Former Malaysia Airlines Chairman Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli looking at Malaysian Insider’s ad in NST and Berita Harian today
They say, a picture is worth a thousand words. In this case, its worth RM 200 million.
The Malaysian Insider’s apology to Tajudin Ramli, NST 7 Oct 2011
ADUN Padang Lalang Michal Tan Cheong Heng
Tiga setengah tahun lepas semasa mengambil alih Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang dari Barisan Nasional, Setiausaha Agung DAP Lim Guan Eng mengumumkan bahawa mana mana politikus Pembangkang akan dihalang untuk diluluskan mana mana permohonan tanah. Ini bertujuan menunjukan mereka tidak mahu wakil rakyat mereka dilihat sebagai menyalah gunakan kedudukan, semata mata untuk diberikan permohonan tanah dari Kerajaan Negeri.
Isu terkini melibatkan Tan Hong Cheng tidak sebagaimana yang sebenar. Beliau bersama saudara kandung iaitu ADUN DAP bagi Padang Lalang YB Tan Chong Heong terlibat dalam permohonan sebidang tanah 1.1 hektar di Jalan Song Bang Kheng di Bukit Mertajam dan telah mendapat kelulusan Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang.
Hari ini Parti Cinta Malaysia membuktikan sebaliknya. Dalam sidang media yang telah diadakan oleh Naib Presiden Huang Cheng Guan telah menarik perhatian umum terutama sekali ahli ahli DAP Bukit Mertajam. Sesama mereka telah beralih pendapat dan menyatakan rasa hairan dan terkejut dgn pendedahan tersebut.
Huang yang juga bekas Naib Presiden Gerakan menyatakan dengan tegas, “Last time they said tak akan ambil satu inci tanah pun but now what happened? Dia yang cakap kita dengar kata. Tapi ini bukan inci, ini ekar. Jadi mereka perlu jelaskan kepada rakyat Pulau Pinang. Jangan pandai cakap saja. Bagi saya slogan cat tak laku lagi. No more competency, accountability, transparency kalau betul CAT jawab la ini isu kepada semua!”.
Mereka juga menyatakan bahawa YB Michael Tan Cheong Heng merasa dirinya pandai menutup pemilikan tanah pajakan tersebut tetapi akhirnya telah dibongkar oleh PCM dan amat memalukan sekali.
Disamping juga elemen telah digerakan untuk terus spin isu ini dan akhbar The Star di KL telah dihubungi dan dikatakan ber janji akan spin isu ini secara lebih aggresif lagi.
Manakala Huan juga telah dihubungi oleh wakil Penang Sports Club (PSC) yg melahirkan rasa tidak puas hati mereka terhadap diskaun 80% keatas tanah TOL tersebut sedangkan permohonan PSC utk melanjutkan status TOL kelab tersebut tidak diluluskan. Sehubungan dengan itu, Huan akan membuat laporan terhadap diskaun yang diberi keatas premium tanah tersebut di SPRM dalam masa terdekat.
Penjelasan Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang Lim Guan Eng didesak serta merta.
The "thirteen million plus Ringgit" guy rambles.... 
An election budget
PM Dato' Seri Mohd. Najib Tun Razak delivering his 2012 Budget speech in Dewan Rakyat, 7 October 2011
Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Mohd. Najib Tun Razak presented his third budget. As the seventh finance minister, he offered a lot of direct goodies for the rakyat. Majority of Malaysians would benefit directly from the Federal Government 2012 budget.
Its part of ‘National Transformation Policy’. The agenda of NKRA and NKEA would be continued and followed through. “No groups shall be excluded”.
First on the agenda, subsidies are in and shall remain. Subsidies for rice, sugar, cooking oil and flour are 60sen, 20sen, RM2.25 and 55sen respectively. For fuels, RON 95 and diesel subsidies stand at 85 and 86 sen per litres, respectively. Cooking gas subsidy is RM 21.42 for every cylinder.
School fees would be abolished completely, be it the RM 24.5o for primary or RM 32.50 for secondary.
Housing is one of the serious agenda being addressed for 2012. For those who are earning below RM3,000 per month, the ‘First Home Scheme’ launched at March 2011 house financing ceiling would be raised from RM220,000 to RM400,000.
Under Perumahan Rakyat 1 Malaysia (PR1MA), 1880 affordable homes be build in Putrajaya and Bandar Tun Razak. 7,700 units would be build in Cyberjaya, Putra Heights, Seremban, Damansara and Bukit Raja, where the 1,000 sq ft apartment would be sold at RM150,000 instead of market price of RM200,000.
SPNB would continue to ensure more Malaysians have access to affordable homes. These houses would cost RM 45,000 each where RM 20,000 subsidy would be allocated per unit. For the 190,000 orang asli, RM 20 million has been allocated for them to be relocated to new areas.
Appreciating FELDA schemes have been around since 50 years ago, RM 400 million would be allocated for the upgrading of water supply to these areas.
Security is also high on the agenda. Royal Malaysian Police would be allocated an special provision of RM 200 million for improving police science and investigations, on of a RM 442 million development budget.
Special provisions are made for the security services. RM500 million be allocated for ‘Army Care’ program, where living quarters would be upgraded. One off payments would be issued to 48,000 former special constables, auxilliary policemen, home guards, women special constables and border guards for their service and sacrifice to the country in the past, include the ‘warring years’.
RM 50 million allocated for training for the 175,000 ex-servicemen is designed to alleviate their livelihood when they rejoin the civilian life. These men and women would still be productive to play their role in the engine growth and assist to propel the economy further.
The civil servants would benefit from the policy of ‘Civil Service Transformation’. Revised pay scales awaits them. The immediate take away is the minimum bonus of RM 500 per employee. The 600,000 government pensioners would be expecting bigger pie where the revised pension would come to force and RM 600 million has been carved out for this.
Teachers shall benefit from the revised remuneration scheme. 300,000 teachers would benefit when the graduate and non graduate teachers get increase in their pay. Example is for teachers at DG48 who are currently drawing RM 6.325.42, would expect to have a ceiling income at RM 8,710. For the non graduate teachers at the grade of DG34, they could expect a ceiling pay of RM 5,370 instead of RM 3,860.52 now. Their process to get increment and promotion would be shortened.
As promised, quality of life and access to services would be improved for all Malaysians across the board, especially in the rural areas. Special funds would be allocated for professionals to start their practice and services in rural areas.
PM Najib took pot shots against the Opposition for their recent ‘discovery of a Welfare Nation’. He said “BN Government has done this all along. We shall continue to care for the rakyat”.
The Federal Goverment budget for 2012 stands at RM 232.8 billion. Of that, RM 51.2 billion is for development and RM 181.6 billion is allocated for operations. The budget is designed for the Malaysian economy to grow between 5-6% for next year.
PM Najib also announced that 17 more services subsector would be liberalised by next year.
Even politicians are not excluded, be it the ruling party of the Opposition. He proposed a review of the allowances for all elected representatives.
Several rebates and exemptions are being proposed.
There is something for everyone, planned in this budget. The industrialists and business owners, civil servants, retirees, teachers, heathcare workers, men and women in security services and even MPs.
His parting shot, “BN government will not pander to any pressures. We know what we’re doing. We are confident all these are unlike the insincerity, intellectual hypocrite and spiritual recklessness of certain parties”.
A lot of ‘Feel Good Factor’ designed for 2012. Considering that many believed that 2012 is the year where Malaysians decide for the mandate of the Federal Government and most of the state governments, this is an election budget indeed.
- Economic analysis and commentary
on October 7, 2011 at 19:01 Comments (10)