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As far as United Arab Emirates (UAE) is concerned, Malaysia is doomed right from Day One of 2009.

Malaysia doesn't seem to feature well in the eyes of investment advisors, and those of the headline-writers in the newsroom, over there. Really, which Malaysian monkey had spoilt the soup for most of us here?

For the wrong reasons, Malaysia got into the the January 1 edition of 7Days, the first free, tabloid-sized English language newspaper circulating 75,000 copies a day in Dubai and Abu Dhabi published by the Al Sidra Media LLC -- positioned as a sister newspaper to Metro published by Associated Newspapers in the UK which also produces the Daily Mail.

In the Your Money section on Page 16, columnist Graham Wolverson, an Independent Financial Adviser with Joie de Vivre International Insurance Brokerage LLC, advises his readers to avoid any inducement of investing in Malaysia. His article is titled: Don't believe those Kuala clowns.

A picture of the Petronas Twin Towers accompanies the story, captioned: LOOKS GOOD: But Kuala Lumpur is a hotbed for dodgy schemes.

Apparently, a reader writes to Wolverson, asking that: "I am getting regular emails and calls from a company in Kuala Lumpur offering an interesting investment opportunity. I have no idea how they got my contact details but after I did some basic research on their web site, it does appear to be genuine. Should I part with my money?"

Please go to the website to read the answer offered.

7DAYS distributes a total of 75,000 copies per day from Sunday to Friday in Dubai and Abu Dhabi targeting homes, offices and public places, meaning it is able to reach a fast-living, hard working urban English-speaking audience in the Middle East.

And our reputation seems not so good.

Thanks Joanne for the alert.

UPDATE Jan 2, 2009: The dumpsite fire is simmering into Day Two today, bursting into occasional fires and continuing to spew billows of fumes into the air making my Jelutong constituency the most direct impact.

Anecdotal Reports:
MPPP officers blamed it on drug addicts who celebrated new year countdown at the dumpsite and started the fire with their cigarette butts.

Press Updates:
1 ) January 2, 2009 Kwong Wah Yit Poh: ???????????????????????
2 ) January 3, 2009, Guang Ming Daily: ????????????????
3 ) January 3, 2009 Kwong Wah Yit Poh: ????????????

ORIGINAL POSTING

In the late morning of January 1, the Mole of Penang was on fire.

Pictures by Jelutong DAP Action Team | KN Theng

The Mole of Penang, a nama manja for the biggest non-environmentally compliant rubbish dumpsite in George Town, has not only exceeded its capacity but is posing a bloody nuisance to my Jelutong constituency due to the leaking leachate and open burning caused by unstable and uncontrolled waste gas emission.

A Google Earth image taken today shows the maritime area polluted by streaming leachate, circled red

Yesterday, the recipe was ripe again for the dumpsite to catch fire, spewing polluted fumes into the air, and the smoke could be seen from as far as the tenth floor of Sunway Hotel in Butterworth, from where I got the first tip-off.

Aerial view of the Mole of Penang | Google Earth & The Star

Since becoming the elected MP for Jelutong, I have variously been raising the alarm over the environmental damage done to my constituency and want this over-capacity, three-decade old dumpsite to come to a total closure. But the municipal council, no matter how smart its various presidents and heads of department can be and had been, took no positive action, citing numerous reasons.

Is it this civil servants' mentality that "when you make no decision you will make no wrong decision" that paralysed the Penang state from becoming an international class city, making it an island that is colossally filthy, dirty and third world-like?

The Jelutong DAP Action Team rushed to the scene and took this series of pictures. You need to see how the fireman is dwarfed by the blanketing screen of smoke. I am going to dump them pictures on the desk of the MPPP President on Monday. Penang and Penangites deserve better.

Pictures by Jelutong DAP Action Team | KN Theng

Developing stories

These are the reports carried by the mass-selling local papers in Penang pertaining to my unhappiness:
1 ) Sep 22, 2008 Sin Chew Daily: ??????????????????????????
2 ) Sep 22, 2008 Nanyang Siang Pau: ???????? ??????????
3 ) Sep 22, 2008 The Star: Green lung idea for landfill
4 ) Oct 13, 2008 The Star: Putting a stop to overflowing of sewage
5 ) Oct 25, 2008 Kwong Wah Yit Poh: ????????????????????
6 ) Dec 09, 2008 Kwong Wah Yit Poh: ?????????????
7 ) Dec 10, 2008 Guang Ming Daily: ??????????????????????????
8 ) January 2, 2008 Kwong Wah Yit Poh: ???????????????????????
9 ) January 3, 2009, Guang Ming Daily: ????????????????
10 ) January 3, 2009 Kwong Wah Yit Poh: ????????????

It's my wish to have this Jelutong dumpsite closed down ASAP. Return public hygiene to Jelutong. Turn the dumpsite into a public park for Penangites.

Let's start something. Can someone please help me create an entry on the Mole of Penang in wikipedia?

I stumbled on this stone carving on an arch along many arches when I visited Da Jiu in Chaozhou City recently. It says, in ancient thinking, you mustn't forget the peasants.

The 800-year old Guangji Bridge, Chaozhou City, restoration started October 20, 2003 | November 2008

It strengthens my GE2008 campaign hypothesis that you will lose the country once you lose the people's trust ( ????????? ), and that little Chaozhou arch becomes my beacon in things I do as an MP and as a non-conforming blogger.

As we usher in 2009, I shall keep reminding myself three things this whole year round, that is to

1. Get to the ground, lead the grassroots and not otherwise ( ????????? )
   
2. Build branches to build networks of change agents ( ????????? )
   
3. Never, never be a "YB Press Release" ( ?????? )

It won't be easy. So help me God.

Happy 2009, folks! It's a bearish market, so we need to work like buffaloes to bring back the bulls.

As 2008 ticks away, it's time for a yam seng or two?

Image source: Rocky's Bru, April 22, 2008

The start of the end... ( 16 )

One plaintiff less for Rocky's Bru.

Rocky used to face 5 plaintiffs in the NSTP suit against him, and 4 plaintiffs against Jeff Ooi, as in my case.

One down: Plaintiff ( 5 ) Brenden John a/l John Pereira had long left NSTP.

Two down: Plaintiff ( 4 ) Syed Faisal Albar Syed A.R. Albar has left NSTP.

Three down: Plaintiff ( 2 ) Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan TODAY left NSTP.

In a way, it's now Rocky vs. NSTP and 1 Other -- Hishamuddin Aun.

And in another way, it's also Jeff Ooi vs. NSTP and 1 Other -- Hishamuddin Aun.

But it ain't over till it's over for WALK WITH US.

Just hold on for one second before you Auld Lang Syne this year.

When the world's atomic clock tick-tocks at 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC, this Wednesday, the U.S. Naval Observatory, keeper of the Pentagon's master clock, will do the same by adding an extra second, coordinating at the precise moment at 6:59:59 p.m. EST (23:59:59 GMT).

This will be the 24th one-second to be added to UTC since 1972, when the practice began.

Happy tick-tocking.

Let's keep the beautiful yuletide stories and legends alive.

Post Office restaurant, Leura, Blue Mountains NSW | Jeff Ooi

Imagine Santa Claus as someone who took it upon himself to fulfill the dreams of many a kid around the world, that he will ride the reindeer sledge to deliver Christmas presents in snowy weather, year after year, Christmas after Christmas. The little girls and boys just need to be good the whole year round, think of the sacrifices of Jesus on Silent Night, and they will wake up to a stuffed stocking placed by their bedside.

It's summer in the Blue Mountains and the sun sets way after 7pm. I was waiting for dinner at the Post Office restaurant at the beautiful little town called Leura, and this Santa in solitude struck me.

I was looking at the last parcel of the Christmas present that Santa must have kept for someone dear to us.

Could it be for Obama so that the US auto industry can be saved with the US$17.4 billion bail-out that Bush will hand over to him next month, and that in return, the whole world doesn't have to go broke in bailing out US in the year to come?

Merry Christmas everyone!

UPDATED VERSION, with random pictures. Life had been like a treadmill since September 2007 for me since I made up my mind to participate in the political struggle as a Malaysian. There seemed to be no starting and ending point with the daily mind work and manoeuvres at the grassroot networking level. In short, life has been really tough for myself and my family as we don't see each other as much as before.

December is the time to reflect on the year past, withdraw oneself from the daily hustle-bustle, and to refresh and recharge. So I thought.

In the end, I chose to make a two-week tour of three Unesco World Heritage sites in Australia, two of which I had visited before, in the 1990s during my post-grad days, and two of which are essentially eco-tourism marvels I had failed to discover beyond their visible beings. Hopefully, I can share the real-life experiences in immersing oneself in a World Heritage setting to contribute a detached perspective to Penang's George Town that has now been so cluttered with opinions dispensed by so many I-know-bests in town.

With the help of my friends at Gem Travels & Tours Sdn Bhd, I was showered with hospitality of various kinds. Tourism New South Wales, through its Singapore and Sydney offices, had been kind to host me in Sydney, and the inside of the Sydney Opera House (listed in 2007), and the Blue Mountains (listed in 2000). I also decided to self-pay for an extension to Tasmania to savour the beauty of Bruny Island, a haven for eco-tourism, and the Tasmanian Wilderness (listed in 1982 and 1989).

Here's a calm-before-the-storm image of the Kettering Jetty, overlooking Bruny Island backdropped against the unpredictable four-seasons-in-a-day weather in Tasmania.

Kettering Jetty, Tasmania | Jeff Ooi

To be kind to my family, we assembled at Queensland after I had completed my version of world heritage and eco tours. There were lessons for all of us to immerse in the culture of conservation of endangered animals as we enjoyed the presentation among by-standers in the crowds paying tribute to the late Steve 'Crikey' Irwin.

Seaworld, Gold Coast, Queensland | Jeff Ooi

Seaworld, Gold Coast, Queensland | Jeff Ooi

Australian Zoo, Beerwah, Queensland | Jeff Ooi

Australian Zoo, Beerwah, Queensland | Jeff Ooi

Australian Zoo, Beerwah, Queensland | Jeff Ooi

Seaworld, Gold Coast, Queensland | Jeff Ooi

Australian Zoo, Beerwah, Queensland | Jeff Ooi

And this time, I am travelling without the aid of a notebook computer and Internet. (The itch in me is that I needed to rent a 60-minute slot to upload this blog entry, just to inform you of my online absence.)

Real World Issues

On the mundane side, I had the opportunity to study several issues currently haunting the Kevin Rudd administration, notably about Australia's attempt to filter the Internet, retreating from an election rhetoric in setting targets to reduce carbon emission that caused global warming, Australia's controversial tender process in building a national broadband network that excludes dominant incumbent Telstra, and private/public-run higher education centres whose revenues are no plagued by slowing economy.

I also found some time to take a look at the high definition TV (HDTV) currently available on four free-to-air stations.

The gadgets that kept me in company on this trip is the brand new 8mp smart phone LG Renoir (LC910), courtesy LG Malaysia; Blackberry Bold, which I have been reviewing fro the last three months, courtesy Celcom; and Garmin nüvi® 770 GPS unit, an upgraded version of the one I used in Jelutong some ten months ago during the GE2008.

Railway, Scenic World, Blue Mountains NSW | Selena Ooi

There are lots of pictures -- though I am severely crippled because sluggish Nikon Malaysia couldn't service my D3 in time before I left, and I was restricted to the single body of D300 and changing lenses is such a nuisance. Besides the travelogue pictures, the endearing moments had been meeting up old friends (AK Chan, Allan Francis in Melbourne, all Malaysia's Brain-drains) and new ones (Ong, Shubul and Kaarina in Tasmania) and Shaina in Leura.

In Tasmania, I was showered with the first-time-in-my-life opportunity to capture a full, double-layer rainbow on camera. It was about 10km after Swansea, a serene fishing town nestling on the Great Oyster Bay, heading towards Hobart. I didn't have time to dry the lens as the rain kept dropping and the rainbow in the setting sun disappeared in a quick two-minute. (Been there done that, I am looking forward to the promised bowl of gold in 2009 ;-)

Ten kilometres from Swansea, on the way to Hobart | Jeff Ooi

I deeply regret that, due to time constraints, I had to come back for the Unesco-listed Tasmanian Wilderness some other time. The steam-engine train is still chucking away with puffing smokes, waiting for me there in Strahan.

Oh yes, there is a George Town in Tasmania, off Launceston. I made it a point to go there because there is a 1833 lighthouse standing at the cape of Low Head, and I had always been infatuated with historical lighthouses (see here and here). Can't miss!

George Town, Tamar River Valley, Tasmania | Jeff Ooi

Low Head lighthouse, George Town, Tasmania | Jeff Ooi

Be that as it may, there were most enriching moments throughout the tour as it enabled me to stop building bubble castles about what to do with a World Heritage listing, like Penang's George Town (listed in 2008) that tends to give you mixed feelings when opinions about its future cluttered the present.

We gotta go out there, see how the rest of world goes round. And get real.

See you in 2009.

Systemic reforms in Malaysia?

The sleeping beauty seldom makes his appearance to occupy the Prime Minister's seat in the Parliament these days. However, he appeared today to table two bills for first reading at the Dewan Rakyat at 11.45am, namely the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission Bill and Judicial Appointment Commission Bill.

Subsequently, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abd Aziz tabled four other bills, also for first reading in the Dewan Rakyat. The bills are Pensions (Amendment Bill), Statutory and Local Authorities Pensions (Amendment) Bill, Pensions Adjustment (Amendment) Bill and Judges' Remuneration (Amendment) Bill.

Not surprisingly, another of the PM's 2004 election pledges named Special Complaints Commission (SCC) -- the watered-down version of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) bill where a draft of which was prepared by the Royal Commission -- did not see the light of day for it to be tabled any time soon in the Parliament.

Out-going

The outgoing Umno president, who usurps the role of the country's current Prime Minister, told the House that the second and third reading of both the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission Bill and Judicial Appointment Commission Bill would be held in this Parliament session which would end on Dec 18, and the Bill given to us Members of Parliament says the Act will come into operation on January 1, 2009. Let's keep our fingers crossed that they won't be rushed through like the DNA Bill.

Will the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission Bill be tailored after Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) as has been touted by the spin-doctors embedded within the mainstream press, and become just as effective as the Hong Kong model? Let's take a look at the principal objects of the Act:

( a ) To promote the integrity and accountability of public and private sector administration by constituting an independent and accountable anti-corruption body; and

( b ) to educate public authorities, public officials and members of the public about corruption and its detrimental effects of public and private sector administration and on the community.

To me, what is glaringly missing in the principal objects of the Act are the words 'ERADICATION OF CORRUPTION'.

That this Act is formulated just to PROMOTE integrity and accountability, and to EDUCATE the potential corrupts is simply pathetic. Where are the snarling fangs to bite the corrupts?

Corruption in Umno politics and all other levels of the system had been so endemic and paralysing that is there any idiots out there who still need further education about the ills of the Big C?

September 16, the date touted for a post-GE2008 regime change that did not happen, had come and gone.

I had anticipated for a Pakatan Rakyat shadow cabinet to be formed soon after the Parliament sessions resumed after the long puasa and hari raya break in October. The parliamentary Opposition has the burden of parading its team to the electorate that it has the ability and capacity to run the country anytime it happens.

Anwar Ibrahim has long been postured as the Prime Minister-in-waiting. It's not counting the eggs before they are hatched, but what is more important to Malaysians is that there must be a Cabinet-in-Waiting, that he has a credible team that can run this country better than BN.

That, too, did not happen.

November 28, the day DAP Penang held its Victory Dinner, a loose coalition of NGOs calling themselves Civil Society Organizations issued a joint statement, saying it's time for a PR Shadow Cabinet. Excerpts:

We, the undersigned civil society groups call upon the Pakatan Rakyat to set up a shadow cabinet as soon as possible. Positioning himself as the prime minister-in-waiting, Anwar Ibrahim must present his team of ministers-in-waiting not later than his rival Najib Razak announces his line-up in March.

Shadow cabinet is a common feature in Westminster democracy as it indicates the opposition's readiness to take over the governing task if the incumbent government is defeated in a parliamentary no-confidence vote or an election.

We hold that there are three compelling reasons for the Pakatan Rakyat to announce its line-up as soon as possible.

First, it facilitates division of labour amongst PR parliamentarians and provides stronger check and balance to BN frontbenchers. The public has no idea at the moment now which PR parliamentarian can speak authoritatively on a particular policy domain like labour, education or environment. Such assignment of portfolio would enhance the participation of civil society and individual citizens in public policy formulation.

Secondly, a shadow cabinet also helps to consolidate the policy position of PR component parties. It results in responsibility on the part of the frontbenchers to persuade all the parties to sign up to some common positions. This would reduce public confusion which often happens now when the parties contradict each other in public.

Thirdly, a shadow cabinet can help both synchronize some common policies of the five PR-ruled states and coordinate the federal and state branches of PR coalition. Malaysians deserve to know PR policies on preservation of water catchment area, on access to public information, on local elections, etc. Institutionalized consultation between shadow ministers and state governments would work better than a party-based Menteri Besar Council.

We call upon Anwar Ibrahim to make formation of shadow cabinet his top priority from now to March 2009. Nearly nine month after the March elections, Pakatan Rakyat which has vowed to take over the federal executive power via crossover of BN parliamentarians must now be prepared to show that they are not only interested to govern, but able to do so.

Over the weekend, the PKR -- the backbone of Pakatan Rakyat in which Anwar leads, de facto sans de jure -- celebrated its first national congress after GE2008. The posturing was once again stressed on the possibility of Pakatan Rakyat forming the Federal Government in ?the shortest possible time,? stating that it was "not a question of 'when' but that it involved the people".

When the euphoria subsides, truthfully, I still feel that after V (for Victory, not vendetta) it's time for D (for Delivery, not Delinquency in good governance).

This is my second posting from Hong Kong. The weather is chilly, and the soul is calm. Detaching oneself temporarily from homeland, we see things from a different perspective.

I sensed euphoria of GE2008 is thinning out in Penang, and that's a good thing for all of us to get down to the serious work of delivery for the promises made.

DAP Penang made a clean sweep of the 7 parliamentary and 19 state seats in GE2008 on March 8. It went on to form a coalition government with PKR, with support from PAS to dictate a 29 vs 11 majority in the state legislative assembly.

Eight months later, on November 28, DAP Penang organised a mammoth "Victory Dinner" (sic) of over 1,000 tables of 10 pax each to attribute it to the Penang people who gave it a strong, not-to-be-questioned mandate to run the state. Earlier, a similar mammoth dinner of over 500 tables, all paid for by the diners, was held in October in Seberang Prai.

It was a sold-out, as Penangites on both sides of the channel put money where the mouth is, and bought the dinner tickets generously.

Image downloaded from Kwong Wah Yit Poh

As expected, a "Victory Dinner" warrants a victory speech, or victory speeches by key speakers. It was not dissimilar on November 28. In fact, reference was made to Barack Obama in those speeches, that change is possible, and Yes We Can.

It's on this context of a 'victory speech in a victory dinner' that I sensed the euphoria of GE2008 is thinning out in DAP Penang. It is a good thing as this fading euphoria comes early, and the leaders must quickly adjust themselves, this blogger included, to cut the crap on rhetoric and get on to work to make Penang again.

The day after the Victory Dinner, I received an enlightening email from Penangite which I feel pertinent to share with my readers and my leaders. The thoughts are critical but well-intended. If it pricked, it's because as the Chinese saying goes, good medicine normally leaves a bitter taste on the mouth.

The email writer also wanted me to forward the Obama Victory Speech (Transcript here, Video here) to my leaders for them to ponder.

Even on the sideline of the Nov 28, several level-headed DAP supporters walked up to me to forewarn me of the lacklustre rapport our DAP Yang Berhormats have with the people in two of the most hard-fought parliamentary constituencies where several state assemblymen got thought largely due to the pro-Opposition swing.

Generally, I feel after V (for Victory, not vendetta) it's time for D (for Delivery, not Delinquency in good governance).

Penang-based newspaper Kwong Wah Yit Poh has a well-intended leader the day after (Nov 29): ?????????.

Read on, the email is published verbatim below.