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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UMNO Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin said during the UMNO General Assembly about our subsidy system…
“Why should we give subsidised petrol to the already rich, who drive luxurious cars with high capacity engines? It should be meant only for the man riding a kapcai (low-cc motorcycle).”
He added that billions of ringgit could be saved and the money used instead to develop village roads, build more public infrastructure and construct schools.
His statement is half true. Malaysians have been pampered with all kind of subsidies all these years… perhaps it’s time to let the petrol price roamed freely and save the money for other benefits, to help the poor for example.
I would applaud if the billions Ringgit saved could be used to develop our villages… but I am afraid that we might use it for something else… paying for a crook bridge (that was never built), spending on new toys or sending a traveller to space. Who can guarantee that the money saved from the cut subsidy would be well spent?
In my words…
“Why should we spent money to send a man to space, who rides on a billion dollar spaceship with super capacity engines? It should be meant only for the men riding on wheels.”
Employers wishing to recruit foreign workers must now advertise the job vacancies in their companies with the Electronic Labour Exchange for two weeks before their requests can be considered.
Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad said the employers must show proof that they had advertised with the labour exchange set up by Human Resource Ministry…
“If proven that there has been no response from locals within that period, then the employers can apply to employ foreign workers and their applications will be considered by a committee.” [Bernama]
I have written in an earlier post regarding this matter, that Malaysian companies have not taken enough initiative for the past decade to hire locals to fill their vacancies, but went straight for foreign labour instead because they are cheap, and easy to find.
I am not sure what is the Electronic Labour Exchange, how it works or how effective it is… the move is however welcome nonetheless; at least it shows that the government is giving some thoughts to control the influx of foreign workers and opening more job opportunities for locals instead.
Prime Minister and UMNO president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi opened the UMNO General Assembly on Wednesday (Nov 7) at the Putra World Trade Centre. The following is the full text of his opening address [TheStar]…
STRENGTHENING CONFIDENCE – VENTURING INTO A NEW ERA
Alhamdulillah, with God’s will, we are convene for the 58th UMNO General Assembly.
2. Our assembly this year takes place in the glow of the 50th Merdeka celebrations. This is also our first assembly for the next 50 years. Beginning the first national elections, UMNO, as part of the Alliance and subsequently Barisan Nasional, has formed the national government based on the principle of power sharing. It also spearheaded the drive towards independence.
3. The Malayan Government, considered to be lacking in experience, faced myriad challenges. Twelve years after independence, the nation was riven by racial riots that threatened its survival. Thanks to mutual understanding and a strong spirit of cooperation, we overcame this test. That dark time in our history became a valuable lesson that taught us the need to strengthen our unity.
4. In the aftermath of this tragedy, the Government introduced three major measures. First, the Rukun Negara was introduced as a national ideology to ensure national unity and safeguard the integrity of the nation. Second, the New Economic Policy was designed to develop our economy based on fair and equitable growth. Finally, the Barisan Nasional was introduced as an effective and inclusive political vehicle. The implementation of these three measures has brought success, guaranteed our survival and brought us the prosperity that we enjoy to this day.
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I have mentioned a few times that I am supportive of the NEP’s ideology, but not the implementation. Quite often we see that a few Malays are reaping the rewards while most of the others that really need NEP are neglected.
An article from AFP that shares similar point of view…
Nearly four decades of controversial positive-discrimination policies were supposed to lift Muslim Malays like fisherman Maskan Mohamad out of poverty.
But despite the programme, which has alienated the nation’s ethnic Chinese and Indian citizens, Maskan’s family have empty bellies and little hope as they struggle to survive on a handful of dollars a day.
“All I know is how to fish. My family are all fisherman and even my children are fishermen because we cannot hope for anything more,” says the 62-year-old, who earns about 400 ringgit a month (119 dollars).
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The Edge has reported that Walt Disney Co is looking to build a theme park on a 500-acre site in the Iskandar development zone in Johor. [Reuters]
Malaysian press are rather quiet about this.
It would be a good thing for Malaysia if the plan becomes a reality. It will boost our tourism, offers job opportunities and raise our country’s name internationally.
Malaysia should be a good place for Disneyland to startup; we do have the crowd and Malaysians do like theme parks in general.
I am a bit skeptical on building it in Johor though; I am not really sure how Johor is like in recent years. Perhaps it could be a better place than Klang Valley, but I think building it somewhere near Kuala Lumpur is a better option.
Saladin, the first big budget animation (to be) produced by Malaysia will be shown in Middle East in late 2008.
Al Jazeera Children’s Channel (JCC) and Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) recently formalized their partnership in content development and distribution.
The collaboration consists of the co-production and global marketing of the 26 episodes of Saladin 3D Animated Television Series, which is planned for broadcast on Al Jazeera Children’s Channel in the last quarter of 2008. [Middle-east-online]
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Malaysia government has approved RM 292,525,877.72 as compensation to Gerbang Perdana, the contractor for the abandoned Scenic Bridge aka Crooked or Half Bridge.
What are we paying for actually? Even though the contract is cancelled, Gerbang Perdana could not possibly lost nearly RM300 million for a project that they barely started… seems like some idiots will be getting really rich for no good reasons.
