The global study on broadband quality conducted by Oxford’s Said Business School listed Malaysia among countries which had Internet speeds which were “below today’s applications threshold.”
Malaysia is listed in the same category but above countries like the United Arab Emirates, Philippines, Pakistan, Morocco, Vietnam and Indonesia. China, Malta, Brazil and Thailand are among countries just ahead of Malaysia in broadband quality but still in the same low category.
By Syed Akbar Ali
Well of all people the Singapore Business Times has reported that our Tenaga Nasional Berhad (which is a GLC owned by the taxpayers) has decided to build a nuclear power plant in the country.
How come we the citizens of this country did not know of this decision by TNB? Its not just any power plant but a nuclear power plant. It can have a significant impact on all our lives – especially if it blows up or is blown up.
... important parts of the original Constitution, such as jus soli (right of birth) citizenship, a limitation on the variation of the number of electors in constituencies, and Parliamentary control of emergency powers have been so modified or altered by amendments that "the present Federal Constitution bears only a superficial resemblance to its original model. -DR. SHAD SALEEM FARUQI
Q. Tetapi bukankah setiap kali pilihan raya kecil, permintaan kaum bukan Melayu dipenuhi, malah di Bukit Gantang walaupun peruntukan RM1juta diberikan tetapi kaum Cina tidak juga menyokong BN?
MUHYIDDIN: Ya, kadang-kadang kita berasa terpedaya juga kerana zahirnya nampak macam ‘ok’, sambutan dengan tepukan gemuruh tetapi mungkin sudah ada tertanam dalam hati iaitu sesuatu tidak mudah hendak berubah, pokoknya masalah isu Perak terutamanya di kalangan masyarakat Cina yang mungkin telah dipengaruhi dengan sentimen simpati kepada Datuk Seri Ir.Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin, kononnya dia ‘dijatuhkan’, lepas itu kononnya dasar memberi pegangan tanah selama 99 tahun dilihat dasar yang menguntungkan.
Ini yang mungkin menyebabkan sukar BN mendapat sokongan walaupun kita fikir bila mereka hendak sekolah Cina dibantu, kita bantu, sepatutnya mereka membalas budi. Pada waktu itu, kita pun tidak berharap sokongan kaum Cina akan meningkat 40 peratus dan sebagainya cuma kita berharap ada peningkatan sedikit tetapi apa yang berlaku ia mencatatkan penurunan, macam tidak ada penghargaan terhadap apa yang kita lakukan.
Oleh itu kita kena kaji psikologi apa yang menyebabkan masyarakat Cina tidak bersedia untuk berubah, pada zaman dahulu tidak begitu.
Persoalannya apakah mereka melihat dalam konteks senario politik baru ini, selepas kerajaan BN tumbang di lima buah negeri, mereka sudah menjadi kuasa penentu? Orang Cina rasa sekarang, walaupun mereka kumpulan minoriti, merekalah menentukan kerana kelompok masyarakat Melayu sudah berpecah tiga kumpulan. Masyarakat Cina tidak berpecah mereka bersatu, setidak-tidaknya dari segi semangat apabila bersama-sama membuat sesuatu keputusan.
Dalam keadaan ini, mereka boleh menentukan keputusan sesuatu pilihan raya dan apabila kesan itu dapat dilihat dalam pilihan raya umum lalu dan beberapa pilihan raya kecil, mereka fikir sekarang mereka lebih ada kuasa penentu, bukan sahaja Cina malah masyarakat India pun begitu, apa tah lagi apabila mendapat kedudukan dalam kerajaan yang ditubuhkan pakatan pembangkang dengan menjadi Timbalan Ketua Menteri, Speaker dan exco kerajaan negeri, jadi ini bagi mereka seolah-olah tawaran yang diberikan oleh pihak sana lebih baik daripada kita pernah tawarkan dalam konteks BN, jadi ini kita harus teliti.
Ashvin Raj: I would like to highlight a main difference between Anwar's attempt of Sept 16 to form a new government and what's going on in Perak. Anwar said that he had the numbers. He did not say that he ‘bought them’ for a price.
Anwar only gave a call but no money was offered. In this Perak case, a statutory declaration made by a PKR member strongly alleges that money ranging in the millions was offered to Pakatan YBs in order to entice them to crossover.
In this sense, money is the main difference here. I doubt PKR offered any sum of money to BN reps to join Pakatan, as they don't have access to huge federal funds, unlike BN which has millions of ringgit as the federal government of the day.
What has happened in Perak is cowardice to say the least. The people's mandate had not been given to BN to rule Perak, but to Pakatan.
I don't blame the Sultan of Perak, but Najib and his cronies for enticing politicians from Pakatan to join them. This is most shameful and cowardly in that they used a bait of millions of ringgit to lure them.
Were there any monies offered by Pakatan to any BN rep before Sept 16 to join Pakatan and form a new federal government?
Of course, it is ethically wrong to hop from one party to another. But my point here is this, who has the stronger bargaining power when it comes to enticing YBs to crossover?
Certainly it is the one with the most funds and assets accumulated over the past 50 years and that is none other than the corrupt BN regime led by Najib.
Lim Chong Leong: While it is correct to say that it was Anwar who started inviting MPs to crossover, he was always open for a snap election when a vote of no-confidence was to have been passed against Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s government.
Pakatan leaders have always justified crossovers only to show a vote of no-confidence against the BN leadership. Thereafter Parliament can be dissolved and new elections called.
Now Najib, if he hears the people of Perak, should seek the dissolution of the Perak assembly and call for a new mandate. But would he dare to do so?
Sultan Azlan Shah has decided there will no dissolution of the Perak state assembly. He told Mohd Nizar to step down as MB to pave way for power transfer to BN. -Malaysiakini
This will be the most memorable Christmas I've ever spent or likely to spend: since about tea time yesterday I don't think theres been a shot fired on either side up to now. Last night turned a very clear frost moonlight night, so soon after dusk we had some decent fires going and had a few carols and songs. The Germans commenced by placing lights all along the edge of their trenches and coming over to us—wishing us a Happy Christmas etc. They also gave us a few songs etc. so we had quite a social party. Several of them can speak English very well so we had a few conversations. Some of our chaps went to over to their lines. I think theyve all come back bar one from 'E' Co. They no doubt kept him as a souvenir. In spite of our fires etc. it was terribly cold and a job to sleep between look out duties, which are two hours in every six.
First thing this morning it was very foggy. So we stood to arms a little longer than usual. A few of us that were lucky could go to Holy Communion early this morning. It was celebrated in a ruined farm about 500 yds behind us. I unfortunately couldn't go. There must be something in the spirit of Christmas as to day we are all on top of our trenches running about. Whereas other days we have to keep our heads well down. We had breakfast about 8.0 which went down alright especially some cocoa we made. We also had some of the post this morning. I had a parcel from B. G's Lace Dept containing a sweater, smokes, under clothes etc. We also had a card from the Queen, which I am sending back to you to look after please. After breakfast we had a game of football at the back of our trenches! We've had a few Germans over to see us this morning. They also sent a party over to bury a sniper we shot in the week. He was about a 100 yds from our trench. A few of our fellows went out and helped to bury him.
About 10.30 we had a short church parade the morning service etc. held in the trench. How we did sing. 'O come all ye faithful. And While shepherds watched their flocks by night' were the hymns we had. At present we are cooking our Christmas Dinner! so will finish this letter later.
Dinner is over! and well we enjoyed it. Our dinner party started off with fried bacon and dip-bread: followed by hot Xmas Pudding. I had a mascot in my piece. Next item on the menu was muscatels and almonds, oranges, bananas, chocolate etc followed by cocoa and smokes. You can guess we thought of the dinners at home. Just before dinner I had the pleasure of shaking hands with several Germans: a party of them came 1/2way over to us so several of us went out to them. I exchanged one of my balaclavas for a hat. I've also got a button off one of their tunics. We also exchanged smokes etc. and had a decent chat. They say they won't fire tomorrow if we don't so I suppose we shall get a bit of a holiday—perhaps. After exchanging autographs and them wishing us a Happy New Year we departed and came back and had our dinner.
We can hardly believe that we've been firing at them for the last week or two—it all seems so strange. At present its freezing hard and everything is covered with ice…
There are plenty of huge shell holes in front of our trenches, also pieces of shrapnel to be found. I never expected to shake hands with Germans between the firing lines on Christmas Day and I don't suppose you thought of us doing so. So after a fashion we've enjoyed? our Christmas. Hoping you spend a happy time also George Boy as well. How we thought of England during the day. Kind regards to all the neighbours. With much love from Boy.
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'"
Martin Luther King, Jr August 28, 1963 "I Have a Dream" Speech
Cartoon from Washington Post
While Obama's victory is withouht doubt a defining moment for the history of the blacks in the US and an indication of how far thay have come over the years, Obama himself is not a black civil activist.
His personalities & his thinking trangress the racial line. He never sought to champion for his own race but fight for the rights of all ordinary Americans. That was why he was elected as the 44th President of The United States of America.
The whole world was crazy over him when Obama won the election. What makes him the idol of all? Not as if he some superstar or some sort of famous person before that. There is no one in the whole world has any interest on him before he set foot for the race to be nominee for presidency for his own party, The Democratic Party of the United State of America.
I believe that what makes him the idol of all is not because the person he is but in what he symbolises. He symbolises hope. That what makes people around the world triumph over his victory.
I keep a close watch of most of his campaign. His every steps to victory has given me inspiration which is to dare to dream & that nothing is impossible even the odds are against you. As long you persevere, sincere & fight for it wholeheartedly, there is a chance for your dream to come true.
One of the Obama's speech that I quoted which inspired me to dream big & go for it was in his acceptance speech in reference to Ann Nixon Cooper, a 106-year-old Atlanta resident.
“She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky, when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons — because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin,”
“And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America — the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t; and the people who pressed on with that American creed: 'Yes, we can.'”
"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer..."
Barack Obama Acceptance Speech
Sanjay Dutt stars in this film as Munna Bhai, a Mumbai (Bombay) underworld don, who begins to see the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi. Through his interactions with the image of Gandhi, Munna Bhai begins to practice what he calls Gandhigiri (Satyagraha, non-violence, and truth) to help ordinary people solve their problems. His sidekick, Circuit, is portrayed by Arshad Warsi.
