The curtain for 2010 will fall soon. I can safely say that 2010 has not been an impressive year for Malaysia. Through it all, the trials, tribulations, tragedies, victories and challenges reiterate the importance of NOT falling by the wayside in our endeavor to strive for a better nation. I decided to select memorable events for each month of the year in this post to emphasize the fact that we HAVE to plod on to realize our dream for a better Malaysia. January 2010 1. The year started with a blast - literally - when we were shocked by the bombing of the Metro Tabernacle Church in Desa Melawati and the hacking of the judiciary website over the Allah issue as reported HERE in The Star . My blog post HERE gives a list of the many international news portals that reported the events. 2. On 16th January, I wrote HERE about Home Ministry secretary- general Datuk Seri Mahmood Adam's announcement in an interview yesterday that: Students who join the Civil Defence or Rela cadet corps in s

December 31, 2010 Friends and Fellow Malaysians, I wish to end this year (2010) with Jagdish Bhagwatis article on Getting Corruption Right. It is my New Year fervent hope that our Government deals firmly with the corrupt in our country. In 2011, we will see two senior politicians, Tun Ling Leong Sik, and Khir Toyo in our courts. More can be expected given the fact that the new year is likely to be an Election Year (both National and Sarawak state elections). Political temperatures will rise, but I am confident that as a nation of mature and intelligent Malaysians, we will be able to stay sensible, rational, and responsible as we debate issues and discuss the future of our wonderful country, warts and all. Din Merican Getting Corruption Right by Jagdish Bhagwati (December 29, 2010) NEW YORK I just returned from India, where I was lecturing to the Indian Parliament in the same hall where US President Barack Obama had recently spoken. The country was racked by scandal. A gigantic, min

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 31 A Masjid Taman Cheras Jaya official said today it had no problem with how Teo Nie Ching was dressed during an aerobics exercise programme recently in the mosques car park, even as Umno stepped up criticisms against the DAP MP for her tight-fitting clothes. The Serdang MP (picture) was photographed recently in a T-shirt and track pants while taking part in the aerobics session, and this was seized on by the Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia to accuse her of violating the sanctity of the mosque for wearing allegedly tight-fitting clothes and not covering her aurat. We do not have any problem at all with YB Teos attire, Masjid Taman Cheras Jaya committee chairman Azman Idris told The Malaysian Insider today. Covering the aurat is applicable only to Muslims. So, the issue of covering the aurat is not applicable to YB Teo, he added. The Malay daily published a front-page story yesterday with the headline Teo Nie Ching makes trouble again along with a picture of her exercisin

December 31, 2010 1-Despair Scenario by Tunku Abdul Aziz @ Sin Chew Daily The banning of the 1Malaysia logo is an act of mindlessness. It is an exercise in absurdity of the kind becoming all too common in Malaysian politics. The real Idiot is in the Red The decision to proscribe the display of the 1Malaysia logo within the jurisdiction of the state of Selangor is childish to say the least, and that is putting it as charitably as I can. It reflects particularly badly on the maturity of the Pakatan Rakyat state government of Selangor. It was clearly a decision made without reference to the top Pakatan Rakyat national leadership whom I know would not have countenanced such action. This one rash, potentially suicidal, political decision is bound to reinforce, and lend credence to, the growing conviction among many Malaysians that some Pakatan Rakyat politicians are totally incapable of shaking off their doctrinaire attitudes, including that of opposing anything and everything for its own s

The recent announcement made by the BN federal government's chief secretary Tan Sri Sidek Hassan to appoint the tainted Selangor religious department director Mohd Khusrin Munawi to take over the position of Selangor state secretary without informing the Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has been unbecoming and Tan Sri Sidek has been seen as rude. The rudeness of Tan Sri Sidek is, he did not even have the care or courtesy to consult the Selangor Menteri Besar on the state secretary's choice, instead choose to bypass Khalid and went straight to the Sultan of Selangor to present the appointment. Yes, we know the state secretary's position is under the jurisdiction of the Public Service Department (JPA), but as that position is a state based, the chief secretary should have at least demonstrate his proper manners and professionalism in getting the Selangor Menteri Besar's acknowledging the appointment first. Again we wish to point that Tan Sri Sidek is being rude and un

Karpal has been asked to help on behalf of the MB. File picKUALA LUMPUR, Dec 31 The controversial appointment of Datuk Mohd Khusrin Munawi as the Selangor state secretary may lead to a constitutional crisis if the Selangor Sultan carries out a planned swearing-in ceremony for the post on January 6. Constitutional experts argued today that the ceremony, scheduled for next Thursday, was unlawful as the state constitution dictates that the oath of office has to be done in front of the Selangor mentri besar, and not the Selangor Sultan. The Selangor government has insisted it has the final say in deciding the state secretary, after the Selangor Sultan agreed with Putrajaya to appoint Mohd Khusrin as state secretary despite Khalid having his own list of names for the top civil service post in the countrys wealthiest state. It is understood however that outgoing state secretary Datuk Ramli Mahmuds official oath of office was done in the presence of Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah back in Mar

Brave New World (The Star) 30 December 2010 Our secondary school history syllabus needs some serious thought and reworking as it is very imbalanced. _________ I DID a funny thing on Christmas Day. I went to a bookstore and bought an SPM history book. The last time I read one of these things, Ronald Reagan was president and it was considered the height of fashion to wear carrot-cut trousers and white socks with your little black shoes; an ugly time indeed. Anyway, the reason I bought this SPM history textbook was because there has been some controversy recently about the proposal to make history a compulsory subject in the SPM exams. The main contention about this move by the Government is the actual content of the history taught. In the spirit of independent research, I bought the book to see if there is any cause for concern. The thing about history is that it is not written in stone. Discoveries are made which shed new light on old ideas. For example, archaeological digs in Malaysia

December 31, 2010 HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MALAYSIANS AND PEOPLE OF PEACE AND GOODWILL THE WORLD OVER. LET US WELCOME 2011 WITH HOPE AND ANTICIPATION MACC Panel Advisor Robert Phang calls A-G Gani Patail a Rogue by Din Merican In his New Year Resolution Wish for all Malaysians, Tan Sri Robert Phang Miow Sin, Panel Advisor, Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) sent a sobering message to our Prime Minster, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his government. He asked our Prime Minister to handle firmly IKIM, PERKASA and Attorney-General Gani Patail. Phang launched a veiled yet blistering attack against these three destructive elements that threaten unity, truth and justice in our country. While many perceived IKIMs statement on Santa Claus to be irrational, religious intolerance towards other faiths became more apparent when Prime Minister Najibs aides directed church officials to remove crucifixes and other overt Christian symbols from being displayed at the Catholic Archbishops Christm

By Queville To KUALA LUMPUR: Outspoken Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) adviser Robert Phang has again trained his gun on Attorney-General Gani Patail for his deafening silence over his consorting with Shahidan Shafiee, the proxy of former Malaysia Airlines chairman, Tajuddin Ramli. He described such a stance by Gani as a great disservice to the government in the fight against corruption. I have raised this before and the A-G's continued silence is deafening. PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayob has now raised the same issue. "This is not just a political issue but it also concerns the integrity of the highest law officer of the country. His actions and conduct can erode the credibility of the government, he said in his New Year Message here yesterday. There is also public scepticism over the conduct of the A-G in the exercise of his prosecutorial powers, he added. His reluctance to act in certain cases, while very vociferous in others, have given rise to allegations

by wiki. ONE .pedia You only have to step into a local shop and look at the rows and rows of glossy magazines to see that we are a nation that is obsessed with celebrity. Heat magazine is one of the biggest selling magazines in the UK with a circulation of over half a million, and this is only one of a long list of celebrity gossip magazines that is produced each week. The title of the ultimate British celebrity magazine should probably go to Ok! magazine. It is a favourite of many celebrities who will turn to the magazine to reveal any revelations or scandal in their lives. Ok! covers more celebrity weddings, pregnancies and engagements than any other magazines. Most celebrities will use Ok! as a platform to promote something good in their lives and it is well known that they will receive a hefty payment in return. Ok! magazine was first published in 1993 and since then there has been a huge influx in rival magazines all claiming to be the first port of call for inside celebrity gossi

December 31, 2010 MACC Panel Advisor Robert Phang calls A-G Gani Patail a Rogue by Din Merican In his New Year Resolution Wish for all Malaysians, Tan Sri Robert Phang Miow Sin, Panel Advisor, Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) sent a sobering message to the PM Najib and his government. He asked our Prime Minister to handle firmly IKIM, PERKASA and Attorney-General Gani Patail. Phang launched a veiled yet blistering attack against these three destructive elements that threaten unity, truth and justice in our country. While many perceived IKIMs statement on Santa Claus to be irrational, religious intolerance towards other faiths became more apparent when Prime Minister Najibs aides directed church officials to remove crucifixes and other overt Christian symbols from being displayed at the Catholic Archbishops Christmas tea party at Bukit Nanas, Kuala Lumpur which was attended by PM Najib. The whole objective of the PMs presence to show unity, racial harmony, and religious tolera

The chronicle of the story does NOT match the internal annals you have. Are you starting to see similar statements coming from Khazanah, TM as well as Axiata? From Oct 2004 to February 2006, Alcatel bribed supervision officials in Malaysia to obtain trusted inform relating to the open proposal which Alcatel ultimately won, the result of which yielded the telecommunications stipulate valued during you estimate US$85 million. It was additionally reported which the TM employees who perceived bribes were "foreign officials" inside of the definition of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act as well as "were in the poignant in front of to change the process decisions Telekom Malaysia made." It added the Basel-based Alcatel Standard done poignant lump-sum payments through US bank accounts to dual consultants labeled "Malaysian Consultant A" as well as "Malaysian Consultant B", purportedly for marketplace research. "Alcatel Standard paid US$200,000 to

68 people liked this With help from some surprising footage, Derek Sivers explains how movements really get started. (Hint: it takes two.)

by Toby Helm, Caspar Llewellyn Smith, Robin McKie, Tim Adams, William Skidelsky, Rafael Behr, Anushka Asthana, Elena Moya, Jemima Kiss, Andrew Clark, Keith Stuart, Tom Lamont, Jill Treanor, Will Hutton The New Year by Rainer Hachfeld Observer writers and experts chart the concepts, trends and buzz words that defined the past year and are likely to shape the next one 1 The new politics is, in fact, the old politics Nick Clegg will regret many things about 2010. One will be his decision to produce a Lib Dem election poster warning that the Tories would raise VAT. A few weeks later Clegg, installed as deputy prime minister, was backing coalition plans to – yes – raise VAT. Then there was the pre-election pledge to vote against any rise in tuition fees. Six months later Clegg was pushing a policy to triple them. These shifts were damaging not just because they were old-fashioned U-turns but because they fatally undermined the party's raison d'etre – its commitment to deliver a new,