Another political Malay group launched

Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (PUTRA) held a launching ceremony at the Kelab Sultan Sulaiman fields yesterday.

There were 5,000 white chairs laid out on the field and by the look, it may have been filled up with yellow colours looking well with the city skyline.

The timing of their launch is exactly two weeks after the Himpunan Perpaduan Ummah (#HPU914), which culminated into signing of the Piagam Muafakat National between UMNO and PAS to end decades of political animosity.

Naturally, there were critics coming from UMNO and maybe PAS members, and supporters, that the launch of yet another Malay, Muslim based political party will further divide the already politically divided Malay votes.

The general belief is it will further weaken the Malay majority presence and bargaining power in government.

Appeal Court judge insulted Islam and Sultan

There was a decision made by the Court of Appeal yesterday against Selangor religious authorities in relation to the publication of Irshad Manji's book published by a company owned by Dato Zaid Ibrahim's son.

The Court of Appeal judge Umi Kalthum Abdul Majid, who chaired a three member bench with other members, Hasnah Mohamed Hashim and Suraya Othman uttered an insulting words against Islam and indirectly, state sovereign, the Sultan of Selangor.

The report by FMT mentioned:

"The appeal is allowed in part,” Umi said, adding that the conduct of the state religious authorities would lead to the “law of jungle and rule by ulama”.

According to lawyers contacted, Judges have the discretion to make any comments in court. However, are they not bound by any form of ethical code for judges, or the least, decent common courtesy in their conduct in court?

Local media "lembab" coverage of US Mail pullout plan

Though our posting "US withdrawal from global mail could cripple local logistics" two days ago did not got much hits, it may have drew out an official statement from Pos Malaysia.

That is what this blogger wish to believe since the url was messaged to a key corporate personality behind Pos. 

It took a statement by Pos to alert mainstream media and got them to report on the USPS intention to pullout yesterday. That is how hopeless local media's new hound are.

Foreign media have been reporting for months on the possibility of USPS pulling out from Universal Postal Union (UPU).

It is good that they finally responded after a blogger made a posting.

However, by the time local media covered this news with critical implication on local logistics, UPU agreed to a compromise to prevent US from pulling out.

For readers, forget the kaki bodek mainstream media.

Zeti took 26 days to deny, how many days to response on Ecotive?

The PNB announcement on the appointment of Jalil Rashid as PNB CEO was made on August 29th, 2019. Subsequently, Tun Dr Mahathir said he was not informed of the appointment. Then, it was  complete silence from PNB Chairman, Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz.

One can hear the pin drop at the Chairman office at PNB headquarter.

Finally after 26 days, Zeti issued a denial, After so long, it hardly said anything but the usual corporate communication bullshit of claiming they followed procedure. There was hardly any meat.

If they did follow procedure, why was Mahathir not in the know (video HERE) as it is not customary of him to not know of important appointments? Of all person, Zeti would be the last person not to know Mahathir expect to be kept abreast? Even any appointments to be made by Dato Paduka Mukhriz or Dato Seri Faizal Azumu within their respective state still need his prior approval!

Is Zeti confirming the rumour Mahathir is beginning to show early signs of senility or dementia to forget and as one PPBM MP said, he is on remote memory? 

So come out with it.

US withdrawal from global mail could cripple local logistics

And, yet Minister Gobind Singh is still pussyfooting. Incapable of making a decision or the government officers have not advised him on what to do?

US Postal Service (USPS) will be opting out of the global mail system amidst plummetting volume of international document delivery, rising e-commerce delivery from China, and terminal rates lower than domestic delivery rates.

Barring an eleventh-hour agreement, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) will leave the Universal Postal Union (UPU) on October 17, ending 144 years of U.S. involvement in the international body that governs the exchange of mail and postal parcels between countries, and perhaps fundamentally changing the landscape of global air shipping.

Members of the 192-member United Nations body will gather on September 25 and 26 in Geneva, Switzerland in only the third “extraordinary Congress” in UPU history. The key agenda item will be to vote on what UPU is calling the “possible revision of small packet remuneration rates,” which is the core issue to determine the future of U.S. involvement.

Milo Ais Jho Low: Bukti anda rapat dengan Najib

Minuman Milo panas, Milo ais, dan Milo ais bertopping serbuk Milo popular di Malaysia.

Tidak lama lagi, satu lagi minuman Milo baru akan memasuki pasaran iaitu Milo Ais Jho Low.

Hari ini di mahkamah, DPP Dato Gopal Sri Ram bertanya saksi Dato Shahrol, CEO pertama 1MDB bukti Jho Loh rapat dengan Dato Najib.

Shahril memberitahu mahkamah bahawa dia selalu jumpa Jho Low di rumah Dato Najib. Sebagai bukti saya selalu minta minuman Milo Ais.

Begitulah kuatnya minuman Milo Ais sebagai bahan bukti.

Lim Guan Eng quiting?

There is talk Lim Guan Eng may not be presenting the budget come October.

A message received this morning is alarming. Reproduced below with the source witheld, it claimed Guan will be quiting his MOF post:

XXX has information that a Senior Minister is unhappy with the way the country and finances are being handled.

Apparently there are divergent views with the Ruling Govt.

As a consequence he may leave the Team and resign.

Rumor has it that it is Lim Guan Eng our Finance Minister!

Is it possible for DAP to vacate a strategic position?

If Amhari has home in Perth, Shahrol may have a Swiss account?

Yesterday, Tan Sri Shafee presented documents in court to reveal CEO of Terengganu Investment Agency (TIA, then changed to 1MDB), Dato Shahrol suggested Federal government tookover TIA.

It was revealed TIA is the idea of His Highness Sultan of Terengganu and indirectly, it was Pak Lah's cabinet that approved establishment of 1MDB, never Najib.

Again, star witness of the prosecution and could be the most worrying witness to defence, Datok Amhari Effendi Nazaruddin bombed out to not only, unable to collaborate his view, but was uttering hearsay in court.

Amhari admitted to know Low Taek Jho since his BNM days. He acknowledged borrowing US$200,000  on a payable-when-able basis from Jho Low and surprised more than US$800.000 wired into his BSI Switzerland account. It was written somewhere he planned to buy a second bungalow.

It is safe to assume Amhari was bought over by Jho Low. His testimony is as good as rubbish destined for the garbage bin, without Shafee need to probe into the possibility he owns a home in Perth.

Shahrol is on deck as the next witness after Amhari for the 1MDB-Tanore case.

Moving sermon at PWTC ...

Only two media reported on the sermon by PAS Deputy President Tuan Ibrahim at PWTC yesterday. Astro Awani merely mentioned the sermon as part of the Islamic Unity Gathering, #HPU schedule.

Malaysiakini reported on the story of Jews inciting the Muslims from among the people of Aus and Khazraj in Medina by reminding past rivalry. They see the political angle of the story as response to Tun Dr Mahathir and other PH leaders attempt to discredit #HPU.

The owners may not find it neccessary to report more on the content of the sermon. The sermon can be heard in full on Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) Pusat Facebook HERE from 36:00 onward.

Yours truly was there yesterday.

Noticeably nearing the end of the sermon, the congregation was moved to tears by the call from Tuan Ibrahim on Muslims to unite on the basis of common faith (aqeedah).

While #HPU is the gathering of two political parties with the aspiration to rebuild the nation, it was made on the platform of faith. There are challenges that need to be overcome and overcoming challenges need strength.

Country Heights, MyKad scam, and invading wild boar

A friend in Melaka called to share on the depressing property market, particularly Country Height's Cheng Ho City project at Klebang.

At the same time, the laughably academically challenged, but cocky Melaka exco member from DAP and Melaka Agriculture, Agro-Based, Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative Committee chairman, Norhizam Hassan Baktee told The Star recently of the invasion of wild boars from Sumatra into Pulau Besar.

Believe it or not, he claimed it was a sea-borne invasion meanings the pigs and even piglets swam across from Sumatra to the mystical island.

OK OK kamu YB, we have to believe you. However, is the DAP Malay YB subtly trying to tell us something?

Samosa seller lesson in business turnaround for GLC executives

The global economy has not turned south when BN lost the general elecction.

Thanks to PH and the deceived voters for putting up and chosing a rebels into government. Immediately, investors pulling out in hordes, financial markets crashed, and foreign and trade relation strained.

Despite being ahead of the downturn before the rest of the world, it could have be a typical down cycle of economy and cycle of history.

However, the failed leadership of Mahathir-led PH government and the incompetence and over-politics its Ministers made it bad to worse, and subsequently bottomless worst. There is no sign of a turnaround unless there is political stability and consistency in government policy.

And, when face with an economic crunch, the typical MBA-holders, lettered-membership accountants, and ex-government servants in the management and Board of Directors of Banks, GLCs and even private and public enterprise resort to their textbook for generic strategies.

Malaysia's "democrasy plane" crashed?

For pondering ....

Off late, been hearing views on the practise of musyawarah among the wise and learned.

It was promoted as a better system of government than western parliamentary democrasy and Council of Elders (aka CEP).

Memanggil, memprorog dan membubarkan Parlimen

KOLUMNIS

Kuasa Agong menurut Perkara 55

08 Sep 2019
Sinar Harian

ZAINUL RIJAL ABU BAKAR

BARU-BARU ini Perdana Menteri Britain, Borris Johnson telah mendapat pekenan daripada Ratu Elizabeth untuk menggantung Parlimen Britain bagi membolehkan beliau melakukan sesuatu perkara berkaitan dengan Brexit di mana rakyat Britain telah menyuarakan hasrat mereka melalui referendum untuk Britain keluar dari Kesatuan Eropah.

Dari sudut perundangannya menggantung Parlimen seperti ini disebut sebagai prorog. Prorog adalah suatu situasi di mana Ketua Negara menggantung Parlimen tanpa membubarkan Parlimen itu sendiri. Saya cuba mencari satu kalimah jelas mentafsirkan prorog ini tetapi tidak ada yang tepat, yang paling hampir adalah mengantung Parlimen. Mungkin disebabkan itulah Perlembagaan Persekutuan mengekalkan istilah prorog ini dan tidak menggunakan mana-mana kalimah lain.

Mukhriz sold when Opcom shares suspiciously rigged

The last para on the posting, "Did PH government issued fake news on NFCP to rig Opcom shares?", reads:

By the time required disclosure is made to Bursa Malaysia, the seller will be known and one can confirm if there was any rigging.

Gathered from Bursa Malaysia filings, Dato Mukhriz sold shares in Opcom on three seperate occasions.

No more Axiata-Telenor poison pen letter ...

.... for the time being.

The two poison pen letters on the Axiata-Telenor merger published in this blog in July [HERE and HERE] should be the last.

Till other issues within Axiata arise, quite sure it is cause the merger is off.

The Star reported today:

Did PH government issued fake news on NFCP to rig Opcom shares?

The National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan (NFCP) is not something new. It has long been discussed in the industry. Read USP report here for more information.

In mid-August itself, Lim Guan Eng was the person to have thrown the figure of RM21.6 billion requirement out in public.

Nothing significant happened to Opcom shares until it spiked by 43% on August 28th and caught the attention of social media.

There was a correction but it went up again yesterday by 16% or as high as 8.5 sen. to bring the trading range to 55 and 67.5 sen.

It is certainly something to be excited for the stock market. A concept play or theme to excite interest back to the humdrum market throughout PH administration.

However, it led to a cynical comment by a FBer that Dato Mukhriz was helping a friend.

Cronyism: Prequel to a repeat of the past

On Aug 29, the shares of Opcom Holdings Bhd, a company engaged in the manufacture and sale of fibre optic cables and cable-related products, rose 41.11 percent in a day. The reason?

The Pakatan Harapan government had approved the RM21.6 billion National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan.

There is no doubt that the fiberisation of Malaysia is sorely needed – and the large amount of money that has been committed thus far is a clear sign that at least in Pakatan Harapan’s government, at least one minister is doing his best to fulfil his portfolio.

This is not the first time that Opcom has had such good fortune, especially under a Mahathir-led government.

Negative PR agency for Guan Eng blame game, TH "isi bakul sendiri"

Lim Guan Eng's response to the so-called boycott of non-Bumiputera product campaign came off as  different messages being disseminated to different language media.

Hard on the English media but softer on the Malay media. Did he hired a PR agency for this conflicting messages?

PR agency is in the strange "persuasion business". According to Forbes.com:

PR can be used to protect, enhance or build reputations through the media, social media, or self-produced communications. A good PR practitioner will analyze the organization, find the positive messages and translate those messages into positive stories.

Of late, PR agency seemed to be wrongly used from the usual practise to create positive image and brand for the client and cause

Last week, Datin Wan Norhiyati Wan Ibrahim (Yati) organised an interview for Dato Zukri for his last day at Tabung Haji. Rocky Bru's response on Tweeter was amusing: Tell me if it it's not a case of "angkat bakul sendiri"!

The Malay idiom is "isi bakul angkat sendiri" (filling up one's basket and lifting it oneself). Is there no third party to say it on their behalf or to confirm his denial?

Chinese FBer call on non-Malay Bumiputera to assimilate

Until all races can drop their defence for their own race and start assimilating, the Malay bumiputera agenda can only and should be intensified.

This is unhealthy for the country. Yet, everyone is pointing fingers to each other's races.

As long as non-bumis and non-Malays are unwilling to let go of their defence, Malays and bumiputeras should never give more space for the advancement of the nons.

Think about it.