ARTIKEL 1

History will judge Dr Mahathir better, says Asia Society HK chairman POODAHHH! BOLEH JALAN!

Petikan asal dari Utusan Meloya Express.

HONG KONG Oct 29 - Before he took to the stage to address the Asia Society here last night, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad was told by the organisation's Hong Kong centre chairman that he had good and bad news for him.

"First the bad news, the bad one is that people are still writing not so nice things about you and I suspect they will continue to do so but it doesn't matter because history is not written in three to five years.
Comment: You are damn wrong! What do you mean by people are still writing not so nice things? People will be continuing writing to expose Mahazalim’s mischievous and wrongdoings based on facts and reality. People will not simply write not nice things to discredit their leaders. It is a waste of time and insults their own intelligence. It will be written in the history books, as Mahazalim is the worst PM of Malaysia ever produced!

"The good news, in my opinion, is that in time when people begin to look back with the benefit of hindsight and also allow the economy of the world to turn a whole circle, economically, socially and financially, then I believe, Dr Mahathir, history will treat you a lot better than what people treat you today," said Ronnie Chan before inviting him to deliver his speech.
Comment: Mr. Ronnie Chan, are you one of his (Mahazalim) bootlickers? What are the benefits do you get by bootlicking him? History will not be going to treat him a lot better than what you think.

Chan said Dr Mahathir was "one of the most misunderstood persons in the world".
Comment: In fact Mahazalim was “one of the most hypocrite, idiotic, cruel, corrupt and irrelevant (liability) persons in the world.”

He said he was informed that Dr Mahathir was anti-globalisation but he found that untrue and cited a speech by Dr Mahathir at the Cairo University in Egypt that Malaysia would be guided by its own circumstances and priorities in the globalisation process.
Comment: Mr. Chan you must accept the fact. By not adapting to the globalisation process, Malaysia will be left behind.

"We all know Malaysia has taken a different route from most other countries. I think history will show they are doing very well under the leadership of Prime Minister Mahathir.
Comment: Mr. Ronnie Chan, I think you want to emulate him to become an expert in manipulating and twisting the facts to people. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Mahazalim, he allows corruption, cronyism and nepotism to flourish in order to enrich his families and cronies. Economic mismanagement, bad government and corporate governance, privatisation policy failure, no accountability, no transparency, huge debt, corruption, judiciary’s image tarnished, press freedom is prohibited, mainstream media tightly controlled by the government, bad human rights record, white elephant mega projects (waste of public’s fund) etc. Mr. Chan, are you going to change your mindset after reading the above Mahazalim’s wrongdoings or do you want still deny that Malaysia are doing very well?

"Most of you will agree with me, IMF policy in the long run is good but in the short run, if you did not know the local situation especially capital crisis, it can be dangerous. And thank God that there is a leader in East Asia who has the boldness to stand up and say I can do what is good for my country," said Chan.
Comment: Who is the hell of this person? Does he know what is the hell he is talking about? I am eagerly to know how much duit kopi did he get. I think Mahazalim says “I can do what is good for my families and cronies.” His families and cronies well being are given top priority and more important than country’s welfare.

Malaysia flew into the face of international criticism for using capital controls to stabilise its financial position during the Asian crisis instead of turning to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Malaysia's economy is back on track and is expected to grow an official 7.5 percent this year.
Comment: On the other hand, like it or not, be prepare to face any possibility Malaysia may not doing very well next year. The future may not augur very well for Malaysia. The government is not going to disclose the actual state of the economy. Be preparing for the worst. Starting from now, please tighten your belt.

Dr Mahathir was invited last year by the Asia Society to speak in the United States on using capital controls for financial stability.
The high profile New York-based Asia Society, which has a centre here, is dedicated to fostering understanding of Asia and communication between Americans and the peoples of Asia and the Pacific.

During a question-and-answer session at the dinner, Dr Mahathir faced questions including whether he feared being toppled and the frustration of young Asians against cronyism and corruption.
Dr Mahathir said governments should change but only through the voting process and not by instigating people to take through the streets to force change.
Comment: No doubt, he always points his fingers and discredits the opposition parties (who else?)

"I'm not worried about being overthrown. If anybody wants to overthrow me, it must be supported by the people, most importantly the majority of the people," he said.
Comment: I remember, benefits and incentives were given to the soldiers, police and ordinary people in the Budget 2001. He hopes the taskforce and people will appreciate and grateful for the goodies given to them. No wonder he was not worried about being overthrown because he is confident his lapdogs will cover and remain faithful and loyal to him. If you still remember, majority of the soldiers voted against the government in Teluk Kemang by-election not long time ago. Moreover, the majority of the votes (BN) have been reduced significantly. Mahazalim capitlised this budget to buy votes from them. Watch out! To the police, soldiers and ordinary people, you have been trapped! This is a political driven budget! Overall, the budget 2001 is nothing to shout about.

The latter statement shows he is very arrogant and he thinks he is invisible and very powerful person. He challenged the people to overthrow him. This statement also show he does not show any respect to the people mandate. He got the wrong impression that only Malay people did not support him. In fact, all the races did not support him anymore. The Chinese people will remember his National Day speech likening Chinese people to COMMUNISTS. It is more than majority people did not support him. To his dismay, his days are numbered. If he does not want to step down with dignity, people power will overthrow him in the next general election. The next general elections is the pay back time for all Malaysian people.

On the frustration felt by the youth, he said: "They are quite naive. When you are young, you are idealistic thinking that you should correct the ways of these old people. They will change."
Comment: This is a classic example of twist and turns the facts (putar-belit). This is a good example for Mr. Chan.

Dr Mahathir said when they become the government, they would find that they would do exactly the same things and would be criticised by the people.
Comment: Really? Are you sure? It shows, you admit the people criticized you and the government heavily.

"Changes of government doesn't change anything, only the people change. The way of doing things will be the same," he said.
Comment: Is that means you want the people will continue to choose the present government? Unfortunately, your hope will not be materialised. You can get your wish in your dreams only. What is the way of doing things will be the same means? Is corruption, cronyism, nepotism and others are accepted as a norm of doing things?

Asked how different were rogue currency traders from Malaysia's Bank Negara activities in the money markets before, Dr Mahathir said Bank Negara was trading on the currencies of developed countries based on forecasts that some currenices would devalue or revalue.
This was a departure from rogue traders, with large funds at their disposal, attacking the currencies of poor countries which could not defend themselves.
Comment: What about to the bailouts to his sons and the cronies? Mahazalim swindled and use rakyat’s money at his will to bailout his sons and cronies business failure. Mahazalim did not ignore the protest from the people who could not defend themselves. It is a daylight robbery and worse than robbers and conmen.

"The playing field is level but the players are not of the same size. We only found out when LTCM got into trouble, they have US$1 trillion to play around with. Malaysia has yet to see one trillion dollars," said Dr Mahathir.

Comment: The players are not the same size is not the issue. What more important to Mahazalim is the large sum of money in his pocket.

Apa motif Encik Ronnie Chan? Nampak berat sebelah kenyataannya yang mengampu Mahazalim. Terangkat buntut Mahazalim. Sudah tentu Mahazalim perasan habis ada juga orang luar menyokongnya. Apa pendapat saudara Webmaster?

LTL

Artikel 2

Belanjawan 2001 BOHONG!

Sudah diketahui apakah intipati Belanjawan 2001 yang dikatakan memberi banyak faedah kepada rakyat. Belanjawan 2001 dinamakan Belanjawan Mesra Rakyat, Belanjawan Rakyat dan entah apa-apa lagi belanjawan berkonsepkan rakyat. Rupa-rupanya belanjawan 2001 adalah indah khabar dari rupa. Tak ada apa-apa yang hendak dihebohkan. Ada orang mengatakan belanjawan 2001 adalah belanjawan kontraktor dan belanjawan juga ada mempunyai motif politik.

Sebelum belanjawan 2001 dibentangkan, bukan main sibuk mesin propaganda memuatkan berita-berita baik mengenai belanjawan 2001 dua minggu sebelum belanjawan dibentangkan di Parlimen. Mahazalim mengatakan kemungkinan belanjawan lebihan dan bermacam-macam faedah diberikan kepada rakyat. Mesin propaganda kata the budget will bring smiles to the people. Habuk pun tarak apa yang hendak digembirakan. Sebenarnya Daim yang diam telah memberikan sedikit clue menjelang beberapa hari sebelum belanjawan 2001 dibentangkan. Dia kata belanjawan tidak banyak beri faedah, sedikit saja. Ternyata kata-kata dia adalah benar. Rata-rata orang ramai kecewa setelah mendengar belanjawan 2001. Cuma pemimpin-pemimpin kerajaan kata bagus (tak hairan pun).

Sebelum belanjawan 2001 dibentangkan, orang ramai percaya dengan kata-kata kerajaan. Oleh kerana termakan umpan kata-kata manis kerajaan, indeks saham BSKL mulalah naik secara mendadak. Sebelum itu indeks BSKL mati segan hidup tak mahu. Apabila belanjawan 2001 telah dibentangkan, orang ramai menyedari yang mereka sudah tertipu oleh kata-kata manis kerajaan. Berita baik belanjawan 2001 sengaja diperbesar-besarkan. Kalau tidak keterlaluan saya katakan, ia adalah usaha pihak tertentu untuk menghidupkan semula BSKL yang lemah. Kau orang faham-faham sajalah siapa pihak tertentu.

Saya berpendapat ada pihak mengambil kesempatan dengan menggunakan khabar angin belanjawan 2001 untuk menaikkan indeks BSKL. Pihak tertentu sudah tahu awal-awal lagi belanjawan tidak memberi apa-apa makna kepada orang ramai. Jika berita baik belanjawan 2001 tidak disebarkan dengan meluasnya, indeks BSKL mungkin berada bawah paras 700 (paras keyakinan). Lagi pun orang ramai memang mudah percaya kepada khabar angin. Orang ramai mungkin ingat berita baik disampaikan oleh kerajaan melalui mesin propaganda adalah benar, tak kan kerajaan nak tipu kut. Maka belanjawan yang tidak memberi apa-apa makna dikatakan baik. Apa lagi orang ramai pun termakan umpan pihak tertentu.

Pihak tertentu sudah jangkakan orang ramai akan beri reaksi negatif dengan menjual saham selepas belanjawan dibentangkan. Mereka kata tak apa, indeks masih lagi berada pada tahap 700 lebih. Jika ada tanda-tanda ia mahu jatuh lagi, senang aja boleh kawal indeks dengan beli saham terpilih (index-linked counters). Kenapa pihak ini bersusah-payah mengawal indeks BSKL? Saya berpendapat indeks pada mata 700 adalah indeks keyakinan. Jika indeks jatuh bawah paras 700, keyakinan akan hilang dan kemungkinan besar ramai lagi yang akan jual saham dan semakin parah BSKL dibuatnya. Oleh itu pihak ini akan memastikan indeks tidak akan jatuh bawah 700 mata kecuali mereka tidak dapat menghalang jualan besar-besaran saham diluar kawalan mereka. Selagi pihak ini mampu membeli saham terpilih untuk cover kerugian, indeks tidak akan menjunam dengan teruknya. Ini adalah manipulasi saham dan ia sangat berbahaya. Siapakah pihak ini, anda jawablah sendiri.

Belanjawan amat penting kepada negara dan rakyat. Belanjawan memberi gambaran bagaimana kerajaan mengurus ekonomi, menghadapi persaingan globalisasi dan menghadapi pembangunan ekonomi yang mungkin akan terjejas pada masa hadapan. Dukacita dimaklumkan kerajaan gagal menjelaskan kepada orang ramai apakah langkah-langkah kerajaan yang telah ambil untuk memantapkan lagi ekonomi. Cakap memang mudah tetapi untuk melaksanakan bukan mudah. Ia memberi gambaran bahawa orang ramai ragu-ragu apakah hala tuju kerajaan pada masa hadapan? Adakah kerajaan mampu dan dapat mengatasi segala cabaran dan dugaan kepada ekonomi dan pembangunan negara?

Selepas Belanjawan 2001 dibentangkan, indeks BSKL mulalah merundum semula. Hari Isnin, indeks jatuh 16.77 mata dan hari Selasa pula indeks jatuh. Oleh yang demikian semua orang dah tahu siapa kerajaan BN. Memang pandai berbohong kepada rakyat. Memang pandai buat janji kosong. Belanjawan 2001 adalah half-empty atau half-full. Banyak keraguan dan persoalan tidak dijawab oleh kerajaan. Sepintas lalu, kerajaan tidak menjelaskan bagaimana hutang negara yang banyak dapat dilangsai ke tidak, penyusunan dan pengurusan korporat tidak dibincangkan dan kenapa bonus tidak diberikan kepada kakitangan kerajaan. Hanya rakyat yang masih bebal dan tidak tahu membezakan antara kaca dan intan masih percaya kepada cakap kerajaan.

LTL

Artikel 3

GDP 7% tahun 2001 tidak realistik

Di sini saya nak bicang sedikit mengenai pertumbuhan GDP dijangka tumbuh pada kadar 7 peratus tahun 2001. Saya berpendapat 7% sukar dicapai. Kerajaan membuat andaian yang tidak realistik iaitu kerajaan menganggap pertumbuhan ekonomi dunia terutama di AS stabil dan perbelanjaan swasta serta pelaburan dalaman swasta meningkat sebagai pengerak utama kepada pertimbuhan ekonomi negara. Apabila perbelanjaan swasta (private consumption) dan pelaburan dalaman swasta (private investment) meningkat, ia akan dapat merangsangkan pertumbuhan ekonomi negara dari segi pemintaan agregat (aggregate demand). Oleh itu pertumbuhan GDP tidaklah terjejas sangat seperti mana yang kerajaan harapkan.

Adakah kerajaan pasti pertumbuhan ekonomi dalam negara mampu mengekalkan  pertumbuhan ekonomi yang menggalakkan? Bagaimana kerajaan menggalakkan perbelanjaan swasta dan pelaburan swasta? Bagaimana kerajaan menggalakkan orang ramai berbelanja lebih sedangkan kuasa beli (purchasing power) orang ramai menurun? Saya betul-betul tak faham. Dengan membenarkan orang ramai meminjam lebih untuk membeli kereta dan rumah tidak mencukupi untuk merangsang ekonomi negara. Orang ramai akan fikir ia akan menambahkan lagi bebanan hutang. Kerajaan tidak berbuat sesuatu untuk mengawal kenaikan harga barangan dan perkhidmatan. Inflasi adalah silent killer dimana orang ramai mesti ambil langkah berhati-hati. Saya tak percaya kadar inflasi adalah 1.9%. Jangan tertipu dengan data yang diberikan oleh kerajaan. Tak boleh dipercayai.

Sebenarnya apa yang patut dilakukan oleh orang ramai termasuk saya ialah mengurangkan perbelanjaan dan menabung lebih. Duit tak ada (tak cukup) macam mana nak berbelanja lebih? Ikat perut adalah. Sama juga dengan pelabur swasta, siapa mahu melabur kalau suasana iklim pelaburan yang tidak menyakinkan dan menggalakkan pada masa ini. Lagipun tidak ada galakan dan pembaharuan dasar serta insentif yang menarik untuk menarik minat para pelabur tempatan. Cukai korporat tidak diturunkan, tariff elektrik dinaikkan pada masa depan, harga petrol naik, harga barangan dan perkhidmatan naik, gaji tak naik, bonus tak dapat (kakitangan kerajaan), oleh itu macam mana nak suruh kita berbelanja lebih dari apa yang kita mampu?

Saya tak bersetuju kadar 7 peratus boleh dicapai. Walaupun ia adalah sekadar jangkaan, namun kerajaan tidak berani memberikan suatu jangkaan yang lebih tepat atau realisitk. Kerajaan bimbang jika jangkaan diberikan jauh lebih rendah daripada jangkaan GDP pada tahun ini iaitu 7.5%, ia akan menimbulkan keresahan iaitu adakah negara kita akan menghadapi ekonomi sekali lagi. Saya berpendapat jangkaan kadar pertumbuhan pada tahun 2001 mungkin kurang 5.8% yang dicapai pada tahun 1999. Kadar pertumbuhan pada suku ketiga dan keempat pada tahun ini akan memberi gambaran yang lebih jelas mengenai prestasi ekonomi negara pada tahun hadapan.

LTL

Artikel 4

KLIA under performing Kenapa Mr LL Shit & Mahazalim senyap aja? Letak jawatanlah!

Petikan asal dari Lim Kit Siang’s homepage

Time for a new Transport Minister after 14 years who does not suffer from ministerial fatigue as not to realise that KLIA has become a warning that the MSC could also flop as disastrously as the "airport of the future"

Media statement by Lim Kit Siang

(Petaling Jaya, Tuesday): The first bank robbery at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on Sunday night is the latest in a long string of adverse publicity for the RM10 billion "airport for the future" - from its chaotic opening in July 1998, followed by the rat menace, million-ringgit airport pilferages and thefts while all this while, irking air-travelers by its distance, transport inconvenience and high expenses for passengers having to use KLIA.

The KLIA, an important component of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), was meant to be an international aviation hub of the 21st century and further proof that Malaysia is "heading towards a new era to create a new wave of opportunities, not only for the country, but for the region as well".

After more than two years of operation, the passenger-unfriendly KLIA stands as a warning of how the high-tech ambition of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad as symbolised by the MSC, could flop as disastrously as the "airport of the future".
Instead of becoming an important international aviation hub of the 21st century, KLIA is now in danger of becoming the world’s most expensive "spoke" airport.

This warning was contained in a recent Asiaweek article, which wrote:
"With the advent of super jumbos like the new Airbus A3XX or Boeing's 747-Stretch X, airports around the world will be further divided into hubs and spokes.

"Hubs will be airports where all the major regional and global airlines fly to and from, while local and regional airlines take passengers to nearby spokes.

"Singapore and Hong Kong have already carved their niches as Asia's
premier hubs. Bangkok is actually bigger than Singapore and carried 28 million passengers over the past 12 months compared to Singapore's 27 million and Hong Kong's 30 million. KLIA, which is 63rd biggest airport in the world and 11th biggest in Asia carried just 15 million passengers during the past 12 months."

The warning of the Asiaweek article has now been reinforced by the latest Auditor-General Report’s on the "low number of foreign airline flights to Malaysia", as the number of weekly flights to Malaysia by foreign airlines is significantly lower than Thailand and Singapore in 1997 and 1998.

The report said foreign tour operators had complained of difficulties in coming here because there were no direct flights and inadequate number of seats on them.

The report said:
"Our checks showed that 17 foreign airlines which ply routes to Thailand and Singapore, do not fly to Malaysia."
"For the 27 foreign airlines that do, weekly flights to Kuala Lumpur only number 155 times while Singapore has 448 and Thailand 436."
The report stressed that an easier access to the country by air was vital to Malaysia's tourism industry.

In 1998, the number of flights to Kuala Lumpur was 884 and the capacity was 207,256 seats. In contrast, Singapore has 1,405 flights with seat capacity of 359,314 and Thailand 1,149 and 311,703 respectively.
The position for KLIA for 1999 and 2000 has worsened further. Only two weeks ago, British Airways (BA) announced that it would suspend its flights to Kuala Lumpur from April 1 next year as it was incurring losses in this sector.

The person in the country who should be the most concerned and worried about the failure of KLIA to become an international aviation hub should be the Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Ling Liong Sik. However, he seemed to be blissfully indifferent and unconcerned about the KLIA’s failures, which have far-reaching consequences to the economic and financial well being of the country.

Liong Sik was guilty of Ministerial irresponsibility of the first magnitude when he evinced a "no loss" response to the report about British Airways’ intended pull-out from KLIA, saying that the departure of the British Airways offered other international airlines the opportunity to fill their planes with passengers.

In actual fact, British Airways would not be the only airline to terminate its air services to and from KLIA - as Australia's Qantas and Ansett Airlines and Germany's Lufthansa had pulled out of Kuala Lumpur in the past two years.

Asiaweek said that with other major global airlines like United, American, Swissair, Air France, and SAS avoiding flying to Malaysia, "KLIA is known reduced to receiving a handful of Asian airlines, as well as some second-tier international carriers".
The Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister, Datuk Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir had shown a greater sense of responsibility than Liong Sik when he said that BA’s plan was not good news for Malaysia’s tourism industry and that he would try to persuade British Airways not to suspend its flights to Kuala Lumpur.

Liong Sik does not seem to realise that KLIA’s failure to become an international aviation hub would seriously undermine Malaysia’s tourist industry and damage Malaysia’s economic resilience, as the Seventh Malaysia Plan had targeted tourist arrivals in Malaysia to reach 12.5 million for this year.  The number of tourist arrivals for the first six months of this year is 4 million, and even if Malaysia registers 8 million tourist arrivals for the whole of this year (which would be an all-time high) this would still be a hefty 36 per cent shortfall from the Seventh Malaysia Plan target.

In February 1998, Liong Sik said that the KLIA was "built to handle up to 25 million passengers in its first year of operations followed by 50, 75 and ultimately 100 million a year". (Sunday. Star 22.2.98)
According to the Malaysia Airports executive director Rosman Abdullah, the KLIA was operating at a level catering for 25 million passengers even though the actual number was 13.2 million in 1999. (Star 26.4.00).
With such a passenger load, the Subang airport could still have coped with the air traffic without having to spend RM10 billion to build an "airport for the future", as the Seventh Malaysia Plan stated that the Kuala Lumpur International Airport at Subang had a capacity of handling a maximum of 16 million passengers per annum (mppa).  As it is, it will be at least ten years before the KLIA would be handling 25 million passengers a year, and I do not know whether Liong Sik could tell when it would be catering for 50, 70 and ultimately 100 million passengers a year!

Malaysia needs a fierce "soul-searching" as to how to turn the KLIA from a white elephant and the most expensive "spoke" airport in the world into an international hub for airlines, but the essential first step before any such soul-searching can bear fruit is to have a new Transport Minister after 14 years who does not suffer from ministerial fatigue as not to realise that KLIA has become an albatross and warning that the MSC could also flop as disastrously as the "airport of the future".
(31/10/2000)

*Lim Kit Siang - DAP National Chairman

Artikel 5

BSKL merundum ! Apa alasan Daim?

Petikan asal dari Lim Kit Siang’s Homepage

Budget 2001 - Loud Negative Market Vote

Media statement by Lim Kit Siang

(Petaling Jaya, Tuesday): In his 2001 budget speech, Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainuddin  used the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange performance as an important indicator of the success of the government’s economic strategy for economic recovery and rebound.

As Daim said:
"The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) is now at 796.22 points, indicating a recovery of 14.1 per cent compared with the lowest level of 697.80 points registered during this year."

If Daim’s use of the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange is adopted as a barometer of market response to the budget, it is clear that the outcome is a loud negative market vote against the budget.

The stock market was falling during Daim’s budget presentation, with the KLCI ending 5.14 points lower at 791.08 at the close of trading.
Yesterday’s sharp fall in the KLCI is the strongest evidence of market disappointment at the 2001 Budget, where it shed 16.77 points to 774.31 points, hitting an intraday low of 767.31 points.  The KLCI has continued to plunge today, falling by 21.02 points to 753.29 at the end of closing this morning.

The market has spoken loud and clear as the KLCI had fallen by 42.93 points from 796.22 to 753.29 from the budget presentation to the close of this morning’s trading - a hefty fall of 5.4%.

As this is one of the sharpest post-budget stock market plunge in the nation’s history, Daim should explain why his K-economy Budget had failed to gain a market vote-of-confidence as reflected in a rebound in the KLCI - or whether he thinks that the stock market should not be used as a benchmark for the government’s economic performance at all.


(31/10/2000)

*Lim Kit Siang - DAP National Chairman