A bouquet for Zarinah, my first muse

Today is the last day of Zarinah Anwar as chairman of Securities Commission.

This posting is my farewell to her.

Zarinah was my first muse in this blog.
Is she really a crook?
That was the second posting of this blog.
You can read the rest of stuff I wrote about her here - SC 

Well, my lady, here is a bouquet for you. 

Have a good rest. I hope to meet you in person one day.  Take care.

BTW, The Star did an extensive coverage on her departure  from SC for their today's publication.
This is the main story and the links to the other accompanying articles - 

Tough job for a tough lady

By JAGDEV SINGH SIDHU
jagdev@thestar.com.my

As Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar sat down to give her exit interview as the chairman of the Securities Commission (SC), she struck an all too familiar look that many in the capital market have gotten accustomed to.
With her trademark dark rimmed reading glasses drooping on the bridge of her nose, Zarinah, with her answers to a set of questions StarBizWeek had sent earlier, requested that the interview follow the set of prepared answers to questions.
She was not about to break from form after serving as chairman of the Securities Commission for six years as the chief regulator of the capital markets. She stuck to the end of her job and responsibility and was still going by the book. Saying what she wants, getting her point across, without leaving room for any misinterpretation.

Zarinah sends a message that the integrity of the market was not an option she would compromise.

What market participants have also gotten used to during her time is her unflinching commitment to market integrity. A virtue that was first demonstrated when she stepped into the shoes of her predecessor Tan Sri Md Nor Md Yusof.
Her first public “crisis” was to deal with talk of manipulation involving the trading of shares in Iris Corp Bhd and market chatter about unscrupulous officials in the SC.
Zarinah got tough with the manipulators, dousing the then fervour trade surrounding the stock and at the same time, sent a message that the integrity of the market was not an option she would compromise.
That integrity was also questioned in a different light when talk pointed to the existence of corrupt SC officials walking through the corridors of the commission, an accusation she took head on with much contempt. She implored for evidence, saying she would act to fix what was wrong.
Those two episodes tested the experienced regulator who had learned the mechanism of the SC after joining the commission from Shell in 2001 to serve as the deputy chief executive until her promotion in 2006.
It was not a job she thought she was going to stay long in but she engineered the motion of steadfastly straightening the SC and establishing a robust regulatory and governance framework that market participants have come to respect.
Zarinah says she stayed on as chairman for far longer than she intended to, going against the grain of her early thoughts about joining the SC.
“It is no secret that I had wanted retire earlier, so it really wasn't a difficult decision. It is something that I had planned for. I had wanted to retire two years ago, that's why I accepted one-year extensions for the last two renewals. It was a matter of getting the right successor in place.”

Nazir: ‘Certainly she has been extremely dedicated to her work and is wellrecognised globally.’

Zarinah presided over a period that saw not only significant growth in the capital markets both in equities and the corporate bond market but also led to improvements in the vigilance and governance oversight of those markets through the SC.
Larger audience
During her time, she has been credited with numerous initiatives that has improved the capital markets, which included the setting up of the audit oversight board, presiding over the Capital Market Development Fund, which has helped organisations such as Minority Shareholders Watchdog Group to be more effective, and brought the Malaysian capital markets into the larger audience by getting the SC to get involved in IOSCO (International Organisation of Securities Commissions), where she managed to get issues important to Malaysia and the region, on the agenda.
Those efforts were not lost on those who have worked with her.
“Zarinah has made significant contributions towards strengthening the standards of regulation and corporate governance in the capital market as well as building the institutional capacity of the SC,” says Datuk Ranjit Ajit Singh, the man who would replace her as SC chairman tomorrow.
“Her efforts have been well-recognised by industry and her peers in the regulatory circles globally. For those of us who have worked with her closely she epitomises the qualities of a dynamic and determined leader with a strong commitment to quality and hard work.”
Goh Ching Yin, SC's executive director, strategy and development noted that she oversaw the implementation of 96% of the recommendations contained in the Capital Market Masterplan 1, which followed with the launch of the second plan aimmed at bringing growth through governance, over the next decade.
“She is a tough act to follow; disciplined, passionate and full of pace.”
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd chief executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak feels Zarinah tenure as chairman of the SC has been important for the industry over the 10 years she has served in the SC.

Hagger: ‘She has done a good job under difficult circumstance of not only developing but also in regulating the capital market.’

“Certainly she has been extremely dedicated to her work and is well-recognised globally and that is a reflection of her and the institution.”
Apart from the brief maelstorm early on in 2006, Zarinah presided over a period of relative quiet for the capital markets. There was no implosion of the market or massive failings of large companies that unearthed any serious failings of board of directors unlike the post Asian financial crisis or the collapse of the dotCom bubble.
The capital markets held its breath during the global financial crisis, and despite the period of volatility in the capital markets, companies and intermediaries of the market escaped unscathed from the period.
That, people felt, could also be attributed to the foundation the SC had laid to improve the way and processes of oversight of listed companies.
“She has done a good job under difficult circumstance of not only developing but also in regulating the capital market,” says head of Malaysian equities at Credit Suisse Stephen Hagger.
“Both those aspects are distinct parts of the job and difficult to do in Malaysia when often there can be political interference.”
Hagger says that one clear example of the job Zarinah and the SC have done was to improve the standards and quality of corporate governance in Malaysia.
“We no longer hear about concerns over corporate governance in Malaysia from foreign investors. A large part of that credit goes to Zarinah.”
For the investment bankers that deal with the SC on a daily basis, they recognise the improvements that have been made under Zarinah.
“It's the consistency. For most of the deals we are involved in, decisions have been applied consistently,” says Maybank Investment Bank Bhd CEO Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.
“In terms of the integrity of the market, Zarinah has been good for it. The SC did act within its powers.”
One of Zarinah's improvements Zafrul appreciates is the turnaround time in which IPOs are approved. For that, Zafrul says the team at the SC that handles the big IPOs that land on their desks are very good at the job they do.
“They move very fast and are market-friendly. The training in Shell shows. Everything has a process. It's clear what we need to do and everything is thorough,” he says.
“She was not a difficult chairman to meet. She is firm but she listens and tries to engage with us.”
Datuk Yusli Mohamed Yusoff, who is now chairman of Mudajaya Bhd but dealt with Zarinah regularly when he was the CEO of Bursa Malaysia, remembers her as being a very strict regulator.
“She had a no-nonsense approach. The capital market participants and the listed issuers got a clear message that they must toe the line. There were no ifs and buts. She expected everyone to follow the rules without exceptions.
“The SC chairmanship is a position that comes under a lot of pressure from different directions. The role requires having to balance what's good for the market and what's good for the market participants. Her focus was on corporate governance, investor protection, shareholder activism, transparency and discipline. And these are very important if you want to have a market that's credible,” he says.
“Market integrity was of utmost importance to her. That came across very clearly.

Yusli: ‘Her focus was on corporate governance, investor protection, shareholder activism, transparency and discipline.’

“She is someone who works very, very hard, and is passionate about her work. And that was to the benefit of the Malaysian capital market,” he adds.
Her exit
Despite the accolades, some do feel there were certain aspects of her job which she could have done better.
Her uncompromising stance on speculative activity has led to a more orderly market and the entry of foreign brokers has seen an improvement in market volumes as they are better able to match the demand for large blocks of shares with that of not only from the local institutions but also that by foreign buyers.
But the downside of it is what people feel is a less “interesting” market.
Those sighing about the current blandness are not hankering for the return of the days of when Bursa Malaysia had the monicker of being cowboy market but feel that maybe the SC should relax its grip on speculative activity to get the excitement back into the broader market.
One analyst notes that in the pursuit of regulation and oversight, the stock exchange has gone from being one of the most fluid markets in the 1990s to one of the least today.
“There is not enough excitement from the retail market. I suppose it's regulated, you can say,” says an observer.
Another question mark over her time in the SC, unfortunately comes at the end, when allegations of insider trading were levelled against her husband when Sime Darby Bhd acquired 30% of Eastern & Oriental Bhd. Her husband, Datuk Azizan Abdul Rahman, is the chairman of E&O. Azizan had purchased 100,000 shares of E&O on Aug 12, 2011 while the purchase of E&O shares by Sime Darby was announced on Aug 28 of the same year.
“The provisions of the law, and all internal rules and governance requirements have been fully complied with,” says Zarinah about the incident.
“It's sad that there have been parties with vested interest and personal agenda who have sought to tarnish the SC and my reputation.”
There are those in the market who feel such aspersions on her at the tail-end of her career at the SC was not right.
The SC, they say, has a much better reputation and ability today and a lot of credit should go to Zarinah and her team in trying to enhance the SC and its functions.
“The slight cloud surrounding her time of exit is unfair. She stayed on because she was asked to,” says Nazir.
One banker said she had worked for far less remuneration than what she could have earned had she returned to Shell and taken her career upwards.
“People should not forget the sacrifice she has made for the decade of service at the SC. She played it straight and did her part.”
Related Stories:
The making of an institution
Ready for recommendations?
Changing of guard
SC's long list of achievements

Petronas PR in Pengerang must learn from Iskandar

Sometimes I don't understand why people need to be so arrogant just because they are working for some big organisations.

This is especially true among those who are from KL, placed in "small towns" like JB.

Several years back, a friend who is a journalist told me about his constant struggles with PR people of Iskandar Regional Development Authority (Irda) and Iskandar Investment Bhd (IIB).

He told me of how these PR people do not seem to really care to engage the local Press nor do they seem to care about the Iskandar Malaysia's main stakeholders - the local people.

My friend said these PR people rather deal with the "higher class" media people such as big time editors and top journalists in KL. They also hardly care to meet the local stakeholders among the orang-orang kampung. They always feel that if they want something done, they can always get their friends among the Press bosses in KL to squeeze their subordinates in JB to do it.

At that time, I thought my friend was exaggerating. Well. this friend of mine is a bit of a diva and has a knack of being over dramatic from time to time.

But later on, I found out that he was actually telling the truth (eerrr, with slight kuah tambah la, of course). The ding dong battle between the JB Press and these PR people went on for quite sometime until things started to improve after direct intervention from none other than Khazanah boss Azman Mokhtar and Johor MB themselves.

My friend had then stopped bitching about the Irda and IIB PR people for quite awhile.  In fact, he became good friends with some of them and started writing glowing reports about the two organisations. The Irda and IIB PR people also improved a lot by making lots of engagements not only with the local Press but more importantly with the local people through their CSR programme and development briefings.

The honeymoon  lasted for quite a while until around the end of 2010 when Irda and IIB overhauled their PR teams. My friend said things are now back to square one. The new PR boys and girls are mostly from KL and quite snotty, he said. They simply refuse to learn from their predecessors.

Looks like they have to learn it the hard way.

The new IIB Comms team recently made a major blunder by getting the Star's "top editor" BK Shiddhu to interview their boss instead of giving such a privilege to the newspaper's highly experienced JB-based business writer Zazali Musa. The outcome of the disastrous interview I heard could be quite severe for the IIB CEO.

You cannot offend the Arabs like that la. That's what happen if you get a 'top editor' who are out of touch with sensitive issues to write for you.

Well, I don't even want to bitch about the even worse new Irda Comms team, as I may end up not addressing the real issue I want to bring up, which is the attitude of the Petronas PR team handling the petroleum hub project in Pengerang.

I heard they are even worse than their peers in Irda and IIB.

Well, they better change their attitude, and they better do so NOW.

GET OFF YOUR KL HIGH HORSES AND ENGAGE THE LOCALS.

The Pengerang project will come under attack as the general election draws near. I had written about it here
Cooking Lynas-style nonsense for Pengerang 

These Petronas PR people better have a plan not only to counter but also pre-empt the coming attacks. Win over the locals. Get down and dirty. You all are no longer high up in the cloud at the glittering twin towers in KL, ok?

And don't send some lowly lackeys, who can talk endlessly but can't decide without management say so, to do the work down here. Decisions on what needs to be done must be made fast, so if your decision making process takes days if not weeks, die la for sure.

General election at a later date

Everyone keep saying that the general election is around the corner.

 Is it?

My last estimate was in June.

Now I'm begining to believe it will be much later.

Why?

I believe BN have finally found the right momentum for its build-up towards the election.

The coalition may want to let it rolls a bit more and only call for the election after everything were absolutely right for a BN's win.

In Johor, for instance, preparations for the election have been going relatively smoothly. Johor BN chairman Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman is keeping a time table for his visits to the peti undi areas with possible election in June as his deadline.

If the election is pushed towards the end of the year, the Johor BN machinery will have extra time to tie up all the loose end.

I think by now, BN chairman DS Najb Razak could see that it's ok to have the election a bit later as BN are really making good progress especially among the rakyat at the grassroot level.

Pakatan on the other hand are showing signs of fatigue.

* PKR's internal conflict is slowly but surely tearing the party apart. Given a bit more time they will probably implode.

* Pas has totally lose all signs of direction after abandoning its original Islamic state agenda. Now the not so hardcore party members are not even sure whether theirs is an Islamist or socialist party. No to implementing sharia, yes to a welfare state. Can change change one.

* DAP is the only Pakatan party with proper strength and direction at the moment. That is based on its not so hidden Chinese communualist agenda. But then again DAP seems to be making a lot of unforced errors of late. The latest being its ill fated joint-venture rally project with Dong Jong Zong, which backfires on them as it just revealed the party's true racialist credentials. As I had mentioned in my previous posting, some Chinese were not really comfortable by the racist demands of DAP and DJZ. They were also not so impressed by the DAP supporters, who behaved like hooligans at the rally.

 I believe, that the longer it takes for Najib to call for the general election, the more mistakes DAP will make over the coming months.

So, I think because Najib is one smart fella, he will call for the election much later this year.

My only problem with that is that I have to postpone my plan to go to Taiwan. Next year probably. Well, never mind, I'm not in a hurry.

Sickening government-salaried anti-BN people

I was in Malacca today due to some family matters. The place looks nice. I even got to see the little bit of what's left of the Portuguese fort A Farmosa for the first time. Took a picture there, but had to delete it later. I look fat la in that picture....hehehe

Really. Somehow I always bypassed Malacca on my travels that I do not get to know the State very well.

The last time I was in Malacca was when someone took me to Jonkers Walk about three years ago. It was just a little diversion from our drive south. We just walked around there before settling for a very nice dinner at a Peranakan restaurant. But I didn't get to see more of the place as we need to get back to JB that night. Anyway, it was a pleasantly memorable evening for me.

I am definitely not a fan of Ali Rustam, but I think he's doing well as far as tourism sector is concerned.

Well, when I return to JB this evening, I got a call from a friend inviting me for dinner. Told her that I'm on diet. Can't have dinner, but tea can la. Still I end up having tea....with Pelangi porridge. Can't resist la. Guess I will be breaching 45 kg soon :-(

My friend actually works for Irda. She, however, never reveals anything about the going ons at her workplace. Not even during the peak of my troubles with Irda several months ago.

But this time she did say something about her work place. I guess she can't keep it inside her any more. She was not complaining about Irda per se, but rather the attitude of some of her colleagues.

"I don't understand how can they be such hypocrites," she said.

She said these people earn up to RM25,000 per month for doing so little and yet they bitch endlessly about Barisan Nasional and the government.

My friend, who is an Umno supporter but not a party member insisted that she was not against people having the freedom of choosing which side of the political divide they want to be affiliated to, but in the case of her colleagues, she do not see any reason why they want to go against the government.

 "To just support Pakatan is still ok, but campaigning and bad mouthing against the government during office hours??? That's being too much la. And these people are very well paid and given high ranking position for doing almost nothing and with so little qualifications."

I advised my friend to cool off and explained to her that at least from what I know, Irda CE Ismail Ibrahim have of late improved things in that organisation. He will probably take care of this problem soon.

My sources in Irda had told me that it was less tense in their office now. Of course I do not expect Irda to completely change. But, as long as there is a will to change, that's should already be good enough for starters.

I told my friend to hang on till end of the year and see if those anti-government elements will get their contract renewed or otherwise. Probably Ismail is waiting for their contracts to expire as he do not want to rock the boat too hard. Hopefully it's like that lah....

I also told my friend that for those who are salaried by the government but insisted to go against it, mostly do so because they don't have enough things to do or rather prefer not to do their job properly. They have ample idle time and spending it on fanciful thoughts and meaningless chatters in the vain hope of sounding smarter than the next person.

Last time in the pantry:
"Eh, really you know, Rosmah must be jealous of Najib. That's why she get that girl blown up....bla bla bla."
After that one becoming too ridiculous :
"Tsk tsk tsk, this BN government really useless you know, price of petrol went up again, see, Anwar already said he will cut down the price.....bla bla bla."
And lately :
"Uh uh uh, see see, the government don't care about the environment. Die la people in Kuantan. Najib sure got shares in Lynas. If not, sure Rosmah got one....bla bla bla."

After these, sure got some more.

These people never pause and think how they get to be where they are.

I always of the opinion that these people simply talks just because it's fun to trash talk and sounds oh so important and knowledgeable.

Yes, it's true that there are corruption and abuse of power committed by irresponsible BN people, but are the Pakatan people any better? Well. most of the PKR people are Umno rejects anyway.

How sure are these people that people such as Mat Sabu are holy men? Or whether it's true that Guan Eng and gang really care for all Malaysians instead of just the Chinese and their votes?

Remember ya, DAP supports the extremists in Dong Jong Zong who want to chase out non-Chinese speaking teachers from Chinese schools. That one don't make DAP racists ka? Come, teachers who support Pakatan, please answer that one. Can or not?

These people, are they aware that Guan Eng and the gang (including the mild mannered Johor DAP chief Dr Boo Cheng Hau) called them Nazis who uphold an apartheid-like system in this country? Want to retrench them some more once they got power, because too many civil servants they said.

Still, want to support them? What is wrong with all these people?

People salaried by the BN government are mostly Malays. They get to where they are now because of the government's policies. Some grow up being fed by government scholarship because they are from some poor Malay families.

Went to boarding school, send overseas to further studies, get a cosy government job....and then spit on the very government which get them to where they are.....sheeeshhh....don't know lah.

p.s. Please note that as far as I know, Irda's police report against me is still on. So, you all please be careful when leaving your comments on this posting, ok? Thank you.

Reloaded : My choice - Johor MB

Ok, I'm giving this another try - who should be my favourite candidate to replace Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman as Johor MB?

My posting on this same topic yesterday had caused some discomfort among some good people, so that I decided to take it down. It was out of respect for those people that I did that for the first time. Apologised some more. Actually, I'm so fond of joking around that sometimes I forgot that some people have rather poor sense of humour. Bad people I don't mind offending too much, but these ones are good people and I rather not cause them too much distress.

To start with,, of course being a supporter of Ghani, I wish he could continue as MB, but I know the man now just want to retire and rest. So, let him be lah. Ghani has already done a lot for Johor. He is already 65, been an MB for 16 years (the longest serving Johor MB ever) and quite fed-up with some of those ingrates who keep on attacking him to get his post.

Now, with the general election being just around the corner, and Ghani's departure seems more certain than ever, candidates for the MB post are lobbying like nobody's business. It's actually quite intense, but fortunately it doesn't affect Johor BN's preparations for the coming general  election too much.

Ghani and his band of people continue as usual, criss crossing the State, checking and tweaking the Johor BN machinery to ensure everything run smoothly once the election date is announced. Looking at the way they work, no one would expect that Ghani is going to retire and his followers need to look for new jobs soon.

As it is typical of Johor Umno, they do fight against each others on certain matters, but the fight will largely be confined among themselves and once they need to unite, they will somehow able to do so, especially when facing external threats. Probably its good decipline and leadership which help them along.

Of course there are some exceptions, particularly in cases of absolute greed or plain selfish stupidity causing cracks within the rank. These however are exceptions rather than  norms.

As for the struggle for the Johor MB post, these are names listed in several previous postings in this blog (rearranged as according to their current chances of getting the job) -
1. Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed
2. Datuk Dr Latiff Ahmad
3. Datuk Razali Ibrahim
4. Datuk Seri Mohd Khaled Nordin
5. Aziz Kaprawi
6. Datuk Othman Yusof
7. Jais Sarday
8. Datuk Osman Sapian

Yup, really, Jazlan is now at number one. Khaled, who used to be at the top spot had slide to go all the way behind Razali. Those with super duper contacts at high places in KL should double check this in case you all think that I am bluffing.

However as we move along, let it be known that my choice is none of those eight guys in the list.

Mine is a very tough guy.

Nope, he is not Darth Vader. That picture is just for fun only....please aarrr....nobody get offended ya.

This candidate of mine is a tough guy because he works really hard for Umno and BN, not a glamour seeker, and had proven to be capable of administering the state's affairs. Most importantly though, this man is incorruptible. He is also arguably the only one capable at the moment of ensuring the continuation of current good works being done by the present State administration.

This choice of mine is really a long shot though and therefore his identity is not important to be revealed here.

I will just pray that PM DS Najib Razak would not overlooked this guy while considering a suitable candidate for the Johor MB post...that is, once he has to do so. 

Chinese schools and students in harm's way

Since I can't seem to be too humorous about Johor politics today without causing any offense to someone, I think I want to instead put up another posting on the Chinese schools issue.

Got a call earlier in the day from my friend who is a Chinese school graduate and we talked a bit about the issue.

"I think they are getting a bit too much," she said, in reference to the uncouth behavior of the crowd at the DAP-backed Dong Jong Zong's rally in Kajang yesterday.

It was heartwarming to know that my friend, who is also a DAP supporter could still think rationally and not be blinded by party loyalty.

The Chinese educationists, who aligned themselves with DAP in the hope of becoming heroes of their community may find that they are not fully supported in their actions by even DAP supporters such as my friend.

Putting the Chinese schools and their students on the firing line in the political battle between DAP and its Pakatan allies against BN could turned out to be quite disastrous for the DJZ. 

Also here, I would like to extend a salute to MCA's Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong for being very brave while facing the hooligans at the rally yesterday. He handled himself admirably considering the circumstances.

 Here is a report from the Star which indicated that not all Chinese are with DAP and their racial extremists gang -

YONG PENG: Over 100 people gathered here to show support for Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong over the treatment he received at a rally over the shortage of Mandarin teachers in Kajang on Sunday.
Dr Wee, who is Ayer Hitam MP, was verbally abused at the rally organised by at the United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong) to address the teacher shortage issue.
A few protesters allegedly threw water bottles and one tried to punch him. Dr Wee later that he was only “lightly hit on the face.”
A resident, Sam Hin Hoo, 70, said such incidents should not have occurred.

Residents and NGO representatives showing their support for Dr Wee at a gathering in Kampung Baru Yong Peng.

 

"Manners are very important and violence is definitely not our culture. We are not against the rally but it should be fair and peaceful.
"We know how much Dr Wee as an elected representative has done for Chinese education," he said at the gathering of non-governmental organisations and residents of four new villages in Jalan Meng Seng here on Monday.
They held placards condemning the violent acts against Dr Wee, with some saying "Ka Siong, we are with you."
Chinese temple representative Lee Tee Siong said resorting to violence would not help in resolving issues.
"We are also concern about the future of Chinese education but violence is not the way. It must be stopped at once, otherwise it will continue to happen, he said.
Ayer Hitam Gerakan division chairman M. Nathan, who led some 20 members, said the protesters should have respect for each other when expressing their views.
"Dr Wee is approachable and problems can be resolved in a proper way," he said.
Batu Pahat Kwangsi Association chairman Howard Lee said in a statement that one should not act for political gain because Malaysia is a multiracial country.

Retraction and apology

Somebody said I went over the line in my last posting.

Upon reflecting on it, I have to agree.

Therefore, in order to be fair, I had retracted that posting.

And, of course....

p.s - special apology to A Voice, who had commented on that posting.

Malaiyoo teachers and their Chinese students (UPDATED)

UPDATED

So, Dong Jong Zong are now claiming a conspiracy by the government.

They claimed at the rally today that the Education ministry have deliberately not trained enough Chinese school teachers.
Dong Zong president Yap Sin Tian said this is so that the government could send non-Chinese speaking teachers to those schools and change their Chinese identity.

This for me shows that the government is indeed inefficient. It has been more than half a century since BN has been in power, yet their conspiracy to  destroy the Chinese schools has not yet worked out.

That is why we need to change the government to the one helm by DAP. They will be more efficient. If they want to shut down the Chinese schools, they will just do it like their parent-party, the PAP of Singapore. Just bloody well shut them down. No need to have all sorts of conspiracy ma. Of course not now la, later ya when got power. Now need votes leh.


ORIGINAL POSTING

Today is the big day - the DAP-backed Dong Jong Zong's Save Chinese Education Rally is held in Kajang today.

One of their demands is to get rid of teachers who can't speak Mandarin from Chinese schools.

I'm not going to say much about it anymore. Enough lah...tired already

I'm just sad now.

After this, when my non-Chinese friends talked about the Chinese schools being the breeding ground of racists, I'm not going to say anything. To me they are still wrong, but if I want to argue with them, I know they will remind me of what happened today and it will be very difficult for me to counter them.

I will still personally support the existence of Chinese schools in this country, as I still believe they are part of the multi-racial reality of Malaysia. But I will no longer try to convince others to do the same.

It's a tragedy that DJZ had choosen to allign themselves with DAP and banking on the perceived anger of the Chinese community towards the BN government to get what they want with the general election just around the corner.

I don't think blackmailing the government will do the Chinese schools any good. There will be a price to be paid for DJZ's foolishness, and that will likely be paid by those who truly appreciate the Chinese education system...and not  those DAP politicians who only care about getting the Chinese votes.

I actually wanted to end this posting with a video clip of students and teachers (including Malay teachers) of Foon Yew 4 Primary School in JB which shows them having a good time playing gasing. However, this useless, just repaired, second hand netbook I'm using simply refused the function. Too lazy to go to the cybercafe to post this on this lovely Sunday.

If you want to watch it, google "Foon Yew gasing" or find it here at.suyi99

 The video was made by one of the students, sweet little Cheng Shu Yi. She set up a blog to thank me for using her video to convince readers of this blog that Chinese schools are not breeding ground of racists in my previous posting here A message from a Chinese school graduate. The video clip I attached in that posting had also went missing. Sorry.

Anyway, thanks a million back to Shu Yi.

Probably all those racial extremists cannot tahan watching the Chinese kids and their Malaiyoo teachers getting along fine together. In that video, I think the kids are really fond of that particular teacher wearing the yellow tudung.

This picture of these Chinese students and their Malay teachers  is from http://zsmissthemoment.blogspot.com.

Checking on Kamilia

The relatively quiet deputy to Wanita Umno chief Shahrizat Jalil, Kamilia Ibrahim is suddenly in the news.

And what a way it was for her to do so, calling on Shahrizat to resign over the cow living in the condo issue, not only as a minister but also as her boss.

It is not everyday these sorts of things happened.

For the record Shahrizat is not even resigning from her ministerial post but it was rather that her senatorial time period is expiring and not renewed.

Of course Kamilia was immediately machine gunned by Shahrizat's people. That's expected lah.

Such was the havoc caused by Kamilia's boldness that Umno president DS Najib Razak had to tell everyone yesterday to calm down and maintain the status quo.

I agree with Najib, Umno need to remain united and avoid all such nonsense at least until after the general election. They need to remain focused.

However, I do not think Kamilia's stand on Shahrizat was wrong either.

By right, Shahrizat should not wait until someone tells her to go. Her position has become indefensible as the NFC issue has become so messy.

I am not saying she is guilty of anything yet but she has indeed become a liability to Umno due to the perception that her position in Umno and the government was behind the awarding of the money to her husband and family to run the cow farm.

In politics, perception is everything. Shahrizat should know this and if she love the party more than herself (as they all always claim) she should not be dragging it along through the mud with her. She should just resign....for agama, bangsa and tanahair. After all,  the party is facing the most challenging general election in its history and it could do without being saddled with such baggage as the NFC mess.

Well, at least that's how I see it. Probably Kamilia shares the same idea as mine.

Najib is of course much smarter than me and Kamilia. He knows what is best for Umno, and I agree that since Shahrizat refused to do the honorable thing, then everyone should stick together and weather the coming storm. Everyone can always settled the issue after the general election. Well, guess Umno simply has to absorb the blows and make the best out of things.

Back to Kamilia, honestly, I don't know who exactly is she. But I think she is quite a tough nut to be so bold that she dare to tell off Shahrizat like that.

So I googled her and found her website at http://www.kamiliaibrahim.com. She may not be a "stunning beauty" like Shahrizat, but I'm quite impressed by her credentials.

Well, at least I know that she is not just some useless air head diva simply going after her boss' position lah. After all, despite being rather quiet, she managed to win her Wanita Umno number 2 post what. Must be quite something isn't she? Oh, I also like her name...sounds tough but sweet leh.

These are bits about her which I took from that website  -

- Datuk Kamilia Ibrahim is the Wanita Umno deputy chief.
- She is the Kuala Kangsar Wanita Umno division chief
- She runs a law firm, Kamilia Ibrahim & Co which was established in 1984. Previously Kamilia was a law lecturer at the Property Management Faculty of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. She completed her Masters in Property Law and Law of Restitution and Comparitive Constitutional Law.
- She also runs a Certified Company Secretarial & Management Firm.
-  She holds the post of non-Independent  Non-Executive Director of KUB Malaysia
- She is the secretary-general of PEMADAM (Anti-drug Abuse Association Malaysia.)

There are a few other things which Kamilia does. You can find out more about her at the website.

My bet is, things will get very interesting for Wanita Umno after the general election.

The Chinese slap and talk gambit

I have to admit that I'm at the moment feeling a sense of dread whenever I think of what's going to happened this Sunday.

The DAP-backed  Dong Jong Zong's Save Chinese Education rally looks ever more likely going to proceed.

This was an excerpt of an article by The Sun -

DONG Zong (United Chinese School Committees Association) president Dr Yap Sin Tian says the rally planned for March 25 in Kajang is just an additional means to voice its concern over the shortage of teachers in Chinese primary schools.

He said the question of it shutting its door on having dialogues with the government to highlight Chinese schools' grievances does not arise, Chinese dailies reported today.

Yap said this in response to the fear expressed by Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia president Tan Sri William Cheng that the so-called "325 Rally to Save Chinese Education" might block the channel of communication between the Chinese education group and the government, at a press briefing on the gathering.


The article by the Chinese-own The Sun however did not mention anything about the DAP factor behind the rally and made it as if it's going to be purely motivated by Chinese education issue.

How the newspaper failed to see the real danger posed by the possible outcome of the scheduled rally was beyond me. OK, DJZ said they will also invite non-Chinese to speak at the rally, let's wait and see what type of non-Chinese these individuals are, and how many of them will be there.

I had expressed my fear of the whole thing being turned into a racially dividing wedge between us Malaysians in these postings -
A plea to young Chinese school graduates
Racial extremists endangering Chinese schools
DAP's Chinese back-up plan
Race relations' scary future

So, DJZ said they are still going to negotiate with the Education Ministry after the rally.

Isn't t that like slapping someone in the face and then to sit down and talk nicely with the person? Isn't that like the Israeli bombing the Palestinians (or the other way around) to bits and then calling for them to negotiate peace?

What makes the DJZ think that they can strong armed the ministry to concede to their demands? Can't they see that the government would only harden it's own stance as it will be under pressured by the other side of the divide not to look like sissies being bullied by some Chinese gangsters?

Being a supporter of the Chinese education system, I'm at a loss as to why DJZ decided to go down this path where a right thinking person will know it would not end nicely for the Chinese schools. The schools will be seen more than ever as the breeding ground of Chinese chauvinism after the rally this weekend.

What could we expect from the majority of non-Chinese when they see thousands of Chinese shouting and demanding on the streets for only Chinese speaking teachers be allowed to teach in the Chinese schools? What would they think of the Chinese school graduates after that?

The answer by the racial extremists within the Chinese community would probably be that the Chinese don't give a crap what others think of them as long as they get what they want. The Chinese are after all, the political king makers of this country at the moment. The rally is to show everyone else that if they can't get what they want, then there is a price to be paid for it.

With that kind of attitude, what will happen to this multi-racial country?

As far as I am concerned, DAP will be the sole beneficiary of the rally. It will win big among the Chinese voters for being perceived as the defender of the Chinese interests. That is all that matters to them.

My final question to the DJZ crowd - Throughout the history of the Chinese education system in this country, what had DAP contributed to the Chinese schools that now with the general election around the corner, they are to suddenly become the champions of those schools?

The most addictive thing

Two prominent bloggers had started the ball rolling for a motion, calling for political figures not to extend their "expiry dates", as Malaysians are getting fed-up with the same old faces "offering themselves" as wakil rakyat whenever it's time for the general election.

Apanama wrote here Rafidah, a fine example. Who next?  and Rocky of Rocky's Bru wrote here Rafidah, Salut!

I honestly agree with the two senior bloggers on the need for new faces to be introduced into our political scene. Tiring la all these same old faces. Most are not cool people at all. Not only BN, Pakatan also like that....Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh, Nik Aziz...etc etc. Both sides same only.

But, the problem is, I do not think a trend whereby politicians are to let go off their position voluntarily will ever catch on in this country.

Remember this handsome old man?

After serving the country for so long and saving it from I don't know how many predators such as during the late 1990s' financial crisis, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad decided it was time for a younger man to take care of the country. So, without being pressured by anyone, he retires. Probably believing that Malaysians wanted a goodie goodie PM, he got them such a person - Pak Lah. Dr Mahathir may had thought that, well, since so many people called him a dictator and other nasty names, he may as well give them a nice old gentleman as a replacement. As we all should know by now, that decision turned out to be a horrible disaster for the country. On the personal level, Dr Mahathir was thanked by Pak Lah and his minions with a kick in the head and a spit in the face....talk about ingrates, nothing beats what Dr Mahathir had endured at that time in the hand of the person he made a PM.

So, if a great leader such as Dr Mahathir had to go through such humiliation after handing over power, what do all those crooked selfish souls out there could expect once they got no power anymore?

That's why we got disgusting piece of crap characters like Kadir Sheikh Fadzir and Chua Jui Meng, who for throughout their life benefited from being in Umno and MCA, only to turn against their party once they could no longer get anything much from those parties. There are so many other pariah dogs like them up there in position of power.

That's also why this selfless stepping down sacrifice thingy that the senior bloggers are trying to promote will never really catches on. Either it be BN or Pakatan leaders, most are in it for self interests rather than anything else...at least that's how I see it.

Ok, there are a few genuine cases such as Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman who seems certain to stick to his decision to let go off the Johor MB post after the coming general election. The only one who may persuade him otherwise is probably PM DS Najib Razak. Even that, I think will be a long shot. Well, despite making his intention clear about retiring, Ghani still have to put up with the smear campaign by his Umno rivals which to me was very sickening. I guess the culture of kicking and humiliating leaders who are out of power or about to lose power is very strong in our society.

As for the rest, I don't think any one of them will be willing to let go just for the sake of sacrificing for the future of their party. Well, Rafidah Aziz only made the decision not to contest in the general election after she is no longer a Wanita Umno chief. What do you think would have been her decision if she is still the most powerful lady in the party? I admire Rafidah for being a good leader and minister, but I don't think she will let go of her post if she is still in power. Rafidah is indeed good, but she is definitely not Dr Mahathir.

As for the even lesser beings, what can we expect of them when it comes to these sorts of things? Not much, I think.

Power, is after all, the most addictive thing, second only to sex....probably.

Puss in Boots' potential Johor MB

Had a very nice lunch with some very handsome gentlemen today.

One of them, who looks quite like Puss in Boots told me he got a new list of potential Johor MB candidates.

He said since I seem to be into this new Johor MB guessing business, I probably have some ideas of who among those in the list would probably get the job.

First of all, three out of the five candidates in the list were from the old list I had already posted - Nur Jazlan, Dr Latiff and Razali Ibrahim.

The other two are....well, new -
1. Md Jais Sarday, State Youth and Sports Exco, Kluang Umno chief and Mahkota Assemblyman.
    My verdict - Performance as an exco was not very outstanding. Does not have the required stature to hold Johor Umno together. Kluang is a grey area for BN. Jais need to do more in his area before having any hope of becoming an MB

2. Datuk Md Othman Yusof, Tanjung Piai Umno chief and Kukup Assemblyman
    My verdict - Tanjung Piai is a grey area. Othman need to improve the chances of BN winning comfortably in his own area before harbouring any hope of becoming an MB. My last check in Tanjung Piai indicated that the BN machinery there was still kalam kabut. Othman however was said to have strong backers in KL and a lot of "resources".

Ok, going through the list again, I noticed something glaring. Front runner Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Khaled Nordin was missing. That's weird. My conclusion was therefore - the new list must have originated from KL and not JB. Why? If the list comes from JB, there is no way Khaled's name would be missing.

Hmmm....nice entertainment these MB wannabes, aren't they?

Race relations' scary future

In my last two postings about Chinese schools, I had suggested an initiative on how to solve the shortage of Mandarin speaking teachers here -  A plea to young Chinese school graduates

and expressed my worries about the future of the schools here - Racial extremists endangering Chinese schools.

Probably it seems weird to many that a non-Chinese, like me should be so concerned about the Chinese schools. Especially that I'm not a former student of such schools and can't speak a proper word in Mandarin.

I had written about my support for Chinese schools in my previous postings. You can find them here - Chinese schools.

The reason for my support for the Chinese schools is simple - some of my best friends are former students of those schools. None of them are more racists than my other friends from sekolah kebangsaan. All are decent people. For me, the country's Chinese education system is a unique aspect of this country's overall education system. It's part of this country's heritage and should be preserved. As for unity, it should be nurtured, instead of forced (such as by closing those schools).
  

Ok, back to my last two postings on the Chinese schools, they seems to have attracted the attention of  書 政 shuzheng , a Chinese blogger, who writes mostly in English.

You can read his/her latest posting on the Chinese school issue here Pig Pure Shiite, Amok in the Sty.

These are two paragraphs from that article which made direct reference to me -

"There is of course this ‘brilliant' solution – temporary hire – that MOE officers throw up each time teachers are needed quickly. But, without an existing pool of hanyu teachers, there would be no takers naturally whether the positions they offer are temporary or permanent. BigCat’s bellyaching about there being no no-takers showed not only her gullibility and ignorance into the situation. But it especially revealed her Malaiyoo stupidity (such as believing in Anwar Ibrahim in her halcyon days)."

" One call (BigCat) made out to Chinese school graduates to join the teacher-force was typical of Malaiyoo mentality – appealing to race loyalty. Worse for it, teacher availability is treated like Campbell bean production from a factory. Press the button, machine comes alive, more beans.

These bloggers… so naive. Where did they go to school?"

I'm actually bringing up shuzeng's response here to highlight the hardening stance of  ultra-Chinese such as the blogger towards the BN government. Well, the way shuzeng writes, I don't think he/she minds too much if I describe him/her as an ultra-Chinese.

As was mentioned in that article, the problem with the shortage of teachers at Chinese schools started years ago. Why then the scheduled Save Chinese Education rally is to be held only now? With the support of DAP? With the general election around the corner?

Is the rally really about saving Chinese education or is it about flaunting Chinese political muscle?

Will the rally help solve the shortage of Mandarin speaking teachers at Chinese schools?

Based on the language used, I don't think my support for the Chinese schools and suggestion on how to solve their problem are appreciated at all by Chinese individuals such as shuzeng.

But really, if graduates of Chinese schools themselves are not interested to return and teach at their own schools, what do you expect from the incompetent Malaiyoo teachers? Want them to master Mandarin some more....sheeesshh....and then blame Umno, blame MCA, blame the government....will all the blaming around increase the number of Mandarin speaking teachers in those schools?

Well, I'm fine if the likes of shuzeng think that my suggestion was typical of Malaiyoo stupidity. Just that it's too bad if the rest of the Chinese community share the same attitude as the end result I'm quite sure will be the vanishing  middle ground of race relations in this country.

Girls in love, beware

I'm taking a break from writing politics tonight.

Honestly, sometimes I'm not sure why I should concerned myself too much over the whole nonsense. As if it makes me richer or more cute...sheeshh...

Ok, maybe it's just fatigue....you know la, there is only so much one can write about stupid Umno crooks, DAP closet racist pigs, hamsap PKR men with crooked penis, Pas taliban conmen etc etc.

Well, never mind....

Tonight I want to change the subject....tonight I want to write about LOVE. Nice for a change isn't it?

What is love actually?

To me it's the best thing in life which I wish I don't want.

Why? Because it makes me feels so good to the point of doing the most stupid things in my life.

Really, I'm the type who makes a fool of myself because of love. I wish I'm not, but I just can't help myself. That's just the way it is....my weakness.

I'm a bit like all those foolish women who wrecked themselves because of the men they love....in politics there are Wan Azizah, Shahrizat, Eli Wong....in corporate sector there are Zarinah and Arlida...just some recent examples.

See, that's why I'm sympathetic with them to a certain extent. Because, if I'm in their position, I'll probably be doing what they had done....for love. I know it's wrong, but really, love have that sorts of effect on people. I'm included.

Real shit isn't it?

Over the years, I have my shares of such nonsense. Enduring the roller coaster of elation and despair of being loved today and treated like garbage the next day or next year. Being in love with someone abusive...the whole bloody package.

The cruelty of it all made me weary of life.

Still, I don't regret what I went through. That's the way it is and I accept it. There is always a price to pay for everything...and true love is not cheap.

Ok, the following advice is just for the girls. Guys can buzz off.

Five things not to do when in love -

1. Don't love him too much...men are bastards, remember? They'll break your heart if you love them too much.
2. Don't ever give him your money...men who take money from women are useless, period.
3. Don't believe him if he says he doesn't really care about sex...all men wants sex. Don't be an idiot, ok?
4. Don't take his promises too seriously....men are lousy at keeping their promises.
5. DON'T EVER BELIEVE HIM IF HE SAYS HE WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER...BECAUSE ONE DAY, HE IS BOUND TO SAY - SORRY, PEOPLE CHANGE...YOU DON'T INSPIRE ME ANYMORE...I CAN'T CONTINUE TO LOVE YOU.

Well, girls...heed this advice, ok? Otherwise you will end up like all those unfortunate women I mentioned above...or like me..

Take care n cheers.

DAP's Chinese back-up plan

DAP's latest moves which seems to be veering towards the Chinese community's far right could very well be early signs that Pakatan will soon no longer be as we know them.

The three latest major moves by DAP were -
1. their insistence that they are more Chinese than MCA during the debate between Guan Eng and Soi Lek. It was Guan Eng who insisted for the debate to be in Mandarin,
2. spearheading the anti-Lynas demonstration which was the first ever of its kind in recent memory dominated by Chinese protesters and backed by Chinese-own media,
3. declaring open support to the upcoming Dong Jiao Zong's Save Chinese Education rally which bring back the memory of the infamous Operasi Lalang of the mid-1980s.

Perhaps DAP, which I always believe to be smarter than their Pas and PKR friends have seen the writing on the wall - that they are not likely going to take over Putrajaya in the coming general election.

The non-Chinese voters are coming back to BN. That's a fact which they cannot deny. My simple calculation is that, at the moment, BN is almost certain to win a simple majority in Parliament. A huge final push and no more major screw-ups will make it not impossible anymore for the coalition to get back their two third majority.

So, the next best thing DAP could do with such an outcome in sight was to get as many seats as they can by capitalising to the max their current popularity among the Chinese.

Thus their clamouring of late on how Chinese they are, including of course how they love the Chinese education system, which was actually eradicated by their parent-party PAP of Singapore from that island republic.

It's quite obvious that DAP's Malay friends in Pas and PKR are losing ground. Kelantan, for instance may still be under Pas rule after the next general election, but the hard work by Mustapha Mohamad and friends may likely reward Umno with a lot of parliamentary and State seats from there this time around.

In Johor, where I am more fimiliar with, I can say for certain that the Malay elements of Pakatan will be wiped out. Johor DAP knows this and are now currently shifting their strategy by concentrating their efforts more in areas with large number of Chinese voters.

Their insistence on contesting in as many constituencies with large number of Chinese as possible, is an indication that they know that their Pas and PKR friends could not be counted on to deliver the goods. They definitely do not want to waste areas such as Gelang Patah with 52 per cent Chinese voters by giving in to the likes of that hapless Johor PKR chief Chua Jui Meng.

Whatever it is the outcome of the next general election, I am quite sure DAP will win a strategic victory, riding on its Chinese racialist back-up plan. This DAP's victory will however be at the expense of the Chinese community's long term interests and the country's race relations.

Racial extremists endangering Chinese schools

Chinese schools in this country are now facing the biggest threat to their existence....and this threat comes not from the ultra-Malays or other Chinese-hating group of people.

Chinese schools are actually protected by the government from those sorts of nasties.

What the government can't protect the Chinese schools from, were threats posed by the extremist elements within the organisation which is supposed to be their guardian, the Dong Jiao Zong, which is the combination of DongZong (federation of Chinese schools associations) and JiaoZong (federation of Chinese teachers associations).

As I had heard earlier, they are going to have a rally to protest what they described as the government's dishonesty in solving the shortage of teachers at Chinese schools. The rally was supposed to be held at Kolej New Era, Kajang Selangor on March 25.

I had written about it and made a recommendation on how to solve the problem here -
A plea to young Chinese school graduates

Now, what really got me worried was when DAP declared their open support to the protest by Dong Jong Zong, which is almost certain will turn the whole thing into another anti-Lynas sorts of a rally - a legitimate cause hijacked by unscrupulous politicians.

DAP vice-president Tan Kok Wai said the party will mobilise its members to attend the rally in full force.

This is one of my takes on DAP's manipulation of the anti-Lynas issue -
DAP's victory in Kuantan last weekend

Unlike Lynas which was masked by its environmental theme, this so-called "Save Chinese Education" rally will be purely racial in nature. Chinese protesting against a perceived threat against their Chineseness.

With a political party like DAP taking an active role in the rally, the atmosphere will definitely be very combustive indeed.

The rally will be aimed at protesting the government's plan to send teachers, who are not well-versed in Mandarin (read - non-Chinese teachers) to Chinese primary schools. It was also reported that the rally was also aimed at forcing the government to pull out non-Mandarin speaking teachers out of Chinese schools.

If those objectives are not those of racialist extremists', then I don't know what I should call them. Don't they ever think how the non-Chinese will react when they get to know about such demands by the Chinese educationists who are supposed to be the most respected people within the Chinese community? Why must they want to chase away those non-Chinese teachers just because they can't speak Mandarin?

Why can't they at least organise Mandarin classes for those teachers instead of organising the rally?

I have to admit that I am totally dissapointed with especially members of JiaoZong for letting the whole thing be hijacked by the extremists among their rank, and those of DongZong. I have always respected teachers of Chinese schools for their ethics and dedication. Letting themselves be dominated by the extremists is really sad.

Their reckless act of opening the doors to DAP political opportunists who have no sincere love for the Chinese education system will definitely endanger the Chinese schools.

I hate to imagine what will be the future of the Chinese schools once they were stigmatised by the taint of DAP and their hypocritical racialist political posturing.

Johor BN battle ready

Johor BN's preparations for the coming general election are going smoothly. This was acknowledged by both PM and DPM when they were in the State last week.

Najib seems to be satisfied with Johor's BN efforts after briefed on the situation on the ground during his meeting with the State Umno leaders at Tanjong Puteri Resort, Pasir Gudang on Saturday.

Muhyiddin had several days earlier said Johor BN chairman Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman is doing the right   thing with his overall strategy and personal visits to the peti-peti undi areas. Such an endorsement from his old Muar High School classmate should mean a lot to Ghani. Muhyiddin made the statement while visiting Kulai is black area.

Kulai Umno division chief Datuk Adam Hamid, who is a close ally of Muhyiddin, should get the message, I guess. From what I heard, Adam does not think too highly of Ghani's strategy. Hopefully, he will change his mind after what Muhyiddin said that day.

As it is should be with everyone else in the party, the main thing now is for BN to win the election. The internal struggle and huge egos should be set aside for now. All the ships must sail in the same direction. Otherwise they will be picked off one by one by the enemies.

For those who wants so much to become the next Johor Menteri Besar, there is no need to be over enthusiastic about it. Work to win the election first. Rest assured that Ghani is retiring. He had repeatedly made his intention known to everyone, including Najib himself. I personally wish that he gets to retire.

The MB's job is definitely not easy if it is to be done properly with integrity and sincerity. It is not a lubok of riches where one and one's cronies could use the power to get what ever they want. It's a job where the rakyat's interests need to be protected from all those hungry wolves who don't care about anything but their own tembolok. I pray that the next Johor MB is not one of those wolves himself.

 BTW, Ghani's visits to the peti undi areas is at its final lap. Of all the critical areas, Tanjong Piai is the only one to be completed. Nonetheless, I heard a lot more works were to be done such as follow-ups of those visits and continous monitoring and adjustments on the ground.

Whatever it is, I think Johor BN will be ready once Najib set the date of the general election.

My perdiction of the outcome is that except for DAP which may win a few seats in areas such as the Chinese-majority Kulai, the rest of the Pakatan people in Johor will be wiped out....that is if everyone in Johor BN could from now on concentrate their energy on winning the election instead of trying to kill each other off to further their personal interests.

One last thing, feedbacks from the ground indicate that BN stands a good chance to get back the only parliamentary seat in Johor currently in Pakatan/DAP's hand - Bakri.

A bit on Shahrizat, Irda and a poor little girl

Not been posting anything for the past few days. The recently acquired old netbook really kaput already. I'm back in a cybercafe. Also on the road again. Hard to write too long. A bit a bit can la. Too noisy. The kid sitting next to me is playing a noisy shoot-em-up game.

Ok, what's been happening....

Shahrizat is leaving the Cabinet. Her husband charged. Guess that's take a lot of sting off the Pakatan's NFC attack. Suddenly I don't think the millions worth that much anymore. Really not worth it la. Too bad Shahrizat didn't seize the earlier opportunity of becoming an all self-sacrificing Wanita Umno chief. Would have been better that way. This one was a bit late....Well, beter late than never.

Earlier, the PM's visit to Johor on Friday and Saturday last week was quite successful. Everything went relatively smooth.The best function was the dinner gathering at Sutera Mall in the DAP's hotbed of Skudai which was attended by thousands of Chinese.

As for the PM's other functions on that visit, I think the Iskandar Malaysia showcase could have been better. The story about it, which made it to the front page of most newspapers the next day was actually an old story, already known by most people in Johor. Nothing new really. The usual billions of investments here and billions of investments there. All been told already what. But I guess it needed to be showcased anyway to the rest of the country. Made nice headline, I guess....oh, there were also those advertorials articles....must be quite expensive. So...suka hati lah....just that I wished Irda didn't spend that much money organising the whole thing just to tell an old story. Should had came up with better ideas or spend the sum on something more meaningful. My estimates of the cost of the whole telling an old story thing was around RM1 million.

Then, there's that missing five-year-old girl in Masai, Johor whose charred remains were identified yesterday. Poor little Nadirah. May Allah place her in heaven's safe embrace....

 Hopefully the monster/s who committed the heinous crime pays for it here on this earth too. He/she will definitely pay in the afterlife. Parents, please take good care of your children. Keep them safe.

Ok, need to rush off now...until next time.,,,

All the best, Zarinah

It has been confirmed. Zarinah Anwar is leaving SC.

Many will be happy, I guess....but not all.

Well, whatever it is, I wish her all the best. Take care dear lady.  Have a good rest.

Here  is the story by Bernama.

Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar, who has been chairman of the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) since 2006, will retire when her term is completed on March 31 this year.

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, has appointed Datuk Ranjit Ajit Singh to succeed Zarinah as SC chairman and Datuk Dr Nik Ramlah Mahmood as deputy chief executive, according to a statement by SC.

Both currently serve as SC managing directors, and their new appointments take effect from April 1, 2012.

Zarinah has played a key role in strengthening and developing the Malaysian capital market over the past ten years, establishing a robust regulatory and governance framework which has contributed to the growth of the market, and investing resources in building regulatory capacity.

Ranjit is a highly experienced regulator with over 20 years' experience in finance and securities regulation.

A financial economist and accountant, Ranjit has served the SC since 1994 in a variety of areas including the supervision and oversight of the market, strategy and risk management, financial policy and economics.

He is chairman of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) group on secondary markets, has chaired an expert group on capital markets for a Financial Stability Board taskforce, and has served as a member of the International Monetary Fund’s expert group on governance of public sector agencies.

Nik Ramlah is trained in law and has served the SC for over 18 years covering legal and regulatory reform, product and market development, corporate governance, Islamic capital markets, investor education and enforcement.

She also sits on the board of the Securities Industry Development Corporation, the SC's training and education arm.

She is a core member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Asian Roundtable on Corporate Governance, and is a member of the Technical Committee of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB). -- Bernama

Dreaming of Taiwan

Today was a busy day.

So tired. Can't think of anything to write.

Can't even post any YouTube video. For some reason this old netbook can't perform that function. Something inside it went kaput, I guess. Probably need to send it for repairs.

So....all I can do tonight is post something about my dream of going to Taiwan to further my studies and learn Mandarin properly. That's my dream for after the general election.

Ok, I am going to find a room in one of those flats near this mosque. It would be nice to be able to go pray in the mosque whenever I can.

Then, of course I'm going to buy a bicycle to move around, especially for going to class. Taipei is probably the most bicycle-friendly city in the world. I think I get some thing like this one -

Ok, this is the place where I hope to study. Don't know yet if they will accept me. If cannot, then I will try somewhere less prestigious.

If got the chance I want to join this crowd on my free days.

And if I'm really free, I want to cycle to the beautiful Taiwan countryside. Syiok leh.

Well, that's my little dream.