Truly Malaysian

A truly Malaysian flight, from left Bujang Sapawi (a Malaysian from Sarawak, Selvam Senggaram ( a Malaysian Indian), Hj Nasib Sarpin (a Malaysian from Sabah) and Naim Mohamad (a Malaysian malay). They golf and unite at GOLF UNTE.

Faction ketiga dalam MCA?

Tiong Lai bertegas adakan EGM

Oleh SANTHY MUTHALU
santhy.muthalu@utusan.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR 21 Nov. – Naib Presiden MCA, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai bertegas untuk mengadakan mesyuarat agung luar biasa (EGM) kedua pada 28 November ini.

Bagaimanapun beliau berkata, pihaknya akan akur jika semua perwakilan bersetuju untuk mengadakan pemilihan parti yang akan ditentukan tarikhnya secepat mungkin.

“Buat masa ini, EGM masih diteruskan seperti yang dicadangkan sebelum ini. Jika semua pihak bersetuju untuk mengadakan pemilihan parti, maka EGM itu tidak perlu diadakan,” katanya kepada Mingguan Malaysia di sini hari ini.

Dalam pada itu, ketika ditanya mengenai pertemuan dengan Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak semalam, beliau berkata, Perdana Menteri menyambut baik cadangan untuk mengadakan pemilihan parti.

“Perdana Menteri berpendapat pemilihan parti akan menjadi satu wadah untuk menyelesaikan krisis dalaman MCA kebelakangan ini.

“Bagaimanapun, kami (perwakilan MCA) harus meneliti beberapa perkara penting sebelum mengambil apa-apa keputusan berhubung EGM mahupun pemilihan parti,” jelasnya.

Ujar beliau, apa-apa keputusan yang diambil dengan persetujuan perwakilan MCA, pihaknya akan mengumumkan secepat mungkin.

“Apa yang penting bagi kami adalah menyelesaikan masalah dalaman parti seperti yang dikehendaki oleh beberapa pihak termasuk Perdana Menteri.

“Timbalan Presiden MCA, Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek turut setuju dengan cadangan pemilihan parti. Maka, kini tugas kami adalah mendapatkan pandangan daripada semua perwakilan MCA,’’ jelasnya.

Khabar Angin atau Angin Khabar?

Husam letak jawatan?

Oleh AZRAN FITRI RAHIM
azran.rahim@utusan.com.my

KOTA BHARU 21 Nov. – Timbalan Pesuruhjaya II Pas Kelantan, Datuk Husam Musa dikatakan mahu melepaskan semua jawatan dalam parti dan juga kerajaan yang merupakan satu lagi episod yang menggambarkan perpecahan dan kekusutan dalam parti itu.

Namun hasrat itu tidak dipersetujui oleh Mursyidul Am Pas yang juga Menteri Besar Kelantan, Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

Nik Aziz sebaliknya memberikan cuti selama lima hari bermula hari ini kepada Husam yang juga exco kanan kerajaan negeri untuk berehat dan menenangkan fikiran.

Tindakan Husam untuk melepaskan semua jawatan dalam parti dan kerajaan yang dikatakan berpunca daripada pendedahan kemelut dalaman Perbadanan Menteri Besar Kelantan (PMBK) yang diterajui Ir. Abdul Ariffahmi Ab. Rahman.

Abdul Ariffahmi yang kini sedang disiasat Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) merupakan menantu Nik Abdul Aziz.

Namun Pas Kelantan melalui Setiausaha Badan Perhubungannya, Mohd. Zaki Ibrahim berkata, perkara itu hanya khabar angin dan mereka tidak mahu mencampuri isu yang dihadapi Nik Abdul Aziz kerana menyifatkan ia tidak ada kena-mengena dengan politik.

Sumber memberitahu, hasrat Husam untuk berundur telah dikemukakannya kepada Nik Abdul Aziz yang juga Pesuruhjaya Pas Kelantan pada pertemuan empat mata Selasa lalu.

“Husam bertemu dengan Nik Abdul Aziz untuk menjelaskan bahawa beliau tidak terlibat atau menjadi dalang di sebalik apa yang berlaku dalam PMBK dan penjelasan itu diterima, tetapi hasratnya untuk meletakkan jawatan ditolak.

“Nik Abdul Aziz telah mengumumkan Husam cuti selama lima hari bermula hari ini pada mesyuarat Badan Perhubungan Pas Kelantan di kediaman rasminya, JKR 10 pagi tadi. Beliau (Husam) tidak hadir pada mesyuarat ini,” kata sumber itu kepada Mingguan Malaysia di sini hari ini.

Hari ini, sebuah portal berita melaporkan Husam mendakwa wujud konspirasi untuk menyingkirkan beliau daripada pentadbiran kerajaan negeri dengan mencetuskan perbalahan di antara beliau dengan Nik Abdul Aziz.

Malah khabar angin menyatakan bahawa Mursyidul Am Pas itu sedang menimbangkan untuk menggugurkan Husam daripada barisan Exco Kelantan ekoran isu pemecatan Syed Azidi Syed Abdul Aziz sebagai Pengarah Perhubungan Korporat PMBK minggu lalu.

Syed Azidi yang lebih dikenali dengan laman blognya Kickdefella, pula dilihat sebagai antara orang kanan Husam.

Sumber itu berkata, dalam tempoh cuti tersebut, Husam juga akan menjalani pembedahan tulang belakang selepas ditangguhkan sejak dua bulan lalu.

“Husam sebelum ini beberapa kali menyatakan kesediaannya untuk berundur sekiranya beliau menjadi liabiliti kepada parti.

“Tetapi khidmat beliau masih diperlukan dalam membantu Nik Abdul Aziz mentadbir negeri ini,” katanya.

Sementara itu, Mohd. Zaki menafikan perkara tersebut dan menyifatkannya sebagai khabar angin.

Katanya, Pas Kelantan tidak mahu mencampuri isu berkaitan yang dihadapi Nik Abdul Aziz kerana menyifatkan ia tidak ada kena-mengena soal politik.

“Ia khabar angin sahaja dan jika benar sudah tentu dalam mesyuarat hari ini ada dibincangkan (perkara ini).

“Kita tidak pernah membincangkan soal ini, sebaliknya ia masalah pentadbiran yang boleh diselesaikan sendiri Tok Guru (Nik Aziz) selaku Menteri Besar,” katanya.

OTC and CSL decided to opt for my option one, maybe in the spirit of 1Malaysia

When MCA had their Extraordinary General Meeting, no one expect the extraordinary to happen. But the vote of no confidence to OTC was passed and the reinstatement of CSL was rejected. As I have mentioned in my earlier posting, if only they had used their brain instead of their brawn, it can save all these embarrassments.

Datuk Wong Chun Wai's reasoning and findings can be followed and read here, The Storm's over..

My posting as the The Third Eye can be followed from the trancripts below or here,

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Eyeing what the MCA delegates up to

On second thoughts, if they had used their brains rather than their brawn, both of them could still be working together constructively in a party where the Chinese Community put their hopes on in the political landscape of Malaysia. Now the community that is represented by the delegates at the extraordinary general meeting had shown them the way, the leadership decisions is questionable and did not get the confidence of their mandate and that the dismissal should not be done and at the same time there is no place for characters which have a reputation which can erode the good image of the Chinese Party.

The way forward,

one is for OTK and CSL quickly search their soul and ask for forgiveness and mend their rifts because it is proven that they are equally strong and if they are united, it is a very strong and formidable combination for the party subject to the endorsement of their supporters.

two, if they cannot get to terms, then the MCA needs to find a new force to bring the chinese community together and rebuild the Chinese political vehicle to be accepted by Barisan Nasional and Malaysians at large with dignity and respect so that they will be trusted to represent the ommunity in the next general election.

Menjunjung tradisi parti, menzahirkan perubahan

Presiden UMNO YAB Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak menyemarakkan semangat para perwakilan yang berada di Dewan Merdeka, Pusat Dagangan Dunia Putra (PWTC) melalui ucapan sulungnya sebagai Presiden UMNO pada Perhimpunan Agung Umno 2009 pada 15hb.Okt, 2009.

Dalam ucapan perasmian tersebut, beliau yang juga Perdana Menteri telah menyusur semula perjuangan UMNO dengan mengaitkan kepada peristiwa-peristiwa semasa termasuklah penggubalan dasar-dasar dalam kerajaan yang membawa kepada kemajuan rakyat keseluruhannya.

“Untuk menongkah masa depan yang cemerlang, kita perlu berakar teguh, dengan beriktibar daripada sejarah dan sistem nilai, barulah kita berupaya untuk tegak menghadapi masa mendatang,” katanya.

Lantas dengan susur galur UMNO sejak ditubuhkan hinggalah mengharungi pelbagai krisis terbukti keteguhan UMNO tidak ada bandingannya sama ada krisis politik dalam negara atau krisis antarabangsa termasuklah kemelesetan ekonomi dunia.

“Umno tidak boleh lagi kelihatan sebagai parti yang hanya dilihat condong kepada satu-satu pihak sahaja,” katanya dengan penuh semangat.

Menurut beliau lagi, selama ini UMNO dihormati dan disegani sebagai sebuah parti politik disebabkan ia mendapat sokongan majoriti dari orang-orang Melayu dan Bumiputera, lantas kekuatan UMNO adalah bergantung kepada ahlinya.

Beliau juga turut menempelak pihak yang mengatakan UMNO parti perkauman kerana hakikatnya UMNO dan orang Melayu amat terbuka dan bertolak ansur dengan kaum lain.

“UMNO akan terus mendapat tempat selama mana kehendak dan kemampuan rakyat dapat dizahirkan dalam perjuangan, seterusnya dimanifestasikan dalam gerak kerja demi kepentingan rakyat menyeluruh,” katanya.

Beliau berkata sebagai tonggak parti pemerintah, UMNO akan terus menjuarai soal kebajikan dan periuk nasi semua rakyat dan mahukan gerak kerja parti selari dengan tuntutan zaman.

“Khidmat UMNO harus merata. Kita akan tetap menjadi parti yang pro kepada pertumbuhan ekonomi berdaya tahan, pengagihan kekayaan yang adil, jaringan keselamatan sosial menyeluruh dan kos hidup terkawal,” ujar beliau lagi kepada para perwakilan yang berjumlah 2,541 orang.

Dalam ucapan tersebut juga, beliau turut menyeru semua bangsa Melayu untuk bersama-sama membentuk satu saf yang berasaskan pertautan pemikiran dan memulih silaturrahim demi kepentingan bersama.

“Apa yang penting, ahli-ahli UMNO perlu mewajahkan peri laku mulia dan nilai-nilai murni sebagai asas jati diri dan kekuatan parti,” tegasnya.

Beliau yang mengambil alih tampuk kepimpinan parti melalui proses peralihan daripada pemimpin sebelumnya Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Mac lalu turut berpesan kepada golongan pemimpin di semua peringkat lapisan agar sentiasa melakukan muhasabah dalam diri, melihat kelemahan dan memperbetulkan kekhilafan.

“Janganlah segan untuk turun ke bawah dan merapatkan diri dengan akar umbi sekalipun kita menyandang jawatan tinggi – ini kerana mereka yang menunjukkan keikhlasan dan merasai keseronokan menabur bakti kepada rakyat akan menjadi pemimpin yang disanjung.”

Dalam proses perubahan UMNO juga, beliau menegaskan bahawa kriteria dalam menentukan calon pilihan raya akan diubah kerana calon itu perlulah seseorang yang diterima masyarakat tempatan di samping mempunyai kualiti untuk berkhidmat kepada tiga peringkat penting iaitu peringkat rakyat, peringkat parti dan peringkat negara.

Beliau juga mengajak agar ahli-ahli UMNO berhijrah meninggalkan gejala negatif seperti politik wang supaya UMNO menjadi parti yang bersih dan dihormati setelah pindaan perlembagaan parti dibuat pada Perhimpunan Agung Khas UMNO.

Katanya pindaan itu bukan bersifat kosmetik mahu pun tempel-tempelan, sebaliknya ia adalah perubahan secara tuntas dan signifikan.

Madu dan racun untuk memulihkan UMNO

AHMAD A. TALIB Najib's reality check for party

2009/10/14

By Ahmad A. Talib

IF not for the tone of the speech, Datuk Seri Najib Razak's pre-assembly briefing to delegates at the Umno general assembly would have been described as harsh and hurtful.

It was hard-hitting no doubt, said delegates coming out of the closed-door session. In fact, the Umno president took the delegates to task for some of their questionable behaviour and got away with cheers and applause.

A delegate from Perak, who declined to be named, said he felt embarrassed when Najib highlighted the known bad habits of members. He was sure that many in the Dewan Merdeka at the Putra World Trade Centre where the session was held felt just as ashamed.

"But the light-hearted way in which Najib outlined these party-survival issues made the whole exercise less painful. But make no mistake, the words hit us deep. He ripped us apart, but did so with a big dose of humour and measured cynicism. He made us feel guilty and embarrassed," the 40-something delegate said.

Party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak at the pre-assembly briefing at the Putra World Trade Centre last night.

A seasoned campaigner from Negri Sembilan said he had not heard a speech delivered like that in recent years.

"At this point in time, Umno needs someone who can rally us and give us a reality check. I can tell you, we got it yesterday. We need to atone our misdeeds quickly," the man said.

The session was closed to the media. But delegates who shared their thoughts with reporters were in unison giving Najib the thumbs up.

Delegates came to the assembly expecting their president to speak from the high ground but were pleasantly surprised when he spoke in a language they could all understand.

They were happy and came out of the briefing with a renewed sense of purpose after hearing Najib's hour-long speech. Najib, delegates said, touched on money politics, ego problems, internal bickering and destructive behaviour which had alienated many good Malays from joining and serving the party.

A member of one of Umno's bureaus, who came from Terengganu, was also glad that Najib paid tribute to the ongoing efforts to consolidate the party in his state.

The internal dispute has lingered for several months and threatened unity and party machinery.

The delegate explained that what Najib did was to highlight the negative elements in the party and thrust them in the face of those present.

He did so with the right balance of humour and serious warning that if the members were to rest on their laurels, the important win in the Bagan Pinang by-election last week would have been meaningless.

Indeed, Najib set the tone for the proceedings over the next three days on a high note. It is now up to the delegates to move with the party leadership to chart a new way forward for Umno as it faces challenges ahead in the next few years.

ahmadt51@gmail.com

ITS DECISION TIME

Its not going to be easy for anyone to decide whether Tan Sri Isa Samad should or should not contest in the Bagan Pinang by election. It is easier said than done for UMNO to get out of the rut and be clean, some drastic measures should be taken some time, some sober actions should be taken other times. In my opinion, if Tan Sri Isa Samad is not loyal to UMNO, Negri Sembilan would also be an opposition state now and if he had contested as a PR candidate, he would be Negri Sembilan's Menteri Besar now. Should he be compensated for his loyalty now. Whatver, it is decision time.

Should Samy Velu be asked to leave MIC after winning uncontested in the last Annual General Meeting. Again it is easier for a non MIC member to comment against MIC's members' wishes. If the majority of MIC members had heeded to public opinion there is no issue. They chose not too. This must be respected. Its not up to anybody else outside MIC. Its for Samy Vellu and MIC to decide. Whatever, it is decision time.

Eyeing food shelf life

Some good info to share with you.
This is very useful, please share with your friends if you find it useful too.


How long can that bottle of ketchup stay in your fridge before it goes bad?

I'm thinking 5 or 10 years but if you want an experts opinion, go to the web site below.

This site lists all kind of foods and how to keep them fresh longer as well as when to get rid of them.

CLICK ON LINK BELOW

http://www.stilltasty.com/

Dato Seri Najib selamat pulang dari bercuti

Kelihatan YAB Dato Seri Najib dan Y A Bhg Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor mengaminkan doa selamat pulang ke tanah air di Kompleks Bunga Raya Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Eyeing Cycling Development Costs

2009/07/06

Cycling: Massive savings for NSC programmes

By : Arnaz M. Khairul

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THE national road and track cycling programmes will be getting a long awaited boost in a deal that will provide the National Sports Council (NSC) with massive savings with Australia's Teschner Technologies Group as bike suppliers.

Years of questionable sums spent by the NSC on purchase of bicycles from local suppliers will be somewhat calmed in a deal that only awaits the official approval from the Malaysian National Cycling Federation's (MNCF) executive committee.

MNCF deputy president Datuk Naim Mohamad said the track sprints squad based in Melbourne will be the first to receive the Teschner bicycles, with the road squad preparing for the Asian Championships to follow suit.

"This is part of a deal outlined in a cooperative sports agreement between Malaysia and Australia," said Naim.

More details on the agreement are expected to be announced by Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephen Smith at the Australian High Commission.
"In principal, all our executive committee members have agreed to the deal and it is just about making it official in a meeting," said Naim.

"What is also important is that this frees up more space and budgets, so that more cyclists can benefit from our development programmes."

On a separate note, Naim said, more riders from the back-up programmes will be having stints in Melbourne, while those in the elite squad will continue to be based there.

"This will be on an ad hoc basis. Eventually, the back-up riders will be the ones to fill in spaces left by the current elite squad so it is only ideal that they be exposed to what they can expect to be part of once they move up," said Naim.

"At the same time, the back-up riders will need to know where they stand in comparison to the elite riders and other better riders in Australia, where there are more high level competitions than what we have available here."

1 Malaysia on its way

MCA and Chinese groups plan to fete Najib

KUALA LUMPUR: The MCA and 15 major Chinese guilds will host a welcome dinner for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. The event will be held at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre tomorrow.

Among the organisers are the Malaysian Seven Major Clans Association, the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia, the Malaysia Lion and Dragon Dance Association, the Eight Malaysian Chinese Organisations and the SMI Association of Malaysia.

Organising chairman and MCA vice-president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said some 2,200 people have been invited to the dinner.

They are mainly leaders from the Chinese guilds, Chinese chambers of commerce and Barisan Nasional component parties.

“The dinner is to show our support for Najib,” Liow said.

Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia president Tan Sri Lim Gait Tong said the event will be a platform to forge closer ties between the Chinese community and Najib.

They forgot about the signboard

This picture of a signboard in Kelana Jaya was taken on the 15th of June, 2009. Either Majlis Bandaran Petaling Jaya or Celcom must be unaware of this. What is the PKR Government doing? They don't seem to be aware as well. Signboards are for awareness. Nobody seems to be aware of this.

Dominant but not dominating

Datuk Dr Agoes Salim is an an economist and first secretary-general of the National Unity Ministry. He is also former chairman of Bank Pertanian. He was on the public service secretariat of the National Operations Council following the riots and helped draw up both the Rukun Negara and the NEP
anizad@nst.com.my

A Very Wise View

Dominating role not healthy for nation,

I THINK we are farther apart now than we were in 1969.

But you have to remember that I grew up going to an English school, to a university where there were people of all races. At that time, although we did think in terms of race, it wasn’t in the way people do now. We felt that we were Malayans. We socialised much better than we do now.

Bahasa Malaysia can be a unifying factor. But it can be a factor separating people, too.

As Sukarno would say, “The important thing is the jiwa.”
You don’t have to have a common language, if you have the same jiwa (heart, spirit, passion, devotion). This is what we don’t have right now.

In 1956, the historical society of Universiti Malaya went to India.

There were lots of Indians in the group, but they didn’t think of themselves as Indians, they thought of themselves as Malayans.

That’s the jiwa.

But later on, because of certain reactions, suddenly people stayed away from this jiwa — they don’t feel as though they are fully Malaysian. They are made to feel that way.

When I was in the service, there were lots of non-Malays in the civil service, holding good positions. But do you see them now? If you go to the universities, where are the non-Malay professors?

After 1969, suddenly there was this drive to make sure that all university vice-chancellors and faculty deans were Malay. So, in the end, we chased away all the best brains among the non-Malays.

When schools say you must start school with a doa (Muslim prayer recitation), you push away all the non-Muslims. When I was at school, we never had any prayers. Whatever we learnt in religious class was a separate thing.

I think it’s more important that we bring people together, rather than pushing religion so hard that it alienates other people. This is what’s happening. I can’t blame the Chinese and Indians; why should they go to a sekolah kebangsaan (national school), when they have to do all these things?

All the things are breaking down. Our school system is not as it used to be. We are producing supposedly so many students with so many As, but what do they know? Are we happy about it? The leaders seem to be happy about it.

We came up with the Rukun Negara because, after 1969, there was the feeling that the nation was breaking down. People had forgotten what it was all about. So, we thought we could bring people back together — unite them. That’s what the first part of the Rukun Negara is about: the objectives of the nation.

Unfortunately, we did practically nothing to promote an understanding of the Rukun Negara. And when schools make mistakes, nobody corrects them. That should have been the role of the Department of Information.

In the beginning, Tan Sri Ghazali Shafie did try to apply the test of whether something was in consonance with the Rukun Negara or not. But then, the government just forgot about this.

We are supposed to be a united nation, not only in terms of state, but also in terms of people: that they would all consider themselves as Malaysians, and that this was their country and their nation. We wanted all these people to share the wealth of the nation.

One of the things we thought contributed to ’69 was the economic disparities, joblessness.

The New Economic Policy was a policy for all Malaysians; not just for the Malays. But we wanted to restructure the economy so that the Malays would come out of the rural agriculture sector into the commercial sector.

We wanted Malay participation at all levels of economic activity. We wanted to uplift the Malays without reducing the position of the others.. — “eradicating poverty regardless of less”.

And this was supposed to be in a situation of growth. Not just sharing the existing cake, but the cake must grow, so that these people also have the opportunity to grow.

At the same time, we also hoped that the Malays would grow a little faster. So, they set this target of 30 per cent equity in 20 years. I was not much in favour of that because I didn’t think it was achievable. I felt that participation was more important than wealth.

We never thought that we would produce multi-billionaires. That was never the intention of the NEP. If some people can come up as everyone comes up, it’s okay. But it wasn’t supposed to be about some people getting contracts.

We did say that we should have Malay millionaires just as we should have Chinese and Indian millionaires, but not so much so that you don’t have to do anything.

You must differentiate between dominance and domination. As Tun Dr Ismail said, “We want to be dominant, but we don’t want to dominate.”
Dominant in the sense that we wanted the Malays to be everywhere; but not to dominate all the others.

But we seem to be dominating; and I don’t think that’s healthy for the nation. It’s not about taking your share and not caring about the rest.

Husam wants to be always on top

Pas deputy president aspirant Datuk Husam Musa said it is too late for his rival Nasharuddin Mat Isa to deny that the party has no plans to join Umno. "It's too late to deny it... I am part of the party top leadership so I know what really happened behind the scenes. The truth will come out sooner or later," he told reporters after the opening of the 55th Pas Muktamar at the Melawati Stadium in Shah Alam.

Husam, who is going for broke, stressed that Pas must be an alternate party to arch-rival Umno.

In referring to the Pakatan Rakyat's plan to form the federal government, the Kelantan senior exco pointed out that a prime minister could come from Pas.

"The PM should be from Pas but if you team up with Umno, you'll be a Minister in PM’s Department. I won't be satisfied because my boss will be under Umno," he said.

He stressed there will not be any co-operation with Umno to jointly govern the country.
"If Pas works with Umno, we will become a lackney. Umno will remain the dominant party, and that's the end for Pas. If Umno lost the elections later and they want to work with us, its okay, provided Pas on top and Umno below. If Umno on top and Pas below, finished," he said.

Good news from CHINA

China offers Sime Darby multi-billion development project

By WONG SAI WAN and CELESTE FONG

BEIJING: Sime Darby has been offered a multi-billion dollar development project in the Weifang prefecture city covering almost 700 sq km – making it one of the biggest venture ever undertaken by a foreign company in China.

Calling it an “iconic milestone project”, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the development would be undertaken by Sime Darby as the lead agency with many Malaysian companies involved.

“This is definitely more than a township project. This is massive and has great potential for many Malaysian companies. This is very exciting,” said Najib to Malaysian reporters at the end of his first official visit to China as Prime Minister.

He said he had met the Communist Party secretary of the Shandung province over the offer to Sime Darby.

“He has given it in writing confirming the offer and Sime Darby has confirmed its interest. We will follow up on this,” Najib added.

Weifang is known as the kite capital of the world because it is a popular past time for the locals and international kite-flying festivals are held there annually.

The present city has a population of 8.5 million and covers some 15,000 sq km. It is located 500km South of Beijing.

Najib disclosed that the Malaysian and Chinese Governments had also come to an understanding on several other huge projects in China and Malaysia.

In his discussions with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao, Najib said he told the Chinese leader that Malaysia was considering offering the rail double-tracking project from Gemas to Johor Baru to a Chinese company.

Asked if this was the same project that was to have been undertaken by a Chinese company before it was shelved in 2003, Najib said it was a different one as the double tracking had already reached Gemas.

The China Government in return, was willing to offer soft loans for this project from a US$10bil fund they had set aside for infrastructure projects meant for Asean countries.

They were also willing to extend a US$15bil trade credit facility.

Najib said he also offered China a commercial banking licence in Malaysia provided the same was offered to a Malaysian bank and the two central banks had been instructed to follow up on this matter.

In their discussions, the Chinese side also expressed the need for the Mengkuang Dam project in Penang to be given to a Chinese company as was agreed upon previously and Najib said this project would be given to the Chinese firm to build the dam on a joint-venture basis with a Malaysian company.

China had also expressed interest in the energy sector especially in the Bakun project as well as the transmission of the power to the peninsular.

Najib said two multi-billion projects in Sarawak – the pulp paper mill and the aluminium smelting plant – was likely to go ahead as “both sides seems to have sorted out most of the problem.”

On Thursday, Acacia Cellulose International Sdn Bhd (a joint-venture company based in Sarawak) signed a memorandum off understanding with China National Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Corporation for the Chinese firm to build the mill.

The project is estimated to be worth over RM4bil.

Najib said he had also given Malaysia’s undertaking to honour the deal on the construction of the Second Penang Bridge that it is to be jointly constructed by a China construction company.

“The first progress payment of RM300mil has already been paid and we are now studying the details of the soft loan being offered by the Chinese Government for this project,” he added.

Fifteen other MoUs and agreements were also signed and it is estimated that the projects, if they went ahead would be worth some RM6.4bil.

In his discussions with Chinese leaders, Najib said he identified five sectors that big companies from China could invest in Malaysia.

These are infrastructure, energy, certain manufacturing industries, services and finance.

On the 16 MoUs, Najib said the Malaysian government had scrutinised all of them and found them to be viable and likely to take off.

“We rejected many other MoUs because of some doubts. This is despite intensive lobbying by those in the private sector,” he added.

A big YES for Najib but ........

45% happy, 16% not happy and maybe 39% undecided. The Malays and Indians looks like they have understood what one Malaysia is. The chinese are always very suspicious? Lets have another poll after the China trip. If the China Chinese can appreciate Najib, why not the Malaysian Chinese?

The Sudan Connection

Mr. Khalil Ibrahim Ahmed, Datuk Naim Mohamad, Datuk Mustapha Yaakub, HE Nadir Yousif Eltayeb, Mr Ahmed Abdelbagi Hammad and Mr Syed Othman Al Kherid.

Tuan Syed Othman and Puan Hasnah Ali

The UMNO General Assembly 2008 from 24/3 to 28/3/2009

Naim addressing the foreign delegates

Foreign Party delegates meeting with the new UMNO President

Receiving a gift from Vietnam

A photo with the First Lady

Receiving a gift from Sri Lanka

NAJIB'S cabinet

Whoever YAB Dato Seri Mohd Najib appoints today in his cabinet will be his prerogative. His privilege and his exclusive right as the Prime Minister of Malaysia. As president of UMNO, I am sure he will consult the polit bureau. As Chairman of Barisan Nasional, I am sure he will consult the supremos of the component parties.

Najib's cabinet will have to be the people's cabinet if he wants to convincingly get back the two thirds majority. UMNO and Barisan Nasional alone will not be able to deliver that for now. He has to dig deep and have a cabinet that the people will like and that the people will trust in handling the affairs of the nation.

Pak Lah was not that successful with the rakyat of Malaysia in forming his cabinet, we hope and pray that YAB Dato Seri Mohd Najib will not repeat his predecessor's mistake.

Whatever is the list, they should be given time to prove themselves. The vote of confidence or no confidence on the choice of cabinet members should only be given when after some time, they perform or do not perform.

The come back kid

Welcome back to UMNO Tun Mahathir Mohamad and family.

Najib kills three birds with one stone?

There are three by elections which will be decided by the 7th of April, 2009 (by the way the number seven is my lucky number) and who says Najib is not campaigning. The walk through Petaling street (China Town), Brickfields (Litte India) and Kampong Kerinci kills three birds with one stone. Its like being in Bukit Gantang, Bukit Selambau and Batang Ai at the same time.

In his sincerety to walk his talk, he is reaching the voters in the three by elections at the same time. This is real politics and politics of the highest order. Down to earth people friendly programmes will go a long way in making Malaysia "numero uno" again. Yes ONE MALAYSIA is not only uniting Malaysia where we Malaysians will act as one, but we as Malaysians will also be number one in all that we do (nothing less).

Syukur Alhamdullilah. Tahniah YAB Dato Seri Najib

Semoga Malaysia dan rakyatnya akan maju dan sejahtera di bawah pimpinan YAB Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak sebagai Perdana Menteri Malaysia yang ke enam. Naim 3 hb April, 2009.

The Sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia

YAB Dato Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak

The Sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia

YAB Dato Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak

The Seventh President of UMNO

YAB Dato Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak

A Very Good Picture

YB Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, YAB Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak, Tun Mahathir and Pak Lah.

Pak Lah to see Agong on the 2nd of April, 2009.

Giving way to YAB Dato' Seri Najib to be the 6th Malaysian Prime Minister. Can we propose the swearing in date to be 4-4-2009.

Barack Obama's Video

Naim --

I have some exciting news to share about the future of this grassroots movement.

I recorded a personal message for you. Please take a minute to watch the video:

http://my.barackobama.com/thefuture

What you built can't stop now. Together with our partners at the Democratic National Committee and its new chairman, Governor Tim Kaine, this movement will continue organizing and bringing new people into the political process.

The challenges facing our country are too great, and our journey to change America is just beginning.

I look forward to working side-by-side with you in the months and years ahead.

Thanks,

Barack

Michelle's call for service

from Michelle Obama to Naim Mohamad date Tue, Jan 13, 2009 at 5:07 AM subject Your call to service mailed-by bounce.bluestatedigital.com

hide details 5:07 AM (33 minutes ago)

Reply

Naim

One week from today, on January 19th, Barack and I will join thousands of people all across the country for an extraordinary day of service.

I recorded a short video to tell you more about this important effort. Please take a minute to watch it and sign up to host or attend a service event near you.

Volunteers of all ages and backgrounds are committing to renew America together, one community at a time.

Whatever service activity you organize or take part in -- cleaning up a park, giving blood, volunteering at a homeless shelter, or mentoring an at-risk youth -- you can help start this important journey. But this is about more than just a single day of service, it's the beginning of an ongoing commitment to your community.

Monday, January 19th, is also Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Dr. King taught us to live a life of service, and he led by example. He once said:

"If you want to be important -- wonderful. If you want to be recognized -- wonderful. If you want to be great -- wonderful. But, recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's a new definition of greatness."

Barack and I will be volunteering in Washington, D.C., our new home. I hope you'll join us by taking part in this national call to service in your community:

It will take ordinary citizens working together with a common purpose to get this country back on track. This national day of service is an important first step in our continuing commitment.

Now is the time to remind all Americans what ordinary people can accomplish when we stand together.

Thank you,

Michelle

Israel will pay for it one day

The GAZA massacre
I honestly thought that we had solved the problem back then when there is an agreement of the ceasefire and the upliftment of the blockade and also the intervention of the Group of FOUR.
I am sure Israel's attempt to wipe out the Palestinian's cause will not end when the bombings, carnage and the killings stop.

Kuala Trengganu By Election 2

In the Kuala Trengganu Parliamentary by election, PAS named the Wakaf Mempelam State Assemblyman as their candidate.

He will be up against Wan Farid of the Barisan Nasional and another Independent candidate.

Even though Wan Farid is the underdog in this battle for Kuala Trengganu, there is no guarantee that this son of Mohd Endot will be getting it easy.

There is no certainty that the three state constituencies that the PAS controlled as against the solo constituency that is with the Barisan Nasional can ensure a PAS victory.

Kuala Trengganu By Election 1

Wan Farid with his other candidates and Wan Farid swearing in as a Senator

Kuala Trengganu By Election

Barisan Nasional is now the under dog in the Kuala Trengganu Parliamentary seat by election. It is
going to be an uphill task for all the BN workers whilst the PAS workers can be rest assured they will get the support from the three constituencies that they have captured in the 12th G E.
The less than 700 majority that the BN Parliamentarian won on behalf of Barisan Nasional is too small a margin for any comfort. But nevertheless, Kuala Trengganu is not Permatang Pauh. So the underdog still have a good chance to retain that Parliament Seat although the symbol looks smaller.