I am using a Ford Focus 2.0 and now fueling the car with RON95 fuel.
I am 100% sure when accelerating under load (eg going uphill) I can hear the engine pinging.
Should you also be experiencing the same – please leave a comment. We need data to see if this is indeed a real problem. The government and fuel companies have said that there should be no problem when switching from RON 97 to 95.
It has been a weekend of interesting politics.
The MCA, on Saturday, convened an EGM to vote on 4 key resolutions. The real surprise was to see Ong Tee Kiat being handed a motion of no confidence.
Resolution 1: That the members of the general assembly have no confidence in the leadership of president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.
Adopt: 1155
Reject: 1141
Margin: 14
To me Ong Tee Kiat was the most serious of the 3 component party leaders to try and institute reforms both internal ad external. I thought his courage to push on the PKFZ issue was fantastic, yet MCA – a key member of Barisan has rejected OTK’s leadership and by inference rejected the drive for reform.
On Sunday was the by election in Bagan Pinang, Port Dickson where TanSri Isa Samad, the former Menteri Besar who was removed because of “money politics” won the election on a huge majority.
I guess Tun Mahathir sums it up when he said:
PUTRAJAYA, Sept 18 (Bernama) — Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad should not be nominated as candidate for the Bagan Pinang state by-election.
He said UMNO’s image would be affected because it would be regarded as not being serious in fighting money politics if it chose as candidate those who were already found guilty of political corruption.
“Tan Sri Isa has already been found guilty. If UMNO fields him, it means that UMNO is not serious about such cases.
“Even if he can win there, (we) have to consider what the whole of Malaysia thinks of UMNO,” he said in an interview with Bernama Thursday.
Well Isa Samad did win and again by inference it shows the mindset of UMNO and by extension BN.
As it goes now, it looks like corruption is here to stay. Maybe what 1 Malaysia really means is hat everyone should have equally access to corruption and that will keep the harmony.
I dont know but seeing OTK loose and ISA win just sends out such a horrible signal of what lies ahead for this country.
Well after all that – the by election is over and BN – Tan Sri Isa Samad has won. BN polled 8013 while PAS polled 2578 for a total of 10,591 votes and giving BN a majority of 5435 votes. A total of 11,157 voters out of 13,664 turned out (81.7% turn out)
Of the total 11157 votes, , postal votes accounted for 4604 or 41% o the total votes. 3507 of the postal votes are purported to have gone BN’s way while 468 for PAS. Essentially of the 5435 majority that BN won, 64% can be attributed to postal votes.
I think the question now is that is this win in Bagan Pinang an aberration considering the 8 previous losses or it is the start of a new trajectory for BN, a consolidation of support that is rallying behind Najib. We have to wait and see. But for sure, this loss for PKR will be a strong impetus for Keadilan, DAP and PAS to quickly close ranks and star presenting it self with a much clearer singular identity.
Many have asked me about Bagan Pinang and so here is my simple view.
When we go to vote we make a choice, that is who we will give our vote too. But the choice is not as simple as the candidate. Behind that choice there are hidden implications – such as our desires, aspirations and hopes for the future.
When Malaysia went to the polls last year – and the opposition made the huge wins – we were not just vote for candidates, we were making a statement.
Bagan Pinang is no different. While we try to project the by election as a local issue, it really is not about Isa Samad or Zulkefly Mohamad Omar. It is about the mood of the electorate – whether it wants to send a stronger message of change, or has the message been made loud and clear already.
To me. not for the outcome for the last GE, the PKFZ scandal would have gone on and on and on as there was no real check and balance nor accountability in the system. And PKFZ is the big one. What about the hundreds of smaller ones?
Just read the following extracts on for a report on the investigation of BALKIS. (the full rerport is here)
AFTER a gruelling seven days, the public inquiry into possible misuse of funds by Wives of Selangor Elected Representatives Charity Organisation (BALKIS) ended a few weeks ago, leaving those who attended reeling from the revelations.
PNSB chief executive officer Datin Khairiyah Abu Hassan dropped a bombshell when she further revealed how much the State-owned conglomerate had forked out for former Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohd Khir Toyo and his family�s expenses during the overseas technical visits.
1. Jakarta and Jogjakarta , Indonesia – 20-24 April 2003 Total cost: RM201,452
Dr Khir, his wife, daughter and maid also went on the trip.
Cost of airfare for Dr Khir, his wife, daughter and maid: RM37,695
Miscellaneous costs incurred by the delegates RM34,404
2. Morocco and Paris : 17-24 Dec 2004 (inclusive of four-day transit in Dubai )
Total cost: RM900,000The trip, attended by Dr Khir, his wife, children and maid as well as PNSB delegates,
Cost of the recce team trip: RM366,000
Cost of official trip: RM416,000
Airfare: RM366,000
Ground arrangements RM420,000
City travel: RM70,000
Other expenses RM43,000
3. Honolulu (Hawaii) & Orlando ( Florida ) – 23 Dec 2007 to 1 Jan 2008
Total cost: RM646,841
Additional cash taken: RM101,000
The group, comprising Dr Khir, his family and PNSB delegates, bought tickets to DisneyWorld and again did not meet any Disneyland representatives.
A tour guide instead took them around. Cost of Dr Khir�s luxury suite: RM110,000
Cost of six single superior rooms for the delegates: RM171,000
Cost of one twin-sharing room RM24,800Khairiyah claimed that on the trips, Dr Khir and his wife flew only first class.
Not for the change in state government, this would never have seen the light of day.
Thus, when we vote, we are either voting to endorsing such behavior or voting to want accountability , check and balances, a faithful and fair government that is accountable to the people of the state..
PD is intersting as the BN candidate ISA SAMAD was found guilty by his own party for money politics. AND YET he is fielded on the basis that he has paid his price and he is immensely popular.
The reality is that UMNO is in rigor mortis – it cannot change as the warlords truly hold sway over the masters. To demonstrate change – Najib needs to be doing to his party what Ong Tee Kiat is doing. for MCA.
I keep saying- this period that we are going through is not about loyalty, its not about track record, its not about gratitude.History is not autobiography. Its all about planting the seeds for a better future for our children. A critical component of that is to ensure that the country is governed with good governance – which means having a strong opposition.
The PKR coalition will not go away. PKR will grow in strength, not becasue they are better, not because they are cleverer, not because they are cleaner – but simply because they provide the check and balances.
To the people of Bagan Pinang – your vote will be taken as a proxy vote of the mood of the nation. I trust you will exercise your choice very carefully. But do think about this:
Full Article take for Malaysia Today click here:
The whole country is very focused on Najib Tun Razak’s extramarital affairs. Sure, every Malaysian knows about this. And every Malaysian also knows about him getting caught in a Port Dickson hotel room with Ziana Zain. In fact, Isa Samad even had photographs of Najib clad only in a towel with the delicious young thing in his bed. And Isa handed the photograph over to the then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. (And that is why Mahathir just does not understand why Najib would choose Isa to contest the Bagan Pinang by-election when it was Isa who tried to bring Najib down with the photograph).
ed: so RPK, are you suggesting ISA SAMAD blackmailed Najib?
It is interesting to see the amount of money being pumped in by the GLC’s to advertise the 1 Malaysia slogan. Its been in the papers everyday. Maybank certainy has been leading the charge. The saying is, if you say it enough times, people will believe it. So i guess that is exactly what Najib is trying to do, say it enough times so people will believe it.
Unfortunately, the ability to realize 1 Malaysia is not an issue with the rakaayat (citizens). Most of us life fairly interactive lives – at work, at home. After all your neighbor, is your neighbor. The kids certainly don’t have an issue with mixing, in fact for most of them it is not even mixing, its just having fun with friends.
The real problem of 1 Malaysia is really in the politics and at the policy level. The entire system is designed not for integration but for tolerance. UMNO – MCA – MIC have over the years nurtured a balance of tolerance to co-exist and act as united front for all to identify with. But the reality is a malay cannot be an MCA member, a chinese cannot be an MIC member and an indian cannot be an UMNO member. However the rules for chinese and indians or for any race changes if they are Muslim – as a muslim you can be in UMNO.
The role of UMNO is to champion the rights of the Malays, MIC the rights of the Indians and MCA that of the Chinese. And over the years the three have learnt how to tolerate each other in a manner that was acceptable by all. As times passed things changed and certainly through the nineties and into the 2000’s somehow that perception of balance has shifted and is now obviously fairly off balance.
To the chinese possibly it has shifted too far towards the Malays. To the Indians possibly it has shifted too little in their direction. To the Malays possibly not enough.
Pre 1997 the country was in growth mode. The economy was expanding – salaries were rising – stock market was booming (remember “politically linked counters 
” So in that period there was enough to go around and keep everyone happy. Tun M was a master at ensuring everyone was sufficiently happy that he managed through 2 great UMNO upheavals. Its not that the seeds of discontent were not there, they were, but the general population was happy enough to keep things in check.
Since the Asian Financial crisis – we have never really recovered. The crisis taught businesses that they has to diversify out of Malaysia, it created new competitive grounds for FDI – such as in Vietnam and Cambodia and of course China came out full steam. While all of this was happening, the Malaysian PIE was no more growing, at least not at the rates before.
Suddenly what was tolerable started to look intolerable. People started to see and feel the effects of Corruption, Lack of enforcement, Crime , red tape, little napoleons etc. When the pie is not growing, even the smallest grievances become big. And progressively it has become bigger and bigger.
We now are on a downward spiral that, if we are not careful, is going to get stronger and stronger. Not because people don’t love the country, not because we are racially intolerant of each other but because the political representation doesn’t appear to be representing what the people want and wish for.
As a simple example – everyone hates corruption. We would therefore expect the whole nation to solidify behind Ong Tee Kiat with his stand on exposing PKFZ. Yet that is not the case. UMNO, MIC, PKR, PAS, DAP GERAKAN, you name it, have been tepid on the issue. In fact in MCA they want to remove OTK. What gives?
The balance of power is now morphing into a balance of ideology that is being slowly defined. Its the polarity between the current form of government that seeks to protect its interest versus a government of the people, by the people for the people; in short a government that can be held accountable for its actions or lack of it.
When there was no real alternative to the BN juggernaut – accountability didn’t quite matter and matters were easily swept under the carpet. After all, what was important was the balance of power between the big three.
Today there is a credible alternative to BN, and the alternative is getting stronger and stronger. For BN It is an unfortunate situation of “having to oversteer to get to center.” Events like what happend in Perak, the rumblings in Kedah, Selangor, Teoh Bang Hock, no matter what the real reason is, people will believe that it is BN trying to “fix” the opposition. The harder BN tries, the worse it will get. After all BN has lost 5 by elections on the trot. I wonder when in history has this happened before?
And the reason for this is that people do not see in any visible way – UMNO in the first instance or BN trying to change. What people see is a continuance of trying to preserve the status quo but masking it with makeup. Instead of focusing on the badly needed internal reforms, it is focusing on pushing out the opposition. At least this is the perception.
For me personally this perception is reality. I live in an area where almost every night we endure extremely bad air pollution. The chinese new village surrounding these factories have suffered for years. Yet no one seems able to stop the pollution. Why? because the business is “protected.” DOE have done everything in their powers but to no avail as there are higher powers that be that allow the factory to go on. Every high court slaps the factory with a paltry fine.
And for every night every resident in this area of maybe 50+ thousand people (Malays, Chinese, Indians, etc) have to breath and live in this pollution. We are UNITED as I Malaysia fighting for the right to clean air. Unfortunately our government is not on our side. So to us, the problem is not our ability to unite, our problem is our government that ignores us and our plight.
So Prime Minister Najib, you can go on sloganeering 1 MALAYSIA for all you like, but for as long as your policies and inaction force us to breath in BAD air, we know we are not the problem – you are. You are now the third PM to preside over our problem. Show us you care. Solve it for us. Show us that we matter.
PM Sir – people unite for common causes and against common enemies. In the 50’s it was the colonial masters, today it is the political masters!
HAPPY MERDEKA.
“Dan janganlah kamu memaki sembahan-sembahan yang mereka sembah selain Allah, karena mereka nanti akan memaki Allah dengan melampaui batas tanpa pengetahuan.”(Al-An’am: 108).
I certainly was shocked to read the BERNAMA ticker stating that Idris Jala is to be appointed Minister. An sms to Idris and I got confirmation back from the horses mouth.
With the appointment comes all the cloak and dagger stories; among them are:
The reality is that Idris is a good person who will always try his best.He is honest and most importantly he is CLEAN. Idris is a sucker for challenge. He takes on these jobs purely as a test of himself. If you thing about it, what bigger challenge can there be after turning around MAS than to turnaround a government.
As much as there are critics of what Idris accomplished in MAS, there probably isn’t any CEO in Malaysia who is as Headhunted as Idris Jala is globally. And to be sought after globally is true recognition (read here).
The only concern I would have is that in all of Idris’s turnarounds – Shell Sri Lanka, SMDS in Bintulu and in MAS – there is a constant pattern – that he increases prices to the highest point the market is prepared to bear and takes out cost of operations to the barest. This are classic steps in any turnaround as follows:
Here is the step by step guide to turning around companies:
Step 1: Apply massive shock (consultants say “the case for change”) which essentially puts fear of inaction into people. (e.g. we have enough cash to survive 3 months..)
Step 2: Increase prices to that highest point that the market can bear.(e.g. excess baggage charges, administrative charges, ticket prices etc.)
Step 3: Cut out all cost that is non essential to the doing of the businesses. (Employee separation scheme, outsourcing, cutting out middle men etc.)
Step 4: “Anchor everything into the P&L” meaning that the only and true measure of performance is in the profit and loss. (e.g. route profitability…)
These are perfectly fine steps for private enterprises where the goal is to maximize shareholder returns – which means profits and cash flow. But in the context of a government, it means something very different.
The same steps applied to Government means Massive Privatization
This philosophy expressed in the context of government means privatize everything . And to do that you need to shock the system. Recall our government petrol price hike shock? (remind yourself here) This is a very Milton Friedman approach.
Idris is a true capitalist – which is why is so performance oriented. From a capitalist point of view, I can see the electricity between Idris, Azman Mokhtar, Nazir Razak pushing the government into a pure capitalist society . That would be an absolute dream for businesses and a nightmare for society. (Read Naomi Klien’s Shock Doctrine and disaster capitalism)
To really understand how misguided this thinking is, one needs to look at Chilie and what Milton Friedman’s economics did to it.
The Chilean experiment
After his disciples were done with it, Chile was indeed radically transformed…for the worse.
Free market policies subjected the country to two major depressions twice in one decade, first in 1974-75, when GDP fell by 12 per cent, then again in 1982-83, when it dropped by 15 per cent.
Contrary to ideological expectations about free markets and robust growth, average GDP growth in the period 1974-89 — the radical Jacobin phase of the Friedman-Pinochet revolution — was only 2.6 per cent, compared to over four per cent a year in the period 1951-71, when there was a much greater role of the state in the economy.
By the end of the radical free-market period, both poverty and inequality had increased significantly. The proportion of families living below the “line of destitution” had risen from 12 to 15 per cent between 1980 and 1990, and the percentage living below the poverty line, but above the line of destitution, had increased from 24 to 26 per cent. This meant that at the end of the Pinochet regime, some 40 per cent of Chile’s population, or 5.2 million of a population of 13 million, were poor.
In terms of income distribution, the share of the national income going to the poorest 50 per cent of the population declined from 20.4 per cent to 16.8 per cent, while the share going to the richest ten per cent rose dramatically from 36.5 per cent to 46.8 per cent.
Only time will tell.
Having said all of the above, I have enough trust in Idris that he will create a new model of how to make the government “performance oriented. Good examples around are like the work Dato Azlan Zainol has done in EPF, and certainly Income Tax Department has come a long way. So its not like it has never been done before.
For Idris – there is a fine line between becoming Luke Skywalker (a jedi knight) and Darth Vader (the dark forces of evil.) Both were taught by the same guru – Yoda but each choose to apply the learnings differently. I trust you will choose wisely.
p/s Meanwhile Tony Fernandez can now look forward to realizing his dream of buying over MAS (remember its an airline with routes but no airplanes).
p/p/s watch Naomi Klien here:
By now the whole world (as suggested by the Malaysian Press) is abuzz with the Kartika Story. read here, here, here.
Here are my 2 sen worth and depending on you belief system I openly would like to hear your comments on this issues. This is what I call “Rosa Parks” type issues that tend to create defining moments.
Let me start with what is said in the Quran:
Surah 2:Albakarah:219
YUSUFALI: They ask thee concerning wine and gambling. Say: “In them is great sin, and some profit, for men; but the sin is greater than the profit.” They ask thee how much they are to spend; Say: “What is beyond your needs.” Thus doth Allah Make clear to you His Signs: In order that ye may consider-
PICKTHAL: They question thee about strong drink and games of chance. Say: In both is great sin, and (some) utility for men; but the sin of them is greater than their usefulness. And they ask thee what they ought to spend. Say: that which is superfluous. Thus Allah maketh plain to you (His) revelations, that haply ye may reflect.
SHAKIR: They ask you about intoxicants and games of chance. Say: In both of them there is a great sin and means of profit for men, and their sin is greater than their profit. And they ask you as to what they should spend. Say: What you can spare. Thus does Allah make clear to you the communications, that you may ponder
Surah 4: AnNisa, verse 43:
YUSUFALI: O ye who believe! Approach not prayers with a mind befogged, until ye can understand all that ye say,- nor in a state of ceremonial impurity (Except when travelling on the road), until after washing your whole body. If ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from offices of nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands. For Allah doth blot out sins and forgive again and again.
PICKTHAL: O ye who believe! Draw not near unto prayer when ye are drunken, till ye know that which ye utter, nor when ye are polluted, save when journeying upon the road, till ye have bathed. And if ye be ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from the closet, or ye have touched women, and ye find not water, then go to high clean soil and rub your faces and your hands (therewith). Lo! Allah is Benign, Forgiving.
SHAKIR: O you who believe! do not go near prayer when you are Intoxicated until you know (well) what you say, nor when you are under an obligation to perform a bath– unless (you are) travelling on the road– until you have washed yourselves; and if you are sick, or on a journey, or one of you come from the privy or you have touched the women, and you cannot find water, betake yourselves to pure earth, then wipe your faces and your hands; surely Allah is Pardoning, Forgiving.
Surah 5: AlMaidah;90-91
YUSUFALI: O ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are an abomination,- of Satan’s handwork: eschew such (abomination), that ye may prosper.
PICKTHAL: O ye who believe! Strong drink and games of chance and idols and divining arrows are only an infamy of Satan’s handiwork. Leave it aside in order that ye may succeed.
SHAKIR: O you who believe! intoxicants and games of chance and (sacrificing to) stones set up and (dividing by) arrows are only an uncleanness, the Shaitan’s work; shun it therefore that you may be successful.
YUSUFALI: Satan’s plan is (but) to excite enmity and hatred between you, with intoxicants and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of Allah, and from prayer: will ye not then abstain?
PICKTHAL: Satan seeketh only to cast among you enmity and hatred by means of strong drink and games of chance, and to turn you from remembrance of Allah and from (His) worship. Will ye then have done?
SHAKIR: The Shaitan only desires to cause enmity and hatred to spring in your midst by means of intoxicants and games of chance, and to keep you off from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. Will you then desist?
The above give a view of what GOD’s view of drinking and drunkenness is but there is no punishment ascribed. For this we have to look into the hadith and this is what I found:
Chapter# 8, Book 17, Number 4226:
Anas b. Malik reported that a person who had drink wine was brought to Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him). He gave him forty stripes with two lashes. Abu Bakr also did that, but when Umar (assumed the responsibilities) of the Caliphate, he consulted people and Abd al-Rahman said: The mildest punishment (for drinking) is eighty (stripes) and ‘Umar their prescribed this punishment.
Book 17, Number 4227:
This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Anas through another chain of transmitters.
Book 17, Number 4228:
Anas b. Malik reported that Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) gave a beating with palm branches and shoes, and that Abu Bakr gave forty lashes. When Umar (became the Commander of the Faithful) and the people went near to pastures and towns, he said (to the Companions of the Holy Prophet). What is your opinion about lashing for drinking? Thereupon Abd al-Rahman b. Auf said: My opinion is that you fix it as the mildest punishment. Then ‘Umar inflicted eighty stripes.
Book 17, Number 4229:
This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Hisham with the same chain of transmitters.
Book 17, Number 4230:
Anas reported that Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) used to strike forty times with shoes and palm branches (in case of drinking of) wine. The rest of the hadith is the same and there is no mention of pastures and towns.
Book 17, Number 4231:
Hudain b. al-Mundhir Abu Sasan reported: I saw that Walid was brought to Uthmin b. ‘Affan as he had prayed two rak’ahs of the dawn prayer, and then he said: I make an increase for you. And two men bore witness against him. One of them was Humran who said that he had drunk wine. The second one gave witness that he had seen him vomiting. Uthman said: He would not have vomited (wine) unless he had drunk it. He said: ‘Ali, stand up and lash him. ‘Ali said: Hasan, stand up and lash him. Thereupon Hasan said: Let him suffer the heat (of Caliphate) who has enjoyed its coolness. (’Ali felt annoyed at this remark) and he said: ‘Abdullah b. Ja’far, stand up and flog him, and he began to flog him and ‘Ali counted the stripes until these were forty. He (Hadrat ‘Ali) said: Stop now, and then said: Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) gave forty stripes, and Abu Bakr also gave forty stripes, and Umar gave eighty stripes, and all these fall under the category of the Sunnab, but this one (forty stripes) is dearer to me.
Book 17, Number 4232:
Ali reported: If I impose Hadd on anyone, and he (in course of punish ment) dies, I would not mind except in case of a drunkard. If he dies. I would pay indemnity for him because the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) has laid down no rule for it.
Book 17, Number 4223:
This hadith is narrated on the authority of Sufyan.
And finally this is what Kartika has to say:
“I will accept this punishment, let Allah decide my punishment in the hereafter,” said Kartika, who has been residing in Singapore for the last 15 years. (read full text here)
She added that she respected the views of the Prime Minister and was grateful to him for being concerned but added that she would not change her mind on her previous decision to accept the punishment.
“I respect the law and Islam. Even before the sentence was passed in court, I had already made up my mind to accept the punishment and go through the ordeal,” she said. (read full text here)
So there you go, what do you think?
BN has lost every singly by-election since the last GE. The latest is the loss in Permatang Pasir. This is not good news for NAJIB or UMNO or BN for that matter.
If they thought a change in PM would see change in electorate mood, they have been sadly mistaken.
Between the miserable showing in By elctions, the Teoh MACC death and Ong Tee Kiat going full steam on PKFZ, UMNO is truly in a very bad spiral. All that is left is a free fall in the stock market and the economy and BN can literally kiss the next elections good by.
Najib’s 1 Malaysia sloganeering is certainly not going to help at all. He needs real reform, but how does one reform a team of clueless heads?
Now calling them clueless is a bit unkind, but if you were to read the interview with JJ, our soon to be ambassador to the US, you will see what I mean.
I reproduce the entire interview at the bottom for you to read but here are some key pointers to clueless:
1. Why he is qualified to be a diplomat?
He holds a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and PhD in Electrical Engineering (Power Systems) – both qualifications obtained from Canadian universities
2. His resume:
“JJ”, as he is popularly known, started out as a lecturer at Universiti Teknoloji Malaysia. First elected MP for Rompin in 1990 (a seat he has retained with thumping majorities up to the last general election in 2008), Jamaluddin has also held three key Cabinet portfolios – Second Finance Minister (2002-04); Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (January 2004-March 2004); and Science, Technology and Innovation (2004-2008).
And the car his drives: “Please come in my car. We’ll talk as I drive,’’ he says, offering this writer a spin in his gleaming sports car.
3. Why is he qualified to be the ambassador to the US?
“I lived in North America (Canada) for six years and I know the American thinking. I understand their psyche. They see things in their strategic interest,’’ he tells Sunday Star in an interview.
I never have known canadians to be the same or in anyway similar to the americans. BTW I spent 7 years in the real USA, so maybe I should be considered for the job.
4. His concept of Strategic Interest:
We will have to differentiate ourselves from say, Myanmar. I’m not going to say, “Hey, please come to Malaysia, our cost of labour is as good as Myanmar’s.” Nope. I will be preaching strategic partnerships with America. America may have a new product but building a prototype is very expensive there. We can do the prototyping here.
all he is saying is that we are a cheap place to prototype…. so what’s different?
5. On Angkasawan (JJ should be bapa Angkasawan)
> The Angkasawan programme you spearheaded to send the first Malaysian into space is another criticism against you, i.e the RM100mil spent was a waste of funds. How do you respond?
Why did America send man to the moon? Did they create a P&L (Profit & Loss) for it? Why did Russia send man into space, and China? Were they looking for a (monetary) return of these investments? It was because of some return to their nations.
I did a study on it. I found that the Russians did so to create a thrust among the people to develop new technology; to drive them beyond the borders of knowledge.
So what technology spin-off have we got in return for our angkasawan? The Americans, Russians, Japaneese, Chinese all build their own rockets, control systems, infrastructure etc. Thats where the spin-off is. We bought a RM100 million ticket for a ride into space.
So you see, this is why I say we are clueless. It like watch Anipah Aman siting with Hillary Clinton and doing a tirade on Anuar Ibrahim. As if the americans care? You are with the most powerful woman and instead of building bridges you talk of how DSAI tried to bribe you? Definitely clueless.
IT is a sunny weekday morning in Kuala Lumpur and Datuk Seri Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis, who takes up his posting next week as Ambassador-designate to the United States, is working up a sweat.
A polo enthusiast, he is at the Royal Selangor Polo Club in Ampang, riding one of his favourite Argentinian horses, Obeda. Stable boys help him alight from the white stallion when the session ends.
All eyes are on the flamboyant Jamaluddin, 58, as he enters the clubhouse, politely asking for fresh orange juice.
Since his nomination as Malaysia’s chief diplomat in Washington was approved in extra quick time by the US State Department last month, it has not been uncommon for people to walk up to the five-term Rompin MP and say: “You are the right man to take on America.”
Still, his nomination is not without controversy. There are those who say Jamaluddin is too “extravagant” in his ways, citing past controversies.
On paper, however, there is no doubting the Pekan-born politician’s credentials for the all-important posting which has been vacant for more than a year.
He holds a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and PhD in Electrical Engineering (Power Systems) – both qualifications obtained from Canadian universities.
“JJ”, as he is popularly known, started out as a lecturer at Universiti Teknoloji Malaysia. First elected MP for Rompin in 1990 (a seat he has retained with thumping majorities up to the last general election in 2008), Jamaluddin has also held three key Cabinet portfolios – Second Finance Minister (2002-04); Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (January 2004-March 2004); and Science, Technology and Innovation (2004-2008).
“Power” being his forte, the father of four was chairman of Tenaga Nasional Bhd, and also chaired the Public Accounts Committee and the influential Backbenchers’ Club.
“I lived in North America (Canada) for six years and I know the American thinking. I understand their psyche. They see things in their strategic interest,’’ he tells Sunday Star in an interview.
Responding to critics who say he should be focusing on his rural constituency instead of dabbling in the corridors of Washington, the cigar-chomping, bearded politician asks: “There is Skype, e-mail and SMS, and Facebook. What difference does it make if I Skype my constituents from Kuala Lumpur or Washington?”
Time is running short with a business meeting scheduled next. But Jamaluddin, who also spearheaded Malaysia’s Angkasawan project culminating in our exploration into space in 2007, has not had his full say.
“Please come in my car. We’ll talk as I drive,’’ he says, offering this writer a spin in his gleaming sports car.
The rest of the interview in his private office is peppered with terms such as “risk capital”, “venture capital” and “innovation economy” as Jamaluddin tries to explain his thinking and the realities of his American posting.
“I leave it to the people and Government to judge my KPI (Key Performance Indicators),” he adds.
> After much speculation, you are indeed our new envoy to the US. What does your posting mean for Malaysia-US relations?
I thank the Prime Minister for his confidence in me to help drive his important agenda, and I welcome the support and help from all for me to get the job done. I see the economy and security as the top two issues as we fight for economic growth. We are going to have up to 500,000 young ones leaving school each year and they will need jobs. We are too small an economy to stand on our own so we have to network with the world to seek markets, get funding and technology. I see my posting as paving the way for this connectivity of economic play with the US.
For our people, it is about the pocket economy. And for us to have a close working relationship with America economically, first we have to have good diplomatic relations with them. We are doing quite well already. Washington is not just a gateway to America, it is a gateway to the world.
> Your nomination was not without controversy. There were several talking points, one being that you’re MP of a rural constituency that needs you.
I know what they’re saying. Due to demographic changes, many of my voters have moved to urban areas in search of jobs. In a town of about 50,000 people (in Rompin), the majority of Malays are residing in urban areas. About 30% of my voters do not live in Rompin. Every general election, the figure is rising. I have been thinking about how to resolve this. It is by embracing new media technology.
I just attended a funeral in my constituency. I visited the family and went to the grave. But this was only known to those who live in the village, not others who have moved to Malacca and Johor Baru. I’ve downloaded the visual so all can follow my work.
There is always the technology of the new media to be used to access all of my constituents. There is Skype, e-mail and SMS, and Facebook. What difference does it make if I Skype my consti tuents from Kuala Lumpur or Washington? You know, broadband is equivalent to electri city supply these days. If power was the lifeline of the old economy, broadband is the lifeline of the new one.
> What about the farmers and tappers in Rompin who will prefer to meet you in person?
I plan to come back every quarter. I will return to attend parliamentary sessions. That is the directive of the PM. When I come back on my own, I will pay my own way. My constituents are not against my appointment. They see it as recognition of their MP. They know I will be in touch with them. Our communication will remain – it’s just that I may see them a month later, instead of more regularly. Take the case of a CEO of a multinational in New York. He would probably be travelling three-quarters of the year. Running an organisation doesn’t mean you must stay put. It is how you communicate with your customers.
> There were at least three others tipped for the post. Did you see yourself as the ideal candidate?
I leave that for others to judge. I have been in the academic world, had corporate exposure and moved into politics. Now I’m entering the diplomatic world. All this has helped shape me. The Government has given me another opportunity to serve the country. It is up to me how to market myself. In the US, it is all about marketing. You can buy a car and even choose the colour online. If you have a good product, market it well otherwise people will only hear what is negative.
I’m going to counter whatever (negative) is being said about me. I used to run a public-listed company, so I know what it is all about. I’m looking forward to increasing my market share (laughs).
> As a serving MP, it is interesting that you say you’re going to the US as the people’s representative.
As an MP, I have to bear in mind the people’s interest. When I fight for the country’s interest, it is for the people. That is what 1Malaysia is all about, creating job opportunities for our people through the work I do. Our jobs now evolve around raw material and cheap labour with very minimal technology value-added. The new emphasis is more technology-driven. It is technology as the driver of product value. Over the past 50 years, we have made furniture, fans, refrigerators and were successful in doing that. Our people got jobs and we were thankful.
But that era has passed. Our success story has been replicated by others. And because they have just started, their labour is cheaper than ours. We have to move upwards.
> You often talk about America’s strategic interests. Can you explain your thinking?
I lived in North America (Canada) for six years and I know the American thinking. I understand their psyche. They see things in their strategic interest. They went to the moon in their strategic interest, spending billions of dollars to get there first. If they think they need to come to Malaysia for their strategic interest, they would. So we have to find out what are America’s strategic interests that coincide with our own interest. For us, it is all about the economy, and jobs, jobs, jobs!
If we want to keep exporting our existing products such as oil palm, commodities and manufactured products, America is still the largest market. Of course, we must diversify to China and India but the base, and most important market, is still America.
On the new innovation-led economy, where is the funding and risk capital coming from? Which country has lots of experience in risk capital? The new so-called risk capital, to drive our innovation economy, is still in America. So we must not give up our one anchor linkage to the world while we look at other anchors such as China and India.
> As Science, Technology and Innovation Minister in 2007, you applied for and were granted a two-month sabbatical break by the Cabinet to study innovation in Harvard University. How did that benefit you?
I am now in the midst of writing a book about what I learned. As far as I know, it was the first time a Cabinet minister went on a sabbatical. The PM at that time (Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) approved. I wanted to get away and take a look at innovation. In my ministry then, we looked after science, technology and innovation. I know what science is all about … from science to technology.
But how do you convert technology into jobs, and what is innovation? Again, innovation is about jobs, jobs, jobs! I found out that the journey from science into jobs was very treacherous. In an innovation economy, it is not just technology that matters. It is driven by needs. A lot of people think that innovation is driven by technology but I beg to differ. Sometimes the innovation product is driven by consumer needs.
> And what are those?
The next successful product is not from the dreams of the scientist; it is from the dreams of the consumer. It is all about the needs of the consumer. Venture capitalists are not technology guys. They are those who have money and who understand the market and know what the consumers’ demands are. Technology does not have to be super-duper to them. In the US, the venture capitalists gather every now and then to find out what the consumer wants. So, in Malaysia, we need to fast-track. While we develop our local technology, we also need to develop our scientists. We must be self-sufficient in knowledge-creation. What happens if suddenly they stop exporting their knowledge to us? Today, the PM is not just talking about value-added but also of high value-added. Because high-value added gets you high-value jobs.
> How will you turn whatever you have said into something tangible to benefit Malaysians while you are in the US?
We will have to differentiate ourselves from say, Myanmar. I’m not going to say, “Hey, please come to Malaysia, our cost of labour is as good as Myanmar’s.” Nope. I will be preaching strategic partnerships with America. America may have a new product but building a prototype is very expensive there. We can do the prototyping here. You can’t do prototyping in Vietnam as they don’t have the people for it. So we want to have more strategic alliances with the US to jointly create, develop and manufacture products in Malaysia.
We should not just be assembling mobile phones; we should be manufacturing them here. We should be making bio-tech products. To move into the knowledge-based and innovation economy, the biggest component is technology. I’ve already met a few companies here that are interested in venture capital and acquiring new products. The people I met are property and plantation players, but I can’t name them.
> You are making it clear that your sales pitch in the US about Malaysia is no longer going to be about labour costs?
That’s right. At the lower end we are already losing out. So to attract more industries here, we still have to be competitive with low labour costs. But is it fair that we control labour cost and keep it low because we want industries to come here? That our labour cost is not too different compared to Vietnam, or Cambodia, or Myanmar? Or do we try to develop industries so that our people’s income increases, towards first-world standards? Of course, we want to aim for the First World (standards). But we cannot do this when the cost of components is labour and raw-material based. For salaries to go up, we have no choice but to scale up our industries. We have to move into knowledge-based industries where the component of the product is more technology-based.
> American diplomacy has been on a surge with former President Bill Clinton seeking the release of two jailed American journalists in Pyongyang and a US Senator meeting Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon. What’s your idea of diplomacy?
Those things may play well in America but for me, I see diplomacy as primarily economic play. In Malaysia, diplomacy is the beginning of economic and security play. It is not just about shaking hands and sipping drinks. Creating the ambience of a good relationship with a country is through diplomacy but that is only the start of things, not the end.
It is to create good relations between two countries so that economic play can take place. It is not just about being nice to the (US) Congress and Senators.
For instance, when I bring a US Senator to Malaysia, I would ask him to bring along some important people, not just his political assistants. I’m sure there are investors from the state he represents who see Malaysia as a platform to the Asian market.
We shouldn’t sell Malaysia as it is but as a gateway to the East. Malaysia is also a gateway to the New World, so to speak: the Middle East, ex-Soviet republics and Africa, these are some of the countries that Malaysia has a close rapport with that Washington does not.
> The Angkasawan programme you spearheaded to send the first Malaysian into space is another criticism against you, i.e the RM100mil spent was a waste of funds. How do you respond?
Why did America send man to the moon? Did they create a P&L (Profit & Loss) for it? Why did Russia send man into space, and China? Were they looking for a (monetary) return of these investments? It was because of some return to their nations.
I did a study on it. I found that the Russians did so to create a thrust among the people to develop new technology; to drive them beyond the borders of knowledge. The Russians wanted to develop radar to look towards space, not just at each other on the ground. They needed to develop a host of new technology. Their space mission galvanised the entire nation. It was then that American scientific advisers told President Kennedy that there was a risk of the capitalists losing out to the communists. It was a question of the survival of America and the capitalist system, and that they should seek knowledge.
In order to galvanise the Americans, Kennedy announced the mission to the moon. It was not a gold-digging exercise or to look for diamonds. (It was) not to look for wealth. In the US now, basically all new technology is government-funded. That is how the US has galvanised itself. That is how we should see it here – to galvanise the young to embrace science and knowledge. And I don’t think this can be measured.
> Finally, the remarks you made to a Malaysian Indian student during a visit to Los Angeles in 2007 resulted in you being labelled a racist. Does that still haunt you?
I have already apologised and I repeated that in Parliament. I met with a group of 30 Malaysian students who were promised scholarships to study in the US after completing a bio-tech diploma (here). At that time, I didn’t realise that they were promised scholarships. They were 27 Malay, one Chinese and two Indian students. I told the Malays if I found out that their father was very rich, I won’t help them. They laughed. I told the Chinese student if she was needy, I would help. To the Indian students, I said the same – that if they were rich and upper class, I wouldn’t help. I put it to them in jest. The Malay students were okay with what I told them. But I learnt that what is right for one community is not necessarily so for the other. A politician has got to be careful with his choice of words.
:
I have picked this up from Malaysia Today and I think it is important enough to be shared.
The current story is Tan Beng Hock committed suicide by jumping out of a window and falling to his death.
Well RPK show a picture of what a body will look like it if has indeed fallen from a height. This is the picture of Student Tan Kian Chong who was found dead at the bottom of Apartmen Vista Angkasa in Kampung Kerinchi yesterday, suspected of falling down 16 floors. See the ‘mess’. And eyewitnesses said they heard an ‘explosion’ when his body hit the ground while his blood was splattered right up to the second floor of the building.
Now compare this to the picture (below) of Teoh Beng Hocks body:
Latest in MindSpring’s blog
|
MindSpring Conferences
