GST : Focus On Tax Evaders First

I was amused with the comments above from readers of both Malaysian Insider and Malaysiakini for this article

Comments

written by maha, December 16, 2009
the implemintation of GST by the B.N govt clearly shows to what extend the govt of the day is interested in the welfare of in particular the middle and lower income group. So I beg rational voters to bring in pakatan in 13 GE &. we will see what pakatan CAN DO. Pakatan have proven in Kedah, penang,selangor,kelantan and to certain extend in perak.KEEP IT UP PAKATAN!

written by siong, December 16, 2009
GLCs making lost. BN now worried all the economics corridors they promised will bring development, hitting big rock and sink. So, go and collect money from poor rakyat to bail out GLCs linked with BN politicians. 1Malaysia rakyat diutamakan, I mean first to get robbed.

written by i_love_malaysia, December 16, 2009
When come to collecting money, the BN govt is super efficient!!! The govt should stop all the leakages and not just want to collect more and more and more!!! No wonder the Thais and Singaporeans drivers and smugglers are laughing all the way to the banks for our generousity out of govt stupidity!!!

written by lowxinpui, December 16, 2009
Bloody well make sure all the PR MPs are present when the votes are taken.

written by Ahmad Ismail, December 16, 2009
BN is short of money?

then how come can pay so high dividend to Amanah Saham Bumiputera?

GST will be a waterloo for BN inthe next election.

written by Apa Khabar, December 16, 2009
What GST to Najib may just turn out to be like Badawi's petrol price hike, with its repercussion on the next General Election.

No worries, mate!
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From Similar Article in Malaysiakini

by kgan - 30 minutes ago
Some proponents of GST have touted the 4% rate as lower than the 10% Sales Tax which it will replace. But sales tax is levied at source on manufacturers and importers on nett prices so the GST rate must be multiplied by the markup from source to consumer. Furthermore, GST will affect a far wider range of goods and services than sales tax. Don't forget 4% is only the starting rate, it is set to go up as oil revenue decreases and BN needs ever more money to fund its corruption.

by Habib RAK - 41 minutes ago
Tony Pua from DAP had already articulated this matter very well. He has clearly pointed out that it is not timely to introduce GST as this juncture. What needs to be done first is to get rid of the all the wastages, overpricing, plundering, stealing from the national coffers. The savings from these areas will generate more revenue than from GST.

by M'sian - an hour ago
From next year onwards we can expect more opposition politician to change camps. Government will have more money to buy these people, while tax paid is wasted for white elephant like PKFZ, double rail project and this will be additional income for thief & team (PM & Team).

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If this is the quality of their cyber troopers, don't expect much when Pakatan takes over the country, as these stupid cyber troopers will hardly object any wrong doing by Pakatan in future as these cyber troopers appears to be dumb enough to be taken in by anything that Pakatan does. There's hardly any intellectual debate on the GST issue in the comments section except for one Habib RAK. These rest are just some emotional outburst from hardcore Pakatan Rakyat supporters. Just look at the comment by Ahmad Ismail and you would realise how stupid can Pakatan Cyber troopers be.

i_live_Malaysia is also completely wrong, Malaysian government is pathetic is collecting taxes, hence the introduction of GST. While we do not know much of the impact of GST, we should hear more on what the experts have to say rather than what politicians like Tony Pua has to say .

I agree completely with Tony of saving money elsewhere but there's never a wrong timing of GST implementation. Even if the economy has recovered, nobody likes taxes, hence it will be still opposed by those who like to oppose. Will Pakatan Rakyat implement GST when the economy recovers. They are likely to do so, when pressured by economist and foreign experts. See some expert views here, , here , and here

I suspect after the second reading of the bill in March, and if ever Najib decides to implement the policy, Pakatan Rakyat and NGO's aligned to them will take to the streets (as they did against PPSMI policy) The politicians who are strongly against certain government policies could well do something wiser that will be well accepted by Rakyat.

They moan about increased prices all around resulting in higher cost of living. They could well go to the streets when traders increase prices. Why not take consumer's concern to the streets. They could well mobilise consumer association and their hardcore supporters to boycott certain unscrupulous traders, companies and monopolies. Why can't they do that? Why only take the streets only if they do not agree with BN. This is where Pakatan loses its credibility and aptly supported by idiotic comments by their hardcore supporters and cyber troopers, clogging comments section of all online news sites.

What we need to tackle seriously in the immediate terms is to ensure those who are actually taxable pay taxes and this will immediately increase the nation's coffers. And to appease those who swore to live by rule of law, we should charge those who deliberately evade tax.

It was estimated that only 7% Malaysians actually pay tax. That's rather pathetic as I believe many who are in the taxable range are not paying tax at all. Efforts must be made to ensure those who are supposed to pay tax do so. It is so unfair that only salaried people are tracked and forced to pay tax. There are many more out there, such as hawkers, retailers, self-employed individuals (including professional such as lawyers, Doctors, Accountants, Engineers who run their business under Enterprise license) who do not pay tax at all. They evade tax by simply cooking up their accounts, aided by chartered accountants every year. They do pay nominal amount which is usually not reflective of their income.

I am also disgusted that while I pay maximum tax, and many people, who speak loudly about abuse of power, corruption and human rights do not actually pay tax. This includes many of the so-called proponents of rule of law, those who question police's credibility, those who cry about PKFZ and other scandals without any sense of guilt that they are also cheating the authorities. I have, in the past, have been asked to submit documents for audit purposes by LHDN after filing via E-Filling. I asked around those who always under declare taxes, none of them have been asked to do the same. This is why I mentioned that LHDN is pathetic on collecting taxes.

Many people I know that participated in the Bersih and Hindraf rallies do not pay tax at all. Some of them live luxurious life with fast cars and have the cheek to proudly claim that they do not pay much tax. I always feel cheated when I see my pay slip with huge amount of deduction especially when knowing well that people who earn more under-declare their income and some do not pay tax at all.

LHDN will have to improve their monitoring system and ensure that those who are taxable declare their income accurately and pay the required taxes. LHDN should be as tough as their counterparts in the west. In US for example, Inland Revenue are more feared by the public than any other government agency. They work their way to ensure taxes are paid.

They do go to the ground and investigate, unlike LHDN who sits in the office and assess tax submissions just based on documents presented, never mind those duplicate / imitation documents such as DOs. Invoices, Bank Statements, salary slip, EPF statement, EA Forms are easily available for a fee. Have we ever heard someone being charged for tax evasion in Malaysia? LHDN appears no to realise the well known fact that Malaysian fraudsters are one of those in the World's best category.

If taxes are effectively collected, apart from improving the nation's coffers, it would reduce our dependence of oil money and corporate taxes.

As for GST, again how sure are we that traders and businessman don't cheat by increasing their prices. This is something that was raised by opponents of the policy. I think more pertinently, we have ask how sure are we that these traders do not cook up their sales figures and swindle whatever GST meant to be remitted to the authorities. If we do not have an efficient system to track all these possible abuses and without proper monitoring system, we ought not to have the GST in place.

Alkisah India di India dan India di Malaysia — Zaini Hassan

This is the controversial article, said to seditious and belittling Indians in general.

My comments are in bold Alkisah India di India dan India di Malaysia — Zaini Hassan

DEC 11 — Berada di kota raya tua India, Hyderabad selama seminggu minggu lalu amat memberi kesedaran kepada diri ini. Setiap inci persegi tanah di kota-kotanya dihuni oleh ratusan insan. Setiap kilometer persegi dihuni oleh ratusan ribu insan dan setiap bandar raya di negara keramat itu dihuni oleh jutaan manusia. Dan India ialah tanah bagi 1.2 bilion umat manusia. Angkanya bertambah setiap saat.

I have been to Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai (and the whole of Tamil Nadu). What makes it more relevant is that I have stayed in Hyderabad on job assignment for 5 months.

Berada di India bererti kita berada dalam satu realiti kemanusiaan yang sebenar. India ialah tanah bagi manusia ramai. Jurang hidupnya adalah antara langit dan bumi. Yang papa terlalu papa, yang kaya terlalu kaya. Yang kaya, tidak pandang ke bawah, yang bawah tetap di bawah.

Very true, the rich are extremely rich in India while there are still beggars and those who live on USD $1 a day. An average rich person in India is definitely richer than millionaires in Malaysia.

Kasta, darjat atau keturunan masih diamalkan secara tebal di seluruh India. Ia semacam satu agama. Kasta atas tidak boleh bersatu kasta rendah.

Another fact despite all the rhetoric spewed by heroes in Tamil Movies and Indian leaders in general saying all are equal. Caste, Status and Race are very much important in the society.

Jalan rayanya haru-biru. Suasananya hiruk-pikuk. Bas, lori, kereta, basikal, teksi roda tiga, kereta lembu, kuda bersimpang siur. Bunyi hon adalah wajib. Pegang sahaja stereng, bunyi hon dulu. Di belakang bas dan lori tertulis “tolong hon”. Tiada siapa marah jika dia dihon. Hon ialah nyawa.

Very much a true reflection on happenings on any road in India. Horns are really a necessity in India. You have signs such as ‘Horn Please’ at the back of a lorry.

Semasa dalam perjalanan menghadiri makan malam perpisahan di Istana Chowmohalla (dibina pada 1780 oleh Nawab Nizam Ali Khan, Asaf Jah II), pemandu bas yang membawa kami tiba-tiba turun lari meninggalkan bas yang dibawanya. Hilang dalam lautan manusia dan kenderaan. Kami terpinga-pinga. Dua lelaki preman masing-masing memegang submesingan jenis sterling yang mengawal keselamatan kami dalam bas berkata “jangan bimbang”. Pemandu tadi sebenarnya turun untuk meleraikan kenderaan-kenderaan yang sudah berpintal di atas jalan raya. Dia bertindak menjadi polis trafik. Sambil dia menyelesaikan kekusutan itu, saya melihat di seberang sana seorang penumpang turun dari teksi roda tiga yang dinaikinya menolak kenderaan itu yang mati di atas jalan raya. Tiada rasa marah pun di muka penumpang itu yang menolong menolak teksinya yang rosak. Tiada siapa peduli apa yang berlaku di sekeliling mereka. Polis trafik pun menjalankan apa yang terdaya, tanpa memperlihatkan sedikit pun kekerutan di dahinya. Trafik lalu lintas tetap berjalan lancar, walaupun dalam suasana kekecohan.

The real difference is that apparently there are no road bullies in India, people are extremely patient despite the chaotic situation in the roads. It is perhaps that everyone realises that they are equally guilty of breaking the rules all the time.

Sebelah malam, di tepi-tepi jalan insan-insan tidur merata-rata. Ada yang telah nyenyak membungkus tubuh dengan kain selimut daripada kedinginan kota itu. Yang belum tidur, duduk mencangkung sambil memandang ke satu tujuan yang tidak diketahui.

You can see them at five foot way, open parks and even in roundabouts.

Hampir dua jam bergelut kami tiba di istana bereka bentuk masjid itu. Di sepanjang dinding tembok istana tertulis tulisan dalam bahasa Inggeris “Ini tempat suci jangan kencing”. Kencing berdiri sambil si anunya memancut ke dinding adalah pemandangan umum yang biasa. Mungkin kerana terlalu ramai manusia, tandas bukan lagi pilihan. Awas, setiap pagi berhati-hati berjalan di kaki-kaki lima kerana terlalu banyak jerangkap samar dari isi perut manusia berlonggok di sana-sini. Suasana serupa juga juga khabarnya boleh dilihat di bandar raya lain termasuk di Mumbai.

This is a norm in India, Clean toilets are hard to find, one has to get into some hotels or some up market restaurants in India to find some decent toilets. Urinating in public is a norm, something that is decreasing by the day, but still prevalent in most towns and cities.

Sampainya di istana itu, kami dibawa masuk ke dalamnya. Satu suasana antara langit dengan bumi. Kawasan istana lama itu diwarnai dengan lampu-lampu berwarni yang menyenangkan perasaan. Bagaikan berada dalam kisah Hikayat 1001. Tarian-tarian Bollywood dari era 50-an hingga kini dipersembahkan kepada kami. Selesai persembahan kami dijamu dengan juadah Hyderabad tersohor di dunia, nasi beriyani.

Hotels in Hyderabad are much more costlier than those in Malaysia. Even a 1 or 2 star hotel can cost up to the minimum charged by a 5 star hotel in Malaysia as generally there are shortage of hotel rooms throughout India.

Kami makan beriyani kambing dan ayam, tanpa mempedulikan apa-apa lagi. Ia terlalu sedap tanpa boleh ditandingi oleh mana-mana restoran Malaysia, waima Hameediah di Campbell Street, Pulau Pinang mahupun Mahbob di Bangsar. This is the only food I would recommend in Hyderabad. Di luar tembok sana, suasananya adalah terlalu kontras. India yang penuh warna-warni. India yang penuh dengan drama. Di dada-dada akhbarnya konflik di mana-mana. Di Parlimennya pun haru-biru seperti di atas jalan rayanya juga. Televisyen memaparkan bagaimana seorang speaker dewannya tidak diendahkan oleh ahli-ahli Parlimen yang memboikot sesi soal-jawab. Akhbar Deccan Chronicle dalam karikatur muka satunya (macam Senyum Kambing) keesokan harinya mencuit: Mengapa mereka tidak mahu buat sesi soal-jawab dalam kantin saja, kan di situ tempatnya ahli Parlimen selalu melepak?

Parliament and State assemblies in India as more chaotic than Malaysia. As in the case of non-existence of road bullies in India, parliament and state assemblies are noisy but rarely end up in violence. Walk outs, hurling abuses, caste sentiments, race rhetoric are a norm. Not much different from Malaysia.

India tetap India. Orang India ialah masyarakat yang begitu unik. Jika kita sering tengok wayang Tamil atau Hindi, itulah budaya mereka. Kecoh, kecoh dan kecoh.

There’s nothing wrong with this comment. Indian Malaysians are equally kecoh. One need not go far, just look at the prayers, religious events, processions, weddings and other ceremonies. It’s always noisy and chaotic. Thaipusam is a very good example. Only the more educated and civilised Indian Malaysians are trying to change by doing things in a more orderly manner. Those who object to this particular comment are those in denial and they are the ones who are unlikely to change or become more civilised.

Namun, kita di Malaysia pun ada orang India. Kecohnya pun lebih kurang sama. Mereka ini rata-ratanya terdiri daripada ahli-ahli profesional, peguam dan kini menjadi ahli politik. Di Malaysia hanya orang India yang pandai-pandai sahaja yang sering buat bising. Mereka menguasai Majlis Peguam dan kini mereka sudah ramai di Parlimen, bukan mewakili MIC, tapi mewakili DAP dan PKR.

I quite agree, Indian Politicians so far are seen to be more noise than substance, be it Samy Vellu or those from the opposition.

Kerana mereka lantang dan suka buat haru-biru, suara mereka sering kedengaran. Salah seorangnya ialah N. Kulasegaran yang kini memegang jawatan Naib Pengerusi DAP Perak. Beliau lantang mempersoalkan hak-hak orang Melayu. Katanya, beliau tidak faham mengapa setelah bertahun lamanya masih ada kelompok manusia percaya kepada warna kulit atau penampilan yang lebih tinggi daripada satu kaum lain. Kita tidak pasti apakah beliau ikhlas dengan kenyataannya itu. Dia tahukah apa yang dia cakap? Tapi yang pasti kenyataannya itu cukup sensitif dan akan membuat kumpulan lain marah. Tapi seperti biasa orang Melayu marahnya tidak lama. Tak apalah. Orang Melayu tidak seperti orang India, walaupun ada juga Melayu yang darah keturunan Keling (DKK), tapi darah Melayu yang lembut banyak menguasai mereka.

I dont understand why the need for the writer to use derogatory term here, though I am not offended. The point is if compared to India, where certain race and castes are suppressed, there’s nothing much to lose here with Malays having Malay rights & privileges. I am sure Kulasegaran must be aware of the discrimination towards certain caste and within certain races in India. He must be in denial. Even in Malaysia, certain Indian race and caste are strongly against mixed marriages within Indians and you will never see Indian Malaysian leaders denounce this because some of them are guilty of the same.

Jika di India, mungkin kita akan sentiasa dikawal oleh pengawal bermesingan. Kulasegaran perlu mengambil cuti. Pergilah melawat ke India, dan hayatilah erti kehidupan di sana, hayatilah erti kasta dan darjat, miskin dan kaya, seperti yang saya alami minggu lalu. Seburuk-buruk Malaysia, inilah tanah tumpah darah kita. — Utusan Malaysia

Agreed, Indian Malaysian Politicians should visit and study the situation in India. I am just most of them must have been there. It’s just that they are living in denial. I must repeat that most of the problems associated with Indians in Malaysia is of their own doing. These politicians continue to deny the existing problems within the community and pin the blame on the government and the rich. For example, Job opportunities are plenty, but Indian politicians blame the government for falure to tackle urban poor and problem of Indian youth turning to gangsterism. How long are they going to hide behind their own weaknesses are beyond me.

I yearned to come back to Malaysia just after a month of staying in Hyderabad. I really struggled to stay there for 5 months. Never in my mind had the thought of living there forever. No way, Malaysia is heaven on earth and despite all the issues and problems, this is certainly not a country where the citizens should ungrateful of.

Generally, the article presented true account of situation in India, Hyderabad in particular and the similarities found among Malaysian Indians, which I quite agree. . The only issue would be perhaps the use of derogatory term on Indians.

We Are All Racist!!

It’s quite funny to see Malaysians accusing each other of being racist. This, is from the Ministers right up to the working class ( the cow head group).

I think we Malaysians are in denial. We are all racist. I will outline below why I say so..

All Malaysian political parties are somewhat race based; this includes those who claim to be multi racial. Multi-racial political parties while claiming to be all equal, conduct their ceramah targeting particular race at various spots usually frequented by a particular race.

For example, DAP, MCA and Gerakan have their ceramah at Chinese restaurants, complete with dinner and drinks. UMNO and PAS like to have their campaigns near mosques and open areas within usually a Malay majority area while MIC and Hindraf like to do this in Indian Majority areas and even temples.

The only time these political parties do otherwise is when they campaign for candidate from another party, only then they share the same stage. This is quite evident during by-elections where campaigns are more focused one various ethnic groups apart from the customary door to door campaigning.

Why is that certain political party leaders give their speech in Mandarin and Tamil, aren’t we supposed to be communicating in Bahasa Malaysia or English. The whole objective cannot be other than delivering messages targeted at certain race.

We have various school streams based on mainly race and not really actual mother tongue. We have so called vernacular school champions, whose statement and overall outlook are racist in nature, supported vehemently by MCA, MIC, and not surprisingly self appointed multi-racialist, Gerakan, PKR, DAP and various other mosquito parties.

Why PKR and DAP supports vernacular schools, even to the extend of marching the streets in pressuring government to reverse the Maths/Science in English policy, is beyond me. They were also the first to denounce single stream school idea put forward by a racist party, UMNO (Mukhriz brought it up first in the parliament).

Of course, everyone, including UMNO, MIC, MCA and multi-racial parties often rely on the clauses in the federal constitution which guarantees vernacular education as well as special privileges for the Malays. While Multi-racial parties wants Malay rights to be abolished and the government to treat everyone equally, they are unwilling to accept the idea of having children study in the single school system, even though Mandarin and Tamil will still be taught.

When Vision School idea, a compromise of sorts to maintain Chinese and Tamil schools in it’s current form while sharing a common venue/building, the same racist vernacular school champions objected and not to our surprise again, their objection were supported by so-called multi-racial parties such as DAP. Why, because DAP’s support is mainly derived from one race, hence race is a main factor in DAP’s political strategy. Why is that there are hardly any Malays in DAP, the answer is the same, the actual focus is on RACE, RACE and RACE.

What is the reason for Selangor state government, helmed by a multi-racial party back track on their decision to appoint a Chinese as the head of PKNS. Why is that their representative line up for EXCO and councilors are various local council in all states (including those helmed by multiracial parties ) is based on racial quota, not on basis of experience and competency.

Why do ‘Malaysian Malaysia’ leader Lim Guan Eng, who want equality, and champions ‘Competency, Accountability and Transparency appoint a Malay and Indian Deputy Chief Minister, who have no administrative experience, if not for the reason none other than the candidates RACE!

Why is that DAP is very much focused on the PKFZ scandal and not say MIED or Maika or even the roof collapse of the stadium in Terengganu, if not for the fact that the scandal is linked to MCA, their arch-enemies in vying for Chinese votes.

It’s also normal for all these politicians to take advantage of certain incidents to become champions of certain race. Good example is Kugan and Teoh Beng Hock’s death, though Malaysians as a whole deplored such tragic events, certain politicians found it fit to use it to their advantage and in the process, become hero of the particular race.

In Kugan’s death, Indian politicians from both opposition and BN came to the fore but when innocent and not so innocent Indians are dying on almost daily basis due to violence perpetrated by fellow Indians, these Indian Champions are no where to be seen. I am not exaggerating here, almost one Indian is killed everyday by usually fellow Indians, due to fights, gang fights, crime gone wrong etc. Those who read Tamil newspapers will agree. In fact, I had a relative who became a victim, whose case is never resolved until today.

The same applies when known criminals are shot dead by police, more than usual, only politicians of certain race comes forward to slam the police but when policemen are killed or injured while on duty, the same racial heroes are nowhere to be seen. You must have realized that similar scenarios prevailed in Teoh Beng Hock’s case.

Actually I need not go far to illustrate this point, just go and have a look at the vernacular newspapers. They are full of reports on certain race only. A non-record breaking Sea Games gold medal win by an Indian were glorified by all 3 Tamil newspaper while a double gold medal win by A Sarawakian were left in a small column of the back page in two of the 3 newspapers. Another just highlighted it in the summary.

I pity most of our Malay friends who can’t read these vernacular newspapers. Even for Chinese or rather Mandarin newspapers, one need not know the language; you can know what’s going on, where the focus is, what the main issues etc are by looking at the generous amount of pictures in the pages. You will never go wrong if you conclude that the main issues are about Chinese and key personalities are none other than MCA, leaders as well as Chinese leaders from the so-called multi-racial parties.

In Tamil newspapers, you can also easily detect the media conduct of Indian politicians from so-called multi-racial parties. People like Manikavasagam, Sivanesan, Gobalakrishnan and even Dr Ramasamy (DCM, Penang) . They pander to Tamil media, appearing almost daily basis on stories exclusively focused on Indians. The war between politicians in the Tamil newspapers, who are generally more independent than English or Malay mainstream papers are quite ferocious and these politicians from so-called multi-racial parties use the papers to slam MIC and BN leaders. It is so obvious that the only reason they do this is of course to slam BN but on the other hand, to be seen as a hero to their own race. They hardly invite Tamil Media to cover events involving other races.

On a personal basis, it is common for Malaysians to criticise and make racially insensitive comments about another race when their own kind get together. We would be lying if we deny this. We deplore the habits of certain race and the only opportune time to talk about it is when the same race get together. We make all kinds of accusation against another race when we can easily find similar deficiencies or weaknesses within our own race.

It was apparent in the case of Indians, where all the blame for their misfortunes are leveled against the government and Malays in general when the actual fact, most of the problems faced by the community is their own doing but none of the racial heroes have come forward to criticise their own community for their failures.

I had similar feeling when reading ‘The Chinese Dilemma’ where the community, despite being quite well of in general, was portrayed is being in denial of their own weaknesses. Most of the facts presented were quite true, says a Chinese friend of mine.

In summary, we are all racist and politicians should accept this fact and stop accusing each other of being racist. No country in the world is without racist or people with such tendencies. We just have to minimise such rhetoric’s and focus on bridging the divide.

Johoreans Still With BN

It has been a long time since my last post.

It’s wedding season and I returned to Kluang, Johor (not JB for those who think Johor is JB, do read this to know the difference ) twice over two weeks and I also had the opportunity to attend other weddings in KL.

The usual conversation of normal Malaysians like us in a wedding revolves not around serious stuff like gay rights, human rights or global warming (it was rainy throughout my stay there). Apart from commenting about bride, groom, their family, how we have aged as well as the ever escalating rate of wedding ang pows (or Moiyee in Tamil), we also spoke about politics.

In the Kluang weddings, there were pockets of people from Kuantan, Singapore as well as people from all parts of Johor.

Based on my conversation with them on politics, I can summarise that people have grown tired of petty politics played out by both BN and Pakatan Rakyat. While BN bashing has become a fashion, as it is here in Johor, it has certainly become increasingly boring. One thing is quite clear; people have less confidence in Pakatan Rakyat now than before.

When enquired further, it appears that people are tired of both Pakatan national leaders as well as their local representatives. They further amplified that these local leaders are those who canvassed for votes in the last elections and had since, many of their candidates have won.

The real problem on the ground appears to be the local leaders as they have appeared to have promised the sun and moon during the elections. And more glaringly, majority of the Pakatan local leaders are BN rejects and I was told, those who actually failed or sidelined by their former BN party. I was also informed that promises have remained just that, promises. This sync with incidents that we hear and read daily, promises that were never delivered across the country by Pakatan and BN.

BN has a clear advantage as there were not much expectation any way that they will deliver but for Pakatan, promises were made much expectation (especially with the usual heroic stage rhetoric with chants of ‘Makkal Sakhti’ ) , especially in the states governed by them. As in Johor, a BN stronghold, Pakatan gained several seats in the last elections and even with the few seats the state Pakatan appears to be in sleeping mode and not to mention, squabbles in the State DAP and alleged involvement of secret society.

The same sentiments were shared by others in the wedding from other states. People have started to have more confidence in the economy. Malays, I hear do not have much fear over the liberalization of several key sectors (not that they understand much in the 1st place).


In Johor, jobs are plenty, factories are near to their usual capacity and Iskandar is beginning to take shape. More importantly for the JB folks, there is an alternative route to the much dreaded Pasir Gudang highway (for those who have not used this road, I suggest you should check and firm up your brakes before even thinking of using this road).

As for temple and cow heads, I hear that there are no such issues in Johor. Even the Royalty gave the land to the new Crystal Temple in JB and aptly promoted as a tourist destination by the state government. People are equally excited and confused over the Iskandar project as it is being trumpeted frequently by the media and national leaders but there’s little to show at the moment. I was informed that there few evidences of jobs being created for the project.

As for the Indians, people I know appears to be singing a different tune now as compared to pre and post general elections when there were strong anti-BN and pro Hindraf (pro Pakatan) sentiments. People here are disgusted with Hindraf leaders and other Pakatan Indian leaders. Indians are also slowly losing their trust on Anwar. One asked me where is he?, while another asked if Anwar is planning to return to UMNO, speculation further to the alleged meeting with Najib.

People are also beginning to get tired with the antics of Indian leaders, especially when they try to defend criminals and criminal acts. A local said that the 5 Indians who were killed in a shoot out with police, deserves to die. For those who are not aware, this shoot to kill policy are often played out in many Tamil movies and known as ‘encounter’ and it is a normal happening in India where court and trials take ages to even start and police choose this alternative unofficial method to rid society of known and proven hardcore criminals.

As for support for Najib, many are cautiously optimistic that Najib will deliver, with many commenting on his fast paced, business like moves and less political rhetoric in the recent past. Despite the usual distrusts, people are impressed with his pace and measures that has been taken thus far, though many think it can be better, especially on cost of living.

In summary, though I may have only met few people in Johor and they may not represent the majority, it appears that Johoreans still trust BN though they are much more cautious than before. If Pakatan Rakyat do not put their house and people in order, it would be quite difficult to take over this BN strong hold.

How Things Have and Have Not Changed

Further to the March 8 elections, leading to the anti-climax on Sept 16 last year, things were looking good for Pakatan Rakyat, where we also saw Pakatan winning most by-elections and it’s leader Anwar Ibrahim, returning to Parliament. There also appeared to be too much of politics in the country leading to Sept 16.

Pakatan Rakyat as a whole was also in their element by setting up state governments in 5 states and handing out freebies while Barisan Nasional were in the brink of collapse, especially UMNO, while MCA took the opportunity to renew itself by the way of Ong Kah Ting not seeking another term. MIC became irrelevant with it’s leader going on a mission to re-brand the grand old party. MIC should have been renamed Samy Vellu & Family Party as part of the re-branding exercise.

One year later, we are seeing the situation reversed. BN’s win in Bagan Pinang brought back some cheer to Barisan, though it can be solely attributed to Isa long service to the constituency, more than a reflection of support for BN. It can be also said that Pakatan Rakyat was also disorganized throughout the campaign period.

Najib , who started with the lowest popularity ratings ever by a PM has regained some support of the Malaysians.Some of the policies changes and other economic measures received support from the corporate sector as well as the public. The upcoming budget is likely to have some people friendly measures that would definitely spur Najib’s popularity.

Pakatan Rakyat, on the other hand, is seen as in chaos. No discipline whatsoever, that would sum up the attitude of their leaders. Their decline started with the BN takeover of Perak. However unfair it may be, Pakatan Rakyat leaders behavior was nothing but crude, rude and unbecoming, no matter that they felt that they were victimized. Kugan and Teoh death brought back the anger of public, but then BN is not to be blamed entirely.

Conflicting statements from their Pakatan Rakyat leaders are nothing but an example of a coalition in distress. While Lim Kit Siang does, from time to time indicate that Pakatan Rakyat has to buck up, however their supreme leader has been forever in denial, claiming that BN and press are to blame for everything.

PAS revealed their true colours while PKR leaders continue to squabble in public, the recent being Zaid decision to take leave, when there is no need to, if ever he wants to concentrate on forming a formal coalition. PKR, whose leader dreamt of taking over as PM by the way of luring (or rather, buying) the support of mainly MPs of both Sabah and Sarawak, are now facing serious crisis in the very same states. DAP on the other hand, remains the only sane party in Pakatan Rakyat despite the drubbing they received over the Kampung Buah Pala issue.

From becoming a government in waiting, Pakatan Rakyat is now seen as a coalition that is found wanting. Nothing substantial has been achieved in the states that they govern. Election promises remains as texts in their manifestos while their leaders continue to behave like opposition. In the area that I am staying, I saw no substantial differences, except for increased dengue cases.

BN is also seeing crises within their coalition. MCA is still reeling from the decision of delegates to the EGM. No solutions seems to be in sight. I would have preferred the level headed reformist, Ong Kah Ting remained for another term. Chua Jui Meng headed for the problematic PKR. My prediction is he would not last long there as he is not the person who can survive rough politics. He should have joined DAP, where at least they would have respected.

PPP is also still affected by the continued defiance of Murugiah, who refuses to acknowledge that he is no longer in PPP or definitely not the President. Najib is also appears to be unsure as to how to handle Murugiah’s case. In general, Murugiah is seen to be effective and popular in his role as Deputy Minister, regardless of the problems with the party leadership.

MIC rebranding exercise last year has resulted in President renewing his term with the support of his own men at helm in the Central Working Committee. Samy Vellu was also pressured to leave, mainly due to the insistence of influential Dr Mahathir that he has overstayed his welcome. As defiant as he has been, Samy insists that he will hand over the reign to largely ineffective deputy before the next party elections.

Najib, not wanting to rely solely on MIC for Indian support, agreed to do something unprecedented, launching Malaysia Makkal Sakhti Party, run by a former Hindraf coordinator. The PM usually do not even attend AGMs of parties who supports but not a member of BN.

The recent UMNO general assembly showed that UMNO can also be rational when their leaders want to. No fiery speeches, except for the ones by Najib. ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ appears to have taken a backseat as this grand old party risk losing their grip on power for the first time ever if they do not change.

In summary, both BN and PR are in a mess and indirectly, the Malaysian public suffers due to selfish and irrational attitude of some leaders. Imagine how many policies, approvals and economic measures could have been stalled due to politicians holding government posts (both federal and state) distracted by internal political problems in their respective party. This is where party politics and democracy does not benefit the general population and we, Malaysians have seen a bit too much of this lately.

MIC : In Their Own World

That would summarise what happened over the weekend during the MIC Annual general Assembly. In what should have been a major change in party structure in order to rejuvenate the party, what we saw was the same old faces helming the top leadership.

Almost all other BN parties have seen changes in their leadership but despite massive failures in the general elections, MIC members are adamant that the current failed leaders are still needed.

Datuk Subramaniam failed challenge of Datuk Palanivel has been expected but this is certainly not a measure to rejuvenate the party, as these two politicians are nothing but spent force. Many thought Subra’s win can bring some hope of change, but this is not to be. Sothinanthan worked as the spoiler to Subra’s plans. While Sothinanthan is still young, Subra’s political career can be considered as good as over.

Subra may still have some options but he is unlikely to move to opposition, not after decades in BN.

Samy Vellu can proudly claim that he still commands support in the party, but the fact remains that more than half did not vote for his choice for Deputy. Even the vice presidents of his choice, won due to their own popularity, owing to decent performance in their respective government post, though they were nominated to the government post by Samy Vellu.

My only regret is that Dr Subramaniam ( the Human Resources Minister) should have contested the Deputy President post. He is credible, fluent in all three languages and appear to be well liked by all, not only in MIC.

The only consolation is that some young leaders have been appointed as Secretary General, Information Chief and Treasurer.

With this development, things can only go down hill for MIC. There’s nothing for Samy to be proud of. Almost approximately 70% of Indians voted for the opposition in the March 8 elections, and even with the Najib feel good factor, more than half Indians voters, mostly young voters, are still leaning towards the opposition. The main reason is they hate Samy Vellu and to a lesser extend BN.

Najib and even Mahathir’s hint for change was not heeded by the delegates. My interaction with the grassroots, right after the MIC elections, indicates that none will return if Samy remains. That’s a fact and majority Malaysians would agree. Many Indians only have harsh and disgusting words for Samy Vellu. His son and daughter-in law’s involvement in the party has only further infuriated many. They see this an attempt to turn MIC into Samy Sdn Bhd.

Pakatan Rakyat’s further decline in performance and lack of initiatives for Indians will ensure some votes return to BN. With this development, it is as if MIC has chosen to keep them out of the equation.

Rightfully members should be discussing on their lost of support and perhaps the outcome of the post mortem further to the general elections in the annual assembly, none happened and Samy Vellu summed up the issue by saying MIC lost support due to BN and not him. And the MIC delegates accepted that. That says a lot about their ability to gauge public sentiments. No further debates on this and they appear to be contented with President’s argument and some BN bashings throughout the assembly.

They appear to be happy with their current standings in the eyes of people. They appear not to be bothered with various criticisms and onslaught by Hindraf and Pakatan Rakyat Indian leaders. They appear to in their own world.

Unless some drastic change happens, MIC is likely to be completely wiped out in the next elections and they will eventually be where they want to be, in their own world.

1Malaysia Overdose

I am increasingly irritated by the 1Malaysia campaign. Not sure why people are so into this slogan as if this is something new. Even the corporate sector joined the bandwagon and riding on the catchy slogan with their glossy advertisements in the mainstream television.

While Najib’s massive campaign may have been positively welcomed by the rakyat, it has become an irritant and more so when his own party members are still within the old mindset as reflected in some of their speeches and not to mention various articles in Utusan Melayu.

While everyone blames Utusan Melayu for racist centric articles, the same can be said with Tamil newspapers and I was told, even Chinese newspapers. It’s just that all Malaysians can read Utusan while not all Indians or Chinese Malaysian can read Tamil or mandarin newspapers, what more Malays.

Unless Najib’s own party members reflect the slogan in their actions, this 1Malaysia will soon end up like “Gemilang, Cermerlang and Terbilang” in the next general elections.

1Malaysia maybe nice and catchy to some people, especially the kids, but it’s pointless if people chose to segregate themselves and the fact that we have a system that segregates children from young. And we all know that this systematic segregation is well supported by the same people who champion for 1Malaysia, Malaysian Malaysia and others similar slogans that are not popular.


On the other hand, if Malaysians really wants to be united, not just be seen to be united, they have to make sacrifices, I mean big sacrifice here. That would be the current generation’s biggest contribution to the next, and they will certainly be remembered centuries to come.

I am, of course, referring to the single stream school idea which has been reignited, read here.

If Najib and Muyiddin is serious about 1Malaysia, they should do their best to float a workable idea towards establishing one single school stream. It may not be appealing to Chinese and Indian educationist, or rather chauvinist, but an attractive and quality national school may work to attract non Malays back to national school. This may include introduction of English medium schools, which I believe will definitely attract all races.

With the race and racist sentiments hitting high notes recently, I had a first hand look on old 1Malaysia in one small cowboy town called Paloh in Johor. I attended a function held by my father’s friend, an Indian Malaysian. Whilst it was a small function, it was well attended by multi-racial crowd within the neighborhood. What was surprising it that, the non-indians outnumbered the Indians.

I had the opportunity to have a chat with the folk there. I gathered that most of them work in saw mills, estates, factories, transportation and small businesses catering to the residents there. I also realized that being in a small town, they, regardless of race, depend on each other for job, business and daily needs.

When they started talking about politics, one of them turned to me and said that ‘you educated people are the ones who are creating all kinds of problems for this country’. He further added that there have not been any racial problems in the small town ever. He also mentioned that their biggest problem ever was with the communist insurgency back then when Paloh was known to be one of the communist stronghold back then in Johor.

I was taken aback but not surprised with the accusation against KLites as there are certainly lots of truth in that statement. Throughout the conversation, everyone showed genuine warmth towards each other, as they have been for decades, something that I hardly see in KL. Life there is simple and slow but people are enjoying themselves and would not want a complicated life such as in KL even if given millions of Ringgit.

So 1Malaysia is certainly not new, but an old wine in a new bottle. And according to the folks in Johor, educated Malaysians chose to deliberately crack and eventually break the old bottle over the years.

Only Najib Can get rid of Samy Vellu

Samy Velu continues to be the most valued comedian in the country. However in the recent weeks, he has been under pressure, mainly from his former deputy, Datuk S. Subramaniam, who is seeking to retake his deputy president post.

Unlike in any other party where top leadership will not openly support any candidates, Samy Vellu went on and announced his preferred candidates for all post available at the central level. The list has numerous political deadwoods and over the hill loyalist of Samy Vellu or rather his ‘yes men’. Talk about rebranding.

It is said that MIC have gained some currency recently. It is mainly due to the fact that BN still gives ‘face’ to them, and also it’s long standing membership in BN. It is no secret that many leaders in BN component party thinks that Samy Vellu is an embarrassment to BN and prefers to see him out.

Pathetic Performance of Indian ADUNs and MPs from the opposition also led to Indian Malaysian looking up to MIC again, though in small numbers. Majority fence sitters and sympathizers will return only if Samy Vellu is no longer there.

Instead of indicating his path of retreat, he is now saying that he may remain up to 2015. He also roped in his daughter in-law to become’s Puteri’s deputy chief. His son, Velu Paari is already the so-called advisor to MIC Youth although it has been said that he calls the shots. Most of those in upper echelon of the party are already his relatives and close friends. There is no chance for outsiders and he might as well rename the party after his own name.

If Najib really bothered about sentiments on the ground, he should pressure Samy Vellu to give way as soon as possible or else MIC would still remain a liability to BN. Only Najib is in a position to do so and he'd better do it soon.

Guilty Unless Proven Innocent & Kickbacks

Details in the mystery letter received by Gobind appear to be flawed and inconsistent. It says that the alleged preparator, a senior MACC officer left the MACC building at around 6.10 while pathologists who testified clearly said that Teoh could have died anywhere between 8am to 9.30pm. Blogger Jebat Must Die has the story here.

It is quite mind boggling how the law works here, at least according to Gobind, although the Pathologist listed various reasons why Teoh’s death could be due to suicide, Gobind wants conclusive prove that it is not a homicide but a suicide.

When MACC revealed that commission were given to several DAP branches, he wanted it expunged from the records but he did not ask for the same when he put it to the client that MACC killed Teoh. His line of questioning continuously implies that MACC deliberately killed Teoh. But when, upon investigation, it was revealed that DAP did received kickbacks from several projects, Gobind was fuming. Hey, what double standards.

Here’s a comments by Malaysiakini reader, “It is easy for the police and the chemist to say there is no evidence to support a claim. But in such an important case, we would want them to prove it, what with all the materials in their possession’

It appears that the notion ‘innocent until proven guilty’ is applicable to Pakatan Rakyat and their lawyers only, while for the rest it’s “guilty unless proven innocent”.

It may still be found that a MACC officer may have been involved, but to blame the whole organisation (MACC) is like blaming the whole of DAP of being corrupt, where in this case, it is likely to be.

If DAP and their representative wants us to believe that they are squeeky clean, they must be either joking or dreaming. This is Malaysia, commission or kickbacks are a norm. Ask DAP members, supporters or sympathisers  to swear (like how Gobind asked the MACC officer to put up his hand and swear) that they have never given or  taken commission, you will hardly see any hands up. Even if you refuse, the giver will insists, it is part of our culture.

The same applies to other parties, organisation and normal people. It's just that the opposition and their supporters are hypocrites. We have an economy that runs on commission and anybody would be foolish enough to deny this fact.

MACC Should Just Do The Right Thing

Based on the recent developments , MACC is under tremendous pressure on top of Teoh’s case which is under intense scrutiny at the moment.

While it must be said that MACC has been understaffed and does not have adequate resources, there’s no reason why MACC should stop investigations on politicians. They may have to change their approach, especially when dealing with opposition politicians. Maybe they should treat the politicians as VVIPs, complete with Kompang and Bunga Manggar when they visit politicians.

Lim Kit Siang’s allegation that MACC are using Gestapho tactics are laughable, from the video footage, it was clear that political aide, Wong Chuan How was not even handcuffed and appeared to have agreed to follow MACC officers to the car and suddenly he tried to set himself free and that’s when the commotion started. If he would have followed the officers, none of the commotion would have happened. The root cause here is Wong.

Pakatan Rakyat’s accusation of double standards has, in terms of investigating politician has been torn to shreds here, where it is clear that more BN politicians and sitting assemblyman has been hauled up and charged while not a single Pakatan Rakyat MP or state assemblymen has been charged this year. Even after Teoh Beng Hock’s case, MACC went about their work and arrested a BN Terengganu State Assemblyman.

MACC would do better if it informs public on what has happened to the case of former Selangor MB, Azalina and scores of other cases. Perhaps a public relations failure there exploited well by the opposition. When they can issue letter of release to Jawi Assemblymen clearing him of corruption (an allegation by fellow DAP member), why these are not followed in all other cases. Even former Deputy Chief Minister of Penang, Fairus was investigated and later cleared by MACC, again the allegation came from his own party members.

MACC has also appointed a 30 man team to investigate PKFZ issue, hence Guan Eng’s reasoning that MACC is slow on BN related cases is simply not valid. The silence of the MACC advisory board in all these issues is puzzling though. Aren’t they supposed to defend their own men.

Recently, the state assemblymen for Seri Delima R.S.N Rayer said that all probe in relation to accusation of land scam has been dropped. Why so, with all DAP’s rhetoric’s of in pursue of justice and truth. Why Lim Kit Siang did not call for formation of Royal Commission of Enquiry to investigate the alleged land scam. What happened to their internal investigations headed by Deputy CM, Ramasamy, or Do Guan Eng has something to hide?

Selangor MB in the meantime also appointed a Internal Audit team to investigate all spending of all allocations to state assemblymen. Why he chose to do so is anyone’s guess since he claims those Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen are clean. What about Wee Choo Keong allegation, why has Khalid not formed a team to investigate Wee’s claims, Why the double standards?

Pakatan's Fellow ex-Perak MB Nizar also did the same when the then 2 PKR Assemblymen was arrested and charged for corruption. Nizar claimed that it was a trap set by MACC but immediately changed the tune when the 2 assemblymen chose to defect. What do you call this then.

Also when a BN man claimed that he was assaulted by MACC officers, wonder why didn’t Lim Kit Siang and gang kick up a fuss and call for Royal Commision of Inquiry? Why the double standards here.

Corruption is still corruption even though the amount is paltry RM 2,000 and there’s no reason why MACC should not investigate cases on Pakatan Rakyat’s assemblyman.

Pakatan Rakyat must realise that most of the allegation of corruption and impropriety came from Pakatan Rakyat members themselves and NGOs and not cooked up by BN, so there must be some truth in all these. If not, why worry if Pakatan Rakyat squeky clean members have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide? Time will tell.