Technical Visit using Your Pocket Money

Bringing along wife and children to technical visit (all paid by peoples' pocket money) is wrong! Wait and see if any actions will be taken by the respective parties against this corruption fellow.

Quotes of the Week

Hukuman adalah berdasarkan kes yang dilakukan. Tidak ada kes yang sama. Katakan orang bunuh, didakwa di mahkamah atas tuduhan membunuh, dia tertikam sekali saja, dan mati. Tetapi sebaliknya kalau ada mengatakan orang itu ada keterangan yang bunuh atau tikam 20 kali, jadi hukuman itu kalaulah setahun, kawan ni yang tikam 19, 20 kali tikam itu, kena tujuh atau lapan tahun. Link

Bad example! That is the way that our stupid politicians think. As simple as that, if you are a murder, you are a murder.

Jokes from Ahmad Said (Updated)

Issue of his son bringing child pornographic material into Australia:
“I can bet with you that it’s something that you will find on most men’s handphones”
“Why are they targeting me? I did nothing over there. It’s like committing a traffic offence here and paying the summons – and then the father gets blamed for it. Is that fair? It’s brainless”

Issue of Perak Speaker:
“The Speaker is deemed as an officer of the civil service and can be investigated for abuse of power”

Issue on Money Politics in Umno:
"Setakat ini, kita (SPRM) tidak jumpa apa-apa kesalahan (berkaitan politik wang) dan oleh itu, kita anggap tiada kes"

Interview with TheStar on PR MB and not Barisan MB been charged:
It was because there was a report against those Mentris Besar. Report-lah on the other (Barisan) MBs if they have committed corruption. It’s not like MBs cannot be charged. Report if you have the evidence and let us charge him.

Interview with TheStar on Khir Toyo:
He was cleared. There was no evidence against him. This was a long ago, not during my time. As for the reports lodged against him yesterday, those are actually the same old reports being repeated. Those cases have already been closed. If the evidence given is the same as before, there is no reason for us to re-open the case. We can re-open the case only if they produce new evidence.

And a lot of nonsenses from him...... just click here

Syabas!

Tan Sri Rozali Ismail, the chairman of Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) and Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd, said today the RM5.1 million salary paid to him in 2007 for running the companies was justified.

“If you want professionals to run your company, you have to pay professional fees.”

Are you satisfied with your quality of water in your home? How many of us are forced to buy the filter because the water supplied to us is in unbearable stage? What does he contribute to us in terms of our quality of lives? Why should we pay him such a big sum of money with no return? If your product is water and you are not able to provide it in good quality, then you are failed and unjustified.

Sultan and Raja, don't Let us Down Again!

It must be appreciated that the events unfolding in Perak are unprecedented and involve complex legal issues. It is impossible to provide a conclusive opinion on them. Some matters may, however, be addressed generally as a matter of principle.

Today 27 Assemblymen in Perak were prevented by the OCPD from entering the State Secretariat building, apparently upon “instructions” from the State Assembly Secretary.

The role of the State Assembly Secretary now comes under scrutiny. He is an official appointed from the public services and is only responsible for the administrative management of the State. He therefore has no authority to decide or pronounce whether a legislative assembly sitting is valid or not. The police have therefore acted improperly on his advice in defiance of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. These errors are further compounded by events that transpired in the High Court.

It was asserted before the Court by the plaintiff’s lawyers that the Speaker ought to be represented by the State Legal Advisor rather than private lawyers. There is certainly legal basis to disagree with that view but a more substantive matter of general principle must be addressed as to the position of the State Legal Advisor

Firstly, every lawyer must act on the instructions of his client and not otherwise. The Speaker has stated that he never gave instructions to the State Legal Advisor to either appear for him or to argue the case on his behalf. This is a matter that the Court must satisfy itself of before proceeding.

Secondly, the State Legal Advisor is clearly in a position of conflict. He and his department are presently acting for Dato’ Zambry in the Kuala Lumpur High Court suit where Dato’ Zambry’s appointment is being challenged. How can he or his department now act for the Speaker against Dato’ Zambry?

If the parties who file and defend proceedings in Court are confident of the strength of their case, there is little reason to taint or mar the proceedings with acts that militate against natural justice and fair play. It bears repeating that justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done. The Courts have a duty to uphold the highest principles of justice, fairness and their own independence. We must respect the doctrine of separation of powers and uphold the Federal Constitution.

The Legislative Assembly was convened by the Speaker a short distance from the State Secretariat building. There are questions as to whether it was permissible to hold the Legislative Assembly outside the State Secretariat building. Of course, the State Secretariat building is where the Legislative Assembly ought to have been held. However, the Speaker and Assemblymen were prevented from holding it in the proper place by the police (and this raises serious issues as to the legality of the police action). Thus the Speaker had no choice but to act within what may be seen as wide powers to convene the meeting elsewhere. No doubt there will be contrary views but it must be understood that this situation is unprecedented and the Standing Orders may not adequately cover these eventualities, thus leaving the Speaker with the powers to act according to the circumstances of the case.

We will no doubt see another case filed in Court. And the public has to further suffer the consequences of uncertainty.

The situation is untenable and cries out for the one thing that will resolve it conclusively – fresh elections. There is now a window of opportunity for this to happen. Let the people decide.


Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan
President
Malaysian Bar

3 March 2009

Now. Sultan and Raja, please decide. Otherwise, just stop talking and giving speech.

Desperate Move from BN in Perak

We have witnessed all the silly things happened in Perak. It's all because the move by BN perak to take over the PR government in such unprofessional way. Perhaps, the only major mistake from BN perak is that they forget to kidnapp the speaker.

See some of the silly things did by BN Perak:
- Closing the state building on 3rd March. Yes, they can do this since the officials in the state building probably fear that they will lose their job.
- Asking the police and MACC to investigate the speaker. I am not too sure whether these are allowed. As you know, we all have learned about the doctrine of separation of powers in our history books.
- Applying for a declaration in the Ipoh High Court that the suspensions are invalid. Suddenly, the court is become so powerful that they can decide everythings in Malaysia.

"Jika keputusan yang dibuat oleh Speaker boleh dianggap sebagai satu jenayah, apa akan jadi jika Speaker Dewan Rakyat menggantung ahli pembangkang kerana apa-apa sebab? Dan ini kerap berlaku. Apakah ahli pembangkang akan lapor kepada polis? Jika boleh maka bolehlah kita anggap bahawa polis berkuasa keatas Speaker Dewan."
from Che Det

Stupid Remarks from Our MCAC

A stupid and irresponsible Ahmad Said said that the MCAC has “strong evidence” against the Selangor MB. But why you gave the statements without first bringing the person to court and doing it “silently”. Stupid! It is ridiculous and only gives the perception that our MCAC is the UMNO-lead agency. Most of the malaysians definitely think that MCAC is not independent. Now, I think it’s true!

Malu

Jangan belajar daripada Si Najib dan Si Zamri yang tidak tahu ertinya "malu", rampas barang milik orang lain dan tetap berani berhadapan dengan rakyat. Harap-harap mereka akan terima padah nanti.

Ruler of Selangor said the increasingly worrying situation at the global and regional levels warranted the people to strengthen unity despite their differing viewpoints.

- The ruler in Perak is the one who create all the uncertainty to the Perak politic by allowing and indirectly encouraging the "buying" of assemblyman. So, who to blame and how the peoples could respect them?

OKU si Penderhaka

For those who don't know the meaning of OKU, it is translated as Orang Kurang Upaya. So what's wrong with Orang Kurang Upaya or disability peoples. All of them are suddenly labeled as traitors. It's sad!

霹雳州汉奸榜

许月凤
贾玛鲁丁
莫哈末奥斯曼
纳沙鲁丁哈欣
......

Malaysia Boleh!

It is a ‘D’ for Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia have been given a ‘D’, the lowest grade used by the AFC Pro-League Ad-Hoc Committee in rating the eligibility of countries for the 2009 AFC Champions League, after a comprehensive assessment of the AEAN country’s league and clubs.

A ‘D’ means the committee is of the opinion that Malaysia, whose teams currently play in the AFC Cup, do not meet the criteria for the revised AFC Champions League.

Malaysia have received ‘Ds’ in the below areas:

1) Association should have a minimum number of eight International Assistant Referees by 2009
2) The league governing body should be a legal entity governed by its football association
3) The league governing body should have a management structure which controls competition, marketing, media and finance
4) Club representatives, ii) representatives of football association and iii) representatives from the league’s top management should be members of the highest decision making body (executive committee) of the league
5) The position of CEO should be full-time
6) The league should have an audited Profit and Loss Statement and Balance Sheet
7) The league should have an auditor
8) The league should have a centralised marketing system of the elements such as media rights, certain sponsorships and merchandise
9) Each club should have a media officer
10) Match reports should be distributed to media
11) All the clubs should be commercial entities under its national law
12) Submission of an audited Profit and Loss statement and Balance Sheet to the League governing body
13) Clubs should not have overdue payments
14) All clubs have youth development programmes with youth teams in the clubs or affiliated to the clubs
15) All clubs’ head coaches should possess AFC Professional License Diploma or an equivalent licence approved by AFC
16) All clubs conduct activities contributing to the local community of the hometowns

Internet - Dalai Lama on AirJaldi

"The internet's contribution to the diffusion and dissemination of knowledge and information is truly remarkable. By itself the internet cannot feed the poor, defend the oppressed, or protect those subject to natural disasters, but by keeping us informed it can allow those of us who have the opportunity to give whatever help we can."

"New" School "Re"open

You could call it whatever name you like. It's "re"open at last. We should ask for more if demands are there. Not just one. Be fair.

Mutlticast Streaming for WiFi

Multicast packets are delivered in each DTIM period so don't assume that you can get the quality same as videon on demand (VOD) which is categorized as unicast streaming. I first thaught that the quality of multicast streaming will be better than unicast streaming. But it is actually the other way round. Anyway, if you would like to reduce the number of IP packet and number of PHY acknowledgement frame, multicast is still a better choice. My test experiences always show that the same wifi chipsets between the AP and clients provide better results.

Zeitgeist - Spirit of Time

Have a look on how Malaysians use Google search engine. I am curious why Malaysiakini is the fastest rising search item. Does this mean that a lot of peoples won't type "www.malaysiakini.com" before browsing the web-site or malaysiakini is still considered very new to the public?

Oppose? Why?

As long as the money is given back to the peoples. Why should you oppose this?

When traveling back from Penang, I just wonder why the government does not want to improve the railway and offering better service so that we can significantly reduce the number of cars using Highway. The tragedies are happened on the road from time to time.

Pakatan Rakyat - Hillslope Policy

I think that Teresa Kok should be relief. But I am not sure about Ronie Liu. Thanks to Nadeswaran and Terence for their forward thinking. No matter how we need the editors and journalistes to keep on disclosing the "undisclosed" to stop and monitor our politicians.

Business as usual on the hills

By: (Fri, 15 Aug 2008)

ON DEC 11, 1993, a block of a high-rise apartments in Highland Towers crashed. And with it 48 lives perished. Over the past few years, landslides have cost more lives. Immediately after the Highland Towers tragedy, then prime minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad decreed that no hillslopes should be cut.

"There is so much land and why do they have to cut the hills," he thundered in one press conference. Much later, his then deputy, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi decreed that state governments should gazette all open spaces so they do not become targets of greedy developers (read: politicians and their cronies). Both directives were defied. The hill-cutting went on relentlessly and so was the land-grabbing aided and abetted by politicians in high places who were willing to sell their souls not for a few pieces of silver, but for gold bars or hard cash deposited in overseas accounts.

Vehement protests by affected residents and some NGOs prevented a large scale raping and plundering of Mother Nature. But not all their efforts paid dividends. In some instances, greed preceded over common sense and unscrupulous developers who had "wagered" on their "favourite horse", collected huge payouts by cutting hills and building concrete blocks on them.

So, when the Selangor government, three weeks after its formation, announced that it would cease to approve hillside development with immediate effect, it was like lifting the sword of Damocles which had been hanging over the heads of environmentalists and other like-minded people.

"We believe our hills should be preserved as they are important water catchment areas," Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said. And he made some concessions too. About 140 projects which had been approved by the previous administration could continue.

A month later, the state adopted the national guidelines on hillslope development – approval will only be given for gradients below 26°. So, in between a lot of lobbying had been going on. But Abdul Khalid held steadfastly to his stand. Over the past few weeks, news emerged that certain groups had lobbied to be in the One-Stop-Centres (OSC) of local councils.

The exco member for local governments, Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew, shot off a directive to all local councils – appoint five ex-officio members to the OSC one of whom must be a representative of the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda). Implementation of this directive would be plain sailing because councils are packed with politicians and party supporters, who like their predecessors, were supposed to lift their hands and say "setuju" in unison. But not this time. One or two councillors spoke their minds on the dangers of including people with vested interests. Several council presidents also objected and word got back to Abdul Khalid, who rescinded the decision after an exco meeting and ticked off Liu.

Thus, when everyone had thought that the issue had died down, news filtered from the developers’ circles that Rehda has been given an opportunity to talk the state into changing its decision on hillside development. According to industry sources, exco member for commerce and investments, Teresa Kok "had convinced the mentri besar to have a meeting with a view to re-look the policy".

Hillslope development is allowed in Taiwan and China, Rehda members reasoned, and wanted to know why it is not allowed in Malaysia.

Someone down the line forgot the principle of the "rule of the land". In the Taiwan Parliament, members can beat each other up and get away with it, and get re-elected, but not in Malaysia.

In China, the state can shoot protesters and cart them away – no questions asked. Having said that, the terrain, rainfall and other extenuating factors differ from country to country. But the bottom line is: a policy decision has been made and it remains so.

No, developers are not the enemies of anyone. Like every business venture, they are entitled to make profits, albeit in accordance with the law. But when attempts are made to do things which are not in sync with the environment, it makes Joe Public stand up and say: I will not accept this.

Developers have every right to develop land, but to quote Dr Mahathir: "why cut the hills when there is so much land?"

Kok argues that they are stuck with land, but why buy hillslope land when there are restrictions on development?

The public will find it revolting that those who promised "to look after the interests of the people" are the same ones who are now looking after the interests of the businesses. After just five months, the tune and tempo are changing.

No, the present administration is in no measure worse than its predecessor because the latter had the system in the pits. The only way is to go upwards. But wavering on important issues like the environment is definitely a No-Go. But when people soldier on with disregard for public opinion, it becomes a ready-made recipe for a disaster in the making.

Kok says that the state has listened to the people and NGOs and it must hear the side of the developers. No one will bitch about that except that if such a meeting is to institute a reversal of a public policy, it will be viewed negatively.

Abdul Khalid has had his fair share of controversies and he does not need another. In his five months in power, he has made some important decisions that have benefited the people. He must stand firm and not give in to pressure from any party, including his own colleagues. That would be short-selling the people who elected his government into office. And should he initiate a policy change and the environment is subsequently destroyed, he cannot claim "Semuanya OK!" because his predecessor has copyrighted that phrase.

Hillslope policy to be reversed?

By: by R. Nadeswaran and Terence Fernandez (Thu, 14 Aug 2008)

PETALING JAYA: Is the Selangor government about to reverse its policy to ban hillside development? Just four months after stating that development won’t be allowed on hill slopes, there are fears that the state government will rescind its decision following pressure from housing developers.

Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim is expected to meet Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) at the insistence of executive councillor (exco) for investment, industry and commerce Teresa Kok Suh Sim.

Upon assuming power after the March 8 general election, the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state government banned all development above 26° gradient – consistent with the national guidelines on development. However, it is learnt that lobbying by Rehda through Kok and Local Government executive councillor Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew prompted the state government towards a re-think.

If the policy is reversed, one will see a return to the bad old days when hillslopes are cut and the mushrooming of hillside bungalows and apartments, similar to what is going on in Bukit Gasing, a catchment area and a once-protected forest reserve. The change in policy is also likely to cause outcries from residents in Ampang and NGOs who had initially supported the state’s decision.

Abdul Khalid is not in favour of meeting the developers but sources say he was coaxed into it by Kok and Liu.

However, the consolation is that housing developers will be kept out of One-Stop-Centres (OSC) of local councils. Abdul Khalid and the executive council have overruled Liu's directive to councils last month that Rehda representatives be appointed ex-officio members.

Liu’s directive – issued using his office letterhead – may be illegal as the law allows only the state government, and not individual exco members, to make a general policy decision.

Abdul Khalid had also ticked off Liu, warning him not to issue anymore instructions without consulting the executive council.

Apparently several council heads objected to this directive as it would be a clear conflict of interest since the OSC is meant to fast-track the issuance of certificates of fitness and planning approvals.

Said a councillor: "How could developers sit in at such meetings when their interests are being discussed? With ex-officio status, they will have access to all our reports and input. The whole idea of having independent people is to prevent any lobbying or looking after vested interests."

"This is the last thing the new Pakatan Rakyat government needs as it tries to fulfil its election promises of a transparent and consultative government," said a source.

Kok, meanwhile, says the meeting with the developers was merely to listen to both sides of the story.

"We have listened to the residents and the NGOs, it is only fair that we hear the developers," she said, adding that Rehda asked for the meeting to resolve several issues, including the predicament facing developers due to the ban on hillslope development.

"They are stuck since they can’t develop their land.

"You can’t say they are wrong (in wanting to develop their land)," said Kok, adding that the developers reasoned that hillslope development is allowed in China, Taiwan and other developed countries.

"They want to know why it is different in Malaysia. In Malaysia, the flaws in hillslope development are caused by poor engineering design and sub-standard quality of work," she said, adding that one could not view developers as the enemy as they were needed to develop the state.

However, Kok said there was no sign of Abdul Khalid going back on his word. "Khalid is a good listener, he talks to everyone. We shall see if we can come to a compromise," she said.

Liu was attending a meeting yesterday and was unavailable for comments, but Kok while saying she opposed the inclusion of Rehda members on the OSC said they will have to declare their interests to ensure transparency.

"It is unfair to lable me as a mouthpiece for the developers. They are queueing up outside my office to see me, but I always treat them the same way I treat anyone who would wantto see me, with respect and a fair chance to give their views."

Paper Presentation

I have made a paper presentation at HONET08 in Penang last week (18th November). It was the first conference that I have attended so far with no Proceeding provided prior to the event. This conference is mainly about optical networking and I am publishing a paper on wireless communication. Anyway, it is good to learn how the interconnection of fiber around the world and the research issues related to it.

Day after Day

I have hardly updated my blog recently. Almost 1 month ago since I last posted my view. A lot of things have been happened to: Obama won the US Presidential Election, Penang State government again in the headline for some wrong reason, RPK was released, Razak was released, New Era College is in chaos, my company’s email server was downed for three days and etc. For me, I am busy with my personal matters, such as house, loan, wedding and etc. My wife said that I have not written enough about us. But it’s hard to capture and write it out when things go on so fast. Maybe, just maybe an excuse. Anyway, she was going to officially retired from her job after contributing for almost 8 years for the SOS [1][2][3][4][5][6]. I just can’t imagine that she was working there for such a long time and becomes the longest serving staff in the school. But that’s one of the reasons that I admire her. Today, I am going to travel back to Penang for the paper presentation in Park Royal.

"有別於其它華文小學，白小原校並沒以成績排名來斷定學生的學習成績，反而是以平日的表現及課業上進步，給他們頒發學習精神獎和課業表現優異獎，鼓勵他們更上一層樓。"

FAP - Unwanted President

Leave it to professional peoples to manage the football club. Why should the Deputy CM become the president? I am a bit worry now. It proves that PKR leaders are not good enough in management. Why should he take up the post when he knows that he is not capable to deliver? Crazy and Silly!