It’s true that lately I received email about the embezzlement of millions of fund by former PM Mahathir Mohamad and his family in banks overseas.

I was quite astounded when one of my overseas client asked me how substantial the allegation is when I was on-site. Nevertheless, I find the circulation an unscrupulous attempt to defame Tun Mahathir, in which Tun himself came to his own defense with a point-to-point rebuttal on his blog, with his usual sense of humor too.

1. Several blogs have given space to a scurrilous statement that I, my wife and my children, have USD 199.45 million and S $ 42,000,000 in fixed deposit in the Israeli National Bank in Singapore.

2. The scum who alleges this does not have the guts to give his name.

3. UMNO can make a statement about the money I gave to Dato Abdullah when I stepped down. Better still Dato Abdullah can explain how much of the 1.4 billion Ringgit in cash, shares and property that my staff and one of his Ministers handed over to him is still with him.

4. I give full permission for the Israeli National Bank to make public these accounts so that I can claim the money said to belong to me and my family.

6. As for the anonymous scum, give your true name, I/C and address so that I can sue you.

While internet can be a very good source of information, irresponsible usage as such to smear someone’s reputation is nothing less than what Tun Mahathir remarked on his blog - anonymous scum.

After all the hoo-haa, we’re back to the square one.

The old lady went out and we thought things are going to look different and better with the era of this new old man, unfortunately, it’s not the case when the initial plan announced by the Prime Minister’s Department recently to abolish the Approved Permits (AP) by 31 Dec 2010 is not going to materialize.

Worse, to my utmost displeasure, it’s not a delay for additional one or two years (at most?) and if I’m to read the Minister of International Trade and Industry Muhyiddin Yassin correctly, he was quoted as saying that a decision had been made to retain the AP policy for the next ten to eleven years!

For god sake, to say that the decision came as an disappointment is merely an understatement. It’s disgusting and doesn’t reflect a sincere effort by the Government in promoting free competition in order to advance the competitiveness level among business entities in Malaysia. Where is the level-playing field that we’ve been talking about for ages?

It’s indeed a serious mistake from the Government part, especially with the recent price hike as generally, the public accepted the fact that recent price hike is a worldwide phenomenon and it’s no longer viable for the Government to continue with the subsidy system, even though we’re an oil producer country but still have to pay high price for the petrol.

Nevertheless, there is a catch, which is for the Government to scrap the AP policy too, otherwise the entire mechanism appears to be more than a joke to deceive the people into believing that the Government is no longer affordable to sustain the increment.

Unfortunately, the whole idea is now in vain, no thanks to Muhyiddin and that’s exactly what people say, when you pay peanut, you get monkey.

Oh my god, while the rakyat is in hot water looking for many ways to change their lifestyle following the recent fuel price hike, PM’s wife Jeanne Abdullah is busy with her plans to showcase the beauty of the rainforest.

What about a little suggestion here for Mrs. Abdullah to prioritize her agenda and put in effort to spearhead plans such as salvaging the hardcore poor, pestering her husband to walk the talk by upgrading the public transportation and etc.?

I hope Wong Chun Wai and his colleagues can ask her these questions if they happens to interview her again, or probably the interview was done before the hike?

Devastated!

Oil prices shot up nearly $11 a barrel and settled Friday at a record high of $138.54 on geopolitical jitters, a dollar decline and a  Morgan Stanley analyst forecasts that oil would hit $150 by July 4.

… and I’m feeling quite high too.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Government announces the biggest jump in unemployment rate since 1986, putting the U.S. economy into recession and looks like it’s gonna be Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton’s responsibility soon as they went into private talk.

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Shahrir Abdul Samad is a pathetic lot.

Not long ago, prior to the fuel price hike announcement by the PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, he was seen telling the world that petrol and diesel prices may go up beginning August, when the subsidy system is re-structured.

Subsequently, almost immediately, his suggestion was refuted by his boss when dramatic price increase for both fuel and electricity were announced simultaneously, putting the entire nation into a shock state.

Yesterday, the D-Day for the new price, he completely changed his tone, justifying the decision made by Pak Lah.

He said the decision as to expedite the announcement of the increase in petrol and diesel prices was not an "afterthought", but rather a need.

Hence, the similar damage was done on Shahrir himself too, as a person and in his capacity as a minister who is supposed to be in charge of the pricing control for domestic necessities.

Not only he lost his credibility, but also the entire circumstance thrusting him into a very bad limelight, together with the fact that he is appointed based on back-door policy via the senatorship awarded as he wasn’t a running candidate in the recent general election.

In the end of the day, I can’t help but to ask, who is the invisible hand behind the dramatic move or is it Shahrir who is the only incompetent culprit in handling the situation, or rather, managing the people’s expectation as a minister in charge of consumer affairs?

12 hours after the fuel price hike comes into effect, based on the responses gathered so far, the sentiment is awful.

I can safely assume that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s reputation has gone down the drain and as a person, he may just go down in Malaysia’s history as the most unpopular Prime Minister.

Personally, I’d say that Pak Lah did the right thing at the wrong time. When fuel price was in the rise since many months ago, as general election was looming that time, hence due to strategic reason and the necessary feel good factor, he wasn’t in the position to increase the price. Fair enough, every single politician will do that.

When the Government realized that continuous subsidy system is going to be detrimental to the nation’s financial health as a whole, Pak lah chose to go for broke.

However, as unfortunate as it may sound, instead of inccesant increment in the pump price, he did it in one shot, worsen by the hike of electricity rates, hence the compounded impact which I was talking about last night.

Now, he is paying the price. The level of dissentment is in the rise. The rakyat are in the panic mode, embracing the already deteriorated lifestyle ever since the Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak advised fellow Malaysians to change the lifestyle in view of high living cost nowadays. KLSE is screwed upside down, with N-% wiped off from the market as of now. Fomca warned the Government to be prepared to face the consequences, especially possible increase in the crime rate. Disabled groups are shouting for help.

In short, the move came as a shock to the entire nation. It’s going to take some times before the wound recuperates or I’m afraid it’s not going to recover in the near future.

Eventually, as Pak Lah reiterated to the public after the announcement of the petrol hike, he said it’s imperative to change lifestyles. I reckon that this time around, changing lifestyle is no longer an option. It’s a must, it’s for real without the subsidy system, do-or-die.

Nevertheless, albeit the melancholy in our own back yard, it’s our Singaporean friends who stand to become the biggest beneficiary, instantly.

Due to inccesant displeasure among the rakyat, the damage is now done on the Prime Minister Office (PMO) website?

It’s ugly with the XSS attack.

(SOURCE: PMO)
By now, the website is already brought down by the administrator. It was last accessible at around 2:30pm.

Click here to view the PDF file.

This time, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi means business when both fuel price hike and electricity price hike are announced at the same time, with trivial tit-bits are given in hope of lowering the level of resentment among the people.

I believe it’s indeed a hefty measure which send a chill down the spine of any average joe out there. 41% for fuel hike and another 18% hike for electricity rates, which is obviously creating a long-lasting and compounded impact on everyone’s life.

Besides, it’s worth noting that this is going to be the initial drastic move by the Government, which is deemed an unpopular move among the majority average earning Malaysians, whereas Pak Lah has seen his popularity level dwindled ever since the recent general election.

To add salt to the wound,  the Domestic Trade Minister Shahrir Samad in his earlier announcement saying that that another price hike is imminent when price controls are going to be completely removed in August, with pump price could rise as high as between RM3 to RM4.

But again, to be fair to Pak Lah, it’s a worldwide phenomenon which is unavoidable, be it among the super-power countries or any other developing countries.

Nevertheless, like it or not, the price hike is going to be effective almost immediately past midnight later, hence it’s now the best time for us to get used to days without the subsidy mentality in view of the global spiraling prices of fuel and rice.

Therefore, it’s our hope that with the hefty amount saved by the Government via the cut in subsidy, the money will be put into good use to help lessen the people’s burden, especially those among the low-income group.

Among the suggestions are the long promised plan to upgrade the public transportation which is deem as a major failure on the Government’s part. Bad planning, poor integration, together with the divisive network are among the reasons why the public abstain from taking public transport. Are we going to see a new light in term of public transportation enhancement in view of the fuel price increase?

Besides, instead of siphoning the money into the multiple corridors which are going to enrich cronies instead of the needed group, the Government must be seen as sincere and transparent in providing assistance to them since the government is expected to save RM13.7 billion under this new subsidy restructure and other levies. Anything less than that is unacceptable and unjustifiable, given that the Government has been proven to be playing lip service over the time.

Anyway, having said all that, thanks to the latest announcement by Pak Lah, the entire Malaysia is screwed up with massive traffic jam everywhere.

A friend of mine, who is unperturbed by the whole exercise, announced on his YM’s status how upset he is that Malaysians are more willing to queue up for half an hour to pump petrol rather than spending minutes to register as a voter, as if the car is going to start drinking H2O starting from 12am later.

WYSIWYG, so he says.

Me? I’m going to burn my car and start riding a bicycle soon.

Let’s go green instead.

Oh by the way, following the latest price move, Shahrir Samad said the ban on the sale of petrol to foreign vehicles at the borders will no longer be necessary.

Sometimes, smart guns are plain stupid.

Frankly speaking, I’m quite upset (it’s an understatement indeed!) with the way our Government deals with our Singapore friends (as well as our Thai friends too), especially those who are driving into Malaysia and bingo, you know what the hell I’m going to write here.

First, it’s such an idiotic act to ban them from filling up the tank. Minus the rocket science methodology, any average joe would know that, the wise thing to do is, make them pay the full price if they must refill. How the petrol operators are going to implement this? Let them be. The Government doesn’t have to intervene and dictate every single thing in this country, especially on how private entities should operate.

Just give them some breathing space and I’m sure they’re going to handle the situation well. Talk about creativity and flexibility in doing business in this country.

Period.

Second, some are arguing that, how about Malaysians who’re currently residing or working in Singapore with Singapore registered vehicles? Well, make them pay the full price too, afterall, they’re earning Singapore dollars and well, they’re not paying tax to the Government of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

So, why bothers? Period.

Third, I read on newspapers and blogs saying that some Singaporeans are threatening not to cross the border after the fuel ban, or even after the fuel price hike? As I said earlier, fuel ban is a ridiculous idea, whoever that think of this, shame on you, n-times.

Instead, they should be allowed to refill at full price, the market price they’re currently paying to their Singapore government, whichever price the Government would like to determine.

Now, how about the left-over who is grumbling with the full price? Well, let them be. Probably the first week after the full price policy comes into picture, the number of visitors crossing the border might be slightly affected.

But hey, to our ministers up there, worry not. By the first weekend itself, probably our friends over the bridge might be justifying the fuel price hike and decide that coming into Malaysia irregardless of the fuel price hike is still a better option, after the much deliberate considerations of financial impact done on a piece of white paper - the pros and cons of crossing border into Malaysia, hence the start of a chain reaction when they’re going to start making phone calls or emailing their friends telling them that Malaysia is a worthy destination afterall!

So, tell me, what’s the big deal? Are we that afraid of our Sinaporean friends, just because we lost the Pulau Batu Puteh or our PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is so afraid that they’re going to withdraw their investment from his pet object Iskandar Malaysia?

The thumb rule is, make them pay the full price. However they want to grumble, let them be. It’s not our social responsibility to use our tax money to subsidize them, besides the fact that they’re many times richer than us!

Otherwise, to our fellow ministers up there, shut up and stop telling the rakyat that the country is poor and can neither afford to do this nor that, if not, why the hell we’re still that rich enough to fork out additional RM1 billion for the sale of fuel to motorists from our neighborhood countries?

Tell me about it.

Out of nowhere, fuel becomes a hot topic in Malaysia, which make talk of defection among BN MPs immersing itself into the fuel talk.

Recently, Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop revealed that the government expects to review fuel subsidies before the 2009 federal budget  in August.

He said this measure is to ensure that the financial aid goes directly to the poor and deserving.

Yesterday, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Shahrir Abdul Samad echoed the statement and hinted that petrol and diesel prices may go up beginning August, when the subsidy system is re-structured.

Subsequently, the suspense comes from no other than the PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi himself when he said a new fuel subsidy scheme will be announced Wednesday and take immediate effect to prevent speculations, immediately making Shahrir Samad looks pretty bad and incompetent afterall.

He said might be. As far as the subsidy management scheme is concerned, the final decision will be made on Wednesday. […]

It was to be decided last Friday but it so happened that many of the ministers (involved) were attending conferences overseas. We wanted all to be present to make the decision. […]

We want it to be effective immediately. If not, there will be a lot of speculation.

Are we witnessing the tip of iceberg of how Pak Lah’s XL-size cabinet overruled each other, only to be questioned by fellow journalists and only to find out the contradicting statements made by each other?

Besides the blatant fact that our cabinet is occupied by fellow dignitaries without clear ministerial functionalities and responsibilities, it merely go on to affirm numerous allegations of the kind of weak leadership who are sitting atop us right at this critical moment.

Now you and I know ministers are not as smart as what we think they’re and that probably explains why Singapore loves Malaysia in post-Mahathir era.