparency and rule of law to prevail in Perak, as lawmakers there gear up for what could be a key turning point in the political deadlock that has crippled the state for nearly a month now.

In particular, Transparency International has warned of the hardening and harmful perception amongst Malaysians that the Umno-Barisan Nasional was using the federal apparatus unfairly to hang onto power both in the state and in rest of the nation.

“This episode has washed up a lot of dirt and the debris that we are seeing is the result of democratic processes not being allowed to find expression at the ballot box and elsewhere,” said Ramon Navaratnam, president of Transparency International Malaysia. <snip>

MIC President Dato Seri S. Samy Vellu does not have any right to the support of the Indian community in the country.

March 8 last year brought about the Ides of March and Waterloo for Samy Vellu. He had boasted that no one could dislodge him as MP for Sungai Siput. That boast was blasted to smithereens by the voters in Sungai Siput and for good reason. He had miserably failed the Indian community who realized he was not a leader of caliber or substance. He was more interested in the enhancement of his own interests and those of his cronies who, likewise, were hounded out of their strongholds in the general elections last year.

Samy Vellu took for granted the Indian community which has been sidelined by the government. Samy Vellu, if at all, he has any principles, of which I have my doubts, should ‘bertaubat’ for the woes brought about by his leadership on the Indian community.[more]

Kemelut politik yang melanda negeri Perak, selepas Barisan Nasional (BN) menubuhkan kerajaan negeri baru awal bulan lalu, terus berlanjutan.

Hari ini, Setiausaha Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Perak, Abdullah Antong Sabri berkata cadangan Speaker V Sivakumar untuk memanggil satu sidang tergempar Selasa ni adalah tidak sah.[selanjutnya].

A call by the Islamic-based PAS for the formation of a unity government to put aside unnecessary negative politicking and focus national resources and attention on weathering the economic crisis has the full backing of the Pakatan Rakyat.

However, there is one all-important condition.

“Broadly speaking, Pakatan is agreeable with the idea and principle of a unity government given the uncharted economic uncertainty facing the nation,” said KeADILan information chief Tian Chua.

“But we are agreeable only, and only if the unity government is under Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. You can see for yourself, it is becoming quite clear, the people are uncomfortable with Najib, and we have to abide by their wishes.”

Put aside differences until next general election? [more]

ADUN Chenderiang, Dr Mah Hang Soon menyifatkan tindakan Sivakumar itu telah melanggar titah Sultan Perak dan menuduh Sivakumar tidak tahu undang-undang dan membuat keputusan tanpa rujuk kepada Sultan.

“Mana boleh adakan sidang DUN tanpa dapat perkenan Sultan?” katanya ketika memberi reaksi terkejut terhadap tindakan Speaker untuk memanggil sidang Dun 3 Mac ini.

“Dia (Sivakumar) ini macam tidak tahu undang-undang dan membuat keputusan tanpa rujuk kepada Sultan. Mana boleh adakan sidang DUN tanpa dapat perkenan Sultan? Oleh itu, keputusan yang Speaker buat pada hari ini adalah tidak sah. Kita kena bertindak ikut undang-undang dan kena mengenepikan sentimen politik dalam hal perlembagaan,” ujarnya.

Bagi menjawab tuduhan tidak berasas Dr Mah itu, saya menurunkan kembali ulasan pakar Perlembagaan UIAM, Profesor Dr Abdul Aziz Bari yang menjadi tajuk utama muka depan Harakah Bil 1418 yang lalu sebagai ingatan bagi memahamkan semua Adun BN dan Pakatan tentang kuasa memanggil sidang Dun.[selanjutnya]

One tends to make a mistake when doing something in a hurry. That was what happened to Umno. The unholy haste to topple the PR government in Perak has now landed the party in uncharted waters. The side effect is a constitutional impasse.

It all started when Umno forgot about the speaker. Greedy with power, Umno overlooked the importance of the speaker. Their focus was mainly directed to the three former Pakatan state assemblymen. What they failed to realise is that without the speaker on their side they would be facing the greatest obstacle to convene the assembly.

In a non-military coup, the role of speaker is extremely significant. Failure to take into account the role of the speaker is seriously fatal. Now Umno has felt the pinch due to its own ignorance on the role of the speaker.

Umno might have thought that the speaker had nothing to do with the process of ousting Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, thus toppling the legitimate PR government. Thus they concentrated their effort elsewhere. They mainly focused on how to convince the Sultan of Perak to force Nizar’s resignation. [more]

Does Umno represent all Malays? Is the Umno viewpoint synonymous with the Malay world view?

Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein and Datuk Reezal Marican of Umno Youth would like Malaysians to believe so. They want Malaysians to equate an insult against Umno Youth as an insult against all Malaysians.

But the answer to both questions is a resounding NO.

The umbilical cord between the ruling party and the community it was set up to serve has long been severed. It is difficult to pinpoint when the break happened.

Some political pundits say that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sacking from government in 1998, his humiliation and jailing by the Mahathir administration was the defining episode that ended the special relationship between Umno and the Malays.[more]

P. Chitrakala Vasu, the woman at the centre of a row with Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu over missing MIED files and funds, has given the public a rare inside look into the dealings of the MIC president.

At a press conference today, she offered up a glimpse into how her former boss thinks, works and manages the millions that the government has allocated over the years to the MIC to alleviate Indian poverty.

But before opening the window into the world of Samy Vellu and his inner circle, Chitrakala said: “I am very scared of this man.

"He has got money, people. I am an ordinary person, I am very scared. He has got everybody with him; I don’t have anybody with me. But I thought going public is my best protection.”[more]

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told members of his PKR party today to embark on a soul-searching exercise and ask themselves if they had done enough to fulfil the promise of March 8.

In a special address here to party leaders just a week before the first anniversary of the general election which saw PKR and its partners make significant inroads into the dominance of Barisan Nasional, Anwar attempted to rally the faithful and acknowledge the pressure it has recently been placed under by the ruling coalition.

“If you are among those who are complacent or who feel as though the work is too hard and the sacrifice too great, let me remind you of how I felt from a dark cell, humbled by your courage, overwhelmed by your loyalty, and inspired by your extraordinary feats in the face of adversity.

“It is this spirit that propelled us into a new dawn and it is the same commitment and resolve that we must renew to raise our party to the next level,” said Anwar.[more]

Inilah mesej yang saya sendiri dapat apabila saya turut terlibat dalam wawancara antara Saudara Adib Zalkapli dari The Malaysian Insider, saya dari Siasah dan juga Nazri Abdullah dari Tvpas.com. Wawancara ini berlaku pada jam 2.30 petang di Tingkat 14, Bangunan Parlimen Selasa lepas. Untuk kepentingan ketiga-tiga pihak yang mewawancara ini, kami berjanji ia akan diterbitkan serentak iaitu hari Jumaat semalam.[selanjutnya]

The Perak Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will open investigations to determine whether the salaries and perks should be paid to the Barisan Nasional menteri besar and executive councilors or those from the Pakatan Rakyat.

The inquiry will begin next Thursday and also look into the purpose and benefit of the recent appointments of three advisors to Menteri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Kadir and one information chief, all with executive councillor status.

Perak PAC chairman Wong Kah Woh said that in view of the tug-of-war game between the two coalitions over who should helm the state, the committee needed to ensure that funds disbursed to whichever parties were “justifiable”.[more]

Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today the Perak state assembly speaker cannot call an emergency sitting of the assembly because the court has yet to make a decision on the status of the government in the state.

The Deputy Prime Minister said any decision to hold a state assembly sitting in Perak depended on the decision made by the court in relation to the case.

"It (sitting) cannot be held because there has been a court action," he told reporters after opening an assembly of undergraduates of Universiti Malaysia Pahang and the Eastern Zone National Education Carnival here today.

Najib said this when asked to comment on Perak State Assembly Speaker V. Sivakumar yesterday announcing that an emergency sitting of the assembly would be held on Tuesday.[more]

The basic idea in the minds of stimulus and economic pump-priming proponents is that it is cheaper to borrow money in a recession. People and firms are not confident in the economy, and so they are reluctant to lend money out to any random person. Fortunately, the government can soak up these surplus funds and invest them in something useful for a low cost.[more]

The Perak state legal advisor is trying to block state representatives from being notified of an emergency sitting of the state assembly on March 3rd.

According to DAP Perak chairman Ngeh Koo Ham, the legal advisor, Datuk Ahmad Kamal Mohd Shahid, has directed the house secretary not to send out notices of the emergency sitting.

Ngeh says that this obstruction is in “contempt of the house” and is liable for punishment under house rules.

“The legal advisor has no business to intervene in the process of the house,” Ngeh told The Malaysian Insider.[more]

So the government has put off the highway toll hike to the end of the year.

But before you rejoice, think about this: the government will have to pay RM287m in compensation to the concessionaires:

• Plus - RM195m
• Sprint - RM36m
• Akleh - RM27m
• Besraya - RM9m
• NPE - RM20m

That’s our money going straight into the concessionaires’ pockets. Easy money for doing nothing.

By the way, Plus Expressways Berhad made a profit before tax of RM1.5 billion for the year ended 31 December 2008 - up from RM1.3 billion the previous year.

Last year, the government paid RM245mil to Plus, Akleh and Sprint as compensation for a scheduled increase from January 2008 year that never took place.[more]

In a move aimed at pacifying commuters and consumer groups, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has stepped in, promising a cabinet review of the proposed toll rate hike on five of Malaysia’s biggest highways.

”People are having difficulties. The situation is not right for a toll hike,” Abdullah said. The cabinet will be meeting today.

Citing contractual obligations to the concessionaires, Works Minister Mohd Zin Mohamed had announced hikes of between five and 33 percent on the much-travelled North-South Expressway, Sprint Highway, Ampang Elevated Highway, Sungai Besi Highway and New Pantai Expressway.[more]

Liverpool win 1-0 at Real Madrid

Liverpool’s Xabi Alonso (left) heads the ball overReal Madrid’s Lassana Diarra (right) during a Champions League, Round of 16, first leg football match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid yesterday.

— AP pic

MADRID, Feb 26 ( Malaysianinsider — AP)

— Yossi Benayoun scored with a late header yesterday to give Liverpool a valuable 1-0 away win at Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 knockout match.

In a game of few chances, Benayoun powered Fabio Aurelio's curling free kick past Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas in the 82nd minute to give the English club an all-important away goal.

Casillas denied first-half scoring chances from Liverpool's Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso, while Arjen Robben created the Spanish champion's best effort with a rising shot that went through the fingertips of goalkeeper Pepe Reina in the 71st but over the crossbar.[more]

A battle appears to be looming between the federal government and the state government of Selangor over the takeover of privatised water concessions in the state. At stake are billions of ringgit for the concessionaires and higher water tariffs for consumers.

The move to restructure the sector could also become a political flash point with the Pakatan Rakyat accusing the Barisan Nasional of bailing out its cronies to the detriment of the public.

In spite of its own designs to consolidate the sector, the central government had “gone off on its own tangent”, rather than work with the state, a panel set up for the reorganisation exercise said yesterday.

This “sabotage” occurred when a central government agency — which had agreed to state-led talks earlier — inexplicably announced on Feb 18 that it would take over the negotiations and deal directly with the concessionaries.[more]

I found this online calculator Web site to be very interesting. To get started, I recommend scrolling down to the Ready to Use section and taking the tour. It will walk you through the features for the calculator.

What I love about it is you don’t have to press Enter to get an answer. Also, you can use multiple lines to do more than one step in a problem!

To switch between styles of math you want to compute, use the drop down box on the calculator. Perhaps you need to do trigonometry or find a volume. If so, just switch it from Basic Math to whatever you need. [more]