Some timber for Mugabe, and you get RM2.3b water project from Zimbabwe

UPDATE: The proposed US$600 million (RM2.28 billion) water distribution project in Zimbabwe, scheduled to be signed between Malaysian and Zimbabwean parties today, has been deferred until details of the joint venture are fully worked out, Bernama reported at 15:21hr today.

Bernama has another update at 21:07hr, July 31.
_________

At the Global 2004 Langkawi International Dialogue (LID) today, former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad must feel vindicated that a donation of some Malaysian timber has brought in a RM2.3 billion water supply project in Zimbabwe for our businessmen.

The president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, was reported to be in town for the LID and to witness the signing ceremony of the JV at the closing dinner tonight.

However, the protocol accorded him is definitely of low profile, unless a media blackout has been ordered.

His name only appeared among other African heads of states in the last-but-one of the 19-para story filed by Bernama: When The Tables Are Turned On The Media...

However, Mugabe's name was totally omitted by The Star in its report yesterday. It only mentioned Swaziland’s King Mswati III, Namibia President Dr Sam Nujoma, South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma, Mozambique President Joaquim Alberto Chissano and former Bostwana president Sir Kitumile Masire.

However, on Thursday, July 29, StarBiz mentioned tersely that PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Mugabe will witness a signing ceremony in Langkawi today (July 31) of a US$600mil (RM2.3bil) water supply project awarded by the Zimbabwean Government to a joint-venture company formed by a Malaysian firm and the Matabeleland Zambeki Water Authority.

Earlier, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Dr Jamaludin Mohd Jarjis, a close associate of Dr Mahathir, told reporters that the Malaysian partner has an 80% stake in the JV, with the Matabeleland Zambeki Water Authority holding the remaining 20%.

POTENTIAL ZIMBABWE-MOZAMBIQUE TIFF

According to media reports, the project involves diverting the waters of the Zambezi river that borders Mozambique, a country whose vital interests could be seriously affected by any significant lessening in the flow of the Zambezi.

The project is to take water from the Zambezi and pump it over 450 kilometres to the Zimbabwean city of Bulawayo and other parts of Matabeleland province.

Zimbabwe's alternative media newzimbabwe.com has a story on this, dated July 29. Also read another newzimbabwe.com story on why Matabeleland suddenly matters to Mugabe.

Mugabe hit the local headlines recently when he announced that former PM Dr Mahathir has donated Malaysia timber for his 25-bedroom mansion (picture left) located in the plush Borrowdale suburb of Harare.

Mahathir subsequently said there was nothing improper as it was normal for him to do so to promote Malaysian timber overseas.

LOW-KEY MEDIA EXPOSURE

As news about Mugabe was given a low profile by Malaysian press, one may not know how Mugabe had sneaked into Malaysia for the LID.

The Harare Herald, a government-owned newspaper in Zimbabwe, reported this July 28, datelined Singapore:

President Mugabe arrived here yesterday en route to Malaysia to attend the Langkawi International Dialogue (LID).

Cde Mugabe and his delegation are expected to leave Singapore today for the resort town of Langkawi, the venue of the LID, which promotes smart partnerships between governments, business and labour.

Cde Mugabe is being accompanied by the First Lady Cde Grace Mugabe, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Cde Stan Mudenge, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cde Joseph Made, the Minister of Science and Technology Cde Olivia Muchena and senior Government officials.

The Herald also mentioned that the LID was last held in August 2002 and "at that meeting, Zimbabwe won a diplomatic battle against Britain after the former colonial power attempted to ostracise, isolate and bar President Mugabe from attending the dialogue".

Going by the records, the LDI was initiated by Mahathir and was last held in August 2002.

According to another story in The Harald, Mugabe was scheduled to apprise LID delegates of Zimbabwe’s land reform programme.

The report said Mugabe also held a closed meeting with Mahathir on the sidelines of the summit July 29.

Thanks reader YW Loke who pointed me to an entry by Freddy Toh in Bungaraya list-serve.

The bank screws up

Here's another service provider, this one from the banking indutry, which made unilateral decision, served its customers inadequate notice and caught them by surprises, then put them into spades of ding-dongs.

How many of you knew that AmBank had quietly withdrawn the Raydius Red Visa Electron debit card? Reader C.H.T., who stays in my Subang Jaya neighbourhood, learned it the hard way, and emailed me his bad experience yesterday.

Hi Jeff,

I'm a follower of your Screenshots column and we've actually met each other before at the Petronas WiFi Trial at USJ. we exchanged ideas on PDAbistro.com (http://www.pdabistro.com), remember?

Anyway, I read with delight your blog on Maxis, at the moment, I'm also facing a similar situation with AmBank. If you have the time, maybe Screenshots' little bird can go about and do some investigating job.

The story goes like this, I'm a holder of AmFinance's Raydius Red Visa Electron debit card since year 2000 when they introduced it. As of last month, they have decided to terminate the product.

Unfortunately, me and my girlfriend were two of the victims where their notification letter never reached us at all. Both of us never knew about this until 13th of July when I went to AmFinance (Sunway branch) to withdraw some cash. The ATM just decides to retain my card and spits out a printout saying that the card is retained because it's "hot".

Fine, a visit to the same branch next morning reveals the whole truth. A personnel says that the product has been discontinued and had been helpful to call the Customer Service and also fax my black & white official complain to Customer Service.

The conversation with the Customer Service personnel on 14th July ended up with the following:

1. The product was cancelled on 18th June, 2004, as mentioned by the Customer Service personnel


2. The letter was sent out during the same moment the product is cancelled, but she could not provide the exact date


3. She said that I will receive a cashier's order of my balance 7 days from 14th July via registered mail/courier service


4. I lodgedan official complain with her through the Customer Service channel


5. I I dmanded the name and contact details of the person in charge of the said product to lodge an official complain on the 'interruptions'

Two days later, an AmBank HQ personnel from Card Services Dept. called me and apologised for their system had 'ignored' me and my girlfriend's name from the notification list. She further re-iterated that I will receive my balance with interest calculated up to 13th July within 7 days from 14th July via registered mail/courier service.

I received an apology letter from Mr. Jonson Siu, General Manager of Card Services Dept. on the same day itself when I got home later part of the evening.

The content of the letter states the following:

• An apology for their mistake


• The product was discontinued on 5th July, it does not tally with the date given by the Customer Service personnel


• It'll take one month for me to receive the cashier's order, whereas the earlier response says 7 days, my girlfriend got the same call, and was promised delivery of 3 weeks.


• Note that the date is 14th of July, 2 days before the final call from the AmBank HQ personnel


• And they dare to send me an application for their credit cards.

I waited until 21st July and there's still no cashier's order yet. Went to BNM's website, obtained AmBank's Inspection and Quality Assurance unit address, wrote an official complain letter and addressed it straight to Mr. Jonson Siu and CC to the said Complaints Dept.

According to BankingInfo (http://www.bankinginfo.com.my) website, a bank has two weeks to respond back to an issue lodged with them two weeks from the date they received the complain. I sent in my letter last Tuesday (27th July) and is currently awaiting their feedback. I will raise this issue with BNM if I did not receive a respond from them within two weeks time.

I am concerned with few major issues here:

1. Product discontinuation without the proper dissemination of information to every customer


2. If they say that the interest is calculated until 13th of July and it takes one month to reach me, then,
   (A) My money is floating in the air for one month
   (B) I can't use my money for one month
   (C) I'll suffer one month's lost in interest rates (mind you it's 3.55% per annum!)
   (D) They're still keeping my money in the bank and can have free use of it without paying interest until I cash out

I am definitely not satisfied with the action of the bank on this matter and will pursue this matter until a satisfactory result is achieved.

Namaste,
C.H.T.

With CHT's consent, i have posted up two sample documents he has drafted in case people in the same boat would like to be a fussy but informed consumer just to stake your rights - here and here.

Maxis suspends Email-to-SMS service

Reader JH Hoe alerted Screenshots that Maxis has suspended one of the free value-added services without stating a reason. He received an email from Maxis which says:

Dear user,

With immediate effect, kindly be informed that Maxis has suspended Email to SMS service until further notice.

As for Maxis net portal subscribers, you may still enjoy web-based SMS services.

For more information, visit
http://www.maxis.net.my/?ch=2&pg;=3∾=991

Thank you.
Maxis net team.

Perhaps, Maxis doesn't not want to overload its SMS servers and network with non-revenue traffic.

According to industry circle, Maxis COO Edward Ying, a Singaporean on Malaysian work permit since May 2003, has been noted as a capable hand in pulling the rugs beneath the customers' feet.

Nevertheless, JH Hoe, who used to use internet to send a SMS to friends in Singapore, has found a "user-friendly and highly efficient" Email-to-SMS service that indicates the message is deliivererd within a minute. URL:

http://home.singtel.com/consumer/msg_center/internet_sms.asp

Mailbag: More on Maxis loyalty

From: BIG BIRD
Subject: MORE ON MAXIS....
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2004 09:52:28 +0800

Dear Jeff,

Thanks for highlighting the various 'shortcomings' of MAXIS. To think that you could be 'persuaded' by a box of chocs! There are going to be a few red faces at Menara MAXIS today!

While not really a complaint, I just wish to enquire how MAXIS determines their 'invitation' for their 'ONE CLUB' Card.

If 'loyalty' is dictated purely by the h/p number that one subscribes to over the years, it could be inaccurate.

Taking my own case as an example, I (or rather my wife) have been subscribing to MAXIS during the 1990s when H/ps were first introduced in Penang. To be 'safe', I took a CELCOM line. The thinking was that if coverage was not availiable for 1 network, the other would come in handy. This ws during the early days of h/ps where certain areas/highways were not fully covered by the (then) existing networks.

As part of a normal transfer by my employers (a financial institution), I was posted to one of the major towns in Sarawak. At that point in time, MAXIS did not have coverge as yet. We 'switched' back to CELCOM -- purely due to need and not because we were any less 'loyal'. I am sure the MAXIS cancellation form signed at their Service Centre in Bayan Baru (cannot remember, but I think it was near the roundabout going to Sunshine Sq) reflected this fact. We promptly switched back to MAXIS, as the Supplmentary line promotion was too good to miss. To be fair, CELCOM we were on a special scheme for those employed by financial institutions.

If there is truly an honest yardstick for measurement, perhaps MAXIS could do well to pick up 'loyalty data' based on Identity Cards Numbers (both old and new). We would not be surprised if this suddenly yields 'additional' new databases/potential cardholders for the ONE CLUB.

On the downside, maybe one of the ONE CLUB requirements is to have Direct Debit Facilities -- ensuring prompt payment? In any case, many subscribers are also doing just that -- in order to qualify some some 'discounts' (due to direct debit). Then, one may ask what is the time period? Admittedly, I do not profess to having full details of the ONE CLUB membership (which is by invitation only). And what determines the 'colours' of the cards anyway? Just curious, as I have yet to 'use' the ONE CLUB card for any useful purpose.

...and what about Prepaid Customers, who may have also hung on to their 012 numbers all these years?

E & O.E....all this may be just gibberish and MAXIS may have a perfectly 'logical' answer. Anyhow, thanks for listening to my 5 sen's worth. Your site is a 'must read' when I finish erasing SPAM messages (average 80-100 a day! Seems to get worse during USA weekends)

Cheers and keep up the good work, Jeff!

"BIG BIRD"

JEFF OOI: FAQ on Maxis One Club is available here.

'Reporting for duty...'

Democrats' presidential candidate went on stage last night to deliver his acceptance speech. He started by saying: "I'm John Kerry and I'm reporting for duty..."

An hour into the speech, Kerry delivered a sustained attack on the Bush administration, and a hopeful plea for the future.

Full transcript is available at johnkerry.com.

But if you think Kerry is the right kind of president to lead America out of the present doldrum, hold your horses. Remember, Kerry has been criticized for a lack of specifics.

New York Times' editorial Kerry did not provide a clear vision on Iraq. In contrast, Washington Post's editorial: Missed Opportunity is less forgiving. It says Kerry's acceptance speech fell short of demonstrating the kind of leadership the nation needs.

Watch out in the next 95 days!

Excerpts from Salon.com:

Going straight after the Republican defense of Bush's war on Iraq -- the president didn't lie, he was misled -- Kerry said he will "ask hard questions and demand hard evidence. I will immediately reform the intelligence system -- so policy is guided by facts, and facts are never distorted by politics. And as president, I will bring back this nation's time-honored tradition: the United States of America never goes to war because we want to, we will only go to war because we have to."

Kerry, who had been criticized by some Democrats for what they thought was excessive caution in attacking Bush and his policies, started out slowly, but electrified the crowd when he took the gloves off. "I will be a commander in chief who will never mislead us into war," he said.

"I will have a vice president who will not conduct secret meetings with polluters to rewrite our environmental laws. I will have a secretary of defense who will listen to the best advice of our military leaders. And I will appoint an attorney general who actually upholds the Constitution of the United States."

New York Times has this editorial after Kerry's acceptance speech:

He did not, however, provide a clear vision on Iraq. Voters needed to hear him say that he understands, in retrospect, that his vote to give President Bush Congressional support to invade was a mistake. It's clear now that Mr. Kerry isn't going to go there, and it's a shame.

Washington Post is even less forgiving. The editorial: Missed Opportunity has this to say:

Mr. Kerry last night elided the charged question of whether, as president, he would have gone to war in Iraq. He offered not a word to celebrate the freeing of Afghans from the Taliban, or Iraqis from Saddam Hussein, and not a word about helping either nation toward democracy.

In Iraq... Mr. Kerry was right to chide Mr. Bush for alienating allies unnecessarily. But what is "the job" in Iraq? He didn't say. Mr. Kerry could have spoken the difficult truth that U.S. troops will be needed in Iraq for a long time. He could have reaffirmed his commitment to completing the task of helping build democracy.

Instead, he chose words that seemed designed to give the impression that he could engineer a quick and painless exit. [...]

A Kerry administration would find itself in a ditch dug largely by the irresponsibility of the current administration, with its heedless disregard for future generations. Mr. Kerry has offered a thoughtful approach to improving health care, and his plan to trim the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to pay for health insurance and education is responsible.

Yet in economics as in national security, Mr. Kerry missed an opportunity for straight talk. [...]

The election won't turn on either candidate's performance at the convention. The next 95 days will bring debates and other chances for voters to assess the two candidates. Events outside their control, at home, in Iraq and elsewhere, may play a decisive role.

In the end, Mr. Kerry will be judged not in a vacuum but against the record compiled by Mr. Bush. But he will be judged in part on how he chose to present himself last night, and on that score, while he may have been politically effective, he fell short of demonstrating the kind of leadership the nation needs.

How Democrats credential the bloggers

The New York Times says Democrats Convention staff members had to visit the blogs of every applicant who sought accreditation. The finalists were chosen based on three announced criteria: readership, professionalism and originality.

"It was very difficult," said Peggy Wilhide, communications director for the convention. "It was a new medium."

How do US mainstream jounalists view bloggers' presence in the presidential election process? Quote NY Times:

Some observers are uneasy with how the convention is expanding the definition of journalism.

"I think that bloggers have put the issue of professionalism under attack," said Thomas McPhail, professor of media studies at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, who argues that journalists should be professionally credentialed. "They have no pretense to objectivity. They don't cover both sides."

Even so, large news media organizations are paying attention.

"I'm intrigued at the way that bloggers and blogs have forced their way into the political process on their own; that's why I want to incorporate the blogs into our coverage," said David Bohrman, Washington bureau chief for CNN, which is coordinating with Technorati, a blog-tracking service, to provide online commentary for the convention.

But group blog Many2Many says the NY Times is running scared by demeaning bloggers as web diarists. (Thanks reader mwtwong for the pointer.)

I touched on this briefly in my interview with 8TV (on air tonight or tomorrow).

UPDATE: Aizuddin Danian calls Screenshots a left-wing blog.

Presidents VS President

Bill Clinton endorses John Kerry with this speech at the Democratic Convention, Excerpts:

We think the role of government is to give people the tools and conditions to make the most of their lives. Republicans believe in an America run by the right people, their people, in a world in which we act unilaterally when we can, and cooperate when we have to.

They think the role of government is to concentrate wealth and power in the hands of those who embrace their political, economic, and social views, leaving ordinary citizens to fend for themselves on matters like health care and retirement security. Since most Americans are not that far to the right, they have to portray us Democrats as unacceptable, lacking in strength and values. In other words, they need a divided America. But Americans long to be united.

After 9/11, we all wanted to be one nation, strong in the fight against terror. The president had a great opportunity to bring us together under his slogan of compassionate conservatism and to unite the world in common cause against terror.

Instead, he and his congressional allies made a very different choice: to use the moment of unity to push America too far to the right and to walk away from our allies, not only in attacking Iraq before the weapons inspectors finished their jobs, but in withdrawing American support for the Climate Change Treaty, the International Court for war criminals, the ABM treaty, and even the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. [...]

We Americans must choose for President one of two strong men who both love our country, but who have very different worldviews: Democrats favor shared responsibility, shared opportunity, and more global cooperation. Republicans favor concentrated wealth and power, leaving people to fend for themselves and more unilateral action.

I think we’re right for two reasons: First, America works better when all people have a chance to live their dreams. Second, we live in an interdependent world in which we can’t kill, jail, or occupy all our potential adversaries, so we have to both fight terror and build a world with more partners and fewer terrorists. We tried it their way for twelve years, our way for eight, and then their way for four more.

And Jimmy Carter spoke one of his important pieces in his twilight years:

Today, our dominant international challenge is to restore the greatness of America—based on telling the truth, a commitment to peace, and respect for civil liberties at home and basic human rights around the world.

Truth is the foundation of our global leadership, but our credibility has been shattered and we are left increasingly isolated and vulnerable in a hostile world. Without truth — without trust — America cannot flourish. Trust is at the very heart of our democracy, the sacred covenant between the president and the people.

When that trust is violated, the bonds that hold our republic together begin to weaken.

After 9/11, America stood proud, wounded but determined and united. A cowardly attack on innocent civilians brought us an unprecedented level of cooperation and understanding around the world.

But in just 34 months, we have watched with deep concern as all this goodwill has been squandered by a virtually unbroken series of mistakes and miscalculations. Unilateral acts and demands have isolated the United States from the very nations we need to join us in combating terrorism. [...]

At stake is nothing less than our nation’s soul. In a few months, I will, God willing, enter my 81st year of my life, and in many ways the last few months have been some of the most disturbing of all. But I am not discouraged. I do not despair for our country. I believe tonight, as I always have, that the essential decency, compassion and common sense of the American people will prevail.

Hold your breath in the next 100 days while we partake the semantics!

From Khazanah COO to ECM Libra staffer

He could have been the COO of Khazanah, the government-owned machinery that holds total assets of more than RM150 billion.

But he now settles for a job that carries the title of Director, Corporate Advisory Services at ECM Libra, a company with much less assets.

Is he over-spec for ECM Libra, or under-spec for Khazanah?

That's what my friends asked, and I have no answer. I must confess that I don't know Khairy Jamaluddin as much as I do Khazanah assets.

Mailbag: 'Astro phone-spam not related to Maxis'

A new victim of Astro night-time spam similar to what reader YW Yeoh experienced.

MBNS referred to the email below is Measat Broadcast Network Systems Sdn Bhd, old name for Astro's operator.

From: OK lah
Subject: Victim!!
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 22:38:51 +0800

Hah!! I, or rather my daughter, had a taste of MBNS' telephone spam earlier tonight. She was waiting for a friend's call, when the spam call came in at about 9.30 pm.

I guess it's not a case of abuse of database information (from Maxis or any other mobile operators), but rather MBNS is using the information which the subscriber gave (unaware, of course, that it'll be used for this purpose) to MBNS when the subscription to Astro services was registered.

The call to me was made through my TM fixed line. This is no difference from similar tactics used by banks/credit companies when the supply these information to an outsourced call centre to do telemarketing.

cheers, see you tomorrow,
OK lah

Mailbag: Maxis terms and conditions on 'Direct Debit'

May this year, reader Radha K Vengadasalam contacted the Multimedia and Communications Consumer Forum (CFM) to raise his concern over Maxis' terms and conditions of its service provisioning.

Radha gave strong reasons why he would "never ever sign up for direct debit with the UTSB Group of companies".

The reader has also consented to Screenshots publishing his complaint and a reply from Maxis. They are reproduced verbatim for the sake of public interest.

From: Radha K Vengadasalam
Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 2004 3:55 PM
To: Forum Pengguna
Subject: Concerns on Maxis terms and conditions

Dear CFM,

I refer to the form called 'payment facility Form' as being used by Maxis.

I believe that the terms and conditions are one sided and need review or comments by CFM (references are in accordance with the form referencing).

• 3c - is not acceptable. Is there a opt out? Why sneak this in a payment form and not in the service application. A bit naughty.


• 5d - kitchen sink approach is it? need more clearer definition.


• 6 - once mandate given surely it is Maxis's duty to ensure timely settlement?


• 7 - what if the bank screws up and Maxis does not notify me, surely it is still not my fault.


• 8f - how is it possible for the transaction to be entered without Cardholder authorisation when the signed authorisation is given to Maxis?


• 8h - surely it is Maxis duty to check this not customer.


• 9 - what if Maxis screws up, why have this disclaimer? What if the staff employed by Maxis make a mistake and because of that my service is terminated?


• 11- a bit naughty


• 12 - why customer must give I month while Maxis only give 7 days?

The above are some of the reasons why I would never ever sign up for direct debit with the UTSB group of companies. Many terms and conditions are silly and have been drafted using the kitchen sink approaches. I suppose the legal departments must earn their salary I say.

Please look into this.

Regards

Here's a reply from maxis to Radha via Consumer Forum:

From: Customer Service [mailto: CUSTOMERCARE@maxis.com.my]
Sent: Monday, May 31, 2004 11:32 AM
To: admin@cfm.org.my
Subject: RE: Complaints against Maxis - Concerns on Maxis terms
andconditions

Dear Miss Suganthe,

We refer to Mr Radha's feedback on the terms and conditions for our Direct Debit service.

The terms and conditions of any new services introduced by Maxis are printed at the back of the registration or payment facility form. Our subscribers are advised to look through the terms and conditions carefully before deciding whether to sign up for a particular service or payment facility form.

Our subscribers can also seek further clarification on any of the terms and conditions with our customer service consultants before signing up for the service. They have every right and choice to decline the service if they are not happy with the terms and conditions.

We trust the above explanation has clarifies (sic) the matter. Thank you

Yours sincerely,
Marilyn Linang
Customer Services

Precisely for the same reason as Radha's I refused to subscribe to Maxis/Astro's 'Direct Debit'. Are they UTSB Group of companies?

Mailbag: Abuse of customers' private information

From: YW Yeoh
Subject: Abuse of Private Information
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 01:12:46 +0100 (BST)

I subscribe to a Maxis mobile-phone service as do most of my family members and friends.

Yesterday evening, I received a call (not an sms) without caller ID. The call was a recorded message promoting some ASTRO satellite TV service.

To me, this is an abuse of confidential subscriber information by MAXIS and/or ASTRO. One's telephone number, especially one's mobile-phone number is private information that should not be diseminated to other parties without one's consent, more so when the information is used (or abused) for commercial purposes.

How more irritating (and costly) it would be more subscribers who happened to be overseas and in a different time zone, to be awoken in the middle of the night by a silly recorded message promoting satellite TV. Mind you, the receiver of the call will also be billed for roaming charges.

I am very keen to hear what MAXIS, ASTRO or the Telecomunication and/or Domestic Trade Ministers have to say to this abuse of consumer information.

Yours sincerely
Y.W.Yeoh

Joining the dots ( 4 ): Media, corporate advisory etc

The July 14 afternoon dispatch by AFX News is now confirmed. PM's son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin will join ECM Libra as a director of corporate advisory services w.e.f. August 1.

ECM Libra, a company closely-linked to NSTP Group EIC, also announced an enlarged corporate advisory team made up of new recruits with Syed Elias Alhabshi, 61, and Raja Ali Raja Othman, 38.

The Edge FinancialDaily runs the news in Page 2 (5th story/6 paras/1 column); StarBiz in Page 3 (4th story/6 paras/2 columns) and NST-Business Times in Page 2 (3rd story/11 paras/2 columns).

'One-sided contracts': How unhappy is the govt unhappy?

Deputy PM Najib Abdul Razak said at an investment seminar that the government had acted stupid before in privatisation projects but things are going to change for the better.

He said, in the past, the government was inexperienced in such matters as privatisation projects. He said the concessionaires came to the negotiating table with high-powered legal and merchant banking advisers.

He said the Government now wanted to renegotiate some of the privatisation projects to ensure that it does not continue to be shortchanged and the people unduly burdened.

According to The Star, Najib admitted he felt that some of the earlier privatisation deals were too one-sided in favour of the concessionaires.

The projects include the construction and management of highways and public utilities such as water concession.

Another example Najib cited as being one-sided is Spanco Sdn Bhd, which has a privatisation contract to lease and maintain government vehicles.

He said the Cabinet had ordered the deal to be renegotiated, not cancelled.

What should the government do next? Najib said in thecase of contracts given out to privatisation operators, like water concessionaires, which were too favourable to them, the Government would be seeking a revision of the terms to make them fairer to it and consumers.

He said that if the water contracts were not renegotiated, the consumers would have to pay much higher water rates and the Government would not be able to win 90% of the parliamentary seats in the next elections.

Najib also said the Government was determined to implement the open tender process for all its projects - except for "some projects involving the security of the country".

'Stick & Carrot'.

Speaking at the same event, Energy, Water and Communications Minister Dr Lim Keng Yaik said public utility operators which had been charging high rates would have their projects renegotiated by way of the 'carrot and stick' approach.

He said the rates must come down, given the level of subsidies involved in running the operations.

"There will be no tariff increase as long as I am in this ministry," he was quoted as saying in The Star.

He said the renegotiation would affect current water operators and independent power producers (IPP).

Regarding power projects, he said the Government would negotiate on the current rates charged by the IPPs in view of the huge government subsidies involved in running the power plants.

Dr Lim also clarified that the "stick" would include tightening current regulations to get the players to lower the rates while the "carrot" is by way of giving them much bigger projects to manage.

So, how do we tell the government is really unhappy with the Big Boys in the telecommunications sector, and the privatisation of water supply, toll-roads, and power generation?

Incredible Hulk normally turns green when he's unhappy. The government? Show us some teeth lah!

Fussy consumers

At the launching of thenational-leval Consumer Day celebration, PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi asked consumers to be cautious, responsible, and conscientious when buying products ans services.

It’s okay to be a little fussy but you must get value for your ringgit, he said.

As far as I can glean from media reports, the PM was referring to production-based economy as he targets at manufacturers, producers and traders of outright cheats ranging from imitation products to inferior parts.

His speech writers has either forgotten or are ignorant of sub-standard knowledge and technology-based services that had conquered our daily life. One good example is cellular service providers.

Rhetorics aside, I hope consumer advocates would adapt themselves to the power of knowledge-based economy and start to discards old antics like signature campaigns and boycotts. Such tactics have seen better days and big boys like Astro and Maxis won't budge.

To deal with sub-standard customer service, such as those evident in major cellular operators who flout their brand promise and licensing conditions, strategic intervention must be roped in.

Several people suggested to me to prepare a memorandum to the relevant minister to demand the immediate enforcement of domestic roaming - to tackle lousy service coverage - and portability of cellularphone numbers when you switch operator.

Hence, to fight a modern day fight, consumer advocates and NGOs must start learning new tricks. Or consumers can remain forever fussy but nothing is going to happen to protect their interests.

Newspaper license & 'Rashomon Syndrome'

Those who have seen Rashomon, Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film adapted from Ryunosuke Akutagawa's novelette, would be familar with the concept that a story could be told from different points of view, and that there are many versions to plain truth depending on one's bias.

That what I termed as the Rashomon Syndrome. Your conscience dictates what you want to believe, and what you want others to believe.

NST Editor Rehman Rashid and Deputy Internal Security Minister Chia Kwang Chye were apparently cast under the spell of the Rashomon Syndrome when they separately talked about the issue of a freeze on newspaper license.

Last Saturday, Rehman said the government would freeze the issuance of licences for the print media for at least a decade - or "one or two terms" in Malaysian politics - because of declining standards among newspapers today.

He argued that the freeze is not about repression of the media. It's because, according to Rehman as quoted in Malaysiakini, PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi "feels there are enough already".

Rehman claimed that there is "not enough talent" in local newspapers today and that their "standard has come down". He said the withholding of new licences would provide current media players with the opportunity to build greater competence. Quote:

"This is the work of consolidation that Pak Lah wants. Under (former premier Dr) Mahathir (Mohamad), it was about quantity like the number of tall buildings. Under Pak Lah, it is about quality," he said.

However, Chia was quick to rebutt Rehman's comments as simply NST - 'No Such Thing'.

Chia said the government’s licencing policy for the print media remains the same. Excerpts from Malaysiakini:

"We don’t stop or discourage applications for new licences. Interested parties should feel free to apply, but approval is at the discretion of the minister," he said.

"There is no fixed policy to reduce or increase the number of newspapers. As for the standard or quality of a publication, this would depend first and foremost on the team of journalists and editors."

Chia serves under Abdullah, who is also the internal security minister overseeing enforcement of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (PPPA).

The ministry has power over the issuance and renewal of annual printing and publishing licences and the minister’s decisions are not subject to judicial review.

Asked about the status of malaysiakini’s application for a print licence, Chia reiterated that this was still under consideration.

Now, back to Rashomon. A reviewer on IMDB.com has this summary:

Rashomon is set in Medieval Japan, (exactly when is not stated, and irrelevant), and revolves around the murder of a nobleman and the rape of his wife.

The story is related by four separate people, and is being discussed by three men sheltering at Rashomon Gate from torrential rain. The stories are told by the suspect, (a bandit), the murdered mans wife, a woodcutter, (a witness to the murder), and the dead man himself through a medium.

Each story is different and all have reasons for lying. During the court scenes the judge is never seen, and the witnesses are facing the audience. Therefore the viewers themselves are the judge.

Another reviewer has this comment:

Each time one of the witnesses tells their side of the story, it changes. There's never any question that a murder did occur.

The mystery in Rashomon is figuring out who is telling the truth. Or to be even more descriptive, who's (sic!) story has the least amount of holes.

Now, in between Rehman and Chia... that Rashomon Syndrome!

Mailbag: The Maxis Trick

From: Lburuk
Subject: Loyalty to Maxis?
Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 10:46:26 +0800

Hi Jeff

You think your experience with Maxis is bad?

If you want to see the worst then sign up for Maxis so called M Plan. The plan used to be that you paid 238 a month and collected 238 of talk time/sms...blah blah blah. Initially you could retain 3 X 238 credit. Soon this was lowered to 238 of credit only. Yet this is not the worst part. The worst part goes like this.

My billing period starts at the 9th of every month. This means at the 9th of the January I owe Maxis 238 for the period of 9th January to 9th February. Note that at the 9th of January I already have 238 rolled over credit (as an example of the max). This means that I owe Maxis 238 of money for the January bill (supposedly due February) but I have a total of 476 talk time/SMS.

This is where it gets screwy. Remember, the total amount owed is 238+taxes (equals 242 on an average month less the "bonus" crap). However, when i signed up they gave us a credit limit of RM 250. So, in order to calculate how much you "owe" them they take the actual amount of money you owe them (238) plus your call charges so far (which is already in the 238). This means your usage is calculated TWICE for billing purposes. Pretty neat trick to bill your customer twice when calculating amount of outstanding credit.

Best part is this. Remember the 238 you had carried over to this month? Well you can't use it ever because you have to pay to use credits that they owe you. Example 9th January, bill for 238. Owe 238. Calls made, RM 12. Piak, line barred.

Total amount owed maxis if I disconnected today ... 238. Total credits on system calculated 250... barred. Yet I owe 238 only in real money and I should be able to use my credits and the credits of the month before that i have to pay for.

Chinese got a derogatory term for this kind of calculation called "ke ling soh" and this is a prime example.

JEFF OOI: People who have not read Maxis smallprints and kena caught in whatsoever way, please share your experience.

Democrats Convention: 35 official bloggers; Wonkette blogs for MTV

Was it because Howard Dean played the role of internet insurgent and pioneered the use of weblogs in his campaign? The Democratic Party has accredited some 35 bloggers to cover the convention at Boston this week.

More, even traditional news outlets like the Associated Press news agency will have a blog, written by veteran political correspondent and Pulitzer Prize-winner Walter R Mears.

Blogger Ana Marie Cox, better known as Wonkette in blogosphere, has a reverse media manoeuvre as she will be providing convention commentary for MTV.

Other new trends in American media-politik:

• Media Outnumbers. Journalists will outnumber delegates three-to-one at the Democratic Party convention with 15,000 reporters of various stripes aiming to cover every angle.
• Network Withdrawal. In 1952, the US television networks broadcast the conventions nationwide for the first time, providing "gavel-to-gavel" coverage of some 10 to 13 hours a day.

  This year, the three major broadcast television networks - ABC, CBS and NBC - all plan only one hour nightly of television coverage and will not provide any coverage on the Tuesday of either convention.

• Cable Power: CNN plans nightly coverage until early in the morning each night and is moving key shows to Boston and New York during the conventions. Fox News Channel plans to expand its coverage by a third this year.

BBC News titled the news items Bloggers go mainstream at US conventions, calling the species "those irreverent internet commentators".

Thanks reader Lyn for the pointer.

TV Smith's satire plagiarised again!

Remember TV Smith's satire piece: The Naked Card, which was plagiarised last year by Singapore's TalkingCock.com and IDG Hong Kong's editor?

The former apologised early and kept its bead, the latter apologised too late and lost his job.

Blogger Rajan R emailed me Saturday of his discovery that TV Smith's work has been plagiarised again, this time by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the American individual rights and liberties fighters group founded in 1920.

In the Union's official website, ACLU has created a Flash-animation using TV Smith's famous parady on pizza ordering that gave the authority unsanctioned possession of the purchaser's personal data.

Thanks too to blogger Suresh Gnasegarah who sent me a similar alert.

As a measure to preserve evidence, we have asked blogger Dr Liew to help extract the Shockwave Flash file, which I shall host in Screenshots in case the URL in ACLU expires for some reasons. Download file, sized 333kb.

Here's to PEACE

Under political pressure in an election year to respond to the 9-11 Report's criticism of the government response to terrorism, President Bush is examining speedy ways to implement by executive order some recommendations from the Sept. 11 Commission which do not have to go through Congress.

But he can never bering back the original "tripod on the sky" from which CY Leow photographed New York City.

Click here to view details

CY says the best view of the Big Apple was actually on the top of the World Trade Center! From there, you could see the three bridges of New York: The Williamsburg Bridge on the top left, the Manhattan Bridge and the beautiful wooden Brooklyn Bridge.

The shot was taken on a clear day in 1994 with his trusty Leica M6 and a 90 mm f2 Summicron lens.

Go to CY's photoblog to view two ther stunning shots of the fallen towers!

Loyalty to Maxis?

I maintain two post-paid mobilephone accounts plus one supplementary account with Maxis. One of the Maxis main accounts, with number 012-202-xxxx, is my very private contact which is seldom used for outgoing calls.

This number, activated over eight years ago on January 9, 1996, has contributed a total of RM9,982.81 to Maxis coffer to date. Because of sustained call pattern, Maxis has granted me a Line of Credit of RM850.00 some four years ago, and the LOC is still maintained in their customer database.

Yesterday, Maxis decided to "interrrupt" my line because I owed them RM5.92 - LIMA RINGGIT SEMBILAN PULUH DUA SEN.

This afternoon, I asked the TTDI Branch Supervisor to connect me to Kiang Chiew Peng, SGM Post-Paid Marketing, who reports to the Singaporean COO, Edward Ying.

I asked her two questions:

1. What's the meaning of the LOC if they could trust me with RM850 but not RM5.92?


2. Is Maxis sending me a message that I shouldn't dream on for my 8-year customer loyalty reward but it's high time to churn to other mobile operator?

She promised to tell me about Maxis Brand Promise in a written reply within 24 hours.

Once a telco grows big, it tends to get very cocky. I used to detest this perception, but I now agree fully.

Meanwhile, Tan Lay Han, Maxis GM Channel Distribution and Customer Service, who also reports directly to Ying - don't sit pretty up there. If you continue to trust systems and process more than your human customers, I promise to lead disgruntled customers to prick your arse sooner than you think.

Who can sneak out the alpha NST tabloid?

Is there anyone in Jalan Riong bold enough to sneak out a copy of the tabloid-sized prototype of The New Straits Times and post it on the Internet?

In yesterday's Sunday Times (Singapore), Leslie Lau mentioned that the tabloid-sized NST will hit the street by year-end. No details, though.

According to the Singapore paper, The NST badly needs a shake-up as the broadsheet "had become a dull and dreary read, filled with heavy writing that drove readers away".

Meanwhile, Utusan Group's weapon to rival Harian Metro, the sensation-laden tabloid cut out for the blue-collar Malay readers, will hit the street by end August. It's an afternoon tabloid named Utusan Kosmo.

It's amazing even the Big Mind Big Man is hit by tabloiditis when the Malay papers become the lifeline for the Group.

Thanks reader Lyn for the pointer.

But I would like to see that changes at both NST and Utusan groups are a precursor to reforms at Umno and the way it conducts its media businesses.

Gag order? The train has left the station...

Goddess-speaks, Doctor-spins... ( 10 )

Shahanaaz Habib reports in The Star today that Umno members contesting in the September party elections are confused over the so-called gag order by the management committee on Wednesday.

If you remember, July 21, Umno issued a gag order on all the candidates vying for various party posts in its September elections, except for those holding federal and state government posts, and those who persist in giving press statements will be issued with warning letters as this was considered as misusing the media to campaign and promote themselves.

What's the point of placing a gag order on July 21 when The NST has accomplished its prime mission on July 11?

The Big Mind Big Man's paper today has a new spin: VP aspirants who lose may not get supreme council seats.

Nik Aziz's health scare

Could the ulama in PAS Kelantan have handled better than Husam Musa, in the wake of Nik Aziz's heart attack last week?

Would Husam be sidelined, and would power equation likely shift if Nik Aziz were to step aside or even step down as Mentri Besar?

Jocelyn Tan explored these questions by relying on what happened in Kelantan when Nik Aziz's heart had stopped twice on Thursday.

Nik Aziz, whom they call Tok Guru, is not only the party's Mursyidul Am or spiritual leader, he is also the glue holding together the fragile PAS government in the only state now under PAS control.

Hence, Nik Aziz's health scare on Thursday sent ripples through the party, from the top echelon down to the grassroots. [...]

But the point is, the ulama have not shone as administrators. Nik Aziz is a classic example. He is a brilliant preacher and his religious views are held in high esteem in the party, but his more than a decade-long leadership of Kelantan has been unremarkable.

Even during this week's crisis, it was Husam who took charge.

He got the doctors, members of Tok Guru's family and state exco members to sit down together to make snap decisions on the Mentri Besar's health.

He contacted a family member of Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to appeal to the Internal Security Minister to allow Wan Aldi (sic), who is detained under the Internal Security Act in Kamunting, to visit his ailing father.

And he instructed Harakah editor Zulkifli Sulong to send out mass text messages to some 4,500 subscribers about the status of their Tok Guru, in part to dispel rumours that Nik Aziz had died.

I think PAS national should well get prepared on this.

Husam & Pak Lah's 'family member'

Jocelyn Tan wrote yesterday that, upon sizing up Nik Abdul Aziz's heart attack, Husam Musa contacted 'a family member of Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi' to appeal to the Internal Security Minister to allow Wan Aldi, who is detained under the Internal Security Act in Kamunting, to visit his ailing father.

Who is this guy - ' a family member of Pak Lah'? An academic answer I supposed.

Astro throws clone-maestros a challenge

Astro announced July 23 that it would introduce a new anti-cloning access smart card to its 1.383 million subscribers soon to fight the growing access card cloning racket. The satellite TV operator said this was to ensure that the cloning access card became obsolete.

Astro COO David Butorac, who made the announcement, said Astro would replace the access card with a new high-tech smart card. However, he did not say when the new smart card was ready for distribution.

July 13, Astro CEO Ralph Marshall told shareholders at the AGM that the company expected its second and third quarter earnings to improve from the first quarter level on the back of lower churn and cloned smart cards.

Meanwhile, Philips Malaysia Bhd announced that the new generation of Astro decoders would be produced completely by a Prai-based contract manufacturer. The optimum capacity is 500,000 units per annum.

Bernama said the new box of Astro decoder is already in the market and Astro is confident of installing about 300,000 boxes to its new customers in year 2005.

A little bird told Screenshots the current Philips Astro decoder is obsolete. A similar unit was priced 30 Euros during the recent summer sales in Germany, while the newer ones which provide weather-proof viewing even during snow-storms are priced around 500 Euros each.

The rule of thumb is, even in the US, cloned access cards is still a headache for the next-gen digital direct-to-home Pay-TV operators. Search the Internet and you will get all the relevant information on how to hack-and-crack the smartest of the smart cards.

If Butorac keeps his job this time next year will we believe he has cracked the clone-maestros' code. But I don't think the clone-maestros will run away from his challenge.

Noblog

Apologies, this blogger was at large the last three days. Just got back to the rat-race this morning.

9-11 Report: 'America is safer... but not safe'

The 9-11 commission released its final report and made it available to the public at 11:30 a.m. ET yesterday. President Bush has been presented with a copy of the report at the White House the same day.

The verdict? America is "safer ... but not safe" and could face another terrorist attack this fall, said former Washington Sen. Slade Gorton, the only member of the Sept. 11 commission from the West.

Remember Richard Clarke? The former counter-terrorism chief in the Clinton and Bush administrations whom few would forget his plea for forgiveness from Americans for failing them. He was blunt about the findings, reports BBC News:

"What they didn't do is say that the country is actually not safer now than it was then because of the rise in terrorism after our invasion in Iraq."

At the United Nations two days ago, reports Reuters, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the world is no safer than it was three years ago, countering President Bush's claims he had made the world a safer place.

The 9-11 Commission's report was compiled by the 10-member bipartisan panel, formally named the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States and established by Congress to investigate the events surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The 575-page report — priced US$10 with an initial print run of 500,000 and available at the US bookstores, the Government Printing Office in Washington (for $8.50) or at 9-11commission.gov for free — highlights the failings of U.S. intelligence and domestic security.

Before that, according to the Los Angeles Times, the publisher had to secretly print the report and airmail it under wraps to bookstores across the country. (LA Times also has an interactive quick summary of the report).

The Bush administration provided the commission with 2.5 million pages of documents and 900 interviews including those with Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, according to CNN.

The final document reportedly illustrates 10 missed opportunities by both the Bush and Clinton administrations to halt the suicide hijacking plot, six of which are attributed to the Bush administration, four to the Clinton administration.

If anything, the report suggests a stronger link Al-Qaeda had with Iran than with Iraq. Read Al-Jazeera on this.

Mailbag: Screenshots should cover this

From: Umran Kadir
Subject: Why Screenshots should cover the Muslim Malay Apostate Case
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 17:58:52 -0700 (PDT)

Dear Jeff,

Your blog has always struck me as a great source of information and debate.

Although I can't say I have agreed with the positions you have taken on various issues, I respect your site because you do your best to give people a chance to voice their opinions on a range of issues.

My firm belief is that it is only through discussion that the Third World mentality of this country can progress and only then can we collectively as a nation truly harness our potential.

With this in mind, I hope that you would consider covering the recent court outcome of the four (now three) Malay Muslim apostates from the state of Kelantan.

Here is the Malaysiakini story for your reference:
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/28631

As Screenshots is a site that covers topics relevant to all Malaysians, I hope you understand why Screenshots should cover this story.

Our Federal Constitution guarantees all Malaysians the Freedom of Religion. Instead of defending our Federal Constitution, our cowardly judiciary chooses to side step the issue, in effect siding with the would-be mullahs. Muslims continue to face a legal limbo in this country and have fewer religious freedoms than any other section of society.

The Malaysian legal system is fundamentally flawed. Our Federal Constitution is tread upon and spat upon and no one dares raise their objection for fear of being labelled anti-Islam or a heretic (btw, how is this different from how the anti-Semetic label is applied so liberally in the West, I ask you?).

I hope that Screenshots will be among the few to rise to the challenge and will highlight this serious violation of human rights to the people.

The simple fact is that most Malaysians don't know about this case. It is important that people know, less important is their opinion. People must start discussing this case.

It is up to ordinary people because our government and our judiciary have failed us - failed the very people they claim to serve. Only through such grassroots discussion can we enact any change.

Sincerely,
Umran Kadir

JEFF OOI: I must declare that I have little grasp of the domain knowledge concerning apostasy. By opening this blog topic, I hope readers could exchange their rational views on the topic and so shall we benefit from it. There is a Star report to begin with for context.

From Paris, Pak Lah prays for Nik Aziz's quick recovery

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi extends a get-well-soon message from Paris to Kelantan menteri besar, Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, who has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Perdana Specialist Hospital, Kota Baru, after a heart attack this morning, reports Malaysiakini.

Abdullah, now visiting France, says he is praying for Nik Aziz's quick recovery.

He says he has directed heart specialists from Kuala Lumpur to be flown immediately to Kota Baharu to give the best medical treatment to Nik Aziz.

"I hope the hospital will also provide the best treatment to Yang Amat Berhormat Nik Aziz," he told Bernama by phone from Paris.

State Executive Councillor Husam Musa said the PAS spiritual leader was in stable condition but in a semi-conscious state under the care of the hospital's heart specialist Dr Ibrahim Abdullah.

He said the Kelantan Government had applied through the relevant authorities to make arrangements for Nik Aziz's son Nik Adli, under detention for the last three years under the Internal Security Act (ISA), to visit his father.

Meanwhile, deputy minister of Internal Security Noh Omar says arrangement are being made to allow Nik Adli to pay his father a visit.

UPDATE: HarakahDaily.net reported at 17:29:23hr that Nik Aziz's condition has become more stable since 1.00pm, quoting assistant menteri besar Ahmad Yaacob who held a press conference at the Hospital Pakar Perdana at noon time.

He asked the rakyat, especially people in Kelantan and PAS supporters, not to worry.

SIS: 'Automatic conversion for minors against law'

Here are several responses to Justice Faiza Tamby Chik's judgment on the case of Shamala Sathyaseelan VS Dr Muhammad Ridzwan Mogarajah (now known as Muhammad Ridzwan Mogarajah) over the custodial rights of their two sons after the latter Hinduism to embrace Islam. Source of reports is theSun (July 22, Page 4).

R. Sivarasa, Shamala's counsel:

... the judgment did not address the core issue in Article 12 of the Federal Constitution which gives the mother the right to have a say in the religion of her children.

"The court while acknowledging that Muhammad Ridzwan had done wrong by converting the children in a shroud of secrecy, allowed him to profit from it." This is tantamount to allowing a thief to keep his stolen goods, he said.

Nora Murat, Sisters In Islam legal officer:

The Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act does not provide for automatic conversion of minor children whose parent has converted to Islam, Sisters In Islam said yesterday.

SIS legal officer Nora Murat said Clause 95 of the enactment specifically states that a person who has not reached the age of 18 can be converted to Islam only with the father or mother or guardian's consent. [...]

Ih his ruling, Justice Faiza had cited a Jan 2 letter from the Federal Territory mufti stating that the children are automatically converted to Islam when one of the parents embraces Islam and that the conversion was effective even though the other parent opposed it.

"The mufti has given a conflicting opinion to what is already clearly stated in the law," Nora said, adding the legislative procedure should take precedence over a mere opinion.

Nora added that the Quran is clear in stating that there is no compulsion in faith, and the conversion of Shamala's minor children under the shroud of secrecy indicates an element of force.

She said nothing in the Quran or Hadith stipulates that a child's conversion is automatic upon conversion of a parent, citing that the FT enactment on conversion of minors differs from that of the Selangor Administration of Islamic Law Enactment which allows for automatic conversion.

Pushpa Ratnam, All Women's Action Society honorary legal adviser:

... the judge placed too much emphasis on the mufti's opinion and gave it authority when by right the mufti's opinion should only have pursuasive value.

Ivy Josiah, Women's Aid Organisation executive director:

"It actually allows the independent decision by the father to convert the children to Islam, without the consent or knowledge of the children or the mother, to be upheld.

Josiah said Shamala has also been denied the right to share her spiritual beliefs and cultural traditions with her children because of the judge's warning that she would lose actual custody if she influenced her children's present religious beliefs as Muslims.

Separately, in The Star, Josiah said "Shamala’s right to be an equal party with her husband in the choice of religion for the children was earlier denied. And as a result of this recent decision, she has to follow her husband’s choice."

July 14, PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told the Dewan Rakyat that the Government had always ensured freedom of religious worship in the country while, at the moment, there is no law legislated to restrict or affect religious practices or beliefs.

He added that this matter is accepted as provided for in Article 11 of the Federal Constitution, which guarantees the freedom of religion.

Read these two blogs (here and here) for context.

ACTUAL CUSTODY & JUDGE'S CAVEAT. The Star reports that diverse groups are unhappy with the conditions placed on Shamala in the court decision giving her and her former husband, now a Muslim convert, joint custody of their sons.

SIS legal officer Nora Murad said the group was concerned with the practical implications of the decision, as the caveat placed on the mother was unclear.

"If Shamala has a Hindu altar in her house as she practises Hinduism, does this mean she will be influencing her children?" she said yesterday.

Council of Churches of Malaysia (CCM) general secretary Rev Dr Hermen Shastri said news reports showed contradictory statements relating to the decision.

The reports, he noted, had stated that the children were converted in secrecy and therefore, could not be considered as an automatic conversion.

"But the caveat placed on the mother almost assumes that the children are Muslims," he said.

Dr Shastri also felt that the situation could be subject to abuse in the absence of a clear explanation of what constituted religious influence by the mother.

Some religious authorities, he said, might put pressure on Shamala over practices such as wearing a religious pendant.

Gerakan Wanita chief Rhina Bhar said if the conversion of the children was deemed illegal, there were concerns over the caveat placed on Shamala.

We suggest it is wise to hold that the conversion is illegal unless both parents have consented to it.

"The children must remain in the religion they were born into up to the age of 18, when they can then decide for themselves which religion to follow,” she said.

Bar Council vice-chairman Yeo Yang Poh said that while there were existing laws to ensure the freedom of religion, Shamala's case showed that the desired effect of these laws was not achieved in reality.

"For example, the mother may have obtained a custody order in her favour from the civil court, the father may obtain a different one in his favour from the Syariah Court. This tug-of-war is surely not in the interests of the children," he said.

Yeo said existing laws should be strengthened and made clearer and the judiciary must be proactive in promoting fundamental rights.

"This is important so that one parent will not be compelled to resort to drastic measures to protect her children," he said.

APOSTASY. Meanwhile, the Federal Court has ruled yesterday that the four Kelantanese who were jailed for attempting to renounce Islam were still Muslims when they refused to attend the repentance classes pending an official confirmation of their renunciation by the Syariah Court, reports The Star.

Shamala's dilemma

Guest Blogger
Chez1978, Malaysia
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2004 11:33:34 -0700 (PDT)

We must understand why Shamala Sathyaseelan's case is of importance today. I am not suggesting that judge Faiza Tamby Chik failed to dispense justice. We simply do not have enough information. In fact, I personally think that the judge has tried very hard to not overstep the boundaries of the civil court and did his best to deliver a detailed oral judgement. However, the caveat that was put in place actually cements the (one-sided) conversion of the two children. Didn't the judge earlier decided that the civil court cannot hear the case for nullifying the conversion? Then why is it recognizing and lending legitimacy to the process (of conversion)?

The judge, imho, correctly interpreted the boundaries of the civil court. Yet, this leaves both the civil and syariah court out of the loop when it comes to issues on apostacy and conversion. Neither court can hear them, and this huge greay area is getting to be a problem. Faiza correctly noted that the father should have consulted the mother, but what good is crying over spilt milk?

The most interesting detail here is the fact that on technical legality, Shamala is still the wife as the marriage is still valid (and she is still entitled to her husband's pension, if he has one *chuckles*). One may ask that how is it possible for a married couple to ask the court to decide on custodial rights of their children when they are, technically, still married?

Welcome to the whacky world of legal practice.

It is possible for custodial battles to begin even when divorce proceedings are not completed. In fact, there is a lot of precedence in cases where custodial rights are set forth as terms for divorce settlements.

But what makes Shamala's case interesting is the fact that both the civil and syariah courts made pronouncements as to the custodial rights of the children.

Faiza has made the civil court's initial judgement. So, the issue here is whether the wife and the husband will accept it. The former can seek to contest on the unnecessary caveat (which the civil court has no right to enforce - unless it falls under inter-faith preaching or proselytization to muslims). Considering the fact that the conversion of the children itself is being contested, acceptance of the judge's caveat only serves to close the door to future appeal in
nullifying the conversion.

The husband can continue to make it more interesting by getting the Syariah court to hear his case and we will see if we get another judgement on the custodial rights to the children.

It would be immensely fun to see which court's decision will stand at the end of the day.

Faiza should have stopped at "giving actual custody to the mother and legal custody to both parents" - which is perfect. As he stated, "legal custody granted to both parents meant they would have to agree on issues concerning the children, such as education, choice of religion and property".

This actually would get Faiza off the hook nicely without having to decide on the legality of the children's conversion (since it is off the civil court's purview anyway).

If the husband agreed to this judgement, Shamala has grounds to fight the conversion of the children as there is obviously no agreement to choice of religion.

However, he added the caveat. The caveat looks like a poison pill to me.

I am sure the lawyers can see what Faiza is really trying to say (or do). Perhaps he is actually providing the grounds for the civil court to hear the case for nullifying the conversion (it seems), but the caveat will actually set Shamala in disadvantage later because the default position would actually be that the kids are now muslims.

Better customer service from Streamyx?

TMNet Sdn Bhd announced yesterday that it has outsourced the Customer Interaction Centre (CIC) of its Streamyx broadband service to VADS Bhd, a Telekom Malaysia subsidiary, due to increasing customer calls and enquiries.

Since April 2004, VADS has been able to respond to almost all calls and immediately attend to all queries.

Via The EdgeDaily.com:

VADS acting chief executive officer Dennis Koh said the company employs over 150 customer service representatives (CSRs) to handle Streamyx's subscriber calls.

"We have a dedicated quality team listening in on calls to ensure QA [quality assurance] guidelines are being practised and processes being followed. All CSRs are progressively trained in-house to ensure their performance meet the ever changing customer expectations," he added.

Streamyx's CustCare number: 1300-88-9515. This is one number it's website doesn't publicise aptly, even on its Customers Support page.

Calling photomalaysia.com

What has happened to www.photomalaysia.com?

There is message which says: "There is no website configured at this address."

Here's the only cache in Google.

theSun puts on a little

theSun today is back on normal diet and puts up 36 pages for the main paper, and 12 pages for The Edge FinancialDaily pullout.

Screenshots noticed it has thinned out to 24 + 8 in the last few days. Read yesterday's blog for context.

Shamala gets custody but...

There's a new turn of verdict for Shamala Sathyaseelan who is fighting for custodial rights over her two sons against her former husband, Dr Muhammad Ridzwan Mogarajah who had left Hinduism to embrace Islam.

Yesterday, High Court (Family Court) judge Faiza Tamby Chik granted her custody of the two chidren - Saktiswaran, four years and 10 months, and Theiviswaran, 3½ years - but stressed that the boys must be brought up as Muslims, says theSun.

Excerpts from theSun:

"I put a caveat as I must not lose sight that they are mualaf (Muslim converts).

"The mother would lose her rights to actual custody if there are reasonable grounds to believe she would influence the children's present religious belief, for example teaching them her belief (Hinduism) or making them eat pork," Faiza said.

Faiza, in his oral judgment yesterday, granted the father equal legal custody over the boys as well as visitation rights.

The judge said the legal custody granted to both parents meant they would have to agree on issues concerning the children, such as education, choice of religion and property.

Faiza hoped that by giving actual custody to the mother and legal custody to both parents, Shamala and Dr Jeyaganesh would be able to "retain some influence on the children and neither would feel totally excluded".

According to The NST, Shamala, a bank clerk, had applied to the High Court for custody of her children, who were converted to Islam by her husband without her knowledge and consent on Nov 25, 2002.

Shamala and Dr Jeyaganesh were married on Nov 5, 1998 according to Hindu rites and their marriage was registered under the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act.

According to theSun, four years later, on November 19, 2002, the husband embraced Islam and after a month and 10 days, also converted his sons.

According to The Star, Jeyaganesh is now known as Muhammad Ridzwan Mogarajah; Saktiswaran’s Muslim name is Muhammad Firdaus Jeya while Theiviswaran is named Muhammad Asraf Jeya.

Subsequently, Shamala had also applied to the High Court to nullify the conversion of her sons to Islam, but her application was rejected on the grounds that the court did not have jurisdiction.

Faiza, in his earlier judgment on April 13, said the only way out for Shamala was to seek the help of the Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan, adding that the Syariah Court too had no jurisdiction to hear her case as she is a non-Muslim.

More excerpts from theSun on Judge Faiza's oral judgment:

Faiza said according to civil law, when one party to a civil marriage converts to Islam, the unconverted party can file for divorce. However, Faiza said Shamala did not file for divorce and the marriage is still valid, so Jeyaganesh cannot avoid from his responsibility to support his children and wife.

On the issue of religion, he said under Syariah law when the father converts and if he has infant children, they are automatically converted to Islam, but in this case there was no automatic conversion as the father converted them only after a month and 10 days after he converted.

He said Jeyaganesh did not inform Shamala of the children's conversion and had applied to the Syariah court for custody (hadamah) although he was aware that the wife had applied for custody from the High Court. [...]

He said the children were born to Hindu parents and not Muslim parents and the father converted them without the consent of their mother and therefore the civil law applicable at the time of their conversion is Section 5 of the Guardianship of Infants Act.

He said the Act gives equal right and authority for custody and upbringing of the children and therefore neither parents can convert the children without the other spouse's consent.

"The father should have consulted the mother; after all she is still his wedded wife," Faiza said.

NOT IN COUNTRY. Soon after Faiza finished giving his judgment, Dr Jeyaganesh’s counsel, Muralee Menon, objected to the judgment, claiming he had not been able to serve a writ on Shamala to initiate contempt proceedings.

He added that his client could not visit his children because they were no longer in the country.

Faiza advised Muralee to file an appeal if he was not satisfied with the judgment. Excerpt from The NST:

"Don’t make it an issue. The most important thing (here) are the children. If you are not happy, please appeal. If they are not in the country, it is not my business. What do you expect me to do? I will not hear it (contempt proceedings) until it is fixed for hearing," said Faiza, who then fixed Sept 9 to hear the matter.

KEENLY FOLLOWED. The case has drawn interest from several quarters, including the Malaysian Consultative Council for Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism and women’s organisations such as Sisters in Islam, the Women’s Aid Organisation and the All Women’s Action Society. It has even been brought up in the Parliament.

July 14, PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told the Dewan Rakyat that children's custodial rights among non-Muslims were governed by the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 and Child Custody Act 1961.

Abdullah also said the Government had always ensured freedom of religious worship in the country while, at the moment, there is no law legislated to restrict or affect religious practices or beliefs.

He added that this matter is accepted as provided for in Article 11 of the Federal Constitution, which guarantees the freedom of religion.

But what shall Shamala do next if she, under the Constitution, insists on having her two sons born to Hindu parents keep their religion of origin as they have yet to reach the age of discernment?

Read this blog for context.

Trauma

Via The Star:

After a 59-day detention away from her loved ones, housewife Yim Pek Ha – accused of abusing maid Nirmala Bonat – was finally allowed to go home on bail yesterday to prepare for her trial next Monday.

Standing anxiously with a bouquet of roses in his arms at the Jalan Tun Perak lower courts complex since 8am was Yim’s husband, Hii Ik Tiing.

While waiting for his wife to arrive from Kajang, the businessman said the nine stalks of crimson blooms symbolised longevity, as he wanted the family to be together forever and never be separated again.

A thought-provoking story, but traumatic to me if I were put in their shoes - no matter as the husband, the accused, the maid, and not least, the children.

As Blair celebrates 10th anniversary of Labour leadership...

Last night, I had a sumptuous treat of reality TV starring Tony Blair and Michael Howard in live Westminster debate on the Butler report. They spoke Queen's English, their conduct civil, but Blair obviously smacks of Thatcherism.

Blair accepted that intelligence "caveats" should have been included in the government's dossier on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, as he defended his decision to go to war.

In his report (PDF, i MB), Lord Butler had said some of the intelligence was "sporadic and patchy", but Blair said it was also clear that Saddam was trying to acquire WMD.

During the debate, Blair echoed one of the most famous quotations from Margaret Thatcher by telling critics of the war in Iraq to "rejoice".

Two decades ago, Thatcher told Britain to "Just rejoice... rejoice" when British forces recaptured South Georgia on 25 April 1982. She was under pressure for allowing the Falkland Islands to be invaded by Argentina.

According to The Independent, Blair's use of the word "rejoice" - loaded with all the defiance that Lady Thatcher had given it - made Labour backbenchers wince during the Commons debate on the Butler report. "We couldn't believe it when he said that," said one Labour MP. "We shouted 'Thatcher' at him," quoted The Independent.

Blair immediately recognised the gaffe, and quickly added: "Yes - let us be pleased."

On live TV, I noticed that even before the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats could quiz Blair over Iraq, he came under fire from his own anti-war backbenchers.

Tory leader, Michael Howard, contrasted Lord Butler's finding that intelligence was "sporadic, patchy, little and limited" with Blair's presentation of it as "extensive, detailed and authoritative".

Nevertheless, The Independent deputy political editor Colin Brown, said senior Tory MPs are questioning Howard's judgement last night after his failure to deliver a knockout blow to Tony Blair in the Iraq debate.

EXIT PLAN. Today marks the 10th anniversary of Tony Blair's leadership of the Labour party. Voters have a largely negative view of the prime minister but still see him as competent and experienced, said Guardian.

Yesterday's Guardian/ICM poll, timed to mark the day Mr Blair was confirmed as John Smith's successor, uncovered a sense among voters that the Blair era will come to a close some time after next year's general election.

Before last night's debate on the Butler inquiry, the July Guardian/ICM opinion poll also shows that a clear majority of voters - 55% - believes that Blair lied over Iraq.

English Channel feat: Shahidan thinks of cash

Citizen-Nades writes in his Wednesday column that...

Let us Malaysians not clamour that he be rewarded because it was not never his intention.

He made the attempt as a challenge and to raise money for charity. He achieved both - close to RM20,000 went to various charities.

He should be applauded, but if our leaders feel he deserves something, it is for them to decide.

We lesser mortals will have to watch from the sidelines.

Meanwhile, Shahidan Kassim, Perlis menteri besar cum president of the Malaysian Amateur Union of Swimming Association, proposes cash and gift as rewards for Lennard Lee for his success in swimming across the English Channel in less than 10 hours.

According to The Star, the reward will be handed over to the Cambridge University student during Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s trip to Britain later this week.

theSun goes on diet

I noticed theSun has gone thinner in the last two days. Just 24 pages of the main paper, and 8 pages of The Edge FinancialDaily pullout which carries only pages of news.

Privatisation: What was EPU up to?

What has the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) at the PM's Department come up with to resolve the unsustainable water supply privatisation models currently in practice, and which will run for the next 30 years at least?

I started to look at EPU having a role contributing to this debacle after re-reading The Edge's cover story (July 5) pertaining to Punchak Niaga's proposal to take over PUAS, the water supply body owned by the Selangor state government.

I found the statement made by the Minister of Energy, Water and Communications, Dr Lim Keng Yaik, very pungent but truthfully frank.

To a question posed by The Edge, whethter will the privatisation of PUAS be held back until the RM1.3 billion owed to Puncak Niaga by the state government is settle first-and-foremost, the Minister said:

Whether that is the first part or not, we will leave it to the EPU [Economic Planning Unit]. It is their baby, not mine.

To a further question: "For the contracts that have been signed, for instance, the Langat II project, will all of these be reviewed?" The Minister said:

That's under the EPU and Ministry of Finance. But we are asking the questions. Is that the right contract? Is that the right price? Are there other models? Are there different ways of doing it at a cheaper price that may be just as effective? Who is going to spend the money? Let them [EPU] decide now. I haven't got the commissioner in yet. I am asking all the questions now.

Elsewhere in the same issue of The Edge, it was revealed that, in Johor, the state government broke up the water supply concession into two portions: water treatment and water distribution.

For treatment of raw water, Southern Water Corp Sdn Bhd and Equiventures Sdn Bhd were given a 20-year concession. These two companies, together with the Public Utilities Board of Singapore, supply the bulk of Johor's treated water to SAJ Holdings Bhd (SAJH), which has the concession to carry out water supply services to consumers.

SAJH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ranhill Utilities Bhd, has a 30-year concession.

Here comes the juiciest part of the catch, according to this article in The Edge:

The best part of the whole deal is that throughout the concession period, SAJH is entitled to tariffs that ensures its internal rate of return (IRR) is maintained at a fixed band of between 14% and 18%.

If for any reason the state government does not approve the tariff hike, SAJH is entitled to compensation. The concession agreement also protects SAJH's IRR even in the event of cost overruns in maintenance work that is decided by an authority of the state government.

Why is the IRR band fixed? In comparison, YTL Power's Wessex Water is only allowed a return on capital of 4.75%, after tax, by the regulators.

It is learnt that the EPU has a hand in deciding the maximum IRR of 18%, while after being moved to his new ministry, Dr Lim was asking the same question: Why can't the IRR for players in the water privatisation be fixed around 5%?

The reasoning of common sense is that a lower IRR for the industry players would mean a lower water tariff for the consumers. Why didn't the EPU take this into consideration when it drew up the concession agreements during the Dr Mahathir administration, and instead allowed fat profits for the water boys?

FAT RETURNS. The next question, when Dr Lim said that fat IRR of 14% to 18% would be a thing of the past and new rates could be as low as 5%, was he off the mark? If he was not, did that mean the government gave far too much in privatisation projects previously?

To this, P Gunasegaram wrote a week later in The Edge, stating that his initial calculations show that Dr Lim "was absolutely on the mark which necessarily leads to the conclusion that previous privatisation contracts, where the IRR was 14% to 18% were indeed lucrative — in fact, far too lucrative". Excerpts:

Let's take an IRR of 16% a year, the minimum previous benchmark for independent power producers (IPPs). Most of them were able to get financing at 8% or lower. Let's also assume a debt-equity structure of 80:20, again a norm for such projects.

Weighting the cost of equity by 80% gives 6.4% (8X0.8), while the weighted cost of equity will be 0.2Re, where Re is the cost of equity. The sum of these two must be equal to the IRR of 16% (6.4+0.2Re = 16). Solving for Re gives a figure of 48%!!

Thus, by gearing up with debt, those who put equity capital into IPPs obtained, on average, a massive return on their capital of almost 50% a year. Is it any wonder that multi-billion-ringgit companies were created virtually overnight?

Without a doubt, the minister was absolutely right when he described the previous IRRs of 14% to 18% as fat.

Now the bigger question is: How did the government - specifically the EPU - end up giving away so much under the privatisation agreements?

In fact, asked Gunasegaram, did those who approved the projects understand the numbers?

For those who wants a deeper understanding of how IRR is calculated, please read his article: Getting to the bottom of returns.

And here are some insightful reports on the privatisation of water supply projects:

• A water crisis that need not happen


• The flaws in the water privatisation models


• Play by the new rules


• Water privatisation requires long-term bonds, low interest rates

Full mandate for full reforms

Is Malaysia's re-generation process firmly in place?

While the Big Mind Big Man wants his readers to gobble his belief that "the future belongs to the Najibs and Hishammuddins of the world, and the many Husnis, Azalinas, Khaleds, Norzas and Khairys behind them", theSun is more measured with its words.

Now that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has obtained all the mandates that he needs from the people and party to legitimate his authority - a result of his "strongly articulated policies of fighting corruption, reducing government wastage, reforming education aand increasing civil service efficiency" - he has to repay the amassed great power with great responsibility.

Is it going to be easy? theSun says no, partly because of strongly entrenched interests who will resist many of the changes Pak Lah wants to see. Excerpts from today's editorial (not available at the time I blogged this):

An example: Despite Pak Lah's strong insistence that most contracts be given out through open tenders, this is still not happening. Local councils, state authorities and even federal authorities are giving out contracts - and large contracts at that - with no signs of open tendering. That kind of open defiance should no longer be tolerated, The policy has been set and therefore it must be followed.

There can be little argument that most of Pak Lah's policies are good. But unless they are followed through with action, they would not mean ,uch.

So while we congratulate Pak Lah and Najib for their success in becoming Umno president and deputy president respectively, we also say that the time has come to move forward more quickly with reforms and deliver the promises made to the people, even if it means taking on the recalcitrants and vested interests who stand in the way.

Talk of vested interests, let hold our breath to see how the Goddess speaks, Doctor spins henceforth.

Scratching the Parisian surface

Star's K. Parkaran, who had just tucked in to the French capital to cover the visit of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Wednesday and Thursday, has a taste of Parisian cost of living - from local breakfast to taking the Metro subway train system.

He took time to talk to a self-employed, a local restaurant operator Paul Dupon, 32, who described his life as "very, very hard" for having to work 15 hours a day after getting up at 5am, and for having to pay 65% in taxes, and the rising euro has meant a higher cost of living;

He also talked to salaried staff who are "also subjected to individual tax rates as high as 50%, where the average annual salary is E38,722 (RM182,000) for executives, E70,126 (RM330,000) for management staff and professionals; and E21,114 (RM 99,236) for farmers and farm workers.

In conclusion, he was wondering how an average Parisian is coping with the soaring cost of living, especially in the last few years.

He says:

That got me thinking. Would I trade places with a Parisian – giving up my favourite roti canai or nasi lemak with ikan bilis sambal and a strong teh tarik, costing a mere RM3 – for an E8 (RM38) not-so-hearty breakfast?

From the Malaysian perspective, the rising euro (E1 = RM4.70) would certainly make holiday-makers think twice before coming to France for a vacation. Several years ago, RM1 used to get you about 1.50 French francs.

But looking at the perspectives drawn up by Parkaran, perhaps, the Parisians he talked to had not learnt the street-wise tricks Malaysians-living-overseas have mastered to stretech Euro dollar.

Or simply, Parkaran should have read Screenshots before he dished out the scratching-the-surface article about cost of living overseas.

HDs fried at Netmyne

After going offline for 24 hours, malaysiakini.com came back online at 10.10pm last night. The reason: The hard disks of two of its main servers were knocked out by severe overheating.

The servers were part of a stack of nine servers stationed at Telekom’s Netmyne hosting facilities in Cyberjaya. To compound the problem, one of the hard disks affected was a back-up for the website.

As the subscribers’ log-in function is still disabled - the website’s technical team is still fixing this problem - malaysiakini is offering its content to the readers without the need to log in.

Malaysiakini temporarily offline

A friendly service.

I have been informed Malaysiakini.com will be unavailable today due to a systems failure. Please check back this evening or tomorrow for its full service.

Numero Uno, both sides of the ring

Goddess-speaks, Doctor-spins... ( 9 )

From you-know-who:

IT’S done now.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has been given the final mandate, consolidating his position as the country's undisputed No. 1 leader. [...]

Yet, there were still the doubting Dauds who questioned whether the Prime Minister had Umno's support. [...]

The re-generation process is firmly in place, and the future belongs to the Najibs and Hishammuddins of the world, and the many Husnis, Azalinas, Khaleds, Norzas and Khairys behind them.

Mailbag: The spinning of Khairy

This email has been inadvertently held up for a week. Apologies. Views expressed in the email do not represent that of Screenshots.

From: Rajendran Prabakhar
Subject: The spinning of Khairy
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 23:19:09 -0700 (PDT)

Dear Jeff,

I don't know if you're a Khairy-watcher, but the way that our media is behaving since Sunday is making me feel disturbed about the way things are happening at the top.

First of all, it's hard not to miss the fact that ALL the major newspapers carried full-page interviews with Mr Khairy. We can expect it from the paper run by Big Man, Big Mind, but The Star and Utusan? It's eerie that the ground was prepared by Khairy wanting to make his announcement on Saturday and simulatneously having all papers dedicating precious space to his thoughts. Incidentally, I didn't think anything he said was impressive and deserving of a Umno Youth Deputy wannabe.

Secondly, today I read in the Star Business section about a profile of Ethos Consulting, the little consulting setup founded by Khairy and friends. They apparently have no apologies about their links with Khairy's inner circle (Zaki Zahid and Omar Mustapha) and it's highly questionable how a no-name setup can suddenly advise the government on KPIs for its GLCs.

As I said, the timing is really eerie.

Not only that, Ethos makes no secret about it's relationship with Booz Allen Hamilton. For everyone's information Zaki (who is the PM's Special Officer) used to work in Booz Allen Hamilton, so there's no surprise how that link came about.

Third, Big Man Big Mind is greasing the spin-doctor wheels yet once again, giving a page-2 column about Zaki Zahid's fight for the Putrajaya UMNO Youth Chief post. Zaki is challenging the son of Aseh Che Mat for the position, and it looks like Kali is trying to shore up Zaki's losing position by asserting his links with the PM.

It is no secret that Khairy, Omar Mustapha, Zaki, Kalimullah, Ethos Consulting are all inter-related in a (sad-to-say) web of favouritism and cronyism. So much for transparency and ability. I have no problems with people having degrees and wanting to set up their own consultancies, but I have a problem with them winning government contracts when it so happens that two of their buddies is in the PM's office, one is in the DPM's office, and another is the editor of a major newspaper. By the way, was there an open tender for this contract, hmmm?

what I also find interesting is even a paper like the Star is not immune to these machinations. It's forgivable if it's someone like Kali, but from the no. 1 circulating English newspaper in the country, that's unforgiveable.

I shall not say more about this, but you do math and tell me the sums.

JEFF OOI: Ahmad Zaki Zahid, 33, who is a special assistant to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, beat incumbent Khairun Aseh by a mere three votes on Friday night to become the newly elected Putrajaya Umno Youth chief. Putrajaya is the smallest Umno Youth division with only 15 branches.

Twenty-six-year-old Khairun, who is the eldest son of Home Affairs Ministry secretary-general Aseh Che Mat, secured 31 votes to Zaki’s 34.

VIP lane and Political Outriders

Those trained on Malaysian federal roads and expressways must be familiar with the frequent sounding of police sirens and flashing bluelight. If you are slow to react, to speed down and to keep left, be prepared to be treated with the kicking boots from the outriders as the white big bikes whizz past you.

VIPs are passing through, clear the lane. No one would complain as everyone in Malaysia is expected to obediently comply. No questions asked.

This time around, the VIP who whizzes through the political fastlane is none other than Khairy Jamaluddin while the road users who obediently slow down to the kerb are his Umno Youth leaders who once eyed, but shied away from the No. 2 post in the youth wing.

Oh, the outriders? Who else but "media friends" at Jalan Riong and Jalan Chow Sow Lin.

New Sunday Times, July 11, Ads-free full page

Mingguan Malaysia, July 11, Ads-free half-page

As at yesterday, Khairy received nominations from 174 divisions and will be the Number Two uncontested.

To this, P Gunasegaram has a take on his Question Time column (The Edge, July 19, Page 48). Excerpts (subheads are mine):

VIP lane & Clear Ride

Khairy's closeness to Abdullah complicates matter further. An aspiring candidate to the same position of deputy head of Umno Youth will have to ask himself about his future political career if he stood against Khairy.

If Khairy is among Abdullah's closest confidantes, he has the prime minister's ear and is clearly in a position to influence thinking about people and politics. After all, Abdullah has to listen to some people more than others. Politically, it may not pay to cross Khairy.

That probably explains why most people are rushing off the roads to give him a clear ride to the No. 2 spot at Umno Youth...

PM's son-in-law

For whatever Khairy achieves, no one will let him forget that he got the opportunity because he married Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's daughter. [...]

By Khairy's own admission, he did talk to his father-in-law about contesting and he received the necessary blessings in the form of a reply from the prime minister that he would not stop him. [...]

From Abdullah's point of view, it is up to the delegates to decide. So long as he does not take a position to support Khairy, his hands are clean.

In practice, it is not as simple as all that. The very fact that Abdullah did not oppose Khairy's candidature would be seen by some as implicit support for Khairy.

Khazanah's COO would-have-been

In this, he (Khairy) is fortunate to have the wisdom of his father-in-law, who even in the face of strong lobbying by some people, did not try and push through Khairy's appointment as the chief operating officer (COO) of Khazanah Nasional Bhd.

What is that Khairy has done and demonstrated that makes him a good candidate for the post of... COO of Khazanah, which has invested tens of billions of ringgit in a wide variety of ventures? No.

Yes, he has been a close confidante and aide to the prime minister. Does that help? Yes, but the exposure was still not enough and for not long enough, at the tender age of 28, to assume operational leadership of one of the largest investors in the country. There are others demonstrably more qualified, even though Khairy's passion to serve the nation is undeniable.

Khairy may have confidence in his own ability and integrity to take on such a position, but that is not good enough reason for the prime minister, as chairman of Khazanah, to agree to his appointment, all the more since he is his son-in-law.

Because of that, Gunasegaram is of the opinion that Khairy "has to tread rather gingerly and he has to develop a bit of a thick skin to deflect this criticism hurled at him and keep his perspective about things".

Another thing. Little is known about the public life and "national service" coming from Khairy as, in the last four years, he has been a backroom boy at the Deputy Prime Minister's office, including some seven months at the PM's Department.

Hence, it's excusable for the long foodchain - from Rembau to Jalan Riong - to defensively lament at "how people who had never met or spoken to Khairy were so quick to pass judgement on him".

This time around, the Umno Youth No. 2 post would certainly help make him better understood in the public eyes.

The uber-youngman should now be fairly treated as he has three full years to justify his wunderkind in the shadow of Hishamuddin Hussein.

And precious more, if David Chua and Lim Kian Onn ultimately provide him bread-and-butter to test his mettle in financial world.

Journalist flees 'New Iraq'

Yesterday, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age reported that two witnesses saw Iyad Allawi, interim Iraqi Prime Minister, pull a pistol and execute suspected insurgents at a Baghdad police station in the week before the handover of power from coalition forces last month.

Subsequently, the Australian Government has questioned the claims. Defence Minister Robert Hill said anyone with evidence of the alleged crimes should go to the police.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Foreign Minister said the Australian Government had not been able to substantiate the claims, although he conceded the allegations were serious.

Instead, the spokesman asked that if Paul McGeough, the reporter who wrote the story, had information about alleged crimes that had been committed in Iraq, he had a responsibility to take that information to authorities.

McGeough, who reports for the Sydney Morning Herald/The Age from Baghdad, has since left Iraq, but stands by his story.

"If you have a story like this, it's not a good idea to remain in the country," McGeough told Ten News, picked up by Murdoch's news.com.au.

The Labour has called on the Federal Government to investigate the allegation. Greens leader Bob Brown described the report as chilling and wanted PM John Howard to tell Australia about his role in "this brutal man's promotion" and to return Australia's defence forces from "the service of this bloodcurdling brute".

Thanks reader Jacky Tuah for the pointer.

New ruling on 'mamak' restaurants

Restaurants operators, especially "mamak" or Indian Muslim establishments who are still using Indian nationals as waiters, have been given a week to replace them with locals, Home Affairs Minister Azmi Khalid said Saturday.

He said the government had given them a year to replace the foreign workers but many had not complied, resulting in a flood of Indian nationals here working as waiters.

Certain restaurants might be required to provide a self-service arrangement once the Indian workers had left, the minister said.

Via Bernama/Utusan Online.

Sky Fire

CY Leow particularly loves this shot for its "Star War"-like effect! He shot this before he swicthed over to the D60 digital camera!

But how do you take shot like this when you have to expose for either the cloud or the houses below it? The difference in exposure of the sky and houses are at least SEVEN stops apart!

CY Leow has a clue, and he also had a winning-shot for Singapore Press Holdings which "kept his Picture Editor" job.

Click here for details of what he conceived as "Double Scanning" and "Out Of The Square Thinking"!

Mailbag: English Channel

From: Ken Ng
Subject: Lennard's Achievement
Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2004 16:31:59 +0800

Dear Jeff,

Something's been bothering me for a day and a night! I actually wanted to email you about this yesterday, but I hesitated because the posting might result in a backlash. Besides, I think its going to be a long read...

Anyway, I've slept and thought about it and so what the heck, why not just take the plunge. One request though, if you do post this, please do it in its entirety, because I want to be judged fairly for my thoughts. This is the first time I'm writing to you, so I'm just going to shoot straight from the heart. Might even seem blunt at times, but please bear with me.

The photo article on the front page of 'The People's Paper' yesterday must have stirred many people's minds and feelings (and don't you wonder how come it's the main scoop here and not at its competitor, the BigMan's Paper?) Lennard Lee's feat must have been the main topic among coffee shop and bar patrons. I myself have discussed it with many of my friends and colleagues. In fact, I didn't even THINK of writing until a Malay friend suggested I express my grievances ALOUD!

Look, here we have a guy who actually did so much better that the last Malaysian, but what coverage and exposure did he get? Practically next to nothing! Zilch! I mean, just because he wasn't the first doesn't mean its NO mean feat!? Furthermore, he did it in half the time, without all the fanfare and other stuff (like government financial aid).

I remember last year when Datuk Malik did it (he was untitled before the feat), I saw his preps on national TV, Tun Mahathir was cheering him on and he was accorded somewhat of a superstar status. But most people (yours truly included) didn't even know about Lennard's preparation (took him four months) until he actually did it! Now, that's humility (as encouraged by our PM, Datuk Seri Abdullah). Come on, I'm sure someone "up there" must have been in the know about Lennard's attempt. (Today Datuk Azalina from the Youth and Sports Ministry has come out to clarify that she wasn't informed about this.) Well, the truth is out there, folks...

One doesn't expect Datuk Seri Abdullah to do the same for Lennard, but for goodness sake, the least we can do is give him more support. After all, he is doing this for charity. Oh, and since we're at it, since he did cut the time in half, perhaps a "title" is also in order here? (FAT hopes...)

Anyway, guess I'm just airing my suppressed feelings in the hope I might fell better after this. Datuk Seri Abdullah did mention in his election promise that he needed the people to tell him the truth, so this is just some thoughts of one person who wants to "work with him".

I'm sure you know what I'm trying to get at, Jeff (you're a smart guy) because I don't really know how I'm going to put it in words. I mean, these feelings of resentment shouldn't keep cropping up, you know. More must be done by the people who have the means to do so (like the government for instance). After all, aren't we working towards a Bangsa Malaysia, which means equality for us all regardless of race, creed or religion?

KEN NG
Petaling Jaya

JEFF OOI: Blogger/Satirist TV Smith has a short commentary: Datukless In Dover.

New Iraq?

Via Sydney Morning Herald today:

Iyad Allawi, the new Prime Minister of Iraq, pulled a pistol and executed as many as six suspected insurgents at a Baghdad police station, just days before Washington handed control of the country to his interim government, according to two people who allege they witnessed the killings.

They say the prisoners - handcuffed and blindfolded - were lined up against a wall in a courtyard adjacent to the maximum-security cell block in which they were held at the Al-Amariyah security centre, in the city's south-western suburbs.

They say Dr Allawi told onlookers the victims had each killed as many as 50 Iraqis and they "deserved worse than death".

Allawi's office has, however, denied the entirety of the witness accounts in a written statement to the Herald, saying that the Iraqi PM had never visited the centre and he did not carry a gun.

Thanks reader Jacky Tuah for the pointer.

Anti-Corruption: Seeing is believing

In an interview with the Financial Times (Asian edition July 16), PM Abdullah ahmad Badawi said he was determined to make Malaysia more competitive by cutting the cost of doing business, fighting corruption, trimming bureaucracy and boosting efficiency at state-controlled companies.

Abdullah told The FT that he will not scale back his anti-corruption campaign "in any way" in spite of signs that it could trigger opposition at a crucial ruling party meeting in September.

According to The FT, Abdullah has angered elements of his United Malays National Organisation (Umno) by cracking down on graft and backing economic reforms to root out the "money politics" in Malaysia's dominant party.

In the interview, Abdullah tacitly acknowledged the dilemma of how to deal with Proton, described by The FT as "the uncompetitive national carmaker long nurtured by Dr Mahathir and protected with high tariffs", albeit emphasising that Proton had to be kept afloat, but could not be subsidised indefinitely and was seeking a partner to help its performance.

On the other hand, Abdullah said he envisaged Khazanah companies expanding overseas and investing in Singapore, just as Singapore's public investment group Temasek has been allowed to take a 5% stake in Telekom Malaysia as part of Mr Abdullah's liberalisation programme.

"These are huge companies," he said. "There must be good governance, transparency. They must be able to be more efficient." He said better state companies would mean less of a "headache".

But how clean is Mr Clean's country for now? The FT's Observer column, published on the same day the Abdullah interview was run, recapped the three journalists' eye-witness experience after touching down at KLIA and en route to Putrajaya:

After all talks, seeing is believing.

Now compare the FT story and a special feature by John Burton, John Ridding and Victor Malletwith against a recap by The Star.

Shamala's Dilemma

Guest Blogger
Paul Warren, Malaysia
Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2004 02:14:09 +0000

You asked what Shamala should do. I would look at the usefulness of the Prime Minister's Statement and Assurance. What would be the effect of the Prime minister's Statement?

It has to be borne in mind that when Shamala did the runner with her children, it would have been at the behest of everything that seemed to be against her. It would have seemed that the courts had let her down and any dependence on the courts to do the right thing would obviously, not only for Shamala, but also for the rest of us, be painted by the same brush that has painted our perception and faith in the judiciary that has failed Anwar Ibrahim and a whole lot of others. In Shamala's case too, when the courts had the opportunity to do the right thing that it was obligated to do, it failed to because it acted in fear!

I would have to presume that by this time Shamala would have filed for refugee or political asylum status in which ever country she now is in. The basis for her claim would be the contradiction of what is provided for in the constitution and the court's own conduct in failing to uphold that constitution. On that strength alone any right minded country would grant her asylum or refugee status.

The Immigration authorities of the country in which she is in would be faced with having to evaluate Shamala's claim for political asylum or refugee status against the criteria manadated by the United Nations Human Rights Conventions or any other conventions. As it stands her circumstances would most probably qualify to be allowed for consideration for political asylum being granted.

However, now, with the Prime Minister's statement in parliament it would seem like as if Shamala is being assured of her rights and that the constitution would not be violated.

This is Malaysia Boleh land. Face is everything. Of course the Prime Minster had no choice but to say what he said in parliament. However, it wrings hollow!

I would advice Shamala to decline kindly the offer made by the Prime Minister who obviously is urging her return. As Prime Minister who is just about to embark on his maiden trip to Europe, Britain and the United States, he must of course be seen to be looking like a very rational man.

Shamala don't fall for this bait. You will live to regret this.

Paul Warren

English Channel

August 3 last year, Abdul Malik Mydin, 29, from Penang, became the first Malaysian to swim non-stop across the 33.6km-wide English Channel. He made it in 17 hours and 35 minutes. He was rewarded with a datukship.

July 13, Lennard Lee, a medical student at Cambridge University, successfully swam non-stop across the same English Channel in 9 hours and 45 minutes. The temperature was about 16°C.

Lennard said by telephone to The Star that reading about Abdul Malik's feat inspired him to take up the challenge.

Lennard said his attempt was also meant to help raise funds for Christie Hospital, a cancer hospital in Manchester and to build a new swimming pool for his university.

He raised £1,000 (RM7,000) and would split the money between the hospital and the university.

“It is not about me, I want to help Christie because one in every three persons contract cancer,” he said.

Lennard also said he was happy his uncle Dr Lee Yew Meng helped to raise funds for the Seck Kia Eenh Cancer Fund in Melaka. He was, in fact, surprised that the donations had reached RM11,000.

Review licensing conditions if celcos act cocky

Last Friday, CEOs from all three celcos went on parade in StarBiz to give the government a public lecture on national coverage of cellular networks.

Their language apparently sounded cocky when they said the government’s push for nationwide cellular coverage is unnecessary because it would involve huge investments, is uneconomical as 50% of the areas to be covered are remote, and there is already a viable wireless technology that could provide such extensive coverage.

In fact, two CEOs wanted the government to define the meaning of "national coverage".

They had a backlash yesterday.

Minister of Energy, Water and Communications, Dr Lim Keng Yaik, told the telecommunications players, particularly the celcos, to take concrete steps to reduce cost and improve the quality of services for the people or they will face stern actions - a review of licensing conditions and enforcement of domestic roaming.

Excerpts from The Edge FinancialDaily:

"I tell the same thing to the water boys. I tell the same thing to the energy boys and now I'm telling the telecommunications boys," he told reporters in Shah Alam on July 15. [...]

... Lim also urged telecommunications companies (telcos) to share their transmission towers with each other as well as television, radio and other wireless service providers.

He said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) was looking into the matter. "It's a policy now that they must share," Lim added.

The minister also believed that fewer towers would need to be constructed if the telecommunications players pool their resources.

"If they don't agree, I'll do something to their licence," he said. Currently, there are over 3,000 transmission towers in Malaysia and another 3,000 are needed in the future.

The government, through Minister Lim, has demanded that all blind spots in Kuala Lumpur, Cyberjaya and Putrajaya be filled by end October, also known within the industry as Time 1; and nationwide coverage by end 2005 (Time 2).

The government has cited sharing of infrastructure such as transmission towers, and dismantling of monopoly given to AsiaSpace in the building of transmission towers as key factors in accelerating full national coverage.

In a story by Cindy Yeap, Dr Lim was quoted by NST-Business Times as saying: "If they don’t go forth (in improving service quality) we will use number portability, domestic roaming, show network coverage quality at different locations ... everything necessary to improve service."

COCKY TALKS.

July 9, StarBiz reported that there are over 9,000 sites in the country currently, of which the three operators share only a small percentage.

To provide the required coverage, about 8,000 new sites are needed, said StarBiz. "That means having to hasten the entire build-up in 1.5 years, which is in stark contrast to the 16 years they took to put up the initial 9,000," added StarBiz.

"If it took the water and electricity bodies decades to meet the needs of the population although there are still pockets without it, why the rush to communicate via cellular when wireless is the ideal option for remote areas?" questioned StarBiz, quoting unnamed sources.

In the StarBiz story, Maxis Communications Bhd CEO Jamaludin Ibrahim was reported as saying that the three cellular operators could well have to invest RM5bil to RM7bil to set up about 7,000 to 9,000 new cellular sites by end-2005 if they are to provide nationwide cellular coverage.

Not only are the investments going to be huge but the bulk of the cellular equipment needed for the expansion has to be imported and that has raised questions over the outflow of funds that would take place from now to end-2005, said StarBiz.

Excerpts of statements made by the other CEOs as reported in StarBiz:

Celcom (M) Bhd group CEO Datuk Ramli Abbas said “we take heed of the government’s call to provide coverage to populated areas and are co-operating with other operators to bridge the digital divide in the country.”

The problems in implementing the two timelines are aplenty. The issue surrounding Time 1 is that of securing sites and approvals, which is a long and winding process involving 10 bodies/agencies and 15 to 40 signatories; for Time 2 the issue is “sheer size and economies of scale.”

“We welcome the speed-up and we would roll out to provide more coverage even if we have to spend a lot of money but we need to discuss (with the government) how to fund the expansion to the remote areas,” DiGi.Com Bhd outgoing CEO Tore Johnsen said.

But the biggest mystery remains what the government means by nationwide coverage.

That definition has not been explained, claim the players.

Johnsen’s understanding of nationwide coverage is that it should only cover populated areas, as is the practice abroad; and Jamaludin’s suggestion for Time 2 is that it should only cover certain routes such as highways and expressways, tourist spots, industrial areas and major towns, certainly not the entire country.

DOMESTIC ROAMING.

It is noted that, with domestic roaming, subscribers will be automatically diverted to another telco if their current telco's network coverage is not available.

But celcos have been avoiding domestic roaming in the true sense. FinancialDaily quoted an industry observer as saying that domestic roaming will benefit the player with the smallest coverage - DiGi - and both Telekom/Celcom and Maxis are said to be avoiding full domestic roaming, citing the pre-occupation with their mergers with TMTouch (013) and TimeCel (017), respectively.

Yesterday, Minister Lim also said Internet service providers (ISPs) should share their broadband and fibre optic infrastructure with each other to prevent wastage of resources.

He said his task was to rationalise the available infrastructure as Malaysia had "bits of fibre optics everywhere".

Dr Lim said South Korea’s Information Oriented Nation promotion plan, established in 1996, helped the country establish itself as a global broadband leader in less than 10 years.

Custodial rights of non-Muslims: Next step?

This is one question I daren't ask in the past until Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi brought it up in the Parliament July 14.

The PM went on record by stating that custodial rights for non-Muslim parents over their children are assured under the country’s present laws.

The question that had bothered me a fair bit was related to the High Court decision in the case of Shamala Sathyaseelan against her former husband, Dr Muhammad Ridzwan Mogarajah.

BACKGROUNDER.

Shamala, 31, a bank clerk in Alor Star who practises Hinduism, had initiated High Court proceedings to seek custody of their two children, after her estranged husband had converted to Islam and obtained custody over from the Selangor Syariah High Court.

On April 17, 2003, the High Court issued an order in favour of Shamala, giving her de facto custody.

In response, the husband went to the Syariah Court for a separate custody order. On May 8, the Selangor Syariah High Court granted him hadanah (custody).

On May 6 this year, he obtained leave from the High Court in Kuala Lumpur to initiate committal proceedings against his Hindu wife, whom he alleged had fled the country with their two children.

Judge Datuk Faiza Thamby Chik also granted an application by Dr Muhammad for an order to compel Shamala to return the children, Saktiawaran, aged three years and 11 months, and Theiviswaran, two years and five months, to the High Court's jurisdiction.

According to press reports, Shamala was believed to have fled the country with her two children.

WHAT THE PM SAID.

In answering a question posed by parliamentarian Chow Kon Yeow (DAP-Tanjong), the PM said children's custodial rights among non-Muslims were governed by the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 and Child Custody Act 1961.

This is an excerpt from The NST (July 15, Page 1):

Section 51 of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act allows a non-Muslim to annul the marriage if the spouse converts to Islam during the marriage.

Parents' rights were also safeguarded by Section 5 of the Child Custody Act, which accords rights to parents in terms of their children's education and the administration of their property, said Abdullah in a written reply to Chow Kon Yeow (DAP-Tanjong).

"Therefore, the regulations to provide protection for non-Muslim children and parents' rights are at the moment sufficient," he said. Abdullah added that during annulment proceedings, the court could make provisions for the care and upbringing of the children.

WHAT NEXT?

Chow also asked whether the Government would ensure that an individual's religion and beliefs would not be breached by any legislation.

Abdullah replied, as reported in The NST, that the Government had always ensured freedom of religious worship in the country. Quote:

"At the moment there is no law legislated to restrict or affect religious practices or beliefs," he said.

"This matter is accepted as provided for in Article 11 of the Federal Constitution, which guarantees the freedom of religion."

In the light of the PM's assurance, how would Shamala proceed to protect her interest and those of her family members, as vested under the cited law? Quote, from The NST:

On Shamala's case, Abdullah said the court concerned had only decided which court had the power to hear the status of children converted to Islam by a father who had earlier embraced the religion.

"It was to hear if it should be in the Civil or Syariah court," Abdullah said.

I am not sure if what the PM had said is legally binding. Could it be a challenge to "One Cuntry, Two Legal Systems" on cases like this?

What should Shamala do next?

Mailbag: VSS terms and conditions

From: CK Wong
Subject: VSS terms and Conditions
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 2004 01:49:04 -0700 (PDT)

Hi Jeff,

I got my VSS way back in 2002. VSS was offered as the result of bank merger (btw 2 singapore bank)

Here is the calculation.

Lump sum VSS payment
The Formula

+ Factor* X last drawn basic salary X Number of years of service (subject tto a minimum of payout of 6 months basic salary)

or

+ 75% of Last drawn basic salary x Months to retirement

or

+ 36 months basic Salary

Whichever is the lowest

*Factor

Senior Officer & above
- less than 10 years of service = 1.5
- More than 10 years of service = 1.75

Class II and below
- less than 10 years of service = 1.75
- More than 10 years of service = 2

PLUS

Contractual Bonus +medical benefits (RM1000)

Regards
CK

JEFF OOI: In comparison - not apple to apple, though - the salary multiples in the case of NST VSS are as per below:

Salary multiples

Employees Service Period | Salary Multiples
- Less than 3 yrs service - 1.00 Month
- 3 yrs to 5 yrs service - 1.10 Months
- 5 yrs to 20 yrs service - 1.60 Months
- More than 20 yrs service - 1.75 Months

Wireless Broadband: Technology route gains focus

There will be two ISPs showcasing their respective technology routes for wireless broadband services at different functions in the next few days.

Screenshots is informed that Jaring, which was given an NFP licence recently, will announce the roll out plan for its Wireless Broadband service at a media briefing at JW Marriot Hotel Kuala Lumpur tomorrow morning (July 16).

Jaring CEO Dr. Mohamed Bin Awang Lah is expected to speak on the ISP’s business plan and "fast track" push of the wireless broadband service.

He is also expected to shed lights on Jaring's technology route towards achieving critical mass and market penetration in select areas.

Meanwhile, Screenshots has been informed that a new ISP will be showcasing a different technology route for wireless broadband at a closed-door function in Shah Alam next Monday (July 19).

It is said to be a VDSL (Very-High-Speed Digital Subscriber Line) technology modelled on the Korean experience.

NST's VSS: The rationale

Soon after the previous blog was updated, a little bird dropped me this information about the Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) that NSTP Group is offering to all its employees.

The notice, issued July 14 via its Human Capital Services Department, says the company has managed to trim its huge borrowings from RM1.5 billion to RM270 million, and it has reached the opportune time "to undertake an objective review of our internal set-up and structure of each department".

The Company has since completed the reorganisation across all departments, says the notice.

"As a result of the reorganisation, the Company has decided to offer a VSS to all employees of The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad," the notice says.

By process, all employees are invited to apply for the VSS and the invitation letter and application form together with the terms and conditions of the Scheme will be issued in due course.

The salient terms of the VSS cover details of salary multiples, which range between month and 1.75 months, and the exercising rights in the Employee Share Option Scheme (ESOS).

Click here for more details.

It is noted that as a public-listed company, the NSTP has decided to enhance its shareholder's value by focussing on the core activity of publishing business and by disposing off the non core assets and operations, selling-off non-income generating assets such as properties.

Hence the pertinent questions remain: How many editorial staff will be affected? How many are leaving the news and Business desks to join other Press? Though the VSS is offered to all employees, is there a deadwood list that the company targets precisely in order to enable the management "take the Company towards greater heights"?

The Company had, in the past, implemented various initiatives to improve its financial position. Amongst others, these include reducing the high borrowings position from RM1.5 billion to RM270 million, focus on core activity of publishing business by disposing of the non core assets and operations, sold non-income generating assets such as properties, and merged / created new unit / department.

14 July 2004

VSS at NST?

Little birds say the NSTP group is having a Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) soon.

How many editorial staff will be affected? How many are leaving Brendan (News) and Rajan (Business) to join other Press? Ahmad A. Talib - from Editorial No. 2 now moved to editorial marketing, be made to go? Is there a deadwood list? Questions, questions, questions that I've heard.

Is it one month's salary for every year served in 1 to 5 years, and 1.6 months' for 5 to 10 years? Anyone in the know of their VSS terms, please alert.

Bureaucrats, check your conscience

Fourteen-month-old Nur Atiqah Najwa Mohamed Sharif, who was to undergo liver transplant surgery after much bureaucracy and delay, died early Wednesday morning before undergoing the operation. Her death was reportedly due to massive bleeding of the oesophagus.

Here are three images from Utusan Malaysia I dedicate to arouse the emotions of people who had contributed to the ghastly delay.

Screenshots has devoted no less than six blog entries to highlight Nur Atiqah's case since February 22. Please read to review the ghastly bureaucratic process we have inherited for years.

I feel very geram for now.

Joining the dots ( 3 ): PM's sons and sons-in-law

Should prime minister's sons or sons-in-law get involved in politics?

R. Manirajan has an interesting story in theSun (July 15, Page 2) as he had the opportunity to talk to former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his son, Mukhriz.

From Dr Mahathir:

QUOTE: "Now that I have stepped down... I cannot ask my children to sacrifice themselves in order to preserve my reputation... What I want to say is that my sons are no longer the prime minister's sons."

From Mukhriz Mahathir, who said during the time when his father was the prime minister, his sons were not allowed to get involved in politics:

QUOTE: "I have to wait for 22 years in order to join politics. Now that he has retired, it is time for me to get involved."

However, Mukhriz also said there is nothing wrong for sons of politicians to get involved in politics is they have their fathers' blessing.

Asked to comment whether PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin should be judged the same light, he said: "He should be seen as an individual because he is a very capable person. He may be young, but why not."

Mukhriz contested the Kubang Pasu Youth division and lost by nine votes amidst allegations of money politics. He received six nominations to contest the Pemuda Umno deputy chief post but he has declined and instead opted to go for a position in the exco.

Joining the dots ( 2 ): KJ to join ECM Libra?

UPDATED VERSION. ECM Libra extends gains on talks of Khairy appointment. Via AFX News picked up by ZoomFinance.com, 09:29:00hr:

ECM Libra Bhd was higher early, extending gains from yesterday amid talks that Khairy Jamaluddin, son-in-law of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, may soon join the financial services firm as a director, dealers said.

ECM Libra rose 0.11 rgt to 1.90 on volume of 561,000 shares.

"His appointment is seen as a positive move for ECM Libra... That is why investors are chasing the stock," a local brokerage dealer said.

ORIGINAL POSTING.

Is the PM's son-in-law joining ECM Libra, a boutique banker co-owned by Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan, the Group EIC of New Straits Times Press?

An AFX News picked up by ZoomFinance at 15:50:00 yesterday:

Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin is likely to join financial services group ECM Libra Bhd as a director soon, industry sources said.

"He could be joining the corporate finance division of ECM Libra," a source close to the company told AFX-Asia.

Another source familiar with the plan also said that Khairy will join the firm in the near future.

A spokesman at ECM Libra declined comment on the matter.

Until May, Khairy had worked in the prime minister's office as a deputy principal private secretary and head of policy and communications.

Thanks reader YW Loke for the pointer.

Read earlier blog: Joining the dots: Scomi, Khazanah, Sime Darby

Retired Nikon F90X for sale

Commercial break.

Having migrated to Nikon D100 digital SLR some twenty months ago, I am offering my trusty F90X and Nikkor 35 ~ 105mm zoom lens for sale.

Both body and lens, acquired in 1996 and "retired" since November 2002, are in mint condition. Original packaging and camera user manual are intact.

You can view more close-up pictures and their life history here.

Interested, please email me at jeffooi@usj.com.my

Broadband for breakfast?

Obviously, the Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications wants more competition in the broadband sector.

MCMC chairman V. Danapalan told Star In.Tech on Monday that Energy, Water and Communications Minister Dr Lim Keng Yaik had approved the Jaring's application for an NFP licence recently.

In tandem, Jaring CEO Dr Mohamed Awang Lah told Star In-Tech's Charles Moreira that its wireless broadband service will be launched "within three months, as originally planned".

It will initially cover select major urban areas in the Klang Valley, followed by Johor Baru and Penang. Subscription fees have yet to be decided but Mohamed said they would be “competitive.”

Meanwhile, Airzed Networks Sdn Bhd executive chairman Mukhriz Mahathir said his company planned to venture into wireless broadband services for residential customers.

However, he declined to say when the company would actually roll out the service, only that he hoped to make "appropriate announcements soon", reports Edwin Yapp of Star In-Tech.

To keep the hype abuzz, Mukhriz said Airzed, which runs Wi-Fi hotspots, would consider using the emerging WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) standard as a means of providing wireless broadband to residential areas.

Airzed Networks has an NFP licence (No. NFP/I/2000/28) valid until November 6, 2013.

Other service providers that currently offer wireless broadband services include NasionCom Holdings Bhd, AtlasONE Sdn Bhd, and Time dotCom Bhd.

Mr. Porsche Wong

This is one cakap-cakap topic when I lunched with friends today.

A Singapore-based Malaysian property developer, identified only as Mr Wong, is the proud owner of a limited edition carbon-fibre bodied Porsche Carrera GT. (See picture here).

The car carries a pricetag of 390,000 euro in Germany, which translates to about S$1.8 million after Singapore taxes.

The Porsche, one among 1,000 units produced, is fitted with a 5.5-litre V10 engine that puts out more than 550 horsepower - making it like a jet-fighter on the go.

Though the car is bought in Singapore, Wong is likely to take the car to Malaysia as the left-hand drive could not be registered in the island-state, says Straits Times Singapore.

Mind you, this Porsche is not the most expensive model ever made. The 309kmh Porsche GT1, introduced in the late 1990s, cost 1.35 million Deutschmarks, or close to S$4 million if put on Singapore roads.

Only one unit of GT1 was sold in Singapore, also to the publicity-shy Mr Wong, says Straits Times.

In case you need to check up on Mr Wong, he is briefly whispered to be "a Malaysian property developer... has businesses and homes in many parts of the world... in his 50s, and his children are based in Singapore".

Joining the dots: Scomi, Khazanah, Sime Darby

Scomi Group Berhad, the company closely-linked to Kamaluddin Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, has appointed two notable corporate figures into its board.

Mohammed Azlan bin Hashim, 47, former Executive Chairman of Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Group (tenure: 1998 to 2004) and currently a director at Khazanah Nasional Berhad, has been appointed Scomi's Independent Non-Executive Director with effect from July 13.

Nik Mohamed Bin Nik Yaacob, 55, former Group Chief Executive of Sime Darby Berhad, has been appointed Scomi's Independent, Non-Executive Director, also with effect from July 13.

Darren Kang's murder: Why the double standard?

Citizen-Nades feels sorry to the Kang family for losing their only son, Darren, who died after a group of assailants attacked him mercilessly at a Sri Hartamas restaurant.

He devotes his Wednesday column to ask the police why was there double standard in getting witnesses' statements, and why was there suggestion of some members of the Police force practising discriminatory methods of investigation.

Excerpts (online version not available at the time I blogged this):

Last week, Darren Kang Tien Hua was murdered in Sri Hartamas. The next day, newspapers carried photographs of 11 "suspects" being led to court, but more interestingly, a police officer was quoted as saying that they were waiting for minister's son to show up to record his statement.

KL police chief Mustafa Abdullah said no one has implicated the anak Datuk but "if there is evidence to show he was involved, he would not be spared".

That was stating the obvious, but what puzzles most Malaysians is the "special" trteatment accorded to this young man, whose father happens to be a minister. If he was staying in a squatter hut at the foot of Parliament House, a police party would have got to him.

Because he is the son of a VIP and he resides in Bukit Tunku or Bukit Damansara, the "police are still waiting for him to show up". (The minister's son gave a statement to Brickfields police on Monday).

No one is saying he is involved, but witnesses who are waiters, cooks and servants are picked up instantly while the red carpet seems to be rolling out for an anak Datuk.

Why this double standard? [...]

I don't want to comment on the various theories bandied about on why he was attacked but my heart also reaches out to innocent restaurant staff who have been treated like criminals.

There are standard operating procedures in the Criminal Procedure Code, the Police Act and the IGP's Standing Orders on dealing with witnesses. Thus the inevitable question is: Are there clauses for "special" treatment to "special" witnesses?

Could we expect an early response from the Royal Commission that was specially set up to study police operations?

Read earlier blog: Darren Kang's murder: Which 'anak Datuk'? for context.

UPDATE: theSun website updated Nades' column at 10.18am this morning.

Umno election: The story so far

UPDATED VERSION. Former Malacca chief minister Rahim Tamby Chik was quoted as saying in Malaysiakini that ‘Umno Sdn Bhd’ culture is ruining the party.

According to Rahim, money politics are rampant within the party. During the ongoing divisional election, the money for votes - RM1,000 for one vote - usually changed hands at hotels where delegates stay the night before voting. Excerpts:

Rahim also said several leaders within Umno are openly known to use the party to gain preferential access to state land titles, government projects and lucrative contracts.

Among the preferential awards given to Umno leaders and individuals linked to them include titles to over 200 acres of land including at the seafront, 30 taxi permits and a 15-year road maintenance concession worth RM2 million, Rahim alleged, adding Kota Melaka Umno members are openly aware of these awards.

"Those leaders who have enjoyed these ‘privileges’ will continue to fight tooth and nail to defend their positions within Umno, regardless of the price they have to pay. To them, Umno is just ‘Umno Sdn Bhd’, an opportunity to gain more privileges,” he said.

According to Malaysiakini, Rahim said he intended to lodge at least a complaint with the Umno disciplinary committee.

Is what Rahim revealed a case isolated to what he saw in Kota Melaka only?
________________

JOURNALISM IN POLITICS. Are journalists becoming cautious in reporting on Umno party elections?

Suhaini Aznam writes on Tengku Razaleigh's bid for party top post by starting with this "disclaimer":

THIS is not an article that takes sides, or dissects why Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah should or should not contest.

It is a look at Umno, the dominant party in the ruling Barisan Nasional and the evolution of Umno through the years.

In the final analysis, Suhaini concludes that perhaps Razaleigh does not care about winning or losing. His main intention is to make a point.

Suhaini does, however, notice that "some mainstream media have gone to town Razaleigh-bashing". We all know which press it came from.

By the way, Reme Ahmad reports in Straits Times Singapore, and his story is headlined: No Umno crowd at Razaleigh's 'White House'. There is a picture to show the 'deserted' Langgak Golf mansion.

MONEY POLITICS. Claiming that "giving of money to delegates was happening right in front of my eyes", former Malacca chief minister Rahim Tamby Chik has alleged that he was a victim of money politics in the recent Kota Melaka division. he lost the fight for the division top post to incumbent Amid Nordin.

Umno sec-gen Radzi Sheikh Ahmad has asked him to report to the party's discipline board if he had evidence.

via theSun, July 14 Page 2.

'DIRTY POLITICS'. Would you believe this, from the Sang Kancil mailing list: Ku Li has 68 nominations in his pocket: Pak Lah fights back dirty?

One chap in Kuala Kerai, Kelantan, who was about to nominate Ku Li for President, was suddenly made a bankrupt. But getting declared a bankrupt is normal, you might say. Not if the bankruptcy papers were served on you midnight, a couple of hours before the division meeting the next morning.
Since this unfortunate Ku Li intended nominator was declared a bankrupt, he could not legally attend the division meeting. So Ki Li was 'robbed' of one nomination.

Caveat: It's from Raja Petra Kamarudin.

'QUICKSAND POLITICS'. From MGG Pillai:

UMNO leaders now say a contest will split the party asunder. But the essence of politics is conflict, which is resolved by a contest. When you bottle dissent, or forbid those who want to be active in politics, you create a large underclass of dissent. It is this underclass that swung to Tengku Razaleigh that makes the UMNO leaders so nervous. They know that if he gets the minimum to be in the race, he is home free. All this undemocratic charade is to prevent it. [...]

It is now clear that if UMNO is to survive as Malaysia's premier political party, a major overhaul is inevitable. The Tengku Razaleigh challenge has put this in sharp focus. Whether he makes it or not is irrelevant. But the fear he generates is proof enough that the UMNO leaders grout their strength in quicksand.

But how many Umno grassroots read online?

Astro seeing lower churn and less cloned cards

Astro to improve earnings.

An Astro shareholder told me there were about 12 questions raised from the floor at the AGM yesterday, three-quarters of which centred around the quality of programming and increased subscription rates.

Via AFX picked up by ZoomFinance:

Satellite pay-TV operator Astro All Asia Network plc (5076.KL) expects its second and third quarter earnings to improve from the first quarter level on the back of lower churn and cloned smart cards, its CEO Ralph Marshall said. [...]

He added that the company's ARPU (average revenue per user) will remain stable.

Astro posted a net profit of 19.73 mln rgt for the first quarter to April 2004 against a loss of 13.54 mln a year earlier.

Marshall also said Astro multi-channel television has a total subscription of 1.4 mln as of end-June and the company expects to add some 300,000 subscribers a year in the next few years.

"We see 400,000-450,000 new subscribers a year as achievable. With the churn rate at about 8-10 pct a year, we are comfortable at retaining 300,000 net add," he said.

Astro will continue to invest some 500 mln rgt a year on content development," he added.

"We spend about 28 pct of revenue on content development. We hope to improve on that," he said.

The company expects to introduce some 50 new channels by the middle of next year following the launch of Measat 3, he said, adding that Astro will have capacity up to 200 new channels with Measat 3.

Marshall said Astro is also looking to expand its operations in the region and the company aims to have 20-25 pct of its sales and earnings from non-Malaysian operations in the next 5-10 years.

Three charged for having cloned cards.

Via Bernama:

Three friends were Tuesday produced in the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court on 10 charges of having counterfeit 164 Astro and 91 Telekom smartcards.

The accused, two from Miri and the other from Terengganu, denied comitting the offence, under Section 236 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588), at the Coffee House, PJ Hilton Hotel at 8.30pm on July 1.

Under the Act, they could be sentenced up to five years' in jail or fined RM500,000 or both upon conviction.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Fatnin Yusof, in applying for the charges to be tried together, said the case was of public interest and had brought losses to Astro and Telekom.

Judge Nurmala Salim fixed trial for two days from April 4. She set bail for RM40,000 with one surety and ordered them to surrender their passports to the court.

Astro to raise US$300 million to refinance loan.

Via AFX/ZoomFinance: Astro expects to save 2% or RM50 million a year in terms of interest charges by refinancing. The company took a US$265 million 2-year offshore syndicated loan prior to its initial public offering (IPO) in Sept 2003 to acquire Celestial Pictures.

Thanks YW Loke for the pointer.

Husam spoke, Khairy speaks

Finally, Khairy Jamaluddin admitted he was the one who initiated his meeting with PAS leader Husam Musa held recently.

Husam's version, according to Malaysiakini.

• Husam confirmed he had a meeting with Khairy during which the "political implications" of election petitions in Kelantan and Terengganu were discussed.


• The meeting, which lasted two hours, was "a courtesy call without a fixed agenda".


• Besides the matter of the election petitions, other topics discussed were about parliamentary reform, the war against corruption and the state-federal government relationship.


• Husam said it was the first time he met with Khairy who "talked a lot during the meeting". He has never met Khairy before.


• Husam said he had conveyed PAS support for the premier’s all-out war against corruption. He also told Khairy that Pak Lah would have to (remove) some of the ministers who have been implicated in corruption cases, if he is serious about fighting against corruption.


• Husam said he mentioned to Khairy the possibility of a snap election (in Kelantan) which PAS would try to avoid if it could.


• They also discussed the political consequences of the election petitions for the federal government, especially in relation to the government’s integrity. Many think that BN won because of irregularities, so if the court were to decide in favour of BN, it could further erode Pak Lah’s integrity," said Husam.


• Husam said that was the first and last meeting they have met. There were no communication by phone or other means after that.

Khairy's version, according to Malaysiakini:

• Khairy confirmed that he had initiated and personally arranged the meeting with Husam but denied striking a deal on election petitions filed in Kelantan and Terengganu.


• He described the meeting as a courtesy call to congratulate Husam on his promotion as a state executive councillor in Kelantan. During the meeting, they discussed various political issues and this included a ‘general discussion’ on the election petitions in both the states.


• He said he has met Husam only once, not few times as some people have alleged.


• He said there was nothing wrong in meeting an opposition leader and added that it would not affect his chances at the Umno polls.

Backgrounder: On June 23, the Kota Baru High Court struck out nine election petitions filed by BN and PAS, challenging the outcome in seven state and two parliamentary seats in Kelantan.

On July 4, the Kuala Terengganu High Court also struck out all nine petitions filed by BN and PAS during a hearing in chambers.

Certain quarters had claimed that Khairy and Husam reached an agreement to forego the election petitions filed by their respective parties in both states except for the Pasir Puteh parliamentary seat where the Election Commission conceded an error.

Too many shadow plays?

e-Dinosaurs

Remisiers and general insurance agents may ride into sunset soon in Malaysia.

According to The Edge FinancialDaily, the Securities Commission is in discussions with market intermediaries on the possibility of further liberalising brokerage rates on e-trading for retail investors.

Currently, discount given to Internet trading is capped at 30% of the normal commission rate. Meanwhile, the worldwide trend for Internet trading is moving towards the freeing-up of rates.

Insurance companies will be able to start issuing electronic insurance cover notes for motor vehicles, known as "e-cover notes", by the fourth quarter of this year after more than a year of delay.

10 shortlisted for Mavcap CEO post

Malaysia Venture Capital Management Bhd (Mavcap) has shortlisted 10 candidates for the CEO post vacated by Mohd Azwar Mahmud whose contract was terminated by the board on April 13, 2004.

Mavcap chairman and acting CEO Dr Abdul Samad Alias says the board will meet July 20 to discuss the appointment of its new CEO.

Via The Edge FinancialDaily.

Chasing the rainbow

How many rainbows have your captured on camera so far? CY Leow, a legendary photog now in his early fifties, has only got it four times in his lifetime!

He says: "There is something special about rainbow that I love, partly because it is so difficult to capture on film; well... most of the time you do not have a camera when you see one!"

He came home early today... it was a glorious sunny winter day... yeah! This is what he emailed me a while ago:

You can't beat Wellington on a fine day! Two hours later the whole scenario changed, it started drizzling and very cold Southerly invade. Then the dark cloud broke and the sun came through... by instinct I knew this is the perfect atmosphere for rainbow formation!

I ran up my deck to get my D-60 digital and just in time to capture this rainbow from my deck. Like most rainbow, the spectacle lasts only a few seconds.

Almost breathlessly, CY says: "This is only the FOURTH rainbow I have ever captured all my photography life! I shot with a 17-35 zoom at ISO 100, underexposed two stops and in camera RAW format."

CY Leow shares with us his three other rainbow shots, and tips on how to capture that decisive moment.

Happy rainbow hunting! There's always your pot of gold out there.

Mailbag: Umno election & 'Rezeki'

From: ok_la
Subject: Ku Li's comment
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 19:47:41 -0700 (PDT)

Last night, I saw on TV3's Buletin Utama, a suggestion made by Tan Sri Muhammad Taib, a candidate for Umno VP post, it sounds more or less like this...

The divisions should give a chance to all VP candidates who offered themselves (10 candidates) by throwing them enough nominations, so that they could enter the battlefield in September and let the 'perwakilan' made the choices.

My point is ... why can't this suggestion be offered to the President post also. Is that because Tan Sri Muhammad is offering himself only to VP post, so, not applicable to President post. Why all these leaders so afraid, I did not read any good comment from our leaders in the newspapers about Ku Li's intention. Let's give Ku Li a chance of having enough nominations. I hope whoever will win will strengthen our nation, since he is the sole winer of this battlefield.

From: zainul shah
Subject: An explanation
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 11:49:00 +0800

Dear Jeff Ooi

I just wanted to clarify Abdullah's explanation of the word "rezeki". The word rezeki has its roots in arabic and is commonly used among Malays and Muslims to refer to God's gifts according to His divine wishes. To be fair, some words in Malay have its roots in Arabic and in the Quran and I think that was what Abudllah was trying to explain. I don¹t think he was trying to put a religious connotation or preach religion. I think alms is not a good translation and that was what Abdullah was trying to say. That's all.

Perhaps you were a bit too defensive and your comment implies your desire to understand was nil. I hope I am wrong because people of your caliber would certainly be open to a clarification.

Cheers

Mailbag: Crime hotspot, DVD piracy & Bush

From: Han Neng
Subject: Crime hot spot in Malaysia
Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 02:09:10 -0700 (PDT)

Refer to the recent high crime rate in Malaysia, The Straits Times reported that Johor Baru is the crime hot spot of Malaysia.

However, takes a close look at the statistics, which was sourced from Sin Chew Daily, KL and Petaling Jaya is the crime hot spot in Malaysia. See chart.

I hope the people should be warn that areas in and around KL are really crime-ridden.

From: John Gan
Subject: Software and DVD Piracy
Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 09:01:14 -0700 (PDT)

I feel the government is not doing enough to curb software piracy. I don not refer to the usage of such software by companies but by the fact that it is blatantly sold.

If the government is sincere about curbing piracy, they should make the offence a strict liability offence like drugs. If someone is found with it, immediately they are arrested.

The enforcement officers are not doing their part. They make one of two arrest in every 2 or 3 months just to show they are doing some work. But in actual fact, all you have to do is take a drive to Imbi Plaza or Low Yat Plaza in Kuala Lumpur and you can find it every corner.

If piracy is treated like a drug offence, the vendors won't be so daring as to display their pirate software all over. Furthermore, if the government is sincere, they should conduct raids daily in Low Yat Plaza or Imbi Plaza with officers posing as potential buyers. Then, once the exchange of cash and goods is done, they can arrest or the pirate software vendors immediately.

Drugs used to be like this in Malaysia in the 80s. Then, when the government kept on with their campaign that if you were found with a certain weight of drugs, you will be hanged, drugs became a scarcity.

This should be the way to curb software and DVD piracy. As we are soon to embrace globalisation, we cannot act like some third world country not being bothered with software and DVD piracy.

From: bayibhyap@yahoo.com.sg
Subject: [Screenshots...] Re-look Dubya's 16 words
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 01:27:43 +0800

We may be disappointed, Jeff.

History has shown that the US has never voted an incumbent President out during a war.

It's been a long day

Sorry, it's only now I have time to get near the PC, to blog.

Allow me to first clear the Mailbag.

Re-look Dubya's 16 words

July 19, when PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi goes to America, will he be visiting a man who may be on his way out of the White House this November?

US media are taking a relook at Dubya's famous 16 words that dragged America into invading Iraq, courtesy of CIA's George Tenet.

Tonight, I think I will stay up for Tim Russet's Meet The Press as he has the US Intelligence Committee Chairman and Vice Chairman Sens. Pat Roberts and Jay Rockefeller appearing together on his show.

A news blurb on NBC says:

A devastating new report is out from the Senate Intelligence Committee detailing the failed intelligence leading up to the war in Iraq.

As the Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) said, "What the president and the Congress used to send the country to war was information that was provided by the intelligence community and that information was flawed."

Guests at Tim's roundtable are David Broder of the Washington Post, Ron Brownstein of the Los Angeles Times, William F. Buckley Jr, Editor Emeritus of National Review and Jack Germond of the Baltimore Sun. They will provide insights and analysis into the presidential race, including this week's announcement by John Kerry of John Edwards for his vice presidential running mate.

Meanwhile, Newsweek reports this over the weekend:

The committee report may be just the beginning of the president's political troubles this month. Next up is the long-awaited 9-11 Commission report, which is expected to be highly critical of administration agencies for failing to "connect the dots" that might have prevented the terror attacks.

NEWSWEEK has learned that the commission has decided to release its findings next week, so they don't coincide with the Democratic Party convention in Boston at the end of the month. Commission officials say they don't want their work to get caught up in the politics of the presidential campaign. It was a nice thought, anyway.

'Ku Li's intent not halal'

Here are some statements from people with vested interests in the Umno party election, culled from today's papers.

NEXT QUESTION

Umno acting president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was asked to comment on Tengku Razaleigh's offering himself for the presidency because the post was "still vacant" and because he wanted the "practice of democracy" to flourish.

To this, Abdullah replied: "That's his opinion. Next question."

TIDAK HALAL

Shahidan Kassim, menteri besar and chief of Umno Perlis, says Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah's intent to contest the party president post as 'not halal'.

Shahidan, who is eyeing a supreme council member post, believes that some Wanita exco members are boycotting him because he is the mentri besar of a small state.

BUKAN NAK BALAS DENDAM

Dr. Siti Zaharah Sulaiman, the former Wanita Umno chief who made the earliest offer to contest against Rafidah Aziz again, says it is not because she wants to seek revenge (balas dendam).

RAFIDAH AZIZ, 30 YEARS ON

In New Sunday Times, Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan writes in his column that Rafidah Aziz has one of Malaysia's sharpest minds and is not prone to making careless statements.

Earlier, Rafidah has remarked that Puteri Umno leaders who have passed the 35-year age limit for membership in that movement are still too young to challenge Wanita leaders at the division level. She wants them to wait three years before contesting.

As a matter of fact, Rafidah was spotted by Tun Abdul Razak and made a minister at the age of 35 in 1978.

To this, Kalimullah says the women of today are a different breed from those of 30 years ago when Rafidah "was one of a rare breed of professional, well-qualified Malay women. Today's Malaysian women can compete with men on an equal footing and are leaders in many fields".

If a Rafidah of 35 was "old" enough to be a minister in the federal Cabinet, then certainly the Puteri of the new millennium are not too young at 35 to contest posts at that lower rung of the Umno political hierarchy, says the columnist.

BUT THEY ARE GOOD ALL THE SAME

It must be noted that, in the same column, Kalimullah does not fail to sing accolades at the proper places. Just to quote three of them:

( 1 ) Hishammuddin is certainly one of the younger leaders who Abdullah and his deputy, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, are looking at to keep the Umno flag flying.

( 2 ) Hishammuddin's Cabinet colleague and counterpart in Wanita Umno, Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz, is one minister who can hold her own against the best in the world.

( 3 ) But Hishammuddin and Rafidah are a different category of leaders. They are among Umno's best, proven and tested.

TIADA REZEKI KAT SITU

In his Sunday column today, Awang Selamat recounts Ku Li's five reasons to contest the party president post: ( 1 ) To rekindle the spirit of democracy in Umno; ( 2 ) To continue his political struggle; ( 3 ) Pressure from the grassroot, especially close friends; ( 4 ) The President's post is now vacant; ( 5 ) There has been no such offer (to contest the President post) to date.

The columnist says Ku Li has tried hard but was proven wrong several times in the past. He says Ku Li could be wrong again. Reasons? "Mungkin rezekinya tidak ada di situ." (Perhaps, his alms are not there).

FEARLESS DOESN'T MEAN BRAVERY

In a second article, Awang says Ku Li is a man who doesn't fear defeat. "Pun begitu, tidak takut kalah tidak semestinya bermakna berani." (Nevertheless, fearless of defeat doesn't mean bravery.)

CHOOSE ME FOR KHAIRY JAMALUDDIN, NOT PM'S SON-IN-LAW

Khairy Jamaluddin tells Mingguan Malaysia that for his comfort and credibility, he would like to win his political base through contest.

But he wants to win it on his own merit. "Saya tidak mahu dipilih kerana saya menantu Perdana Menteri tetapi biarlah kerana sebagai Khairy Jamaluddin." (I don't want to be chosen because I am the prime minister's son-in-law. Choose me because I am Khairy Jamaluddin.)

Khairy just needs to obtain 29 nominations to qualify to contest for the No. 2 post of Umno Youth by midnight today.

Meanwhile, Utusan starts to peel the onion layers about Khairy. Khairy, who has agreed to contest the No. 2 post in Pemuda Umno, is introduced as the son of a former diplomat, born in Kuwait and raised in several foreign countries before returning to Malaysia in 1998.

PENTIUM PROCESSOR

Joceline Tan (Caveat: She's not someone with vested interest in Umno politics) describes in Sunday Star that Khairy's "mind also works like a Pentium processor".

It's the way his mind is always two steps ahead of you that makes me nervous, says Tan quoting an anonymous politician.

She also observes that, compared to four years ago, Khairy is "still tall, dark and quite handsome but he now sports a slight moustache and a goatee of sorts". The last seems to be an obligatory look in Umno Youth circles, a trend that has partly to do with prevailing religious norms and partly with looking macho, Tan says.

Mailbag: e-Commerce sham

From: John Gan
Subject: rebut to John Major
Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 04:45:29 -0700 (PDT)

Dear Jeff,

I refer to John Major's reply. I do agree with him about thefts happening overseas in the postal also But he must understand proportion and frequency.

Maybe it happens in the UK, but it does not happen as rampant as it is in Malaysia.

My example is clear. When I stayed in the UK from 1997 to 2002, I made a total of roughly 200 Internet purchases. Mostly books from Amazon UK and US and various book vendors and computer parts from online PC vendors either from US, UK or Netherlands.

Out of 200, 196 arrived safely and on time. 4 arrived late after 2 weeks. But at least they arrived. Not because of the post but because the vendor posted late and forgot about it. (small vendors from Amazon marketplace)

From 2002 to 2004 when I am in Malaysia and occassionally in 1999, 2000, 2001 when I was in Malaysia on holiday, I made about 30 online purchases from Malaysia from overseas vendors. Only about 12 arrived. And that also late, sometimes after 3 months. What happened to the other 18? And how come Kastam holds my book for 3 months?

Can you see the difference John Major? E-commerce is all about speed, efficiency and cost saving.

The MSC is all about Internet and e-commerce. If basic e-commerce cannot, how is MSC, what for have MSC?

Besides theft, Malaysian e-commerce is so sad. I refer to our local vendors doing e-commerce. When I bought my dell pc online, I had to fax my credit card number and signature. So why do they call it Online Purchase?

When I signed up online for Malaysian Xintel telephone service, I had to photocopy my credit card and fax my signature and photocopy of my credit card. That also they double charged my credit card and it took months to resolve the problem. Had to fax them my credit card statement after 1 month later to sort it out.

E-commerce is all about speed and taking out your credit card and making a purchase in seconds online.

regards

John Gan

I thought bloggers should know this

I noticed reader/blogger x_guy who, in good faith, was given a TypeKey access to post commentaries in Screenshots, has posted an offensive message to hurl accusations on this blogger without substantiation, and to comment on blog entry titled: Is 'Umno Democracy' a lost cause? without thematic relevance.

I do not know what's his intent.

But in the wake of such repeated Internet abuse on Screenshots, I feel obliged to revisit the context I once wrote on a blogger's responsibility, July 5:

There has been a proposal for Screenshots 2 from a Canada-based reader which I received June 29, and to which I replied:

Thanks for your offer but I don't think blogs should work this way. [...]

Good bloggers are no Gollum... To be taken seriously, bloggers cannot hide behind anonymity and hurl bricks.

And certainly, of all intent and purposes, a blogger should not blaspheme the entire blogger community by hurling wild accusations in the name of freedom of speech.

To put the record straight, this is what the archive in Screenshots has captured about the moniker x_guy:

Both IP addresses 65.95.236.143 and 65.94.130.114 are trace-routed to Toronto-based Nexxia HSE ppp3683868.sympatico.ca, and Bell Nexxia MTL-HSE ppp176952.sympatico.ca, respectively.

So, where's the beef?

If x_guy wants the Ring, he can go grab it from Gollum in the firepit.

If x_guy wants to seek fame at the expense of Screenshots, then he has to labour it on his own, and not to leech on my blood.

But until and unless blogger x_guy reveals his identifiable identity - like what Jeff Ooi of Screenshots has been persistently doing right from Day One - I don't think we should dignify him by responding further to his inflaming flame - in this blog or elsewhere.

For the record, I don't intend to ban the x-guy moniker for now, though I can if I want to.

Is 'Umno Democracy' a lost cause?

Not mincing his words, The Edge group executive editor P Gunasegaram says it is a lost cause. Excerpts from theSun (July 10):

Contests must not be considered divisive but the expression of legitimate differences in a legitimate manner, allowing the democratic rights of party delegates to be exercised.

That 30% requirement was written into Umno's rule books after Razaleigh came within a whisker of defeating Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in a bruising battle for the top post in 1987, while Tun Ghafar Baba narrowly defeated Tengku Razaleigh's ally, former deputy prime minister and Umno deputy president Tan Sri Musa Hitam for the No. 2 position.

And since then, Umno has kept challenges for the No. 1 post off but not for the No. 2 position. [...]

It's common knowledge that the new system was introduced to prevent a challenge to unseat incumbents, especially the incumbent president, at any future Umno election.

That may have helped to perpetrate a situation where Malaysia had the longest-serving prime minister ever.

Is it still in the interest of Umno, and by extension the nation, to continue with a system that makes it next to impossible to unseat a sitting president, deputy president and vice-presidents?

The answer has to be no. Otherwise, the check and balance so necessary to get rid of leaders who have not performed to expectations no longer exists.

It is therefore regrettable that the Umno Supreme Council voted to keep the nominations rule in place, effectively making a challenge to Abdullah all but impossible.

The pity is all the more because Abdullah almost certainly would not have needed the rule initiated by Mahathir to continue to be in power.

For the moment, however, a golden opportunity to roll back restrictive rules and give more play to democracy in Umno has been lost.

Elsewhere in theSun today, political editor Pak Non noticed that the two very persons who wanted top posts in Umno did not have to go through the party election process to get to where they are today on the eve of party election. Umno members not only don't complain, they take sides and vary standards to match their respective patronage suits and suites. Excerpts:

Two people have been making waves in the ongoing Umno elections -- Youth exco member Khairy Jamaluddin and supreme council member Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah -- even though they have said little until very recently.

And now everyone knows what the exco member appointed by Youth chief Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein wants and what the Kelantan prince, appointed to the powerful council by former party president Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, wants.

Meanwhile, Jalan Riong has activated its role for the Grand Puppeteer, in the name of journalism, spreading from newsgathering to OpEd here and here.

Let's watch how other mainstream papers behave from now till September.

58 nominations. Where?

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has offered himself as a candidate for the Umno presidency in party elections in September.

He says the post is still vacant and the ones who are responsible in deciding are the Umno members through the delegates' meetings in the various divisions throughout the country. He says he wants democracy to flourish besides enabling him to continue his struggles for the party.

In order to be eligible to contest the presidency, Tengku Razaleigh needs to garner at least 30% of the nominations from the party's 191 divisions which are meeting until July 22. That works out to be 58.

Meanwhile, another round of Akujanji to the Top 2 has started. The early birds who have criticised him for making the announcement were: Supreme Council member Syed Hamid Albar, Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob, Perlis Puteri Umno chief Marzita Mansor and et al.

You ain't seen nothin' yet. Wait till the Big Mind Big Man speaks in the Umno papers.

Liong Sik should see this!

More on special carplate numbers, read this from CY Leow. Don't pengsan!

When I bought my "CYLEOW" plate in 1989 I paid NZ$320.00 for it and I get to own it FOREVER and EVER, through the years this plate has been on two Honda Civics, a Mazda 323 and now the new Mazda 3.

I went and check on www.plates.co.nz and discovered that now you can have more than a dozen designs to choose from! For instance I can upgrade my "CYLEOW" to any of the design for NZ$199.00! Salivate lah!!

Just a thought... if Ling Leong Sik is in New Zealand then he only has to fork out NZ$499.00 for a "plain jane" BHF 1 that he fancies.

For NZ$567.00 he can have a "Picture Plate" or a "Europlate" for NZ$599.00!

Broadband and Per Second billing

Guest Blogger
S. Nadarajah, Malaysia
Date: Fri, 09 Jul 2004 07:23:47 +0800

In light of Derek Ng's letter, may I add more. Why the standards of broadband in Malaysia is not progressing is because of the fact that there is no competitions. In most countries, especially the UK, there are hundreds of ISP's in a country. Thus, each tries to compete with each other trying to provide a better and cheaper service. The governments promotes competitions by even coming up with migration plans. Now being implemented in broadband but long implemented in mobile phones. Here, you can leave to another network taking with you your handphone number or e-mail addres.

Thus the networks or ISP's try their level best to make the customer happy. In most cases, customers stick to their respective services for they are satisfied.

This is the problem in Malaysia. Nearly everything is a monopoly. Although there maybe AtlasOne, Webbit etc, in reality, there is only one ISP, Streamyx. This is because Telekom is the monopoly for all fixed line.

The same applies to charges for other services. There is a monopoly or a CONSENSUS monopoly amongst all operators. (I am deviating from
talking about broadband. I give an example of how all Malaysian telcos have agreed amongst themselves not to give per second billing to consumers.

Malaysian Telecommunication Companies and mobile phone operators seem not to be charging customers by the second, whilst nearly all other telecommunication companies globally do.

This practice is somehow short changing Malaysians and we do not realise this.

For example, if I make a 1 minute call from my handphone, I am charged 30 sen in the daytime. If I cross over the 1 minute, let's say I talk for 1 minute and 1 second, I should be charged 30 sen + 0.5 sen. (30 sen for the first minute and 0.5 sen is for the 1 second). But in Malaysia, you are charged otherwise.

Or if I make a 5 second call on my handphone, I should not be charged 10 sen. I should be charged less than 2 sen.

Unfortunately, in Malaysia, this is not practiced. Most telco's charge for the full minute for the first or second minute or blocks of it whilst the user may have only used several seconds.

The situation gets even worse when International calls are concerned as the price per minute is higher. For example, if I were to call 1 minute to X country for RM5 per minute, what happens if I talk for 1minute and 2 seconds for example?

Other countries have implemented per second billing many years back. Their justification was that customers should only pay for their precise usage.

When I was working in the UK in 1995, the UK mobile phone operators were just switching their systems to per second billing to benefit their customers. To my surprise, my phone bill halved. I normally paid about 50 pounds per month, after the new per second billing system was implemented, I paid like 25 pounds per month with the same usage.

Malaysia being such an advanced country, it is shocking that the mobile operators and fixed line operators still do not charge per second billing. Customers lose out. I am confident that is someone's bill was RM100 for their calls, if per second billing was implemented, one would only pay RRM50. We should only pay for the duration we use and nothing more.

The telco's make hundreds of millions of Malaysians because they refuse to implement per second billing. Imagine how much they make per day of one customer and calculate thant with 10 million customers.

These are examples of how consumers suffer because of monopoly. And why do monopolies exist? Answer is croynism and corruption.

For example, remember buying PC's with your EPF money and how the government appointed consortiums to handle it? And how the consortiums made RM$300 tp RM$500 of each PC and the computer had to hike it up by RM$300 to RM$500 on your bill before you submitted to the EPF?

It would have been faster and better without consortiums and each buyer just submit their legal receipts to the EPF for withdrawal.

Even with a golden egg and free money making opportunity, the consortiums bungled things up and went bust. Why?

Another example of monopoly and corruption.

Mailbag: BSA's 'flawed' report & e-Commerce sham

Reader Moo T writes in to say that BSA's global software piracy report is flawed. He says the study conducted by BSA, and funded by mainstream software developers, has discounted and ignored the role played by alternative software

Meanwhile, reader John Major (a Malaysian!) disagrees with reader John Gan's comment on e-commerce sham linked to postal services in Malaysia. He says such things even happened in developed countries, such as the Royal Mail scandal exposed by Channel 4 in the UK.

Click "More" to read the details.

From: "Moo T" Subject: Software piracy statistics flaw Date: Thu, 08 Jul 2004 23:40:47 +0800

If you take away the income and currency exchange issue, you will find that the piracy problem is much complicated than you thought.

Firstly, BSA may have bloated the figure by ignoring alternative software.

1. This report is sponsored by BSA. And the MOST active advotate of BSA is Microsoft. So when the report use the "computer sold vs OS license sold" figure, they assume ALL PCs must come with Microsoft Windows license, ignoring alternative OS such as Linux, BSD, etc.
2. To bloat the figure, BSA assume a high ratio of PCs using Microsoft Office. Again, free alternative office production tools such as Openoffice, Abiword, etc are ignored.<.li>

3. Lots of people pirate Adobe Photoshop. However, there are people using shareware version of Jasc paintshop pro. Again, the figure is bloated by ignoring the alternative.

Secondly, alternative software is widely available today, however

1. Many poor countries just IGNORE them. Worst still, some prefer to go on pirating than using the alternative.
2. BSA flourishes on piracy. Software piracy is the most efficicent marketing method to promote the brands of commercial software. When user locks into the commercial software, BSA will secure the user instead of losing them to free alternative solutions.
3. High corruption level in the government will stall free opensource and alternative solution's distribution. Corrupted administration can easily siphon money from commercial software licensing purchases. For opensource software, the only way to siphon money is through training, however, it is a snail-pace process and corrupted officer can't wait.
4. Ignorance. If you look closely, you will notice ignorance is the main cause of software piracy. If you try to go to any school computer labs, you will notice most of them are using pirated version of MS windows and MS office. Most of them will just give the lame excuses such as "Microsoft software is the mainstream software" while advocating the thievary piracy practice. And to add the insults, the people who suggested using MS office in the school computer labs have no intention to pay for the academy license, thus turning the student
   to thieves.

IMHO, making the children use "mainstream software" is the biggest jokes I have ever heard. When the student grows up, the "mainstream software" will upgrade to a distinguishable version.

Some other facts:

1. Oracle, one of the BSA members, has given free personal Oracle license for individual for learning purpose.
2. Due to version compatibility of Office 95, Office 97, Office 2000, Office XP, etc, most goverment bodies and corporates advocate PDF file format as the standard publishing format.

From: john major
Subject: Re: e-commerce sham
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 2004 02:00:34 -0700 (PDT)

Dear Jeff,

I am writting to give some comment regarding the "e-commerce sham"
posted by John Gan. I do not quite agree with what John had said that
our postal service is not good (he didn't actually spell it out by it is clear enough from the sentences you can tell what he meant.

Postage delay or getting stolen is actually quite common all over the world. If he pays more attention to the world news, he will have realised that few months ago the British's private tv station i.e. Channel 4, has uncovered a shocking truth about the Royal Mail. We are not the only one complaining about missing mails or parcel, in fact these things happen in developed countries as well, such as United Kingdom.

The Channel 4 team has embedded a secret worker in the Royal Mail and revealed the dirty secrets of the missing mails which were actually stolen by the Royal Mail staff.

I think the main problem does not lie with our system or government, it is the mentality of the people that makes things worse. Malaysians are quite ignorant, we only know how to complain and compare.

Anyway, I seriously hope that Malaysians could change their attitude and be more proactive to solve whatsoever problems that exist in our country, and not just to criticise the government and wait for government to take action.

Regards,
John Major
(I am Malaysian!!)

Darren Kang's murder: Which 'Anak Datuk'?

Was a "VIP's son and anak Datuk" involved in the murder of law student Darren Kang Tien Hua outside Warong Uncle Don in Desa Sri Hartamas on Monday?

MALAY MAIL, July 8: The VIP confirmed with The Malay Mail that his son was in the restaurant when Darren was attacked. According to the tabloid, the VIP said he has received calls from the police "who asked me about his alleged involvement in the case". He said his son has been cleared.

THE STAR, July 9: The 22-year-old son of a minister is among several customers the police want to interview in connection with the death of Darren Kang Tien Hua, who died after being assaulted by at least 15 people in Desa Sri Hartamas on Monday.

MALAY MAIL, July 9: KL Chief police officer Mustafa Abdullah said no one has implicated the "anak Datuk" in the attack. He pointed out that if there is evidence to show that he was involved, he would not be spared.

Little birds told Screenshots that the VIP is a minister who got his portfolio changed after the general election. He is now one of the ministers in the PM's Department.

RM100m poll merchanise: Shahrir wants probe; Kayveas denies

BN Benchbenchers club chairman Shahrir Abdul Samad was the first leader from the 14-party coalition to step forward calling on his party to investigate allegations that BN owes suppliers RM100 million in poll merchandise.

Excerpts from theSun (July 9, Page 2):

"If it is true we owe them, we have to pay. If not, the culprits responsible for embarrassing BN must be brought to book," he said.

"I will be bringing this matter up with the BN top leadership. If anyone had committed something wrong, he or she must not be allowed to get away scot-free. This is very, very embarrassing to BN and also a challenge."

July 7, in an exclusive co-authored by Steven Gan and Nash Rahman, Malaysiakini exposed that three months after BN’s thumping victory in the March 21 polls, dozens of companies are claiming that they have not been paid for supplying BN an estimated RM100 million worth of election paraphernalia.

The merchandise includes posters, plastic banners, T-shirts, caps, mineral water, button badges, lapel pins, key chains, lighters and pens - all adorned with the coalition’s distinctive dacing logo.

According to Malaysiakini, the affected suppliers had sent letters to BN leader, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, urging him to settle the debt.

However, Abdullah denied that his coalition was involved in the multi-million-ringgit purchase of campaign merchandise. He reportedly advised the complainants to instead resolve the matter with those who had directly made the purchase orders.

Malaysiakini also quoted that the troubled suppliers have also met leaders of other BN component parties to complain about their woes - MCA chief Ong Ka Ting and Gerakan vice-president and Penang Chief Minister Dr Koh Tsu Khoon.

According to Malaysiakini, the suppliers received their orders for the campaign materials through a company called Elegant Advisory Sdn Bhd, based in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur.

According to theSun, Shahrir told reporters at the Parliament yesterday that he has heard of Elegant Advisory, but he was not sure whether he had been billed or not and whether any of his campaign workers signed a delivery order (DO) from the company.

In Malaysiakini, Shahrir disclosed that Elegant Advisory was one of the companies which had supplied posters with the BN logo to him.

"Billing and DO are different. We get all our BN polls merchandise from BN headquarters. The company could have delivered on the coalition's behalf or it could have been dumped at my operations centre without anyone knowing where the source is," he said in theSun.

Earlier, Malaysiakini said a check with the Registrar of Companies revealed that the key owner of Elegant Advisory is 51-year-old Hasan Ayuob.

However, in a follow-up yesterday, Malaysiakini revealed Hasan has been sacked from his position as Elegant Advisory's chairman after the general election.

Hasan now claims that he is innocent and blames the company’s top executives instead, says Malaysiakini.

Contacted by Malaysiakini yesterday, he claimed the executives disregarded a decision made by the board of directors pertaining to the placement of orders for posters and other campaign material for Barisan Nasional.

He said the executives placed the orders even before the company held any negotiations with the state Umno and BN liaison committees on the matter.

“As such, don’t hold me responsible for their actions or the outstanding money that they owe the suppliers. Furthermore, they have sacked me and it is up to new management on how to handle the matter,” said Hasan in the Malaysiakini report.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister Department M Kayveas, who is also a BN vice president, became the first BN leader to dismiss the allegation that Barisan Nasional was involved in a scandal involving election campaign materials.

Malaysiakini reported yesterday that one supplier was supposed to meet BN secretary general Radzi Sheikh Ahmad regarding the matter on July 6 but the meeting has been postponed until next week.

Cover version

Screenshots' June 28 blog entry on 'Special Numbers for Official Cars' has become the cover story for Special Weekly (No. 177, July 5 edition).

The content and context are identical to Screenshots', though the magazine did not quote the source.

The vernacular magazine published by Nanyang Siang Press, however, added that ex-minister Ling Liong Sik has paid RM40,000 for his numberplate BHF 1.

Mailbag: Broadband and e-Commerce

From: Derek Ng
Subject: Broadband takeup
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 2004 20:49:35 -0700 (PDT)

Dear Jeff,

Allow me to give my comments on the current broadband scenario within the country. First off, thanks to Dr Feriz Omar for pointing out comparable prices for broadband in our neighbouring country, despite the apples-to-apples comparison being pretty unscientific. The comparison of S$58 there being RM58 here may be comparable, but GBP18 in the UK being RM18 here is hardly the case.

If Dr Feriz is asking why the difference, we can point out to factors other than living standards.

In Singapore, heavy investment in a solid telecommunications infrastructure has been the base for an easier (and cheaper) deployment of broadband. The government (like in South Korea) mandated a national backbone to support broadband initiatives in the future (see www.s-one.gov.sg). Besides infrastructure, the investment in a ready pool of skilled workforce that can handle broadband technology has resulted in a lower operational cost. You can pay S$2000 a month to a Singapore SI, but I don't think you get the same quality as a RM2000 SI in Malaysia. Therefore operational costs in Malaysia are higher because the technical staff are just not as knowlegable and efficient.

Next, the price of equipment would be the same in different countries. DSLAMs and Broadband equipment in exchanges are priced in US dollars by the vendors, thus a country with a stronger currency vis-a-vis the US dollar (like Singapore) would get equipment relatively cheaper. The sad case is that we do not have the know-how to produce sophisticated and reliable broadband access equipment and thus have to rely on imported technology. Singapore at least have Aztech (www.aztech.com.sg).

Sometimes I get annoyed at people saying that broadband in Malaysia has to be cheap because other people are offering it cheap. It's the typical attitude of Malaysians wanting something for nothing. The fact of the matter is that other countries spend a lot of money to make broadband cheap for everyone. Like it or not, somebody's got to pick up the tab for the investment needed. The only problem in Malaysia is that it's us.

Derek.

JEFF OOI: I wrote about the subject in my "i-Witness" column in Malaysian Business July 1 edition.

From: John Gan
Subject: e-commerce sham
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 2004 02:52:49 -0700 (PDT)

Dear Jeff,

I read Omar's letter on the sad state of affairs of our broadband Internet. The government talks so much about the Multimedia Super Corridor and e-commerce.

But in reality, all this can't work. Why?

How do we embrace e-commerce when basic e-commerce also we cannot do. I order books via the Internet from Amazon.com, and out of, say 10 orders I make, only 3 or 4 arrive safely. And those that arrive safely come to me in 3 or 4 months time after the Malaysian customs have chop dated it.

I wonder whether they sit and read my book (mostly computer books) for 3 or 4 months before releasing it.

When I was in the UK, I used to order from the same Amazon.com (US Amazon) as it was cheaper than the Amazon.co.uk (UK Amazon) Of 10 orders I make, all ten arrive safely.

Why do things get lost in Malaysia? When I ask Amazon.com, they say they have sent it and they give me proof of despatch. So it is on the Malaysian side that things get lost or stolen.

How can we do e-commerce if people in Malaysia are so dishonest? And why does the government talk about e-commerce when the proper infrastructure (ie like decent postal service) is not there.

regards
John Gan

From 'Exclusive' to 'Exclusive Blunder'

Exclusive blunder! Nobody knew what ghost drove New York Post to go ahead with a front-page exclusive with no bylines on July 6. But it was a definitely a decision Editor in Chief Col Allan later had to apologise to readers in a statement on Tuesday, and again in Wednesday's editions, calling it "Our Gaffe-hardt".

Hours before Democrats' presidential hopeful John Kerry announced his running mate July 6, New York Post "broke" the news by incorrectly reporting that the Senator had picked U.S. Representative Richard Gephardt as the vice president candidate.

July 7, New York Daily News front-paged its rival's gaffe by mocking the error while correctly reporting that Kerry chose Democratic North Carolina Senator John Edwards for the vice presidential position.

Soon after Kerry's official announcement, New York Post quickly pulled up the early edition and replaced it with a "latest" edition which corrected the mistake. The following day, it reproduced the headline with the correct name, John Edwards.

Below the headline was a white-on-red type harking back to Tuesday's "exclusive" banner: "NOT EXCLUSIVE."

However, New York Post did not explain its mistake, described as an exclusive. Excerpts from the apology from EIC, Col Allan:

As much of the English-speaking world knows by now... Obviously, we were wrong — and we’d like to humbly apologize to our readers for the mistake. Your trust is the most important asset this newspaper has, and we would never intentionally lead you astray.

Rest assured that generous helpings of crow were eaten here yesterday — and the leftovers will surely last a few more days.

So call it “Dewey Defeats Truman,” call it a “Gaffe-hardt,” call it a chicken farm’s worth of egg on our face — just remember that we’re striving every day to bring you the most informative, the most enlightening and, yes, the most amusing newspaper in town.

We do hope you’ll forgive the error — it certainly was one for the record books.

Meanwhile, the gaffe became headline materials for 50-year arch rival, Daily News, which described it as the most "colossal flub" since the Chicago Tribune proclaimed that Democrat Harry Truman had lost the 1948 presidential election.

On the day the blunder hit the streets, Daily News sent a case of Cold Duck sparkling wine to the Post with a note that said, "Congratulations on your exclusive. Have a nice day," presumably a reference to a billboard near the Daily News that shows the Post's rising circulation and the sentence, "Have a nice day".

Daily News was, in fact, merciless in its criticism of Allan. In a separate editorial addressed to News Corp. head Rupert Murdoch, it sarcastically pleaded, "Spare this man's life!"

"This page urges you not to fire New York Post editor Col Allan. No, we beg you on bended knee to keep him in place. He's just too good, or bad, to be true

Daily News was still hounding Murdoch July 8.

Reuters reported that New York Post's blunder has stirred tabloid wars anew in the Big Apple.

The two papers are constantly vying to beat the other on gossip and news, with the Post having made a 9.34 percent jump in average weekday circulation, to 678,012 papers sold, for the six-month period ended March 31, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. The Daily News saw a 1.36 percent increase to 747,053 average weekday circulation for the same period.

Meanwhile, hundreds of copies of the Post's blunder have sold on eBay online auction site. The are some 1,800 ads up there, some have fetched as much as $100 but most have sold for between $5 and $10.

The Post sells on newsstands for 25 cents and the Daily News for 50 cents.

Over the airwaves, NBC's Andrea Mitchell waited, and it paid off with a scoop. Knight Ridder reports:

Despite a tip from "a gold-plated source" Monday night that Sen. John Edwards would be Democrat John Kerry's vice presidential running mate, Mitchell held the story until 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. She still got it first.

"This is a classic case," says Mitchell, 57. "We weren't as invested in being first as being right. It's an old-fashioned value. I'm glad I work here."

It was a costly lesson for Allan to jump the gun. And BTW, broadsheet The Australian describes Col Allan as "Australian journalism's larger-than-life export".

Young Malaysian professionals

This is a picture of Dr Zurin Md Jinin (right) and her colleague, Dr Farrah Alias, examining a dog during the UPM open day recently.

Dr Zurin Azlin says she has no qualms about treating dogs although there were religious taboos involved.

"It is not a problem if I follow the necessary cleansing procedures as dictated by the religion after handling the dogs. The important thing is to nurse the animals back to health,” she was reported as saying in The Star Metro, yesterday.

Dr Zurin, 25, is a Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Doctor of Veterinary Medicine graduate currently with the university on a three-year internship.

Vice-chancellor Prof Dr Mohd Zohadie Bardaie said the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of UPM is the first veterinary school in the world to obtain the ISO 9001 certification in 2000.

Thanks reader YW Yeoh for the pointer.

Globally, software piracy not shrinking

Despite the roaring business at our Imbi Plaza and Low Yat Plaza, Malaysia doesn't feature in the Notorious Top 10 list.

In fact, Eastern Europe is emerging prominently as a continent for software piracy!

Here are the key findings in the First Annual Business Software Alliance and IDC Global Software Piracy Study (2003)"

2003 Worldwide Software Piracy Figures

• Total software installed on computers: $80 billion


• Total software paid for: $51 billion


• Total packaged software loss: $29 billion

Countries with Highest Piracy Rates

1. Vietnam 92%


2. China 92%


3. Ukraine 91%


4. Indonesia 88%


5. Zimbabwe 87%


6. Russia 87%


7. Algeria 84%


8. Nigeria 84%


9. Pakistan 83%


10. Paraguay 83%

Countries with Lowest Piracy Rates

1. United States 22%


2. New Zealand 23%


3. Denmark 26%


4. Sweden 27%


5. Austria 27%


6. United Kingdom 29%


7. Japan 29%


8. Belgium 29%


9. Germany 30%


10. Switzerland 31%

Other highlights:

• The piracy rate in the Asia/Pacific region was 53%, with dollar losses totaling more than %7.5 billion


• In Eastern Europe, the piracy rate was 70%, with dollars losses at more than $2.2 billion


• In Western Europe, the rate was 36% and the dollar losses totaled $9.6 billion


• The average rate across Latin American countries was 63%, with losses totaling $1.3 billion


• In the Middle Eastern and African countries,the rate was 55% on average, with losses totaling nearly $900 million


• In North America, the rate was 23%. Losses totaled more than $7.2 billion

What contributed to global software piracy (not just Asia now)? Is it a myth or a fact that only poor countries flourish software piracy? Your thoughts please.

Mandarin: Utusan carries Singapore High Comm's rebuttal

The Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur has issued a rebuttal to recent comments by Singapore-born academic academic Dr Lily Zubaidah Rahim on how Malays in the island-state are marginalised in the education system.

The statement was carried July 6 in Utusan Malaysia, which had first reported the Sydney-based academic's remarks in a June 26 article.

Singapore Straits Times reported it yesterday. Screenshots has a blog on June 30.

Mailbag 20040707

From: Feriz Omar
Subject: Our Neighbour's Broadband is far cheaper and faster - Why?
Date: Wed, 07 Jul 2004 14:51:35 +0800

Dear Jeff,

I refer to your writings on Time Webbit. We must also not forget about the general slow and pathetic service we get by Streamyx. I compare it to our neighbour Singapore.

Our neighbour Singapore has very fast broadband at cheap prices.

In Malaysia, we get unlimited broadband at a mere 384K speed for RM66 (without a modem) and RM77 (with a free modem)

In Singapore, despite the modem given free, they get 1500K for S$58.80 and 3000K for S$79.80. (10 times faster than Streamyx 384K)
(Kindly refer to http://www.starhub.com/online/maxonline/priceplan.html)

Without making the currency conversion (as S$58.80 is like RM$58.80 in Malaysia), why is the Malaysian Broadband prices so high for such slow speeds compared with our neighbour? Surprisingly in Singapore the speed is approximately 10 times the speed Streamyx offers in Malaysia for nearly the same price.

How are we to embrace and become an IT literate society if such high prices are maintained?

Also, the Malaysian Communication Multimedia Commission (MCMC)and TM Net argues saying broadband is cheaper in Malaysia than most countries. They often refer to Britain as a comparison. They argue saying that in Britain, you get 512K for less than 18 pounds (RM$126).

They then argue that that the Malaysian Streamyx Pricing of RM$66 for unlimited 384K is far cheaper than RM$126 charged in the UK.

This is not fair. 18 Pounds in the UK is considered small money and it should be rightly compared to RM$18 ringgit in Malaysia. It is totally unfair to convert the UK pricing into Malaysian currency and say that UK pricing is much higher than in Malaysia.

Thus the British man pays only (for example) RM$18 per month. This same principle applies to Singapore, Australia, Japan and Korea.

Secondly, one must compare according to speeds. In other countries, they don't give 384K. They give 512K to 3Mbps. And yet, their pricing is far cheaper than Malaysia.

regards,

Dr Feriz Omar

From: Teik Chye
Subject: Air Asia Wanting to use Subang Airport
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 2004 18:46:28 +0800

Can I suggest you run a forum on the pro & cons of having a low cost airline(Air Asia) operating from Subang Airport Terminal 3. I think there will be a lot of constructive comments from readers on this subject and from there pressure on the government to open up rather than having MAS to monopolise the Air business.

In today's world monopoly is the past, since it is a free world having a competitor we consumers will enjoy the fruit of their wa (reduce fares). In those years during our former transport minister's (LLS) years MAS complaint that they have to use International flights revenue to support domestic fares, well as we know that is not true. Just not a logic reason but blinding a citizen's eyes because at that time Air Asia still does not exist.

When Air Asia first started all were waiting for them to fail, but with god's help they prosper, now MAS from making a loss wants a share of the cake.

The government wants to stimulate the economy to encourage spending, they don't have to reduce the monthly employee mandatory payment to EPF (former PM) instead they have to open up for "Up and successful businessman like Tony Fernandez & Pahamin(Ex JPJ) they can profit, why deter them, give them the support, courage and open up for them to seek healthy competition. What the former government is to use monopoly and reap all the profits to only the Cronies.

Air Asia aims to to use Subang as a Low Fare hub, like Don Muang in Bangkok, why can Malaysia do it? Subang is very convenient, you can connect Star LRT to Subang ~ KL Sentral, stimulate the traffic from Subang to KL Sentral, bus, taxis and foreign pax can be connected by Subang ~ KL Sentral ~ KLIA. why let MAS monopolise the business. If we can provide low fare, low bus service, low LRT and connections why not?

We can open up Subang, and shops, buses, taxis, can turn Subang Airport into their source of income, why need to built another terminal in KLIA whereas the present terminal is left idling on the rakyat's money. Actually Putra LRT workshop is near Subang Airport why not extend to Subang Terminal so that we can have a network similar to KLIA Express.

From: "kam lim"
Subject: Proton Joint Venture in Indonesia
Date: Wed, 07 Jul 2004 11:05:47 +0000

I was surprised to read that Proton and Tracoma has joint ventured to buy an assembly plant in Indonesia for the Indonesian market and also export to ASEAN.

From the newspaper the CEO of PROTON has always claim that Proton is competitve and exports to god knows how many countries. The R&D; is world class and the Tanjong malim plant as far as I can recall has a capacity of nearly a million cars and invested RM 1.0 billion.

Since we are an ASEAN country, why can't malaysian made Protons be exported to other ASEAN countries competitvely? Why does Proton have to be exported from another ASEAN country.

By buying into an Indon factory, is PROTON admitting it can't meet the ASEAN content for Malaysian made Protons for export to ASEAN countries. So what is all the crap about. Not to mention the scarce resources ($$) problem with the Govt.

Is Proton charging us high price and then throw it away in Indon?

BN owes suppliers RM100m for poll merchandise?

Parliament is in session and Umno party election is in progress. What a timing.

At noon today, Malaysiakini dropped a bombshell, co-authored by editor Steven Gan and news editor Nash Rahman: BN owes suppliers RM100m for poll merchandise!

Three months after BN’s thumping victory in the March 21 polls, dozens of companies are claiming that they have not been paid for supplying BN an estimated RM100 million worth of election paraphernalia.

The merchandise includes posters, plastic banners, T-shirts, caps, mineral water, button badges, lapel pins, key chains, lighters and pens - all adorned with the coalition’s distinctive dacing logo. (See Malaysiakini photo, left)

Excerpts from Malaysiakini:

Malaysiakini understands that letters have been sent to BN leader, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, urging him to settle the debt.

However, Abdullah denied that his coalition was involved in the multi-million-ringgit purchase of campaign merchandise. He advised the complainants to instead resolve the matter with those who had directly made the purchase orders.

It is learned that the troubled suppliers have also met leaders of other BN component parties to complain about their woes - MCA chief Ong Ka Ting and Gerakan vice-president and Penang Chief Minister Dr Koh Tsu Khoon.

According to Malaysiakini, the suppliers received their orders for the campaign materials through a company called Elegant Advisory, based in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur.

The online news portal said a check with the Registrar of Companies revealed that the key owner of Elegant Advisory is 51-year-old Hasan Ayuob.

I reckon there would be repercussion after this expose as it's not Malaysian companies which are the only ones hit by the scandal.

Malaysiakini says an overseas firm, which had done similar deals for the Bush 2000 campaign and the Nigerian elections, despatched 700,000 badges worth RM1 million to Malaysia. Excerpts:

"This is worse than doing business in China," she decried. "I saw BN leaders wearing my badges on TV. Why don’t they pay up? What kind of country is this?

"I have been in this business for 20 years. This has never happened to me before. Not even the African countries I’ve dealt with."

According to her, she had written letters, including to Abdullah, but to no avail. She is now seeking help from her country’s embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

However, Malaysiakini quoted a source as saying that Hasan appeared confident that he would get the money to pay his contractors.

"Kalau saya kena penjara, semua Barisan MPs pun kena sebab mereka ambil barang saya 'free'." (If I’m jailed, all Barisan MPs will also get it because they took my things for free).

Thanks reader Paul Warren for the pointer. Let's see how it goes.

Less patronage please?

The Government will review its stand on giving the rights to a single company to build telecommunication towers.

Yesterday, Energy, Water and Communications Minister Dr Lim Keng Yaik said the arrangement to give the rights to just one company had run into some problems.

Excerpts from The Star:

Industry sources pointed out that Asiaspace DotCom Sdn Bhd was issued an infrastructure licence by the then Energy, Telecommunications and Posts Ministry to own and provide any network facilities, including earth stations, satellite hubs, fixed links and cables, radio communications transmitters and links, and towers, poles, ducts and pits in conjunction with other networks.

Mobile telephone operators were then directed to rent space for towers erected by the company.

Excerpts from NST-Business Times:

“As far as I am concerned, whoever can build towers, we will give them (the licence). We need to build the towers. No towers, no transmission. No transmission, no connectivity,” Dr Lim told newsmen after opening the two-day IT (information technology) Governance 2004 Conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

He said currently there are problems getting approvals from the state governments for erection of such towers. Of more than 3,000 applications to build new transmission towers, only about 100 received approval.

“So, we need to encourage more companies that are in a better position to get state government approval to build new transmission towers,” he said.

According to NST-Business Times, Asiaspace has faced limitations in fulfilling its role as a tower builder nationwide, and has agreed with the authorities that it undertake the tower building only in the Klang Valley and Putrajaya.

Meanwhile, Dr Lim suggested that mobile phone operators share the cost of erecting the towers and asked mobile operators, broadband Internet service providers and broadcasters to use existing towers built by Telekom Malaysia Bhd.

Yesterday, PM Abdullah Badawi, too, urged local automotive companies to depend less on government protection as they were now facing global challenges especially with the implementation of the Asean Free Trade Agreement (Afta) and liberalisation under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime.

Webbit goes 'hare'wire?

Webbit, wireless broadband from Time, is showing signs of problems in service delivery. It appeared in Star-InTech yesterday, and in my mailbox in the previous weeks.

From: BBL
Subject: Webbit woes: Part Deux...
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 2004 16:19:03 +0800

Since 9pm last might... Webbit seems to be going haywire... cannot get link to base station mot of the time [>98%]... and when can get link, cannot surf despite reasonablly good signal strength.

Called customer service many times... gist of what I can gather:

1. Around 9pm last night [4 July]. Menara Morais base station [near SS2] developed problems... which may have meant problems form me when some of the users allocated to that base station were transferred to the one serving me ["Crimson / Diaman]"]. Customer service person said Crimson has "high usage". Ended up with no Webbit service for while night [till about 1am]; had switched to Jaring dial-up to connect to the Net.

2. This morning, problems continued. Still cannot get signal and when can get signal, cannot surf, aside from about 1/2 hour starting from about 12noon, when I was being served by Crimson base station. Back after lunch, kaput again.

3. More calls, more changes of base stations... and still no connection.

But the interesting part is, I found out that two other base stations had been found to be giving problems - Maxis Tower [near SONY office] and Damansara Pelangi.

From what I had heard over the last few weeks, Maxis tower is one of the more important base stations, and had been upgraded recently [within the last two weeks I think]. Whenever I am assigned to that base station, I can get a good strong signal [the strongest I can get from any station], but not surf anywhere.

So... is it some problem which is affecting the Webbit system in many areas... due to ???... is it congestion at base stations when more and more people sign up with Webbit and possibly too many are assigned to certain base stations [did Webbit get their sums wrong?]...

And another thing... I recall I was told by dealer selling Webbit that Webbit is not affecetd by rain effect"but last week, during a rainstorm, I suddenely lost my connection to the base station.

The Webbit FAQ states:

29. Is this service affected by weather conditions?

TIME's Webbit frequencies are extremely resilient to "rain fade" and other weather conditions and have been able to withstand the Malaysian weather conditions. [...]

In my case, the Webbit link I had could not resist the rainstorm [which was not even the heaviest sort], and could not withstand the Malaysian weather...

Called up Webbit, and customer rep said their engineers said there's "minimal rain effect"... "like ASTRO lah", so said the customer service rep.

As if to prove that the rain was causing the disruption I had, the rain stopped as I was talking to him, and viola! Connection re-established to the base station.

So much fun... and gua still waiting till later today to see if my Webbit can jalan or tadak.... {:(

From: BBL
Subject: Webbit woes - Part 3: A reprieve?
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 2004 04:57:08 +0800

AIyoh, yoooooo....

Manyak the terror leh, Tuan.

More calls, more this, more that... but till about 4:30pm this afternoon [Tues 6th July], I only had at best a total of 1 - 1.5hrs of surfing. Interupted every now and then by long periods of no d/load, no upload, no nothing.

BUT... at about 4:30pm... at long last... light at the end of the tunnel...

Called Webbit, and got thorugh to one of the better customer reps, X. He'd managed to get me assigned to 2 base stations [Maxis 1 and Crimson] on Monday evening at about 9:55pm... and for a short while... it worked... well... till jammed again about an hour or so later. At least, after more than 24 hrs of practically zero Webbit linkup, X's move worked.

This morning, still jammed except for a short spell of some minutes...

Feddup... called at about 4:20pm and got Yusri again. He agreed to change one of the 2 base stations YW is assigned to - I asked for Damansara Uptown to replace Maxis 1 [problematic track record but strongest signal, so if I am pointed at 2 base stations, Maxis 1 will capture my modem practicaly 100% of the time], retaining Crimson as the 2nd station.

After that... fingers crossed... and viola... smooth connection so far. It has been about 12 hours since, and everytime I connect, I am still surfing fine.

So... A reprieve?

Bright spot also that there are some Webbit customer reps who know their stuff + can get things done to resolve problems. Aside from X, there were a couple of others who were good. Satish and.... someone else whose name escapes my groggy brain.... Yusri?

And another thing... this afternoon at about 5pm, there was a heavy downpour. And again tonight at about 10pm. But this time, no service disruption. Steady surfing through the rain, which was heavier than the previous time when I kena disruption due to rain effect.

I noted that since the resumption, I have now got a strong signal - up to -71 on the signal strength display [cf about -85 previously]. Due to new base station combo [possibly D.Uptown has stronger transmitter/better signal path to my house?]? Or has Webbit pumped up the transmitting power of their base stations or install new aerials? Or...

Whatever it may have been due to, there was no rain effect this time around...

Mailbag 20040706

From: chez1978@yahoo.com
Subject: Education
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 2004 23:54:47 -0700 (PDT)

I believe the recent announcement to upgrade existing public schools than building new ones is a wiser move. Hopefully all schools can be upgraded as such, with priority given to schools with good track record or needs capacity.

In any case, it is the third announcement which I expect a loud noise over the next few days in the Chinese dailies. I don't know if they will pick it up, but the uniformity of the timetable might not go down
well with the SRJK(C) Either expect a compromise or rejection or furor over it with the DJZ. I am surprised by the call for a uniform timetable. Someone shrewd must have advised for that. It is a very effective move to make all public-funded schools more egalitarian.

And as we all know, this will be felt most keenly among the Chinese schools that runs the timetable as their personal fiefdoms. Wonder how will this uniform timetable affect the MCA arrangements for english S&T; in the Chinese primary schools.

From: "Alex Lam"
Subject: pointer for ipv9
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 2004 21:04:31 +0200

Hi Jeff,

Here's a post by James Seng on the subject of IPv9

http://james.seng.cc/node/view/235

Cheers,
Alex

Azman Ujang is Bernama's new EIC

Senior Bernama journalist Azman Ujang, 53, has been appointed the new Editor-in-Chief of the national news agency, effective today.

He succeeds Jaafar Hussin who retired in March this year.

Before this, Azman was the Executive Editor in charge of Bernama's Audio Visual and Photo service which produces daily television news bulletins supplied to local tv stations including Astro.

Via Bernama, 15:18hr.

Jokes aside, but IPv9?

There is nothing that sysadmin folks wouldn't know. No typo, but IPv9?

There is a report coming from The People's Daily which says China has widely adopted a next generation Internet protocol, called IPv9, which is "compatible with IPv4 and IPv6, and has been formally adapted and popularised into the civil and commercial sector."

Xie Jianping, the purported founder of IPv9, stated at the Industrialization & Development Seminar held at Zhejiang University, that the protocol is based on a ten-digit computing method, and it has its own address protocol, nameplate protocol, transitional protocol, and digital domain name regulations and standards.

The news item, which originated from China Radio International's CRIenglish.com, was also wired by China's official news agency, XinhuaNet.

However, according to The Register, nobody had ever heard of IPV9 as an established technical standard except the version that had been woven into an April Fool's joke dating from 1994. But that's about the only time it has been mentioned.

Education woes and smorgasbord of remedies

This prime minister of ours, wasn't he an education minister before?

He made three key statements at two functions over one weekend. I am not sure whether he was dishing out piecemeal solutions or reading from a new blueprint, but he said several things that may have caught MoE Hishamuddin Hussein with his pants down.

The first two keynotes were made at a Press conference after launching the "Multimedia Super Corridor Next Leap" at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre, July 3.

Statement One: Abdullah announced that the construction of new smart schools will be stopped with immediate effect. This is to make way for the conversion of the country’s present 10,000-odd national schools into smart schools by equipping them with facilities in information and communications technology (ICT).

His rationale is this: It costs RM20 million to RM30 million just to build a smart school, let alone equip it. So, such conversions would be quicker and more cost-effective than building new smart schools.

Money for conversion? The PM said if there were insufficient funds, money could be channelled from the extra RM10 billion recently allocated for the Eighth Malaysian Plan.

Backgrounder: To date, only a handful of smart schools have been built nationwide since 1999 (The NST's report of 87 smart schools already built is debatable). On Feb 18, the Cabinet was informed that a cost-effective phased roll-out model for smart schools was being developed. However, Abdullah said about 2½ months ago, he briefed the Cabinet on the decision to convert national schools into smart schools. I can't recall having read anywhere Hishamuddin had mentioned about this in the last two months.

Statement Two: In tandem to converting all schools into smart schools, Abdullah wants all students to be IT-savvy, and not only the selected students in smart schools.

"We decided to equip existing schools with the necessary ICT equipment, which we will upgrade from time to time whenever necessary," he said.

If you remember, not too recently, smart schools were being built, computer labs were being constructed and delayed (and some abandoned), while notebook computers and LCD projectors were provided for the teaching of Science and Maths in English.

To this, The NST ran a leader yesterday: "Computers are just the tools of learning, and like all tools, to be useful, they need to be used well. The challenge is not just to put computers in all Malaysian classrooms, but to put them to more effective educational use."

Statement 3: Abdullah said all schools may soon have a uniform timetable.

Abdullah said he had spoken to Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein on the idea of a standard timetable. He said such a move would allow schools to receive simultaneous broadcast of educational TV programmes - utilising TV Pendidikan - as well as benefit from tele-conferencing on certain subjects.

His rationale is to partly tackle problems related to the shortage of teachers and learning facilities.

"This will provide an opportunity for a specialist teacher in a certain subject, especially science and mathematics, to provide guidance to students all over the country, without the need for his or her physical presence at the schools," he explained.

At the pace ideas are being freely dispensed with, we could only expect more to come in the near future.

As it is, one may now vividly recall ( 1 ) what Musa Hitam, also a former education minister, told theSun recently about ad-hocism that had plagued our educational system for the past 10 to 15 years; and ( 2 ) what Abdullah talked during his early days of ascendancy to office about the need for a total revolution in education.

theSun runs a leader on this state of confusion, today:

But revolution in the void of ignorance and confusion is extremely dangerous and can cause much more problems than it solves. Revolution must be preceded by careful gathering of facts and evidences, meticulous thought and analysis, immaculately presented solutions and flawless execution.

As a solution, theSun suggests the setting up of a permanent commission on education by an Act of Parliament.

It says, the commission will ensure the important first step of bringing to the fore in a public, open and systematic manner all the conceivable issues in education and raise the quality of debate to much higher levels than now. Besides, it will lay the foundation for the erection of a platform which will lift education out of its present quagmire.

Whatever it is, the ball now stops at Hishamuddin's court, and his report card is due for review every three months. How is he going to make the PM's imperatives happen? Can Abdullah loan him the blueprint, if there is one?

UPDATES: The NST (July 6, Page 2) quotes Hishamuddin Hussein as saying that schools nationwide can start using educational television programmes by the end of the year, once timetables are made uniform.

According to The NST, the MoE says since most schools already had television sets, the move to use education TV and teleconferencing could be steadily implemented without a need for extra budget this year.

Teleconferencing because you have TV sets? Gosh!

The bill opens on Open Source floodgate

IBM Malaysia Sdn Bhd is supporting the adoption of open source systems (OSS) in Malaysia through the aggressive promotion of IBM’s "On Demand Business" initiative, says The Edge FinancialDaily which quotes IBM managing director Voon Seng Chuan.

Voon says IBM Malaysia was encouraging the use of OSS in its solutions as it could minimise the "frustration of not being able to open certain files" without compatible software.

"Today, the next big thing in technology is not technology itself, but a better way to make it work," he said.

Voon said IBM Malaysia would give its utmost support for the government "to go open source".

Last December, IBM was announced among a consortium of three technology companies awarded a RM20 million project to oversee the implementation of OSS in government departments.

Before his retirement, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had given the green light for the OSS implementation in all government departments and agencies as a cost-saving alternative in deploying information technology for the public sector.

Last week, Bill Gates met Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for a half-an-hour and pledged to invest RM10 million ringgit to train teachers and improve information technology in 10,000 schools over five years.

Mailbag 20040705

Reader Dr Feriz Omar comments on Malaysian car prices. Excerpts:

Why is the Gen2, now supposedly a 100% Malaysian engined car priced at around RM$56,000? whilst the old Proton Wira with the Mitsubishi engine was priced at RM$50,000 (despite having to pay Mitsubishi royalty)?.

It is a sad fact that 90% of cars in Malaysia are owned by Finance Companies and not by their respective owners. With the profileration of credit cards also, it seems that Malaysians are constantly in "debt" and sometimes, for the rest of their lives.

Malaysians find it hard to understand why cars are so expensive in Malaysia. They ask all sorts of questions. Finally, the most perplexing question...is it true that a certain minister has a stake in a certain brand car in Malaysia (not Proton)? Is that why he or she wants car prices to be expensive?

Reader wolf715 comments on the cost of living. Excerpts:

I see that people are still trying to compare RM1 to £1 without considering the differences between cost of living and standard of living of either country (if they are doing it than it feels like a gross misrepresentation).

For the information of Ganesh Rajan... I would really advise people not to make surface comparisons on the cost AND standard of living between Malaysia and UK (or any overseas country for that matter).

In an open market, the prices of products changes and adapts to local conditions - taking into account the country's economic conditions, consumer's willingness to pay and so on. If you want to compare electronic goods, then pls check out (properly) the prices in the UK and those in M'sia. Some are cheaper in M'sia, and some are definitely not.

Click more to read in details.

From: Feriz Omar" Subject: Malaysian Car prices. Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2004 10:55:56 +0800

Dear Jeff,

I refer to recent letters about cars being very cheap in the United Kingdom and unproportionately priced in Malaysia. This is very important as the HOUSE, CAR, MEDICAL and EDUCATION are the only 4 biggest expenditure one really faces in his/her lifetime.

Thus, if Malaysians spend so much for their cars, indirectly, their standards of living too will reduce as a large percentage of their pay or savings will be spent for their cars. One will have less money to buy other things like good food, holidays, electronic gadgets etc.

Malaysia is said to have the most expensive cars in the world besides Singapore. But Singapore, you can understand. They hike car prices because of lack of space. But in Malaysia, why are car prices hiked up?

To make matters worse, Malaysians have to change their cars frequently like every 5 years once due to

a) Quality of Protons after 5 years become intolerable. (this cannot be disputed)

b) Driving a buruk car becomes a source of ridicule amongst peers and the Malaysian public (All of us are guilty of laughing at the buruk old Peugeot on the road)

In the United Kingdom, one can buy a brand new car for about 6,000
pounds. Considering the average British working person earns around
1500 to 2000 pounds per month, he can buy a car outright with a few
months of savings without getting into debt by taking a long term loan.

Unfortunately, in Malaysia, it is not the same. The average person earns between RM1,000 to RM2,000 but the car is around RM60,000. The
Malaysian has no choice but to either not own a car or get into a 7 or 9 year loan.

Now to the Proton car. I refer to Proton since it is the National car
and the cheapest around. I can understand prior to Gen2, Proton had to pay royalty to Mitsubishi, thus the prices they quoted for the Waja, Wira and Iswara was justified to a certain extent.

But now, we are like Britain. We are a country that produce our OWN
cars 100%. (We are now producing our OWN cars with the Campro engine). So why can't Malaysians benefit like how the British people benefit in the UK with cheap cars?

Why is the Gen2, now supposedly a 100% Malaysian engined car priced at around RM$56,000? whilst the old Proton Wira with the Mitsubishi engine was priced at RM$50,000 (despite having to pay Mitsubishi royalty)?.

I cannot understand this fact. The fact that having a Malaysian Campro engine should make the car cheaper and not more expensive.

I think the government should intervene and ensure prices drop even
further in order for average Malaysian to be able to buy outright a car instead of getting loans to buy a car. We cannot blame Tengku Mahaleel for stating that for the Gen2, he would let market forces decide the price. After all he is a businessman and he is looking after the best interest of his company.

We should not take lightly the fact that the Gen2 is now a "Fully
Malaysian" car and that now we do not have to make royalty payments to Mitsubishi.

I hope the government would enable a scenario where the average
Malaysian can just save several months of their gaji (just like the
British individual in the UK) and go out to the showroom and just buy a car outright.

It is a sad fact that 90% of cars in Malaysia are owned by Finance
Companies and not by their respective owners. With the profileration of credit cards also, it seems that Malaysians are constantly in "debt" and sometimes, for the rest of their lives.

Malaysians find it hard to understand why cars are so expensive in
Malaysia. They ask all sorts of questions. Finally, the most perplexing question...is it true that a certain minister has a stake in a certain brand car in Malaysia (not Proton)? Is that why he or she wants car prices to be expensive?

Thank you.

regards,
Dr Feriz Omar

From: wolf715
Subject: Cost of Living
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 2004 09:41:14 +0100

Dear Jeff,

I see that people are still trying to compare RM1 to £1 without
considering the differences between cost of living and standard of
living of either country (if they are doing it than it feels like a
gross misrepresentation).

For the information of Ganesh Rajan, the £400 return flights from the
UK to Southeast Asia are usually on a discounted price and it's really
not peanuts either. But of course if you are already earning £2000 a
month, you must be a very (very) high income earner anyway - so I
guess £400 could be peanuts.

A person with a £2000 income per month would mean that this person has
to earn about £40000 per annum - after taking consideration of the 40%
income tax (income tax is 22% per annum for incomes below £28000 per
annum). Although I do not know the income tax bands in Malaysia, I
think it is hardly accurate to compare a £2000 (per month) UK earner
with the salary of a RM4000 per month M'sian earner. Even without
going through the calculations I can tell you that a Malaysian has to
earn far more than RM4000 per month to be comparable to a person
earning £2000 per month.

I would really advise people not to make surface comparisons on the
cost AND standard of living between Malaysia and UK (or any overseas
country for that matter).

The standard of living in the UK is definitely higher than in
Malaysia, but that is because their cost of living is simply higher.
They pay much more.

On the other hand, for the cost of living we are currently paying in
Malaysia, the standard of living is not bad at all. We certainly can't
compare the prices of goods in the two countries without considering
the implication of the differences in standards (and cost) of living.

In an open market, the prices of products changes and adapts to local
conditions - taking into account the country's economic conditions,
consumer's willingness to pay and so on. If you want to compare
electronic goods, then pls check out (properly) the prices in the UK
and those in M'sia. Some are cheaper in M'sia, and some are
definitely not.

Not everyone working overseas feel that the grass is greener on the
other side. Of course, the money I'm saving from my income is
definitely higher than what I would be able to save were I in M'sia
(after currency conversion) - but if I compare my savings with local
(British) conditions...well, now you can call that peanuts.

Regards,
Resident

Less patronage for now?

EXCLUSIVE

"Remove your past baggage, and buy plentiful of political will for change." That's the recipe for Malaysian government and businesses from a senior journalist.

Malaysian companies will be forced to confront an extremely competitive global economy with far less government protection in the years to come, said P. Gunasegaram, Group Executive Editor of The Edge, in Sydney recently.

He said Malaysian firms' past reliance on patronage as a means to
garnering profits would have to stop if they were to succeed on the global stage, a business environment which he described as "tough".

"Malaysian firms were used to government protection, and substantial government protection at that. But they now have to compete," he said.

Gunasegaram was speaking at a seminar organised by the University of Sydney's Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific (RIAP), supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), June 29.

Gunasegaram's topic was on how Malaysian businesses were transforming in response to local and global factors. A copy of his presentation slides was reviewed by Screenshots today.

Gunasegaram recapped that, since Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took over the government last October, Malaysia has seen various changes in policy matters.

This, he said, included the implementation of an open and transparent government tendering system, cutting back on mega infrastructural projects like the double tracking railway, and a more professional approach to manage Government Link Companies (GLCs), which are estimated to make up one-third of the market capitalisation on Bursa Malaysia.

The apparent cut-back on patronage under the Abdullah administration not only meant more savings for the government, it also motivated a more competitive and efficient environment.

However, he said, the political will to sustain the changes would be a key ingredient in Malaysia's success.

This is because reduced spending by the government has delivered a big impact on construction companies and Malay businessmen.

Corruption would also need to be eradicated, he added.

In terms of external resources, Gunasegaram said Malaysia's were limited as most of its manufactured exports were from FDIs. "Local companies don’t export that much while the overseas markets are seeing increased competition," he added.

Gunasegaram believed Malaysia's economy, which he said was overly reliant on the manufacturing sector for growth, would make a shift towards both service-oriented and value-added technology sectors in order to become globally competitive.

This was already occurring, he said, as tourism has now become the second largest industry behind manufacturing in terms of earnings.

The China Factor was also a strong determinant in transforming Malaysian business, said Gunasegaram.

Already, China was presenting itself as an alternative destination for FDIs, but not many Malaysian companies were looking to China as a market.

Nevertheless, Gunasegaram cited several strategic advantages Malaysia has over China, one of which was Malaysia's largely educated population, although he felt even this could be further improved, particularly when compared to Singapore.

One of such improvements could be the use of English, and not Malay, as the basis for more subjects at both secondary and tertiary levels of education.

Gunasegaram also touched on the issue of capital controls, including the fixed exchange rate pegged against the US Dollars, introduced at the height of the Asian Economic Crisis in 1998.

He said the government would eventually remove the peg, currently set at 3.80, but the rinngit would only refloat when the rate became dramatically out of kilter with market sentiment.

"If there is a change, it will come out of the blue. We can't discount that it may happen," he said.

Live from Baghdad

HBO Original Movie Live From Baghdad premieres tomorrow at 8.15pm. (But my records show the movie had its theatrical release on December 7, 2002, and DVD release on June 24, 2003.)

It's based on a book of the same title (Live from Baghdad: Making Journalism History Behind the Lines) by TV news producer Robert Weiner who, together with his team (Ingrid Formanek, Bernard Shaw, Peter Arnett and John Holliman), reported blow-by-blow from the Iraqi capital and made CNN famous overnight during the 1991 Gulf War.

Weiner has made some 40 trips to Baghdad since the war, and says that he has been treated with respect by the Iraqis.

He has also updated his book (St Martin's Press) with a "10-year After" epilogue.

"I basically say that I think Bush has got as much foreign policy know-how as my pet cat," Weiner said.

Via S. Indra Sathiabalan, theSun (July 5, Page 24).

Weiner is now President of Robert Weiner Associates, a public affairs and strategic issues specialist based in Washington DC.

'Screenshots 2'

There are people who strategically confused "commenters authentication" with censorship, and copied my blogs onto so-called Screenshots2.

While I don't mind Screenshots getting "pirated" (I must have done something right at the cyber-boxoffice), I am glad that Mr Someone has helped create a sewerage pond ala IWK to flush my blog of scornful filth.

There has been a proposal for Screenshots 2 from a Canada-based reader which I received June 29, and to which I replied:

Thanks for your offer but I don't think blogs should work this way.

Screenshots stands for credibility and integrity, hence I dare to publish my name, email contact, my photo and even the place where I host the server in Malaysia. Come get me if you think I have offended you, or else come debate with me in a transparent manner where THINKING is ALOUD, and THINKING is ALLOWED. [...]

In case you do not know, my firm belief is that I am here to make a difference (in the positive use of Internet and Cyberactivism). And the first point of differentiation would be that I should be accountable for what I blog.

Good bloggers are no Gollum. And I am still trying very hard to be a good blogger. To be taken seriously, bloggers cannot hide behind anonymity and hurl bricks.

Here's a perspective from a Screenshots reader who was invited to view Screenshots 2:

From: [ Hidden by Jeff Ooi ]
To: X Guy < x_guy121@yahoo.com >
Subject: Re: Thinking Aloud, Talking Allowed!
Date: Sun, 4 Jul 2004 11:31:29 -0700 (PDT)

Dear X_Guy,

As I type this reply, I am not too certain if your action qualifies as copyright infringement or plagiarism. Perhaps not even any of the above. I like the innovative solution to jeff's problems though.

I doubt I will be signing up for typekey. I think I am just lazy. In any case, Jeff has the perogative to do whatever he likes since it is his blog, and it is my call to whether I should sign-up to participate.

Afterall, Jeff decided to have some new rules to his game, and it is up to us respectively as whether we want to play.

I think that's fair.

More often than not, there is no perfect solution to problems in life. You win some, you lose some. I appreciate your mirror site. In fact, I feel that even if you minus the contents from Jeff and simply create a discussion space with the necessary links would also suffice. In any case, I think your effort shouldn't go unnoticed, however many (or few) responses you might (or might not) generate. It IS a novel solution for those who wishes to express their views (or pure flames) without being subjected to Jeff's scrutiny and approval (which is time-consuming and counter-productive anyway).

I see a win-win situation here.

Keep up the good work for greater speech freedom guys.

Gosh! Come to think of it, Screenshots may have made a blog history.

Water: 'A Chinaman who knows how to count'

I am curious to see stock movement on the Puncak Niaga counter tomorrow. Golf must not be good for Rozali Ismail over the weekend.

June 28, reported The Edge FinancialDaily, Selangor's water management concessionnaire Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd, had asked the Federal Government for help to settle the RM1.14 billion owed by the Selangor state government to the company as the debt is affecting its financial standing.

While Selangor MB Dr Mohd Khir Toyo had gone on record to console Puncak Niaga that things would be clearing up in two weeks, The Edge's cover story tomorrow - Water Privatisation: The BIG freeze - is a killer.

M. Shanmugam and Evelyn Fernandez interviewed Dr Lim Keng Yaik, the Minister of Energy, Water and Communications, and came home with piercing insights about things to expect from the consummate politician who may be serving his last term. Excerpts:

One of the first things he did after taking over the post was to put a freeze on all water privatisation projects. This did not go down well with some of the big boys in the water industry who are well connected. Some had already mapped out plans to get into bigger things in the water services industry.

Sources say many had come to see Keng Yaik with their proposals but were told to hold on until the new guidelines were in place.

"He even told one businessman that while it was sinful that the government had to look again at private sector proposals, it was a bigger sin for the businessman to force the government to look into his proposal. The well-connected businessman left without saying a word," says a source. [...]

Keng Yaik does not hide his despondency with the state of affairs in the water privatisation contracts given by the statements so far. But he tells people that the water companies are now dealing with a 'Chinaman who knows how to count'.

Is there a reason why PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi carved out a powerful-by-budget-allocation portfolio for Keng Yaik, snatching away water privatisation from the Works Ministry, and sewerage system from the Ministry of Housing and Local Government? The Edge provides some glimpses of the powerplay:

He heads a ministry that is perhaps the most lucrative after the Ministry of Finance. His ministry dictates terms on contracts worth more than RM100 billion. This is a far cry from his days as the Minister of Primary Industries where the biggest controversy he was involved in - and this was in recent months - was when he told developers to keep their hands off Rubber Research Institute (RRI) land in Sungai Buloh, Selangor. [...]

In fact, observers say many politicians had set their sights on the newly created ministry. That is because federal government spending in the next five years will focus mostly on water projects.

It is not known why Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi chose Keng Yaik for the post. But many within political circles are not discounting that it is because he is a consummate politician who would know how best to deal with well-connected businessmen, with his frank and hard-hitting style.

Keng Yaik re-emphasised numerous times that further privatisation of water services must be put on hold as the way it is being done is not sustainable. Only a holistic approach can do wonders, not ad-hoc measures.

He said players in water privatisation projects can no longer be given concession to focus on capital expenditure and involve in water sourcing and processing alone, and enjoy "fat internal return rates (IRR) of between 14% and 18% or higher". He said the acceptable ROI for the water players should be about 5% as the cost of borrowing to fund CapEx could be reduced from the current of more than 8% to about 5%.

Keng Yaik, who just returned from a study tour of water management in the UK, said bankers there are willing to invest to the tune of RM50 billion in Malaysian water privatisation projects with the condition that transparency, benchmarks and regulatory framework are firmly put in place.

Hence, he wanted the existing water players to be "brave, bold, and play big" to new rules to be defined by the National Water Services Commission, which is expected to be set up by the end of the year. Water privatisation will now include upstream and downstream activities, and sewerage. "Low-costm long-term bond financing will be available when the standards, parameters and benchmarks are set and followed," he said.

Nevertheless, Keng Yaik promised that government will settle the RM2 billion accumulated debts that the Selangor government owes through PUAS to water privatisation concessionaires Puncak Niaga, Konsortium Abass and SPLASH. He said the EPU has been asked to look into the issue, but whether the money to be paid to PUAS will be transferred to SYABAS is another matter.

You may have noticed that water privatisation is a big issue in The Edge, theSun and The New Sunday Times. The Star apparently shies away from the issue for reasons it knows best.

For the record, theSun ran a cover feature on June 20 (here and here) while Rajan Moses writes an OpEd piece with good perspectives in New Sunday Times today, while Idros Ismail interviews retired director-general of the Drainage and Irrigation Department, Shahrizaila Abdullah, for insights into the way water has been managed in the past.

I will revisit this topic when The Edge puts its content online next Tuesday.

Meanwhile, let's ponder over what Keng Yaik told his interviewers from The Edge: "We use three times the amount of water of a developed country and twice the amount used by a developing country. We are using too much water. Is ut because water is too cheap?"

That might be reason enough for an increase in water tariff as we have been sheer wasteful.

Reporters and local government people

THE STAR & MBSA. With the Noritta murder case coming to a close - unless prosecution succeeds in its appeal - the path is clear for Star's Long Meng Yee to print how she feels for and about the man once-on-the-dock:

Engineer Hanif Basree Abdul Rahman is a handsome six-footer with clear eyes, a charming smile and smells nice.

Hanif Basree is an engineer at the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA).

theSun & MPSP. Butterworth-based Regina William, theSun journalist who had reported on the Seberang Perai Municipal Council's (MPSP) RM1.5 million flower deal, received municipal court summonses for traffic offences she allegedly committed way back in 1998.

Account of events according to theSun assistant news editor, Terence Fernandez:

Three days after the last report was filed, two officers (I can already start guessing the punchlines to "How many MPSP officials does it take ..." joke) visited her home to issue four summonses.

Council and state government officials said in private conversations, that it seemed as though someone had keyed her name into the computer to flush out her offences.

However, council president Md Aris Ariffin gave the official account on Wednesday, saying that it was an on-going blitz and over 100,000 people have been targeted.

While Regina admitted that she may have committed the offence and is willing to pay the fines, she is questioning the timing of the offences.

TypeKey problem identified

It was my fault. I had missed out a 'back-slash' at the critical places of the MT publishing template and it had caused many TypeKey-ready readers to be denied of posting their comments into the 'Conversations' section of this blog.

1,000 apologies.

HE Ministry to scrutinise colleges?

Fu Ah Kiow, deputy minister at the Higher Education Ministry, said his enforcement unit is stepping up checks on private colleges that provide false information on their courses.

I wonder even if the minister is travelling at 30km/h and a mere 20m away from this signboard, does he see more a university or a college?

Get real. I raised this a year ago, on June 22, 2003.

991: She Star; He NST

The Star reports that some 97% of calls to the Civil Defence Department's toll-free line 991 are prank calls – many are from lonely women looking for companionship.

Quoting the same source, i.e., the Civil Defence Department, The NST says the number of 991 callers shot up when female officers are manning the phones, mostly from men who want to report emergencies of a different kind.

Hence, you get two contrasting headlines:
- The Star: Lonely women hogging 991 to chat with staff
- The NST: Men dialling 991 to chat with female staff

Blogger Suresh Gnasegarah scans the Net and discovers similar stories in New Kerala and The Times of India. Suresh says the media there suggest that the NST headline might be correct.

Hit here to see Suresh's screenshots.

How about cost of doing business in Malaysia?

By comparing the cost of living between Malaysia and First World countries as seen through consumer items like cars, housing, food and now... plasma TVs, we see that we pay more for virtually everything when compared apple-to-apple.

Would market intervention as a result of fiscal policies and the resultant cost of doing business in Malaysia have contributed to this? Reader Ganesh Rajan seems to have triggered a new context.

Guest Blogger
From: Ganesh Rajan, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Dateline: Sat, 3 Jul 2004 02:58:41 -0700 (PDT)

I refer to Dr Zain Azrai's Letter to you. I too support the view that Malaysia is very pricey based on the low earning capacity of people.

I would like to bring to you my experience when I was a student in the UK. I refer to travelling and holidaying. To a Mat Salleh who earns about 2000 pounds per month, a flight to Asia (Malaysia, Singapore or Thailand) from UK is about 400 pounds. Flight with hotel included is about 600 pounds. So, it is peanuts for the Mat Salleh to travel as it is a small proportion of his pay.

But sadly, for a Malaysian to holiday to Europe, it is about RM$2500 for flights or RM$4000 plus for flights with hotel.

Here you can see, why Malaysians don't travel much. Our pay is so low that a holiday makan nearly 2 to 3 months pay.

This is not just true for a holiday to Europe or US. For a Malaysian to holiday to Asia also so difficult for us.

I refer again to Dr Zain Azrai's luxury items. I also see this as true. How come the US sells JAPANESE handycams, digital camera's, digital DVD recorders for so much cheaper? I noticed Sony, Panasonic DVD recorders in US only about US$300 (RM$1140) but when you look closer, it is "MADE IN MALAYSIA".

But the same Sony, Panasonic DVD Recorder in Malaysia is RM$3500. Some argue that the US buys in bulk, that is why they can get discounts. But surely, discounts cannot be so much that it sells in Malaysia 3 times the price?

Furthermore, it is Made in Malaysia! As for handycams and digital camera's from Japan, isn't Japan part of Asia and closer to Malaysia?

As Dr Azrai pointed out, plasma monitors are even more obvious. A good Samsung 42 inch plasma in the US is US$2300 (RM$8740) and a 50 inch plasma is US$4500 (RM$17,100) (see www.drplasma.com or www.plasmahouse.com)

But in Malaysia, the same plasma is RM$20,000 for the 42 inch plsma whilst the 50 inch plasma is RM$35,000.

You wonder why the Mat Salleh always got high tech digital cameras when they visit Malaysia? The Nikon Coolpix 8700 (8 megapixel SLR) is US$630 whilst in Malaysia it is RM$3500. The Canon Powershot Pro 1 (8Megapixel SLR) is US$650 but in Malaysia it is RM$3800 and the Minolta Dimage A2 (8 Megapixel SLR) is US$630 but in Malaysia it is RM$4000 plus.

What is US$600 for the Mat Salleh? It is nothing. But for a Malaysian RM$4000 is a lot of money.

I cannot understand this. Japan is part of Asia, so how come Japan is selling it so much cheaper in the US? Who is hiking up? Is it the Japanese or is it the Malaysian retailer or the Malaysian government with high taxes?

I take the health supplement Spirulina in Malaysia. The brand is Earthrise. For 100g of this algae powder, I pay RM$120.

Recently, I went to the US and bought 1.8KG (1800g) of Earthrise Spirulina for US$69. I got shocked. I also noticed all other health supplents like Vitamin C, Omega 3, Coenzyme Q10 etc all being one fifth the price of the same product sold in Malaysia.

If you ask the Malaysian retailers, they say the prices are high because of government tax. Why is the Malaysian government taxing so high when we in Malaysia earn so low compared to the Mat Salleh? What do they do with the tax money? Obviously, the money is not used for policing as there is a wave of crime. Obviously, the tax money is not used for better infrastructure such as roads as nearly all roads have countles potholes. Why do we have to suffer a double whammy ie low purchasing power of the ringgit compared to the US dollar and low monthly pay not in proportion to inflation?

And as for health supplements, all we want to do is be healthy. It is not like alcohol where we the government has the right to tax heavily. Health supplements make people healthier which means lesser people go to hospitals for treatment. So why does the government tax heavily on that?

Mailbag 20040703

From: Russell Ong, Indianapolis, USA
Date: Thu, 1 Jul 2004 14:19:48 -0500

Mr Ooi,

I am glad there are thinkers like you back home in Malaysia. I can think of no way else to express my compliment to you. Please note that it is not that I spurn my home country, rather my experiences in Malaysia were never ones that spoke of "free speech" and "thinking allowed, thinking aloud" (my personal favourite).

You must forgive me for not being "in the know" about many things from home, but let me assure you i'm very interested! Particularly of late I've seen written words about cost of living comparisons between Malaysia and other countries.

So, now that I've confessed my ignorance, I have to wonder, are any immediate and superfluous comparisons valid? I'm sorry if i'm not articulating my thoughts well. But it just seems illogical not to consider the social and macroeconomics of it all. Instead, I read about comparing the prices of McDonalds, cars, and flats. I agree that these provide some measure of how life is lead in each country. But no one has brought up a thorough comparison. By thorough I mean comparison of cost-of-living as paid for by a cross-section of society. I just don't think we can talk about cost of living without comparing everything, INCLUDING services which indirectly affect the economy.

For example, the basic nescessity of food. What's the use of comparing the prices of food if we don't talk about all the other factors that is associated with it. Factors like how much we really pay to regulate the "quality" of foods, and factors like infrastructure to allows said foods to get to us. I guess in passing we can wave in the general direction of taxes and claim sufficient comparison.

I'm sorry Jeff, if I sound long winded, it's just me not able to express myself well. I'm also curious to read your response to all the messages about cost of living. Because before all this, I was pretty set on the idea that cost of living in Malaysia was indeed high. Also I'm idealistic in my belief of "globalization". So my point is this, if i buy into the idea of "globalization" how can I help, but to compare currencies? hehehe, You know at the end of all this, i'm probably way off topic. If so, then my intent was still to send a hearty "hello!" to you and let you know I enjoy your pieces.

Russell Ong
Indianapolis, IN 46204.

Democracy Nusantara

Indonesia goes to poll next week to pick its president in the first ever direct election.

June 30, I saw a pleasant scene of democracy at work, at least on the surface. The presidential hopefuls were engaged in a 90-minute dialogue/debate on live telecast, fielding a battery of questions on corruption, terrorism and a stagnant economy.

Picture shows Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, second right, and her running mate Hasyim Muzadi, right, present their programmes as other candidate Amien Rais, left, and his running mate Siswono Yudohusodo listened.

Megawati Sukarnoputri finally speaks, and falters very badly. But Indonesia may be taking baby steps towards democracy.

In Malaysia, the Umno Supreme Council has suggested that its present president and deputy president - sure tickets to be Malaysia's PM and DPM - be returned unopposed in the September party election, for whatever reasons.

MGG Pillai said he last visited the Hermit of Langgak Golf some six months ago, his was only the second car parked outside the 'White House'. "Two days ago, when I passed by, there were 40 cars and more", he said.

Who is B Sanjeevan's "Bearded Gill"?

Tomorrow, Portugal will play Greece in a reprise of the Euro2004 opening match in the grand finale. Apparently, many of us have become soccer crazy for over a fortnight now.

So, in the past two weeks, how did many of us keep up with the gruelling daily work schedule after having stayed up in the wee hours to get that 90-minute fever fix?

Blogger Idlan Zakaria, who runs Organised Chaos, is also stung by the soccer fever bug and started a baby-blog - a group blog -called Cakap-Cakap Bola Euro2004. Imagine this, a Ph.D student at the Department of Accounting & Finance, Lancaster University Management School, and she's in soccer high fever!

Over at the news room. I noticed even The Star's Wong Chun Wai had devoted a Sunday column on Euro2004, last week (June 27).

The same goes with The Star feature writer B. Sanjeevan who "switches channel and stays tuned to a new exciting made-in-Malaysia football programme", just like many of us.

In a July 2 article titled: Game for a show, B. Sanjeevan writes about the half-hour programme called Part of the Game aired over 8TV throughout the Euro2004 season, and the team that has "pushed the envelope in the arena of local sports programming" - the thirty-something duo of Harbir 'Bearded' Gill and Andrew Whigham.

Excerpts:

"We don’t need to tune in to a show that tells us what we already know, Part of the Game in my opinion, caters to those of us who just want to get on with enjoying a good match, teasing supporters of the opposition, chanting familiar anthems with strangers and having a laugh with new-found football friends, because after all, isn’t that what watching a football match is all about?” says Gill, comfortable in the fact that the project has finally seen the light of day.

Screenshots:

There is a high-res screenshot of B. Sanjeevan's Star feature here.

Yesterday, Idlan wrote to me after reading B. Sanjeevan's feature. She thought she saw something familiar in her Cakap-Cakap Bola baby-blog. Apparently, her co-blogger, Sashi, had written about the 8tv programme some two weeks earlier, on June 19.

Excerpts:

... We don't need to tune in to a show that tells us what we already know. On the other hand, a casual fan who thinks David Beckham is the world's greatest player could find this show more informative and useful.

8TV, in my opinion, caters to those of us who just want to get on with enjoying a (hopefully) good match, teasing supporters of the opposition, chanting familiar anthems with strangers and having a laugh with our new-found football friends, cos after all, isn't that what watching a football match is all about?

Screenshots:

Idlan has taken a high-res screenshot of Sashi's blog here.

The original blogger Sashi and I have been in communication since the alert I received from Idlan. It doesn't seem that the soccer-blogger (Sashi) was the 'Bearded Gill' who spoke in Sashi's tongue that B. Sanjeevan has made up to be.

It's up to The Star to verify whether it was ( 1 ) B. Sanjeevan who was inspired by Sashi's words and put them in Bearded Gill's mouth, or ( 2 ) Bearded Gill who was inspired by Sashi's words and put them in his mouth to feed Sanjeevan.

I am flashing a yellow card. It's entirely up to the referee at Menara Star to decide whether a red card is in order.

Meanwhile, Idlan and Sashi should take pride that, what The Star and B. Sanjeevan had done, is a sincerest form of flattery mainstream journos silently and privately have for bloggers.

How to keep pace when First World is also fast changing?

Chee Jin Yap seems to have restored my original motive in starting this series on cost of living and quality of life. It was intended to provoke some thoughts and induce a reality check on Malaysia vs the First World countries, and to see how enterprising Malaysians have managed to find a way to overcome financial constraints to realise their dreams and ideals - starting with tertiary education - albeit having to make many sacrifices along the way.

This article has been held over as Screenshots prepared for the migration to MT 3.0D last week.

Guest Blogger
Chee Jin Yap, Melbourne, Australia
Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2004 13:05:03 +1000

Dear Jeff,

Been following your blog for awhile. Given your belief that thinking should be allowed and to voice thoughts aloud, i thought i'll join in the recent discussion on the issue.

If my interpretation the motive of your guest blog forum, then i guess most people have sort of deviated from the original issue - how far are we from becoming an advanced country?

When i was almost finishing my undergraduate degree in Adelaide, i was contemplating of either moving to Melbourne for my master or staying put. Hence i approached my lecturer Ruffle Peacock. Those who did their accounting, finance degree from Australia should know him well, as one of the text book he co-authored on business finance is one of the most commonly used in Australia (Business Finance, Petty, Peacock, Martin et. al. by Prentice Hall) I told him, assuming that the offer of education is homogenous, i would like to stay back in Adelaide since the "standard of living" is higher in Melbourne. He scoffed me off and told me, "the standard of living in adelaide is the same with melbourne. But the cost of living is lower"

I have not travelled widely enough. Looking through this issue as a student of financial economics, i believe prices are influenced by demand and supply as well as the availability of recourses. hence prices in Tokyo is high mainly due to the limited land resources, the effect then flow through to food, work so on and so forth. (i believe there are other more "learned" people in this forum, and dare not try to embaress myself trying to show off something that is learned in first year uni.)

Perhaps those who live in the developed countries (or think that they are) could write (or picture) about other aspects of the development - utilised, will equipped library and sports facilities provided by the local councils, concessions for the disabled, poor or disadvantaged. Development of a nation is not and should not be measured by owning a BMW or Mercedes. (Unless we took over the company, otherwise all our money will keep flowing to them for purchasing their product) BMW is cheap because they have to compete with Merserati, MG, Jaguar, Rover and many other more prestigious and luxurious brands. Given the all the glorifications about globalisation and opportunistic nature of capitalists, these products will soon reach our door steps in Malaysia, our lifetime or our children's.

Growing up from the humble towns of Kuala Kangsar and Butterworth, and after having lived and worked in Australia for almost 9 years now, I still complain about the price of a cup of coffee at Starbucks in KL and Melbourne. But i believe many of my Malaysian students would still be happy to queue at Starbucks joints and gladly paying for it, regardless of the currency. The price of a product is also a relative issue.

I admire those who are earning good money in advanced economies. But they are probably belonging to the top 3-5% of the society. The rest of the others in the society may not be as lucky as they are - there about 200 taxi drivers in Sydney practiced medicine before they came to Australia. A colleague who recently joined the uni, having taught and earned a phD for many years in India, had to start from lecturer level-A (A.K.A Tutor) I have some students who are still waiting at tables or performing reception duties after they have completed their master degree (in Accounting). Some had to work 2 part-time/casual jobs to make up a full 5 day week before they landed on a full time job about a year later. When I started at my current uni about 4 years ago, my car is normally the only few cars in the campus, i could almost park my car next to the building where i worked. But these days, if i come late, i might have to make a few circles before i could get a close spot. I have also noticed my colleagues have started to stay back after 5pm to finish their work. Those who have been in Australia long enough could also tell you, that a few years ago, one could not do anything else besides staring at sports programmes at home. These days, shopping centers are as busy on Sundays as any other days, if not busier.

I hope the structural issues and side effects from developed economies should also be highlighted by your site, besides all the praises. Due to competition and perhaps migration of people from less developed economies, i believe the developed economies are also changing. Perhaps both end of the spectrum will converge someday, but i'll leave it to the experts and time to prove it.
___________

Chee Jin, who is used to working in restaurants throughout his university life, will be finishing his Ph.D soon. He can be contacted at cheejin@deakin.edu.au

TypeKey problem?

The "Conversations" section of Screenshots was re-opened yesterday. I have since received several emails which alerted me about problems in posting "Conversations" commentaries in this blog. This is despite their having signed up as a TypeKey user for authentication. The error message reads like this:

"The site you're trying to comment on has not signed up for this feature. Please inform the site owner."

I do not know for sure what had caused the difficulty. My speculation is that there could have been a service outage at TypeKey at the point those affected readers tried to post their comments. Could people familiar with TypeKey please share their experience here?

The other point I wish to alert you is that Screenshots requires all TypeKey-registered users to present their valid email address when posting their commentaries to this blog for the first time. Or else, you will not get through the first bar.

Remedy is to login to your TypeKey account (www.typekey.com) and change your profile and to enable your email address to presented to Screenshots. Remember, non-Yahoo! and non-Hotmail email accounts will get less priority to get through my approval as you have to wait for a manual email authentication proces. I can only do it when I am free!

For those about to sign up for the TypeKey authentication, a free service hosted by MovableType inovator in the USA, here's some pointers.

Sign in from Typekey.com or click on the "Conversation" link on any of the Screenshots blog entry. You will be greeted with a pop-up window.

( 1 ) The top-half looks like this:

Remember, you must provide a valid email at the time of registration.

( 2 ) The bottom-half of the Typekey sign-in page looks like this:

Follow these steps:

1. Decide your Public Name, nickname or handle.


2. Enter the numbers and letters (usually 6 digits) you see in this image. This step is to prevent automated robots from signing up for TypeKey accounts.


3. DO NOT "generate a Typekey token for your blog". This is only relevant to people who runs a weblog using MovableType platform and want to authenticate his/her readers for comments registration purposes. Readers at large don't have to do this step.


4. You must enable (check) "I agree to the Typekey terms of service".


5. Then, click "Sign Up"

By this stage, you would have received an email TypeKey sends you to your registered email, asking you to activate the TypeKey authentication account. Afterwards, you could use this account to post comments to any weblogs in the world that runs MovableType, like Screenshots. Sign-up once, use many.

However, please be reminded that you still need to wait for the blog owner, eg Jeff Ooi for Screenshots, to authenticate you further before he approves to allow you to post a comment for the first time in his blog (after the MT3.0D).

And as a mater of fact, an approved user can always be banned depending on circumstances.

To protect your privacy, TypeKey has also capabilities to allow you publish or hide your profile. You can change the profile status after log-in to your Turnkey account.

I hope this helps in your understanding of how TypeKey works. Read the FAQ if you still have doubts.

Let's multiply

I am humbled by the pedestal that Malaysiakini gives me though I really don't know how the descriptive was arrived at.

I just hope there would be more Screenshots sprouting in Malaysia - with more bloggers who would put up real identity and identifier to discuss issues and topics that bug Malaysian psyche.

And, yes, we need to tell 'em Big Mind Big People and Gollum alike that this is a generation for 'Thinking Allowed, Thinking Aloud'.

'Conversations' re-opened

Screenshots has migrated to a new engine, MovableType 3.0D.

Everything remains the same except that commentators to the real-time "Conversations" section will have to pre-register each with a valid forwarding email. Just follow the auto-prompt when you hit the "Conversation" link.

ABOUT TYPEKEY. This authentication process is hosted by Six Apart's TypeKey, which is the same creator for MovableType.

As it's a third party hosting by Typekey, Screenshots and I will not retain, on our servers, any particulars about the email database deposited by the pre-registered commentors.

One of the key benefits of TypeKey is that by registering once, you may use the same username/password to comment on ALL blogs in the World Wide Web that run on MovableType publishing platform, which includes Screenshots, Jeff's Photoblog and CY Leow's Photoblog.

You may like to note that I have a hierarchical preference for email addresses which are dispensed by ISPs or bona fide business organisations over those coming from Yahoo! or Hotmail. You may refer to TypeKey FAQ for details.

MOVING ON. To Screenshots and I, the key benefits of TypeKey authentication is ( 1 ) to prevent mercenaries and ronins to abuse Screenshots as a zombie to spew filth and scorn, hence disparaging all thorough-bred bloggers; ( 2 ) to prevent spam.

Overall, this helps Screenshots to continue promoting the positive use of Internet the bloggers' way.

Last but not least, I'd like to thank EL Ho for spending his precious time to help me execute the migration to MT 3.0D. He has been providing me the anchor in the world wide web since 1999.

P/S: We were struggling with the migration for all three blogs on the cue of June 30 cut-off point, many Mailbag and Guest Bloggers materials were held over. Apologies.

Pitfalls in business reporting

Yesterday, NST-Business Times tendered a frontpage apology to the Chairman of Proton, Abu Hassan bin Kendut. People who read news online may have missed it as the apology was not carried on its website.

It relates to an April 9 article published in the NST-Busienss Times, titled: Tengku Mahaleel foils bid to oust him as proton CEO. The NST-Business Times said its article was based on a Reuters article of April 8, titled: "Proton CEO thwarts ouster effort - Industy sources".

According to the public apology tendered by NST-Business Times, the business-sheet had repeated and highlighted the Reuters article stating that Abu Hassan Kendut, Proton's chairman, had "attempted a boardroom coup" against Proton CEO Tengku Mahaleel Tengku Ariff on behalf of others, "including sizing up its British Lotus unit" for a possible sale.

Apparently, NST-Business Times was later enlightened by information coming from Khazanah Nasional Berhad and Abu Hassan, and decided an open apology was called for. Excerpts:

At the time of the publication of our article, we believed Reuters article to be reliable. We have since discovered that the imputation of facts in the article is untrue.

We acknowledge that the article had put the Board of Directors of Khazanah Nasional Berhad and Datuk Abu Hassan Bin Kendut to ridicule, odium and contempt and had the tendency to lower the reputation and esteem in the eyes of professional men, institutional bodies, members of the business community and the public at large.

As a result of the information given to us by Khazanah Nasional berhad and Datuk Abu Hassan Bin Kendut, we deeply regret publishing the article against Khazanah Nasional Berhad and Datuk Abu Hassan Bin Kendut which discredited them in the eyes of the public and for any distress and embarrassment caused to them as a reputatble company and in the case of Datuk Abu Hassan Bin Kendut in his personal capacity as the Chairman of the Executive Committee of Khazanah Nasional Berhad and Chairman of PROTON. We sincerely and unreservedly apologise to the Directors of Khazanah Nasional Berhad and Datuk Abu Hassan Bin Kendut for causing them acute embarrassment, mental anguish and distress and hereby unequivocally retract in full the said offending article.

It is to be noted that the April 9 article, which NST-Business Times had run but now said is offending, was published after Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan took over as Group EIC since January 1, 2004.

A few questions:

1. Did Khazanah and Abu Hassan Kendut give Reuters the same information it did to NST-Business Times to set the record straight?


2. Did Khazanah and Abu Hassan Kendut demand a similar apology from Reuters?


3. What's Reuters' response to NST-Business Times' statement that "the imputation of facts in the (Reuters) article is untrue"?


4. Did Reuters stand by its original assertion, or stand corrected?


5. Did NST-Business Times attribute its April 9 story to Reuters? Or the opposite: Did it actually use Reuters' story but claim it as its own?


6. Did NST-Business Times have the same pile of documentary evidence which Reuters may have had since the wire service was bold enough to syndicate the story worldwide on April 8?

My other important question is: Could Reuters' source be Mr Somebody from Proton boardroom itself?

Also read NST-Business Times on the Inch-Kenneth "windfall".

NITC website

Now that Mimos is out of the NITC, Mimos-Jaring no longer hosts the official website.

Screenshots has a screenshot of how NITC website looked like as at May 6, 2004.

Thanks reader Rosli Sukri for the alert.

Mimos excluded from NITC

This blog was updated on July 1, 2004 before switching over to MT3.0D

UPDATED VERSION: July 1 issue of Malaysian Business mb-e says the number of NITC (National IT Council) members has been reduced from 30 to 16.

Glaringly, Mimos has been excluded from the members' list.

It is noted that Mimos has hosted the NITC secretariat for some 8 years since the council's inception in 1995.

mb-e also quoted sources as saying that the vacant director's position at the NITC secretariat would be filled soon. The likely candidate is Dr Azizah Hamzah, 47, who is currently attached to the Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications.

The 16-member NITC set-up is as follows (note that non-government 'industry people' have been totally excluded):

1. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Prime Minister


2. Najib Tun Razak, Deputy Prime Minister


3. Dr Lim Keng Yaik, Minister of Energy, Water and Communications


4. Rafidah Aziz, Minister of International Trade and Industry


5. Hishamuddin Tun Hussein, Minister of Education


6. Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis, Minister Science, Technology and Innovation


7. Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Finance Minister II


8. Mustapha Mohamed, Minister in the PM's Department


9. Samsuddin Osman, Chief Secretary to the Government


10. Dr Ahmad Zaharudin Idrus, Science Advisor to the PM


11. Zaharaton Raja Zainal Abidin, Director-General, Economic Planning Unit


12. Nazariah Mohd. Kalid, Director-General, MAMPU


13. Dr Mohamed Arif Nun, CEO, MDC


14. Suriah Abd, Rahman, Secretary-General, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (NITC Secretary)


15. Dr Mohd Shafie Salleh, Minister of Higher Education


16. Shafie Apdal, Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs

One question: What made Mimos irrelevant to the NITC, which was set up to formulate an ICT Roadmap, and the related policies and strategies, for Malaysia?

Did JJ, whose ministry now oversees NITC, make his own decision in dropping Mimos?

New Bahasa national daily

This blog was updated on July 1, 2004 before switching over to MT3.0D

Two media sources confirmed that it's going to be a tabloid by Utusan Malaysia to rival Harian Metro, and to target the working class.

Yesterday, the new paper took a recruitment ad in The Star, looking for journalists.

Neither of the little birds can confirm the name of the new paper.

Will the readers be pampered for choice? Will it have a surviving chance in the keen competition for readers between the NSTP and Utusan groups?

Importantly, will it cannbalise Utusan's own circulation?

Moving on H2, 2004

This blog was updated on July 1, 2004 before switching over to MT3.0D

Today marks the beginning of the second half of 2004.

Good morning, I have two questions.

Sovereignty: Is Iraq truly liberated with the handover of power to the interim government?

Anti-Corruption: Is Pak Lah stopping short at just Eric Chia and Kasitah Gaddam?