Remembering Father in Pengerang

Yesterday was the first of Ramadhan. For our family, Ramadhan is a sentimental occasion.

The 18th of Ramadhan was the date father passed away in 1984. After 30 years or maybe 31 hijrah years, we still miss him and wish he had been around to witness the many achievements and milestones of our life.

The image of him on his Honda cup will always remain embedded in our mind. Only the last few years of his life did he owned a car. While the children, especially the younger sibings, they could own a car within months after getting employment.

Last Friday, we did what we had wanted to do for a long time and that was to track back to a short part of his life in Pengerang, Johor. It was his first posting with the Johor State Government.

Before that he was running a sekolah arab called Ma'ahadul Irshad in Bukit Timah, Singapore. That happened after Johor State Government denied the then teacher of Madrasah Al Attas Johor Baru a scholarship to study at the great Azhar University in Cairo.

Fuel card contract will infuriate public

In a swift act to counter our expose on fuel subsidy card contract revealed on Wednesday here, the propaganda machinery behind Datasonic went on overdrive.

NST ran a story yesterday on the fuel card bid and TV3 also ran a story on yesterday's Bulletin Utama on NST story. [See it on Tonton.com here]

Smart PR move. They had to expedite the process and make things transparent. However, it is noticeable that both NST and TV3 tried to playdown Datasonic, a powerful and major player in the smart card business. On Tuesday, Dato Hasan Malek welcomed proposals but by Thursday, public is told that many have submitted tender

This so-called transparency will not hide a fact that the contract have been pre-determined for Datasonic-led consortium, Fuel Sub House Sdn Bhd. and the so-called tender result will prove so. This group got it because they are buddy buddy with Dato Abdul Wahid Omar and he had given away hint that he is not comfortable.

The public will not agree to this new system. Voters will hate the government for it. This openness is still a facade because it is also noticeable that en tender. with two major players in the smart card business; Sapura and MEPS not in.

MCA and Gerakan is right to say it is open to widespread abuse and smuggling. Address the fuel subsidy leakage and stop use of fuel subsidy to foreigners and business first.

Datasonic pre-determined for fuel card contract?

In our posting seeking not to misunderstood Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism (or the Malay acronym KPDNKK) Minister, Dato Hasan Malek [read here], this blog dropped a hint on an upcoming scoop related to an impending fuel subsidy management system said to be implemented on September 1st.

One source deep inside MOF suspect that it relates to the fuel subsidy card system that will be implemented and someone have been confirmed the contract. Her fear is that all these raids are only for show to get the public to agree. It will end the moment the fuel card contract is awarded.

Since TV3 in Bulletin Utama yesterday evening [try at Tonton.com here] reported Hasan Malek welcoming any suggestion to their on-going study but revealed that a decision is coming up soon, it  only confirmed the information of our MOF source.

Another source told us yesterday that the EPU under Dato Abdul Wahid Omar had pre-decided that the fuel card system will be used despite Hasan's invitation to any suggestions. In addition, the fuel subsidy management system has been guaranteed to a consortium led by Datasonic Berhad.

High government officials with vested interest and neo-liberals with insidious agenda are not interested to plug the leak on subsidised fuel to lessen the government subsidy burden but are only interested to make a buck out of public misery.

Prince of YTL and the Paupers of Kg Chubadak

Don't tell me about modern rules on land ownership, titles, land grant, and the various legalities. It is all man-made laws and regulation that is not a hard and fast rule. It can be adjusted should there be interest to seek social justice.

Even though, this is just a matter of the heart and probably there was compensation and settlement offered, note that the Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered in 1998 to give the people of Kg Chubadak that started the village the land grant.

Most likely the subsequent legal process did not favour them. The point is there is rationale to give the land to them. But to whom will the land to be given to instead?

The land supposedly belonging to the Kg. Chubadak squatters made "paupers" will be given to the  YTL monopoly prince living in a new avant garde palatial home on a hill.

Groundswell against YTL but pro-PKR The Edge defending

This picture just got in of TNB staff unions demonstrating against the company from having anything to do with YTL.

In Kg Chubadak, the 40-year original settlers of the village is up in arms against YTL and authorities for denying them land grants but gave the faceless corporation YTL the land title to evict them. 

Words are that teachers all over the country are furious with the YTL's Bestari.net which failed to deliver their system, is being seen as having pre-emptive intention to "cheat" the Government.

All it takes is a spark for a nationwide demonstration against YTL, which could be far bigger than the TNB demonstration.

With all of these happenings, it is strange that The Edge, owned by pro-Anwar Dato Tong Kooi Ong, is defending YTL. Read below and note the bold words:

Ole Ole ... Orange!

We are One (Ole Ole Ola)

Holland gave reigning World Champion, Spain 5-1 drubbing in the opening game of the Group B match. A sweet revenge for their extra time defeat to Spain in the last final in 2010. 

Four years ago, we rooted for the old masters of the game. There is history behind the Dutch team and on that score alone, we felt they deserve to win the last World Cup. Again for the third time, the Dutch came out empty without the coverted Cup in football.

With that huge win against Spain, did the Dutch started out on the right foot?

"Hire my son and I will extend your contract"

In a previous posting this week here, we posted about a son of a VVIP and likely to be a Minister involvement in the sales of confiscated diesel and inextricably linked to subsidised diesel smuggling in Sabah. It seems the illegal act is made legit with licenses.

Hopefully KPDNKK Minister, Dato Hasan Malek will address this or the son could be  misunderstood as his.

Can't understand why Berita Harian is featuring him in the front page. [Read here.] It looks like another Dato Jailani Ngah style manouvering to embarass someone before dropping them. 

It is an old problem. VVIP children and wives can be a real problem when they exert their influence by throwing their husband name.

Now answer this: Are you dumb and a bastard, Zairil?

Zairil seemed to be too scarred to raise an issue by himself and he needs another DAP MP, Steven Sim to be by his side.

With the comfort of each other, the two idiots repeat the same irritating issue of Tan Sri Muhyiddin's overseas travel to Dubai in April.  This time it is Australia. [Read FMT here.] Zairil must have thought it is an issue of significance.

The last time these two idiots raised such issue, it was given an answer and it turns out their information was embarassingly wrong [read in Unspinners here and here.]. Can's understand why they would still be pursuing an already debunked line of allegation.

Thus, the DPM Office should not waste any more time to answer any more of such wasteful adolesence pestering. If Zairil insist on an answer on the pretext of public accountability, ask him this: Is it true that he is an illegitimate son of the man he used in his name as his father?

Hasan Malek: Don't let me be misunderstood

When things go wrong I seem to be bad
But I'm just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood

- The Animal (1965)

The social media is abuzz with talks that few Ministers will be dropped, recently won MP, Dato Mah Siew Keong of Telok Intan and Dato Liow of MCA will be appointed Ministers with some shuffling of an MIC Deputy Minister.

No ... we are most uninterested to predict and suggest names for an impending cabinet reshuffle. As far as we are concerned, Dato Najib should have placed his men and women when he assumed Prime Ministership and bleached both the cabinet and election candidate list. 

Thus, we are not writing to demand for Dato Hasan Malek to be dropped. He may have said many wrong things at the wrong time and in the wrong manner thus get himself spinned the wrong way. In fact, we have wrote of him back back in January. [Read here].

Let us leave the decision on his Ministership to his boss.

YTL's new IPP venture an insult to the Johor Sultanate institution

The Johor State Government heeded the widespread voices against the Johor Housing and Property Amendment (JHPA) Bill to be tabled at the State Assembly tomorrow. [Read Utusan Malaysia, Bigdog and The Star] 

Hopefully all troubling clauses to the effect of giving the Sultan the absolute discretionary power be amended. The concern of all parties, opposition or goverment, politicians or activists/media, are that it could demean the institution of Malay rulers.

Public listed businesses and public policies are open to public scrutiny thus it puts the Malay rulers open to public critics and at times ridicule, as experienced by government-side politicians

This raises the question of YTL riding on their partnership with the Sultan of Johor for a new IPP project in Johor.

Since it was not done according to the proper open tender procedure already in practise, YTL had demean the institution of Malay rulers, specifically the Johor Sultanate.

What are the Johoreans saying?

30,000 Johoreans pledging loyalty to the Sultan on Jun 10, 2012. Read here

A new state enactment for Johor to empower the Sultan to appoint the Chairman and Members of the Board of Housing and Properties has received quite loud responses since it was first mentioned in the Johor State Assembly early this week.

When the news broke out as an Utusan Malaysia frontpage news on Thursday and covered in the TV3 evening news on Wednesday night, discussions on the social media and Whats App have been non-stop since.

There are the pros and many more cons on the proposed amendment for whatever reasons. Maybe it is not a good idea to proceed first till it is explained properly to the public and allowed to be seen by the public.

A negative public opinion puts the Sultan in a bad light. The last we wish to see his majesty being criticised and insulted openly by the subjects in these unstoppable social media environment.

Chasing small fishes for big ones to escape

KPDNK Enforcement Director, Mohd Roslan Mahayudin showing off Ops Titik

Utusan Malaysia have been on the prowl on the diesel smuggling activities since middle of May.

In that short time, they uncovered many horrid story of billions of money made from illegal trading of sub-sidised diesel with the enforcement agencies and authorities seemed to look away.

It is strange to read report of a certain agency chief claiming to have been monitoring these activities for 5 year. Maybe it is merely face saving remark.

Any common folks in Rantau Panjang, Bukit Kayu Hitam or Batu Pahat knows these have been going on for decades. It is an open secret that PPP candidate for state assembly in the Pasir Putih parliament area of Kelantan, Dato Nik "Spray" Sapiea is a diesel smuggler.

However, he is a small fry in a business, in which the illegal wholesale diesel market is at least 5-10 times bigger than the legal market.

Without crony capitalism, YTL could still be Syarikat Pembinaan Yeoh Teong Lay Sdn Bhd

Ignore first the issue of Malay Mail Online cum ex Malaysian Insider's, Leslie Lau rettracting their earlier report on Tan Sri Francis Yeoh's comment in PEMANDU organised Global Malaysian talk series at the Securities Commission on Monday.

He has been getting a lot of brickbats on all sides from that remark and is trying to turn around to blame Malay Mail Online. [One Malay blogger Semut Hitam wrote of it here.]

And there have been lots of responses in our e-mail to share too. But, we'll just go straight right to the point at tell the man that made a humongous wealth, and influence in this country from direct negotiated tenders that he would not have made it without crony capitalism.

After building much capability and financial power, his recent loss in the bid for Track 3B IPP tender only highlight the point that without the help of those in the corridor of power, YTL couldn't win the four way bid could not make it as they are today.

The only way they could revive their IPP business, in which their first Malaysian IPP will expire soon will be to use high level connection and direct negotiated contract. 

One brave soul at the Johor State Assembly

It must be Allah's predetermination.

At the time, Tun Dr Mahathir's wrote his latest posting here on selling of Iskandar Johor land to foreigners and was highlighted by Rocky Bru here, there was another brave soul in the Johor State Assembly that stood up to raise concerns on happenings in Iskandar Malaysia.

Assemblyman for Kempas and also blogger The Patriot (albeit long not updated), YB DatukTengku Putra Haron Aminurrashid bin Tan Sri Tengku Abdul Hamid Jumat delivered a speech which bravely touched on issues of much concern to the people of Johor Baru.

It is not an easy to task to be brave in a state where UMNO have been too comfortable that it has not only become complacent but feudel culture has returned.

When everything turned awry

Sure, our call was almost exact. A BN win at even odd (no vote offer).

But, do not get away with thinking Chinese support has returned. Or Malay support remained intact. Or Indian did a complete turn around and gave support to BN.

Gen Y effect was not substantial yet, so DAP cannot, as Ong Kian Meng claimed, thing that there was a rise in Malay support. 

If they wish to believe him, go ahead and put pretty young woman or pretty boy Malay candidates everywhere including the rural areas. Then, there will be three-way fight against UMNO and PAS, in which the outcome can be predicted.