The Dream Government

i blog bout a 'Dream Country' in Feb 2010 where Gov Cabinet should be non politician... it is now a practice in Italy. The new PM have appointed his line-ups of futurist, strategist, educators and biz mens...

my blog: http://sharat-s.blogspot.com/2010/02/dream-country-malaysia.html#comment-form
Italy's PM news: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/16/mario-monti-technocratic-cabinet-italy


read on:



Mario Monti appoints technocrats to steer Italy out of economic crisis
Mario Monti, the former European commissioner, has been sworn in as Italy's prime minister along with the ministers of his new, technocratic government, charged with steering the eurozone's most indebted nation out of danger.

The 17-strong cabinet will be able to bring to bear on Italy's daunting problems a formidable amount of intellectual fire-power. More than a third of the seats in the cabinet will be occupied by professors, including the prime minister himself. Monti, a distinguished liberal economist, kept the finance and economics portfolios. He handed the economic development and infrastructure portfolios to Corrado Passera, the chief executive of Italy's biggest retail bank, Intesa Sanpaolo.

Three of the cabinet ministers are women, and two were appointed to top jobs: Anna Maria Cancellieri as interior minister and Paola Severino as justice minister. Elsa Fornero will have heavy responsibilities as minister for welfare and employment.

Speaking after announcing his cabinet, Monti said: "We feel sure of what we have done and we have received many signals of encouragement from our European partners and the international world. All this will, I trust, translate into a calming of that part of the market difficulty which concerns our country."

The new government took office at a time when Italy was engulfed by the eurozone crisis, with its benchmark borrowing costs at an unsustainably high level of more than 7%. The swearing in of the new government made little difference to sovereign yields but it appeared to cheer the Milan bourse which closed almost 0.8% up on a day that saw Frankfurt and London lose ground.

Monti confirmed he would take on the prime ministership after two days of consultations. The uncertainties surrounding the formation of the new government were maintained to the end by a much longer than expected two-and-a-half hour meeting between the incoming prime minister and the president.

The names on the list of his ministers – most of which were unknown to members of the Italian general public – showed that Monti had failed in his attempt to involve party representatives. His cabinet was made up exclusively of non-aligned specialists.

"The absence of political personalities in the government will help rather than hinder a solid base of support for the government in parliament and in the political parties because it will remove one ground for disagreement," he said.

The economics professor turned eurocrat managed to stave off – at least temporarily – demands from the outgoing prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, and his party for the new government to have a limited programme and a fixed lifespan. The influence that Berlusconi's Freedom party will exercise over the new government was nevertheless made clear in the run-up to Wednesday's announcement.

Monti spent three hours at a meeting that finished after 2.30am, with Angelino Alfano, the secretary of Berlusconi's party, trying to reach agreement on the names of the new ministers. Berlusconi was ousted after losing his majority last week in the lower house of parliament, the chamber of deputies. But he and his former coalition allies in the Northern League can still command a majority in the senate. The prime minister will have to outline his government's programme and seek votes of confidence in both houses of parliament. The first is due to take place in the Senate on Thursday evening.

President Giorgio Napolitano asked Monti to form a government after Berlusconi's rightwing coalition lost a crucial vote in the lower house on the 2010 public accounts.

Meanwhile, Greece's new technocrat government won a confidence vote in parliament with a large majority , backing a pledge by prime minister Lucas Papademos to speed up long-term reforms and secure a massive new bailout deal involving banks and rescue creditors. In the country's 300-member parliament, 255 voted in favour of the new government formed last week by the majority socialists, rival conservatives and a small right-wing nationalist party. Only 38 voted against, while the remaining seven were absent.

Neanderthals Vs Evolution (part 2)

more to share... will get to my point later post...

enjoy reading... :)




Neanderthals: not stupid, just differentScientists challenge the theory that Homo sapiens was more intelligent

The established view of Neanderthals as backward, primitive, ape-like creatures is challenged today by new research showing they used stone tools as successfully as early humans.

A team from the University of Exeter, Southern Methodist University, Texas State University and the Think Tank Corporation spent three years producing stone tools to compare their use.

Their work suggests the tools Neanderthals used were just as efficient, if not more so, than those developed by Homo sapiens.

Homo sapiens and Neanderthals used flint stone tools known as "flakes'' made from fragments struck from a larger stone ''core''.

Homo sapiens later adopted ''blades'', which were flakes with parallel edges twice as long as they were wide and were thought to be more efficient.

The group tested the cutting ability and rate of manufacture of the two tools, and the findings, published in the Journal of Human Evolution today, show no statistical difference in the efficiency of the two technologies and, in some respects, the flakes used by the Neanderthals were more efficient.

Archaeologist Metin Eren from the University of Exeter said: "Our research disputes a major pillar holding up the long-held assumption that Homo sapiens were more advanced than Neanderthals.''

"It is time for archaeologists to start searching for other reasons why Neanderthals became extinct while our ancestors survived. Technologically speaking, there is no clear advantage of one tool over the other. When we think of Neanderthals we need to stop thinking in terms of 'stupid' or 'less advanced' and more in terms of 'different'."

Neanderthals vanished from Europe 28,000 years ago. By then, they had lived beside humans for about 10,000 years.

Research shows that, like modern humans, they had their own culture, used tools and hunted animals with weapons. It is possible they may even have spoken a rudimentary language.

The belief that Homo sapiens was more intellectually advanced than Neanderthals has persisted for decades.

The scientists believe early modern humans adopted new technology more for cultural or symbolic than practical reasons.

"Colonising a continent isn't easy. Colonising a continent during the Ice Age is even harder. So, for early Homo sapiens colonising Ice Age Europe, a new shared and flashy-looking technology might serve as one form of social glue by which larger social networks were bonded.

"Thus, during hard times and resource droughts, these larger social networks might act like a type of 'life insurance', ensuring exchange and trade among members on the same 'team.'

In recent years, many long-held views about why Neanderthals became extinct have been debunked, with research revealing they were as good at hunting as Homo sapiens and had no clear disadvantage in their ability to communicate.

Neanderthals Vs Evolution

Just to share some articles....

how much have we evolved?

read on (more articles will be shared) :)

How Neanderthals met a grisly fate: devoured by humansA fossil discovery bears marks of butchering similar to those made when cutting up a deer

One of science's most puzzling mysteries - the disappearance of the Neanderthals - may have been solved. Modern humans ate them, says a leading fossil expert.

The controversial suggestion follows publication of a study in the Journal of Anthropological Sciences about a Neanderthal jawbone apparently butchered by modern humans. Now the leader of the research team says he believes the flesh had been eaten by humans, while its teeth may have been used to make a necklace.

Fernando Rozzi, of Paris's Centre National de la Récherche Scientifique, said the jawbone had probably been cut into to remove flesh, including the tongue. Crucially, the butchery was similar to that used by humans to cut up deer carcass in the early Stone Age. "Neanderthals met a violent end at our hands and in some cases we ate them," Rozzi said.

The idea will provoke considerable opposition from scientists who believe Neanderthals disappeared for reasons that did not involve violence. Neanderthals were a sturdy species who evolved in Europe 300,000 years ago, made complex stone tools and survived several ice ages before they disappeared 30,000 years ago - just as modern human beings arrived in Europe from Africa.

Some researchers believe Neanderthals may have failed to compete effectively with Homo sapiens for resources, or were more susceptible to the impact of climate change. But others believe our interactions were violent and terminal for the Neanderthals. According to Rozzi, the discovery at Les Rois in south-west France provides compelling support for that argument.

Previous excavations revealed bones that were thought to be exclusively human. But Rozzi's team re-examined them and found one they concluded was Neanderthal. Importantly, it was covered in cut marks similar to those left behind when flesh is stripped from deer and other animals using stone tools.

Rozzi believes the jawbone provides crucial evidence that humans attacked Neanderthals, and sometimes killed them, bringing back their bodies to caves to eat or to use their skulls or teeth as trophies. "For years, people have tried to hide away from the evidence of cannibalism, but I think we have to accept it took place," he added.

But not every team member agrees. "One set of cut marks does not make a complete case for cannibalism," said Francesco d'Errico, of the Institute of Prehistory in Bordeaux. It was also possible that the jawbone had been found by humans and its teeth used to make a necklace, he said.

"This is a very important investigation," said Professor Chris Stringer, of the Natural History Museum, London. "We do need more evidence, but this could indicate modern humans and Neanderthals were living in the same area of Europe at the same time, that they were interacting, and that some of these interactions may have been hostile.

"This does not prove we systematically eradicated the Neanderthals or that we regularly ate their flesh. But it does add to the evidence that competition from modern humans probably contributed to Neanderthal extinction."

MRT Project

I have not been bloging for some time now coz i kinda fed up with the way things are... what gave me motivation to blog again is todays news in star biz.... one of them is that a foreign company been appointed to tell Malaysian Government n the appointed companies to do the bloody job if they can do the project in a more 'smarter n cheaper way or not'.

AGAIN... a foreigner to tell us if we are smart or not...any way more comments below....read thru the article i got extract from star online:

Wednesday March 9, 2011
McKinsey appointed consultant for MRT
BY RISEN JAYASEELAN and THEAN LEE CHENG
starbiz@thestar.com.my
It will carry out value management study of the project

PETALING JAYA: McKinsey & Co has been hired as consultants to carry out the value management study (VMS) on the mass rapid transit (MRT) project.

This was revealed by Azmi Abdul Aziz, the chief development officer of Public Land Transport Commission (SPAD) in his presentation at the Greater KL: Smart City of The Future Conference on Monday.

The VMS is an important element in SPAD's plan to ensure that the MRT is carried out in the most cost-efficient way.

“The (MRT) project on its own is not viable but this is not something new. It is proven in the experience of other countries,” Azmi said. “So we are putting in efforts to ensure that the construction cost is minimised. Part of that effort is the engagement of McKinsey for work on the VMS.”

“We will be looking at land development and property development to help bring down the cost. It will be a rail-plus-property project.


“We will have fare and non-fare income from things like advertising and will ensure the maintenance cost is kept at optimum levels,” he said.

In an earlier interview with StarBiz, SPAD chief executive Mohd Nur Ismal Kamal had explained: “One interesting mechanism being used for the MRT project is the VMS, where an independent party will scrutinise the project plans and ensure that the optimum value is derived.”

He also said the VMS will help decide the selection of the proposed alignment and station locations to “make cost most effective” but at the same time, also consider the factor of helping unlock the full potential of real estate values in locations where the stations are located.

“The VMS will also design a procurement policy which will ensure cost savings and prevent any extravagant spending,” Mohd Nur said.

Another aspect of the VMS is that it will help with the early identification of non-fare box revenue.

“Such revenue will include rental or sale of property surrounding stations which can significantly contribute to future expansion of the network and system maintenance and upgrades.

“This kind of practice is again not new. About one third of the revenue of Hong Kong's Mass Transit Rail system is not from ticket sales, while in Tokyo the non-fare revenue is as high as 80%,” Mohd Nur told StarBiz.

“With all these steps being taken by the Government, it is hoped that the MRT project will delivered to the rakyat on time for them to enjoy its full benefits at the lowest possible cost,” he said.

Let me share with you the history of Value Management(VM)in Malaysia...

Dr Mazlan is the guy tht introduce in Malaysia way back in 1990s.

I organised VM conferences n workshop together with him and Dr Mazlan continue the effort to save billions of ringgit for the Malaysia Government thru his consultancy and workshops...

He have saved rm 1.6 billion for the KLIA 2 project when he was appointed by the EPU and MAHB. He saved hundred of millions on other project in JKR, UNiversities, TNB and many more...

He infact introduce VM to the Gov via EPU and present it to the Prime Minister untill VM methodology has been made mandatory requirements by the EPU for projects etc costing rm50mil and above. In fact it has been announced by the PM as one of the supporting pillars during the 11th Majlis Perdana Perkhidmatan Awam Conference on March 2010.

He even ca,e out in papers n TV talk shows on this matter...

My point is this:

1. Why waste money and appoint a foreign company when we have a anak melayu whom have done a greattrac record for saving billions for the government.

2. does the foreign company appointed got any VM knowledge or work done in malaysia to be claimed be able to study and carry on the VM framework?

3. Dr Mazlan have ofcoz tried to offer its service by sending his profile etc after discussing with mgt of prasarana back in december but no news... why?

4. how the does the appointment done? any bid? rfp done?

5. is there arent any communications between the EPU and SPAD or Prasarana since its a National and most expensive project...if they do why cant epu or mof share their success via dr mazlan VM framework and saved rm1.6bil for the KLIA 2 project.... why??


i am taking few action steps for justice to prevail to fight for the truth and honesty in thias project n leave no room for leakages especially involved billions of Rakyat money!

Oh My God : Its 2011 Already!

Happy Belated New Year to all!!!!

my god my god...so fast.. its 2011 already...

my son is gonna be 4 years old this year... when ppl ask how old are u he will straight answer 4 yrs old even tho his birthday is in May...



i guess he is like me...cant wait to get old to 'blend-in'

i will try my best to do blog more often n to also update my son life's blog

c ya!

Politic-a-bit: DUN TENANG

May GOD/the Creator bless his soul and reace and peace to the dun tenang guy (Allahyarham Datuk Sulaiman Taha) tht have just passed away..my condolences to the family...

I dont know this guy nor i know much about Malaysian Politics BUT i know bout this when i heard in the news that the guy died just yesterday....

The News was showing his family was in tears at the cemetary and there were praying for him BUT the subtitle and the newscaster were talking bout how BN and PKR is ready for a by election or something and getting ready their strategy and statistics to get voters and they will not gonna wait to replace a new candidate asap..


I was disgusted by this!

call me naive but this is just not humane...

Imagine the feeling of the family hearing all this in the news...

Instead of hearing how the nation or BN, etc showing sympathy and a moment of silence or something... the party that the guy working for is already prepapring to replace him immediately bcoz of worry tht the DUn will be taken over by opposition!

pls show some compassion or atleast pls try ... try to act caring towards the feeling of the guy's family!

the guy just died and u talk bout wiining a potical rush!!!!

cummon ...where is the VALUE in people nowadays!

STOP all the mega billion dollar projects and bridge the gap and CARE for ALL Malaysians

Sinthamani Divine Life Ashram

To all beloved friends, Sinthamani Divine Life Ashram is seeking for your kindness to contribute some foods, clothes and grocery items. There are 31 children (all Indian Malaysian-8 without birth certificate) at the Ashram;youngest being just one month old and oldest 21 yrs (who is now helping there). There are also 4 single mothers and an old folk man age, +70 who had taken shelter there as their home.
Sponsoring a child in need can mean the difference between despair and hope. By providing critical basics like nutritious food, clean water, healthcare, education, and more, you can literally help save a child’s life — and benefit a whole community.

For further enquiry please contact;
MR. Praveendran @ 016-9046358
Sinthamani Divine Life Ashram Rumah Kebajikan(ROC No. 001529609-H)
NO. 112, Block J 50,Lorong 5/160,Kawasan A,
Rumah Panjang,Jinjang Utara,
52000 Kepong KL
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=39011814409&ref=ts

Building or Maintaining?

I was shocked to know that the government wants to build a 100 storey building in KL!
Malaysian government is famous for ‘building’ things.

We built:

Tallest Flag Pole at Dataran Merdeka
Tallest Telecom Tower aka KL Tower
Tallest ‘Twin Towers”
Longest Bridge
Mega Government Administration City – Putrajaya
Mega Malaysian Owned ‘Silicon Valley’ – Cyberjaya
International Standard Air Ports
F1 Circuits
International Standards Stadiums
International Standard Convention Centres

How does these developments generate our economy?
Do we need a 100 storey building?


We also once built:

Zoo Negara
Museum Negara
Primary Schools
Secondary Schools
Hundreds of Thousands of Shop Offices

What is the status of these developments and the maintainance!
Do we need a 100 storey building?


'We' were also once promised:

That there will be no more poverty in this country
We will care for the poor
We will care for the physically challenged community (OKU)
We will Provide the best medication and treatment
We will Provide the best education
There will be Transparency in Business Dealings with Government and Corporates
We will Care. Nurture and Provide Assistance to Entrepreneurs

What is the status of these promises!
Do we need a 100 storey building?

The conclusion is that Malaysia does not need another MEGA project

ie
100 storey building...
Greater KL projects...

Is the Govt ignorant about what to do first? Or do not know what need to CHANGE first then they are just in denial,selfish and corrupt as the obvious is obvious!

Malaysia 2010

There are approx. 26 million Malaysians celebrating Malaysia Day for the first time after 53 years of independence...

Congratulation to all Malaysians!

Like any other country that practices 'demo cracy’, a government runs the country and is lead by one trusted man to grow the country to its best future!

Imagine … one man to rule them all

A power that is mightier than a king!

But this man have one problem..

He is obliged to those who votes for him… and that is the Rakyat! (and not his friends in politics that favors him)

He and his team of course got one more BIG problem…

The ‘opposition’ ….

One element that would like to take over the helm of running the country.

Their quest have been getting stronger than ever as they always claim that they can and will do better than the current ‘existing’ government!

The big question is… can they?

Can they be a better government?

Should the Rakyat give them a chance?

Should the current leadership in the rulling party pause for a moment and do the most drastic thing by listening to the heart of the Rakyat and do whats best for the nation and not his peers?

Is what have done enough?

shall he gets new advisors? i think he does!

A big decision to make…

Will Malaysia be a developed nation by 2020

a dream that i think will continue be a dream if no good change is done NOW!

Intention to help others...

i was shock (well not really) to know that 66,000 puteri umno have not registered as a voter!

i wonder how many putera and umno members whom have not registered too!

How about the rest of the party's member under the BN payung...have not registered too?

i am not sparking or triggering anything here but i really want to ask them the main reason or intention or the malay called it NIAT for this people to register themselves in a political party.... either the rulling party or the other party!

if you are not a member of this political party i can understand why u are not a registered voters (various reasons) BUT i think there is NO excuse for this party members to not registered themselves as a voters...it just doesnt make sense!

Of coz i can give one oppinion for this 'mystery' is that their NIAT to register as a member in a political party is not a sincere intention and not 100% shared the same objective and mission of the respective party.

I am not a member of any political party.

Even though friends / families / etc have been advising and pursuading me to be a member but i refused!

You do not need to be a member in any organisation to contribute to your community or in other words helping people!

You wanna make money or networking...GO JOIN BIZ CLUBS OR CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE NOT POLITICAL PARTY...

But of coz some did told me that i am naive and not suit to be a bizmen..... hmmm... so much of standing in what u believe in.... some how i think more and more humans just lost their principles in life.


Again i would like to stress the point that u do not have to be a member in any political party to help people!

For more than 15 years i have done my bit of social responsibility in Malaysia. In the near future i will do my best to go beyond borders :) Insya Allah...

By the way check this out

http://www.helpothers.org

maybe the political parties in Malaysia can learn something from them!

Dream Country

After my discussion with some friends tonite on the future for Malaysia...I decided to make my older post current...


Malaysia needs a change in the way their federal government operates...

MPs who won in elections should continue to serve the people that they represents as they been given the 'people's trust'!

This will ensure that the people or the 'rakyat' will be heard and been taken care off.... indirectly will ensure a good and healthy community hence ensuring a good society and Malaysia will become a good country to live in .... A dream country that the government in sincerely CARE for its people!

On the job for running the 'government' to ensure a good economic growth for Malaysia.... professionals will be given the task to handle this and lead each ministries to achieve its targets...and NOT LEAD BY POLITICIANS... coz its easy to sacked a Minister CEO but its difficult to sacked a minister politician!

The Professionals will be industry experts and shall lead the relevant ministries!

A change is needed for the survival of Malaysia as a whole!

Will this ever be possible?

Religion Talks

I was suppose to go for a buka puasa function today (atleast i tot i was)

But instead i had a long conversation with my dutch friend about religion :)

He is a proud Christian

But of coz growing up in Holland does not much help him to 'embrace' the religion as much as he is now...

He get himself back into the 'light' some many years ago when he came back to Malaysia sometime in 1994... the irony of embracing Christianity in Malaysia to compare in any country huh...(just a figure of speech ya :))

Like most of the time when we meet...it will start with business meeting and then family and always end up with our famous 'religion talks' as i think he is trying to 'convert' me into Chritianity :)

Of coz i cant express my full tots in this blog as a friend of mine dah kena 'marked' for doing so so i will be as details asi could...

Like any other Religion talks....either @ starbucks, kopitiam or even at a religious debate talk shows/rally(ie. Ahmad Deedat's famous talks) the discussion would never end with both party have their own sellfish satisfaction on the subject matter!

Why is this?

One of the reason is because we are used to think like how we have been brought up!

Its a simple mindset ...

We would ONLY agree on facts that we are used to known in our life and will only acknowledged the facts that we believe on ... tougue twister eh :)

But that is just being a typical judgemental human beings

Humans like to judge and as much as they try not too they will judge more ...

and i am not just talking bout him and myself...humans generally...

But ofcoz to have a 'healthy' conversation on religion one must be extremely open on one's thought of the subject matter...

Back to me and the dutch guy religion talks:
:)

we suppose to have a quick one hour chat on biz etc and end up with the longest religion talks that we ever had...from a non drink conversation to having a coffee at starbucks to ending up with dinner and both of us were late to go back to our family to have dinner ith them!

Our wives keep on calling us 'waiting' and mine reminded me to pick up my son from his god family house.

i think this was the deepest conversation we ever had and definitely the longest!

but as i said earlier... religion talks never ends with satisfaction but we always feel good talking bout it coz we were both are very open on the topic... but i did leave him with a very deep thoughts on one of the posibilities on the origin and the reason of a religion and the effect on humans and what have happen in this world... that thought i cant share in here :)

at the end of the day...why bother what religion u are in.... stop pondering if u are and just start do something in this world that will benefit others and the people that need yr help either money or time or effort and careness.

start to care...why not.... search for the answer ... what's the purpose of life?

selamat berpuasa

happy puasa and happy raya 2 :)

GLCs and the 'decision makers'

i am disgusted to read about Malaysian GLCs loosing billions of Rakyat Money in bad ventures....

Who is really behind this low life plan of sellfishness!

Why the PM and the Rulers who have been trusted to lead the Rakyat are not doing anything bout it???

or are they doing something???

well.. if they are doing something bout it they are doing a bad bad job!

Year after year i read more and more facts on GLCs loosing money here and there..

no need to get facts on what i am saying is true or not... just read my bro Syed's blog pun dah cukup!

http://syedsoutsidethebox.blogspot.com

So now the question is

"WHEN WILL PM TAKE SOME DRASTIC ACTIONS LIKE SENDING AN AUDIT TEAM / MACC GOING TO GO IN KHAZANAH AND THE OTHER GLCs?"

IF the government sincerely want to implement governance then a team should be form to 'police' the 'crooks'!

so ... when ya?

mark my words the future is NOT good based on this history trends on GLC loosing money here and there... future for gov reserves would not be enough for a BIG ECONOMIC HIT that might come....

We all need to CARE what we are doing now for the sake of our future generations!

We do have our 'decision makers' CARE about the future...

The main problem is that the 'decision makers' are CARING ONLY on their own future and the sake of THIER own future generations only!

doom ...doom..doom!

Malaysia Gov Subsidies CUT PLAN

Been busy so just gonna be a quick brief one!

Why cut subsidy when u can cut operation cost!

It’s a simple common sense to cut something to gain something else…

So why must cut something that the Rakyat been living with so that to gain the ‘contractors’ and the vultures richness that set a high budget for operations?

Of coz some economist and biz thinkers so called have said this move will be good on long run blab la bla…

Wake up la!

I dont have to start about billions lost via GLCs and gov projects!

PAUSE Malaysia….PAUSE….re visit… analyze yr plans!
Re-THINK…..RE-Strategize!

WAKE UP!!!!

LIFE...

sometimes i wonder does humans know why they are here in this world?

do we really know???

i mean REALLY! do u know?

is it just to live and let die :)

live and what then what.... work? pay bills? get maried? have kids? fight? argue? get seperated? get divorce? pray? being religious? (what is religious) make money? and more money? being greedy? war? and more war!

the simple answer to Y we are here is ....

SIMPLY to help one and another...

the CREATOR have ceated us in such a perfect manner biologically and physically!

One thing that the CREATOR let us do is to use our brain to live a life in this world..

Unfortunately, humans do not use their brains when comes to caring for each other...

Some how they think tht they need a reason to justify a simple HELP or assistance in any way towards another human being...

Is there a limit if u wanna help some one?

should there be a limit?

Is it really about to justify your reasons to HELP!

well i believe that if u wanna HELP some one there should not be any limit to the level that u wanna help ...

the world is the best place to live...i mean its the only place that we got... unless maybe later in the future where star treck or star wars is a reality :)

unfortunately the humans is the one who spoil the whole thing that the CREATOR have provided to us... i mean witrh war... starvation... fighting over belief system and religion... what more can i say... humans and their need to be right all the time!

think...

Obama: will he loose his international support over Israel's issue?

The whole world was happy (well most of us) when Obama became the President of the United States of America... making him the CEO of the world leaders in making the 'power decisions'....

Of coz since he is in POWER... alot have been done to make america as the best place in the world... and his policies and bills have done good to most americans especially on the health benefits and all ...

Now he needs to continue his 'CHANGE' effort to make not just America as the best country to live in But the whole world should be safe and fair place to live in...

He now need to make an important decision of making a 'CHANGE' for the live of palestinians and making a turn of event of non-supportive of ISRAEL from now on...

I hope he, as the CEO of the world power will make the best decision and make the impossible ... possible!

I also pray that GOD will give him and other world power leaders to take a fair action against Israel and stop the sufferings of the palestinians once and for all!

The whole world is expecting for him to make a 'power decision' on the attack of Israel's raid of a Gaza-bound aid ship

Below is the article from the FT (financial times-middle east)

Israel rejects multinational inquiry
By Vita Bekker in Tel Aviv and Edward Luce in Washington
Published: June 6 2010 13:23 | Last updated: June 6 2010 17:46

Israel on Sunday flatly rejected a proposed international inquiry into its deadly commando raid of a Gaza-bound aid ship last week, in which nine activists were killed.

“Israel has the ability and the right to investigate itself, not to be investigated by any international board,” Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the US, told Fox News Sunday.

“I don’t think the United States would want an international inquiry into its military activities in Afghanistan, for example.”

Mr Oren’s remarks came a day after Ban Ki-moon, the secretary-general of the United Nations, proposed establishing a multi-national probe that would be headed by Geoffrey Palmer, the former prime minister of New Zealand and a maritime law expert, according to Israeli government officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The offer called for the committee to include representatives from Israel, the US and Turkey, under whose flag the ship in which most of the violence took place was sailing.

Mr Ban’s offer followed criticism of the Obama administration’s role last week in blunting the UN Security Council’s response to the commando raid. A senior official for the Obama administration told the Financial Times that there were no “serious disagreements” between Israel and the US in their private talks over the composition of the panel.

But the White House official added: “What we are seeking is an Israeli investigation that is credible and transparent and would include an international element.”

Meanwhile, the government of Turkey, which has been at loggerheads with the US over its allegedly one-sided role in the crisis, on Sunday strongly backed Mr Ban’s proposal. “This is not an issue between Turkey and Israel, it is a problem between Israel and international community,” Ahmed Davutoglu, Turkey’s foreign minister, told CNN on Sunday. “It is a problem between Israel and international law”.

Mr Davutoglu added that he was disappointed with America’s role in the last week. “Until now, of course, we were expecting a much more proactive approach [from Mr Obama] in responding to this crisis.”

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli’s prime minister, told cabinet ministers from his right-wing Likud party on Sunday that “nothing has been finalised or decided so far. We have to make these decisions calmly without the pressure of events,” according to a senior official who took part in the meeting.

In addition, Israel would not agree to a “Goldstone-like” inquiry of the raid, referring to the UN-mandated investigation headed by former South African judge Richard Goldstone into Israel’s three-week onslaught in the Gaza Strip that ended in January 2009. Israel had dismissed the resulting report, which had accused it and Hamas of war crimes, as biased and false.

sharat's birthday today!

My son, Sheikh Sharat Shah is 3 years old today :)

He had a great day at his school today with all his friends...

I ordered a BEN 10 cup cakes for all and they just loved it!












more photos coming soon!

POVERTY in the almighty MALAYSIA!

just to share an article i read in sin chew:

Although I have in my travels seen abject poverty in such diverse places as Addis Ababa, Dhaka, Dar es Salaam, Kolkata, Mumbai and Manila, I must confess to a feeling of utter revulsion and anger when confronted by stark deprivation in our supposedly well-governed and prosperous Malaysia.

The pockets of rural poverty in the Malay heartlands of Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and Terengganu are islands of prosperity compared to the scene that churned my stomach and assailed my sense of guilt and outrage when I first ventured into the Iban long houses on the majestic Rejang.

It is not enough that we have robbed them of their ancestral lands and impoverished them in the process, but we also felt constrained to strip them naked of any residual personal dignity that they might still have by introducing policies that have succeeded in reducing them to the fringes of mainstream economic life.

The Orang Asli tribes and the Orang Hulu, the Malays from the interior, have a great deal in common with their Dayak friends. For all we care, they are Malaysia’s forgotten people, but not quite. Whenever an election is underway, be it a by-election or a general election, they find themselves the centre of attention, in great demand by the rich and powerful, all claiming to love and care for them.

Before the day is out, they are the proud possessors of a handful of crisp 50 ringgit notes. Four or five hundred ringgit is a princely sum to them, a king’s ransom, no less, in exchange for their votes. If some of them have become cunning, manipulative supplicants and sacrificed their values for a fistful of ringgit, remember it is we who have corrupted them.

Years of exposure to extreme poverty and unbridled exploitation have rendered many of these once proud and noble people, nature’s gentlemen, inured and insensitive to their own traditional values and value systems. They are reduced to living from hand to mouth, on handouts, from day to day.

What a tragedy to befall a people whose only sin is to trust those sworn to protect their native rights. They are bewildered to find themselves dispossessed, as their land is taken away without as much as “by your leave” for commercial exploitation by the towkay friends of the powerful.

Talking to many of them, the Ibans, I mean, I believe the only way we can restore their pride and dignity is by providing opportunities for regular employment. We are dealing with an ancient people with a distinctive culture. Even those among them whose lives have taken on an urban aspect continue to cling strenuously to their traditional practices. We who are strong have a duty to help the weak by not foisting on the Ibans and others our culture of corruption and other despicable practices.

Some years ago, an Indonesian anti-corruption activist friend of mine visited our country during the 11th general elections, as part of a privately funded election observer mission. His group spent a great deal of time in Sarawak and Sabah and told me that he was shocked by the scale of vote buying.

I was greatly embarrassed by his revelation because at an anti-corruption conference in The Hague at which I was invited to speak and he was a participant some two months earlier, I had said that while vote buying was rampant in party elections, the practice was unknown in general and state elections.

I was unbelievably naïve to believe the Barisan Nasional government propaganda. The scale of vote-buying must have been so massive as to shock my Indonesian anti-corruption fighter, used as he was to living and working in a corruption-infested nation. It is not that easy to shock an Indonesian over a corruption issue. But unlike Malaysia, Indonesia is on the mend as far as fighting corruption is concerned. In Malaysia, on the contrary, it is in indecently robust health.

Malaysia is blessed with rich natural resources and poverty as we have seen in Sabah, Sarawak, Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and Terengganu can only be explained in terms of governance grounded on corruption and political excesses. When we look at the personal wealth accumulated by Chief Minister Taib of Sarawak at one extremity and the Ibans at the other, one begins to wonder what the future holds for Malaysia. I am not at all sanguine.

The thieving and plundering by those in power must stop because, as history tells us, it is only a matter of time before the forbearance of the long suffering poor takes on an ugly aspect, with consequences too dreadful to contemplate. The Government of Malaysia and the state governments of Sabah and Sarawak in particular can alleviate poverty by governing in the sole interest of the people. Najib’s people first is under close public scrutiny. (By TUNKU ABDUL AZIZ/MySinchew)

MySinchew 2010.05.15

I hope PM can read this article and start the the action now !!!

yes i know that GTP is the solution so to speak but frankly i am not that happy with it as there so many important issues and implementation strategies develop by the team is very much doubtfull!

one of the key factor that they missed out is the 'caringness' of the disabled or wht the gov or the media like to labeled 'OKU'.... In their main pillar of CHANGE or TRANFORMATION they missed this out! duuring the launching of the GTP at sunway hotel few months ago i did point this out to the CEO of the GTP and his officers... ofcoz he told me tahnk you this and that but i still dont see much change have been done... i think an independent audit committee need to look at the GTP implementation process if not it will be just another IDEA goes down the drain coz of bad IMPLEMENTATION!

Sibu: after the by-election

SIBU by election result was a slap to BN leaders...

Opposition received 2942 more votes compared to the 8 March general elections while the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) or (BN) received only 691 less votes. DAP was able to win as 70% Chinese voters gave their support to DAP, the party was able to gain its first victory in Sarawak.

Basically Sibu is just one of the district that is poorly develop in Sarawak... in fact there is so many district in Malaysia as a whole tht are desperately need of development and growth.

The Rakyat living in this locations have been waiting for ages for some creative and innovative ideas from the government to develop their homeground so that their livelyhood will become better and they too can be part of the malaysian business eco-system instead of trying their level best to survive in life in their petty daily jobs and business...

BN win in hulu selangor for me is by pure luck as the margin of their victory is very very small! BN's luck ran out in Sibu simply bcoz the Rakyat has spoken! they want a change as for ages they have been waiting for development as even their local issues like floods etc have not been resolved and lots of lifestocks, etc lost whenever big floods occur.

I still believe in BN but i really think that PM should let go a few no result and no sincere heart leaders and replace them with leaders who believe in honesty as a way of life and will develop their nation with the interest of the Rakyat and not his pockets and his ego!

The big question now is ... is it logical for PM to 'locate' these 'saints'?

is it logical for this appointed 'saints' to do their job without 'making money' for themselves so that they can 'buy' their way in and out situations, etc...???

The answer is simple...

Whenever you do things with good heart and good intention (NIAT) anything u do will be blessed by the CREATOR and any obstacle comes in your way...u will have the wisdon to handle it with open mind and with full of calm!

on other note; Sometimes i like to read and get facts from our local chinese newspapers to compare with our english/bm papers :)

below (italic) was taken from www.mysinchew.com

18 may 2010; Pakatan Rakyat (PR) was really annoyed recently. It suffered a defeat in the Hulu Selangor by-election while some of its members withdrew or switched parties, and a PKR Member of Parliament (MP) even revealed corruption in the Selangor-owned Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd (KSSB). Barisan Nasional (BN) had been ridiculing it but the victory in the Sibu by-election this time has greatly boosted its morale.

The victory in the Sibu by-election has an enormous political significance to PR. It shows that PR is still influential and it is not that easy for BN to retrieve the two-thirds majority.

Wong Ho Leng received 2942 more votes compared to the 8 March general elections while the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) received only 691 less votes. DAP was able to win because the turnout rate has increased by 3%. As 70% Chinese voters gave their support to DAP, the party was able to gain its first victory in Sarawak.

There are national and local factors for BN's defeat:

1.Chinese voters hope to consolidate the two-party system: As BN is proceeding forward, PR's parliamentary seats have been reduced to 77. The withdrawal of Wangsa Maju MP Wee Choo Keong from PKR before the polling started has caused BN a step closer to the two-thirds majority.

It is believed that some voters voted for PR as they wanted to maintain checks and balances. Interests of the minority will, after all, be better protected under a two-party system.

2.Local factors: Even though Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had visited Sibu for three times, the "1Malaysia" concept takes time to bring effects and thus, it is unable to offset the impact of local factors.

Sibu has been lack of development in recent years and the flooding problem has not yet been resolved. These are issues concerned by voters.

3.DAP's election strategy is effective: After learning a lesson from the Hulu Selangor by-election, DAP started its election mechanism earlier this time. Under the leadership of party adviser Lim Kit Siang, leaders of all levels were fully mobilised to fight for votes during the election campaign. And their efforts bore fruits.
DAP has become an election expert after experiencing a lot of election battles over all these years, particularly the battle in Tanjung, Penang. DAP's motto of "Sibu for change" has won the hearts of the voters.

In contrast, SUPP's campaign strategy has failed to keep up the pace of voters. Chinese voters have been immune to the Islamic state issue. It is useless to play up the Islamic state issue now.

DAP's victory in the by-election has improved its status in PR as when PR is gradually defeating, it has won the Sibu parliamentary seat and at the same time, it has become the largest component party of PR with 29 parliamentary seats.

The victory in Sibu has also strengthened the cooperation of PR's component parties in Sarawak. It can help them to resolve the conflicts earlier.

However, PR should not conclude based on only a by-election that the 8 March political tsunami has reached Sabah and Sarawak, giving it an opportunity to seize the Sarawak state power, as Sibu is a Chinese constituency but Iban and Melanau voters are still supporting BN.

If PR is unable to spread its message of change to inland areas, BN will still be able to hold tight the state power of Sarawak.

BN won the Hulu Selangor by-election but lost the Sibu by-election. It shows that the BN government still needs to step up the efforts to reform. Particularly, it needs to focus on the implementation of the New economic Model (NEM) and 10th Malaysia Plan to avoid too many of political disputes.

Politics is a long journey and we should not make a conclusion based on only a by-election. Both BN and PR still need to work harder. (By LIM SUE GOAN/ Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/ Sin Chew Daily)