UMNO

blogtunm.blogspot.com Tun M 
1. Pilihanraya Umum ke-13 hanya dua tahun lagi. Saya sedang meneliti reaksi rakyat terhadap UMNO dibawah pimpinan baru. Saya terkejut. Saya terkejut kerana seorang bekas pemimpin UMNO yang kanan telah meluahkan perasaannya dengan berkata “UMNO is rotten to the core” (UMNO busuk hingga ke ususnya).

2. Beliau telah berkata yang beliau sedang memikir untuk menyokong PAS. Beliau juga berkata beliau telah bertemu ramai pemimpin-pemimpin UMNO yang telah bersara dan mereka speendapat dengannya. 

3. UMNO busuk daripada peringkat terendah hingga ke peringkat tertinggi katanya. Di cawangan, ketua cawangan hanya berjuang untuk mengekal dirinya sebagai ketua sahaja. Kenapa? Sebabnya majoriti ketua cawangan dapat jadi pengerusi Jawatakuasa Kemajuan dan Keselamatan Kampung dengan elaun tertentu dan kuasa untuk mengagih peruntukan. Berpeluang juga untuk jadi kontraktor Kelas F untuk projek kecil di luar bandar. 

4. Untuk menentukan dirinya tidak dicabar ketua cawangan tidak akan benarkan sesiapa yang lebih terpelajar daripadanya masuk UMNO cawangannya. Lebih daripada itu kebanyakan peruntukan untuk jadi ahli UMNO, yang mana dia mesti melalui cawangan, tidak akan dilayan. Tujuannya ialah supaya cawangannya tidak mempunyai banyak ahli kerana mereka tetap akan menimbulkan masalah dan sukar dikawal, bahkan sukar disogok pun.

5. Sebab itu tidak ramai ahli profesional yang dapat menjadi ahli UMNO. Sebaliknya semakin ramai daripada pemimpin PAS terdiri daripada doktor, peguam, jurutera dan lain-lain profesyen.

6. Oleh kerana ketua cawangan biasanya tidak memiliki pelajaran yang tinggi dan beliau menentukan ahli lain dalam cawangannya mempunyai ilmu pengetahuan yang lebih rendah daripadanya, maka apabila ketua terpaksa berhenti kerana sebab-sebab tertentu, maka penggantinya akan terdiri daripada yang kurang berkebolehan daripadanya. Dengan itu kualiti kepimpinan akan merosot sepanjang masa. 

7. Tentu ada cawangan yang tidak seperti ini tetapi pengecualian hanya mengesahkan keadaan yang sebenar. 

8. UMNO, kata bekas pemimpin kanan ini sekarang dipimpin oleh perasuah. Mereka menjadi ahli Majlis Tertinggi kerana sogokan wang. Orang ramai tidak akan serah nasib mereka kepada perasuah. 

9. Penempatan perasuah dalam Kerajaan dan badan-badan lain juga memburukkan lagi imej UMNO. Sudah tentu perasuah akan dipilih sebagai calon UMNO dalam Pilihanraya Umum ke-13. Jika mereka diberi kemenangan maka negara akan dapat Kerajaan perasuah. Sebab itu beliau tidak akan sokong UMNO sebaliknya akan menyertai dan menyokong parti lawan. Katanya lagi hingga kini separuh daripada orang Melayu tidak merasai nikmat kerana Kerajaan-Kerajaan pimpinan UMNO menidakkan hak mereka sedangkan mereka juga orang Melayu walaupun mereka menyokong parti lawan. Mereka yang menyokong parti lawan bertambah sejak (Tun) Abdullah kerana ramai daripada ahli UMNO sendiri sudah tidak percaya kepada UMNO. 

10. Yang tinggal katanya ialah orang yang berkepentingan yang berharap mendapat sesuatu kerana menyokong UMNO. Mereka ini bukan nasionalis dan mereka tidak boleh diberi kepercayaan. 

11. Banyaklah lagi hujah-hujahnya akan sebab-sebab UMNO tidak lagi akan diberi peluang untuk memerintah negara yang disayangi olehnya. Saya tidak akan hurai lebih lanjut. Hanya yang saya ingin sebutkan ialah pendapat beliau sudah menular ke semua peringkat orang Melayu, bahkan ahli UMNO juga. 

12. Rakan-rakan dalam Barisan Nasional semuanya berpecah dan lemah. Mereka tidak mampu menjayakan Barisan Nasional. 

13. Masa semakin singkat untuk memperbaiki keadaan ini. Saya mencatat maklumat ini untuk pengetahuan umum sahaja.

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILADHA

blogtunm.blogspot.com Tun M 
Kepada semua Muslimin dan Muslimat saya dan isteri saya ucapkan selamat menyambut Hari Raya Aidil Adha. Marilah kita berdoa agar kesemua jemaah kita dapat mengerjakan ibadah Haji dengan sempurna dan agar amal ibadat mereka diberkati Allah s.w.t. serta dapat pulang ke tanahair dengan selamat...

DEMOCRACY IN POLITICAL PARTIES

blogtunm.blogspot.com Tun M 
1. All praise for democracy, the best system for politics ever invented by man. But being invented by man, it is not free from imperfections. It works only if you know these imperfections and their limitations.

2. It is fine to determine everything by majority vote and not by consensus. It is fine only if the loser accepts the winner. But when the loser refuses to accept the decision of the majority and launches a campaign to undermine the party, the only result would be a split and therefore a weakening of the party.

3. With UMNO the loser took the case to court and the party was made illegal. When revived it lost a huge chunk of the members.

4. But for Liong Sik, the MCA President who headed BN, accepting UMNO Baru and not Semangat 46, life would have been difficult for me.

5. Fortunately the voters in the General Election restored UMNO Baru’s credibility and strength. Otherwise UMNO Baru would have become Peking Duck, deader than the Dodo.

6. History has many lessons for us. As George Santayana said: “those who forget the lessons of history will be punished by making the same mistakes over and over again” or words to that effect.

7. But we never like to learn from history. We think our case is different.

8. No. Actually our case is the same.

9. You can interpret this any way you like.

ANWAR AS ECONOMIC ADVISER

blogtunm.blogspot.com Tun M 
1. I would like to thank everyone for their comments on the above. I appreciate very much the positive comments and I accept the negative ones also. I am not perfect. I make mistakes. But some of the wrongdoings attributed to me are just not true or correct.

2. We see what we want to see. Everyone is like that. So do I. But I try my best to be factual.

3. My greatest mistake is in the choice of people. I seem to be picking the wrong people all the time. They not only did not live up to my expectations but they went all out to do all the wrong things, including abusing me.

4. I accept the blame for making wrong choices. But they were all so good before they were chosen.

5. Anwar was pious and holy almost. Before I admitted him into Umno no one told me of his peculiar inclinations.

6. The other one was known as Mr. Clean. Well he and his family certainly did a lot of cleaning.

7. Awarding privatisation at inflated prices! Well the contract to double track and electrify the railways from Johore Baru to Padang Besar was for RM14 billion (including the spur line to KL). It was cancelled by Abdullah.

8. Then it was found necessary to double track and electrify from Ipoh to Padang Besar. I understand the price is RM12 billion. Work out the new cost if we build up to Johore Baru.

9. Putrajaya and Cyberjaya – bought by the acres. Putrajaya, 10,000 acres for RM700 million or approximately RM17,500 per acre or RM0.43 per square foot.

10. Today average price of Putrajaya land per square foot is RM130.00.

11. Bailout happens when a business receives injection of capital to get over a financial crisis.

12. Selling a business at below cost is not a bailout. It is called a fire-sale. That was what my son had to do. Petronas subsequently sold ¾ of the fleet for more than what it paid for the whole fleet when the market was good.

13. Ekonomi Malaysia berkembang pada kadar 8.5% dari 1987 dan bukannya 10% dari 1991. Mula merosot pada 1997 di waktu Anwar sebagai Menteri Kewangan melaksana “ubat” IMF tanpa IMF. Memang Anwar ditangkap semasa krisis hampir berakhir. Kerana kegagalannya MTEN ditubuh untuk ambil alih tugas memulih semula kewangan dan ekonomi Negara, jauh sebelum dia ditangkap.

14. Sila semak SEJARAH dalam laporan akhbar dalam dan luar negeri.

15. Thank you for agreeing that I am a dictator. Tell me which dictator ever resign.

16. Terima kasih kerana membaca blog saya.

ANWAR SEBAGAI PENASIHAT EKONOMI

blogtunm.blogspot.com Tun M 
1. Saya ucap taniah kepada Kerajaan Negeri Selangor kerana berjaya menganugerahkan Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim dengan jawatan penasihat ekonomi dengan bayaran hanya RM1 setahun.

2. Mungkin kepimpinan Kerajaan Selangor tidak tahu akan prestasi Dato Seri Anwar sebagai Menteri Kewangan Kerajaan Pusat diwaktu krisis kewangan melanda Malaysia.

3. Dia begitu taksub dengan Dana Kewangan Antarabangsa (IMF – International Monetary Fund) dan Bank Dunia sehingga menerima bulat-bulat nasihat Michel Camdessus (pengarah urusan IMF) dan James Wolfensohn (presiden Bank Dunia dan sahabat karibnya) supaya negara ini mengurangkan perbelanjaan Kerajaan untuk mencapai surplus, menaikkan faedah pinjaman bank dengan tinggi supaya peniaga kekeringan modal dan tidak dapat berniaga, memendekkan masa untuk membayar hutang bank daripada enam bulan kepada tiga bulan untuk menjadikan yang berhutang muflis dan bank dibeban dengan hutang tak berbayar (non-performing loans), supaya bank tidak dapat berfungsi dan memerlukan suntikan modal dan bermacam lagi tindakan yang melemahkan dan memburukkan lagi ekonomi negara ini supaya terpaksa mendapat bantuan IMF dan Bank Dunia dengan syarat ekonomi Malaysia diserahkan kepada institusi-institusi ini.

4. Jika pentadbiran ekonomi Malaysia diserahkan kepada IMF maka Dasar Ekonomi Baru akan dihapuskan.

5. Tindakan Anwar ini dikenali dalam akhbar-akhbar sebagai pengamalan dasar IMF tanpa IMF – iaitu tanpa apa-apa bantuan kewangan daripada IMF.

6. Dengan dasar yang diperkenal oleh Dato Seri Anwar maka keadaan ekonomi menjadi lebih buruk dan Ringgit Malaysia jatuh lagi nilainya.

7. Jelas sekali Anwar tidak faham sama sekali pengurusan kewangan dan ekonomi negara.

8. Kuasanya keatas kewangan dan ekonomi terpaksa dipindah kepada Majlis Tindakan Ekonomi Negara (MTEN), sebuah jawatankuasa dan think tank yang ditubuh untuk menangani masalah kesusutan nilai Ringgit dan ekonomi negara.

9. MTEN-lah yang mencipta currency control atau kawalan matawang dan menyekat CLOB (Central Limit Order Book – pasaran saham haram yang ditubuhkan di Singapura) supaya segala perniagaan Ringgit oleh penyangak matawang dan penjualan saham Malaysia dalam CLOB ditamatkan.

10. Tindakan MTEN ini berjaya memulihkan ekonomi dan kewangan negara.

11. Mungkin sikap Gabenor Bank Negara dan Timbalan Gabenor yang cuba mengagalkan currency control tidak ada kena mengena dengan Dato Seri Anwar. Tetapi hakikatnya ialah kedua-dua pegawai ini terletak dibawah bidangkuasa Menteri Kewangan.

12. Saya berdoa Kerajaan Selangor tidak akan dipermainkan oleh Penasihat Ekonominya.

Sound Bites

blogtunm.blogspot.com Tun M 
The Al-Aqsa Mosque

The Malaysian media is totally dependent on the so-called wire services (Reuters, AP, AFP, etc) for foreign news. As a result there has been no report on the Israeli desecration of the al-Aqsa mosque and the beating up of Palestinian Muslims who wanted to pray there.

I don’t think the Malaysian media is deliberately blacking out news which are not in favour of Israel but if they depend solely on the wire services they would always be unfair to the victims of Israeli brutalities.

We read very little about the blockade of Gaza and the sufferings of the people there.

What Israel is doing is illegal, but such is the control that Israel exercises on the international media that it can actually openly commit genocide and nothing would happen to it.

These are the people whom we had sympathised with because the Nazis of Germany tried to wipe out. Now they are the ones doing the very thing they, or their forebears had suffered from in the past.

Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim

The Singapore Straits Times on Tan Sri Khalid contains one error.

Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim was not the CEO of the (Malaysian) Government investment vehicle Permodalan Nasional which “pulled off an infamous dawn raid” on the London Stock Exchange by taking over Britain‘s Guthrie Corporation in 1981.

The officer involved with the raid was Dato’ Desa Pachik, the first CEO of Permodalan Nasional.

Water

blogtunm.blogspot.com Tun M 
1. Pahang will soon be selling water to Selangor/KL. I don’t think Pahang would be happy to receive 3 sen per thousand gallons.

2. Melaka has been paying Johore 30 sen per thousand gallons and is still doing so and will continue to do so I suppose. Would Johore be asking for more than 30 sen in the future? God knows.

3. In 2011 the first agreement with Singapore to sell 350 million gallons of raw water daily at 3 sen per thousand gallons will end. What would we do then? I suspect despite Singapore‘s famous Newater, it would still need the 350 million gallons daily.

4. The other treaty would end by 2060 in which the price is also 3 sen per thousand gallons. But

without the 350 million gallons daily according to the first treaty, Singapore‘s rapidly increasing population of new immigrants would not have enough water.

5. So, the amount supplied according to the first treaty would be even more crucial despite Newater and desalination.

6. The Government of Tun Abdullah had very cleverly decided not to raise any of the issues outstanding with Singapore after the bridges were jettisoned. I suppose this charitable act would help cement friendship with that city-state with a per capita income of US$36,000 (Malaysia‘s per capita incidentally is US$7,000, i.e one-fifth of Singapore).

7. 2011 is not too far away. Have we thought about extending the 2011 treaty or not extending it or negotiating a new water supply agreement? Are we going to be charitable again and sell raw water at 3 sen per thousand gallons to our rich neighbour?

8. Being charitable and not raising prickly issues is a good way to make friends. But what is the

cost to the people of Malaysia.



Water for Singapore

Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah

blogtunm.blogspot.com Tun M 
1. Saya baru-baru ini telah tulis sedikit dibawah tajuk “Hukum Allah” berkenaan apabila sesuatu yang didakwa adalah hukum Allah samada benar ia adalah hukum Allah. Saya dikecam hebat oleh orang yang mungkin lebih terpelajar dalam agama. Nampaknya agama Islam di Malaysia ini tidak boleh disoal barang sedikit pun, walaupun untuk mendapat penjelasan.

2. Saya berdebar hati apabila membaca yang Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin bekas mufti Perlis ditangkap dan dibawa ke balai polis. Dia dilepas dengan ikat jamin polis.

3. Seramai 30 anggota polis dan 20 lebih anggota Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (JAIS) telah melakukan tangkapan ini. Ternampak seolah-olah Dr Asri ini seorang penjenayah besar yang mungkin mengganas apabila ditangkap. Tetapi beliau tidak pula memberontak. Sebaliknya beliau turut sahaja tanpa bantahan yang keras.

4. Kemudian akhbar melaporkan kes terhadapnya belum pun disediakan. Apakah tidak ada “due process” dalam penguatkuasaan undang-undang Islam di negara ini. Apakah mereka yang diberi kuasa dalam melaksanakan hukum Islam boleh dengan sewenang-wenangnya menangkap sesiapa sahaja.

5. Teringat saya akan “Islam Hadhari” yang saya dimaklum adalah Islam yang sesuai untuk zaman ini, iaitu Islam moden. Apakah ia sebahagian daripada kepercayaan ahli Sunah wal-Jemaah? Jika Ya maka orang Islam di Malaysia hendaklah masuk Islam Hadhari. Jika tidak apakah tindakan yang perlu diambil oleh penguasa agama Islam terhadap ajaran Islam Hadhari?

6. Selain dari itu saya juga keliru apabila membaca tulisan seorang pengkritik Dr Asri bahawa satu dari kesalahannya ialah beliau cuba berpandu kepada Al Quran dan Hadith dan tidak kepada ijma ulama ahli Sunnah wal jamaah.

7. Walaupun kita diberitahu ulama adalah pewaris Nabi tetapi mereka bukanlah Nabi. Mereka hanya manusia biasa walaupun terpelajar dalam agama Islam. Manusia biasa boleh membuat kesalahan termasuk kesalahan mentafsir. Sebab itulah terdapat banyak tafsiran yang amat berbeza antara mereka sehingga berlaku permusuhan dan peperangan antara pengikut mereka. Ini bermakna ada diantara tafsiran mereka yang mungkin tidak betul.

8. Di negara kita ini pun terdapat banyak perbezaan pendapat walaupun kita semua menerima ajaran ahli sunnah wal jamaah imam Shafii. Diantara sembilan negara dan satu wilayah di Malaysia terdapat banyak perbezaan dari hukum dan ajaran Islam. Hendak tentukan Hari

Raya pun terdapat perbezaan pendapat.

9. Tentu jelas perbezaan pendapat tidak menjadikan seseorang itu sudah terkeluar dari arus perdana Islam sunni. Sudah tentu jika dikaji pendapat ulama yang mengikut ajaran sunni di negara-negara lain akan terdapat lebih banyak perbezaan.

10. Hanya kerana adanya perbezaan pendapat yang tidak besar tidak sepatutnya menyebab tuduhan bahawa seseorang itu sudah tidak lagi turut ajaran sunni. Apatah lagi perbezaan pendapat itu dialas dengan hujah-hujah yang berasas kepada Al Quran dan Hadith.

11. Semasa saya kecil lukisan rupa manusia dan binatang, penggunaan lampu letrik di dalam masjid dan kegunaan kereta bermotor untuk jenazah dilarang. Tetapi semuanya dianggap halal sekarang. Sekali lagi ajaran Islam dalam kaum sunni juga boleh berbeza dari satu masa ke satu masa.

12. Saya tidak nafi ajaran sesat ala Arqam, Ayah Pin dan Rasul Melayu perlu diawasi dan disekat. Tetapi janganlah penguasa agama terlalu ghairah hendak haramkan syarahan agama oleh orang yang tidak sebulu dengan mereka tanpa membuktikan ajaran itu memang bertentangan dengan Islam.

13. Jawapan kepada saya tentulah saya jahil berkenaan agama Islam dan tidak berhak bercakap berkenaan dengannya. Yang tidak akan dijawab ialah yang mana satu yang saya perkatakan ini adalah tidak berasas kepada kenyataan.

14. Janganlah terlalu cepat nak tangkap orang.

SOUND BITES – PROTON

blogtunm.blogspot.com Tun M 
Dear Ir. Syahrizan,

1. I am not going to deny that in my time Proton was protected. All countries including Britain, Germany, Japan and Korea protect their car market. Britain had Imperial Preference, Japan and Korea ensured no foreign cars could be imported, even America insists on Japanese, Korean and Germans producing their cars in America, employing Americans and paying high salaries.

2. The protection for Proton cars had been there all along. Without protection we would have no car industry. Proton gained 80 per cent of the market at one time benefiting from protectionism.

3. Because of the APs (Approved Permits) for cars from countries which Proton cannot penetrate (Korea and Japan) sales of Proton went down. Proton lost money, the foreigners made a lot of money with the lower price of their cars sold in Malaysia. Their lower price is due to volume i.e. economies of scale. We could not achieve this because of their protected car market.

4. Now Proton is fighting back despite imports of foreign cars. I was making a comparison only between Proton under the previous management and the present management. The present management is definitely more capable even though foreign cars are still coming in.

5. The keeness to buy Proton is because it is doing well and that it owns a lot of property.

6. I am not responsible for the recent National Automotive Policy. I am not in the Government now. Please make your complaints to the Government.

CRIMINALISING WAR

blogtunm.blogspot.com Tun M 
1. The conference on criminalizing war (making war a crime) was held for two days (28 – 29 Oct) at the PWTC and was followed by a sitting of the Kuala Lumpur Commission on War Crimes and the Tribunal’s sitting on 31st October to decide on whether it was competent to hear the complaints of the victims of Guantanamo and other places of detention as well as to decide on whether Heads of State and Heads of Government are liable for war crimes committed under their rule.

2. Many have asked what can this conference and the hearings by the commission and tribunal do.

3. If I may be allowed to explain there are many things which were common, normal and accepted in the past which the whole world rejects now. The rejection was achieved actually by the people gradually realizing that these practices were wrong and unacceptable.

4. Thus slavery was common and proper in the past but is totally rejected now. Black people were regarded as subhuman almost but today blacks may even become president of the most powerful white nation. Women too were regarded as inferior and not as capable as men but now they have equal status with men.

5. Torture was acceptable in the past but is now considered illegal and criminal. Human rights were unknown before but now the world accepts that every man or woman has a right to be treated well. And many more.

6. All those changes in human perceptions and values have been brought about mostly by people agitating against these practices, forcing their Governments to pass laws to abolish them.

7. But war is still accepted today although certain acts are regarded as criminal even in war. If war itself is made a crime than automatically war crimes cannot be committed.

8. To make war a crime, the people must condemn it as unacceptable, just like they did with slavery etc. Why should war be condemned now when it has always been a common means of settling disputes between nations?

9. War is basically about killing people. Everyone regards killing people a crime. How can we consider killing a person a crime but killing thousands of people not to be criminal. In the past the capacity to kill and damage was limited because of the weapons being less lethal.

10. But today the weapons can actually wipe out the population of the world and destroy it physically. Even the use of depleted uranium has been shown to cause cancer and diabetes. The nano-particles carried by dust storms, wind and stratospheric air currents can affect lives and carry the diseases hundreds of miles away. Therefore wars also endanger neighbouring and distant countries not involved in the war.

11. Now the big powers have developed nuclear bombs and missiles many times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. Even if they explode deep in the ground the dust blown up would still be carried far and wide. The inclusion of small amounts of nuclear material in conventional bombs would also spread the effect to distant places.

12. Conventional weapons have also increased in power. The 15 megaton bombs can cause the same damage and deaths as the Hiroshima bomb. Guided missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles have also increased the range and effectiveness of aerial weapons.

13. Where before wars were fought by soldiers on battlefield, today’s wars kill more non-combatants than combatants. The whole country would become the battlefield. Casualties would number in their hundreds of thousands and the whole country would be devastated. Neighbouring countries and even distant countries which are not involved would also be affected by radiation fallouts and people would be attacked by diseases which are fatal.

14. War today is massive, widespread and lethal to whole populations. No one would be spared, belligerent or non-belligerent.

15. War is now no longer limited to the adversaries. Nor are they controllable.

16. That is why war must be of concern to everyone. The 1st and 2nd World Wars were supposed to end all wars. Obviously they haven’t. The only way to stop wars is to make them a crime – to make those who resort to war guilty of a serious crime, to punish them.

17. Only Governments can put a stop to wars. But Governments will not stop wars until the people pressure the Governments to do so. If they do and they sustain the pressure, it is likely that war can be made a crime just as slavery has been made a crime.

18. That is why we have initiated a campaign to make war a crime. We are doing this on a worldwide scale.