How should we judge a government?

In Malaysia, if you don't watch television or read newspapers, you are uninformed; but if you do, you are misinformed!

"If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing." - Malcolm X

Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience - Mark Twain

Why we should be against censorship in a court of law: Publicity is the very soul of justice … it keeps the judge himself, while trying, under trial. - Jeremy Bentham

"Our government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no
responsibility at the other. " - Ronald Reagan

Government fed by the people

Government fed by the people

Career options

Career options
I suggest government... because nobody has ever been caught.

Corruption so prevalent it affects English language?

Corruption so prevalent it affects English language?
Corruption is so prevalent it affects English language?

When there's too much dirt...

When there's too much dirt...
We need better tools... to cover up mega corruptions.

Prevent bullying now!

Prevent bullying now!
If you're not going to speak up, how is the world supposed to know you exist? “Orang boleh pandai setinggi langit, tapi selama ia tidak menulis, ia akan hilang di dalam masyarakat dan dari sejarah.” - Ananta Prameodya Toer (Your intellect may soar to the sky but if you do not write, you will be lost from society and to history.)

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Bob Kee: The hard truth about GST

It's no joke where GST is concerned (unlike my previous post), as Bob Kee explains in The Star...






























Excerpt:

"FOR goods and services tax (GST)-registered businesses who have monthly filing obligations, they would have filed their August 2016 GST return last month and this would have been their 17th GST return since Malaysia introduced this consumption tax on 1 April 2015.
After 17 returns, what is the state of play now? Do businesses know what they need to know to meet their expected GST obligations? With the 2017 Budget announcements coming up on Oct 21, 2016, what can businesses expect in terms of amendments or changes to the GST regime to improve the tax system?
At present, the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (Customs) is in its second month of carrying out audits on GST-registered businesses, targeting 50,000 audits by year end. It is my understanding that, so far, what these audits have revealed is the level of understanding that businesses have in order to comply with its GST requirements is very poor.
This is not due to the GST system being complex, granted there are complex issues, but rather those who are managing the GST compliance matters do not seem to understand some very basic and fundamental concepts of GST."
Link

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

GST: If you haven't a choice, make fun of it

Just imagine if GST at 6% was deducted at Bank Negara...


Meanwhile, in a phone shop...

SUATU HARI ABU KELUAR KE KEDAI UNTUK MEMBELI KREDIT CELCOM RM10 ...

ABU : Tauke,, kredit  Celcom RM 10 ada kah ??? (Boss, do you have Celcom top-up for Rm10?)

TAUKE : Ada....Nahh.... (Yes, I do have, here it is)
(Abu pun memberi RM10 nya) (Abu handed over Rm10 note)

TAUKE : Tambah 60 sen lagi ... (Add 60 sen)

ABU : Apa hal 60 sen ??? (What's this 60 sen for?)

TAUKE : G.S.T lah ... (For GST)

ABU : Apa itu G.S.T ??? (What's GST?)

TAUKE : Goverment Suruh Tambah ... (Government instruction to add)

ABU : Kalau tak tambah ??? (What if didn't add)

TAUKE : Government Suruh Tampar ... (Government instruction to slap)

ABU : Kalau saya elak ??? (What if not?)

TAUKE : Government Suruh Tendang ... (Government instruction to kick)

ABU : Kalau saya lari ??? (What I run away?)

TAUKE : Government Suruh Tangkap ... (Government instruction to arrest)

ABU : Kalau saya telampau laju ??? (What if I run very fast?)

TAUKE : Government Suruh Tembak ... (Government instruction to shoot)

ABU : Kalau saya Mati ??? (What if I died?)

TAUKE : Government Suruh Tanam ... (Government instruction to bury)

ABU : Nanti siapa jaga saya punya anak Bini ??? (Who is going to look after my wife and child?)

TAUKE : Government Semua Tanggung ... (Government will bear the burden)

ABU : Pakai apa tanggung ??? (How to bear it?)

TAUKE : BR1M lah ... (1Malaysian public assistance),

How we wish we can multiply our cash so easily by using this device:


The following video clip is hilarious. Gist of it: Rich people are suffering because of the many choices they have, while poor people are lucky because they don't have a choice!



Link

Sunday, October 09, 2016

Alan Tong: Avoiding a subprime crisis

Excerpt:

"THE recent announcement by the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry to enable property developers to obtain moneylending licences, and provide up to 100% financing for homebuyers has attracted many comments and debate. The minister, Tan Sri Noh Omar said the scheme is intended to assist Malaysians who have difficulties in securing a home loan.

In fact, the move is not new given that it has already existed under the Moneylenders Act 1951. Under the Act, the requirements for a moneylending licence are the same for any company, it only requires the approval of the Minister of Housing and the Registrar of Moneylenders. In our country, some property developers with the moneylending licence have already started to offer mortgage financing to their buyers, even prior to this announcement.
Despite not being a new scheme, all responsible developers need to consider the scheme carefully before jumping on the bandwagon. Without a proper framework, the move may create a similar US subprime crisis.
Let’s revisit the US subprime mortgage crisis that happened in 2008, less than a decade ago. The crisis stemmed from an earlier expansion of mortgage credit, including lending to borrowers who had difficulty in getting mortgages.
In the early and mid-2000s, high-risk mortgages were easily available as lenders were highly motivated to issue new loans without concern for purchasers’ credit quality. This move stimulated the demand for properties which then swiftly increased property prices. When property price finally peaked, mortgage refinancing became less viable for lenders and investors to settle mortgage debts. The bubble then burst. The demand for properties fell and sure enough, prices fell dramatically as well. Those caught in the net had difficulties paying off their mortgages, resulting in lenders also experiencing cash flow problem."
Incidentally, found the following animation which helps to illustrate how a bubble is created and then burst...
Link

Monday, October 03, 2016

Hafidz Baharom: If a riot does happen, I’ll blame the gov’t

"Title pretty much says it all, doesn’t it? Not quite.
Allow me to provide proper justification on this based on a few points. Let us start with the obvious of all, Jamal Yunos is in fact the head of an Umno division in Sungai Besar. Therefore, he is part and parcel of the political party currently in the majority of running Malaysia since the 13th general election in 2013.
This is the same party that has Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and even Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor as both president and secretary-general respectively. As such, does Umno support hooliganism and even mob mentality similar to the German Nationalist Socialist (Nazi) party in the 1940s?
If not, then why is Jamal still an acceptable member of Umno and a division leader in that sense?
He has threatened a riot, he has threatened violence against another individual, and had even now instigated a full confrontation by harassing a peaceful assembly.
If Tengku Adnan or Ku Nan believes that such a clash could be instigated, then why is he allowing a member of his own party to continue leading the mob? Unless, of course, Umno as a party agrees to it.
Secondly, we have to ask ourselves the basic question of all, what does he stand for?
If the red shirt movement headed by Jamal insists on protecting Malay rights, then why is he against a movement that benefits the Malays?
A free and fair election is beneficial for all regardless of race. In fact, during his confrontation in Teluk Intan, Jamal provoked a standoff with Bersih-supporting Malays by ripping away their flag. Thus, is there a specific breed of Malays that Jamal, and subsequently Umno, represents?
These two points are important to be answered by Umno as a party because it is in fact a nationalist party representing a specific ethnic group, regardless of the divisions within it.
To say that it is acceptable for Jamal of Umno to harass people like Maria Chin Abdullah and her supporters is contradictory to the party and all it stands for.
Similarly, we must also ask how exactly can Jamal be left unhindered in representing a splinter group of Malay hooligans who believe in harassment and violence to stop a democratic agenda from progressing?
Are Najib and Ku Nan now saying that registering new voters for the future election is wrong? The courts have already pointed out the legality of Bersih and its gatherings multiple times, to the cost of the government and the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
Yes, I have my reservations against Bersih, and I’ve been very vocal about my issues with their agenda.
‘I and many other Malays are not represented by a hooligan’
However, I am damned sure that I and many other Malays are not represented by a racist hooligan who is funding and leading a local right-wing movement without any action from his political party or even the authorities.
And that is exactly what Jamal is - a terrorist.
If the political party which he is a member of believes in no action needs to be taken against him, then the party itself is in fact allowing a terror movement taking place across the country which is a threat to national security.
Ku Nan believes that if the red shirts and Bersih meet, it will in fact be a riot. I support his thoughts. It will in fact be a violent clash and, as we have seen, will be instigated by a member of his own party. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised that the only reason Jamal has such support is due to his ties with Umno itself.
It is to the benefit of Umno and this government to take stern action against instigators of terrorist and violent acts, foreign or domestic.
The failure to do so, if any violence or riots occur as a result which cause injury or death, and I personally hold this government, the political parties within it, and even the authorities who somehow have been oddly pacifist when dealing with Jamal, all accountable.
In fact, we should all hold these parties accountable if it does happen. After all, Ku Nan governs the party as secretary-general, and Najib is prime minister. Now, go and govern."
Link

Unhappy how the government treats terrorists, how about you look after one?

Arundhati Roy wrote a lot of letters to the National Security Council (India), complaining about the treatment of arrested terrorist being held in National Correctional System facilities. She demanded a response to her letter correspondence. 

She received back the following reply:


National Security Advisor ,
South Block, Raisina Hill,
New Delhi-110011

Dear Concerned Citizen,

Thank you for your recent letter expressing your profound concern of treatment of the ISIS and LeT terrorists captured by Indian Forces who were subsequently transferred to National Correctional System facilities.

Our administration takes these matters seriously and your opinions were heard loud and clear here in New Delhi. You will be pleased to learn, thanks to the concerns of citizens like yourself; we are creating a new department here at the Department of National Defense, to be called 'Liberals Accept Responsibility for Killers' program, or L.A.R.K. for short.

In accordance with the guidelines of this new program, we have decided to divert one terrorist and place him in your personal care. Your personal detainee has been selected and is scheduled for transportation under heavily armed guard to your residence in Mumbai next Monday.

Ali Mohammed Ahmed bin Mahmud (you can just call him Ahmed) is to be cared for pursuant to the standards you personally demanded in your letter of complaint! It will likely be necessary for you to hire some assistant caretakers. We will conduct weekly inspections to ensure that your standards of care for Ahmed are commensurate with those you so strongly recommend in your letter. Although Ahmed is a sociopath and extremely violent, we hope that your sensitivity to what you described as his 'attitudinal problem' will help him overcome these character flaws. Perhaps you are correct in describing these problems as mere cultural differences.

We understand that you plan to offer counseling and home schooling.' Your adopted terrorist is extremely proficient in hand-to-hand combat and can extinguish human life with such simple items as a pencil or nail clippers. We advise that you do not ask him to demonstrate these skills at your next yoga group. Please advise any friends, neighbors or relatives as your house guest might get agitated or even violent, but we are sure you can reason with him. He is also expert at making a wide variety of explosive devices from common household products, so you may wish to keep those items locked up, unless (in your opinion) this might offend him

Ahmed will not wish to interact with you or your daughters (except sexually) since he views females as a sub human form of property thereby having no rights, including refusal of his sexual demands. This is a particularly sensitive subject for him and he has been known to show violent tendencies around women who fail to comply with the new dress code that he will "recommend" as more appropriate attire. I'm sure you will come to enjoy the anonymity offered by the burka over time. Just remember that it is all part of 'respecting his culture and religious beliefs' as described in your letter.

Thanks again for your concern. We truly appreciate it when folks like you keep us informed of the proper way to do our job and care for our fellow man. You take good care of Ahmed and remember we'll be watching.

Good luck and God bless you

Cordially,

Ajit Doval 
National Security Advisor
Link