I AM DOING MY JOB ALTHOUGH I AM SILENT TO THE CRITICS RAISED BY TUN DR MAHATHIR, SAYS PM DATUK SERI ABDULLAH AHMAD BADAWI.

During an interview today on 'Talk Asia' by Cable News Network (CNN), Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah answered that he was performing his job as what the rakyat had entrusted him to carry out. He further informed interviewer Anjali Rao that he has his own way of doing things. When asked about the critics raised by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, PM Abdullah informed that Tun Dr Mahathir was admired by him and a great number of Malaysians, even now for his contributions to the country during his 22 years of leadership. PM Abdullah further informed that he was working towards achieving the 'Vision 2020' goal set by Tun Dr Mahathir. He further commented that it is true that certain projects were scrapped since it would not benefit Malaysians.

PM Abdullah informed that he was silent to criticisms raised by Tun Dr Mahathir but had noted his remarks and made adjustments accordingly. He dismissed the notion that it was a 'political suicide' for being silent.

My main priority is to carry out programmes that will benefit the rakyat, PM Abdullah informed.

18.9% - 30% - 45% BUMIPUTRA EQUITY CLAIM. WHICH IS RIGHT? WILL WE EVER KNOW.

It was widely reported today that Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI) had admitted that their study report 'Corporate Equity Distribution: Past Trends and Future Policy' claiming that the bumiputra corporate equity claim of about 45% have been seriously flawed. Its President, Mirzan Mahathir announced that there were grave discrepancies in their report, and the methodology used to ascertain this figure had been wrongly applied and as such, have decided to withdraw the said study report formally effectively. However, insiders have expressed that mounting pressure from the ruling government and many bumiputra organisations and influential individuals had forced ASLI to retract their claim although there is truth in their study findings.

In another development, Dr Lim Teck Gee, the director of ASLI responsible for the finding had tendered his resignation today, in disagreement with Mirzan's claim. Dr Lim is expected to leave ASLI in a month's time. A few directors of ASLI have also expressed their regret that mounting pressure has deminished intellectuals from carrying out any future researched studies.

ASLI had completed its findings sometime in March 2006 and copies of their report was handed to the government, members of parliament and interested bodies. The said independent study report was made in conjunction with the statitics required for the formulation and implementation of the 9th Malaysia Plan. But however, the Economic Planning Unit of the government had only reported 18.9%, a stagnate figure since the last report sometime in 1990. The methodology used by the Economic Planning Unit have until todate not been revealed and has created various suspicions. On the other hand, ASLI had clearly indicated their source of research and even had a public forum, a short while ago to explain their findings and how this research was formulated.

Of late, various groups and bodies had questioned the validity of the report. A couple of days ago, our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had termed the report as 'baseless'. Ever since then, many concern groups have indicated that mounting pressure will be used to retract this report and the government may enforce a 'gag order' similar to the Article 11 movement. This surprise turn of events have surprised many non-bumiputras as to the actual state of affairs.

The New Economic Policy was introduced in 1970 after the 13 May 1969 riots with the creation of a 30% bumiputra equity quota until 1990 so that it will bridge the socio-economic disparities between the races in Malaysia. But since the government had revealed then that the target had not been achieved, it was extended to 2005 and it was now further extended to 2020 since the claim that the equity target was stagnated at 18.9%. Many interested parties had doubted the correctness of this percentage from the Economic Planning Unit. With the revealing of the ASLI Study Report, the public where surprised by the target achieved and the non-bumiputras have felt that they have been the victims of the social order for such a long time.

With the withdraw of this report, its has created serious doubts whether the actual truth will ever be known. Is it 18.9% as indicated by our government, or 45% as per the researched findings of ASLI.

WORLD RANKING OF UNIVERSITI MALAYA (UM) DEGREES DETERIORATING

Obtaining a good university education is everyones expectations and desire in life. Likewise, every university faces the challenge in the quest for excellence, quality and international recognition, which will be the attracting point to boost more quality students to seek a place here. Universities are annually assessed and are reported in the 'Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) World University Ranking' based on their world academic position. Although many school leavers in Malaysia do not make it into local universities due to certain reasons, obtaining a university degree will excel ones career prospects and in turn, improve the educational standards of the human resources in our country. Our government, on the other hand, is striving very hard to make Malaysia an educational hub of this region and this statitics plays a vital role in attracting and promoting higher education in Malaysia.

Normally, people do not get excited about the annual publication of the THES rankings although those who wish to further their studies do greatly rely on them for their admissions. Usually, the worth of a university degree cannot be measured by its world ranking alone but must be evaluated and respected for fulfilling the required traditional criteria of a true academic institution.

The poor international rankings of Malaysian universities in the THES 2006 World University Ranking need to be addressed by the government immediately and drastic plans need to be undertaken to ensure that the future ratings improve tremendously. With the establishment of the Higher Education ministry, a serious and methodical approach in uplifting this rating is needed to be implemented to keep with the aspirations of the 9th Malaysia Plan and 'Vision 2020'. Just depending on the vice chancellors of the local universities to improve their international recognition is quite beyond their depths and capability and with their own resources, they are only able to struggle to keep their universities within the THES 200 bracket, without any hope of even competing with the best in the Asia-Pacific, let alone the world.

Having a glance at the list of the 23 Asian-Pacific universities ranked within the top 100 universities in the THES 2006 list, there is no reason why the nation’s premier university cannot be among their ranks, especially after 30-40 years in existence, Universiti Malaya would undoubtedly be ranked among the first 10. But this is not the case.

As per the report, University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) ranked No. 185 and UM ranked No. 192 are hovering perilously close to being knocked out of the THES ranking, as UKM is only 1.3 points and UM 0.7 points in overall score better than University of Paris Sorbonne (Paris IV), the last-ranked No. 200 university. UKM’s overall score is 29.2, UM is 28.6 while University of Paris Sorbonne is 27.9. In contrast, the overall score of the Top Five Universities are Harvard University 100, Cambridge University 96.8, Oxford University 92.7, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale University 89.2. The overall score of the Top Five Asia-Pacific Universities are Beijing University 67.9, Australian National University 64.8, National University of Singapore and Tokyo University 63.1, Melbourne University 61.6.

The Cabinet meeting today need to decide whether the Malaysian universities are to continue with their struggle to keep within the THES 200 Best Universities Ranking, or whether we are confident enough in the capabilities of Malaysians to take a quantum leap to aim to be among the world’s top 100 universities, including one university among the world’s top 50 universities. If so, the Cabinet must demonstrate, it has the political will to take the bold decision to restore meritocracy as the primary yardstick for Malaysian universities, from student-intake to appointment and promotion of academicians. If not, it is not so much the vice chancellors but the Higher Education Minister and the entire Cabinet, who must bear the greatest responsibility for the sharp fall in standards, excellence and quality of Malaysians universities and their dismal performance in international rankings – losing out even to Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University ranked 161 this year and 121 last year, something unimaginable only a decade ago.

Related to the future of Malaysian universities, Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapha Mohamad should also explain what has happened to the Zahid Higher Education Report and its 138 recommendations, why they had been cast aside and the reasons for the secrecy and total lack of transparency in setting up a “high-level committee” in his Ministry to come out with a new blueprint for tertiary education for our country.

AP (APPROVED PERMITS) FIASCO

The latest fiasco concerns the cloning of APs or Approved Permits for the import of foreign vehicles. Although this activity had been widely known among the motor trade industry, the authorities have just suspected the issuance of cloned AP documents to import foreign luxury vehicles or were involved in the racket or did not totally focus on this issue(as usual, tidak apa attitude) since the culprits were high-ranking Barisan Nasional politicians. APs are usually issued to Barisan Nasional politicians and supporters, more so especially to UMNO politicians. APs are a immediate ticket to fast cash, and each AP could fetch up to RM20,000 to RM50,000 depending on the market situation. Many controversies had been exposed as regards to the issuance of APs, even some time ago former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had criticised the AP issue when he had a tiff with Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz on the issue which let to the publication of a list of recipients of APs granted by her ministry. Tun Dr Mahathir had expressed his concerns since it was a set-back that had affected the poor sales of the proton cars which affected the overall performance of national car manufacturer, Proton. But this current issue is not about issuance of APs but the CLONING of APs which is a criminal offence.

It has been widely reported in the media today that the person responsible for the cloning is a Senator (Ahli Dewan Negara) and due to this, his name had been withheld although most people could speculate the person involved. As expected this politician must be from the ruling government, Barisan Nasional. It has been further reported that almost 1,000 cloned AP's have surfaced but industry sources predict very much higher figures. Taking this into account, one can imagine how much these culprits would have earned, MILLIONS without nothing but with a mere paper(fake document). Just because he was a recipient of AP's and being a BN politician. Previously, students studying overseas were entitled to a single AP but since the exposing of some racket involved, this issuance had been stopped by the government. But the surprising part is how the relevant departments were unable to detect these fake APs, unless they too were involved in the racket. Even the Auditor-General's Office or Public Accounts Committee (PAC) had not detected this fiasco. Many government departments are involved in the implementation of the APs and it is surprising how this matter was not detected much earlier by any one of the government departments concerned. If there was proper 'check and balance' by the relevant government departments, this matter would have been detected much earlier and this culprit or maybe more culprits would have been charged for the criminal act.

This Senator has now claimed as reported in the NST today that he was ignorant about his company's activities as the day-to-day running was handle by his son. It is reported that the Senator's company is given 500 AP's annually by the government. The Customs have identified that the AP's have been faked five times. It was reported that since the culprit is a VIP, they need to await the advice of the AG Chambers before prosecution. What a double-standard, this is. Criminals in top places treated differently. The Laws of Bolehland are for every citizen to obey and be treated equally.

This incident maybe the tip of the iceberg. There must be many other similar situations on other matters that may have been cloned or faked but still unaware by the relevant authorities. Its time our government conduct an investigation and find out if the system had been abused. A total revamp of the auditing procedure of the government departments and agencies need to be carried out immediately to flush our criminals like this.

The rakyat hopes that this culprit or culprits are severely punished for the criminal acts and not to be 'swept under the carpet' or covered-up due to their political connections.

Will this happen?

Note: LATEST
The Senator purportly involved is Datuk Muhammad Abdul Ghani from Kota Bahru, Kelantan. He has a successful business in the dealership of motor vehicles. He is the only Senator given AP's by the government annually. He has denied the above allegations and has made a police report yesterday against the NST and another two dailies belonging to NST group.

PETROLEUM PRICES SHOULD BE LOWERED DUE TO CURRENT LOW WORLD PRICES

It is surprising to note that when prices go up in the world market, our government immediately adjust their prices to keep with this hike. But, when a commodity price falls, our government does not adjust them or take considerable length of time to make the reduction. This is Barisan Nasional (BN) style of management. Anyway, BN is also know as 'BARANG NAIK'.

The world market price for petroleum products has sharply fallen but our petroleum product prices still remain unchanged. The government had demanded a hike a few months ago on the basis that the world price was higher although there was a huge protest from the rakyat. We ourselves are a petroleum producing country.

It is expected that during the coming festive period, the government will immediately reduce the petroleum product prices, so that prices of other related products will also be lowered. In this way, the rakyat will have a bit more to spend.

Will this reduction take place now?

SPEED LIMIT REDUCED TO 80KM DURING FESTIVE SEASONS

Road accident claims many lives in Malaysia, not because of poor roads or enforcements. Malaysian roads are considered to be one of the best in the world. The main reasons are that road users have been reckless and impatient. Just because one holds a valid driving licence does not mean that they have the passport to do anything on the road. At times, we need to cultivate the attitude of give and take. Our goal must be, to reach our final destination safe and sound. Drivers should also check their vehicles before embarking on long trips. The safety of the car also greatly matters. Another important factor is to have, full concentration on the road. If the driver had not enough of sleep, he or she should refrain from driving very long distances. Drivers should have a very good rest before embarking on long distances. If we adhere to these basic principles, we will reach our destination with our loved ones, safe and sound. It is better to drive slowly, although it may take a while longer but we will eventually reach our destination with safety.

During the past festive seasons, the government had implemented various enforcement plans and campaigns, some have worked and some have failed. But I think with the reduction of speed limit on federal roads to 80KM during festive periods against the usual 90 or 110 KM, as suggested and about to be enforced, its success will greatly depend on the drivers and road users. A normal trend in Malaysia is always to break a rule which is meant to protect every road user. If there is no evidence of police or RIMV personnel at site, the drivers will break the law. This is a normal phenomena in Malaysia. Until and unless we change this idealogy, road accidents will always be on the rise. If every road user abides by the speed limits, for sure road accidents will be brought to the minimal.

We need to appreciate the police for suggesting this new policy. But implementation play a major role. It is hope that the police and the RIMV will deploy their personnel to frequent accident sites to ensure that the traffic flow is in accordance with the speed limits in force.

It is hoped that our road accident level reduces with this new road safety campaign?

BANGSA MALAYSIA - WILL IT BE A REALITY ?

It is sad to hear and read Malaysians raising racial issues against one another although we have gained independence for past 49 years. The culprits behind these, are our own politicians who use race to champion their cause to gain popularity. So long as we are divided as Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Dayaks, Ibans, Bidayuhs and so forth, we are not going to achieve integration. Until and unless we consider ourselves as Malaysians, irrespective of our ethnical background, we will always be having these differences, and our politicians will keep playing with our emotions on this racial tone. There are laws to prevent them from creating and inciting racial sentiments but the enforcement is at the whims and fancies of the administration. In most cases, it is one sided and the victims are always the non-bumiputras or precisely the non-malays.

Recently, it was reported that Bukit Mertajam Umno leader Musa Sheikh Fadzir had told the Chinese, especially the Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce, not to stir the 'hornets' nest and had warned that "this is our land, our rights, our constitution." What does he mean by "ours". Is he referring to Umno or to the Malays? Looking at his background, Musa, whose forefathers migrated from India to this Malay kingdom, must be reminded that Malaysia belongs to Malaysians irrespective of race, religion or culture, and this is their land, their rights as citizens and the Malaysian constitution is their constitution. Malaysia is not the land of the Malays alone, including the Indian Malays or Arab Malays. On this matter, what has Musa and his Umno peers done to uplift the economic and social status of Penang Malays? The Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce has called for the review of the 30% bumiputra equity quota in the State.

For the past 35 years, since 1969, the bumiputras have been having an edge over their non-bumiputra counterparts due to the New Economic Policy (NEP) which is currently widely termed as 'Never Ending Policy', which was formulated to bridge the gap of disparities among the various races in Malaysia so that they too, can share the wealth of the country and live in peace and harmony by providing privileges in most areas, which was termed as 'bumiputra quota'. Although the implementation of this privilege was to end in 1990, more than 15 years ago, and since the target of 30% equity was not achieved as reported, the government extended this privilege and during the recent 9th Malaysia Plan, it was further extended for another 15 years to the year 2020 on the view that the bumiputra equity target was only at 18.9%. Recently, an independent report from Asian Strategy of Leadership Institute (ASLI) revealed that the target had long been achieved and it is now estimated to be about 45%. For sure, the non-bumiputras who have been deprived for so long would retaliate. The government on the other hand, is not able to substantiate its claims on how it had arrived at its figures. Just mere statements by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will not keep this matter silent. The rakyat, more so the non-bumiputras wants facts and figures to prove this arguments.

The Prime Minister's son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin, who is UMNO Youth Deputy Chief had sometime ago made a remark saying that the 'chinese will take a upper hand if the malays were weak and disunited'. Although this remark incites racial sentiments, he had refused to apologise to the chinese as he quotes that the media had misinterpreted his statement. This is a social crime in Malaysia and Khairy, an Oxford scholar, should have been arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA). But this has never happened. When Singapore Minister Mentor, Lee Kuan Yew made some racial remark that 'the chinese in Malaysia and Indonesia are systematically marginalised', the government and UMNO had demanded an apology which Harry Lee had tendered in some way or another. Just look at the double standards practised by our leaders and UMNO. Sometime ago, there were certain non-malay Members of Parliament who had incited racial statements but they were reprimanded for their actions. . This is, after all, racial politics, BN style or precisely UMNO style.

It is time that we, the rakyat, should take a serious look and consideration our options when the next elections is called. We will need a government who will be transparent and accountable to the rakyat. Corruption in any form to be totally wiped out. A major review of all government policies. Most of all, create a singular Malaysian identity of various faiths. Get rid of the race identity. Let us live with one single happy family called MALAYSIANS or RAKYAT MALAYSIA.

Will this vision be a reality?

HAZE - A REAL THREAT TO PERSONAL HEALTH AND TOURISM

Its been reported that the haze situation in most part of Malaysia today is at a critical level but our government until now had not taken any drastic action to act and clear the current poor situation. The visibility in most parts of the country is also reported to be bad. They only seem to be talking of Harry Lee's sorry letter, Khairy's no-sorry state over his racial remarks, political corruption at Kubang Pasu division polls and the mounting corruption of the current administration. There were reports that the main stream medias were barred from reporting the critical haze condition in order not to frighten foreign tourist. I feel everyone need to be told the truth about our current unsafe condition and if they want to come, they are here, at their own risk. Haze sometime create medical complications like ashma and so forth. If people are not warned of the dangers, our credibility will be tarnished. Our country relies on foreign tourist for the booming of the tourism industry.

The government further need to take immediate steps to create artificial rain to clear the sky. With this in force, the air index situation will improve and it will be safer for the rakyat and everyone here.

The culprit being Indonesia need to be warned about their uncaring attitude towards its neighbours in not controling large-scale open burning.

It is hoped that our government will take immediate steps to improve the air index and overcome the current situation.

MYTHOLOGY OF FASTING DURING THE MONTH OF RAMADAN

Reason for Fasting
Fasting is an act of deep personal worship to God in which Muslims seek to raise their level of God-consciousness. The act of fasting redirects the heart away from worldly activities and towards the remembrance of God. Muslims focus during this month on strengthening their relationship with the Creator. It is a time for spiritual reflection, prayer and doing of good deeds. Fasting is intended to inculcate self-discipline, self-restraint and generosity.

Benefits of Fasting
Fasting is one of the best treatments for acidity in the stomach as well as inflammation of the large intestines. In addition, fasting can strengthen the skin and bones, reduce the risk of gall bladder stones, improve heart function and blood circulation. It can also help with weight loss, making the body lighter on the heart and the bones, specifically the back, legs and feet. However, fasting has not been prescribed by God simply for dietary reasons. Rather, fasting is an act of worship to God in order to teach mankind self-restraint. In addition to restraining from food and drink, the individual must work on being more patient and forgiving.

A Time for Thought, Action and Change
Islam seeks to guide man onto the path to eternal life and prepares him for it through worship, prayers, charity and fasting. All these are meant to enable man to exercise control over his own life and have the moral courage to take the path of truth, justice and compassion. It wants reason to take charge of the ship of life and steer it wisely and safely through the stormy and dangerous seas of this life under the guidance of Divine Revelation. That is the message of Ramadan.

Fasting - A gift from the Creator
The month of Ramadan is an opportunity to develop qualities of endurance and self-restraint, to control anger and a fiery or malicious tongue. It is an opportunity to fine tune the body and shed it of obesity and sloth, and to benefit from any therapeutic effects fasting may have. Ramadan is a time to awaken compassion and solidarity with others and in particular with the poor. Muslims are urged to be more liberal in giving during Ramadan and are required at the end of fasting to give Sadaqatul-Fitr to the poor (a small amount of mandatory charity), an amount to enable all to share in the spirit of warmth, affection and brotherhood. Ramadan is above all an opportunity to reorient oneself to the Creator and the natural path of goodness and God-consciousness.

BARISAN NASIONAL YOUTH LEADERS A LAUGHING STOCK

After 3 hours of meeting yesterday, it was announced that the Barisan Nasional (BN) Youth leaders have accepted Khairy Jamaluddin's explanation as regards to his racial remarks about the chinese taking a upper-hand if the malays were weak was misinterpreted or misquoted by the media. As far as everyone knows, to raise any racial sentiment is a social crime in Malaysia and under national security, the said person need to be detained under the 'famous' Internal Security Act (ISA) without further questioning. Khairy, a educated Oxford scholar, cannot claim ignorance now. Even until now, he has no guts to apologize to the chinese or non-malay communities for his racial remarks. Not all the chinese in Malaysia are members of BN component parties. A public apology is required since it affects the masses. Being a very holy month for muslims, it seems that Khairy has no desire to repent for his mistake and worst of all, even Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, has joined with him to bail him, when Hishammuddin knows for sure that he had in some form or another made this remarks, which is also a sin during this ramadhan month. Its seems to us that Hishammuddin could be the leader but is a servant of Khairy. It was reported that Hishammuddin did not allow Khairy even to speak to the reporters to explain his views since the matter pertains to him in fear of further blunders.

Its totally surprising that the non-UMNO youth leaders of the Barisan Nasional Youth have accepted his racial remarks without an 'open' apology. Even Lee Kuan Yew has made a point to apologise for his racial remarks although there is some truth in his statement.

Its time the government take action against Khairy since his remarks had incited racial sentiments. The question that he is the son-in-law of the Prime Minister is a separate issue. Anyone who breaks the law need to be punished. The ISA is there, so use it.

Will our government do it?

From this, you can safely say that the Barisan Nasional Youth leaders are a laughing stock.

LEE KUAN YEW AND HIS 'APOLOGY' - IS IT A APOLOGY OR BE FOOLED AGAIN

All our newspapers widely reported today that Singapore's Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has apologized to PM Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, through a letter handed personally by the Singapore High Commissioner, T. Jesudasen on Monday in respect of his recent remarks. Its seems that we have finally 'triumphed' in our quest. "Badawi menang, Lee Kuan Yew kalah" is the statement of the day. But, the first impression we gather is that 'AT LAST, SINGAPORE ADMITS THEIR MISTAKE FOR MAKING A WRONG ASSUMPTION THAT MALAYSIAN CHINESE (including Indonesian Chinese) HAVE BEEN SYSTEMATICALLY MARGINALISED' but if one were to read between the lines of his apology letter, Lee Kuan Yew categorically stated that his remarks were not intended to cause our PM Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi much discomfort (due to his present feud with Tun Dr Mahathir), and that "after a decade of troubled relations with PM Abdullah's predecessor (Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad)" it was the last thing he wanted? Furthermore, it was also revealed that Lee Kuan Yew had also annexed previous racial remarks made by Malaysians (not only of Tun Dr Mahathir) as regards to their Singapore Malays which the Republic had not made a big issue of. Its seems that it was a mere 'tit-for-tat' situation, just giving a reminder that, they will retaliate if you interfere into their affairs.

Since knowing Lee Kuan Yew, he must have an ulterior motive in offering this 'apology'. What is it, we need to wait and see.

SYARIAH COURT HEARS MORE DIVORCE CASES, MOSTLY MESSY, NASTY & UGLY

Who said marriage is made in heaven? With the greater number of couples terminating their wedding vows each year in Malaysia, its clear that divorce rates especially among muslim couples is on a rise during this past two years or so although the manner to divorce among muslims by syariah law to accepts a divorce, the man need to state once, twice or three times "I divorce you" to his wife in the presence of an another adult. Currently, even mobile phone text messages saying "I divorce you" sent to the wife seem to be entertained by certain quarters. Statitics reveals that last year alone, 15,000 muslim couples terminated their marriages compared to their non- muslim counterparts (the chinese and indians) of about 3,000. It was also revealed that divorce is turning uglier and becoming more public. Couples who are parting are resorting to reveal to the public their bedroom secrets. But the main reasons among most couples is, no other than MONEY, MONEY, MONEY. It is also felt that during these recent years, the figure had been increasing termendously and family lawyers are stating that divorce cases are becoming very messy and 'dirty'.

A marriage is termed as a partnership between two individuals, a male and a female. If one finds their partnership is not working out as expected, a break is eminent, which is called a divorce. That is what, one ought to do. Then, you need to seek a new life partner who would be more compatible with one another or remain single. But, whatever said, it is far better to try to reconcile the differences and save the existing marriage. If only reconciliation really fails, it is far better to divorce, but do it amicably and gracefully.

An on-going case that is receiving wide news coverage involves Dr Rozita Halina Hussein, the daughter of our former prime minister Tun Hussein Onn, with Dr Shafiq Sit Abdullah. After 15 years of marriage, Dr. Rozita filed for a divorce sometime in 2003. Both sides had very ugly accusations against each other, such as allegations of infidelity, of faking illnesses and of disregarding parental duty which had been bandied at the Syariah Court. By the sound of it, the trail of acrimony could continue when the court hearing continues this coming monday. While the rest of the Malaysian divorces are not making it into the print media, things are still pretty nasty out there in a divorce court.

Syariah lawyers claim that couples go to great lengths to humilate each other in court, by making false accusations or to the extend of hiring someone to admit having an affair with the other partner and these are committed by the rich, who have millions in their bank accounts and many valuable properties, and the parting partner would claim a stake on these assets. The greater their assets, the uglier and nastier the divorce proceeding would turn out to be. Usually in these sort of cases, the husband would have had a second marriage with a younger woman. In seeking revenge, the first wife will stake a claim for everything and would go to such extends to do anything to succeed in her claims. The fight will be over nafkah (maintenance) for their children, custody of the children, the properties and payment of mutaah (compensation) to the wife. There was an instance where the woman had a self-inflicted bruises on her face and lodged a police report claiming her husband had abused her, but on further examination by the trial judge, it was revealed that her husband was actually outstation. There were instances where the husband would have hired someone to admit that he was having an affair with his wife and likewise, the wife would have engaged some other woman to admit that she is the husband's mistress.

Another issue of contention is the payment of mutaah or compensation to the wife. The wife can ask for anything from RM100 to millions of ringgit. The amount will depend on the wife’s status, her contribution to the family and the husband’s capability. However, the decision on the amount will be decided by the court. Under the Islamic Family Law, mutaah cannot be awarded if the wife is an adulterer, leads a wild lifestyle or is an unfit mother. The husband will find ways to make the wife look bad to ensure that he does not have to pay.

But there are circumstances where divorce cases among middle income earners are usually solved amicably unless there is interference from a third party. The third party being parents, siblings, relatives and friends from either side. More often than not, the couple would rather listen to these people than to their lawyers. Especially when it comes to custody of the children and division of the matrimonial assets (harta sepencarian). In illustration there was a case where the parents-in-law made up stories about the husband, accusing him of abusing and neglecting his wife and children and not supporting them financially.Usually family lawyers would advise their clients about the consequences of lying in court, but some of them refuse to listen and do things their way without telling them, and these lawyers are caught by surprise by their actions.

While in the civil court, between 30 and 40 divorce cases are heard weekly in Kuala Lumpur. The intention of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 which came into force in March 1982 was to make divorces less contentious. The concept of "consent divorces" (joint petition for divorce by mutual consent) was introduced where the law tries to encourage couples to reach a settlement on all issues with the intention of a removal of fault (blaming the other party for the breakdown of marriage). It doesn’t matter whose fault it is since the marriage is no longer there, but one of the requirements of a "consent divorce" is proof that the marriage has irretrievably broken down using facts such as adultery and unreasonable behaviour, which are faults, so in effect, the legislation had not done away with the concept of fault in divorces.

Lawyers involved say that whether couples had an amicable divorce or not depended on the parties involved. If both parties have the objective of keeping things amicable, then it will be easy. Usually problems arose if one or both parties went into court looking for absolute justice for themselves only and not a resolution of the dispute. Parties must go to court with a greater objective in mind, and that includes considering the interest of the children, as they are the prime victims of any divorce.

There are three issues that could make divorces contentious, firstly about division of property. If the stakes are high in terms of property division or amount of asset that they have, then it has the potential to get ugly. Usually when property is large, then people start throwing in other issues to embarrass the other party.

The next issues are children and the inability of one party to let go of the other.Usually it’s the woman who has a problem of letting go, because she feels that she had invested so much in their marriage like "She’s made him into the man he is, and suddenly now he wants to go off to be with a pretty young thing, to enjoy the fruits of years of building up their fortune. Whereas they could have been very poor in the beginning. So she won’t give up so easily."

Some divorces start out contentious, but may eventually end up with a settlement based on what would be the best for both parties. Sometimes to avoid a long-standing trial, parties may use certain formulas based on existing cases on how division is arrived at.

Lawyers who frequently handled divorce cases cited that the couples fought over custody of the children or property.Then there are the cases where things get ugly after the divorce. This is when their ex-husband defaults on child maintenance, and it’s usually not because he cannot afford to pay but he just refuses to pay. If the wife wants custody of the children, she should deal with the finances. The ex-husbands look at maintenance as enriching the wives. They think it’s their wives who suffer but it’s actually the children.

WHY UMNO SUPREME COUNCIL DECIDED TO DEFER POLLS

It was announced yesterday evening that the UMNO Supreme Council had decided to postpone holding their party elections by 18 months to March 2009, purportly to concentrate on the coming general elections. The UMNO Supreme Council had done this during the previous ocassions in 1999 and 2004, to defer their party polls to concentrate on the general elections. But this time, it seems very suspicious that the main motive is the general elections. Insiders reveal that since former premier and past president Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is on a warpath with PM Abdullah, PM Abdullah need to retain these powerful positions to counter-attack Tun Dr Mahathir. It is very obvious that followers only support the powerful and even Tun Dr Mahathir himself had admitted that his crusade is fought by himself alone currently although previously when he was the 'power man', he had a string of people to assist him, even 'kiss his hands' frequently. It is learnt that PM Abdullah has the support of a good group of people to assist him in his trail, since he is currently holding that powerful positions. This could be the main reason for defering the party polls. Being the president of UMNO, he remains as prime minister. Although with the current in-fighting, the Barisan Nasional seems to be of having a poor record, since alot of 'dirt' seems to be exposed, more expected in the days to come, especially with dealings directly linked to PM Abdullah and his family. It seems that from this move, there is more trouble ahead to come. PM Abdullah is fully aware that Tun Dr Mahathir has documentary evidence to justify his allegations and as everyone knows, people tend to believe proof rather than a mere word. Although PM Abdullah is not an angel himself, but may have been force to commit these allegations to show he supports the calls of his family. But PM Abdullah need to realise that his enemy is a great 'actor' who could mesmerize his audicence and PM Abdullah have to be really cautious of his moves. Tun Dr Mahathir had done these things in the past to many leaders like Musa Hitam, Anwar Ibrahim, Daim Zainuddin, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and others. So he knows what to do and when to do it too.

If PM Abdullah is unable to contain his current situation, the likelihood would be that he will team-up with former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Tun Dr Mahathir will be forced to concede once such a move by PM Abdullah is taken, since Anwar will go all out to smear the reputation of Tun Dr Mahathir and finish Tun Dr Mahathir and his legacy. But PM Abdullah knows that Anwar is not an angel too. PM Abdullah may easily admit Anwar into the UMNO fold since Anwar had be acquitted of the crime which he had been sacked for. As such, he need to be reinstated to his former positions - that is Deputy President and Deputy Prime Minister. Anwar was elected as Deputy President in the UMNO General Assembly. The only problem is that many UMNO top officials are not in favour of this move since their propects will also be hindered. The one who will be badly affected with be current deputy president and deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. Najib status of being the deputy president is by way of appointment.

So, we need to wait and see what happens next.

TUN DR MAHATHIR ASK TUN SALLEH ABAS TO RESIGN OR BE SACKED

Its confirm that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, our former premier had asked Tun Salleh Abas to resign in 1988 and had offered to give him a lucrative position at the Islamic Bank. Tun Dr Mahathir reported that initially Tun Salleh Abas agreed but subsequently after a few days, rejected his advice and a Tribunal was set-up to remove him on the consent of the Agong (then Sultan of Johor). Since the removal of judges could only be performed by the Agong, on the advice of a tribunal set up by their peers. Its is very clear that the reason for the removal of Tun Salleh Abas was connected to the UMNO case but Tun Dr Mahathir refused to comment further.

It has been reported that the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, who is in-charge of law, Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz informed that he had briefed the Cabinet on this issue yesterday and it was resolved that this matter will remain closed unless fresh and important facts emerge.

In the meanwhile, the Bar Council had made a statement that it will still keep the issue alive and would probably hold an EGM to discuss on this issue.

Will the review ever take place?

COVERING HIS TRAIL ON UNITED NATION'S OIL-FOR-FOOD SCANDAL AND SCOMI'S NUCLEAR COMPONENT SUPPLY SCANDAL

It is been speculated that the recent official trip to United States by PM Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was to meet US President George Bush (meeting President Bush is a private meeting-according to sources) to request for his favour to ensure that certain US Congressmen will quash their investigation into PM Abdullah's involvement in the Iraq Oil for Food scandal, although his name clearly appears in the list distributed and had benefitted almost RM11 Billion with just a mere single government letter, which PM Abdullah denies any personal involvement and Scomi's involvement in supplying nuclear components, which if it was investigated further will badly damage the good reputation of PM Abdullah and his family due to the current feud with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Almost every member whose names had appeared in the list distributed in the United Nation's Oil for Food Programme have resigned from their respective position to avoid further shame. Some Japanese involved in the nuclear component scandal have also been arrested. It has be revealed that a Malaysian directly involved in this scandal, Tahir, is currently held under detention under Internal Security Act (ISA), not in fear of national security but to avoid further problems if this Tahir were to speak out and implicate Scomi's involvement in the scandal.

In any negotiation, there must be a compromise and if US President Bush is going to use his good office to quash these scandals, surely he will demand some favour in return. What is that favour is worrying most Malaysians. Just to protect the good name and reputation of a single family, the whole country has been 'mortgaged' so as to speak. PM Abdullah has no choice on these matters. If he is unable to cover his trail, for sure Tun Dr Mahathir is going to expose his weaknesses, brand him a 'liar' and demand for his resignation, which will eventually embarrass him and his family much further. PM Abdullah is left in the crossroad. PM Abdullah is fully aware that Tun Dr Mahathir is having documentary evidence to prove his point and that is the main reason for the silence so far by PM Abdullah. Why attack the hornet nest when you know you are going to be sting.

Only time will tell what actually transpired.

NEW FACTS EMERGE TO SEEK REVIEW OF 1988 JUDICIAL CRISIS

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and de facto Law Minister, Datuk Seri Nazri Tan Sri Abdul Aziz had informed Parliament last week by written submission that unless there is new and important facts emerging, the issue of re-examining the 1988 Judicial Crisis will not be possible and as it stands now, there is no necessity for a review since there must be a finality to the matter .

In response to this call, former Lord President, Tun Salleh Abas had revealed today five new and important facts that will enable the minister in charge, Datuk Seri Nazri to seek the government's approval to review the 1988 Judicial Crisis which led to the sacking of Tun Salleh Abas and another two Supreme Court judges, Wan Sulaiman Pawanteh and George Seah.

The new five facts revealed by Tun Salleh Abas are:-

1. Ex-premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad told him to quit or face a tribunal.

2. A messenger for a “very important minister” came to persuade Salleh Abas to resign or go on long leave. Otherwise, he would face dismissal. Salleh Abas was offered a lucrative job in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as a director of Islamic Bank should he resign. To sweeten the deal, he was offered "a high salary I could never have dreamed of".

3. A month after Salleh Abas’s suspension, the Malay rulers reached an agreement that should Salleh Abas tender his apologies to and ask for forgiveness from the King for having written a controversial letter to His Majesty, his suspension would be lifted and the matter ‘would end there’. It however did not happen when Salleh Abas went to see the King in Johor Baru.

4. The suspension of five Supreme Court judges - with the eventual dismissal of two of them - was “engineered” for the purpose of thwarting them from hearing Salleh Abas’s judicial review application challenging his suspension and the composition of the tribunal to deal with his dismissal. He gives details on how the suspension was engineered.

5. The Sultan of Johor (who was then King during Salleh Abas’s dismissal) told Salleh Abas he (the sultan) had been “made use of”. The sultan was about to tender a public apology for his role in Salleh Abas’s dismissal but “mightier hands from Kuala Lumpur” managed to persuade the sultan from keeping to his pledge.

Tun Salleh Abas further quoted that “These incidents undeniably go to show that come what may, I must be made to give up my judicial office”. Tun Salleh Abas further said that there were other incidents and other details which he could reveal in the event a review was held, and for the time-being he shall keep the identity of those unnamed persons in this statement concealed. Tun Salleh is hoping that Nazri will present a proposal to the cabinet for a review of the 1988 judicial crisis so that the truth of this important episode in our nation's history is uncovered.

Will Datuk Seri Nazri do this?

A CLIMATE OF FEAR AWAITS

A friend messaged me a couple of days ago, saying that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is fed-up with all these bickering that is going on and wants to put a stop to all these, by having Tun Dr Mahathir placed under house arrest. Of late, Tun Dr Mahathir, after returning from an overseas holiday and after his dreadful loss to be a delegate at his own Kubang Pasu UMNO division, had been accusing PM Abdullah as weak, a 'liar' and is not managing the country properly, talking about Scomi's involvements (company owed by PM Abdullah's son, Kamaruddin) on obtaining government contracts without tenders and about Khairy Jamaluddin(son-in-law of PM Abdullah), the power-man behind PM Abdullah decision-making in running the country and UMNO and is also said to be ruling Terengganu with his chinese business buddy, Patrick Lim. PM Abdullah feels that the freedom given by him and enjoyed by Malaysians have been abused and not appreciated. Its true that he has a different style and ways of administering the country. Since being humble and religious, he practices slow, calculative, moderate and god-fearing sort of government and wants to give every Malaysian a equal chance to voice their dissatisfaction - no more dictatorial rule as practiced by Tun Dr Mahathir, so that its could be the government of the people, for the people.

But this rule had been undermined by a few powerful as being weak and have been creating a mockery of the current situation. Its time for drastic actions. Whether this is going to happen or not, no one knows except PM Abdullah. But indications are showing that something drastic is on its way, what, who and when, no one knows. Bloggers are also taking steps to restrict bad comments on their sites. Blog reports have also been one of the reasons for the current blow-up as they seem to write anything, without caring for the sentiments or after reactions, but just to capture their audience. If everyone had observed tolerance, these situation would not have to arise. Just because of a few inconsiderate people, everyone will have to face this music. The clock can't be turned back to make it right now. Its just too late.

I could be wrong on my assumption but feel Malaysians should know what is boiling at home. It is hope that during this holy month of Ramadhan, no such thing will arise.

RAMADHAN - HOLY MONTH, RECONCILIATION OF LEADERS HOPED

With the beginning of Ramadhan today, and being a very holy period in ones (muslims) religious time, it is hoped that our leaders will use this holy month to reconcile their differences. There have been speculations that something unpleasant could occur before the UMNO General Assembly sometime in November. Our leaders need to realise that differences could always be settled by communicating with each other. I am sure that Malaysians from every walk of life want to see this thing happening. I am sure to humble oneself is the greatest gift of life and more so, if it is done during this holy month.

I take this opportunity to wish all my muslim brothers and sisters, SELAMAT BERPUASA.

TUN DR MAHATHIR - MUKHRIZ HAD TO 'BEG' TO REINSTATE OPCOM-TM DEAL AND KHAIRY & PATRICK LIM ARE CONTROLLING TERENGGANU

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the former prime minister informed that his son, Mukhriz had to beg the ‘powerful’ Umno Youth deputy chief and son-in-law of Mahathir's successor, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Khairy Jamaluddin to have the Opcom-Telekom Malaysia project reinstated, but ended up having the project’s value slashed by 15 percent. This RM200 million project deal was scrapped after Tun Dr Mahathir had stepped down as prime minister in 2003. This forced his son to request Khairy assistance although Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has denied the critics claim that Khairy influences the premier’s decisions with some claiming to the extent of describing the 31-year-old Oxford Graduate as the country’s de facto prime minister. In the meanwhile, Tun Dr. Mahathir defended that the RM200 Million contract that Mukhriz had obtained from Telekom Malaysia (TM) was a deal obtained through proper channel. Mukriz is the Chairman and Managing Director of the fibre optic company, Opcom Sdn Bhd.

Dr Mahathir spoke to reporters in Terengganu in response to an article by Malaysiakini, on thursday that reported that documents pertaining to the business dealings involving Mahathir’s children are being posted in the internet. Sources disclosed that this was done to counter Mahathir’s criticisms of Scomi Bhd’s involvement in government projects. Tun Dr. Mahathir has alleged that Scomi, which is controlled by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s son, Kamaluddin had received numerous government contracts after Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took office since 2003.

A document from the Finance Ministry dated 7 October 2003 is being circulated in a ‘pro-Umno’ blog that an agreement letter to appoint Opcom as the supplier of fibre optics worth RM214.2 million to Telekom Malaysia was done through a direct deal and not via a tender process.

During the same interview in Terengganu, Tun Dr Mahathir informed that Khairy Jamaluddin, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's son-in-law and his business partner, Patrick Lim are controlling Terengganu. Tun Dr. Mahathir further quoted that a Singapore newspaper, Straits Times refers Patrick Lim as 'Patrick Badawi'.

HAS 30 PERCENT BUMIPUTRA EQUITY TARGET ACHIEVED

One of the aspiration of the New Economic Policy was to achieve a target of 30 percent bumiputra corporate equity ownership. There is currently a conflicting report that claims that it has gone beyond 30% as targeted but the government figures show a stagnant figure of 18.9%, and due to this, the government had extended its implementation for a further 15 years, to year 2020. The New Economic Policy was initiated after the racial riots of 1969 and was aimed at bridging the socio-economic disparities between the races in Malaysia, particularly to uplift the bumiputra participation (then found to be inadequate) to at least 30 percent and its target to achieve this goal was set by 1990.

A recent study conducted by Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI), reveals that the true estimated figure should be around 45 percent and their basis in arrived at this figure is derived from the statitics of September 2005 available from Bursa Malaysia. The study - entitled 'Corporate Equity Distribution: Past Trends and Future Policy' - had estimated that 70 percent ownership of government-linked companies (GLCs) was attributable to bumiputeras. While basing on a 2005 report from UBS Equity Research Malaysia, the study revealed that GLCs made up about one-third of total market value at the time. ASLI’s Centre for Public Policy Studies director, Dr Lim Teck Gee told from the UBS report, the top-10 GLCs alone - which include Tenaga Nasional, Telekom Malaysia, Maybank Bhd - approximately made up about one-third of the market value in 2005. “Our study was established based on the best available information and informed opinion. The government does not make such data available easily to the public,” he quoted when met recently. Dr. Lim further illustrated that ASLI’s study was aimed at providing updated facts to support their argument that the NEP’s 30-percent target had been achieved. “I and many other experts believe that the 30 percent bumiputera corporate equity requirement should either be removed or reformed,” he quoted. “Firstly, it was part of the larger NEP programme which was supposed to end in 1990. It is now more than 15 years. “The NEP programme has already long achieved its objective of nurturing a dynamic Malay business community and strong Malay wealthy and middle class,” he added. Lim warned that if such ‘crutches’ continued, it would only encourage rent-seeking and induce other distortions and inefficiencies that would hurt our national interests. Dr Lim proposed that instead of encouraging race-based corporate equity ownership, it would be better if the government encouraged efficiency, competition and productivity of our economy. In the light of the facts revealed, Lim hoped the government would exercise more transparency and publicise the methodology used by the government in providing its own figures. ASLI’s forecast and proposal was published in February this year, was meant for various government agencies, but it was also distributed to various groups including a number of Members of Parliament.

So has the 30% bumiputra target achieved? Only you can judge for yourselves.