Published by The Edge
Nov 24, 2008
With the economic slowdown eating into household incomes, the number of people who will fall below the poverty line is expected to increase sharply.
But how the poverty line is determined is in itself a subject for debate. There are different points of view on this, with some economists saying it is currently too low and therefore understates the number of people who are poor.
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/15907-tense-times-for-umno-in-terengganu
Published by The Malaysian Insider
January 14, 2009
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14 – For weeks, Barisan Nasional (BN) top guns campaigning in the north-eastern Terengganu state have gone to great lengths to stress that the by-election of a parliamentary constituency there this weekend should not be used as a referendum on public support for the government.
But judging by the millions of dollars in government funding and man-hours expended by the BN politicians led by Deputy Premier Najib Abdul Razak at a time when Malaysia is facing its most serious economic crisis, the folk of Kuala Terengganu cannot be blamed for thinking that their vote this Saturday carries serious national ramifications.
The current information overload and images overkill on Gaza has inevitably raised public awareness, even mine and I am highly resistant to mainstream media influence.
I’ve just come to know that a Qassam rocket is roughly the height of a tall Caucasian man and it can carry a payload of 10-20kg explosives.
http://www.thenutgraph.com/terengganus-slippery-oil-royalty
January 8, 2009
PUBLICISED figures on the amount of oil royalty remitted to Terengganu don’t match. And because no clear explanation is forthcoming, expect the issue to be exploited by PAS, and glossed over by the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary by-election.
PAS promises to flog the issue in its campaign. The BN, however, already considers the subject closed, as the federal government has promised to repay the balance of oil royalty due, which is now being calculated. It will also let Petronas pay the full amount of 5% directly to the state every six months, beginning March 2009.
Jan 11, 2009
KUALA LUMPUR: The Home Ministry has denied HERALD permission to print the Bahasa Malaysia segment in its pages until the case on the use of the word “ALLAH” is resolved by the High Court. This was conveyed by a letter faxed to the office of HERALD on the eve of the expiry of the 2008 permit and that too after 6.00pm on Dec 30, 2008.
HERALD is the only Catholic weekly in Malaysia which carries Catholic news to the nations near 900,000 Catholics. Some 600,000 Catholics are bumiputera from Sabah and Sarawak. Today travel is made easy and a good number of them have migrated to West Malaysia for various reasons. They communicate mainly in Bahasa Malaysia — the Nationa lLanguage.
January 12, 2009 In the most daring act to bribe the electorate of Kuala Terengganu (K.T.) to date, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak dished out 583 government contracts in a “lucky draw??? fashion to each and every Class F contractor present at the Wisma Darul Iman in Kuala Terengganu on Jan 10, 2009 — the … Read more
Towards A Competitive Malaysia # 86 http://www.bakrimusa.com/archives/towards-a-competitive-malaysia-86 Chapter 12: Fragmentation of Malaysian Society January 7, 2009 Minorities in America and Malaysia Minorities in Malaysia behave like Hispanics in American in not wanting to integrate with or accept the mainstream culture. Unlike the Hispanics however, Malaysian minorities are not interested in maintaining their own ways, except … Read more
http://malikimtiaz.blogspot.com/2009/01/freedom-to-be.htmlMonday, January 5, 2009 (I start a monthly column with The Malaysian Insider today. My column will appear on the first monday of each month. This is the first (I have made some minor changes since submitting it)) The Freedom To Be In his seminal work, “Islam And The Secular State: Negotiating The Future Of … Read more
Malaysian pretensions — Philip Bowring, International Herald Tribune http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/opinion/breaking-views/136-breaking-views/15549-malaysian-pretensions–philip-bowring Published by The Malaysian Insider January 9, 2009 HONG KONG, Jan 9 — In a move that could backfire by drawing attention to discrimination against Chinese, Indian and other minorities in Malaysia, the country has claimed a role in the advancement of Malays in other lands. … Read more
http://www.infernalramblings.com/articles/Malaysian_Education/793/ The language debate has polarised the country yet again. Today, front and centre is the issue of education: what language should we teach our children in? The government has been pushing for pro-English reforms, while prominent educationist groups have been pushing back. One insists on a uniform pro-English policy; the other insists on a … Read more