WILL PR’S BASTION BE BREACHED?

PM Najib has been on the offensive to retake the wealthiest state in the peninsular i.e. Selangor, lost to the PR coalition during the 2008 elections. As a result of the change of government, many startling issues have surfaced, especially with regards to poor corporate governance of the BN government resulting in loss of state revenue through unscrupulous deals involving state officials and politicians alike, and even the mismanagement of government owned business entities. I would simply sum it up by saying that leaders of the previous government threats the business entities as their personal ATM where money can just be disbursed to suite their whims and fancies. Otherwise, why had Selangor being a highly resource rich state be in the red over many years under the BN government, in stark contrast to the present government where in over just two years were able to record a surplus in state revenue; thus reclaiming itself to be the richest state in the Federation. Records of the success of the PR government are readily available in the various new media, but conveniently shielded out in the mainstream media.

Over the last few months and culminating in the grand festivities to welcome the New Year in Shah Alam, Selangor, the federal government has been doing a lot of publicity by announcing projects in the state that would supposedly appeal to the people, in the hope of winning their votes. MB aspirant and Selangor UMNO Deputy Liaison chief Noh Omar has been on a fault finding mission to discredit the state government where ever the opportunity arises, unknown to himself that what the PR state government is doing now is to undo the wrongs of the previous government. One obvious example is to stamp the illegal extraction of sand by unscrupulous contractors and because of this, there is now an increase in state revenue over the extraction of sand through proper and well enforced regulatory measures.

Yesterday, PM Najib during his visit to the state, he had made the usual promises and pledges e.g. to reduce the rental rates of tenants at the PKNS complex and promise to build a surau and a Hindu temple at the Taman Rimba Jaya housing area; supposedly with a caveat i.e. to vote in the UMNO/BN government during the upcoming election. I think PM Najib’s approach to solving the people’s problem is too amateurish and lacks sincerity. The reason I say this is because he perceives the people of Selangor differently, since the state is governed by the opposition. Had he been sincere and is wholeheartedly willing to help, he only need to call upon the Menteri Besar to discuss how best to solve the people’s problems. What is there to be selfish about? Aren’t the people of Selangor Malaysians themselves?

Being born in Selangor, I think I have a better understanding and feel for the people of the state. I must declare that I am thoroughly frustrated with the UMNO/BN government in the past who sees themselves as rulers rather than a servant of the people. I have never been associated with any single elected representative because I do not see myself being of the same league with them. My hatred for them culminated in the broom presentation incident (if my readers could remember) by the then MB Khir Toyo to one of the President of a local council as a mark of displeasure at the poor performance of the council. The incident is the most shameful incident ever for the recipient of the broom and a show of absolute arrogance by the MB. I did say to some of my kampong folks that had the recipient be me, I would have thrown the broom back at the MB face.

Looking back at all that has occurred to Khir Toyo since being dethroned as the MB, I think he is now being punished for his arrogance. It is Allah’s will that he be found guilty in his recent court case and he ought to know this. Allah gives and Allah takes it away, so they say.

If anyone were to ask me what would be the chance of UMNO/BN winning back Selangor. My straight answer is – not for now – and not in the future. PR bastion i.e. Selangor will remain firm and unshaken.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

KUDOS SELANGOR!

Am I not proud to be a rakyat of the state of Selangor? I can boastfully say that I am extremely proud to be one. I am from Kampung Sg. Serai, Ulu Langat, Selangor, born 67 years ago during the Japanese occupation of Malaya. I was too little then to know the atrocities carried out by the Japanese soldiers upon my kampong folks; only to hear some horrific stories of the Japanese occupation related to me by my parents. One story has it that in order to solicit information from a person, the Japanese would bloat a person’s tummy with soap water and when the tummy is filled; a wooden plank is placed on the person’s tummy to be stepped upon vigorously until the person vomits. This was then repeated several times until the Japanese gets what they wanted from the person.

Then came the First Malayan Emergency and I was a bit older. As a child, seeing soldiers roaming the jungle behind my grandmother’s house excites me. The soldiers were of mixed nationalities i.e. British, Africans, Gurkhas and some others from the Commonwealth countries. There were also some Malay soldiers though, and I can still remember the soldiers were from 6th Battalion Royal Malay Regiment that was camped at Batu 9, Cheras-Ulu Langat road junction. This was the battalion that I first served upon being commissioned as a military officer in 1966.

I have seen dead communist terrorist (CT) being carried out ‘unceremoniously’ from the jungle areas. Lining up the road and showing a ‘thumbs up’ at passing British soldiers will get us a few imported English manufactured chocolates and biscuits. I also know of a number of my village elders that had gone missing; and their bodies never to be found till this day. They were believed to have been kidnapped by CTs and killed, supposedly for being an agent of the British government. I do not know if the British have ever rewarded these missing persons or claimed that they were their agents. I don’t think so, and I am yet to hear anything being said about them and the truth about their disappearance. If indeed, they died because they were deemed a British informant/sympathizer, are their families not granted a similar privilege accorded to former soldiers, policemen and auxiliary police that served the British during the First Malayan Emergency for a one-off RM3000 handout as ‘decreed’ by PM Najib recently?

I read the writings of Noaz Nair in an article titled ‘ Khalid: Better than all past UMNO MB’s combined, but can he retain Selangor’, posted in the Malaysia Chronicle dated Saturday, 15 October 2011. I am even more proud now having read the article when it says that Selangor is the most prosperous and developed state in the country, with the highest GDP. Not only has Selangor done well economically, but the four opposition-held states i.e. Selangor, Penang, Kedah and Kelantan collectively accounts for 53% of the country’s FDI at RM25 billion of the total RM47.2 billion. If the four opposition-held states can come with such startling achievement, why can’t the other states perform well too? And don’t tell me they (BN controlled states) require another 54 years to come to level the achievement of the four opposition-held states.

And this reminds me of a statement made by a friend recently when he said, “Just look at Singapore; a state void of any natural resources can achieve tremendous economic achievement; but Malaysia endowed with numerous natural resource is way off its mark – why is this so?” The only answer that I can think of is what I have been saying all along – CORRUPTION, INCOMPETENT LEADERS AND ADMINISTRATORS and my crusade against corruption will continue for as long as I can think and write.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

LESSONS TO BE LEARNT FROM THE HULU LANGAT LAND SLIP TRAGEDY

Being from Selangor, I am proud to note the urgency at which the state government and other agencies of the federal government responded to the Hulu Langat land slip tragedy that took the lives of 16 innocent people (mainly orphaned children) on Saturday. I am proud too that Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim decided to cut short his visit to the US to be at the site of the tragedy and to extend instant financial aid to the bereaved family members. I could not bear see the rows of coffins lined up for prayers at the Hulu Langat town mosque before being laid to rest at Dusun Nanding Muslim Cemetery; the site where my grandmother, uncles, aunties and many other family members lay buried.

I am proud too that the Penang state government had immediately pledged a RM25,000 aid to the aggrieved families. It is not the amount that really matters, but the thought by Penang CM Lim Eng Guan to provide financial assistance to fellow Malaysians in grief regardless of their ethnicity and religious belief. And I do not believe CM Lim Eng Guan did it neither of any personal interest nor political motives in mind; rather it was a sincere and genuine act of humbleness to assist. And wasn’t he the person to have sacrificed himself to a prison term merely to assist a young Malay girl who was alleged to have been rape by a Malay Chief Minister of a southern state several years ago?

And just listen at how a Malay lady minister named Shahrizat Jalil responded to the tragedy by saying that the orphanage was not registered by the Welfare Department; supposedly in her attempt to absolve blame. I am totally dumbfounded by her thoughtless statement that lacks sensitivity and care for the grieving families and to all those that labored tirelessly in the rescue effort. I do not know if she cared to visit the site of the tragedy, nor do I really care if she did. She had better not visit the site at all, for there is nothing left for her to do, and I don’t think she is welcomed by the residents there anyway. I know this because I am from the village.

A major tragedy like this could provide the best opportunity to galvanize everyone, regardless of their political affiliation, ethnicity and religious belief to come to aid fellow Malaysians in distress. Help and words of encouragement is what are needed; not statements that smacks of stupidity, just like those uttered by Shahrizat Jalil. And I do hope that the Hulu Langat district office does not come out with absurd statements that put blame on the orphanage for illegal construction and other irregularities; for a similar reason as that of the Malay lady minister.

An inquiry into the causes of the tragedy will have to be done by the relevant authorities. Let us hope that it is not blame that is sought by the inquiry, but measures to adopt in order to avoid a repeat of a similar tragedy from occurring in the future.

Finally, I am thankful that the Selangor state government has taken measures to freeze temporarily all hill slope development in the state, and hopefully to seriously look at the lessons of this Saturday’s tragedy with the view to developing better policies with regards to all future development along the base of hill slopes. Selangor has had enough tragedies involving the destruction of homes and loss of lives caused by land slips in the recent past.

CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

PLEASE DO NOT BLAME ME

It really puzzles me………….Perkasa’s Ibrahim Ali can now say what he likes and the three distinguished porno video peddlers are yet to face charges. The police on the other hand are now quite hesitant to act against Ibrahim Ali since Minister in PM’s Department Nazri Aziz has said that Ibrahim Ali is free to speak as he wished even though most (including me) believe that what he uttered was seditious. I am also inclined to believe now that even the infamous Datuk Trio will get away free from any charges; the courtesy of the 1 Malaysia government.

I am now certain that Nazri’s statement will open the floodgates to much more serious statements by Ibrahim Ali and others, including the opposition. I also believe that by not acting on Datuk Trio, there will be more people venturing into the lucrative business of peddling porno videos, and there is nothing that the police can do. What is there now to stop porno videos being screened openly in theatres throughout the country?

And as I begin to write this article, I am told that Women Affairs Minister Sharizad had announced that the orphanage at Milestone 14, Hulu Langat, Selangor that lost an untold number of lives caused by a serious land slip yesterday was not a registered orphanage. If indeed that was what Sharizad had said, I have this to say to her…………SHUT UP, AND PLEASE BE MORE RESPONSIBLE IN WHAT YOU SAY.

At a time when we all should grieve at the lost of so many innocent lives, Sharizad has the audacity to could come out with such a statement in her attempt to absolve blame. I am quite sure, following Sharizad’s statement, the Hulu Langat district office will also follow up with a statement that the orphanage was build without any approval from the land office. This has been a common trend among politicians and government officials alike when confronted with serious problems i.e. the blame is not mine; it is all yours. There has been several examples like this.

Hulu Langat is the village of my birth, and I plea to the Selangor state government to do all that is necessary to help the orphanage off its predicament, and do not to start finding the faults of others in an attempt to absolve blame. It is the will of Allah SWT that this tragedy should happen, and it is our responsibility to help the aggrieved.


CRUSADE AGSAINST CORRUPTION

DERHAKA DAN PENDERHAKA

As a child, I was constantly reminded by my mother these words, “jangan sekali kali menderhaka kepada mak kerana surga itu di bawah tapak kaki mak”. And when accompanying my father for his weekly religious classes, I quite often hear Tuan Guru Hj. Mohd Noh Marhakim (he passed away in the 50’s) reminds his congregation the same words that my mother had said to me i.e. “jangan sekali kali melakukan sesuatu yang boleh melukai hati ibu dan ayah kita kerana itu satu penderhakaan yang amat di murkai oleh Allah SWT”. This word ‘derhaka’ has remained in my mind ever since, that I should never in my life “menderhaka” to any one of my parents, and that word only applies to both my parents.

Now I hear that word ‘derhaka’ is being used so blatantly by politicians in the ‘standoff’ between the Selangor state government and the palace over the appointment of the new State Secretary.

Noh Omar is reported to have said that the Selangor state government’s action to not accept Khusrin as the State Secretary is likened to ‘derhaka’ to the wishes of the Sultan, and not to challenge the authority of the Sultan. I know that that word will now be used to condemn the action of the Selangor state government by the very same people who were themselves involved in ridiculing and subverting the position of the royalties in the 90’s. I do not wish to elaborate this any further as this well documented in our history.

I do not know how the Selangor state government will react to the swearing in of Khusrin as the newly appointed State Secretary by the Sultan this Sunday 9th January. And I do not know if Khusrin will ever take and subscribe the oath of secrecy in the presence of the Menteri Besar, as prescribed in Article 52 (4) of the Selangor State Constitution. Or will the swearing in by the Sultan be taken to mean that it is also in conformity with the aforesaid Article? I just wonder if ever there was precedence in Selangor of a similar incidence like this. Certainly not, after the constitutional crisis of the 90’s.

From my reading of the above issue, I would go along with some who have suggested that the best recourse is to take this case to the courts. Knowing the courts these days may not favour anything that the opposition does, as demonstrated in the Perak case, it is to me the only viable option left for Khalid Ibrahim’s government. It does not really matter if Khalid Ibrahim loses his case, but believing in the course of justice is better than going to the streets. Have faith that justice will prevail, and the people that have voted the state government knows their rights too.

Finally, to those who use freely the word ‘derhaka’, I say to them that that word only applies to my parents and to the all mighty Allah SWT, and nobody else. I would rather use the word “TAAT” to the rest.



CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

BUKIT BOTAK, SELAYANG LAND FRAUD – THE MISDEEDS OF PAST SELANGOR STATE GOVERNMENT

Being a thoroughbred Selangorean, I am compel to say my piece regarding the Bukit Botak, Selayang land fraud affecting some 2,000 odd settlers who are predominantly the poor Malays. I simply cannot fathom how the past Selangor state government that was led by predominantly Malay leaders could have the heart to ignore the plight of the poor Malays who were promised homes; a promise made dating back 23 years ago.

Four Menteri Besar’s (MB) of the previous state government have come and gone, and not a single roof has been constructed. Instead millions in public funds have been disbursed by successive MBs to companies (cronies I suppose), on the pretext of starting the housing development project, but all end up in failures. There is no sense of remorse on the part of anyone; neither is there any sense of responsibility and accountability, knowing that public funds in the millions have been lost, and the poor Malays left in a lurch. How naïve can the poor Malays be?

I would like to ask all the past Selangor MBs if ever they had the slightest thought of seriously wanting to revive the project during their time as the head of government? How could you all ever go to sleep, knowing that there are some 2,000 odd poor Malay settlers are still without homes, that were promised to them 23 years ago? Yet you all can go around enjoying the luxuries provided to you at public expense; living in palatial homes and going on and all expense paid overseas trips with your families and with one particular MB even taking along a maid as well. What utter rubbish is this, and he claims to have done so many good things for the state.

As a military person, I am proud to be a leader; a leader of men. But I am always conscious of the fact that with leadership come responsibility and that responsibility extends to the families of those whom i command. I thank Allah swt for throughout my entire service in the military, I was never involved with contractors, and hence I am freed from the evil temptations of greed and money. I only survived on my salary, and at times it was tough going, but I still survive. And driving my new Proton Saga then was the only car that I can afford with my government loan. But I suppose today, things have changed and military officers can be seen driving better and larger cars, and enjoying many more luxuries that I could ill afford during my time. I pray to Allah swt to constantly guide our military officers to not act like all past Selangor MBs; rather to care for their soldiers they command, and never, never for once be tempted to emulate some of the corrupt practices of the MBs.

My only hope now is to see how the new PR Selangor state government will act against all the previous MB’s, and if indeed there was the slightest element of corruption involved in the Bukit Botak land fraud, the prison cell is the only place where they all should be send to spend the remaining years of their life. At least we know that the prison cell is the place where they can seek solace, and repent their sins and misdeeds.

CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

SELANGOR STATE GOVERNMENT REVEALED LAND MASSIVE SCAM

BUKIT BOTAK in Selangor is now under probe by the state government for alleged irregularities in the allocation of lots to non eligible land owners. This land scam can be traced back 20 years, stretching throughout the period of the BN government. This recent finding may be the 'tip of the iceberg' in matters affecting the allocation and distribution of land titles, by the previous state government.

This land scam is obviously the work of government officials (probably from the district land office) in cohort with self serving, greedy, corrupt and dishonest politicians. Having to back track 20 years, would mean that all the Menteri Besar's during that period can be assumed to be a party to the scam, and claiming ignorance now is unacceptable. Indeed, the people of Selangor are well informed of the high handedness of officers working in the various district land offices, and this land scam only confirms the long standing notion that politicians, and government officers working in land offices throughout the state are unscrupulously corrupt.

MACC is also believed to have began the probe, and to investigate a case that dates back 20 years, will be a difficult task. Denials upon denials by former government officers and politicians will now be heard, and I suppose some of those purportedly involved may have retired, or some even dead. I have little confidence that MACC can unravelled the whole truth to this episode, and to bring speedy justice to those involved.

The thing that the present state government can do now is to sieve through every single application, and to discard those that was believed to have acquired the land title through dubious means. Certainly, politicians, non residents of that area and those who were children then, can be omitted easily, leaving only those who were the original land owners of the land.

It will be a difficult task though, but if the state government is truly committed to the ideals of justice and fairness towards its people, and the will to eradicate corruption, what is deemed impossible can be made easy.

Being a thoroughbred Selangorian, I salute the present state government for bringing to light, this massive land scam at Bukit Botak, by past government officers and politicians.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION