Oil money has changed Tengku Razaleigh’s mind

No politician ever tells the truth. The change in the stand of former finance minister, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, which Kelantan had the right to receive oil royalty show the true color of politician.

Former finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah joined Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat to issued the statement that the Kelantan state government should now get the oil royalty instead of compassionate payment.

The changed was contradictory to the statement made in October 2000, and his latest statement had confused the people, especially those in Kelantan.

Information Communication and Culture Minister Dr Rais Yatim was shocked at the change in the stand of former finance minister, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah compared to his earlier stand.

Rais said Tengku Razaleigh's statement in 2000 was very clear that all states in the peninsula did not have any right under the Petroleum Act 1974.

When Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah changed his stand two nights ago, it is most surprising how he could change his actual stand expressed in late October 2000 in front of thousands of people.

For states thinking of making claims on the oil royalty as Kelantan is doing, they have no right under any Petroleum Act as they are in international waters where the federal government had the right.

"This is the position of the international law as well as the national law. The Petroleum Act is different from the provisions under the Continental Shelf Act where Sabah and Sarawak are subjected to," he said.

New petrol pricing mechanism saves govt 1 Million Ringgit

The Malaysian public is reacting to a new petrol pricing mechanism that will be implemented by the Najib administration soon.


The total government's subsidies budgeted in 2010 are RM20.9 billion, down from the RM24.5 billion spent in 2009 and RM35.2 billion in 2008.

The government spends 8,000 ringgit per capita annually on various subsidies including fuel. It could save as much as 1 billion ringgit this year by revamping its system for fuel subsidies.

From May 1, Malaysians and non-citizens will have to pay different petrol prices as foreigners are not eligible for subsidized petrol.

The Government is likely to put a cap on the amount of subsidized petrol that a car owner can buy monthly. The price for Malaysians will depend on engine capacity and “socio-economic” factors and MyKad will be used to determine the eligibility while purchasing petrol.

Currently, the Government is subsidizing petrol at 30 sen per litre. The market price for RON 95 is RM2.10 per litre but due to subsidy, the pump price reduces to RM1.80.

Subsidy is a centrally planned measure that money paid to a given product by the government in order to lower the price. It is a form of assistance which claimed that social justice has been taken into account.

One of the adverse effects of subsidies is market distortion, which cause the prices of the commodities do not reflect its actual cost. It also jeopardizes the national economy as it would lead to excessive fuel consumption and wastage in addition to unhealthy practices such as illicit trade, cheating and smuggling.

Ironically, this idea of subsidy is polarized of the view that subsidies should be removed and the money save can be channel into other development projects.

The main justification is most subsidies implemented do not effectively benefit the targeted poor rather; the poor are being exploited. The subsidy will reduce the funds available to assist the poor and the rich who feed fat on the subsidy.

This school of thought argues that countries that subsidized fuel has tremendous negative impact which cause demand to continually rise steeply, threatening to outstrip the growth in global supplies.

It is argued that if subsidy not implemented properly which cause a large difference between subsidized and market prices, not only corruption rampant, any effort to reform the system will be suppressed.

Generally, in order to make the price of oil more affordable, governments provide subsidies, which cause the price of oil to remain fixed below free floating market rates.

However, if oil prices increase, the policy of heavily subsidizes oil prices may suffer as the cost of the subsidies will consume ever-larger amounts in their budgets.

Huge subsidies are "opportunity costs" which prevent to build more schools, hospitals and public facilities which would provide long-lasting benefits to a larger segment of the population.

Developed economies rather than subsidizing the fuel, often place a tax on every liter of petrol sold, to discourage over-consumption by the rich.

Undoubtedly, the new petrol pricing mechanism is the ideal policy, but it should be implemented for the benefit of the public as a whole without any unbelievable strings attached or hidden agendas.

Opposition losing Malay support in Perak

Ousted Menteri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin said that, based on a survey, Pakatan has lost about 7-8 percent of the Malay electorate in Perak.

He said, the decline has been particularly significant in rural areas which Pakatan has not been able to penetrate successfully.

“This is because the alternative media has not been able to challenge the traditional media like Utusan Malaysia and other newspapers.

"So we reverted to trying to maintain the status quo…but unfortunately, BN has menggula-gulakan (given sweeteners) to village folk.

During festive seasons, BN also made a concerted effort to meet the people in remote areas by giving a lot of goodies.

Conceding failure in luring back support, Nizar attributed this to two main issues that are “close to the Malay heart”.

The first was the allegation that Perak Pakatan had been 'giving face to the Chinese and has become a stooge of (Chinese-majority) DAP'.

“The second issue is that I had committed treased with regard to the palace, to the sultan.”

Middle Malaysia is being like the owl pining for the moon

Information communication and culture minister Dr Rais Yatim said, DAP's "middle path" strategy is being like 'pungguk rindukan bulan' (the owl pining for the moon) and the moon will not drop unless if Allah wills it."

Dr Rais Yatim said: "They can say out whatever big dream they have but ultimately, it's the people who will decide.”

The DAP’s “middle path” strategy, also named “Middle Malaysia”, was announced by party secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, at the party’s 15th national conference.

They wanted to show that the opposition was providing an alternative and fighting "for fair and equality for all Malaysians".

The strategy aim at projecting a collective image of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and broaden their common ground as they see slogans are not enough to draw support from people, instead the government must appeal to all communities.

In the past, DAP had found itself to be the target of those who branded the party as "a Chinese chauvinist establishment out to erode the special privileges of the Malays and undermine Islam, the national religion".

On the other hand, the eight values of 1Malaysia as articulated by Najib Razak are perseverance, a culture of excellence, acceptance, loyalty, education, humility, integrity, and meritocracy. It strongly emphasizes national unity, ethnic tolerance, and government efficiency.

The question arises: Is BN threaten by the middle Malaysia strategy?

Sabah and Sarawak Christians can use 'Allah'

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said, the government has no issue with the word "Allah" being used by Christians in Sabah and Sarawak. This is because the natives in the two states have traditionally been using "Allah" in their prayers and religious services and Muslims there were accustomed to the practice.

"Christians in Sarawak and Sabah need not worry over this issue because it is a common tradition there. I have been to an Iban church service and I heard the word 'Allah' used there," he said.

Nazri, however, said "Allah" was not allowed to be used in churches in Peninsular Malaysia and so Christians from Sabah and Sarawak had to respect that even when they are in the peninsula.

"Muslims here in Semenanjung cannot accept it as 'Allah' was never used in Christian preachings until recently and they questioned the motive behind the substitution of 'Tuhan' for 'Allah'."

Nazri said Christians should recognise that using "Allah" in their worship and publications was sensitive to Muslims and that this was not an issue that could be solved by going to court.

He said banning the use of "Allah" by Christians was a preemptive move to stop outbreaks of religious violence in the nation, and the government was proven right in doing so when churches were attacked following the High Court ruling in favour of the Herald weekly.

Nazri said a solution to the issue needed to be found soon, but in the meantime, he appealed to the people to remain calm and rational.

Muslim NGOs protect churches

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib quoting Quranic verses to stress that Islam forbids Muslims from insulting other religions and the desecration of places of worship.

It was reported that the 15-member Coalition of Muslim NGOs against the Misuse of the term 'Allah' has set up a 60-strong team of volunteers to protect churches in the Klang Valley.

Among the groups making up the coalition that issued the statement condemned the torching of churches by “irresponsible parties” are Teras, Perkasa, PPIM, Macma, Batas, PPM, PUM, JIM, Darussyifa, PKPIM, IRRIMM, AMB, and Kimma.

The coalition said that it would help the police to “ensure the safety of the Christian community and to protect their places of worship”.

The arson attacks on three churches in the Klang Valley were condemned as “un-Islamic” by Islamic leaders and the 60-strong team of volunteers to protect churches in the Klang Valley could be beneficial and believed can greatly help to reduce religious tensions.

DAP councillor ingested paraquat

DAP councillor for Seberang Jaya, Teong Ai Ling, 33, who was dropped from her post ingested paraquat.

Teong, who is division chief of Nibong Tebal, is the only female division leader in Penang DAP.

It was reported that her one-year term as councillor was not renewed by the DAP-led state government for alleged incompetence.

It is believed that she was upset over a newspaper report quoting sources attacking her work. She was hospitalized at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur after she was found at a relative's house.

It was reported that her condition is stable, but family members banned all DAP leaders from visiting her.

This is a sad incident and shameful harassment of opposition politicians. It clearly shows that DAP lack strong and good characteristics politicians.