Kes ADUN Sri Muda: 'Tolong jangan guna wang rakyat'

Kes ADUN Sri Muda: ‘Tolong jangan guna wang rakyat’ - 07/02/2011 5:21pm

KUALA LUMPUR, 7 Feb. - Pemuda Gerakan meminta Kerajaan Negeri Selangor agar tidak menggunakan wang rakyat untuk membiayai kos guaman Anggota Dewan Undangan Negeri (ADUN) Sri Muda Shuhaimi Shafiei yang didakwa atas tuduhan menghasut di Mahkamah Sesyen di Shah Alam hari ini.

Ketua Pemuda Gerakan Kedah, Tan Keng Liang berkata, kos guaman tidak seharusnya ditanggung oleh rakyat di negeri-negeri yang diperintah parti pembangkang semata-mata untuk kepentingan politik.

"Kes berkenaan melibatkan tindakan peribadi seseorang individu dan bukannya membabitkan tindakan rasmi sebuah kerajaan negeri.

"Walaupun Suhaimi adalah anggota Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), ia tidak bermakna parti pembangkang boleh menggunakan wang rakyat untuk membiayai kos guaman untuk sebarang kes peribadi melibatkan anggotanya,” katanya dalam satu kenyataan yang dikeluarkan di sini hari ini.

Beliau merujuk kepada laporan media terhadap kenyataan oleh Sekretariat Akhbar Pejabat Menteri Besar Selangor pada 4 Februari lepas bahawa Kerajaan Negeri Selangor akan membiayai kos perundangan ADUN Sri Muda itu. – Bernama

Nota Ras Raka:-

Elok sangat cadangan kat atas nie. Eloklah dipanjangkan pada parti-parti komponen dan semua kerajaan, bukan kerajaan selanogr sahaja. kalau boleh, mana yang terlepas tu boleh lah suruh Audit Negara check sekali. rasanya belum terlambat untuk PKFZ, sebab nak bina PKFZ tu pun pakai duit rakyat jugak wakakakakaka….

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Harga getah naik: Penoreh peroleh RM60,000 sebulan - Bernama 07/02/2011

Harga getah naik: Penoreh peroleh RM60,000 sebulan

07/02/2011 2:36pm

BESUT, 7 Feb. - Kenaikan harga getah di pasaran dunia memberikan tuah kepada pemilik kebun dan penoreh getah

di Hulu Besut sehingga ada yang memperoleh pendapatan sehingga RM60,000 sebulan hasil jualan susu getah.

Anggota Dewan Undangan Negeri Kawasan Hulu Besut, Nawi Mohamad berkata, kebanyakan daripada mereka memiliki kebun antara tiga dan enam hektar seorang.

"Seorang penoreh yang mempunyai 3 hektar kebun getah memperoleh RM2,000 dalam masa tiga hari dengan menoreh di kebunnya,” katanya kepada pemberita di sini hari ini.

Menurutnya, dengan harga pasaran antara RM8 dan RM10 sekilogram pada masa ini, ada antara penoreh yang memperoleh pendapatan RM60,000 dalam masa sebulan. - Bernama

Nota Ras Raka:-

Syukur Alhamdulillah kalau berita ini benar. Memang harga getah tinggi sekarang, dan bukan hanya getah, tetapi komoditi lain juga.

Cuma, ADUN kalau bercakap ikut fakta tak mengapa, kita tumpang gembira.

Tapi, kalau cakap ikut sedap hati dan semata-mata nak popular, nak jadi news breaker, memang lapan ratus kali hampeh. dengan titik peluh

payah penoreh getah pun ko nak cari modal politik??

ahli politik BN memang terkenal dengan suka buat statement –statement bodoh, dan nampaknya dah mula berjangkit dengan PAS dan PKR.

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Makmal Gaji Minimum bincang esok -BH 07/02/11

Makmal Gaji Minimum bincang esok
Oleh Haspaizi Mohd Zain
haspaizi@bharian.com.my
2011/02/07

Kerajaan yakin Akta Gaji Minimum dapat dilaksana selewat-lewat Jun

KUALA LUMPUR: Kerajaan yakin Akta Gaji Minimum 2011 dapat dilaksanakan selewat-lewatnya Jun depan selepas mendapat maklum balas daripada Makmal Gaji Minimum yang akan berlangsung esok.

Menteri Sumber Manusia, Datuk Dr S Subramaniam, berkata rang undang-undang akta berkenaan akan dibentangkan di Parlimen pada sesi persidangan akan datang yang akan bermula bulan depan.

“Kita akan berusaha untuk melaksanakannya pada bulan Jun ini, kementerian yakin ia dapat dilaksanakan berdasarkan maklum balas daripada pihak berkepentingan,” katanya ketika ditemui di sini, semalam.

Pihak yang berkepentingan dimaksudkan ialah seperti Kongres Kesatuan Sekerja Malaysia (MTUC), Persekutuan Majikan Malaysia (MFE) dan Persekutuan Pengeluaran Malaysia (FMM). –BH 07/02/11

Ras Raka Note:

Kalau nak naik barang, tak dan pukul 12 dah naik, pastu buat diam – diam.

Kalau pasal nak naik gaji, sibuk nak mesyuarat, heboh tak tentu hala, tapi

laksana bulan 6.

Apa ra…

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Egyptian voices from Tahrir Square

By Yahoo! News yahoo! News – Sun Feb 6, 4:05 pm ET

Crowds of Egyptians, estimated to number in the hundreds of thousands, and possibly millions, took to the streets to call for President Hosni Mubarak to step down.
After more than a week of deaths, protests, violence, and looting, the crisis continues.
Yahoo! Contributor Maktoob profiled eight Egyptian protesters from different walks of life who shared their experiences, expectations, and hopes.
Tamim Khalifa, 20,
Single,
University student
I have been to the Tahrir Square on three occasions since the protests started. We are here to raise the word of truth and change the regime, because the regime cannot change its skin without changing its core, and the core is the president.
This is not a revolution of the poor or hungry, it's a revolution for people from all walks of the Egyptian life, both poor and rich.
It is great to see that no one here is afraid.
I want the president to leave and a coalition government to run the country and overlook the changes to the Constitution until a fair election is held in September.
The statements made by the government on Tuesday are contradictory and lack sincerity.
I don't expect the president to step down, but I will continue with the protests.
Mosaab El Shami, 20,
Single,
Pharmacy student and amateur photographer
I have been continuously going to Tahrir Square since January 25th, and have spent several nights over there.
I have never taken part in any protests before, but I felt this was an opportunity because the demands of the protesters are for all Egyptians.
The calls for protests on the Internet made me feel it would be big, so I decided to join. And the fact that they were organized by youth and not political parties is what made me take this step.
I have seen a lot of moving scenes here - a high school kid was weeping and in a hysterical state, saying his brother was shot dead for shouting "There is no God but Allah" in front of the Ministry of Interior.  Another was walking around inviting protesters to his wedding "as soon as Mubarak goes down."
I hope that by the end of this year we will have an elected government and that universal freedoms are applied and that we put an end to the corruption that has taken over this country.
I don't expect that all of my hopes or dreams will be achieved. There will be some changes for the better, but it will be a long process filled with a lot of obstacles.
Nadia El Awadi, 42,
Mother of four,
Journalist
I came to Tahrir Square to document, report and witness these historic moments. I have been coming since January 25th, and have already spent three nights here.
People from different backgrounds and factions are supporting each other, encouraging each other and acting as one, an unprecedented scene in Egypt.
The atmosphere here in the Square is filled with love.
For the first time Egyptians feel they own the country. What Egypt is witnessing today is what we have been longing for.
I am hoping this regime leaves, because I don't trust it to fulfill the promises it made and move the country from where it currently is to a more democratic situation.
This regime might have done some good things in the past, but that does not erase all the bad things we endured over the years.
I believe the move towards democracy will take more than one year, but I hope what has happened has put us on the beginning of the road.
I feel like I am standing on the Berlin Wall, with democracy on one side and dictatorship on the other, and I hope this wall falls down and we can rebuild Egypt.
I expect that in a year's time we will have achieved elements of what we are asking for, yet I remain worried that we won't.
Mohammed Abdel-Aziz, 33,
Married businessman
I went to Tahrir Square once on Tuesday to support the protesters and voice my dissatisfaction with what the regime is doing, especially since January 25th.
I was so impressed by how organized and civil this group of youths were and how peaceful their demonstrations were.
I hope the youth of the January 25th movement calm down, and be proud of what they have achieved so far. They also have to regroup and choose a leader from among them to start a dialogue with the new government in order to move forward.
I really believe the new government will deliver on their promises.
The political arena will witness a different kind of power struggle between the different fronts in the upcoming period, especially if the parliament is dissolved.
Tamer El Demerdash, 36,
Married, father of a one-year-old child,
Engineer
The atmosphere in Tahrir Square is magnificent.
I have been at the Square for the past four days. Protesters are maintaining the cleanliness of the place and sharing food and doctors are providing medical assistance to the wounded on the ground.
The thugs are still around us. On Thursday they were blocking all the supporters from bringing in any food or medicine into the Square, but we found alternative routes to keep the supplies coming.
The president is playing with our emotions… and the Egyptian state TV is filled with lies. They are using the Muslim Brotherhood card to strike fear into us, but I am telling you that even though they are with us (protesters), they are not imposing their ideas on us, and even if they do, we won't allow them.
I am hoping that President Mubarak steps down and relinquishes power to Vice President Omar Suleiman. When the regime goes down, we should regroup and figure things out with the help of the Committee of Elders.
Angham Abdel-Nasser, 19,
University student
I have no political affiliations, yet I wanted to go to Tahrir Square to take part in the demonstrations. Unfortunately, my family wouldn't allow me because of all the violence and attacks on the protesters.
I want everyone in Tahrir Square to know that the best thing right now is dialogue (with the regime) to achieve our goals with the least possible losses.
All I hope now is that President Mubarak lives up to his words and that the next seven months pass by peacefully.
Mohammed Tarek, 24,
Single
I came to Tahrir Square along with the millions of Egyptians who are pouring in from all over to put an end to the humiliation they have endured over the past few decades and to help Egypt regain its stature.
I witnessed the terror that the protesters were subjected to from the regime. Before, they try to play mind games with us to sympathize with this old president.
I hope that Mubarak will step down. In fact, I truly believe he will step down.
Ahmed Salah, 34,
Doctor
I came to Tahrir Square to see for myself the truth that the regime is trying to taint.
I saw the thugs on Wednesday come in on camels and horses and attacking the protesters.
It started as a beautiful day, and we were trying to convince our fellow protesters that we achieved what we want and the demonstrations should come to an end, until the attacks occurred, which changed everything.
I don't think President Mubarak is stupid to do something like this, but if this says something, it says that he is not the only one calling the shots. That is why we cannot trust any words or promises from this regime.
I believe that things will calm down, unless the government does something stupid.
I want the protesters to go home and negotiations for a new Constitution to commence, followed by early parliamentary and presidential elections.

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Hosni Di talak seribu oleh Amerika

– Sun Feb 6, 5:25 pm ET (Yahoo News)

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama says Egypt isn't going back to being the country it was now that pro-democracy protests have roiled the Arab country the last two weeks.

In an interview broadcast Sunday on Fox television before the Super Bowl, Obama said it's clear that the people of Egypt want freedom and free and fair elections.

Asked whether Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will leave office soon, Obama said that only Mubarak knows what he will do at this point.

Obama said he is confident that a representative government in Egypt will be one that the U.S. can work with as a partner.(YahooNews)

Ras Raka:

Obama sekali lagi bagi hint kat Hosni supaya turun dan jangan lagi membahayakan Israel dan terusan suez, yang merupakan interest utama amerika dan sekutu kuatnya Israel.

Hosni sudah ditalak seribu oleh US dan sekutunya. Sekarang mereka mencari ‘isteri’ baru di Mesir.

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Reactions to Egypt's unrest in the Arab press

Reactions to Egypt's unrest in the Arab press

What the Arab papers say : Feb 2nd 2011, 10:46 by J.D. | LONDON

THE Arab press has been following the unrest in Egypt closely since the country's first "day of rage", over a week ago. 
In Al Shorouk, an independent Egyptian daily newspaper, Emad El Din Hussein describes the sudden disappearance of religious and political barriers that have divided Egyptians in the past decades: 
I swear by Almighty God that I cried with joy to see Egypt reborn in Tahrir Square on Tuesday night…Members of Muslim Brotherhood, Nasserists and Marxists were all present; you could recognize them from their physical appearance and the way they spoke or dressed. But they were few and far between...The majority of those present were ordinary citizens...thousands of people mingled together shouting different slogans and singing together…other demonstrators sat talking about poverty, unemployment and violation of human dignity.
While enthusiastic about the sudden spurt of political activism in Egypt, Mena Malak La‘zar also expresses his anxiety for the movement’s momentum. He writes in the Egyptian opposition daily, Al Masri Al Youm: 
Egypt can now boldly say no! Though officials may manage to disperse the demonstrators, they will not succeed in killing them. They need to solve their problems. Otherwise the consequences could be bad and could be against the nation’s best interests. Some of those involved may "ride the wave," and take advantage of those who are not politicised, seizing illegitimate opportunities. And so these living protests would die.
We must try and maintain this heartbeat in the body of the motherland, and keep alive the remnants of hope in our veins. 
Similarly, Clovis Maqsoud of the Lebanese newspaper, Al Nahar, points out that the disorder resulting from the protests has prompted a sense of Egyptian national unity—"as in the case of a citizen’s arrest of a gang of secret police caught trying to break into the Central Bank of Egypt, or citizens protecting the Egyptian National Museum" which, he argues, "emphasizes the culture and sense of responsibility of the revolution of the masses toward future generations in Egypt." Nevertheless, he writes, the greatest test lies ahead: 
But what is most important and what qualifies today's events as a new chapter in the history of the Arabs is that the revolution of the masses and the new generation has imposed a series of demands on other opposition forces in Egypt. From those on the left to nationalists, Islamists and other groups, people of different political persuasions are interacting the way you do in pluralist politics. This uprising has a rhythm to it though, and the multiplicity of parties will only be a reliable reference of the "revolution of the young" if they unite in turn and prove themselves by putting their similarities and differences at the heart of a process to provide a real framework of government.
Leading with the tagline "Egypt's problems will not be solved by burning and looting," the Saudi newspaper, Al Jazirah, worries about what the protests are turning into: 
In France, hardly a week goes by without the streets being filled with demonstrations for social, economic, political—even moral—causes…only rarely have protesters looted a food warehouse or a retail goods store to steal its contents—turning demonstrators into the thieves. In European and Asian countries, there are clashes between demonstrators and police, with police vehicles set aflame. But only in Arab countries do we see the transformation of demonstrations into theft…seeing this looting, law-abiding Egyptians worry that the fate of their country has been hijacked by a bunch of thieves.
There is plenty of venom directed at Mr Mubarak. Saleh Awad, writing in Echourouk, a Tunisian daily paper, describes Mr Mubarak as a Zionist collaborator and traitor to the pan-Arab cause: 
The Pharaoh has fallen. He fell because of the American aggression against Iraq and the help he gave them in occupying an Arab Muslim country. He fell because of the part he played in the conspiracy against Palestine and its humiliated people. He fell because of the conspiracy against Syria, Lebanon and Sudan. The Zionists' sweetheart and the architect of a humiliating normalisation of relations with Israel has fallen. That it is happening is divine punishment carried out by the people. 
There is concern across the Arab world about where the uprisings will lead the people of Egypt. ‘Arib Al-Rantawi writes in the Jordanian paper, Al Dustour:
Yesterday, a week after the descent of people into the streets and squares of Egypt, the president informed his fellow Arab rulers—anxious more out of concern for themselves than for his safety—that Cairo is neither Tunisia nor Beirut, a sign of the state of denial these leaders are living in. They see heads of state falling, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali to Saad Hariri, from Tunis to Beirut, and the hundreds of thousands of Egyptians, led by the turbans of Al-Azhar and the pillars of the judiciary. And so they respond, saying "unleash the fighter jets to scream across the Cairo sky."
They are betting on the exhaustion of the Egyptian street...They are betting that Egypt will sink into a sea of chaos and destruction...They hope for a scenario in which the temple is destroyed, the "Samson option"…but yesterday instead Egyptians shouted together from Tahrir Square, from behind Azza Bulabag and Ahmed Fouad Negm: "O Egypt, my nation, stay strong!  All that you hope for is yours!”
Mr Rantawi is not alone in feeling that, "like a genie, the people of Egypt have escaped from the bottle, and it is impossible to stuff them back in." Like many, Adbel Bar Atwan of the London Arabic daily Al Quds Al Arabi agrees that things have changed irrevocably for Egypt:
What we should realise and understand is that we are at the vanguard of a new Arab world where there is no place for the rule of repressive dictatorships belonging to the Cold War, nor their hollow slogans…that period has worn itself out and is extinct, and now in its place, we have the generation of Facebook and the internet.
Egypt is living through a real revolution, triggered by brave young people desperate to get rid of the knot of fear, wanting to topple the regime of corruption, nepotism and mafiosos—to restore Egypt to her international role and former standing.
Others see the problem differently. Tariq Hameed of the pan-Arab daily Al Sharq Al Awsat writes that Egyptians’ dissatisfaction with Mr Mubarak has nothing to do with the president himself, whom he describes as being "neither Saddam Hussein nor Zine el Abidine Ben Ali," and "a nationalist in both war and peace" whom Egyptians are "proud to have as a part of their history." Rather it is the institutionalised tolerance of unlimited presidential terms that they are protesting against:   
The crisis is not a crisis of the Egyptian regime, but a crisis of all Arab republics. If the opponents of Mubarak’s regime blamed it yesterday for being a client of America, how can they blame Washington today for not standing against it strongly, or forget that there other Arab republics whose democratic predicaments are far greater than the plight of the Egypt...? Washington has allowed Nuri al-Maliki to take a second term in Iraq, despite losing the election! Is this a case of Arab hypocrisy, or its absence? What about the Sudanese regime, for example? And the other republics?
This is not a defense of the Egyptian regime, or any other, but is a call for reason and reflection, rather than emotion. 
At the moment, pro-government Egyptian newspapers, such as the state-run Al-Ahram—long considered the voice of Mubarak’s National Democratic Party—as well as the state-backing independent daily Al-Akhbar, have been taken offline and the internet in Egypt is still unreliable, hence the paucity of links. We'll add them when we can. In the mean time, you can read more translations at Meedan.net.

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The Finite World - Paul Krugman (on commodities)

December 26, 2010

The Finite World

By PAUL KRUGMAN

Oil is back above $90 a barrel. Copper and cotton have hit record highs. Wheat and corn prices are way up. Over all, world commodity prices have risen by a quarter in the past six months.

So what’s the meaning of this surge?

Is it speculation run amok? Is it the result of excessive money creation, a harbinger of runaway inflation just around the corner? No and no.

What the commodity markets are telling us is that we’re living in a finite world, in which the rapid growth of emerging economies is placing pressure on limited supplies of raw materials, pushing up their prices. And America is, for the most part, just a bystander in this story.

Some background: The last time the prices of oil and other commodities were this high, two and a half years ago, many commentators dismissed the price spike as an aberration driven by speculators. And they claimed vindication when commodity prices plunged in the second half of 2008.

But that price collapse coincided with a severe global recession, which led to a sharp fall in demand for raw materials. The big test would come when the world economy recovered. Would raw materials once again become expensive?

Well, it still feels like a recession in America. But thanks to growth in developing nations, world industrial production recently passed its previous peak — and, sure enough, commodity prices are surging again.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that speculation played no role in 2007-2008. Nor should we reject the notion that speculation is playing some role in current prices; for example, who is that mystery investor who has bought up much of the world’s copper supply? But the fact that world economic recovery has also brought a recovery in commodity prices strongly suggests that recent price fluctuations mainly reflect fundamental factors.

What about commodity prices as a harbinger of inflation? Many commentators on the right have been predicting for years that the Federal Reserve, by printing lots of money — it’s not actually doing that, but that’s the accusation — is setting us up for severe inflation. Stagflation is coming, declared Representative Paul Ryan in February 2009; Glenn Beck has been warning about imminent hyperinflation since 2008.

Yet inflation has remained low. What’s an inflation worrier to do?

One response has been a proliferation of conspiracy theories, of claims that the government is suppressing the truth about rising prices. But lately many on the right have seized on rising commodity prices as proof that they were right all along, as a sign of high overall inflation just around the corner.

You do have to wonder what these people were thinking two years ago, when raw material prices were plunging. If the commodity-price rise of the past six months heralds runaway inflation, why didn’t the 50 percent decline in the second half of 2008 herald runaway deflation?

Inconsistency aside, however, the big problem with those blaming the Fed for rising commodity prices is that they’re suffering from delusions of U.S. economic grandeur. For commodity prices are set globally, and what America does just isn’t that important a factor.

In particular, today, as in 2007-2008, the primary driving force behind rising commodity prices isn’t demand from the United States. It’s demand from China and other emerging economies. As more and more people in formerly poor nations are entering the global middle class, they’re beginning to drive cars and eat meat, placing growing pressure on world oil and food supplies.

And those supplies aren’t keeping pace. Conventional oil production has been flat for four years; in that sense, at least, peak oil has arrived. True, alternative sources, like oil from Canada’s tar sands, have continued to grow. But these alternative sources come at relatively high cost, both monetary and environmental.

Also, over the past year, extreme weather — especially severe heat and drought in some important agricultural regions — played an important role in driving up food prices. And, yes, there’s every reason to believe that climate change is making such weather episodes more common.

So what are the implications of the recent rise in commodity prices? It is, as I said, a sign that we’re living in a finite world, one in which resource constraints are becoming increasingly binding. This won’t bring an end to economic growth, let alone a descent into Mad Max-style collapse. It will require that we gradually change the way we live, adapting our economy and our lifestyles to the reality of more expensive resources.

But that’s for the future. Right now, rising commodity prices are basically the result of global recovery. They have no bearing, one way or another, on U.S. monetary policy. For this is a global story; at a fundamental level, it’s not about us.

Tunisia Dan The Other Guys

Hanya sedikit orang yang tahu akan perkembangan awal revolusi demokrasi di Tunisia. Itu pun selepas PM nya dihambat keluar, menjadikan Tunisia dipetakan dalam arus politik antarabangsa, sebagai pembukaan 2011. hanya selepas PM dan keluarga terdekatnya dihambat keluar oleh rakyat, yang diteras dan digemblengkan oleh anak muda yang berpelajaran, berorganisasi dan berkongsi rasa yang satu, yang sedar bahawa mereka perlu, dalam skala yang besar mendesak agar sesuatu dilakukan terhadap kecacatan teruk dalam pentadbiran Zainal Abidin, mantan PM tunisia.

Dan, kita hanya dikejutkan oleh berita dua hari oleh media perdana kita, sesuatu yang tipikal. kini, gerakan demokrasi rakyat mencengkam seluruh benua timur tengah, dan Albania kini bergelut dengan kesedaran yang sama.

dengan MO yang sama, sentimen simpati dan pembakaran diri oleh pemuda atau golongan yang punya segala peluang untuk berjaya tetapi dinafikan.

Dalam sisi lain, seperti yang di 'highlight' dalam filem The Other Guys, orang yang mengubah dunia bukanlah terdiri dari orang-orang yang riuh-rendah dalam segala macam media dan polisi, tetapi ianya ianya dilakukan oleh orang biasa, dengan kerja-kerja biasa, dengan pendapatan-pendapatan yang biasa tetapi punya kesedaran yang luar biasa dalam jaminan hak dan kebertanggungjawaban dalam menguruskan harta negara.

Tunisia telah membuktikan, orang biasalah yang melakukan apa yang dikatakan orang sesuatu yang mengubah dunia, cuma memerlukan sedikit kesedaran.