YeinJee's M'sian Voices

The federal government has not been doing enough for Sabah? That’s probably true… but what have all the Sabahan politicians done all these years? Are the indegenious Sabahan politicians any better off than the peninsula’s politicians? I wonder.

The poor and chaotic situations in Sabah are collective ‘efforts’ for both the federal and state governments for more than three decades.

The illegal immigration issue in Sabah is widespread, it’s a shame that the government are not doing much to coup with this… but is it fair for Badawi and Umno to shoulder all the blames? What were the likes of Yong Teck Lee doing all these years (including his Chief Minister terms) to deal with this issue?

Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang, Nik Aziz, and all the Kadazan-Dusun chieftains… what have they done for the past decade or two for the Sabahans? Nik Aziz never care, LKS only knows how to complain, and Anwar only started to care because he can become a PM. All these people (including some Sabahan leaders) are just as idiotic as everyone else when it comes to issues in Sabah, none of them are any better than Badawi when it comes to social welfare for Sabahans.

If the federal government is not doing well enough to help the state, by all means kick their ass… the only question is, why wait until now? The ass should have been kicked long time ago. So, if the BN government had won big again this term, SAPP and YTL would still remain silent and enjoy their honeymoon isn’t it?

Don’t just blame it on the federal leaders my fellow Malaysians, have a look at your local politicians as well. And if you think Badawi is idiot, think what Mahathir, Anwar and the local leaders had done for you.

What would you do with the petrol subsidy if you are the Prime Minister?

Would you choose to save billions of dollars from the subsidy to improve infrastructures (schools, hospitals, public transports etc.) or to continously using it to make Malaysians happy?

Ask me anytime, and I will tell you that we should abolish the subsidy system completely… probably not in one shot, but definitely in near future. The money could be better spent elsewhere than to pamper Malaysians with cheap petrol.

The problem with our government is always on how they would spend those extra moneys… the wastage and corruption have given them some bad reputation in recent years; and it’s understandable that lots of Malaysians no longer have faith with them.

But let’s say Anwar has took over the government, and let’s assume he is an absolutely clean and capable politician… do you think he should abolish the subsidy and use the money to build something else, or to reduce the petrol price instead?

So, same question to Anwar too, who constantly promised to reduce the petrol price. Does he believe that it’s the right thing to do to reduce the petrol price, or is it just a gimmick to gain popularity so that he can become the Prime Minister? Would he not prefer to use those money to build the future instead?

Politicians are never clean… an absolute honest man can never be a politician.

The first volume (191 pages) of the Royal Commission report on the VK Lingam video clip, which is the key portion of the report, is available online in PDF version via Malaysiakini.

Not sure if any common citizens would want to read through the 191 pages though; a few of the key highlights have been published in major newspapers anyway…
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Abdullah Badawi announced yesterday (April 21) that the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) will be made a full-fledged commission by year-end. [Bernama]

The reformation plans are mostly focusing on improving the effectiveness and transparency of ACA, but there are a few big questions that remain unanswered. The biggest question is probably on how authoritative the ACA could be after the overhaul.

It’s reported that the final say on prosecution still lies on the Attorney General. Now, what would happen if the AG has ordered to stop an investigation prematurely?

The current AG Abdul Gani Patail has done it before, and who are going to stop AG from doing it again? And what freedom is ACA actually having if this situation is allowed to happen in future?

The reformation has to go hand in hand with other authorities, and there are lots of complications that need to be cleared to ensure a really independent ACA that could operate without any interference. Getting the right people to lead the ACA is another debatable issue too.

It’s a long way to go obviously, but it’s better than doing nothing. We’ll see how things are improve as time goes by.

Besides, reforming ACA is one thing… I think we need to overhaul our law and constitution regarding corruption as well. I believe there are many loopholes in our current system that could be exploited without breaking the law. ACA would be helpless in these situations regardless of how independent they are.

I thought it was a joke when my friend passed me the news that Zakaria Md Deros has passed away this morning, as the timing is rather bizarre just after BN’s disastrous election campaign. It’s not a joke though… Malaysiakini and Bernama have confirmed the news.

I was just about to write some stories about Zakaria (before knowing the news) about his influence in causing the BN downfall in the election… guess I will have to cut it short now.

Most of you would have known about the infamous Istana he built in 2006, and all those dubious property deals that he was involved… some quarters actually dubbed him the King of Klang for his arrogance, and for the fact that nobody could touch him even though he had been misusing his power as (ex) Klang municipal councillor for personal gain.

Although Zakaria didn’t participate much in the election, his infamous saga has played a landmark role in influencing the public thoughts, which showed that the top BN leadership was doing nothing much (or incapable) to stop corruption, and that the culprits could easily get away with some easy punishment.

People have begun to realise that Badawi and his BN co. are not going to fulfill their promise made in 2004 of making corruption-fighting their prime priority. Along with a few other cases like Rafidah’s AP issue, the people’s confidence was shaken, which in the end played a crucial role in the 12th General Election.

I don’t want to be too critical to a dead man though; the fact that thousands of people have paid their last respects to Zakaria since early morning shows that this man must had done something good in his life… rest in peace.

VK Lingam showed who’s the boss in a landmark defamation suit more than a decade ago…

From Bernama…

The judgement in a civil suit awarding RM10 million in damages to corporate figure Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun was written by lawyer Datuk V. K. Lingam, the Royal Commission of Inquiry was told today.

Lingam’s former secretary, L. G. Jayanthi said it was subsequently incorporated as the official judgment of the then High Court judge, Datuk Mokhtar Sidin who heard the case.

She made this revelation in her statutory declaration which was produced at the inquiry, affirming that the contents of her statutory declaration were true.

Jayanthi, 45, said that between November and early December 1994, she and two other colleagues, Sumanti Jaaman and Jamilah Abdul Rahman who also worked as secretaries for Lingam, were ‘detained’ by their boss to type a confidential document.

She later discovered that the purpose of their ‘detention’ was to prepare and type a judgement in relation to a civil suit brought by Tan against seven defendants, namely Haji Hassan Hamzah, Saw Eng Lim, the late M.G.G Pillai, V. Thavanesan, Dr Barjoyai Bardai, Media Printext (M) Sdn Bhd and Ling Wah Press Sdn Bhd.

“Lingam was dictating from some handwritten notes, the draft judgment in that case, for Sumanti to type.

“I was seated somewhere in the vicinity of the office and every now and then, Lingam would order me to get various reported judgements from the library to be incorporated in the judgment,” said Jayanthi, adding that the lawyer completed dictating the full judgement about 3am, before the judgement was printed out for Lingam to read.

“Lingam then corrected in red ink on certain pages of the draft judgement such as pages 3,7,9,19,24,28,32,35,39,40,42. Sumanti then did the corrections accordingly, and made a copy of the said draft judgment in a floppy disk which was to be given to Justice Datuk Mokhtar Sidin by Lingam,” she said.

Jayanthi said she later discovered that the judgment as was written by Lingam, was fully incorporated as the official judgment of the said judge.

“I must stress here, that when Lingam was dictating the judgment that night, he was aided by his brother, Datuk V.Sivaparanjothi and Adam Bachek and W. Satchithanandan.

“I have kept Lingam’s handwritten corrections of the draft judgement in my possession until handing it over, together with the corresponding formal judgement, to lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah on the same date which I handed over the other exhibits,” she added.

Questioned by conducting officer Datuk Nordin Hassan on why she kept all documents and photographs of the holiday trip of Lingam and former chief justice Tun Eusoff Chin, Jayanthi said before she resigned from the firm, Satchithanandan advised her to keep all the document because according to Satchithanandan, Lingam was a dangerous and vengeful person.

Jayanthi also revealed that she had booked the flight tickets for both Lingam and former chief justice Eusoff Chin for their infamous New Zealand holiday in late 1994, which Lingam and Eusoff Chin have claimed that they met coincidentally.

Kenneth Lee, the grandson of former Finance Minister Tun H.S. Lee, was granted clemency from his death row by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong last week (which simply means he is spared from death sentence).

Kenneth was found guilty in 2003 for murdering Linda Lee in August 2000. He was later sentenced to death in 2005 after an appeal by the prosecution. [Thestar]

I don’t know how many death row prisoners are granted clemency each year; I don’t know how the lucky people are chosen; and I am not sure if Kenneth Lee deserved the mercy.

I am just curious… if Kenneth Lee is not the grandson of HS Lee, would he be granted clemency? Or perhaps… if he is not from a rich family (money can do A LOT of things), would he be granted clemency?

It seems like something fishy is happening, but heck… I am not ready to go against the WISDOM of our Yang di-Pertuan Agong yet; I better stop pointing fingers now.

I felt sorry for Linda’s family though; they don’t deserve this.

Opposition politicians and some bloggers have been heavily criticising the Monsoon Cup which is set to run on 27 Nov - 2 Dec 2007 in Pulau Duyong, Terengganu… but is Monsoon Cup really that bad?

FYI, Monsoon Cup is the last stage for this season’s World Match Racing Tour, a Grade 1 event recognized by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF). Although sailing is not popular in Malaysia, the event is not as insignificant as some politicians claimed.

I can remember the criticism about organising F1 in Malaysia prior to the first race in Sepang, but organising the F1 race is probably one of the best decisions Malaysia has made in the 90s. The return is not just the financial gain during the race, but involves global branding which could help attracting foreign visitors (and probably investors) constantly.

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