anti-dap

RFID illegal logging detector on trial run

2011-12-10T05:54:00.000-08:00

The Forestry Department is currently testing a device that uses German technology to detect illegal logging activities.

Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia director-general Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Abdul Rahim said the device, which uses radio frequency identification (RFID), is being used on a trial basis.

“We are currently testing the technology in Negri Sembilan and if everything goes well, will use it to thwart illegal logging and encroachment into forest reserves,” he told The Star after opening the 16th Forestry Conference at a hotel here yesterday.

Dr Abdul Rahman said technologies like RFID were vital in forestry management because of European Union regulations for the production of logs and wood products.

The European Union, he said, wanted countries that export wood products to guarantee the trees used to make those products were harvested legally and in an environmentally sustainable manner.

The European Union also wants control and monitoring processes to be transparent. “Once those controls and processes are in place, the Government will be able to issue export licences that meet EU standards and combat illegal logging,” he said.

The conference, themed “Forest for Community Livelihood”, was opened by Malacca’s Rural Development and Agriculture committee chairman Datuk R. Perumal.

M’sia maintains 56.4% of land area as forest

2011-12-10T05:51:00.000-08:00

Malaysia is still able to maintain 56.4 percent of its total land area as forested land, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas said on Monday.

He described it as an encouraging achievement because many countries were not able to do so as their forest areas had been opened for development.

This success is very significant because Malaysia is still a developing country where development and forest land-use change for other purposes still happens, he said in his speech at the opening of the 16th Malaysian Forestry Conference here.

The text of the speech was read by Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister Tan Sri Joseph Kurup.

Uggah said the most important challenge in today's forest management was to balance the competition and various land use for forestry activities.

He said that the forest was not just a producer of a product, but also to produce clean air and water, as well as to absorb carbon dioxide and the greenhouse effect.

Meanwhile, Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam, in his speech when opening the conference, said Malacca had gazetted 5,327 hectares of forested land or 3.2 percent of the state's total land area as permanent forest reserves.

"This effort is made on the commitment by the state government to maintain a permanent forest area to provide a clean environment and for the preservation of the biodiversity for the people's well-being" he said.

The speech was read by the State Rural Development and Agriculture Committee Chairman Datuk R. Perumal.

He said the state government would continue with its tree planting effort, adding that a total of 17,250 trees had been planted since 2005. - Bernama

Credit BN for law reforms, says Najib

2011-09-17T05:01:00.000-07:00

No one else should take credit for the law reforms mooted by Barisan Nasional which saw the repeal of the Internal Security Act (ISA) and the three Emergency Declarations when both the Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat have their next sitting, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said.

He also announced that the government will do away with annual printing and publishing permits with permits that can be cancelled if regulations are flouted.

He said that the law reforms would put Malaysia on the right track to becoming a more open and progressive democracy while ensuring harmony.

The prime minister said the decision to scrap the ISA was part of his promise to amend the controversial law when he took office in 2009.

“These are not the fruits of their struggle. This was a decision made by the Barisan Nasional government because we listened to Malaysians who want this change.”

Forest law enforcement to curb illegal logging

2011-09-14T21:15:00.000-07:00

Flying Squad in Forestry Department Peninsular Malaysia is the forest law enforcement unit that plays a vital role in curbing illegal logging.

Under the law, all forest produce are the property of the State Authorities and only those with permission are allowed to enter and extract the forest produce.

Datuk Razani Ujang, Director General Of Forestry Department Peninsular M'sia

Forests are under the responsibility of the states as enshrined in the Malaysian Federal Constitution. Under Article 74(12) of the Federal Constitution, land and forest ownership and management is the responsibility of the State governments.

The executive authority of the Federal Government only extends to the provision of advice and technical assistance to the States, training and the conduct of research, unless the State agrees to delegate some of their authority to the Federal Government.

However, the Federal Government is responsible for trade policies, import and export controls and international cooperation among others. The Enforcement Unit at the Forestry Department Peninsular Malaysia coordinates and supports the enforcement actions undertaken by the Forest Operations Division at the State Forest Departments of Peninsular Malaysia only.

Zahari Ibrahim, Director of Flying Squad

The challenge of sustainability management of production forests faces highly complex processes. It is interesting to note that Forestry Department has taken various measures in to curb illegal logging.

Let’s see what Datuk Razani Ujang, Director General of Forestry Department Peninsular Malaysia and Zahari Ibrahim, head of Flying Squad say about the modus operandi on Corporate Illegal Logging and the issues to the Star, the biggest circulation newspaper in Malaysia…

Read the full article below:

http://mstar.com.my/kolumnis/cerita.asp?file=%2F2011%2F7%2F18%2Fmstar_kolum_khabarnya%2F20110718101827&sec=mstar_kolum_khabarnya

http://mstar.com.my/mingguan/cerita.asp?file=%2F2011%2F7%2F19%2Fmstar_mingguan%2F20110719112155&sec=mstar_mingguan

Illegal logging

2011-09-12T23:04:00.000-07:00

The issue of illegal logging has become a hot topic as the awareness of the environmental issues not only gains its momentum but become social agenda.

Datuk Razani Bujang, Director General of Forestry Dept. Peninsular M'sia

Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. It is a pervasive problem, causing enormous damage to forests, local communities and to the economies of producer countries.

The activities contribute to deforestation and by extension global warming causes loss of biodiversity and undermines the rule of law. These illegal activities undermine responsible forest management, encourage corruption and tax evasion and reduce the income of the producer countries, further limiting the resources that can be invested in sustainable development.

Illegal logging not only destroys the country’s unique rainforests, but also causes a series of environmental problems including flooding. The seriousness and negative impact of the economic and social implications for the poor and disadvantaged shouldn’t be overlooked.

Many Malaysians might not be aware that the forest that they are so used to is actually complex ecosystems that are filled with an assortment of plant life and wildlife.

Malaysia has been blessed with an abundance of rainforests. Many forested areas in Malaysia have been designated as National Parks and forest reserves. Malaysia’s efforts in preserving its rainforests are not in vain.

Malaysia has always done its best in the fight against illegal logging, which not only destroys the country’s unique rainforests, but also causes a series of environmental problems, including flooding.

It is interesting to note that Forestry Department has taken various measures to overcome the problems. Let see what the Director General of Forestry Department Peninsular Malaysia said....

Read the full article below:

http://mstar.com.my/mingguan/cerita.asp?file=/2011/7/19/mstar_mingguan/20110719113620&sec=mstar_mingguan

PM wants review Prepaid tax

2011-09-10T00:22:00.000-07:00

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said the government has nothing to do with the telecommunication companies' decision to pass the burden of the six percent service tax on mobile phone prepaid reloads to the customer.

He said the move was decided entirely by the telecommunication companies, and should be reviewed so as to not burden the rakyat.

"The Finance Ministry did not approve it. It was done by the telecommunication companies themselves," he said in Kuala Lumpur.

The premier added that he has received much feedback on the matter and feels that a review of the decision is needed especially as the rakyat is now facing increasingly lean times.

“I have received information and feedback from the people at large and find that the decision is unpopular.

“So I hope it can be reviewed to reduce the burden of the rakyat who are now facing hikes in food prices,” he said.

Yesterday, telecommunications companies announced that it will now charge consumers the six percent tax it had previously been footing.

The opposition has hit out at the Najib administration, saying that it is proof of its uncaring stance.

中国社会老化日就是输给印度时

2011-05-27T00:59:00.000-07:00

波恩大学社会学系教授埃里希•威德（Erich Weede）在《法兰克福汇报》撰文，认为在今后20年, 人口老化将导致印度经济增长超过中国。

在比较中国和印度时，印度潜在优势有4个即：英国的法制遗产、民主、英语和较好的人口发展。

有保障的产权和独立司法，简称法治国，被视是良好经济发展制度前提。在原则上, 印度比中国更有优势，然而只是原则上而已。这两个国家都存在着顽固的腐败问题。印度法院在判决时缓慢，以至于有司法不作为之嫌。

政治影响似乎不仅在中国，也在印度发生即, 保护某些人不受法律追究。所以，印度的新闻自由只是一个潜在的优势。对于滥用权力，印度虽然可以比中国更自由地公开讨论，但印度的政治和行政并未因此更廉洁。

计量经济学研究表明，民主和专制在增长速度上没有明显的差别。也许民主和专制之间在增长前景上的差别根本就不在于平均值，而在于变量：民主倾向于以一般的速度与世界经济相接近地增长，而专制则会远远低于或者远远高于中间值。

中国经济史就是证明，在毛泽东领导下，中国国民经济增长比世界经济更缓慢。在所谓的大跃进中，农业生产合作社过渡到庞大的人民公社，用农村小高炉推动工业化，在这一过程中，有超过3000万人饿死，按照新的研究甚至超过4000万人。

在邓小平及其继任者领导下，中国自1979年以来经历了一个经济奇迹。在独裁体制中，一切都取决于领导人的质量。在毛泽东领导下，中国人度过一段可怕的时光，自邓小平以来，中国的政府在经济政策上运气好些。领导人在经济上有能力，不再耽于乌托邦，但中国的一连串好运还能持续多久呢？

印度的王牌是其年轻而且不断增长的人口。在中国，人口快速老化，虽然计划生育政策没有导致妇女只生一个孩子，但中国出生率接近德国，即每个妇女大约1.3个孩子。计划生育政策可以被看作计划经济最后的'苦果'。中国的人口在20年后将会比全世界整体上都更老。

中国人像老化的欧洲和日本一样, 富有之前，就已经老矣。由于男女比例失衡，老化问题更激化，大约8000万中国男子将找不到伴侣。中国的产权如此不可靠，持续的高速经济增长令人惊异。或许争取投资竞争迫使中国地方政府和省政府以行动表明，似乎他们愿意尊重生产资本的私人占有。但这就可以解释中国的经济增长和没有产权保障之间的矛盾了吗？

作者断言，在今后20年，印度没有机会明显地减少与中国的差距。只有中国变老了，印度的时机才会到来。

Hishammuddin to meet chief editors of newspapers on reporting sensitive issues

2011-05-15T06:35:00.001-07:00

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein plans to meet chief editors of newspapers on the reporting of sensitive issues.

He said he wanted to ensure that the chief editors exercised caution in the reporting of sensitive issues on race and religion and that they understood they would be held responsible for their action.

Commenting on a report published in Utusan Malaysia recently alleging that certain groups wanted to make Christianity the official religion, Hishammuddin said:

"There are times when the Malay community were unhappy with the reporting of the Chinese newspapers (on sensitive issues) and vice versa.

"It is the responsibility of the chief editors to ensure that their organisations do not go beyond the boundaries set in reporting such issues," he told reporters after opening the Sungai Besar Umno division delegates meeting near Sabak Bernam.

Despite the clarity of the country's publishing laws and guidelines, he said, "every paper has crossed the line (in reporting sensitive issues) one time or another. Now it's Utusan (which has crossed the line)."

Hishammuddin said that it was difficult to control the flow of information on sensitive issues, especially with the emergence of the new media.

"If it (the information) does not make it to the mainstream papers, it will somehow or rather get to the new media like online news portals, Facebook and the short messaging service," he said.

PAS-DAP cooperation is only benefitting DAP: Najib

2011-04-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

Prime Minister Najib Razak today urged PAS to leave the Pakatan Rakyat coalition as only DAP is reaping benefits from three-member opposition coalition.

He said that the PAS-DAP cooperation is only benefitting the DAP and this could be clearly seen in the just-concluded Sarawak state election where PAS worked very hard but it was the DAP which won.

"In Terangganu, we see posters captioned "PAS ganti UMNO" (PAS replaces Umno) but in reality it's "DAP ganti PAS" (DAP replaces PAS)," he said.

According to Najib, PAS should get out of Pakatan and shift its attention elsewhere.

“It did not matter if the party (PAS) did not want to join the BN,” he said.

Najib said DAP was the dominant force in Pakatan and its two other partners - PAS and PKR - were playing second fiddle to it.

"We see in a number of issues DAP will object if they do not fit into their ideology. So if they were to form the government, they might not be able to agree on major issues," he said.

The prime minister said if PAS wanted to champion Islam, DAP was not the right partner to do this.

“What I want to say is that in the Pakatan coalition now, only the DAP is benefitting."

World Bank Report wanted a change of Prime Minister: Dr Mahathir

2011-04-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

The former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir said the World Bank report was politically motivated as it wanted a change of prime minister.

He described the World Bank as “useless”, saying today that it was politically motivated for putting out a report that pro-Bumiputera policies are stunting the country’s economy.

“We have been critical of the World Bank since my time. We said that they were useless. They dislike us and want to have their good friend become prime minister”, seemingly referring to Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, a former chairman of its development committee.

The World Bank said on Thursday that more than one million Malaysians live abroad as policies favoring the Malays are holding back the economy, causing a brain drain and limiting foreign investment.

World Bank senior economist Philip Schellekens was quoted as saying that foreign investment could be five times the current levels if the country had Singapore’s talent base.

He said Malaysian migration was increasingly becoming a skill migration with one-third of the one million-strong Malaysian diaspora now consisting of the tertiary educated and expected the trend to continue.

Malaysian Malaysia reflected DAP belief Malaysia is just for Malays - Dr M

2011-04-23T06:08:00.000-07:00

Tun Dr Mahathir rubbished DAP’s “Malaysian Malaysia” concept, claiming it reflected the party’s belief that Malaysia is presently just for the Malays.

The former prime minister said the Alliance and the BN have representation from all races is ignored and the parties share power in the Government is also ignored.

Even the opposition was trying to go the way of BN by forming its own pact. But so far they can only co-operate during elections. They now don’t contest against each other. But each party is still racist; concerned only with its own race once the election is over.

He casts aspersions on DAP’s claim to be a multiracial party, pointing out that the overwhelming majority if its members, supporters and leaders are Chinese. Their struggle is principally against anything Malay and for what they claim to be Chinese rights.

“Their disguise that they are for Malaysians is exactly that — it is a disguise. No one is taken in by their claim to be multiracial,” he chided.

He said for 50 years Barisan Nasional coalition has brought prosperity to all races, with the Chinese getting the biggest share because of their skills and ability is deliberately disregarded.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad insisted today that Malaysians are not yet ready to discard their ethnic origins by identifying themselves with only their nationality instead of their race. That day has not arrived yet. Until then, only the BN coalition can represent all races in Malaysia.

He said this was why Barisan Nasional as a coalition comprising various race-based parties like Umno, MCA and MIC, was still relevant in the country’s political landscape.

He claimed it was likely that the BN formula of combining race-based parties was responsible for bringing Malaysia years of peace while other nations with the same racial diversity languished with numerous racial and religious clashes.

“With the ensuing stability, Malaysia was able to develop and prosper. Can anyone deny that?” he said.

Blame Pakatan Rakyat if Sarawak's Pribumi community denies all their demands: Sarawak Perkasa

2011-04-20T06:15:00.000-07:00

The Sarawak Perkasa told BN to brush aside the demands of the Chinese and focus instead on “reinstating” the rights and privileges of the bumiputeras in the state.

Sarawak Perkasa chief Abang Abdul Nasser Abang Hadari said the Chinese have betrayed the ruling coalition by “membalas susu dengan tuba” (repaying milk with poison)."

“Ever since Perkasa was launched in Sarawak, it has never questioned any claims by the Chinese, as a sign of respect for the 1Malaysia concept.

“The Chinese community should blame Pakatan Rakyat, and even more so DAP, if Sarawak's pribumi community denies all their demands.”

Abang Abdul implied support for Utusan's views, calling on the federal and Sarawak governments to realise the special rights for pribumis in Sabah and Sarawak by, among others, replacing the New Economic Policy with an affirmative action policy tailored for them.

His other demands include:
i. Realising non-Muslim bumiputeras' rights to practise their religion, while respecting Islam as the nation's official religion
ii. Ensuring all pribumis enjoy access to basic infrastructure such as electricity, water and clinics
iii. Automatic scholarships for bumiputeras in Sabah and Sarawak who achieve the minimum requirements to enter college and universities
iv. Special leeway for bumiputera students in public universities for all critical courses
v. Ensure that projects and contracts for bumiputera contractors and companies are issued transparently and effectively to allow ease of monitoring

“Perkasa congratulates Sarawak's pribumis and the BN government under the leadership of Abdul Taib Mahmud and his elected representatives for winning their respective constituencies,” he added.

“BN must retain its fixed deposit in Sarawak, and not allow anyone to disturb or challenge it.”

Utusan calls for 1Melayu, 1Bumi movement

2011-04-19T23:14:00.000-07:00

Utusan Malaysia called on its owners Umno to spearhead a 1Melayu, 1Bumi movement involving all Malay parties — claiming DAP was intent on toppling the country’s Malay leadership.

“What Umno needs to do now, in this pressing time, is to launch a wave of racial unity - 1Melayu, 1Bumi. Launch 1Melayu, 1Bumi immediately with other Malay parties,” assistant chief editor Datuk Zaini Hassan wrote in the Malay daily today.

He said that DAP’s slogans in the recently concluded Sarawak state election called for Chinese voters to change the Malay-led government, adding that they already controlled everything and was now aiming for political power.

“Only absolute political power has not been controlled by the Chinese, everything else has been taken. Now DAP bringing great slogans among them, Undi Untuk Ubah (Vote for Change), Enough is Enough and Selamatkan Malaysia (Save Malaysia).

“In truth, those slogans are aimed at no one else but specifically the Chinese. It is displayed proudly on the chests of DAP candidates and supporters in the Sarawak election so that the Malay leadership of Malaysia is changed,” he added.

In his column, he said that the Chinese community was a united force whose “brotherhood” was unmatched by any other race in the country. He said that despite their different political stands, Chinese voters would unite when the time came to decide the fate of their community.

Zaini also said that the Chinese community helped each other economically and stood together unwaveringly to protect their culture, language and vernacular education.

“The Chinese language is a high priority and it is said that even Chinese who cannot read Chinese will still buy Chinese newspapers.

“In short, the Chinese are actually very fortunate to be in Malaysia. They have controlled everything. The top ten Chinese are Malaysian billionaires,” he wrote.

However, he provided no facts to substantiate the claim that the Chinese community was such a united force. Zaini said that while DAP has united the Chinese politically, Malays have so far done nothing in response.

“They are a race that is quite comfortable, complacent and apathetic. In fact, their thoughts are quite disorganised,” he wrote.

Zaini said that if PAS refused to participate in the 1Melayu, 1Bumi movement, Umno could join hands with the dozens of Malay NGOs who were established because they were “thirsting to fight for the interests of the race that is increasingly being left behind.” He added that Chinese component parties in Barisan Nasional (BN) would not be upset with such a move to unite Malays as Chinese were already united.

Dr M accused DAP destroying the Sarawak BN power-sharing formula

2011-04-18T01:18:00.000-07:00

The former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad accused DAP of destroying the power-sharing formula that Barisan Nasional had implemented for half a century.

He wrote in his blog that the Chinese community in Sarawak has rejected multiracialism after being infected by the virus of Chinese racism that he said is the guiding principle of the DAP.

He also suggested that any DAP administration would only be ostensibly Malaysian.

“I congratulate the DAP for bringing its racist politics to Sarawak. Before this all races co-operated well with each other for the good of Sarawak. Now we see clearly that the Chinese community in Sarawak has rejected multiracialism.”

“They have become infected by the virus of Chinese racism that is the guiding principle of the DAP. If the same pattern was seen in the next general election that is expected to be held in a year, it would split the country.

Malaysia faces a grave danger of being divided by two parties — one Malay dominated by default and the other Chinese by choice. This will not be good for Malaysia. But this is what the DAP is striving for. A two-party system based on race will not contribute to stability much less national unity.

“Those Chinese who reject the DAP seem to be considered as non-Chinese by the DAP. The presence of a few Malays in the DAP is just window dressing,” he said.

He again accused the DAP of emulating Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) in sidelining the Malays.

“It is the same as in Singapore where the PAP government sidelined their Malay supporters completely. The Malays make up 15 per cent of the island’s population but their share of political power and wealth of this very prosperous nation is about one per cent.

“Of course, Singapore is ruled by Singaporeans. The same would happen in Malaysia should the DAP rule this country. It would be ostensibly being Malaysian”

Utusan tells BN to ignore Chinese vote after Sarawak polls

2011-04-16T22:07:00.000-07:00

Utusan Malaysia has told Barisan Nasional (BN) to ignore the Chinese community for not supporting the ruling coalition during yesterday’s Sarawak elections.

BN’s Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) lost more than two-thirds of the 19 seats it contested in a snub by the tiny but vociferous China commuity.

In its weekend edition Mingguan Malaysia, columnist Awang Selamat stressed that re-elected Sarawak chief minister Tan Sri Taib Mahmud’s new cabinet will reflect the “reality of the ballot box.”

“The average Chinese voters have rejected BN and supported DAP. Therefore the BN state government can no longer be too generous to give place to representatives from the community. Sarawak cabinet must be reflective of the decisions and attitude of the voters.

“Clear message must be sent. Taib must show gratitude to those that supported him and BN government,” said Awang in his article “New Reality.” The columnist, whose pseudonym is used by Utusan editors, said that BN leaders must learn from the state election when preparing for the national polls.

“Once again, the attitude of the Chinese voters is clear in rejecting BN. Awang believes that sentiment of Chinese voters in the peninsular is also the same. The reality is that after dominating the economy for so long, the Chinese community wants to have greater influence and become a dominant political force.

“The campaign to change the state government seems to only be accepted by a majority of the Chinese voters. The Bumiputera community still remains strong with BN,” Awang added.

He said that BN must formulate a new strategy without depending on the support of the Chinese voters. Awang said the ruling coalition must not fall into a trap of granting every demands of the community if they continue to vote for DAP.

“Let the support come naturally. If the Chinese voters continue to reject BN then we should not worry as there will be a way out,” Awang said. The columnist also said that BN can still win in the general election without the support of the Chinese community.

“What is important is to empower the voters that are already loyal supporters. We should not pursue what we cannot get. The potential for BN to win is still huge with the growing support of the Bumiputeras, Malays, Indian and other ethnic communities.

“If there is additional support from a small percentage of Chinese voters then that is a bonus. All parties must be ready with the new reality,” said Awang.

Islamic state debate needs to be settled urgently, says Karpal

2010-12-19T06:05:00.000-08:00

PAS and DAP have long been in disagreement over Islamic state issue, with DAP is against the idea of transforming Malaysia into an Islamic state.

PAS has, however, in recent times expressed a renewed push for the concept; implementing it in stages should PR win federal power. The issue shows us that the cooperation between PAS and DAP is on a level of marriage of convenience.

DAP national chairman Karpal Singh said that Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) dilemma over the Islamic state issue needed to be settled immediately.

The veteran politician said that he was concerned that Barisan Nasional would use the issue to try and sow discord among PR leaders.

“The issue of the Islamic state. This needs to be settled urgently.DAP will defend the constitution, and recognises Islam as the official religion.

“But the issue of the Islamic state ... can be discussed among us, and I am certain we can reach a consensus,” said Karpal.

BN could wrest one or two states, says Dr M

2010-11-18T00:32:00.000-08:00

The opposition's leadership appeared to be falling on each other which cause opposition lands in trouble.

The far-reaching consequences seem to cause Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad predicted Barisan Nasional (BN) may win back one or two states from Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in the next general election because he says the “opposition is in shambles,” according to a Bloomberg report.

He said BN “may not get the two-thirds majority which would enable them to rule the country with a strong majority.”

He told Bloomberg in an interview here that BN “might be able to recover maybe one or two states.”

“At the moment his party is in a shambles,” Dr Mahathir was quoted by Bloomberg as saying in reference to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s PKR.

Dr Mahathir’s remarks come amid intense speculation that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will call snap polls by the first quarter of next year.

BN looks after the interests of all ethnic groups

2010-10-28T06:29:00.000-07:00

MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek said, Titiwangsa Umno division chief Johari Abdul Ghani's speech that Umno did not need Indian or Chinese votes appeared on YouTube do not represent the mainstream view among Umno's top leadership.

“If we want a definite answer, ask the prime minister. The prime minister clearly promotes 1Malaysia with policies for every ethnic group. This is very clear.”

MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek said, MCA would not support these non-mainstream grassroots leaders and even recommend to the Umno leadership that they not be fielded as candidates in the general election.

He said that such Umno leaders do not act in the spirit of BN which looks after the interests of all ethnic groups.

“This (video clip) tells us that there are some Umno grassroots leaders who are not politically savvy. They are not very smart. We will report back to the prime minister.

“They should not come out (in public). We will pursue this. They should not represent BN and should retire and go home,” said Chua.

Run afoul of secrecy

2010-10-23T22:44:00.000-07:00

Google revealed that it had unintentionally collected WiFi data from open routers using its Google Street View cars.

The data was only discovered when the German Data Protection Authority asked to audit the WiFi data collected by the Google Street View team.

Google said that up until the time of the audit, it had been under the impression that it was only collecting MAC addresses and SSID information. However, the audit showed that Google had been collected fragments of payload data from open WiFi networks.

Data collected by Google included emails and web addresses users were viewing. Google said that it would be deleting all of this extra data and said a third party would be brought in to ensure this was done in the correct manner.

However, it seems Peter Schaar, Germany's federal commissioner for data protection, and freedom of information, is not satisfied with Google's story.

"So everything was a mistake, a software bug! The data was collected and stored without the authorization of the project's managers or even the company's managers. If we go along with this story, this means the software was used without having been properly tested beforehand," he said, according to TGDaily.

Indeed, Germany is not the only country who has found issue with Google's behavior.

The Irish Data Protection Authority Friday contacted Google and asked that all data accidentally harvested in Ireland be deleted.

Google today confirmed that this Irish data was deleted over the weekend in the presence of an independent third party.

No bonus for civil servants to avoid sovereign debt crisis

2010-10-16T05:44:00.000-07:00

There is nothing wrong with civil servants earn higher average salaries than private-sector and receiving bonus. But can you imagine how big RM3.1 billion is and its effect on the National Debt?

Ironically, Malaysia GDP is expected to grow more than 3% annually but government debt continues to grow at 12% annually.

The government’s Performance Management and Delivery Unit’s calculations show that by the year 2019, the country’s projected debt will be 103% of GDP and the fiscal deficit will reach RM449 billion or 38% of GDP.

At that point in time, the country will go into sovereign debt crisis in which government revenue will not be enough to service its debt and to operate the hospitals, schools and other government services.

Undeniably, government paying a month's bonus to the 1.2 million civil servants can be seen as unwise. Thus, under no conceivable circumstances should the government ever concede in practice.

Prime Minister Najib Razak said the government could not pay a month's bonus to the 1.2 million civil servants in Budget 2011 because it incurred an expenditure of RM3.1 billion is thus justified.

He said, the special financial assistance of RM500 for each civil servant was appropriate.

Najib said many quarters had lobbied to him to announce a month's bonus to the civil servants. But I would like to share with you ... that a month's bonus incurs an expenditure of RM3.1 million for the government. Personally, I would want to give a bonus but as a responsible finance minister, I cannot expend more than the national revenue.

"It is for this reason that I gave RM500 as a special financial assistance to civil servants," he said.

Najib announced a special financial assistance of RM500 for all civil servants from Grade 54 and below as well as contract officers and retirees. The payment will be made in December this year. The aid could help civil servants cope with schooling expenses for their children at the end of the year.

He said that though no bonus was given, the government had proposed other incentives for civil servants, such as maternity leave of up to 90 days. These also benefited women teachers, who made up almost 70 percent of the 400,000 teachers in the country.

World's richest government

2010-09-25T22:25:00.000-07:00

The USA might have the biggest economy, but the American government is not at all rich; in fact, it can't even take out $150bn if asked to now without resorting to borrowing. To date the US government has borrowed $14 trillion!

The UK, likewise, while the country/people are rich, the government isn’t. The UK government's debt stands at $9 trillion now.

There are only 5 countries with no debt (I.E. 0%):
Brunei, Liechtenstein, Palau, Nieu and Macau of China.

World's richest governments after 2008-2009 financial crisis:
1. China
National reserves: $2,454,300,000,000

2. Japan
National reserves: $1,019,000,000,000
3. Russia
National reserves: $458,020,000,000

4. Saudi Arabia
National reserves: $395,467,000,000
5. Taiwan
National reserves: $362,380,000,000
6. India
National reserves: $279,422,000,000
7. South Korea
National reserves: $274,220,000,000
8. Switzerland
National reserves: $262,000,000,000
9. Hong Kong , China
National reserves: $256,000,000,000
10. Brazil
National reserves: $255,000,000,000

20. Malaysia / 96,100

Here are the rest, in million US $:

11 Singapore / 203,436
12 Germany / 189,100
13 Thailand / 150,000
14 Algeria / 149,000
15 France / 140,848
16 Italy / 133,104
17 United States / 124,176
18 Mexico / 100,096
19 Iran / 96,560
20 Malaysia / 96,100
21 Poland / 85,232
22 Libya / 79,000
23 Denmark / 76,315
24 Turkey / 71,859
25 Indonesia / 69,730
26 United Kingdom / 69,091
27 Israel / 62,490
28 Canada / 57,392
29 Norway / 49,223
30 Iraq / 48,779
31 Argentina / 48,778
32 Philippines / 47,650
33 Sweden / 46,631
34 United Arab Emirates / 45,000
35 Hungary / 44,591
36 Romania / 44,056
37 Nigeria / 40,480
38 Czech Republic / 40,151
39 Australia / 39,454
40 Lebanon / 38,600
41 Netherlands / 38,372
42 South Africa / 38,283
43 Peru / 37,108
44 Egypt / 35,223
45 Venezuela / 31,925
46 Ukraine / 28,837
47 Spain / 28,195
48 Colombia / 25,141
49 Chile / 24,921
50 Belgium / 24,130
51 Brunei / 22,000
52 Morocco / 21,873
53 Vietnam / 17,500
54 Macau / 18,730
55 Kazakhstan / 27,549
56 Kuwait / 19,420
57 Angola / 19,400
58 Austria / 18,079
59 Serbia / 17,357
60 Pakistan / 16,770
61 New Zealand / 16,570
62 Bulgaria / 16,497
63 Ireland / 16,229
63 Portugal / 16,254
64 Croatia / 13,720
65 Jordan / 12,180
66 Finland / 11,085
67 Bangladesh / 10,550
68 Botswana / 10,000
69 Tunisia / 9,709
70 Azerbaijan / 9,316
71 Bolivia / 8,585
72 Trinidad and Tobago / 8,100
73 Yemen / 7,400
74 Uruguay / 8,104
75 Oman / 7,004
76 Latvia / 6,820
77 Lithuania / 6,438
78 Qatar / 6,368
79 Cyprus / 6,176
80 Belarus / 6,074
81 Syria / 6,039
82 Uzbekistan / 5,600
83 Luxembourg / 5,337
84 Guatemala / 5,496
85 Greece / 5,207
86 Bosnia and Herzegovina / 5,151
87 Cuba / 4,247
88 Costa Rica / 4,113
89 Equatorial Guinea / 3,928
90 Ecuador / 3,913
91 Iceland / 3,823
92 Paraguay / 3,731
93 Turkmenistan / 3,644
94 Estonia / 3,583
95 Malta / 3,522
96 Myanmar / 3,500
97 Bahrain / 3,474
98 Kenya / 3,260
99 Ghana / 2,837
100 El Salvador / 2,845
101 Sri Lanka / 2,600
102 Cambodia / 2,522
103 CÃ´te d'Ivoire / 2,500
104 Tanzania / 2,441
105 Cameroon / 2,341
106 Macedonia / 2,243
107 Dominican Republic / 2,223
108 Papua New Guinea / 2,193
109 Honduras / 2,083
110 Armenia / 1,848
111 Slovakia / 1,809
112 Mauritius / 1,772
113 Albania / 1,615
114 Kyrgyzstan / 1,559
115 Jamaica / 1,490
116 Mozambique / 1,470
117 Gabon / 1,459
118 Senegal / 1,350
119 Georgia / 1,300
120 Panama / 1,260
121 Sudan / 1,245
122 Zimbabwe / 1,222
123 Slovenia / 1,105
124 Moldova / 1,102
125 Zambia / 1,100
126 Nicaragua / 1,496
127 Mongolia / 1,000
128 Chad / 997
129 Burkina Faso / 897
130 Lesotho / 889
131 Ethiopia / 840
132 Benin / 825
133 Namibia / 750
134 Madagascar / 745
135 Barbados / 620
136 Laos / 514
137 Rwanda / 511
138 Swaziland / 395
139 Togo / 363
140 Cape Verde / 344
141 Tajikistan / 301
142 Guyana / 292
143 Haiti / 221
144 Belize / 150
145 Vanuatu / 149
146 Malawi / 140
147 Gambia / 120
148 Guinea / 119
149 Burundi / 118
150 Seychelles / 118
151 Samoa / 70
152 Tonga / 55
153 Liberia / 49
154 Congo / 36
155 SÃ£o TomÃ© and PrÃ¬ncipe / 36
156 Eritrea / 22

PM: mainstream media faced intense competition from new media

2010-09-02T18:44:00.000-07:00

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak asked the mainstream media to continue reporting news based on facts to remain relevant with the people.

He said the mainstream media was now faced with intense competition from new media like blogs and websites that were more based on the perspective of the individual and did not provide news based on accurate facts.

As such, he said, the mainstream media needed to be more creative and innovative in presenting the news in order to continue to gain acceptance by the people.

"If we follow the mainstream media, we will know intuitively that the reporting cannot be disputed, in terms of fact or perspective, because the basis is facts.

"As such, I wish to encourage the mainstream media to hold fast to its role as providers of factual based reporting and well-thought out opinions, intellectual and based on the actual facts" he added.

The interesting question arises: Can the mainstream media make outstanding profit beside maintain the true quality journalism?

PM: make Malaysia the best country

2010-08-30T08:19:00.000-07:00

In conjunction with the National Day, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak called on Malaysians to renew their commitment and strengthen their resolve to make Malaysia the best country.

"Please remember that Malaysia is our homeland; this is the place where we were born, the place where we grow up, where we find our livelihood, a place where we find happiness and where we shall be laid to rest," he said.

Najib Abdul Razak said the society should not allow the Malaysian way of life, which is based upon diversity and moderation, to be undermined by extreme attitudes which manifest themselves through racial and religious issues.

"Everything which we have achieved, everything which we have built, and things which are dear to us, will be destroyed.

"We should, therefore, value the prevailing peace, harmony and stability in the country."

He also said that the time had come for the current generation to take the lead to propel the country to greater heights.

PM: Government will not tolerate anyone making racist remarks

2010-08-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has warned the people against spreading “half-truths” on racial issues and said the Government has zero tolerance of racist remarks.

“We are aware of some SMSes that have been going around, (in which the content) is not accurate and is intended to raise (racial) sentiments,” he said.

Najib emphasized that action would be taken against those who made remarks that were racist in nature and unlawful, and also against those who vandalized places of worship such as churches or surau.

“Let’s not have people who spin the issue racially, as if we practice selective prosecution,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Najib said the Government had zero tolerance for racist remarks by anyone.

“Our stand is not to tolerate racist remarks by anyone. Unity is very important as part of our nation building,” Najib said.

Najib, however, added that alleged racist remarks must first be investigated before action was taken.

You got Chua Soi Lek’s facts wrong completely

2010-08-09T17:50:00.000-07:00

Ironically, article spinning would be the losing strategy. It end up with worthless and not the exact same meaning with the intension to confuse readers.

It reflect the unethical side of the media which resulted from lack of qualified personnel. The decision to commit an unprofessional act and to behave unprofessionally in order to accomplish their personal goals are highly condemned.

The so called spinning Doctor is trying to confuse you to sell some ideas that may seem smart, but can ultimately destroy the good reputation the politician has worked years to build.

Undeniably, the opposition manage to create a myopic illusion to misleading and fool the public that only religious opposition to cloning a little better government.

Chua Soi Lek's remarks is purely a political rebuttal to the opposition’s rebuttal. The ultimate aim of MCA President Chua Soi Lek is to highlight the political logic and reality about the opposition especially PAS.

“Although Malaysia is also a Muslim-majority country, we are luckier because of the moderate and pragmatic policies implemented by the Barisan Nasional government.”

“Do not be too optimistic that once PAS rules the government, the country will be free from corruption and other problems. Bear in mind, some of the most corrupted countries are Muslim-majority countries.”

Clearly, the media appear to be deliberately distorting the issue and Chua Soi Lek's remarks had been deliberately wrongly reported in order to create a critical mass unfavorable to the ruling party under the banner of freedom of press and news value.

Opposition has no chance of winning a good victory in the 10th Sarawak state election

2010-08-07T03:59:00.000-07:00

The 10th Sarawak state election is around the corner and it might be held anytime from now. It is strongly believed that with the current sentiment in the opposition ranks that it has absolutely no chance of winning a good victory at the poll.

EC chairman Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said, the Election Commission is ready to conduct the 10th Sarawak state election and has set aside RM30 million for purpose. Although the current term of the state assembly would only expire in July next year, he said, the commission was ready for the poll anytime.

Sarawak has 71 state seats. The EC allocated RM31 million to carry out the state election in 2006 with the bulk of the expenditure was for helicopter charges due to accessibility problems in certain areas. Abdul Aziz said the EC had so far registered a total of 940,924 voters in Sarawak.

Last year, the EC registered 29,278 new voters compared to 18,830 in 2008.

'Opposition only talks but incapable of fulfilling promises'

2010-07-24T21:22:00.000-07:00

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said it is now proven that the opposition pact, especially in Selangor, is incapable of running a government.

He said the opposition parties only knew how to make promises without thinking whether they had the ability to deliver them.

He said in Selangor, the state government was faced with various issues such as the sand mining issue, which he said, was in stark contrast to their claims of being an efficient government.

"They have no ability to manage the state economy although they claim to be an efficient government.

"In reality, they only talk... they talk like a parrot, they say things without knowing the meaning,"

Muhyiddin said the failure of the opposition to run their administration smoothly had affected confidence among investors towards the country, especially in Selangor.

"Should we trust them? I want the people to be aware of this and not destroy our future by believing in the lies and allegations being spread by the opposition parties when they themselves are not capable of delivering their own promises," he said.

Muhyiddin said that unlike the opposition pact, Barisan Nasional had proven its capabilities and that it had now overcome its past weaknesses, with the leaders now going to the ground to meet the people.
"We are now a true government for the people," he said.

He also refuted allegations by the opposition that the BN was a racist government.

"How is it that they are accusing us of being racist when we are representing the interest of everyone... the Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban, Kadazan and so on," he said.

马华及民政是国阵的乘客?

2010-07-16T21:59:00.000-07:00

根据《东方日报》报道，阿末扎希为甲州巫统武吉卡迪区部代表大会主持开幕时，警告马华及民政不能只满足于成为国阵的“乘客”，反之必须与巫统协力合作，力阻民主行动党继续壮大，否则将在来届大选付上惨痛的代价！

他更在会上质问，马华是否可以拿下以华人占大多数的选区，因为他们很多都是得靠巫统在马来区的优势胜出！

他强调，若马华及民政已没有了斗志，任由行动党继续强大，那么在国阵精神下分配给他们的选区议席都已是徒然。

他继称，据调查报告显示，国阵的马来支持票已有回流的迹象，若与308全国大选相比，民联的巫裔支持率已下跌4%至7%。

Subsidies reduce would not burden the people

2010-07-15T09:32:00.000-07:00

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said that when implementing the subsidy rationalization plan, the Government would seek not to burden the people.

He said the rationalization move was necessary to reduce Government expenditure and strengthen the financial position of the country.

From Friday, the subsidies for sugar, petrol, liquefied petroleum gas and diesel will be cut as part of the gradual subsidy rationalization programmed.

Subsidy rationalization will allow Malaysia to reduce Government expenditure by more than RM750 million this year. The Government will still spend an estimated RM7.82 billion on fuel and sugar subsidies this year. The prices of fuel and sugar in Malaysia will still be among the lowest in the region.

The decision to reduce subsidies for fuel and sugar is based on the fact that reducing fuel subsidies will have the greatest impact on government spending while reducing sugar subsidies will help promote healthier lifestyles.

The price of sugar will go up 25 sen to RM1.75 per kg; LPG will go up 10sen to RM1.85 per kg; petrol RON95 will be up 5 sen to RM1.85 per liter and diesel will be up 5sen to RM1.75 per liter.

RON 97 will no longer be subsidized. It will be subjected to a managed float, where the price will be determined by the automatic pricing mechanism.

Suara Keadilan's permit suspended under PPPA

2010-07-02T19:18:00.000-07:00

The Home Ministry yesterday suspended PKR organ Suara Keadilan's publishing permit for running afoul of the Printing Presses and Publication Act (PPPA).

The ministry said in a statement that it was not satisfied with the explanation provided by the weekly tabloid. Therefore, its annual publishing permit, which expired yesterday, would not be renewed.

The Suara Keadilan explanation was given for an article it reported in its June 21-29 edition that the Federal Land and Development Agency (Felda) is bankrupt.

"As of July 1, the publication is no longer valid and as such, it cannot be printed or published… according to Section 5(1) of the PPPA," said the ministry's publications and al-Quran text controls secretary Zaitun Ab Samad.

She said the decision was made by the ministry's Panel for Evaluating Printing and Publications Permit Applications (Panel 13), which is headed by its secretary-general Mahmood Adam.

The publisher will be required to respond to the letter. The application for the renewal of their permit - which expired on June 30 - will be considered after we have received a satisfactory explanation," she said.

The ministry reportedly sent Suara Keadilan three show-cause letters prior to the one on its Felda article, which was sent on June 28.

PM: Gov't achieves all KPI

2010-06-05T07:56:00.001-07:00

All the six National Key Result Areas (NKRAs), introduced to gauge government performance, have achieved the Key Performance Index (KPI) set, Prime Minister Najib Razak said.

The government had introduced the six NKRAs in July last year to reduce crime, fight corruption, improve student outcomes, raise living standards of low-income households, improve rural basic infrastructure and improve urban public transport.

Najib cited the example of how members of the People's Volunteer Corps (Rela) and Department of Civil Defence had been deployed, along with the policemen, to conduct patrols to achieve the objectives of the NKRA on crime reduction.

He said, more than 7,000 police officers and men working in the office had "returned" to their core duty to be close with the people, while their task at the office was carried out by more than 4,000 civil servants.

In the first quarter of this year, the crime index had dropped 15.1 percent while street crimes were down by 39.6 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year.

Malaysia is the top 10 most competitive countries in the world

2010-06-01T08:33:00.000-07:00

For the first time, Malaysia has earned a position among the 10 most competitive countries in the world, according to the 2010 World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY), published by the Swiss-based Institute for Management Development (IMD).

Malaysia has steadily improved its rating since first included in IMD’s well-respected World Competitiveness Yearbook in 1999.

Malaysia achieved especially impressive gains in the competitiveness ranking this year, moving up eight positions to break into the top ten.

With an index score of 87.228, Malaysia has joined the ranks of the most
competitive countries in the world, sharing the top 10 ranking with Singapore, Hong Kong, the United States, Switzerland, Australia, Sweden, Canada, Taiwan and Norway.

Can PKR continue as the glue that binds Pas and DAP in a formal coalition?

2010-05-29T04:26:00.000-07:00

The defection of 10 of PKR parliamentarians and state assembly representative is the worst thing that has ever happened in the political history of Malaysia.

For Pas and DAP, this cannot be an asset but a liability. Although the political circumstances are different today, yet it dealt a damaging blow not only to PKR but the opposition coalition as a whole.

Clearly, it serves as the evidence of an increasing degree of unacceptable behavior in the opposition coalition. The attacks on the coalition and internal degradation seem to cause the parties to fall apart and mark the beginning downfall of the opposition.

Politically, major party defection is extremely rare and the defection took PKR by surprise. It was a crushing setback for opposition parties, instantly reducing what limited power opposition has in the Dewan Rakyat. The ability of the opposition to stop legislation or to block BN agenda is now crippled if not eliminated in some instances.

The engineering for political defection has long been heavily criticized for being unethical but no effective public effort being made to exert pressure over the issue and especially on the defectors. Typically, PKR too has been criticized for ineffectiveness in its basic mission which needs to bear the political consequences and be prepared for the worst political wave. On the other hand, it’s interesting to take note on the numbers of defectors that have we seen in the other direction.

Apparently, it frees people up to question what they really believe the relevancy of the PKR elected parliamentarians and state assembly representative.

The political climate is more unfavorable for PKR now and the opposition leader’s popularity has dramatically fallen. Several studies concluded that the opposition coalition do not have any takeover opportunity in the Dewan Rakyat, in fact the studies show no indication that the government of the day could be collapsed.

It is skeptical of the urgency of the defection of the PKR parliamentarians and state assembly representative problem. After all, there is some precedence for PKR high leaders changing their minds.

There need to wonder how many more PKR high leaders will be outing themselves as skeptics? Ironically, they may never constitute a majority, and many of them have differing views emanating from contrasting political ideologies in coalition parties, it only need to take few of them to be right for the deflection for PKR to collapse.

The question therefore is not whether Anwar Ibrahim will retain as the Opposition Leader and PKR de facto leader, instead the deteriorating political influence caused by the political defection of 10 of PKR parliamentarians and state assembly representative.

The critical question remains: Can PKR indoctrinate to retain its parliamentarians and state assembly representative as well as continue as the glue that binds Pas and DAP in a formal coalition?

Chinese still Support BN

2010-05-21T07:58:00.000-07:00

The victory of DAP in Sibu parliamentarian by-election does not represent Sibuan support for opposition but it does implicate that the Sarawakians are no longer fixed deposit for the Barisan Nasional.

The impact of the defeat means the beginning ultimate down fall of SUPP should no remedy is taken seriously.

Other than national and local issues, how much SUPP can fight for the Chinese interests remains questionable.

Ironically, Chinese are not voting opposition parties, but they are protesting the policies being implemented. The protests are actually a protest against the policies that are unfavorable to them. The by-election voting pattern clearly reflects this social attitude.

The assumption by the Chinese that the government had neglected the community in terms of education although was unfounded but is increasingly being seen as the result of the Chinese base party is not fighting for the Chinese.

In the many by-elections held after the 12th general election especially the latest in Sibu, the strategy used by BN is to allocate special allocation for Chinese and mission schools.

Unsurprisingly, this strategy doesn't seem to be working well out for BN, it did not swing their votes as expected. The BN is most unlikely to benefit from an increase but managed to prevent the decrease further in its support as the Chinese did not seem to increase their support to BN either.

On the other hand, should the strategy not being used, there might be more swing in the Chinese votes towards opposition.

The RM18 million benefited the schools are as follows:

RM10 million for 60 Chinese Medium primary schools,
RM5 million for Chinese Medium Secondary Schools,
RM2 million for SMK Sacred Heart
RM1 million for St Mary

Undeniably, the RM18 million special by-election allocations is timely and it does help to ease the financial burden of Chinese medium schools in Sibu, but the electoral result shown that it did not swing the votes back to BN.

Although in appreciation, but the voters in Sibu did not express their gratitude by voting SUPP over the RM18 million allocations given by Najib. It seems that the event is overtaken by issues.

The crux of the matter is that though it is true that the allocation is timely and by far needed by Sibu Chinese community, but how about other schools in other areas? It was claimed that it does; however, appeared that the government had neglected the community especially in terms of education.

The allocation strategy during the by-election claimed to be implicated that the government constantly show negative allocations, it is one-off during by-election and not a consistent allocation.

The allocation provided a good opportunity for the opposition parties to exploit the issue that the ruling party is often than not using their power monopoly to misuse public money to gain votes and not otherwise as reflected in the tactics employed by opposition in public campaigns to garner the support of voters.

On the other hand, though there are many more good policies that the ruling party had implemented but mostly the ruling parties were seen to practice double standards among the people and within SUPP.

BN candidate Robert Lau comes from elite SUPP and it was claimed that the elite SUPP families become very rich while ordinary Chinese need to struggle hard to make ends meet.

The KTS group is belonging to the family of the BN candidate. Practically, in our democratic system, there is nothing wrong for the group to control timber business, retailing, plantation, reforestation and print media, but the ongoing court case due to the refusal to settle NCR land taken by the company cause him to suffer no meaningful political damage.

Politics is the art of the impossible, in winning the election, strategy is important. Political parties especially politicians need starting to really stress now as the next general election are coming closer.