Najib’s popularity plunged because rhetoric did not match reality, say analysts

The gap between rhetoric from Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s administration and the reality of Malaysian lives is behind the 10% slide in the prime minister’s popularity in the latest Merdeka Center survey, say analysts. They told The Malaysian Insider that there was also a gap between what the Najib administration demanded from the Malaysian public and how it behaved with public funds. “The Government is unable to show that it is sharing the financial burden by eliminating waste. "Instead the public sees that the burden to be more prudent is on them,” political analyst Khoo Kay Peng said when commenting on the latest survey results.



Pollster Merdeka Center said yesterday that its latest survey showed that Najib’s approval rating took a 10% dive from 62% in August 2013 to 52% in December. The survey was conducted between December 4 and 12, 2013, after the reduction of fuel subsidies in September 2013, and the tabling of the Budget 2014 during which the Government announced the introduction of the goods and services tax (GST) in 2015. Merdeka Center said that concerns over the economy, particularly the rising cost of living and inflation, topped the list with 67% of respondents. Additionally, 54% of respondents reported that they did not believe in statements from government leaders about the economic situation, revealing the gap between the rosy picture that the administration paints of the economy and the pain in the pocket for consumers. Khoo said raising the per capita income of Malaysians remains a steep challenge for Najib even as the public chafes at electricity tariff hikes and rising petrol prices. “A big part of the problem is the labour policy and what industries practise. The Government puts a lot of emphasis on increasing productivity and skilled labour but, at the same time, there is an addiction to cheap foreign labour.” Khoo added that while the administration expects the public to tighten their belts, nothing was done about government waste as seen in numerous auditor general’s reports. Corruption remained a persistent problem, said Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam. Graft leads to a rise in the cost of doing business which in turns leads to inflation, the retired top civil servant said. When businesses have to pay bribes, the extra cost would be passed down to the consumer, said Navaratnam, who is chairman of the Centre for Public Policy Studies. But rising inflation was not the only issue, he said, as the administration did not appear to deal firmly with problems, such as the education system and presence of extremists. “Look at the Pisa (Programme for International Assessment) scores. That is a clear indication of how little confidence the public has towards our national leadership.” Two weeks ago, the Pisa scores showed that Malaysian 15-year-olds ranked in the bottom third among 65 countries when it came to reading, Science and Mathematics. Malaysian 15-year-olds were now three to five years behind their peers in Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Macau and Japan. The Government was criticised by politicians and educators over the Pisa results even as more and more Malaysian students scored straight As in the Sijil Penilaian Menengah (SPM). “But this is not a problem that developed overnight. It was accumulated over the years, starting from Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed’s time.” Navaratnam said the BN leadership's silence and sometimes tolerance of racist and religious extremists undermined the idea that cared about the public's peace of mind. This is since Najib is fond of talking of moderation and unity through the 1Malaysia concept, yet he tolerates anti-Shia and anti-Christian sentiments. "What the country wants and what Najib has to do is provide firm, fair resolute and compassionate leadership," said Navaratnam about the prime minister's effort to regain public confidence. – December 19, 2013.The Malaysian Insider

[Cameron Highlands] Officers who release the Dam gates should be SACKED!!!!

Unbelievable... you dont just go & open the gate & flush people to their death and wreck their cars and their homes. What were you are thinking? Don't you have any contigency plan?

In other countries of the world, they build dams to control the floods, ie. the dams would store the flood water upstream during heavy rain and then slowly release them in a manner that it just fill up the river or drainage system safely to the sea. In Malaysia, they build dams in order to flood people downstream, ie. create a mini tsunami and then they all blame GoD for the disaster.

To listen

This is the Chinese symbol for “To Listen”. It is wonderful in how it pulls together several elements required to fully listen to another person. When one of the elements is not present, true listening is incomplete. It is intuitive. We know this. Yet, we forget and fail to listen every day of our lives.

For leadership to thrive we need to both listen and encourage others to listen. It is why I refer to dialogue often in my writing. I list the elements below that make up the Chinese symbol for “To Listen“. Something for us to ponder for our success as leaders. I question if anything is more important.

Heart = Empathy
Leaders need empathy. I do not know how a leader with little empathy can sustain success. Empathy is the means to reach out and touch the heart of the person we are listening to and shorten the distance between us.

Undivided Attention = Quiet the mind’s noise
Be present. There is no past or future. Here and now, you are my focus. I am listening to you and not waiting to speak myself.

Ear = You have two of them
Focus on hearing the speaker. There is voice and inflection and the tone of the voice. It changes as we speak. Do I hear the full message? We can pick up so much information as we hear someone speak to us.

Eyes = Window to the soul
Our eyes are amazing. We see so much, but focus on so little. Maybe with enough focus we can get a glimpse into the soul of the person we are listening to and for once understand. .

LCW lost ..Blaming over air conditioning?

Lin Dan has beaten LCW many times until last two years, the gap is getting smaller. As a world champ, one would prefer to win in more consistent and fair circumstances. We wish LCW could win but again very sorry for him. Lin Dan is no doubt a great player and he has been trained with many good and strong sparring partners. LCW does not have that. Both are great champions and we wish the match could have ended in a 'better' circumstances. Blaming over air conditioning? What a ridiculous reason. As if only LCW was feeling the heat. This is the main problems in Malaysia (Sport Management), always blaming other when lose. For example, football team lose to Singapore, Singapore play dirty game, lose to Chelsea said Chelsea arrogant, lose to Barcelona said Barcelona treats Malaysia like Pariahs. Now lose to China, said China play dirty game. Only if someone do the statistic over the blaming cases every time Malaysia team lose no matter to whom. I personally think Malaysia sport management are the causes of the problem, they never accept it when lose, always so many excuses. Why not save the blaming time to practice even harder, analyze own weakness and spot out opponent weakness and form up stronger strategies? Anyway I hope LCW can get a good rest.

Penang CM's Statement after swearing-in

I feel Proud for the Penangites, Bravo! A good leader makes a GREAT difference to a state and to a country, and I am sure to a family too. Unity speaks for itself and created the results of today, Penang is getting excited for its progress with so much positivity to be anticipated. Penang CM's Statement after swearing-in
Well done, Penang!
Let's move back to Penang... seems like another country :) This is how a wise and responsible LEADER should speak! Subject: Penang CM's Statement after swearing-in Press Conference Statement by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng After The Swearing-In Ceremony By Penang Governor At Sri Mutiara, Penang on 7.5.2013
      We are extremely grateful to the people of Penang not only for proving that Penangites can neither be bought by the blatant and shameless money politics nor threatened with violence that had occurred in the last few days of the GE13 campaign in Penang. Clearly Penangites valued a government that performed and delivered over the last 5 years much more than those who only appeared during the last 5 days of the campaign to buy votes or threaten voters.
       We are humbled and thank the people of Penang for their support. Just as we have delivered in the previous 5 years, we shall continue to do so for the next 5 years in preparing not only the future for the young but preparing the young for the future. We are prepared to build upon our successes to make Penang Cleaner, Greener, Safer and Healthier than ever. 5 years ago, we introduced clean governance based on the CAT principles of Competency, Accountability and Transparency. Through measures such as open competitive tenders, assets declarations, disallowing family members from doing business with the state government, we have managed to garner the largest investments ever in the history of Penang.
       In the last 5 years from 2008-2012, we received RM 36.1 billion in investments, compared to only RM 18.7 billion in the preceding 5 years from 2003-2007. Through CAT, the PR state government was able to achieve surpluses every year since 2008, reduce debt by 95% and increase state assets from RM800 million in 2008 to RM1.2 billion in today. From the savings and surpluses we achieved, we shall abolish poverty this year by topping up monthly the income of all families who receive less than RM770 a month, continue with yearly cash aid to schools, senior citizens, single mothers, the disabled, school students, university students and trishaw pullers. From our feedback, the fear that BN will abolish these popular programmes caused many, especially Malays, to reject BN and support PR.
       On the back of clear increased support amongst Chinese and Indian voters coupled with the slight increase in Malay support, PR Penang recorded an increase in popular votes from 63% to 66% and won all our seats with increased majorities. PR Penang managed to win an additional state seat in Seberang Jaya, increasing the 29 state seats won to 30. PR will not follow BN’s racial games of bashing the Chinese voters and make the Chinese community scapegoats for BN’s loss. Instead, PR will treat all Penangites fairly regardless of race, religion and political background. Before I was sworn in for my second term as Chief Minister, I had visited Kampung Melayu in Air Itam, my constitutency in the Indian settlement of Ujong Batu in Bagan and Air Putih. The PR Penang state government 2.0 will be fair to all, even towards those who supported BN. Propose An Annual RM 100 Golden Mother Programme To Record Our Appreciation To All Homemakers Below 60 Who Do Not Work But Look After Their Children From 2014 Onwards.
       If PR had won Putrajaya, a PR Federal government would have given RM600 annually to all homemakers who did not work so that they can take care of the families. This general election showed the power of women, many who voted for the first time enthusiastically for justice, freedom, truth, integrity and good governance. In appreciation for their support, I shall propose a Golden Mother programme of RM 100 annually to all homemakers below 60 who do not work but look after their children and families from 2014 onwards.
        All Pakatan Rakyat State Assemblypersons Shall Publicly Declare Their Assets Annually Certified By An Accounting Firm. We will continue to further enhance CAT governance, including extending public asset declarations annually to all elected reps certified by an accounting firm, instead of confining it only to the Chief Minister and EXCO members.
         We shall continue with our pro-growth, pro-jobs and pro-poor policies, especially empowering the SMEs, halal industry and expand our microcredit programme with an additional RM5 million.We will also encourage the growth of the aquaculture industry by abolishing boating licenses and provide nets on an annual basis to inshore fishermen. Apart from existing tourism projects, we want to improve the hospitality service by giving an annual good service incentive of R600 to all taxi-drivers.
        We will seek to establish Penang as a center of excellence for science and technology through the Penang Science Cluster and the RM25 million Tech-Dome initiative. We will also make Penang a regional education hub by building Penang Learning Centers in all districts and attracting world-class educational institutions such as the Asian Women’s Leadership University (AWLU). Our ultimate goal will always be to build human talent by training, retraining, retaining and attracting new talent.
      The Penang state government proposes to work with the Federal government on the Penang Transport Masterplan to establish a public transport system and expand existing road networks to ensure that our children do not grow up as a traffic jam generation. Not just the 4 major highways in Penang but also new roadwork projects in Seberang Perai, such as Jalan Bukit Minyak and Jambatan Kampung Tanjung Berembang.
       In terms of housing, we will continue the RM500 million Affordable Housing Fund by building 22,000 units of affordable quality housing in George Town, Teluk Kumbar, Butterworth, Bukit Mertajam, Batu Kawan and Juru, covering all 5 districts.
          Finally, making Penang liveable by being clean, green safe and healthy remains top on our agenda. We are now the most liveable in Malaysia and fourth best place to retire in the world. We will continue to preserve and strengthen George Town as a UNESCO World Heritage City as well as in arts and culture. Being the only green state practicing the “No Plastic Bags Campaign”, achieving the highest recycling rate in Malaysia at 24%, we will now target to achieve a recycling rate of 40% as well as reduce the generation of waste per capita by 50% by 2020.
          The state government also plans to increase the number of CCTVs, as well as street lights to ensure that Penang keeps its status as the safest state in Malaysia. We will continue with our agenda of returning the third vote to Penang in order to empower local democracy through local government elections.
          The people of Penang have spoken loud and clear and given an unqualified endorsement towards the people-centric policies of PR. There will be no room for cronies in Penang. Let us all unite to make Penang the No.1 liveable state in Malaysia.
LIM GUAN ENG

Najib’s ‘new, transformational’ cabinet

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak today unveiled a new, dynamic cabinet to drive through his ambitious economic and political transformation agenda.

The cabinet includes a mix of technocrats and civil society representatives, who bring valuable experience from outside government, as well as experienced ministers and younger faces. The cabinet also draws on Malaysia’s diverse ethnic communities.

“The new cabinet will be responsible for delivering transformation in Malaysia and continuing the economic and political reforms that began four years ago,” said Najib while announcing his cabinet. He was flanked by his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin and Chief Secretary to the Government Ali Hamsa.

“The new ministers bring both the measured calm of experience, and the vibrant energy of new ideas; a grounding in anti-corruption and human rights law, and an appreciation for the dynamism of the private sector.

“Over the past months and years, divisions have opened up in Malaysian society. Now it is time for all of us, in government and beyond, to put the bitterness behind us, and work towards national reconciliation – and national unity.

“It is in that spirit that I have asked these men and women to serve, not just as ministers, but as a unity Cabinet. Together we will act to bring about national reconciliation, secure Malaysia’s economic future, and build a stronger, more harmonious society,” he said.

Sabah, Sarawak, Umno rewarded

Sabah and Sarawak which both gave a large chunk of MP seats to BN were rewarded with 15 parliamentarians being named in the cabinet, of which 10 were full ministers.

There were no representatives from Gerakan and MCA although Najib has set aside the Transport Ministry for the latter in the event it decides to join the government. There are only two Chinese representatives in the cabinet – Senator Paul Low (minister) and Mary Yap (deputy minister).

There were 35 Umno parliamentarians in the cabinet, including 16 full ministers. Most of them were the old faces who had been retained – but given different portfolios – by Najib. However former Agriculture and Agro-based Industry minister and Tanjung Karang MP Noh Omar was dropped.

The two prominent new Umno faces are Khairy Jamaluddin and Abdul Rahman Dahlan.

New faces in Najib’s cabinet include:

·         Paul Low, anti-corruption campaigner and President of Transparency International (Malaysia), who will be a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

·         P Waythamoorthy, human rights activist and chairman of HINDRAF, an NGO that campaigns for equal rights for Malaysian Indians, who will be a Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

·         Abdul Wahid Omar, President and CEO of Maybank, one of Southeast Asia’s top five banks that serves 22 million customers, who will be a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

·         Khairy Jamaluddin, the 37 year-old MP re-elected MP for Rembau with a tripled majority of over 18,000 votes, who will be Minister for Youth & Sports.

·         Abdul Rahman Dahlan, MP for Kota Belud in Sabah, who will lead the new Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing & Local Government.

 

=====================

Thursday, 16 May 2013 08:55

Paul Low, just a 'poster boy' for Najib or will he be allowed to clear up corruption

Written by  Tony Pua 

The appointment of Datuk Paul Low as a Minister in Prime Minister’s Department will be the barometer by which Datuk Seri Najib’s new 5 year reign as the premier will be judged.

The Cabinet line up provided many disappointments such as its bloated size, the inclusion of controversial characters with questionable repute. These disappointment will be dealt with to varying degrees by my Pakatan Rakyat colleagues.

However, Datuk Seri Najib Razak sprung his only surprise with the “bold” inclusion of Datuk Paul Low, who is the current Chairman of Transparency International, as a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

This “bold” appointment, will in fact decide the fate of Datuk Seri Najib Razak in his second term as the Prime Minister because it will determine if his administration is willing to carry out the far-reaching reforms necessary to ensure a clean, transparent and competitive administration as advocated by Transparency International.

With Datuk Paul Low, we look to seeing an uncompromising stance in the Government’s fight against corruption and cronyism, to uphold the Transparency International’s Integrity Pledge which Najib has himself signed. The pledge demands that Najib’s administration will “observe the principles of truth, integrity, ethical conduct and accountability, including not accepting or giving bribes or being involved in any way in corrupt practices.”

Rakyat first

More generally, the pledge requires that the government “uphold and give priority to the interests of the Rakyat as a whole” as well as “practice good governance and transparency”.

While Barisan Nasional has trampled upon the above pledge before and during the General Election, with the blatant practice of vote-buying and media manipulation, the people of Malaysia still hope to see that the BN leaders have learnt their lesson after clearly losing the popular vote.

The first priority for the BN Government, with Datuk Paul Low acting as a “Transparency Minister”, is to immediately declare that all Government privatisation and procurement contracts will henceforth by awarded via open and competitive tenders with all details and information made in a transparent manner.

In fact all recently concluded procurement contracts, particularly in the defence industry as well as mega-privatisation contracts such as the RM5.3 billion West Coast Expressway, the RM2.2 billion Kinrara-Damansara Expressway, the Penang Port and KTM Bhd which have not been completed or where works have yet to commence, be immediately suspended pending a new open tender exercise.

The measures carried out by Pemandu under Datuk Idris Jala to date to ensure greater transparency have also failed to gain traction with many Ministries openly defying directives to publish the outcomes and details procurement contracts. Datuk Paul Low must hence wield the uncompromising stick to enforce discipline among the many ministries to cut back on wastages, corruption and cronyism.

At the same time, we expect the new administration to be resolute in carrying out effective investigations against those who are corrupt, regardless of the position these powerful may hold in the Government. For a start, the new Cabinet must immediately rebuke the Sarawak Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud for his outright refusal to cooperate with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) because the latter is “naughty”. The failure to even admonish such behaviour will erase all “positive” perceptions arising from Datuk Paul  Low’s appointment.

Bad cop

Most importantly, beyond the expected minimum of just acting against corrupt and opaque practices, we look to Datuk Paul Low to raise the bar of transparency in the Malaysian government by requiring that all Ministers and Deputy Ministers publicly declare their assets as had been done in both Penang and Selangor state governments. The asset declaration is a critical element to regain public trust of the administration which has been riddled with corruption and abuse of power, contributing to a continuous decline of Malaysia’s rankings in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index.

Pakatan Rakyat will provide the fullest support to Datuk Paul Low to implement all necessary measures to ensure a clean, transparent and competitive government. In fact Datuk Paul Low can afford to be the “bad cop” in the Najib administration because he will owe no political allegiance to any person or party.

However, we hope that the Najib administration isn’t just trying to have Datuk Paul Low’s impeccable credentials rub off on the former, without real and tangible reforms enforced. Without such measures by the Prime Minister, Datuk Paul Low will only become a lame duck Minsiter, and his reputation severely tarnished.

The eyes and hopes of all Malaysians will be on the performance of Datuk Paul Low to check the rampant corruption in government. We will not want to be disappointed.

Tony Pua is the DAP MP for PJ Utara

Malaysia General Election 2013 result

 By looking at this figures, What had happen in Malaysia General Election2013 ???                    
                    Popular votes        Parliment seat  
PAKATAN      50.3%                        89  
UMNO             46.8%                       133 

Who should be ruling the country???

Please help Malaysians!!!
2013年，得票率倒转，国阵拿了47.3%的总得票率，有133个国席，民联总得票率50.8%，但是却只拿了89席。

我发现我不会算数了。。。
 
source: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hui-Mei-%E8%90%A7%E6%85%A7%E6%95%8F/330805745649
 一个非常值得关注的数字！大家有没有发现！国席和洲席的投票数目相差甚远！如果每个人都投两票为什么国席会多那么多？！？！

 source: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151548501823548&set=a.10151548501758548.1073741830.564833547&type=1&theater
  source: https://www.facebook.com/ReshWindblade

What is the truth ....

Something to think..........

So strange ....
RM50.00 looks so big amount when you give to a poor ................
But looks small when you give it as a tip in HOTEL Praying to god for 3 min looks hard................ But 3 hrs of movie is ok for us After whole days of hardwork , we have no problem of going to the gym...........
But to do house work and help mom/wife; we feel tired



We wait for 1 full year for valentines day, and we know it..........
But when do mother's day come; We never know...............
One couldn't give a piece of bread to the child in the picture above ............
But this painting where he looks sad was sold for RM10,000.00 VERY STRANGE…………!!!
But its True.........!!!

Smart Phone rebate !!??

The scheme is converted into votes ?! If the government squanders because of the election, the people will eventually be the one who pays the price of it!