Najem Charity Trust for All before Monday

Elie Youssef Najem pledged another RM277.5 million to several charities.

The donations include RM111 million for the construction of a mosque and a church, RM5.55 million to the Church of Our Lady of Fatima, RM5 million each to associations dealing with the blind and those with heart disease, and the rest to government-run orphanages.

Najem said he would pay each beneficiary in cash, provided they contact him by next Monday to make the necessary arrangements.

"I will give them the cash next Monday and open a joint bank account with them so that the money is used only to build a mosque and a church," he said, adding that his father-in-law, Mohd Farid Abdullah, would supervise the projects.

So, those charities interested in Najem's graciousness, please contact him before monday; otherwise, you are disqualified.

Oh, I forget; I heard that in order to qualify for the cash gift, applications will have to deposit 10% equal amount of cash as earnest money. So, please bring along the cash. Please check this yourself as it was hearsay!!!!

The Esoteric Definition of Justice & Fairness

PROMISE: Justice and Fairness for All



PRACTICE: PALM TREE JUSTICE

Thomas Fuller & Lord Denning ReQuoted

Today, we have a new quote from
Roger Tan which he attributed the same to the man who was famed for the phase, Thomas Fuller, and of which was cited by the maverick and reknown Lord Denning in the case of Gouriet (1977) at the Court of Appeal.

It was originally, "Be Ye Ever So High, The Law Is Above Thee".

It has now become, "Be Ye NEVER So High".

It certainly suits the Malaysian C-Y-N-I-C as enunciated by Dr. Mahathir when he jested about the SCENIC BRIDGE project , renamed by Pak Lah to replace the so-called "CROOKED BRIDGE" that was to be built to replace the Johor Causeway.

Paradoxically, the same phase can now be applied to the decision by the Police Chief and his deputy when they stood by the City Police Chief's contention that all Police Officers would NO LONGER exercise any form of discretion when enforcing the law but would strictly follow each and every letter written in the law book of enforcement.

What that means is that, the law will strictly be exercised using the "LITERAL INTERPRETATION" approach rather than the "PURPOSIVE" or "CONTEXTUAL" approach initiated and applied by Lord Denning and aggressively followed by Lord Steyn and the English Court currently.

The paradoxical intend would in many ways runs contrary to defeat the very purpose and intend of the law made-by-man and to correct the intended "Mischief " of the very Act of Parliament or the subordinated delegated legislation.

Why did the City Police Chief blurted such statement? Is it in retaliation of the findings and recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry on the Nude-Squat scandal? Or in retaliation over the recent scrutiny and censure of the police force? Or, in response to the decision by the Prime Minister to form the New Commission for complaint against police abuses.

In clarification, deputy IGP Datuk Seri Musa Hassan said the "No-Compromise" method of enforcing the law had always been the modus operandi of the police and that it would not be left to the police officers to apply them. Any discretion will now be the sole discretion of the IGP.

Does this mean that the police will now give hell to the public to such extend that it will call for a review of such "Abuses" against the police discretion and application of power? Will the government revert back to the status quo so that the police can have the power to strip suspects and practice the naked-ear-squat again? Is this the thing that the police is looking forward to, when making the purported statement?

Maybe, the police too need more power and more wide discretion in the exercise of those power. They surely know what they want and how to get it!

SAMY: Only I can Approve Project!

Which PWD project is not approved by the Work Minister?

MRRII, Cameron Highland roads (where the slope collapsed), Simpang Pulai-Lojing-Ayer Raja Road (slope failures), East-West Highway (slope failures), North-South Highway (rockfalls & mudslides), and include all those projects that had been terminated, abandoned, or failed, such as the Hospital Tun Aminah, Cameron Highland Hospital, School projects, etc. Of course we can exclude projects such as Matrade Building, Computer Labs, and Army Camp Gemas which are awarded to PMC by the relevant Ministries.

Now, Samy said he wants all road projects that involve cutting into hillslopes to get the approval of the Works Minister. The new directive covered the construction of reserve areas for road-widening projects along hilly and coastal areas. All Public Works Department (PWD) heads have also been directed to get his personal approval for every road development project close to hillsides.

“We want to ensure there is no indiscriminate cutting of hillslopes,” Samy said.

Commenting on the on-going road-widening project on the hilly Tanjung Tokong-Batu Ferringhi road in Penang, Samy Vellu said the ministry had decided to relax width requirements on the road reserve along the stretch to protect the hills. “If we were to follow the PWD’s standard requirement, the project would result in the cutting of hills in Batu Feringghi. “We don’t want this to happen and have decided to reduce the required road-reserve width from 19.8m to only 15m to save the hills along the 15km stretch,” he said.

So, with the new directives, the Work Minister is empowered to twist and bend the code of practice, rules and regulations to suit. What is needed now is to Kau Tim him and you can have road reserve at 15m or even less, maybe, no need to have road reserve at all.

I thought if any land is inadequate to meet the requirements of road reserve, for reasons such as safety of hill-slopes, then the road should not be allowed to be built or approved. Instead, an innovative solution is provided so as to facilitate approval. If that's the case, the code of practice and regulations should be amended; not by way of unfetted discretion which will lead to abuse of power. A soultion to a problem will breed new and far potent problems (Murphy's Law).

Najem paid RM1 Billion to MAKNA

The Elie Najem said he has banked in RM1.166bil into the National Cancer Council (Makna) account yesterday. Najem read out to them the transaction number for the transfer of funds and claimed that a man named Aman from Maybank had verified this. “The transaction has been made with monies worth £175mil with extra to spare.

“In 10 to 12 days, the money should appear on the screen. Not now, because it is the holidays here,” he said, adding that there was also the matter of conversion of large amounts of money to ringgit taking time and needing Bank Negara approval.

Najem told reporters that he needed to open a bank account for his daily expenses. “I spend US$37,000 (RM137,000) a day. Just yesterday I spent US$10,000 (RM37,000) because I need to take my shots every day.”

“After Feb 15, I hope to be standing on the land where the Makna hospital will be built and move into my new RM20mil home,” Najem said.

Najem added that those to whom he owed money – and had proof of it – should contact his father-in-law Mohd Farid Abdullah or his accountant Daud Shah Sulaiman Kamal Bacah at 013-2655318 and they would be paid immediately.

Hi to all creditors and lenders,

Please submit your bills and IOUs to Datuk Mohd Farid Abdullah as he has received RM1 billion and he sure is able to adequately meet all financial obligations.

Great Najem, he now had assigned all his debts and liabilities to his father-in-law. He can take his daughter and honeymoon forever in Fantasy Island while Farid will be hard at work to sort out the liabilities and maybe, to attend to litigations.

LORD MURUGAN

The new 42.7m statue of Lord Murugan at the popular Sri Subramaniar temple in Batu Caves was completed two weeks ahead of Thaipusam on Feb 11. The RM2.5mil-statue has entered the Malaysian Book of Records as the tallest statue of a Hindu deity in the country.

“The grand statue, at the foothill of the temple, is made up of 1,550 cubic metres of concrete, 250 tonnes of steel bars and 300 litres of gold paint brought in from Thailand.

GONG SI FA CHAI

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE.

Contempt of Court OR?

Muhammad Shafee vs Sri Ram

Lawyer Datuk Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who was an ex-Attorney-General officer, may be charged for contempt of court for writing a letter to Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Abdul Malek Ahmad and Chief Justice of the Federal Court Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, where he complained about an alleged lack of impartiality on the part of Court of Appeal judge Datuk Gopal Sri Ram in the Metramac appeal.

Sri Ram construed that the said letter was tantamount to an attempt to silence a judge. Sri Ram said the court would not sit quiet and allow anyone to do as they pleased. "The rot will set in and no one will respect the court when anyone can write to muzzle a judge," he said.

Shafee told the court the letter had been drafted on instructions from his client, and "I do not hide behind my client’s skirts".

"I act only for my client. My client is Metramac."

"This is a public-interest case that touched on the dignity of the court," Sri Ram said. Sri Ram said he had been treated like a "naughty boy who needed to be caned". Describing the letter as "improper", Sri Ram said he was not afraid of complaints. "But you cannot muzzle a judge, especially me," he said. "We are servants of justice." Sri Ram recalled that the late judge Tan Sri Harun Hashim had once made a caustic comment against a former A-G, saying he "did not know the difference between a duck and a chicken". "But there was no complaint. Why is the culture changing?"

So, what is contempt of court?

“When you do anything in or out of court which brings ridicule to the administration of justice and, as a result, cause people to lose respect for the system, very often that is considered contempt,” said V. Sithambaram. He cites as example a person who speaks disrespectfully of a judge while a case is going on, or who fails to follow the traditions and etiquette of the court.

Gobind Singh Deo gave another perspective to contempt. “Any act intended or calculated to influence any decision of a pending matter can amount to contempt.
“That's why you have the concept of sub judice,” he said.

Esther Tan, a former magistrate, said contempt could be defined as not obeying what the court had ordered. “Disobeying a court can come in many forms. It can be through words, actions or even inaction,” she said.

Concurring with these comments, Amer Hamzah Arshad said criminal contempt might take many forms but they all involved an interference with the administration of justice.
However, he also pointed out that the law only armed the courts with the power to prevent attempts of such interference. “It is not meant to be used to protect the judges from being subjected to fair comment or criticisms from the public.”

Contempt of court is a court ruling which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, deems an individual as holding contempt for the court, its process, and its invested powers. Often stated simply as "in contempt," it is the highest remedy of a judge to impose sanctions on an individual for acts which wantonly or excessively disrupt the normal process of a court hearing.

A finding of contempt of court may result from a failure to obey a lawful order of a court, showing disrespect for the judge, disruption of the proceedings through poor behavior, or publication of material deemed likely to jeopardize a fair trial. A judge may impose sanctions such as a fine or jail for someone found guilty of contempt of court. Typically judges in common law systems have more extensive power to declare someone in contempt than judges in civil law systems.

Bouvier described contempt as "A wilful disregard or disobedience of a public authority."

sixthformlaw.com defined it as "An act of defiance of court authority or dignity." Contempt of court can be direct (swearing at a judge or violence against a court officer) or constructive (disobeying a court order). The punishment for contempt is a fine or a brief stay in jail (e.g. overnight or until the contempt is purged by an apology).

Lectric Law Library's Legal Lexicon definition is: Any willful disobedience to, or disregard of, a court order or any misconduct in the presence of a court; action that interferes with a judge's ability to administer justice or that insults the dignity of the court; punishable by fine or imprisonment or both. There are both civil and criminal contempts; the distinction is often unclear.

Those previously convicted of contempt included Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mah Siew Keong and former Bar Council chairman Zainur Zakaria. Mah was found guilty of contempt of court for failing to execute an ex-parte order made by an Ipoh High Court in 2000. He was fined RM10,000 in default three months' jail by the High Court but the sentence was set aside by the Court of Appeal a year later. Zainur was sentenced to three months' jail for committing contempt in 1998 when he filed a motion for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim which “undermined the integrity of the former deputy prime minister's trial”.

Interesting!! Interesting!! Let's see if the Federal Court would be influenced by another new definition and suggestions as this case involved so many influencial personalities and include ex-ministers and cronies.

Malaysian Kau Tim Management

Maju Holding Sues Lawyer

Lawyer Rosmaniza Osman of Roz and Associate and Rozalind Sakunthala Rajan were jointly charged in the Court today with criminal breach of trust involving RM3 million belonging to Maju Holdings Sdn Bhd.

The funds were believed to have been part of a bid by the construction and steel conglomerate for a major government construction project worth more than RM320 million. Rosmaniza and Rozalind, who were handcuffed together, claimed trial. The complainant was Mohd Fuad Yon, a director of Maju Holdings.

Deputy public prosecutor Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud applied for bail at RM3 million in two sureties each. Judge Rosenani Abd Rahman set bail at RM250,000 each and fixed July 24 to 26 for hearing.

What is the story behind the suit?

It was learnt that the lawyer had convinced Tan Sri Abu Sahid that she has the "Right Connection" to assist Maju Holding to secure the RM320 million Resource Center project from Bank Negara and the Kau Tim Fees is RM3 million.

The project was ultimately awarded to a minnow company H & L Niaga Sdn Bhd.

The award surprised major construction companies which had been bidding for the large project, like Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd, PECD Bhd, Ranhill Bhd and UEM Builders Bhd.

You believe it? A small time lawyer have the ability to influence the award of a mega project from Bank Negara? And even giant and influencial and well-connected Tan Sri Abu Sahid also need to Kau Tim someone to secure a project?

H & I Niaga is owned by Amerudin Ismail (2mil shares) and Ismail Mohd Hashim (3mil shares). H & I Niaga was involved in the problematic project involving the construction of the Royal Malaysian Navy Recruit Training Centre in Kota Tinggi Johor. They are also the contractor for Cheras Velodrome Project and some projects awarded by UiTM.

On 11th October 2005, NST BizTimes reported that H & I Niaga had failed to pay levy owed to CIDB. The company had also failed to submit its profit and loss accounts for the past 3 years to Companies Commission Malaysia and had failed to file its accounts for the financial years ending December 31, 2002 to 2004.

On 18th October (NST report), H & I Niaga issued a two-page statement to explain the issues raised. The company said while it was involved in building the Royal Malaysian Navy Recruit Training Centre in Johor, it was not involved in the construction of the defective roof structure of the hall complex. H & I Niaga went on to say reports of it being reprimanded by government ministers over the Cheras Velodrome project were also untrue as it had completed its job to upgrade and renovate the facility within the stipulated time and had even been given letters of appreciation for the job. The company also answered Fomca’s query on its failure to file its accounts for the years 2002, 2003 and 2004 with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM).

H & I Niaga said it had run into technical difficulties in 2003 when it upgraded its integrated accounts and contracting software from the old DOS standard to the latest Windows version, causing a two-year delay in the filing of its profit and loss accounts.

“The security limitations of the software package only allowed us to input two months of transactions monthly. “As a result, we faced a massive backlog of transactions that need to be input into our new accounting system,” H & I managing director Ismail Mohd Hashim said in the statement. He went on to say that the matter had been highlighted in each of its project tender interviews. H & I Niaga is said to have since resolved the problem and has submitted the company’s audited accounts for the years 2002 and 2003 to CCM, while the final accounts for the financial year ended December 31 2004 have been audited and are pending submission. With regard to the payment of levy to the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), H & I Niaga clarified that the levy was for its UiTM Engineering Complex project in Shah Alam which the company and CIDB had agreed upon for H & I Niaga to pay via instalments. “H & I Niaga has paid the instalments until certain disputes with the client arose. H & I Niaga will resolve this issue before October 25 as allowed for by CIDB,” Ismail said.

BANK Negara Malaysia on the same day (18th October 2005, NST) came out to defend its award of a multi-million ringgit contract to construction firm H & I Niaga Sdn Bhd, saying the company was qualified to do the job. The central bank issued a statement yesterday, saying H & I Niaga won the RM320 million contract to build Bank Negara’s resource centre based on merit. “All tenders were reviewed to determine the most competitive bid and the company selected, H & I Niaga Sdn Bhd, is qualified with the ability to complete the project within Bank Negara Malaysia’s specifications,” Bank Negara said. Among the criteria Bank Negara said it had looked into were tender price, track record, financial capability, quality, technical and commercial capabilities of the team that were put together to complete the project.

Executive Power Display

‘Immigration officer sent lewd SMS to me’

Uniform officers are known to display their discretionary power as they deemed fit. be they, police, immigration officers, custom officers, City Hall enforcement officers, etc, they believe they had acquired wide discretionary powers to act and behave as they deemed fit, even to the extend to knock down the doors of your house if you don't respond to their phone calls or sms-es. And if you are a beautiful girl, they have the power to summon you to see them at any time and at any place of their choice. If need be, you may be required to do naked ear-squat, or some kind of blow-job presumably to check whether your body alcohol level.

A 25-year-old woman has lodged a police report alleging she was sexually harassed by an Immigration officer. The woman claimed the officer had uttered obscene words to her during a raid at her husband’s office and later sent her lewd text messages. Noryasmin Abdul Karim claimed the incident happened when seven Immigration officers turned up at the office in Taman Arowana, Permatang Pauh looking for a man named Zaidi. Noryasmin claimed the officers ransacked the office and acted in a rude and aggressive manner. "The officers asked for our identity cards and telephone numbers. One of them then uttered obscene words to me... and tried to hold my hands several times but I pulled my hands back," she said. Noryasmin claimed the same officer later sent her a text message asking her why she did not answer his phone calls. "He had called me several times after the incident but I did not answer the calls. I discussed the matter with my husband and decided to lodge a report," she said. State Immigration Department director Jusni Ismail said he was aware of the police report and added it was best to let police complete their investigations.

Mahathir is only Proton's Ear, Not Mouth

Proton-Mitsubishi Talk, Mahathir Don't Know? "I am not aware of anything. They (the Proton board) do things without my knowledge so I cannot be aware if they are talking or not. I do not give advice anymore. I just listen. As long as they do not sack me, I will be the adviser." Dr Mahathir said.

Asked if the Proton board still sought his advice, Dr Mahathir said the board sometimes kept him informed but at other times he learned from the Press. "You know better than I do."

Mahathir said he had posed some questions to the Proton board but they had gone unanswered. "The board decides there is no need to answer the questions. I thought they were supposed to be transparent with everything." Dr Mahathir said that as Proton was a public-listed company and as an adviser, "I have the right to know why they did these things". Referring to Proton’s sale of MV Agusta Motors SpA for E1, Dr Mahathir said: "You buy something for E70 million (RM322 million) and sell it off for Euro$1 and say you don’t lose any money. "They won’t even say what discounts they are giving to sell Proton and how much it amounts to."

In another article from The Star, Review issues on Islam, says Mahathir Mahathir said there is a need to look at the issues involving Islam. However, he said, it was up to the Government to decide whether this could be done by amending Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution or by other means.

Dr Mahathir: ‘People can make calls (to amend the Constitution) as this is a free country’. Obviously, many people want this problem resolved and it is up to the Government to decide,” he said.

Dr Mahathir also said he was no less a Malay nationalist than most Malays simply because he had advocated the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English. “I just would like to see Malaysians catch up with the latest knowledge in Science and Mathematics. It is easier to access the knowledge if you understand English, rather than have somebody else translate it into Bahasa Malaysia.

On the future of Islam in a globalised world, he said the survival of Muslims would depend on how good they were at interpreting the religion. “If the Muslims want to do well and to be able to compete with others, they need to go back to the fundamental teaching of Islam as found in the Quran and the verified hadis,” he said.

“If they continue to believe in dubious translations of the Quran, then they will be in trouble.”

Mahathir also said that there was a need to review the education system in the country so that character-building and the acquiring of knowledge could be equally emphasised.

"Knowledge in the hands of people with no values would be destructive to the society," he said. “If our students are only taught how to acquire knowledge without having good values, then we are going to have a society of materialistic people who will not care how their wealth come about, and who are willing to cheat.”

During Mahathir's era as the head of government, there was no protest from the cabinet about the draconian laws. In Pak Lah's cabinet, they protested and sent memos. So, in Mahathir's opinion, the law may need change as there are request and a need. Acknowledging that the Article 121(1A) was last amended during his tenure, the former prime minister said: “Well, during my time there was no protest. I suppose I got away with it.”

Most Dangerous One-eyed Snake

This is a nice article sent to me by a sweetie and I like to share with you.

The Most Dangerous Snake In The World

Name: Expecteria Trouserious (Trouser Snake)

Location: Throughout the world

Description:

One-eyed, with mushroom-shaped head
(other types come with extralayers of skin)

Color: Varying from Pink to Black

Fang-less with a highly venomous spit
(spit can reach distances up to 2-3 feet)

Size: Varies from 3 to 12 inches, depending on its mood and sub-species

Symptoms:
This snake attacks mainly women in the lower front abdomen, resulting in an inconspicuous bump. Then a severe swelling followed by excruciating pain after 9 months. The attack is not usually fatal.

Beware: It has been known to attack men in the rear lower abdomen.

Habitat: Usually found in bedrooms but had known to appear in unusual places.

Antidote: Various type of vaccines available for women. However, once the venom is injected into the body, only drastic measures will ensure complete recovery. There is no known antidote for men.

What to do when attacked?

Tourniquet: Do not apply tourniquet as the is too deep in the body to be affected.

Cutting the wound: This would be completely unnecessary and ineffective as the bleeding will stop after a few weeks anyhow.

Sucking the wound: This method is the most popular with the victim, but so far there has not been any report of success.

Searching for anti-vernom: Place 4 fingers of the right hand on the reptile head with the thumb in the front. Grip firmly and move the hand in upwards and downwards motion. This will result in the snake becoming aggresive, very rigid and start spitting.

The time taken depends on the milker. Once milked, the snake is harmless for at least 20 minutes.

Conclusion: This snake, although is very aggressive and active, is not necessary a vermin. If treated with the right respect, can make a wonderful pet.

Opps! Ling Khai Ree No Kera

The MCA Youth twist the whole drama around and declared that the meeting between Khairy and his MCA counter-part Ling Hee Leong over the controversy on the remarks made by Khairy through private meetings was not proper and demanded that the matter be sorted out through the proper channel. MCA Youth declared that the party had not sent any representative to talk to Khairy.

“The meeting between MCA Youth deputy chief Ling Hee Leong and Khairy (on Monday) was merely a private meeting,” Wee Ka Siong, MCA Youth secretary-general said.

“The meeting was purely personal and private. It was Ling’s right to meet Khairy as a friend to find out more about the matter.

“But as far as MCA Youth is concerned, we have not sent anyone for a formal meeting with Khairy,” Wee told reporters at the Parliament lobby here yesterday.

Dr Wee was commenting on Ling’s statement on Monday that Khairy, during a meeting between the two, had assured the MCA he had no intention of hurting feelings of the Chinese community.

Ling had also said that both of them were looking at the greater interest of the nation.

Meanwhile, Ling said Khairy had spoken to him, as they were both counterparts in the MCA and Umno.

“I was also one of the Barisan leaders who was not happy with his remarks. That was why he decided to meet me to give his assurance that he did not mean to hurt the feeling of the Chinese community,” he said.

“We also agreed to take this issue as a lesson and to not use racial issues to gain political mileage as this will not bring any advantage to any person.”

He believed that he would not be the only Barisan leader that Khairy would meet, as Barisan Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein had said that Khairy would explain to other Barisan leaders.

Is this a sign of MCA's internal crack, or that the MCA had observed the general public's dissatisfaction over the shoo-shoo manner of resolution?

To the general public, it was absolutely clear that Khairy had acted voluntarily in making the statement, deliberately choosing a particular event/action for its own sake which involves a twofold interior action of the will and of intention.

The manner in which Hishamuddin had taken in support of Khairy's justification was totally unacceptable and inconsistent to natural law, namely, that a man should avoid ignorance that he must not give offence to others with whom he must associate and all actions of like nature.

Hishamuddin had said: “If Khairy says that his statement had been misunderstood, I believe that it had been misunderstood."

This propositions refutes themselve either because they are directly self-contradictory or because they logically entails their contradiction. Inconsistency between what is asserted by the statement and facts that are given in and by the making of the statement are performative inconsistent.

There are propositions which cannot be coherently asserted, because they are inevitably falsified by any assertion of them. An operational self-refuting proposition cannot be coherently asserted, for it contradicts either the proposition or some proposition entailed by the proposition that someone is asserting it.

I repeat here again:

It is impossible for the welfare of the community at alrge to be in a healthy state unless these political leaders are virtuous, or at least such of them as are called to take up the direction of affairs.

Reasons in justification of wrongs does not supply the answers, although it does impose some restriction on our ability to hold too many incompatible positions simultaneously (Lyons 1984, Ch 1). Moral judgment is a readable argument that supports this conclusion, against the challenge of ethical nihilism, social and individualistic relativism.

Kayveas Biten by Samy Bugs

There's a new talk show in town named Semi-Deputy Ministers Bug-Bites.

This is Hollywood making ...

Samy tells Kayveas:

"Go F**k urself"; who are U?"

"U R not even a minister but talk big as if U are the father-in-law of PM. U are not even in the Cabinet."

"We are full ministers and we have direct access to the Prime Minister."

"If U wants to be a minister, go see the PM and ask him to make U a minister."

"If, U have no balls, then get ur wife or daughter to do it."

Kayveas Right Timing

Eight of the nine non-Muslim ministers withdraw the memorandum which they had submitted to the Prime Minister. Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the issue had been put to rest. "Everybody should stop talking about the memorandum because the people who submitted it have withdrawn (the document)." He reiterated that Article 121 (1A) of the Federal Constitution would not be amended to give the civil court power to hear matters concerning Islam. However, he added, the Government was prepared to amend subsidiary legislation to remove any ambiguity concerning the jurisdiction of the Syariah and civil courts.

The ministers had presented the memorandum following concerns raised by non-Muslims over the dispute between the widow of M. Moorthy @ Muhammad Abdullah and the Federal Territory Religious Council on whether Moorthy had converted to Islam. The civil court declined to interfere in the dispute, saying it was a matter for the Syariah Court to handle.

Gerakan president Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik on the meeting with the Prime Minister said: "Following the advice of the Prime Minister, we have decided to withdraw the memorandum.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Dr M. Kayveas blamed the nine ministers for failing to consult the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) on the matter. “I would have advised against it, if I were consulted on the matter,” said Kayveas. Asked if he agreed that Article 121 (1A) of the Federal Constitution should be reviewed to safeguard the interests of non-Muslims, he said: “It’s up to the Cabinet. Pak Lah’s views are our views”. He also said that the nine ministers who submitted the memorandum should resign, adding that it was totally irregular and contrary to the collective responsibility of, and conventions relating to the Cabinet. “How can I send a memorandum to my own boss?,” he asked, adding that he could not comprehend their action.

Kayveas once again proved that he knows the right timing to get into action and score some points.

Pak Lah felt threatened by Memo, says Nazri

Is the Prime Minister threatened by the memo from the 9 ministers?

Does a memo to a PM a form of contempt or a departure from the political convention of collective responsibility?

Is the duty of ministers just to highlight their concerns to cabinet only, and they should not voice out the rakyats views?

Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz was angry because the nine ministers had submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister on the rights of non-Muslims. Nazri demanded that the ministers withdraw the memorandum, saying that it amounted to a "threat" to Abdullah.

He said the ministers would lose the support of moderates like him if they did not retract the memo. "I am angry that the nine ministers did that, because they cannot threaten the PM like that, and I will not stand for it. We are colleagues in the Cabinet. Why the need to send a memo when we have decided to look at all the laws?"

"If we can sit down and negotiate, then what need is there to send a memorandum?" he said.

The nine who submitted the memorandum were Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting; Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy; Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr Fong Chan Onn; Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek; Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik; Plantation Enterprises and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin and Tan Sri Bernard Dompok and Datuk Maximus Ongkili (Ministers in the Prime Minister’s Department). They called for a review of laws affecting non-Muslims and urged the Government to review Article 12(1)(A) of the Constitution. The section states that civil courts have no jurisdiction over matters relating to Islam. The ministers also wanted the conflicts between syariah and civil laws to be rectified.

MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting, who is also Housing and Local Government Minister, submitted the memorandum on behalf of his non-Muslim colleagues to Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at a Cabinet meeting. The memorandum, among other things, called for:

• The Government to review Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution, which stipulates that civil courts have no jurisdiction over matters relating to Islam, which fall under the purview of the Syariah Court;
• The Government to amend laws that allow only one parent to convert children below 18 years of age; and,
• Rectifying conflicts between Syariah and civil laws.

The call for a "review" of Article 121(1A) is said to have been precipitated by instances of judges allowing the Syariah Court to handle several high-profile cases involving disputes between Muslims and non-Muslims.

Umno Youth Exco member Datuk Pirdaus Ismail said as ministers, they had direct access to the PM and should have discussed such sensitive matters during the Cabinet meeting. "They are acting like the Opposition. They have the channel to voice whatever grievances or dissatisfactions yet they choose to adopt this immature and embarrassing way." Pirdaus said the ministers had failed to uphold the principle of collective responsibility. "Their actions reflect disregard and disrespect for the PM and their Cabinet colleagues. In so doing, they have tarnished their image as ministers. "It is as if they are questioning the sanctity of Islam in the Federal Constitution. We feel their actions have touched on the sensitivity of the Muslims in the country."

What is Pak Lah's response?

I have no time to read them. I am busy with the 9MP.

I said: 'OK, lah'. I did not say 'Saya tak mau ini.'

Good response? From a PM?

Is he being threatened?

Or, is this an opportunity for ball-carriers to win some points?

MAS Turn-UPside-Down

MAS is doing a turnaround management to get the institution back to health.

How?

Sell assets - MAS HQ building, Sell their Resorts business -Basically downsizing their business portfolios; in other words, they are increasing their cashflow but at the same time, shrinking their business and reducing revenues (But their call it - Strategic re-alignment and consolidation).

What else?

They are increasing their revenue by charging a fee for issuing tickets for international routes, increase insurance charges as well as levy a higher fuel surcharge as part of its cost reduction efforts. Calling it an administration fee, the airline said it was an industry practice among carriers worldwide, including those operating in Malaysia, to collect such charges. MAS said the quantum charged was aimed at partially defraying document/ticket issuance costs, information technology (IT) costs for internal and external computer reservations systems (CRs) and global distribution systems (GDs) as well as related booking and ticketing costs. The administration fee for travel between Malaysia and Asean countries would be US$3.70 (RM14) per sector. Insurance charges for all international sectors would be increased to US$5 (RM19) per sector from US$1.25 (RM4.75) per sector. For fuel surcharge, MAS will levy US$50 (RM190) for travel between Malaysia and South and North Asia. MAS said for tickets issued in Malaysia, charges for travel between Malaysia and the North Asian countries of China, Hong Kong and South Korea would be raised from US$18 to US$50 per sector. However, for tickets issued in China for travel between China and Malaysia, the current rate of US$20 would be maintained.

Who suffers?

Their customers!!! So, to increase revenue, you transfer all your cost and risk to your loyal customers?

Yes, this is Malaysian Turnaround Management!!!

Is this the price you pay for loyalty? Yes, because this is Malaysia Boleh!

Is this the fundamental doctrine of turning around a corporation?

No, but what else do you expect Malaysian corporate executives to do? This is all they had learnt in the last 50 years and are now practising it.

But I thought turning around a sick corporation is to strategically downsize overheads, cost of business, lean and mean, increase productivity, improve serviceability, attract more customers, emphasize on customer satisfaction, and most of all, cut the fat paycheque of executives, review vendor system and procurement system that contributed to the high cost, and identify and dump deadwoods and ball-carriers?

It is suppose to be; but not for Malaysian corporations as deadwoods are powerful and influencial people with strong political connects. Fat paycheques are the norms as these executives are insecure and may be dump at anytime; so they must korek and cari lubang, and make themselves rich before they are dumped. Vendors are cronies and some higher-up oligarch have strategic interest. So they must be protected at all cost; otherwise, politicians cannot survive.

But I thought Idris Jala who had been so successful at Shell Malaysia has the net to address the weakness?

No, he doesn't have the net; only his name is NET (Jala). At Shell, the culture and system is different; he gets strong support from the top management and he is allowed to act as he deemed fit. Here is MAS, there is so many people to please and there is the political reality he had to toe.

Is there no other way?

Yes, sell MAS to AirAsia or sell it to Syed Mokhtar.

Will it work?

Depends; it is politically impossible to sell MAS to AirAsia but it is politically possible to sell it to Syed Mokhtar.

Any other possible candidate?

Yes, probably ECM Libra and Khairy. This coterie is so powerful and they have the cloud to make things happen.

Do they want it if the government decides so?

Yes and No. They will buy it, cut MAS into pieces and sell it for a profit. Then after that, they will convince Khazanah to buy the various pieces up and join them together. ECM Libra can then be the financial consultant to advice Khazanah on how to join the pieces back to their origin for a fee of $250 million, plus a contract to help them secure a $3 billion loan from EPF. Alternatively, Petronas and EPF can be the financial vehicle to save MAS from oblition.

Can you be more positive?

Oh, then you have to get Mahathir to help out as MAS advisor. He is advisor to Proton and Petronas. Why not MAS and EPF?

Institutional Self-anointed Moral Islamic Police

Cabinet said: NO MORE SNOOPING. DISBAND THE S**PID SQUAD... Forget about forming "snoop squads" or morality police to check on Malaysians. We are Malaysians! Don't Peep on us. We know how to behave better than the self-anointed enforcer.

This message was directed mainly at the Federal Territories Islamic Affairs Department (Jawi), which has formed the Putrajaya Religious Council Volunteers Squad. Malaysians are increasingly concerned over whether the country’s moderate and progressive tenor is being threatened by religious extremists and zealots.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad said today: "The Cabinet disapproves of this kind of snooping around. It infringes on people’s liberty and can cause problems later like false arrests or false claims."

Radzi said. "Jawi can say the unit is meant to handle disasters, but where are there disasters in Putrajaya?"

Earlier, Jawi director Che Mat Che Ali, who unveiled the squad said the role of the volunteers would be "to prevent indecent behaviour". "We want them to approach people and advise them against creating social problems and committing sins like that." He said the volunteers would not be authorised to make arrests but an enforcement officer would accompany them on their rounds. However, an enforcement officer with the squad offered a different picture to the one sketched by Jawi. He said the squad was formed following numerous complaints from Putrajaya residents of "outsiders" committing indecent acts, especially at the Seri Wawasan bridge in Precinct 8 and the low-cost flats in Precinct 9. "The idea of the squad is to prevent Putrajaya becoming a haven for vice (tempat maksiat). "We receive complaints almost every day. Some couples, especially teenagers, are seen hugging or kissing openly at the bridge without due respect for other visitors."


The Star today reported that FT Religious Department wants to go ahead with its snoop squad

The Federal Territory Religious Department (Jawi) wants to defy the cabinet decision and will go ahead with its snoop squad. Jawi public relations officer Idris Hussein said it was not given the opportunity to explain to the Government the purpose of the unit's formation. According to Idris, “The volunteers are tasked to provide us with information on those who commit indecent acts. They are to educate the people and get closer to them so they can explain to the public why they should not be involved in unhealthy activities.” He said the department understood that there were fears that the people’s privacy might be affected, but gave an assurance that the volunteers were well-trained.

Lim Kit Siang said the snoop squad would send out the wrong message. “Why wasn't the decision to form the squad nipped in the bud at the ministry level without it having to reach the Cabinet?” he asked in a statement.

In 1995, several members from a now-defunct voluntary body called the Badan Amal Makruf Nahimunkar were arrested by Selangor police for extortion and impersonating government officers. They were considered a “moral police” group. The Federal Government then ordered the group to be disbanded.

In Malaysia, we have institutions who felt that they had been appointed by semi-god to monitor and control all other human beings because they believe Malaysians do not know how to behave decently. Such institutions even dare to defy cabinet directives. They fear no one as they believe they are god's moral enforcer. These self-anointed moral police wears uniform that resembles the uniform forces of power and acts like guardian angels. Somehow, the exercise would generates some form of reasonable income plus some funs of peeping and snooping at couples. Probably, they will also be enforcing the earsquat exercise during their rounds of duties. They would copy the preferred naked ear-squat and videotaping them for distribution and sale at Petaling Street and Imbi Plaza.

DIAM VINCI CODE - The Metramac Politikus

Malaysia Incorporated and Malaysia Ministerial Unincorporated unfold fantasies of varying interest ... let's look...

This is what Appeal Court President Gopal Sri Ram had to say:

Sri Ram said: "You may well ask how all this could have happened without the direct involvement of Tun Daim. It is also incomprehensible why the defendant, as it was constituted immediately before the takeover by Metro Juara, was not given this same financial support by the Federal Government. ...It is not at all clear why the Minister of Finance used his power to favour Anuar Othman and Datuk Halim Saad."

Halim jump and responded ...

“I have kept silent thus far as the matter is pending appeal. But the nature of the judgment and the comments from the media have made it necessary for me to react by making this statement. ...the judgment had damaged him “probably in an irreparable way. I am deprived of this basic natural justice and human rights which had been recognised since biblical times. I have large business interests locally and overseas. ...The money (RM32.5 million) was ours personally as we extended this sum earlier from our own pockets. By no stretch of the imagination was this money belonging to Metramac. ... on Feb 13, 1992, Daim was no longer the Finance Minister as he had resigned from the post on March 14, 1991. Tun Daim was not involved in the decision of the Works Ministry to reimburse this amount to us. When the revised concession agreement was signed on Feb 13 1992, the Minister of Finance was Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the Works Minister was Datuk Seri Leo Moggie.”

So, Anwar Ibrahim is now dragged into this DIAM VINCI Politikus conundrum. What has Anwar got to say?

Anwar said: "...the move (by Halim) is "utterly mischievous". ... the Court of Appeal had categorically named Tun Daim Zainuddin as the minister who played a pivotal role in the episode, and also made direct references to Halim and his business partner Anuar Othman. ...One has to be mindful that this is a judicial finding and not a mere allegation. Judicial findings are normally grounded on the reception of sworn evidence given under oath by witnesses and on documents. It is trite that tested and sworn evidence is the entire basis on which three judges of the Court of Appeal substantiated their findings, without fear or favour. ...The Court of Appeal had dealt with facts indicating that Daim approved the deal in 1991, before Anwar became Finance Minister. Suffice to say that findings based on sworn evidence are far superior to those of an unsworn Press statement. Also, the Court of Appeal stated clearly in its judgment that the problems faced by Fawziah Holdings and the loss of the concession to Halim and related parties started in late 1990, when Daim was still the Finance Minister. ...The Attorney-General should start immediate investigations into all parties involved in the Metramac case. In view of the gravity of the matter and in public interest, and also in light of the serious challenge to the integrity of the judiciary, I call on the Government to act immediately by instituting an independent public inquiry into this matter."

Oh ... now A-G has his hair pulled into the fray. What has Ghani Patail got to say?

"Let proper investigations be completed (on allegations of misappropriation of the RM32.5 million by Halim and Anuar Othman). ...A thorough investigation had to be done before anyone is accused of such a crime, and the relevant authorities would be looking into the allegations against Tan Sri Halim Saad and Datuk Anuar Othman. I am not in a position to order such investigations, but if they confirmed the allegations, I would be able to act. All the investigations will be done by the investigative agencies. I have no power, unless you want me to be judge, jury and executioner... but in our system we do not do that. There must be a clear separation of powers to avoid people like me abusing power. So let the proper authorities investigate. Once they have investigated, we will look into the matter. If there is a case, we will charge, and if there is no case, there is no reason to charge innocent people. ...The police, the Anti-Corruption Agency and other relevant authorities were the agencies in charge of investigations. This could be a case of criminal breach of trust or corruption. Let (the authorities) study the matter. We want justice to be done, and it must be done properly and with transparency.

Asked to comment on Halim’s claim that he had not been given an opportunity to be heard before being condemned by the Court of Appeal, Gani said:

"Who am I to say this or that? I will not comment. I do not know who is speaking the truth or not. I do not want to jump to conclusions."

Joining the fray is our great seasoned criminal lawyer Karpal Singh. He urged Daim and Halim to apply to intervene in the proceedings and put up their defence in court. "Taking a confrontational stance against Sri Ram demeans judicial independence," he said, adding that putting up a defence in public also eluded the judicial process.

Bar Council President Yeo Yang Poh also make a point to participate in the hot topic. "Businessman Tan Sri Halim Saad is entitled to give his side of the story. It was the judge’s right to make that observation in his judgment. There is nothing wrong in a civil case for a judge to write judgments of this nature."

Yeo, when asked whether Halim was in contempt of court by issuing his lengthy statement, said he could not say that it was without reading the full statement. "The police should investigate to see whether there are criminal elements, after which criminal proceedings can take place and the accused will be given full opportunity to be heard," he said.

Lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar also want to participate as this is a good chance to get famous.

Malik said: "I am not speaking on the specifics of the issue. In general there were two principles that had to be reconciled. First, the freedom of expression has to be recognised where if a party does not agree with the Court of Appeal’s judgment, it can air its views. But it has to have a balancing factor where when stating its position, that person must be careful in ensuring that what he says is not attacking the administration of justice. It was not proper for any party to engage in public debate in relation to matters which are subject matters in court proceedings, which also applied to newspapers. Newspapers obviously have a social duty to report legal proceedings but they must also ensure that the news report does not compromise the integrity of the court."

So, we get more views from the main actors and the side-kicks. Where are we now? What had been made clear? Are we seeing something very Mahathirisma? Is this a great hollywood script? Hollywood producers may be interested to film chapter 2 of the New Malaysianised version of "The President's Men". It would be a far greater storyline and a far greater conspiracy theory that will unfold.

I can't make personal comments on this issue as I am not a lawyer and I don't need to promote my business. It will be insidious. Wish all of the great actors great health and a fantastic journey to the new Malaysian DAIM VINCI CODE ...

Pak Lah Own Style

"I have my own style", Dr. M has his own sytle, understand???


“We have our ways of doing things. I have been given the biggest mandate ever obtained by any Malaysian leader,” Abdullah said in the column “Global Viewpoint” in the Bangkok Post yesterday.

On corruption, Abdullah said it must be curbed.

Great, great, Mr Prime Minister! But what style? A new regime of kelptorist and cronyist? A new S.I.L. Management of resources? A new set of oligarchy? A new set of billionaires in the mould of Diam?

A better style or a different style? A better and more transparent way of doing things, or a different way of unjust enrichments? A new dynasty of what?

Toilet Cleanliness Act 2006

Wow, at last our Parliamentarians are doing soemthing substantive ...

They are going to debate and pass a new Act of Parliament to ensure that public toilets are being managed according to hygiene theory to ensure proper maintenance!!!!

Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Robert Lau Hoi Chew said the Malaysian Toilet Standards (MTS) would be implemented and would ensure the cleanliness and also “accord a proper social status to the facility”.

“You cannot live without me but yet you treat me like dirt,” he said to emphasise the present condition and treatment of public toilets in the country. The MTS will cover three areas – design, maintenance and grading. And to begin with, he said the adherence to the MTS would be a criterion for licences for new premises and also renewal for existing ones under local authorities nationwide this year.

“My ministry will provide the guidelines to the local authorities for implementation,” he said in an interview. The MTS is jointly drafted by the ministry, Sirim, Malaysian Institute of Architects, Works Ministry, Kuala Lumpur City Hall and industry players.

The Minister states that "to inculcate a good toilet culture in schools, he suggested that students be given a role like providing inputs for the toilet design and the choice of tiles." Wow, that's not enough ... it must also include how they are going to shit and clean their backside, plus some piped musics to improve the shitting motion. ahahaha.....

UEM-MoF Conspiracy Theory at Play

The written judgment of Gopal Sri Ram in Fawziah v Metramac contains substantial issues which should be analyzed and pondered to have insights to the entrepreneurailship of the unincorporated Nexus of Malaysian Cabinet & Ministers Incorporated Unlimited.

The analysis are derived from the two pieces of news published in the NST today, that is:

Halim, Anuar had patronage of Daim, says judge

Abstract from the case:

Judge Gopal Sri Ram noted that STKG was between a rock and a hard place. It had spent large sums of money on the project and now found "itself with the ground cut from under its feet because of DBKL’s termination of the first concession agreement".

"No one in his or her right mind will consider the choice of selling their shares to Metro Juara at RM97.5 million as a choice at all. All the independent evidence on record points to this being in reality a crude case of economic duress presenting itself in a more subtle form."

The offer by UEM to buy out STKG’s shares for RM97.5 milllion simply did not make any commercial sense. "Here you have a company that has just had its loan and shareholders capital wiped out in one stroke. It had no money in the coffers. It had huge debts. It had no prospects of receiving any compensation from DBKL. So why pay RM97.5 million for the shares of such a company.

"The answer is simple enough. Anuar and Halim had something which the plaintiff did not. And that was the patronage of Daim," he said, adding that the events leading to the takeover bears this out.

The takeover of STKG by Metro Juara was also a rushed transaction. "There was no examination of the defendant’s books. No warranties were asked or given. No due diligence exercise was ever carried out." The takeover was executed on Jan 23, 1991.

"Not long after the takeover, a strange thing happened. Where doors were once closed to the defendant before its takeover, as if by the utterance of a magic spell, all bureaucratic doors were opened to the defendant after its takeover by Metro Juara. And as if by the rub of a magic lamp, the Federal Government and DBKL, who hitherto, claimed to be impoverished, suddenly found themselves flush with funds.

"They (Federal government & DBKL) were now in a financial position to compensate the defendant. The figures are staggering. In one way or another, the defendant was to receive a total sum of RM756.7 million," he said.


'They took RM32m'



Abstract of the Case:

Prominent businessmen Datuk Halim Saad and Anuar Othman siphoned RM32.5 million from a toll operator. By doing so, they could have been flirting with an aggravated form of criminal breach of trust, an offence which carries a maximum 20-year jail term with whipping and fine upon conviction.

The then Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainuddin told the shareholders that the Government did not have money to compensate them.

STKG was then bought over by Metro Juara for RM97.5 million. Halim and Anuar were the shareholders of Metro Juara. After this transaction, the Federal Government suddenly found the funds to compensate Metro Juara, or Metramac as it was known then.

Sri Ram said: "You may well ask how all this could have happened without the direct involvement of Tun Daim. It is also incomprehensible why the defendant, as it was constituted immediately before the takeover by Metro Juara, was not given this same financial support by the Federal Government."

He noted that at least two of the pre-takeover shareholders were either Government concerns or Government-assisted concerns. "I think that it is a fair question to ask why taxpayers’ money was channelled into the hands of two private individuals — to profit them — instead of a wider section of the general public.

"It is not at all clear why the Minister of Finance used his power to favour Anuar Othman and Datuk Halim Saad."

For completeness, Sri Ram noted that Halim and Anuar had siphoned from the defendant’s account RM32.5 million.

He said that he had asked the lawyer representing the company how this could have happened.

"His reply was stupefying," Sri Ram said in his 52-page judgment.

The judge said the counsel had submitted that Anuar and Halim, as shareholders paid this sum into Metramac’s account and were now reimbursing themselves.

"This answer overlooks the most elementary principle of company law," Sri Ram said, adding that shareholders of a company had no interest, legal or equitable, in the assets of their company.

He said it was clearly wrong to treat even a private limited company with only two shareholders any different from any other company.

Sri Ram said an intentional misappropriation of such a company’s property, moveable or immoveable was a criminal breach of trust.

He added if the misappropriation was done by directors as was the case here, it was an aggravated form of CBT.

"I must therefore be forgiven if I were to look askance at the counsel’s rationale for what was done in this case," he said.

ANALYTICAL POSERS:

The Finance Minister is said to have played a leading role to deny/defraud Fawziah her legal and equitable rights and privileges by misrepresenting facts in the first instance and upon the disposal of Fawziah's stake in STKG to Halim and Anuar, SUDDENLY, the heaven's door open and the government found the money to compensate the concessionaire Metramac.

Mahathir was the then Prime Minister. The Finance Minister is appointed by him to control the coffers. Could he stand up and explain? Would Daim be asked to explain?

The judge pronounced that this case involved an aggravated form of Criminal Breach of Trust (CBT). The issue is criminal in nature and of the highest degree involving commercial cases. Would the AG be prepared to open the Pandora Box?

What is Fawziah's relationship with Diam? Was she a proxy and later fall-out with her king-maker? How the world did she gets RM65million to fund her investment in Syarikat Teratai KG Sdn Bhd (STKG)?

It looks like Diam is involved and has equitable co-ownership in almost every mega project awarded by the government during the Mahathir regime. Can Mahathir provide insight to the power-play system of commercialism and ministerial entrepreneurship?

Fundamentally, it can be asked if in fact the whole system of government was entirely based on kleptorism, creatively crafted into a "Win-Win" situation for the Unincorporated Charitable Ministerial Incorporated Unlimited?

Samy & The Najem Bridge Project

Dear Samy,

That man, Najem, is talking about funding the new second bridge in Penang which you had recently announced. The old bridge is only RM800 million. The new one will cost RM2 billion. But the concessionaires is going to borrow USD2 billion (RM7.6 billion). I don't know why they need the extra RM5.6 billion borrowing as announced by Najem. But it seems the lender is so gratuitious, so borrowers were salivering profusely. Some even are prepared to sacrifice their young daughter in expectation of some spill over effect. At such, the corporate baron asked: why not borrow as much as possible so that each stakeholder/shareholder can have a billion to spent for the Hari Raya.

Unfortunately, it looks like they are borrowing from the castle owner in mid-heaven (tak boleh sampai). Worse off, they could have spent RM200 million for consulting fees, agent fees, under-table and on-top of table, and premiums for banker's guarantee issued.

"Big diamond frogs don't jump about on the Chow Kit street", the saying goes ... those who dream to be billionaires must start their business from one dollar that makes ten cents (please read 'The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason), and let the business grow from there, a cent a day/minute/second.

You don't wait for the durian to fall by sleeping under the durian tree and praying, because if that durian fall, it might fall on your head and you end up with a broken head and a broken durian that is not eatable.

Collaborated to defraud?

Metramac to pay RM65m


Two of the biggest names in corporate Malaysia received mention in the Court of Appeal today — Tan Sri Halim Saad and Tun Daim Zainuddin.

The story begins...


Once upon a time in 1986, Syarikat Teratai K.G. (STKG) now called Metramac was the owner and operator of the East-West Link Expressway (Karak-Kuantan) and Sungei Besi Expressway. Datuk Fawziah Abdul Karim and her mother Maimon Bee were directors and shareholders of Fawziah Holdings and they are also directors and shareholders of STKG.

In July 1986, Fawziah Holdings, through STKG succeeded in obtaining a tender from the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to design, construct, finance and operate the privatisation of a number of roads in and around the city, which included one in Jalan Cheras. In December 1988, four institutions invested in STKG, bringing in RM65 million worth of capital.

However, DBKL, the concessionaire, however, suspended toll collection sometime in September 1990 due to a demonstration at the Cheras toll plaza. As a result, compensation of RM764 million was payable by DBKL to STKG.

Halim and Anuar Othman then told Fawziah that the finance minister, Daim had told them that the Government had no money to pay compensation. It was at this juncture that Metro Juara came into the picture and bought STKG for RM97.5 million.

STKG was then sold by Metro Juara Sdn Bhd for RM97.5 million. (who owns Metro Juara? Your guess will be right).

On March 7, 1995, Fawziah Holdings filed an action for breach of contract against Metramac seeking RM65 million as compensation for loss of advertising rights and profits under future contract. Metramac counter-claimed for a number of declarations, including that certain clauses in the agreements were null and void. It also asked for an account of all revenues received by Fauziah Holdings under those agreements.

High Court judge Datuk Kang Hwee Gee had on Oct 2, 2003, ruled that Metramac was in breach of the agreements. However, Kang ordered loss of advertising rights to be assessed. He dismissed the claim for future contract.

Metramac appealed. Judges Datuk Hashim Mohd Yusoff and Datuk Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin heard the appeal with Gopal Sri Ram. Their decision was unanimous.

Gopal Sri Ram, the Appeal Court Judge delivering judgment said Metro Juara Sdn Bhd shareholders, Halim and Anuar Othman, had something which Fawziah did not: patronage of then Finance Minister Daim. The judge said DBKL was supposed to pay STKG RM764 million as compensation after suspending the company from collecting toll. "This is a crude form of economic duress presented in a subtle form," Sri Ram said. The judge said no right-thinking person would sell STKG for RM97.5 million when the compensation was RM764 million.

In a unanimous decision, the Court of Appeal ordered Metramac Corporation Sdn Bhd, a toll operator, to pay about RM65 million in compensation to a construction company for loss of advertising rights. Judge Datuk Gopal Sri Ram also ordered Metramac to pay Fawziah Holdings Sdn Bhd all proceeds to be received under future contract. Sri Ram also dismissed a cross-appeal by Metramac for a declaration that several agreements between them were null and void.

This probably is the first exposure of the corporate collaboration to defraud. It is not the first per se ... but it parade the conspiracy theory within the regime.

Another Failed Ministry Project

No funds for laptops

It was a grand plan: To help every public university undergraduate own a laptop computer.

Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Salleh had announced the programme in November 2004, saying it would be implemented by last July. Shafie had said the cost of the programme, involving some 40,000 students in public universities, could reach RM200 million, and that the ministry was discussing the matter with PTPTN, which provides soft loans for students, and the Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry of Malaysia (Pikom).

Now, it is found that there is inadequate funds and uncertain implementation have stymied the Higher Education Ministry’s best intentions.

A senior ministry official said the programme could not begin as planned last year for lack of money. The National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) was to have funded the programme, but pulled out due to financial constraints. He admitted that another reason was that the ministry simply did not know how to go about implementing it.

"The programme was announced without proper planning to begin with, and now the ministry finds it hard to kick-start the programme because it has yet to find a source of finance. PTPTN cannot finance such a programme because it does not have much money, given that many student borrowers have not repaid their study loans," the official added.

What? programme announced without proper planning? What do you mean? Ministry don't know how to plan, or, they planned to fail?

Are Malaysian Ministers NUTs or F**kers? Didn't we elect them? So, we are the f**kers!!!!

Cloned Kadi surfaced

Kadi also can clone ah???

Lebanese "billionaire" Elie Youssef Najem not only have problem with his suppliers, employees, and money lenders. He also didn't pay the security guard services since January as reported. Now he has another kind of problem unseen in ages: his marriage may also be a sham. 6 months ago, he married Farinnie Farid, the daughter of ex-deputy finance minister and she is pregnant now. However, the imam who purportedly solemnised Najem’s marriage does not exist; the identity card belongs to a woman.

State religious authorities believe the marriage certificate Najem showed the Press recently was a forgery. State Islamic Religious Council president Datuk Syeikh Kasim Saad said the serial number of the marriage certificate Najem produced — 033423 — was from the marriage certificate of a couple in Kubang Pasu. He said the certificate was issued to the couple after their marriage in Jerlun on Nov 22, 2004. Najem’s "marriage certificate" carries the State Islamic Religious Department’s seal and the signature of one Haji Ahmad Mohd Tahir, supposedly the imam. Syeikh Kasim, also the department director, said the last digit of the identity card number claimed as Ahmad’s was a "0", which is only given to women. He said the council or department had never issued a marriage certificate to Najem and Farinnie. "If there is a certificate, it could have been forged. As far as we are concerned, the couple never solemnised their marriage in Kedah." He said the council would lodge a police report on the matter soon.

The marriage certificate Najem showed the media indicated that the couple had held their akad nikah in Serdang, near Kulim, at 4.30pm on Oct 6 last year. The certificate, which carries both Najem’s and Farinnie’s signatures, did not state the venue of the ceremony.

The dowry Najem purportedly paid for Farinnie’s hand was RM100, while the wang hantaran was RM3,000 and a gold ring. Cheap-skate for a man who purportedly worth US46 billion.

Enter The Dragon

Fear, great fear in the corporate sector!

When the dragon enters the fray, it devours the target.

History will repeat itself. It has not failed so far, and it is unlikely to fail. The business news frontpage:

Chua Ma Yu enters the fray in SBB bid

The last time, he surfaced was in Bandaraya Bhd, the company controlled by Tan Sri Lim Thean Keat. Bandaraya controlled Multi-purpose bank (now Alliance Bank). It also controlled Magnum 4-D, and owns a property development outfit (Bandaraya Development Bhd). Then came Chua Ma Yu, the corporate raider. He took over the plc and then in a short time, disposed it to someone else for a profit. He also played a part in the departure of Rashid Hussein of RHB, and to an extent, MRCB.

In 2004, when Temasek Holdings was making an attempt to buy a stake in Malaysian Plantations Bhd (MPlant), the holding company of Alliance Bank. He was also involved in the tussle between Amin Shah and Bolton Finance.

Now he is back ... and the family of SBB chief executive office Tan Sri Tan Teong Hean has cause for concern.

The corporate world knew that Chua MY has strong backers, and often is a proxy fighter for someone within the regimented coterie. He is more of a financial consultant (front-man) to aspiring owners. He gets paid to act as the "intellectual raider" to front the invisible king-maker. He gets handsome profit for the job done.

Chua Ma Yu has surfaced as the buyer of a sizeable block of Killinghall Bhd shares that was traded off-market on Wednesday. 32 million Killinghall shares changed hands off-market at RM4 each. The buyers and sellers were unknown at the time. Chua announced in Bursa Malaysia that he bought 28.2 million Killinghall shares. This block forms a stake of 14.1% in the company. The shares would cost him RM112.8mil cash.

Following Chua's disclosure, it remains a mystery as to who bought the rest of the 3.8 million Killinghall shares traded that day. In addition, 45.7 million irredeemable convertible unsecured loan stocks (ICULS) in Killinghall were also traded off-market on Wednesday. The buyer of the ICULS is also unknown. Altogether, the shares and ICULS amount to 21.27% of Killinghall's equity. Killinghall is the largest shareholder of Southern Bank Bhd (SBB), which is the target of a takeover bid by the CIMB group.

Chua said in a brief interview that he bought the Killinghall shares as an investment. “I hope this investment will produce a good return for me.”

The sellers of the 32 million Killinghall shares is believed to be The Straits Trading Co Ltd and other units of the OCBC banking group, as well as the bank itself.

Killinghall holds the key to a takeover of SBB. If and when CIMB makes a general offer for all SBB shares, Killinghall will have to call an EGM to consider and vote on a resolution as to whether it should accept the offer. There is, however, a stalemate in Ramuda Sdn Bhd, the largest shareholder of Killinghall. It is understood there are only two directors on Ramuda's board – one representing Selangor's Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah and the other, the family of SBB chief executive office Tan Sri Tan Teong Hean. The Sultan is reportedly in favour of selling Killinghall's SBB stake to CIMB while Tan is not in favour of it. But, with only two directors – one in favour and the other against – a decision can't be reached at the Ramuda level. If Ramuda can't arrive at a decision, it may be up to Killinghall's minority shareholders to tilt the balance, and Chua has just become the largest minority shareholder. Hence, Chua is in a position to make or break the merger proposal.

Some market observers say Chua is close to CIMB. They also observed that Chua's Killinghall shares are registered under Cimsec Nominees (Tempatan) Sdn Bhd, a nominee services subsidiary of the CIMB group.

Never doubt the Word of God!!!

This is an email that had been circling and circulating around. Just to share a moment with my readers.


Subject: Never doubt the Word of God!!!

Make a personal reflection about this. Very interesting, read until the end...
It is written in the Bible (Galatians 6:7):

"Be not deceived, God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, That shall he also reap."

Here are some men and women who mocked God:

JOHN LENNON:

Some years before during his interview with an American Magazine, he said:

"Christianity will end, it will disappear. I do not have to argue about that. I am certain. Jesus was ok, but his subjects were too simple. Today we are more famous than Him" (1966)".

Lennon, after saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, was shot six times.

TANCREDO NEVES:

During the Presidential campaign, he said if he got 500 votes from his par ty, not even God would remove him from Presidency. Sure he got the votes, but he got sick a day before being made President, then he died.

CAZUZA:

During a show in Canecão ( Rio de Janeiro ), whilst smoking his cigarette, he puffed out some smoke i nto the air and said: God, that's for you.

I can't even explain how he died.

THE MAN WHO BUILT TITANIC:

After the construction of Titanic, a reporter asked him how safe the Titanic would be. With an ironic tone he said: "Not even God can sink it"

The result: I think you all know what happened to the Titanic.

MARILYN MONROE:

She was visited by Billy Graham during a presentation of a show. He is a preacher and Evangelist and the Spirit of God had sent him to preach to her.

After hearing what the Preacher had to say, she said:

"I don't need your Jesus"

A week later, she was found dead in her apartment.

BON SCOTT:

The ex-vocalist of the AC/DC. On one of his 1979 songs he sang:

"Don’t stop me, I’m going down all the way, wow the highway to hell".
On the 19th of February 1980, Bon Scott was found dead, he had been choked by his vomit.

CAMPINAS/SP IN 2005

In Campinas, a group of friends, drunk, went to pi ck up a friend. The mother accompanied her to the car and was so worried about the drunkenness of her friends and she said to the daughter - holding her hand, who was already seated in the car: "MY DAUGHTER, GO WITH GOD AND MAY HE PROTECT YOU",

She responded: ONLY IF HE (GOD) TRAVELS IN THE BOOT, COZ INSIDE HERE IT'S ALREADY FULL"

Hours later, news came by that they had been involved in a fatal accident, everyone had died, the car could not be recognized what type of car it had been, but surprisingly, the boot was intact.

The police said there was no way the boot could have remained intact.
To their surprise, inside the boot was a crate of eggs, none was broken.

This is my response:

First and foremost, I agree with Galatians 6:7 - "...for whatever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. I agree fully and absolutely. But ...

George Bush believed in God and attend Church every Sunday. But he killed millions of Muslims in Afganistan and Iraq. Not only was he not punished, he was blessed to be appointed President of USA for a second term - that means he was rewarded for murder just because he believe in Jesus Christ; or alternatively, he could claim God sent him to kill others.

God is almighty and God is Love. God wouldn't kill someone just because he/she blespheme - that's coincidence. The fact remains is that everyone will be accountable to the Divine for whatever he soweth.

The storyline was creative and created to cause fear and animosity. At the same time, you read Toaist, Maoist, Muslim, Hindu, etc, they too have their typified stories and cases of how people died because they say or do something against their divine being or, in another way, against what the believers wanted to believe.

Then, when God created human in His own image, he shouldn't have given us brains to think, nose to breath, ears to hear, and eyes to see; oh I forgot - the DICK - without it, there's no rape and adultery. Without all these organs, we are 100% safe - can't commit sin. Alternatively, we should be made Robots as they can't blespheme.

The fact is, Humans are creating god in their own image structured in the way they want god to be, NOT what HE is.

Thats the f**k problem with human - they use god (rather, they abused) to tell others what you want - for me; just tell me how to get one billion dollars, and I will believe whatever you want to say, and whatever you want me to believe...just give me one billion dollar, please ....until then,

I believe in God and I will be answerable to Him when I get there someday.. I will now use the brain, the organs, the body, the emotion, the spirit, whatever I have, to do things that a moral human will do, that is, to serve the society, to take care of my family, friends and those in needs, to bring happiness to myself, my family and friends, and of others, and to sleep when I am tired.

Oh, lest I forget, to use my DICK, in a socially and morally accepted way.

SMART Tunnel Sub-Con in Dilemma

SMART Tunnel is losing it's contractual smartness. The dark-side of its contract management had surfaced now.

Wayss & Freytag Asia, it's German sub-contractor for the 'North Drive' Tunnel contract was terminated SMART, (a joint-venture consortium between Gamuda Bhd and MMC Corp Bhd) allegedly due to delay in progress.

Syarikat Mengurus Air Banjir & Terowong Sdn Bhd (SMART) issued the termination notice last week to Wayss & Freytag Asia.

Sources said the firm, Wayss & Freytag Asia, had incurred cost overrun and decided that it could not sustain work. Construction analysts also said that work on the north section could be delayed.

The SMART tunnel is actually being built to mitigate flooding, but it is also designed to alleviate traffic congestion. It is a 9.7km flood water diversion tunnel which incorporates a 3km double-decker motorway, located 25-30 metres underground. The motorway’s upper deck is for traffic moving from Kampung Pandan south to the Kuala Lumpur-Seremban Highway, while the lower deck will enable traffic to move along this highway north to the city centre.

Work began on January 1 2003 and is due to be completed by the end of this year. So far, about 70 per cent of the project has been completed.

Arbitration would certainly follow suit. The ugly side will unveil itself soon.

Best of luck to Gamuda and MMC.

2nd Penang Bridge in Trouble?

NAJEM

The esoteric philanthropist, who has a self-professed worth of USD46 billion claimed that he had bought a helicopter for Makna. He had purportedly purchased a RM25 million property to build a 600-bed hospital for the Malaysian National Cancer Council (Makna).

Other Claims:

He is building an "underwater city" in Dubai to be completed over the next few years.

He is building a 570-unit apartment building in Dubai for the handicapped.

He is financing the RM2 billion Penang Bridge ...

... and he has RM4 billion in Malaysian banks, and is now renting an apartment at RM10,000 per month, while he owns several apartments and bungalows in KL; "I like to live modestly and alternate between my Villa Putra apartment and my other six apartments and three houses." (He has too many houses and he prefer to rent and stay at the current.)

He has 95 companies operating in Malaysia. His business in Malaysia is done through Cash-Discovery Network (M) Sdn Bhd, Trident Pillar Sdn Bhd and Ocean Wealth Capital Sdn Bhd (He has not yet acquired any Public Listed Companies but may be eyeing Khazanah, Tabung Haji, Ethos Consulting, MAS and probably UMNO and UMNO Youth)

... and Ah Loong is looking for him; flower bills of not paid; office renovation not paid; etc.

"Don’t they know that I helped Malaysia in the building of the Penang Bridge by extending US$2 billion (RM7.6 billion) to the main contractor?" Najem said.

What's going to happen to the new bridge project for Penang? The government had approved the project based on the fact that the consortium had secured full financing?

I hope Najem do have the RM7.6 billion ready for Penang Bridge and RM1.04 billion for Magna.

Plaza Damas Probe Committee

Former Public Works Department (PWD) Director-General Tan Sri Omar Ibrahim was appointed by the Works Minister Datuk Seri Samy Vellu to be the chairman of the committee that will probe into the accident that killed management consultant Dr Liew Boon Horng.

This committee was set up within the Malaysian Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) as the Investigations Committee and will include current PWD Deputy Director-General II Dr Judin Abdul Karim and PWD Director of Expert and Civil Engineering Branch P.N. Selvanayagam. Other members of the committee would be selected by Tan Sri Omar in consultation with the Works Minister and the CIDB.

I am sure Tan Sri Omar, a person who commands high respect, will do his job thoroughly and efficiently. Tan Sri Omar is recognised as a NO-Nonsense guy and he doesn't curry flavour or compromise his integrity.

But what suprised me is two key elements:

First, why is CIDB involved in such investigation? In the first place, CIDB had never shown to be involved actively in monitoring or controlling the construction projects in whatever role that can tangibly be said to have proactively, nor productively, being a partner of the industry other than to spent time in India trying to secure some projects and selling it to the few high profile Malaysian contractors for a percentage of commissions.

Since the setup of CIDB decades ago, what had been seen of CIDB in the eyes of contractors and property developers is that they exist to collect 0.25% of the project contract sum from the contractors for each and every construction project exceeding $500,000. Thereafter, nothing beneficial had been done to assist the contractors other than to ensure that the contractors register themselves with them, buy the green cards issued by CIDB, and apart of this, is the great Indian mission of projects.

Each year, more than RM20 billion worth of government project had been executed and awarded and out of which, 0.25% will be worth RM50 million. Should we include private projects, the collections by CIDB would be worth around RM100 million. After collecting these contributions from the contractors, what had the contractors benefitted? Absolutely nothing; asked any contractors!!!

As the industry regulators and promoters, CIDB should had never played a beneficial role to contribute positively the development of the construction industry standards, in particular, the standards of construction methodology and quality of the works. Somehow, it's role is somewhat like a tax and debt collector, licence operator, and now, the new role is investigator and policemen of the contractors.

Is it the way that Malaysian government set up regulatory institutions?

Take an anology: If parents duty to their children is to police them of their activities and punish them if they are naughty; cane them when they don't study or fail in their exam; scold them if they don't behave; and slap them if they are delinquent; would you think the children will become a better person when they grow up? Would you think the children will learn to behave better or improve themselves from such enforcement?

Governmental institutions such as CIDB, DOSH, City Hall, etc, should be playing active and proactive role in development and progression. It is not about enforcement and policing that can contribute to national development and improvement. It is being involved with the industry, understanding their weakness and needs, promoting quality, safety, and competence that we can see improvements and maturity.

The Human Resources Ministry wants answers from the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) on the 700 cases of negligence at project sites reported since 2003. Datuk Seri Dr Fong Chan Onn said his ministry would meet with the board this week to ascertain what was wrong in the industry. “We want to know the outcome of their investigations as CIDB has the power to issue stop-work orders and take action against errant contractors. We are serious as we do not want a repeat of the tragedy which happened in Sri Hartamas (Kuala Lumpur) last week,” he said. Dr Fong statement was in response to media reports about the 700 cases, which included 150 high-profile incidents.

I am not sure if Dr Fong understands the role and responsibility of CIDB and also whether CIDB understand their purpose of existence.

Secondly, I am puzzled at the committee that is set up to investigate the incidence at Plaza Damas. It seemed to consist of structural engineering design engineers. But the key problem that is involved in the incident involves the operation management of the construction activities, the mechanical engineering operation of hoisting steel moulds, clamping and locking of the craning and hoisting system, how the workers and supervisors control and monitor the craning, hoisting, fixing, removing and stacking the steel moulds. This concerns, project management, construction site operation management, tower-cranage management, safety and risk operation management of work activities and tasks. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is involved with structural engineering design.

It puzzles me - are they going to investigate the steel mould design? Are they looking into the reinforced concrete design? Are they going to check and analyse the scaffolding design and installation? What for? What the F**k for?

Primarily as I see it, the investigation should be centered on how the steel moulding operations are carried out from hoisting, installation, removal and stacking; how the safety of the work's operation were planned, monitored and controlled; and whether there any risk management - identification, quantification, response planning, risk monitoring, risk control, and workaround management? The analysis should include the methods of operation and resource competence such as the competence and control of tower-crane operation, how contractor execute and supervise their work and task operations, how they manage safety and risk, and whether the consulting engineers and architects of the project had played their professional roles of project management.

The committee should therefore include those who understand tower-crane operation, steel formwork system operation management (not design), construction management safety and health experts, mechanical engineers to analyse the hoisting and installation process for the steel moulding formwork system, project management experts in high-rise building construction, and construction-risk system managers.

At such, if the investigation committee is crowded with structural design experts, and government servants, including CIDB staffs, the presumption is that they understand nothing of contractors' operation management and process. Even those purported associated consultants of CIDB are good talkers, and none have been experienced as contractor's operation managers or had been construction site managers who had been involved in high-rise building construction management process in the role of the contractor's operation.

Unless you are been involved with the contractors in construction process and management role, it is hard for government servants irrespective whether they are ex-JKR or ex-consulting engineers, to be able to have insights to the real emphirical problem that caused such incident.

Fantasy and fallacy always prevail... I hope Tan Sri Omar truly understand and discover the profound knowledge of the contractor's operation.