This morning, the nation’s Sunday news is startled by the pre-mature announcement of UMNO Youth Chief Khairy Jamaludddin’s offer not to stand in the General Election for his parachuted Rembau parliamentary seat. Instant reaction of many is, “KJ merajuk?“.

As expected, speculations within the ICT bandwidth start to splurge with The Star story. Some say that he is standing for a State DUN seat. Hopefuls would want him as the next Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar (as an MB, one would be made the UMNO Liaison Chief, hence with a lot of political muscle). Some say he is going for a safer seat, which is his father-in-law’s Kepala Batas parliamentary seat. Others, speculate that this is a ‘merajuk‘ bluff for him being given at least a Deputy Minister’s job in the next Cabinet reshuffle. Especially since his UMNO Youth competitor Dato’ Mukhriz Mahathir recently being alleviated as Deputy UMNO Liaison Chief of Kedah.

Then it struck us. What if this ‘merajuk‘ is not about all that. Just because Khairy won and Mukhriz lost, for the last 20 months as the ‘victor’ he had to stommach to see the latter been getting appointments, a very good mainstream media attention and coverage and where else the former who is an UMNO VP-stature is still left with nothing (not even a BOD of a GLC or statutory body), therefore he is reacting to it? He should have reacted to that much earlier. Especially when there is a ‘systematic and structured’ mainstream electronic media ‘blackout’, even as a VP-stature UMNO leader. We think it is bigger than all that .

Why shouldn’t it be?

Recently, the authorities have started to come hard on errant leaders on corrupt practices. Big names are not spared. Immediate previous Selangor MB (who is the current Opposition Leader in DUN Selangor) was charged last month for corrupt cases. The public hopes for more. In fact, the public wants to see more blood of corrupters.

Last week, the media asked the Minister of Information, Communication and Culture Dato’ Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim Ph.D about the case with Telekom Malaysia:

Minister asks TM to explain kickback allegations

PETALING JAYA: The Government views the allegations of kickbacks of US$700,000 paid to Malaysians by Alcatel Lucent SA for it to win a US$85mil telecoms contract between 2004 and 2006 very seriously and Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim wants the Malaysian Anti- Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate the matter.

“It does not speak very well in terms of our international image, so the pursuing act we need is to have more details on how and where (all this occurred); otherwise we would appear to be a whole lump of graft givers,” Rais told StarBiz when contacted yesterday.

Documents made public by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the US Department of Justice on Monday alleged that French equipment supplier Alcatel paid bribes to employees of Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) in exchange for non-public information.

Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim wants TM to explain its position

It said the information included important documents and budget information relating to ongoing bids and competitor pricing information. Because of the bribes, it claimed, Alcatel won a US$85mil contract. The contract is said to be for the deployment of equipment for Celcom’s 3G rollout under phase 2 in 2006. Celcom was then TM’s unit and since the demerger, it is now a unit of Axiata Group Bhd.

Alcatel and two other international vendors were the losers for the first phase of 3G deployment as the contract then went to Nokia Networks Malaysia and China’s Huawei Technologies.

The SEC alleged that Alcatel Malaysia’s management consented to these payments and those who got the kickbacks were two consultants who received payments of US$200,000 and US$500,000 through US bank accounts purportedly for market research.

“It is alarming if it is true and this is the first time it exposes Malaysia as a participating element (to graft). We look at this seriously and I have (instructed) the Malaysian Communications & Multimedia Commission to be on the watchout for telcos in Malaysia so that this is not (standard) practice,” Rais said.

The MACC also issued a statement yesterday saying that it would “verify with parties concerned” before proceeding with any potential probe into the Alcatel international bribery scandal despite the telco’s admission that it had paid off Malaysian officials.

Irregularities were found relating to the contract and this matter was raised during a meeting at TM, but it was purportedly brushed aside. It was reported that TM director Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed quit as audit committee chairman after the irregularities were found but not investigated.

Rais said since TM was mentioned directly in the documents, it should explain its position and come out with a due process so that things were more transparent and responsibly laid out as TM was a public listed company.

“We take these allegations seriously and will further conduct thorough internal investigations to safeguard the integrity of our procurement process and ensure adherence to our Code of Business Ethics. Upon any substantive findings, we will inform the relevant authorities and will extend all necessary cooperation, where required,” TM said in response to the SEC allegations.

TM said “it had zero tolerance policy on improper and irregular practices and will take appropriate action in the event that any of our employees were indeed involved. It said it is fully committed to a fair and transparent procurement policy and adheres to current best practices”.

“We have very strict and thorough procurement processes that involve technical assessment of any contract scope, together with stringent requirements on the equipment, support and vendor credentials,” TM said.

Even Axiata has responded by saying that “although there was no specific mention of any contract relating to Axiata or its subsidiaries, there may be a potential indirect link as this matter allegedly occurred between October 2004 and February 2006 prior to the demerger of TM Group.

“We view these potential allegations seriously and will investigate this matter as Axiata and its subsidiaries uphold the highest standards of integrity and ethical standards in all its dealings and do not condone or tolerate any breach of code of conduct by its employees, subsidiaries, partners or vendors,” Axiata said.

Alcatel agreed on Monday to pay more than US$137mil to settle US charges that it paid millions of dollars in bribes to foreign officials to win business in Latin America and Asia.

Alcatel has been accused of making payments to government officials in countries including Costa Rica, Honduras, Taiwan and Malaysia to win or keep contracts worth millions of dollars, the SEC document said. Between December 2001 and June 2006, the company allegedly used consultants who funnelled more than US$8mil in bribes to officials, and Alcatel also improperly hired third-party agents in countries like Nigeria to help win deals.

The SEC, in its three-page section on Malaysia, alleged that the “TM employees who received bribes were “foreign officials” within the meaning of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 and were in a significant position to influence the policy decision TM made. Alcatel Standard also made significant lump-sum payments through US bank accounts to two consultants purportedly for market research.”

However, “the work product these consultants prepared could not justify the size of Alcatel Standard’s payments. In fact, Malaysian Consultant A and Malaysian Consultant B did not appear to render any legitimate services to Alcatel Malaysia in connection with these payments,” the filing said.

The document said Alcatel admitted it earned about US$48.1mil in profits as a result of the improper payments.

************************

Is Khairy involved in this case?

One would want to put on record that when the 2004-06 USD 700,000 ‘kickbacks’ were given away by Alcatel to Consultants ‘A’ and ‘B’, it was at the times where the ‘Level Four Boys’ reign of terror. Everything was decided from the ‘Level Four’ of the Prime Minister’s Office. For the record, Dato’ Dr Norraesah Mohamad was appointed the Chairman of  Alcatel Systems Network (M) Sdn. Bhd. on 8 July 2003.  One time an MT UMNO and Wanita UMNO Leader, Norraesah is closely linked and related to PM ‘Flip-Flop’ Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Would this case be any different?

Khairy’s name often being associated of projects initiated and rolled-out during those ‘reign of terror’ dark period of modern Malaysia. Moonsoon Cup, Halal Development Corporation and Penang Global City Centre all linked to Khairy and where else all the economic corridors are half-baked wet-dreams of the ‘Level Four Boys’. Telekom Malaysia was sliced to the current TM  Bhd.and TM International (now Axiata Bhd) is the work of the ‘Level Four Boys’.

Like anything else, time is the best element to tell the truth. The Malaysian socio-political bloggosphere is a very mysterious and intriguing digital dimension. Lets see what will turn up within these virtual spaces.

So for Khairy to ‘throw in the towel’ pre-maturely’ is said to the sympathetic game that he wants to play for the moment. The ‘dramatist’ as he is, would want a ‘cover story’ for his ‘sabbatical’. If the bribe case goes all to way to him, he would use that as a ‘bargaining chip’ for the book not to be thrown against. Or so it would seem.

sumber :  http://bigdogdotcom.wordpress.com

Harga petrol RON97 akan dinaikkan 10 sen lagi kepada RM2.40 seliter berkuatkuasa tengah malam 5 Januari 2011, mengikut sumber.

Bagaimanapun harga petrol RON 95 kekal tidak berubah pada RM1.85 seliter.

Harga petrol RON 97 sejak tahun lalu, tidak ditetapkan kerajaan kerana ia diapung mengikut pasaran minyak dunia semasa.

Pada 1 Nov lalu, harga petrol RON97 dinaikkan 5 sen menjadi RM2.15 seliter dan akhir bulan yang sama ia dinaikkan lagi 15 sen lagi kepada RM2.30 seliter.

Harga minyak tanah juga naik 10 sen kepada RM2.50 seliter.

Sumber: MalaysiaKini

petrol naik lagi? terima kasih kerajaan persekutuan kerana 'sangat prihatin' kebajikan rakyat.. saya nak tolong menteri terangkan kepada rakyat tentang kenaikan kali ni.. hmmm rakyat kena faham, kenaikan ni tepaksa dilakukan kerana harga petrol kan dah diapungkan dan harga pasaran dunia dah naik, jadi kerajaan tak dapat nak elakkan kenaikkan dari berlaku.. tapi jangan risau, harga kita masih lagi terendah di rantau ini...

saya rasa semua rakyat pun dah hafal ayat tu.. kerajaan tinggal nak ulang suara je apa yang dikatakan sebelum2 ni bila kenaikan harga berlaku.. selain kenaikan harga petrol, rakyat mungkin juga akan berhadapan dengan kenaikan harga minyak masak.. kerajaan dah nafikan tapi ironinya minyak masak makin 'pupus' di pasaran.. adakah nanti 'kepupusan' yang dianjurkan pihak pengedar ini yang akan memaksa kerajaan menaikkan harga minyak masak, wallahualam.. yang pastinya rakyat yang tetap jadi mangsa walau apa pun berlaku!

rasanya kenaikan2 harga sebegini hanya akan menurunkan 'saham' Barisan Nasional sahaja di mata rakyat.. jangan nanti rakyat menerima "BN = Barang Naik" sama hebat dengan rakyat menerima 1Malaysia.. pilihanraya umum khabarnya nak dekat, BN sepatutnya jaga saham mereka..

tentang Ron97 ni saya boleh terima sebab memang kerajaan dah apungkan harganya.. tapi tentang barang2 lain.. saya tak sempat nak menulis tentang kenaikan harga gula dan petrol Ron95 bulan lalu, jadi saya suarakan dalam entri kali ni.. tentang penyelerasan subsidi, saya faham kalau kerajaan kata subsidi semakin membebankan mereka dan mahu rakyat bantu kerajaan dalam hal itu dengan sama2 menanggung kos subsidi.. tapi yang saya tak faham mana perginya wang 'penjimatan' daripada penyelarasan subsidi berkenaan..

itu sebenarnya yang buat rakyat marah sebab rakyat tak nampak ke mana wang tersebut pergi.. bukan sedikit.. setiap penjimatan atau kata lain kenaikan harga barang memberikan berbilion 'keuntungan' kepada kerajaan... kerajaan kata wang itu digunakan untuk pembangunan itu dan ini, tapi saya rasa seeloknya wang tersebut dinyatakan dalam laporan yang lebih jelas dan terperinci ke mana ia pergi.. sekurang2nya rakyat tahu! sekarang ni rakyat tak tahu dan sebab itu ramai buat andaian sendiri.. yang hangat diperkatakan konon kenaikan itu dan ini adalah untuk mengumpul dana untuk merealisasikan cita2 PM nak buat menara 100 tingkat.. hmmm tu orang lain kata bukan saya kata! :)

ramai yang melenting bila harga Ron97 naik, tapi rasanya kebanyakan yang melenting tu pakai Ron95 je sebab Ron97 ni kebanyakan orang kaya2 pakai dan orang kaya tak kisah pun harga naik ke apa, duit banyak... tapi kalau makin lama makin tinggi naik, orang kaya pun boleh jatuh miskin...


P/s: Memang kami tak faham pengapungan harga. Memang kami tak faham faham erti penyelarasan subsidi. Memang kami rakyat bodoh itu semua.

Tapi ingat, kami yang beri anda undi. Itu yang perlu anda kerajaan faham.

TAHUN 2011 AKAN ‘DIMERIAHKAN’ DENGAN KENAIKAN HARGA BARANG
Prof Madya Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin

Jika rakyat tidak memprotes dari awal, kita akan melihat tahun baru ini menyaksikan kenaikan harga barang yang membimbangkan. Kesannya akan dirasai oleh rakyat bawahan terutama mereka yang berpendapatan rendah. Para peniaga di pelbagai peringkat akan mengambil kesempatan dalam hal ini. Maka beberapa perkara berikut perlu saya katakan;

1. Pihak kerajaan; jika mereka tidak mengambil langkah yang berkesan dalam mengawal kenaikan harga barang bererti slogan 1Malaysia: ‘rakyat didahulu’ bermaksud rakyat yang didahulukan dalam menanggung beban hidup, sedangkan golongan pembesar negara dan istana terus kemewahan dan pelbagai peruntukan, mereka dikemudiankan.

2. Golongan agama; jangan menyempitkan Islam dalam batasan yang terhad. Jangan hanya ceramah agama di media elektronik dan cetak sekadar menekan orang bawahan semata, tetapi melupai ‘kerakusan’ sesetengah golongan atasan. Ceramah dalam isu yang remeh temeh tetapi membiarkan rakyat hidup dalam ‘social justice’ yang tidak seimbang. Para penceramah jangan sekadar ‘guna agama untuk cari makan’, tetapi hendaklah agama berfungsi dalam menegakkan hak dan keadilan.

3. Golongan peniaga; mereka wajib beretika dalam perniagaan mereka. Kerakusan peniagaan akan merosakkan negara dalam jangka masa panjang dan akhirnya tiada pihak yang dapat hidup senang. Bagi yang muslim, hendaklah mereka bertakwa kepada Allah dalam urusan perniagaan mereka.

4. Media massa; hendak pro-aktif menentang usaha kenaikan harga barang ini. Golongan yang menindas rakyat bawahan ini hendaklah dikecam dan didedahkan bahaya mereka kepada masyarakat.

5. Rakyat; Pastikan anda menjadi pembeli yang bijak dalam memilih kedai atau pasaraya. Di samping itu, anda juga mesti menjadi pengundi yang bijak yang bersedia menghukum pihak yang membiarkan kenaikan harga barang dan ‘mengumpulkan’ kekayaan negeri atau negara dalam kalangan mereka sahaja.

sumber  :- http://meoriszwan.blogspot.com

Ekoran isu dakwaan seorang menteri merogol pembantu rumah warga Indonesia, Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) hari ini akan membuat satu laporan polis dan mendakwa mempunyai dokumen berkaitan.

Pengerusinya, Badrul Hisham Shaharin dijangka akan membuat laporan polis tersebut di Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah Seremban 2, jam 10.45 pagi ini.
Laporan polis itu merupakan perkembangan terbaru isu tersebut yang kini mengundang berdebatan hangat di ruang maya khususnya blog-blog politik.

Sementara itu, Angkatan Muda Keadilan (AMK) dalam satu kenyataan lewat petang semalam turut menggesa menteri yang didakwa terlibat, segera membersihkan nama beliau.

Ketuanya Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin berkata, perdebatan dalam blog-blog kini jelas merujuk kepada nama seorang menteri, dan menteri  itu perlu memberi respon segera.

"Sejauhmana kebenarannya, hanya beliau dan Tuhan sahaja yang mengetahuinya.

Selain penafian menteri tersebut, AMK juga turut menggesa Perdana Menteri melakukan penyiasatan menyeluruh demi membersihkan maruah negara yang tercemar.

Menurutnya, jika dakwaan ini benar, ianya bakal memberi kesan yang negatif kepada hubungan serantau Malaysia-Indonesia berikutan sikap 'duduk dan diam' oleh kerajaan Malaysia.

Sejak tiga siri pendedahan berhubung isu itu disiarkan Harakahdaily, rangkaian bloger terus memperdebat dan mencari siapa menteri yang didedah oleh laporan WikiLeaks itu.

Pemimpin akhbar pro BN, Rocky Bru atau nama sebenarnya Ahirudin Atan, NGO Tenaganita dan NGO pekerja Indonesia, Migrant Care, antara yang awal tampil dengan perincian berhubung dakwaan ini.

Tersebarnya dokumen salinan bertajuk ‘Laporan Investigasi Robengah (BMI) yang mengalami perkosaan oleh majikannya’ telah menjadi rujukan utama para bloger dalam mencari nama menteri tersebut.

"Dalam waktu terdekat, AMK akan menghantar beberapa orang Exco untuk suatu misi mendapatkan maklumat (fact findings mission) mengenai jenayah terkutuk ini dengan mengunjungi pihak Migrant Care dan juga pihak Kedutaan Indonesia bertujuan untukmendapatkan fakta-fakta yang sebenar berkaitan kejadian rogol ini," tambah Shamsul lagi.

Kes rogol ini didakwa telahpun berlaku sewaktu pemerintahan Mantan Perdana Menteri, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi lagi, tetapi tidak ada sebarang tindakan diambil kononnya untuk 'mengelakkan konflik serantau'.

Kejadian tersebut didakwa berlaku pada 19 Februari 2007 dan mangsa dikatakan telah dipaksa untuk mendiamkan perkara ini berikutan ugutan yang dibuat ke atas mangsa.

"AMK yakin dan percaya, sekiranya dakwaan ini benar, isu ini membawa impak yang sangat buruk kepada kerajaan di bawah kepimpinan Datuk Sri Najib Tun Razak, dalam keadaan beliau gagal menjamin kredibiliti dan integriti kabinet beliau sehinggakan tergamak mengekalkan seorang penjenayah seksual di dalam kabinet beliau," katanya.