Silent Enemies Within Our Midst

It's common knowledge that many foreign workers who came to our country are disease carriers. But the front page New Sunday Times report (25/5/08) gives an astounding insight to the seriousness of the situation. Some 42,000 foreign workers who entered Malaysia in 2007 are hosts to diseases like HIV, TB, hepatitis B, etc. OMG, look at the following Health Ministry statistics:

> 16,697 had tuberculosis

> 10,953 had hepatitis B

> 2,2824 had syphilis

> 683 had HIV/AIDS

> 147 had psychiatric problems

In addition, 2,329 were pregnant. What's worrying is that they all were given a clean bill of health by the authorities in their home countries. Their conditions were detected through medical screening conducted within a month upon arriving in Malaysia. But apparently, some Fomema panel doctors are certifying foreign workers as fit without even examining them.

A classic case of greed and unethical practice that puts our country and the citizens at high risk.

When is a Suggestion a Directive?

If you were in Election Commission Chairman Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman's shoes, would you act against a cabinet's 'suggestion'? He is afterall a makan gaji servant of the government.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had refuted Rashid's claim that the cabinet had rejected the use of indelible ink on the day Parliament was dissolved. "It was not a directive. The cabinet only gave its views to the EC, and the EC was the one which made the final decision," Abdullah said. (See NST, 18/5/08)

Ah so, the cabinet had conveyed a suggestion (meaning a hint, or an idea or response so induced) to Rashid. So, what did the cabinet expect Rashid to do? Brush it aside?

That aside, what has happened to the 48,000 bottles of ink that the EC imported at a cost of RM2.4 million?

Is It Right for Judges to Lobby?

"By charging me in court, I will have the opportunity to explain many things that the judges did, including lobbying.

I hope the investigation will not end with no case. In that case, I will have no opportunity to explain what had happened.

I want to tell about the judges who had come to me to lobby. ..."

- Dr Mahathir Mohamad -

That says a lot about our judiciary, although I'm confident that there are many among them who walk the right path as expected of them being officers of the Court. The public, of course, will be looking forward to know who are the judges who'd lobbied to Dr M when he was our PM.

Meanwhile, arising from the findings and recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry on the VK Lingam video clips, there are calls for a review of the court cases heard by the two former Chief Justices who were named in the conspiracy to manipulate the appointment of judges. Aggrieved parties who feel there were biasness in the decisions handed down by the court can file for a judicial review to reopen old cases.

High Noon Starring Dr M and Pak Lah

Just days after ex-PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad held a private meeting with DPM Najib Tun Razak, Dr M, in his 'characteristically dramatic style' (as BBC describes it), showed his ace card by announcing his resignation from UMNO yesterday. The press sees this as Dr M's final push to force PM Abdullah Ahamad Badawi to step down as PM and UMNO president.

In his blog, Dr M said his wife, Dr Siti Hasmah, has also quit the party. The former PM also urged other UMNO members and elected representatives to quit en masse.

But what is Dr M's real game plan? Being the crafty and shrewd tactician that he is, Dr M will certainly have other ace cards up his sleeves to further tighten the screw on Pak Lah. He doesn't leave things to chances. No one gambles to lose, right? In any battle, the general must control the situation to steer the outcome to his ultimate victory. Failure is not a choice.

On the other hand, the plot looks rather straightforward. Things may not be as simple as it shown to be. Is it a sandiwara (stage show) aimed at re-taking the seats from the Pakatan Rakyat coalition?

Let's wait for Act 1 Scene 2.

For the press reports, read here, here, here and here.

How Dare You Investigate the PM?

Did our PM openly oppose the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on HM's decision to appoint Ahmad Said as Terengganu's mentri besar (chief minister) instead of former mentri besar Idris Jusoh?

The Pakatan Rakyat Youth wing certainly thinks so. On 15/5/08 they lodged a police report against the PM for allegedly undermining and questioning the King's power in his capacity as the Sultan of Terengganu.

The police report, lodged at KL's Dang Wangi district police headquarters, was based on a March 24 news report which quoted the PM as saying the Sultan's decision to pick his candidate for the MB post was 'unconstitutional and invalid'.

The PR Youth apparently wants the police to investigate Abdullah in the same degree as it is investigating DAP's Karpal Singh for sedition in allegedly questioning the Sultan of Perak's order to reinstate Perak's Religious Dept head, who was transferred out by the new Pakatan Rakyat coalition state government.

How will the police deal with this? Let's wait and see.

What's the Petronas Link in Putrajaya?

I was flipping through yesterday's newspapers when I caught sight of a headline in The Star (16/5/08) 'Govt pays Putrajaya Holdings RM1bil a year for office space'. It's a 10-paragraph report on the PM's written reply to a question on the construction cost of the federal adminsitration capital in Putrajaya.

The PM revealed that it cost RM11.8bil to develop the government offices and staff quarters, the Putrajaya International Convention Centre, the PM's official residence and those for the DPM, other ministers and judges, as well as public infrastructure.

The build-lease-transfer contract was awarded Putrajaya Holdings, using its own private financing for the project. In return, the government leases the buildings for a 25-year concession period at a fixed monthly rate of RM2.50 per square foot. The buildings will then be transferred to the government at the end of the concession period. The company received RM929.7mil in 2007.

Fine. So far so good. Wrong!

DAP's Liew Chin Tong later revealed that Petronas has a 64.4% stake in the so-called private sector company, Putrajaya Holdings Sdn Bhd.

Well, that's very creative of the government in using the private sector to undertake mega-projects.

2.37 = 339,186 - 16

"The death cases only involved a very small percentage of the 339,186 NS trainees."

That came from DPM Najib Tun Razak, when he gave a hand at the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday to defend the National Service programme.

There had been 16 deaths since the programme started in 2004 till 2007. Najib pointed out that of the 16 cases, 11 died in the camps and the other 5 during breaks. Further, of the 11 who died, seven were due to diseases and four died in accidents. Is he saying that the NS training was not the cause of their deaths?

Now, read deeper into Najib's statement. What is he trying to tell the parents? That the 16 deaths are okay? That it is no big deal? That the 16 innocent kids - all in their teens - were expendable?

A staggering RM2.37 billion had been spent on the NS programme during the 2004-2007 period. What's the cost per trainee?

The cost will surely shoot up, given that there are plans to outsource the medical screening of enlisted NS trainees to private doctors. Some doctors will soon be laughing their way to the bank.