After Guan Eng's apology

"...and to make things worse - he uttered statement (sic) like not wanting to bend down to UMNO crooks that set him up la and media being unfair to him la bla bla bla....
"Come on la - u r in a dirty game - calling for fairness while you are in politics is as good as shouting for mama to help you while you at the front line of war! Idiot!!!!"

The above was said to me by my other half who in 2008 took all the trouble of going back to our hometown in Johor to vote for DAP.

Honestly, I am tired of politicians.

At the moment, I just want to listen to my favorite band from such a long time ago. Care to join me?

Crime: Penang vs Johor

For you people who opined that Johor is a crime-ridden state and Penang is heaven on earth, let me give you some numbers so that you can compare the crime situation between the two states as of 2010.

Pulau Pinang :
Penduduk = 1,520,143 orang
Keluasan = 1,046 km sq.
Jumlah jenayah yang direkodkan = 12,161 kes
Kadar jenayah untuk setiap 100,000 penduduk  = 800.06 kes


Johor :
Penduduk = 3,233,434
Keluasan = 19,210 km sq.
Jumlah jenayah yang direkodkan = 20,684 kes
Kadar jenayah untuk setiap 100,000 penduduk = 639 kes


Johor 161.06 kes lebih rendah berbanding Pulau Pinang bagi setiap 100 ribu penduduk.

Statistik penduduk dan jenayah adalah berdasarkan kepada rekod tahun 2010, dipetik daripada sumber yang boleh dipercayai.

I am too lazy to translate from Bahasa Melayu to English, but the numbers should be quite easy to understand.  For those who do not understand the Malay language enough to understand all that, sorry, find someone else to translate for you.

A BIT MORE
Ok, I admit, I am hoping for Guan Eng to deny these statistics like he denied bad mouthing Johor.
To his media handlers who are monitoring this blog, please inform your boss that I am making fun of him and that this is a good opportunity for him to get back at me.
For your troubles, I play you this song. It's my mother-in-law's favorite. She always sing this song with her sisters whenever they go for karaoke session. Enjoy.

Guan Eng's fatal mistake

Nope, its not because he got bad advisers or can't resist opening his big mouth or can't contain his big kiasu ego.
Its because he picks up a fight with this guy
.

You don't know who is this guy?
Ok, read this NST Johor Streets article which was published early last year (taken without permission).

Johor has the coolest menteri besar

Syed Umar Ariff
2010/03/31 MB-man, MB-man, Does whatever a menteri besar can
Stretched a hand, saved a man,
Catches him just in time
Look Out!
Here comes the MB-man!

Is he strong?
Listen bro,
He knows aikido!
Take a look overhead
Hey, there!
There goes the MB-man!

Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman (centre) watching a lion dance performance at the Chingay festival in Jalan Wong Ah Fook.

That is a super hero tribute to Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman.

It is a song sampled after the classic Spiderman's theme song made popular decades ago.

I'm no apple-polisher but after seeing Ghani save Johor Education director Sufaat Tumin from falling off a stage after an oopsy-daisy turn gone wrong at a function a couple months back, I realised that the menteri besar may be the country's very own Steven Seagal.
Come to think of it, may be it is true. Take a closer look at Ghani and you will realise that he resembles the Hollywood action star, save for the ponytail.

He speaks softly as Seagal too.

The video of him saving Sufaat from an embarrassing moment made the rounds on Facebook for all to see.

Not a moment for Sufaat to be in the spotlight but it was something memorable for everyone.

It was a moment for Johoreans to realise that their menteri besar has been keeping his martial skills in check. He's that cool.

I was there during the incident. Ghani had just presented a trophy to Sufaat for the creative design of the latter's department website when suddenly Sufaat somehow made a wrong turn and tripped.

With his puffy side-parted hairstyle turning into a bouffant amidst the swirl and twist he made on stage as he was falling, the crowd gasped in astonishment as Ghani held Sufaat from falling with only just a grab to the arm.

Sufaat, obviously surprised and embarrassed by the incident, thanked Ghani.

However, Sufaat had yet to get his balance right.

As soon as Ghani let go of his arm, Sufaat immediately began to stumble again.

The menteri besar, who seem to be anticipating the worst, once again reached out to Sufaat and kept him upright.

Ghani gave a a look of assurance to Sufaat, who was again obviously surprised by the lightning-quick reflex of Ghani.

If Ghani were to be a real superhero, his name would have been MB-man or Light-Ni, for his renowned speed.

And as expected, the crowd went all "Oooohhhh!" and "Aaahhhhhh!" over the incident.

Seriously Johoreans, your menteri besar is perhaps the fittest of all menteris besar in the country.

If you really think about it, the rest -- save for the Negri Sembilan menteri besar -- are old or not really known for their prowess in sports or martial arts.

Another unexpected showcase of his physical prowess was during the state-level Chingay celebration in Jalan Wong Ah Fook.

As one of the celebration's highlights, the lion dancers, after hopping on the poles, threw several oranges on stage where Ghani and other dignitaries were seated.

The other VIPs were having trouble grabbing the oranges, but not Ghani; he was like a zen kung-fu grandmaster being tested of his skills by mere kung-fu apprentices.

It seemed that Ghani could anticipate where the oranges would be thrown, despite the oranges' random trajectory set by the lion dancers.

Not one of the oranges could escape his kung-fu iron grip!

And of course, the crowd of more than 20,000 went all "Oooohhhh!" and "Aaahhhhhh!" over his skills.

However the next day, the 63-year-old was taken to the Johor Specialist Hospital for an outpatient treatment after complaining of extreme fatigue during a game of golf.

It seems that Ghani may have strained himself during the Chingay festival the night before.

The rakyat were worried, judging from the telephone calls made to media as soon as the news broke out.

Of course, Ghani is after all human. But at least, from another point of view, he may have some superhuman skills.
ends

OK OK, I am kidding, this is the real picture of Ghani Othman.

This picture was taken when Ghani was informed that Guan Eng had swallowed his bait and left sprawling in the longkang....seriously.

Mole - Fair and lovely

Finally, a responsible news portal. The Mole is known to be not a fan of SC's Zarinah Anwar, yet this report by them seems fair to me. Check out the comment by Transparency International (Malaysia) president Datuk Paul Low that they included in the report.

Here is The Mole's report (taken without permission). 

KUALA LUMPUR - Whilst the investigation on the Sime Darby Bhd and Eastern & Oriental Bhd acquisition is still ongoing and being handled by the Securities Commission’s commissioners, many question the fact that the SC's chairman, Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar, is still running the show as usual.

Blogger ciceromalaysia highlighted this point recently in his blog, questioning why Zarinah has not taken a leave of absence while the probe is taking place.

The blogger’s contention is that, apart from the commissioners who are handling the investigation being Zarinah’s subordinates, the involvement of her husband, the chairman of E&O, Datuk Azizan Abdul Rahman, will likely be a part of the investigation as well. Hence, it is a conflict of interest for Zarinah to continue to be at the helm of the commission while the investigation is taking place.

It was also pointed out in the blog that the SC should instead investigate whether there was any kind of insider trading because it was understood that Azizan had bought shares way before the acquisition was announced.

The Mole sent an email to the Securities Commission to find out whether the blogger’s report is something that could be considered.

We were asked to refer to a general press release, dated September 12, on the investigation of Sime Darby and E&O. Click here for the press release.

Asked when the investigation would be completed, an SC spokesman said it is not known but the SC will make an announcement once it is done.

The Mole also contacted former KLSE president Datuk Salleh Majid, who questions why the investigation is not being done independently.

He said it is only fair for the investigation to be done by an independent body. He cited firms such as Ernst and Young as well as PricewaterhouseCoopers which may be able to investigate insider trading.

He also said the commissioners who are handling the investigation are Zarinah’s subordinates, therefore it is fair to get an independent body on this matter.

Meanwhile, Transparency International (Malaysia) president Datuk Paul Low said that there is no need for Zarinah to take a leave of absence while the investigation is taking place.

He said Zarinah has other things to do and as the chairman she still needs to be there.
“The Sime Darby and E&O case is not the only one that SC is dealing with right now,” he said.

“She had recused herself and I think that is sufficient, as long as she is not part of the investigating body then there shouldn’t be a problem.”

Asked whether there will be a conflict of interest if Zarinah is still around knowing that her husband is part of the investigation, Low said that as long as the SC can deal with this fairly, and as long as Zarinah is not involved in the decision-making, the investigation should continue normally.

Commenting on the need to have an independent body investigate instead of the SC, Low said it is the SC’s job as the regulator to look into matters like this and there should not be any independent body.

“It is SC’s job as the regulator, let the commissioners do their job,” said Low.

It was reported that the probe into Sime Darby Bhd's acquisition of a 30% stake in property developer Eastern & Oriental Bhd (E&O) will be revealed once it is completed.

Zarinah's husband Datuk Azizan Abdul Rahman is the chairman of E&O. Azizan accumulated some 450,000 shares in the company between April and August this year.

Guan Eng - Driven to tears

It's all rocky's fault. He was the one who suggested for Guan Eng's staff to monitor my blog. I know for a fact that they actually are doing exactly that. I was made to understand that the poor sods are checking this blog every one hour for the past two days for updates on their boss. Well guys, I have no plan to do so for now.  I am still sore with TV3 for spoiling all the fun. So, Guan Eng's people, please stop torturing yourself. No need to check on this blog too often. Well, if Guan Eng want to know what is the latest that I had posted on him, tell him I had dedicated this song for him. Be cool.

I hate TV3

Looks like TV3 had wrecked my party. Was waiting for Guan Eng to deny my posting on him running down Johor while in Singapore when those not so smart people at the TV station aired the story just now, complete with the audio evidence.

What the heck la TV3, your people can't do a proper report ka? Made the story so obscure la.
Put more prominently cannot ka? Cheyyyy....

Well, never mind. Lets see whether Guan Eng want to deny that audio recording and proceed  to sue TV3 as well as Bernama as he threatened. Or maybe sue me....he he he

This is another Crook

In addition to the official text that he delivered on August 12, 2011 during the Luncheon Talk with Foreign Correspondents Association Singapore, held at the Raffles City Convention Centre, apparently Lim Guan Eng also said the following:

"Iskandar is seen as a very strong competitor ... but if you look in terms of safety and using the Crime Index, Penang was Number 1 in terms of cutting crimes, so you don't have to worry about your safety when you come to Penang.  In Johor, if you are a Singaporean, you are likely to get kidnapped ... you ask any Singaporean they would know but you don't have that problem when you come to Penang.  I am sure investors want to deal with an honest government and not to deal with crooks.  Lynas the rare earth factory in Pahang ... they don't see this huge premium facility benefiting the people as they pose a serious threat to their health and of course safety."

Lets be fair

People may not be able to be fair to SC's Zarinah Anwar probably just because her husband is an alleged crook, but I hope they can at least be fair to her team who scored quite a success today.
Here is the story :

Two former directors sentenced to jail and fined for CBT

The Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today found two former directors of Multicode Electronics Industries (M) Berhad, guilty of committing criminal breach of trust under section 409 of the Penal Code involving over RM26 million of funds belonging to the company.

Gordon Toh Chun Toh was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment while Dato’ Abul Hassan bin Mohamed Rashid received a jail sentence of six years. Gordon Toh, a Singaporean, was also ordered to pay a fine of RM1 million, in default two years imprisonment.

In passing the sentence, Judge Dato’ Jagjit Singh said “A pre-meditated white collar scandal executed with precision within T+3 is how I would sum up the whole case”.  He emphasized that the sentence must send a strong message to offenders and would-be offenders that crime does not pay.  He also pointed out that the victim, Multicode, is a public listed company which lost millions as a result, causing its public shareholders to suffer as well.  He said that for the business and commercial sector to flourish, the corporate environment must be free of white collar crimes.

Gordon and Dato’ Abul Hassan were charged in the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur in March 2009 with having engaged in an act which operated as a fraud on Multicode by causing the uplifting of fixed deposits belonging to Multicode under section 87A of the Securities Industry Act 1983.  An alternative charge of CBT was preferred at the same time under section 409 of the Penal Code.  The Prosecution called a total of 31 witnesses over the period of the trial.

Joshua Kevin represented Toh while Ng Aik Guan for Abu Hassan.

In mitigation, Toh said he suffers from cancer while Abul Hassan said he has heart ailment.

Deputy Public Prosecuter from Securities Commission Shanti Geoffray called on the Court to pass a sentence suitable for the severity of offence and public's interest.

Now, this guy I am sure is a crook

I am not sure that Zarinah Anwar of SC is a crook because there is no evidence to convict her as a crook yet. To me, the fact that she is married to an alleged crook does not makes her a crook. We need evidence before we condemned someone. To make it simple, lets put it this way - an Umno man should not be deemed as a traitor among his peers just because he is in love with a DAP girl. Similarly, a policeman should not be judged as a criminal just because his wife is running an illegal gambling den without his knowledge. Now, those who thinks Zarinah is a crook, please do lodge a police or MACC report. Once the evidence are presented and accepted by the court, u all do go ahead and lynch her. Otherwise, I think you all are being unfair.

Now as of why I am so sure that Mat Sabu is a crook - the evidence is there for all to see. Just watch this video and I rest my case.

And in remembrance of those he denigrated

  .

Is she really a crook?

I have to admit that I know nuts about the financial market or the mechanism which control it. So when the Securities Commission or rather its chairman Zarinah Anwar came under relentless attack by bloggers and also the MSM over her husband's wheelings and dealings, I decided to do a bit of checking..It's now more than two weeks since the attack begins and it is yet to show any sign of abateing. Except for some obscure financial bloggers who defended her track record, Zarinah has been portrayed by all sides (pro-government and anti-government) as a really evil person in cohort with her husband in plundering the people's money.  Even Mat Sabu of the communist fame got more backers than her.

  Are all the accusations against Zarinah true? Admittedly, I am not sure.

I tried to find out more about Zarinah and found that she has always been very professional since way back then when she was with the AG's Chamber, and also while with Shell Malaysia, before being asked by the then PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to bolster SC. Her performance at SC has been good. It was however later on tainted by the ECM Libra-Avenue Capital saga and the alleged Kenmark mishandling of journalists issue. She survived those but made a lot more enemies adding to the long list she already accumulated from her iron lady approach in handling the regulatory body.
  As for now, I guess everyone have already made up their mind what they think of Zarinah, thus I was rather more inclined to find out more the human interest side of her story. Unfortunately, I can't find much as she is not the fame-seeker type like her sister Zainah Anwar of Sisters in Islam.

   This is her profile as given by the Malaysian Accounting Standard Board :

Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar is the Chairman of the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) since 1 April 2006.  She had served as the Deputy Chief Executive of the SC and member of the Commission since 1 December 2001.  Tan Sri Zarinah is also the Vice Chairman of the Emerging Markets Committee of IOSCO and represents the Committee on the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation Monitoring Board.  Tan Sri Zarinah currently chairs the Malaysian Venture Capital Development Council (MVCDC) and the Capital Market Development Fund (CMDF).  She is also the Vice Chairman of the Asian Institute of Finance Malaysia (AIF).
In addition, Tan Sri Zarinah is a member of the Labuan Offshore Financial Services Authority (LOFSA), the Financial Reporting Foundation (FRF), Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC), and the board of directors of the Institut Integriti Malaysia (IIM).
Prior to joining the SC, Tan Sri Zarinah was the Deputy Chairman of Shell Malaysia.  She graduated with an LLB (Hons) from the University of Malaya.


  The more interesting  nuggets I found out while searching about Zarinah was however the story about her family, in particular her father  Tan Sri Haji Anwar bin Abdul Malik, who was credited as the man who gave the United Malays National Organisation or UMNO its name – initially United Malays Organisation.
It was at a meeting in Batu Pahat when Anwar, considered to be one of  the seven Umno founders from Johor Baru met Datuk Onn Jaafar to call for a unification of all the Malay nationalist groups following the introduction of Malayan Union by the British.
Anwar was Datuk Onn’s private secretary when the later was Johor Menteri Besar.
Zarinah and her siblings also have familial ties with other prominent Umno families.
Zarinah's step-sister Marinah Anwar for instance has her daughter married to Mokhzani Mahathir.

 Family photo of Zarinah when she was a little girl. Guess who among the little girls is she?

Zarinah's dad being feted by Umno leaders. The photo was taken at the residence of  Johor MB Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman who seems to look quite funny here. The guy standing next to the wheelchair need no introduction I think.

Zarinah in action on one of her better PR days.

In the begining, there is this cat

Woke up this morning to a call from my little brother. The poor boy with troubled mind wanted me and my sister to help him pay his car maintenance service. Told him not to worry about it. Struggled to get up. Cold morning shower and had my usual tuna and milk breakfast. Got to office and remembered that a friend had been bugging me to set up a blog for the past two days. So, here I am. Actually I set up this blog just to shut him up. Am not really sure what to write on this blog. Maybe a little bit of politics, movies and whatever else interesting happening in my life. See lah how. I will work out my first real posting within the next few days. Cheers.