More images from Ho Chi Minh City... in huge contrast of class, very much like what you see in Malaysia.
Au Pare Restaurant... This place near the Notre-Dame Church serves fine French and Mediterannean cuisines... LensaPix by Jeff Ooi
MORE!
UPDATED VERSION. Everybody is saying Vietnam's economy is booming and may surpass Malaysia's in no time if we are not careful in planning ahead. You can't mess around with a country of over 85 million people, with over 60% of them clustered among the young and productive -- median age being 26.9 years.
Even India is now a strategic partner to Vietnam. It was announced recently that two-way trade between the two countries is expected to reach US$2 billion this year, two years ahead of goals set in the joint statement issued nearly one year ago when the strategic partnership was forged. Major categories of goods exported from Vietnam to India, which has been increasing at a steady 20% growth over the past few years with the trade balance in favour of India, include pepper, rubber, computer hardware and electronics products, cinnamon bark and spice, and garment and textile products.
In July 2007, India decided to invest US$527 million to set up a steel factory in Ba Ria Vung Tau Province, and a further US$600 million oil exploration and exploitation project. Besides, India's Tata Group has decided to pump in more than US$4 billion to set up two steel mills in Ha Tinh Province.
What's more, business registration processes had been expedited even in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai -- investment licenses can now be issued within six days!
There must be some magic in Vietnam that helped pump-prime the country's economy. So I decided to give it a closer look and landed on Ho Chi Minh City on Vietnam's Liberation/Reunification Day (April 30 evening), and witnessed the celebration of Workers' Day (May 1).
Doubtlessly, HCM City plays an important role in the country’s socio-economic development, accounting for 22% of GDP, one-third of the State’s budget and 40% of the country’s export turnover.
Yesterday, teamed with a group of Malaysian investors, I toured the Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) and Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP), and the Phu My Hung area in Saigon South.
The SHTP is where the new Intel mega-site is being developed, with US$1 billion investment for the company's digital ASEAN (d-ASEAN) programme. Key tenants now are Jabil from USA and Allied Group from Singapore. It will need another five years or so to mature but most of the outsource services have virtually set up camps in Saigon to capitalise on Intel's supply chain. Capturing Intel into Ho Chi Minh is a coup for Vietnam, and a severe threat to Penang as a base for the Electrical and Electronics industry.
The VSIP, near Song Be area, is about 14 years old, set up in March 1994 during the time when Vo Van Kiet and Goh Chok Tong were both Prime Ministers of the respective countries. It now houses full occupancy of tenants with manufacturing as a strong base. I could see earthwork for Phase II being carried out. It has the signature of Singapore-conceived facilities, clean, systematic and natural vegetation-friendly.
Phu My Hung is basically a Taiwanese investment when Kuomintang ran the economy before Chen Shui-Bian came around. Having endured the Asian Financial Crisis, the far-sightedness of the Taiwanese investors had finally paid off, and Phu My Hung, a former swampy area that needed massive earth-fills, is the jewel of the crown for Saigon South. Land prices now fetch US$4,500 per square-metre! Hip names in retail sector are now located here, including the sleek HQ for Unilever.
What amazed me is that the thoroughfare leading from District 4 to Phu My Hung is linked with a 12-lane highway, and the structural plan is mammoth by any benchmark. Is it any surprise that, after barely six months the new international arrival terminal was commissioned for Saigon's Tan Son Nhat International Airport, a brand new airport that rivals KLIA is now being crafted on the drawing-board?
Thanks to friends in HCM City, I was brought around to view the on-going mixed development project at Asia Phu My (APM) in Saigon South. It is targetting realty investors who are comfortable with the US$1,500 ~ US$2,500 per square-metre bracket.
I am also delighted to see that my university, RMIT of Melbourne, has set up a reasonable-sized branch campus in Saigon South. It has been running for a number of years.
VIETNAM'S ECONOMY IN CRISIS? Despite the glittering outlook, some of the old hands among Malaysian expatriates I met up with expressed their concern that Vietnam's economy may be headed for a bubble burst by August. That's the date when the financial sector's monetary credit squeeze policy comes into full effect and speculators in the real estate industry may be the first to burn their fingers, and domino effect see in.
According to media reports, State-owned corporations, which had invested 37% (US$8 billion) of their capital into real estate, banking and the stock market, are now trying hard to maintain solvency.
At last month’s meeting with officials from the national government, Viet Nam News said representatives from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) told State-owned corporations and groups need to focus on their major businesses, and warned that the local financial market is being hurt by small banks.
It is said that State-owned corporations active in the coal, electricity and petroleum industries have made huge profits in telecommunications, finance and banking, but are facing sharp reductions in their own productivity. This could have major repercussions for the national economy and security.
According to estimates, the average corporation makes a profit of 15 to 18% annually. but the modest profits would not be enough to compensate for losses from over-investments in non-core businesses.
To head off a potential disaster that could affect the national economy, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked all State-owned corporations and groups to cap their outside investments at under 30%. Concurrently, banking groups are also forbidden to allocate more than 15% of their capital elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance has switched on the 'damage control' mode to fight a s,liding stock market. Last week, the Ministry allowed the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) invest in the Vietnamese stock market has immediately brought a halt to the relentless decline in the VN-Index. In addition, the ministry will review investments for all State-owned corporations and groups later this month.
On the other hand, inflation is getting more heightened while trade deficit is worsening, a double whammy of sorts.
Recently, Dr Nguyen Tri Thanh from the Central Insitute for Economic Management said consumption growth rates had increased significantly compared with the country’s GDP growth rate in the past few years. Significantly, the country’s trade deficit now amounts to 17% of the GDP.
He said the increase in consumption, especially spending on imported goods, is one of the causes affecting the trade imbalance. He added that Vietnam’s trade deficit would increase from US$7.4 billion in the first quarter to US$19 billion for the entire year.
According to the World Bank, Vietnam’s population can be divided into five groups, and the 20% in the richest group accounts for 43.3% of the country’s consumption, compared with 7.2% of the poorest group. Purchase of luxury imports by the upper echelon has been blamed as the main culprit to trade deficits.
LEARN AND RE-LEARN. Whatever that's said and done in Vietnam's econiomy in recent months, it is a live chapter for me to climb the learning curve.
Admittedly, I am mentally and physically exhausted after surviving the gruelling GE2008 campaign. Saigon seems to be the ideal place to recuperate the tardy anatomy as well as to rejuvenate the mind.
What I can gather is that Vietnam has put wars and politics behind them. The whole nation is hungry for economic progress. We should be seeing their back as they zoom past us soon, real soon.
Last night, over reunion dinner in Penang, we did a video-conferencing with my Da Jiu in Chaozhou city, Guangdung. Technology shrinks the world as we overcome the geographical distance to exchange New Year greetings free of charge.
This is the second year in a roll we had video-link with Da Jiu's family during Chun Jie. The only difference is that our equipments got more sophisticated while China's data connection quality far exceeded ours.
Da Jiu says he saw the rare snow in Hua Nan (South China), less than a score in a hundred years.
Last week, I used a KL-Penang video link-up to hold an off-site press conference. This Saturday, the Chaozhou City TV crew will visit my family in Penang to do another Chun Jie video link-up for TV broadcast in China.
Using technology to the max... Right now, a team is helping me set up a GPS-based application to track profiles of my constituency. Thanks to Garmin, Google Earth, Nokia N95, Mobile Broadband, and a plain notebook with a database, efficiency in resource use is greatly enhanced. Trails can now be plotted to focussed on grey areas that need additional attention.
And thanks to the U.S. Department of Defense for turning off the SA (Selective Availability) in May 2000. The accuracy of civilian GPS receivers is now significantly improved.
The neo-speak is this: Maps are so old-school.
Today is the 60th anniversary of the death of India's freedom icon, Mahatma Gandhi.
The last urn of his ashes will be scattered across the Arabian Sea this morning by the Mahatma's great granddaughter, Nilamben Parikh.
Gandhi was assassinated by a fanatic Hindu on January 30, 1948.
WALK WITH US, that's how I had remembered the Mahatma in this blog.
BENAZIR BHUTTO IS DEAD. Assassinated.
She died the world's first Muslim woman democratically elected (twice) to lead a Muslim country, once upon a time.
Le Figaro, Fance, December 28, 2007
The Province, Canada, December 28, 2007
Toronto Star, Canada, December 28, 2007
Daily News, New York USA, December 28, 2007
Kompas, Indonesia, December 28, 2007
Courier-Mail, Brisbane, Australia, December 29/30, 2007
The Guardian, UK, December 29, 2007
Pakistan's real nightmare will rise after Bhutto is buried.
Evidently, TIME magazine senior editors went rusty on history and cock-ed up on some chronological facts about their Person of the Year 2007, Vladimir Putin, dubbed Tsar of The New Russia.
According to Rory O'Connor of Global Vision, there was a serious discrepancy between the "FULL" and "COMPLETE" versions of the TIME transcript of its interview with Putin for "Person of the Year".
O'Connor claimed that a glaring factual error was edited out of the transcript in an attempt to spare top executives embarrassment over an exchange at the beginning of the chat between the Russian leader and Time Inc. Editor-in-Chief John Huey, managing editor Richard Stengel and deputy managing editor Adi Ignatius.
The official version of the transcript, as it appears on TIME's web site, is prominently labeled "Putin Q&A: Full Transcript". It begins like this:
TIME: Despite the cold war, Russia and the United States have found themselves aligned in many of history's big conflicts: World War I, World War II and now, thanks in large part to your response to 9/11, there seems to be some alignment in the war against Islamic fundamentalist terrorism. With that history in mind, how do you envision the relationship between Russia and the U.S. going forward?PUTIN:
Indeed, Russia and the U.S. were allies during the two tragic conflicts of the Second and the First World Wars, which allows us to think there's something objectively bringing us together in difficult times, and I think?I believe?it has to do with geopolitical interests and also has a moral component. Of course, the cold war marked a tragedy in relations between our two countries, and I wouldn't want to see the vestiges of those relations prevailing in the future?
However, an earlier and more "full and complete" transcript of the interview, posted last week on MediaChannel.org -- a part of GlobalVision -- but which originated on the New Zealand site Scoop.co.nz, has an entirely different beginning, one that may make Time's senior executives look bad and, perhaps, incredibly obsequious:
QUESTION: Mr. President! First of all, I would like to thank you on behalf of all my colleagues for your hospitality today. Second, we consider that it is a great honour for us to be able to conduct this interview. Your cooperation with Time magazine means a lot to us. Its result will be a serious material, and quite broad in nature and scope.I want to start with the first question. You were born in 1946 - I was born in 1948. We belong to the same generation. We grew up in countries that lived with the unavoidable presence of the enemy. But historically, and in most major conflicts - World War One, World War Two - Russia and the United States have been allies. And now, in large part thanks to your role, Russia is cooperating in the struggle against Islamic terrorism.
In view of our history, how would you predict the development of relations between Russia and the United States as they resolve global problems in the future? How would our generation assess their future prospects for cooperation?
VLADIMIR PUTIN:
If you will allow me, I will correct you a little bit on certain dates. I could not have been born in 1946 because at that time my father was suffering from the wartime wounds and my mother survived the Leningrad blockade. After they had lost two children and their health it was unlikely that they could have thought of having another child right away. And I think it is for that reason that I was born a little later, in 1952. But this does not change the essence of the problems and the issues you raised - this is absolutely correct.
The crux of the discrepancy, as O'Connor argued, was that TIME, 'America's leading putative newsweekly', couldn't even get the most basic fact about Putin right -- namely his date of birth -- something Mr. Google could get done in 'just 3.2 seconds' (O'Connor had timed it)!
"Admittedly, being off a mere six years about a world leader's age isn't, well, the end of the world. But Time's embarrassing inability to get even this very basic fact correct certainly leads one to question its trustworthiness in other, far larger matters of fact and substance," O'Connor said.
"Moreover, its apparent attempt to cover up the error - and to mislead the public by posting an incomplete transcript and billing it as complete - is even more egregious," he added.
We were told that O'Connor contacted TIME for an explanation, but to no avail.
"By the time I called Time for reaction, John Huey was unavailable, having already left for the holidays," he said.
"Managing Editor Richard Stengel was still around, but failed to return several phone calls seeking a "full and complete" explanation of Transcriptgate," he added.
O'Connor can be contacted at Roc @globalvision.org or Tel: 212-246-0202 Ex. 3009.
BACKGROUNDER. MediaChannel.org is a nonprofit, public interest Web site dedicated to global media issues. MediaChannel offers news, reports and commentary from its international network of media-issues organizations and publications, as well as original features from contributors and staff.
MediaChannel is concerned with the political, cultural and social impacts of the media, large and small. It exists to provide information and diverse perspectives and inspire debate, collaboration, action and citizen engagement.
Screenshots has been collaborating with MediaChannel as a monitoring post for the region.
Throw peanuts and you get monkeys?
Via Bloomberg:
Dec. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Singapore will increase the salary of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and other senior Cabinet officials by as much as 21 percent from January, after an earlier adjustment in April.
Lee, 55, will be paid S$3.76 million ($2.6 million) a year, up from S$3.1 million previously, the public service division said in a statement on its Web site. Cabinet ministers will receive S$1.94 million, an increase from S$1.6 million.The pay adjustments follow other ministerial salary increases announced in April this year, the government said.
Is this the reason why Singapore ever scores higher than us in corruption index?
Or is it because the economic cake keeps expanding across the Causeway that ministers can be well-fed and they don't have to cheat under the watchful eyes of law?
CORRUPTION LAGI. Today, a businessman was charged with receiving bribes on behalf of a deputy minister, his senior private secretary and two others. But the deputy minister, who reports to Abdullah Badawi in the Internal Security Ministry, denies any knowledge of the matter.
This is a dispatch datelined Chennai from The Hindu, a major daily in India, stating that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi yesterday wrote to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging him to take immediate and appropriate action to end the “sufferings and bad treatment” of Tamils in Malaysia.
Karunanidhi was quoted by The Hindu as saying that the people of Tamil Nadu were disturbed over the happenings in our country and he had conveyed "their concern over the treatment being meted out to the Tamils living in Malaysia for a very long period of time".
In Times of India, Karunanidhi demanded that the Union government take immediate steps to "end the suffering" of Malaysian Tamils.
"I am very much pained at the way in which Tamils in Kuala Lumpur were treated by the police of the Malaysian government on Sunday," he said.
ALSO READ:
- Hindustan Times: Protect Tamils in Malaysia, Karunanidhi urges PM
- CNN-IBN: Karunanidhi urges PM to protect Tamils in Malaysia
- Zee News: Karunanidhi urges PM to save Tamils in Malaysia
- News Today: Protect Tamils in Malaysia: MK to PM
- TamilCanadian: Tamil Disobedience in Malaysia
- The Tribune: Plight of Malaysian Tamils: Karuna seeks PM’s help
Obviously, there are glocal Tamils in this world that many are oblivious to. Let see how the Indian diaspora reacts to this.
Kin Woon breaks ranks and dissents
Meanwhile, the retiring Penang state exco Dr Toh Kin Woon (picture below) issued a hard-hitting letter to Malaysiakin, saying that instead of condemning public rallies, the Abdullah Administration should look into the people's grievances.
He declared that he "disagreed with the country's leaders" on the issue.
Toh is currently Penang state executive councillor for economic planning, education, and human resources development, science, technology and innovation. To date, he is the highest-ranking BN politician to diseent from the ruling coalition's official stance on the rally. Quote:
In a letter to Malaysiakini, Toh said the country had witnessed a series of protests over the past few months, the latest being the one organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).
"These marches drew flak and condemnation from almost all BN leaders. Their criticisms centred on their illegality, potential threat to peace, the possible destablisation of the economy including frightening away foreign investors. I disagree with the views of our country’s leaders.
"Instead of condemning, one would have thought and hoped that they should have been more concerned over the grievances, frustrations and disappointments that have brought so many thousands to the streets in the first place and to seek fair and just solutions to them," he noted.
Commenting further on the Hindraf rally, Toh said the government must look into the grievances, frustrations and unhappiness of the lower strata of the Indian community and other communities pertaining to housing, education, health, jobs, equity and religious freedom.
"Until and unless these and many more issues concerning our country's judicial and electoral systems as well as social justice for the poor are looked into seriously and satisfactory solutions found, the discontent that brought thousands to the streets over several months will remain.
"To me, it is this discontent and unhappiness that will be a greater threat to our country’s peace and stability, rather than marches, pickets and demonstrations," he added.
AK rules
On the other hand, at a press conference held at the Parliament today, M Kulasegaran, the parliamentarian for Ipoh Barat, said the Indian community only controls 1.2% of equity compared to over 20% by the Malays and nearly 40% by the Chinese.
Of the Indian share, he said, one percent is controlled by tycoon Tatparanandam Ananda Krishnan. This leaves nearly two million Indians owning less than 0.2% equity in the country.
The MP proposed that a revolving fund of RM1 billion be set up to uplift the economic well being of the Indian Malaysian community.
He suggested that the fund must be administered by a special agency of the government under the purview of a full-time minister in charge of minority issues.
Australians write a new page in Australian history. The centre-left Opposition has taken over the government in Australia.
There has been a 4.5% national swing against John Howard's coalition -- coming from New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia.
SOURCE: The Age Nov 24, 2007
After 11-and-a-half-years in office, Howard lost the government, the premiership, and probably his own Bennelong parliamentary constituency which he has won in 13 straight elections since 1974.
Should Howard lose, his slayer would be former journalist Maxine McKew.
Watch the video of Howard's speech conceding a defeat.
When the Parliament convenes to elect the new prime minister, it will be Opposition leader, former diplomat Kevin Rudd, of the Labour party (ALP).
Already, Rudd promised changes in environmental, education and workplace policies as Australia's new prime minister. Watch the AP video on CNN. Quote:
"I will be a prime minister for all Australians," he told the cheering crowd. "Let us be the generation that seizes the opportunity of today to invest in the Australia of tomorrow. That's the mission statement we have as the next government of this country."He added, "I want to do it with all of us working together."
Australia may also get its first female deputy Prime Minister in Julia Gillard, 46.
Read how Labour Party crawls back to power after 11 long years in the doldrum.
Too much arrogance, a little too much self-satisfaction
In an early analysis, The Age suggests that when an increasing number of voters looked at John Howard and his senior colleagues during their fourth term, they saw too much arrogance and a little too much self-satisfaction.
Significantly, many of Howard's ministers have lost their seats.
Food for thought for Malaysia. It's more than Dubya losing his sheriff.
Crude oil prices rose above a record $99 per barrel Wednesday as worries about inadequate winter supplies in the Northern Hemisphere and news of refinery problems stoked bullish sentiment. Via Associated Press 9 hours ago as I blogged this.
On the other hand, US crude oil futures were lower in late trading, weighed down by a large increase in supplies at the NYMEX-oil traded delivery point in Oklahoma, and despite an overall decline in domestic crude stocks.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, January crude last traded down $US.43 at $US96.60, says The Age, Australia, some two hours ago at the time I blogged this
UPDATES: Morituri te salutamus ("We who are about to die salute you").
CNN is talking about the Ghost of Black Monday (that) haunts markets.
ORIGINAL POSTING
Double double-whammy!
Crude oil reached US$90 a barrel in New York for the first time yesterday as the dollar traded near a record low against the Euro, enhancing the appeal of commodities as an investment.
According to Associated Press, oil has obviously become a magnet for "hot money" from hedge funds and other momentum investors betting that the trend for higher prices is still strong. The dollar's decline, which makes dollar-denominated oil futures a bargain to overseas investors, also has played a role in the recent runup.
Crude oil prices had been on the rise backdropped against continuing geopolitical tensions between Turkey and Iraqi Kurds in the crude oil-rich northern Iraq -- and as the dollar remained weak.
According to Bloomberg, crude oil for November delivery rose 9 cents to $90.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest since trading began in 1983.
Brent crude oil for December settlement traded at $84.66 barrel, up 7 cents.
This may have triggered sell-off in the region's stock markets, heightening a broad-based slump driven by risk aversion among equity investors.
Immediately, the Bush administration voiced its dismay at record-high crude oil prices. However, the US has no plans to suspend oil shipments to the nation's strategic stockpile despite lawmakers' warnings that the action is cutting into supplies.
Energy researchers are also saying the weak dollar is pushing the oil price higher.
Malaysia to go big in biofuel?
The rising prices in crude oil have triggered the escalating prices of crude palm oil (CPO), including that produced by Malaysia -- and we have declared we will start mass production of a palm oil-based biodiesel next year.
CPO futures traded on the derivatives exchange of Bursa Malaysia hit a fresh record yesterday after global crude oil prices breached the US$90 per barrel mark for the first time.
The CPO futures contract for January delivery jumped RM33 to RM2,768 per metric ton, off an intraday high of RM2,795.
CPO prices have been closely tracking movements in the oil markets since the beginning of this year because of our claims to venture big time into palm oil-based biodiesel.
However, there had also been reports that say palm oil-based fuels, substitutes for gasoline and diesel, may not turn out to be cheaper and cleaner energy sources.
According to a Thomson Financial report datelined Kuala Lumpur, biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel have been widely viewed as the answer to reducing greenhouse gas emissions but critics warn that a reliance on them could lead to higher food prices, deforestation and ultimately, do more damage to the environment than the fossil fuels they are supposed to replace.
'The use of food as a source of fuel may have serious implications for the demand for food if the expansion of biofuels continues,' the International Monetary Fund said Thursday.
Holes in the pocket
For the layman, escalating crude oil prices would only mean one thing: Get prepared for higher fuel prices and energy costs in 2008.
This is despite the fact that Malaysia is an oil-exporting country.
Expect AirAsia to raise the fuel surcharges that will be passed on to the passengers wholesale, if not substantially.
Also expect dearer food and goods that have to be transported great distances via sea-land-air freights.
The pinch has started in New Zealand overnight.
Petrol prices are on the brink of another hike after BP yesterday increased prices by 3 cents a litre, raising their price for 91-octane petrol to NZ$163.9 a litre NZ$1.639 a litre. Mobil and Caltex are expected to follow suit.
Interestingly, others are seeing the escalating crude oil prices as an opportunity to force China to revalue its yuan.
To others still, it's the plain logic of managing demand-supply balances as developing economies like China turn into big monster hungry for carbon.
What made Singapore, and not its neighbouring countries, the hub of global business?
Addressing some 3,500 lawyers and participants at the International Bar Association Conference, Harry Lee – a lawyer by training – listed some key attributes we Malaysia had talked about so incessantly but didn't seem to make it work: ( 1 ) Good governance; ( 2 ) a sound judicial system; and ( 3 ) the rule of law for investors and for economic growth.
.
At the conference, Lee again touched on some themes that were dwelt upon with university students recently: The country's leaders had to create a Singapore that was different from its neighbours – a country that was cleaner, more efficient, more secure, with quality infrastructure, and good living conditions. Quote:
"Important for investors and economic growth is the rule of law, implemented through an independent judiciary, an honest and efficient police force, and effective law enforcement agencies.
"Had we not differentiated Singapore in this way, it would have languished and perished as a shrinking trading centre instead of becoming the thriving business hub it is today.
Lee, who recently spooked Malaysian leaders by stating that Singapore will one day rejoin Malaysia with a big IF AND ONLY IF, also cited three factors which enabled the Republic to escape the poverty that had plagued the region. Quote:
"First, clean and efficient government; second, the character and capabilities of the leadership in charge; third, an industrious people, eager and quick to learn to be productive and gainfully employed.
"Political leaders in Singapore take action against opponents who make statements against them that impute dishonesty and lack of integrity. Situated in a region where 'money politics' is part of the political culture and an accepted way of life, any allegation of corruption in Singapore must be taken seriously.
"It leads to an investigation by the CPIB (Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau) and an action for defamation against the person making the allegation to clear any doubts on the integrity of the government. As a result, people in Singapore do not equate their political leaders with second-hand car salesmen."
However, Lee reared his Web1.0 head by emphasising that he would only measure Singapore's successes by his own yardstick, and not those "of Amnesty International or Freedom House or Reporters Without Frontiers".
People have been accusing Lee for taking away human rights in return for the economic growth. Lee must have heard it, but denied:
"There is nothing which you want to read that you cannot read in Singapore. Everybody is on the Internet, everybody has got broadband, you have got cable television, access to all the information, you can blog, you can do anything you like."
We do not know how well the younger generation of Singapore agrees with Lee. At a recent (over a year ago) Talkingcock.com event, this song was sung at the old Parliament House -- We The Citizen by Hossan Leong.
It was part of the Mr Brown Show. Remember?
Today, October 15, is Blog Action Day! Bloggers all over the net are uniting to bring forth one important issue this year, the environment.
Do check out the Earth Journalism Network (EJN) website for more information about these environmental efforts. EJN works to establish networks of environmental journalist in countries where they don’t exist to, and build their capacity where they do.
EJN's latest e-newsletter also provides stories about how effective journalism and reporting can impact the environment. You will find it below in this email thread.
Information about the organiser5s of Blog Action Day 2007 is available here, and additional materials are available at www.internews.org.
My wish is to have the contractors who were tasked to clean up our rivers to return all the money, and let us do all over again -- correctly this time.
My friend David Sasaki is in town. This is his third trip to Malaysia.
As the head of Rising Voices, an offshoot of Global Voices, David has travelled in troubled timezones like Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Kenya, Bangladesh, Thailand and recently, Cambodia.
ALL-BLOGS had invited him to tell us how governments around the world are engaging blogs and bloggers.
'The world is talking; Are you listening?'
I was thralled to learn from him that, when Cambodian bloggers got together to host a blogger conference in August, the national ISP (Internet Service Provider owned by the government) sponsored the event and underwrote some of the costs. Apparently, Hun Sen is pleased with having bloggers as a symbol of the emerging middle-class in Cambodia, though Internet bandwidth is substandard by Streamyx's standard.
Let me shock you further, folks. Guess who's the most famous blogger in Cambodia? Prince Norodom Sihanouk, the former king!
David also told me that Indonesian bloggers will host their Pesta Blogger Indonesia 2007 on October 27. The key sponsors are Nokia and Microsoft, while Malaysian bloggers will, at the very least, be represented by Unspun. But the most exciting news is that the conference will be opened by the Indonesian ICT minister!
Impressively, two South East Asian bloggers I nominated as representatives for the GVO Summit in 2005 are now man of their own. ThaRum is now the livewire for the Cambodian blogosphere, while Enda Nasution is now regarded as the Grandfather of Blogs in Indonesia.
MEET DAVID IN PERSON
David will speak at the ALL-BLOGS Forum this October 3, themed: "Blogs & Digital Democracy".
I understand that ALL-BLOGS president Ahirudin Attan (Rocky) is still trying to convince ZAM through the ministerial aides to attend the event. The last I check Rocky is still trying, and trying hard.
Seats are being snapped up. Those few who have yet to RSVP please respond by 5.30pm today or we will release them to those on the wait list.
Here's a summary from USGS as at 08:00hr today:
The Kepulauan Mentawi region monitored (magnitude 5+) once came within 135km from Padang, 160km away from Bengkulu, while the Southern Sumatra region monitored (magnitude 6.2) was close to within 110km from Bengkulu.
Let's pray calamity befalls not on our Indonesian neighbours.
Malaysia is 8 hours ahead of coordinated universal time (UTC), formerly known as Greenwich mean time (GMT).
2004 tsunami... the aftermath
Meanwhile, Malaysia still not through with the plight of 2004 tsunami victims:.
1 ) Penang Chief Minister Dr Koh Tsu Koon.said the 2004 tsunami victims should be allowed to move into their new homes in Tanjung Bungah pending the settlement of the dispute over the price of the units.2 ) RM5.5 million in excess funds collected from Malaysians and given to aid agencies to help victims have yet to be returned to the Treasury.
Tested successful yesterday. It's a lethal new air-delivered bomb, the world's most powerful yet non-nuclear weapon. It evaporates life.
Russia has it.
An aftermath of NBC-Apple cancelling each other, tit-for-tat? To prevent Apple domination, NBC and News Corp.'s Fox are rolling out online-video site Hulu.com this October, which will stream content from both media companies.
Signs are that it will eventually move into downloads, taking the fight directly to Apple. But Hulu is probably more useful as a negotiating tactic with Apple than a means of dominating the video-downloading business, says breakingviews.com.
iTune viewers, please stand-by.
It's peak season again. A return flight to Bali on MAS or SIA would range around RM1,650, RM1,950 and RM2,100 depending on the pricing belts, and that was for booking some 45 days prior. Flexibility in changing flights was practically nil. The plane was so full that I got upgraded to business class on my way home yesterday. (Don't ask me, but four of us from the Malaysian delegation refused to fly AirAsia.)
From what I can gather, and despite new travel warnings that Islamic militants might strike again, or that all Indonesian airlines including national carrier Garuda are banned from the European Union, tourists still flock to Bali these days.
The terrorist bombing of a Bali nightclub in Kuta in October 2002, which killed 202 people, now seems a distant history. Tourism is bouncing back, though it's still not anywhere near its prime before the blast.
According to William J. Furney, managing editor of The Bali Times, the only English newspaper published in the island, budget guesthouses popular with surfers, backpackers and domestic tourists, have been fully booked in recent weeks, and mid-range hotels have also been busy.
In fact, statistics from the Bali Tourism Office show increased tourist arrivals for the first half of 2007. There were 745,949 tourist arrivals in Bali between January and June, compared to 552,573 during the same period last year.
Figures record 145,174 arrivals in June alone, and hoteliers in Kuta, the epic-centre of the 2002 terrorist bombing, say that bookings for July were also high.
I heard that several international conferences are being scheduled to take place from now till October, and hotel resorts in Nusa Dua, the only place that have MICE facilities to house large delegation of over 200 pax, would certainly benefit from it
It's a huge contrast to the moment I landed in KLIA to pick up the luggage. The trolleys in Malaysia are but snapped up by tourists in full black, some only seen with anatomy slit in the eyes.
Clearly, it's the Balinese people that made the difference for the tourism trade there. Tourists the world over are simply wowed by the benevolence of the Balinese, who largely practise Hinduism, for their compassion, laid-back attitude and love of peace and harmony.
Hi-5 Bali on Wi-fi
Meanwhile, Bali is also catching fast on pervasive wi-fi hotspots for the visitors, including backpackers.
The Kuta Cyber Beach programme, which was launched in July, has been providing wireless internet access for 2,007 meters along Kuta Beach, stretching from the Bali Dynasty Hotel on Jalan Kartika Plaza to the Sahid Raya Hotel at Jalan Pantai.
There are currently 30 access points covering the beach, with each spot having a radius of 150 meters.
This means you can access the Internet while sitting on the steps leading to the spanking new Discovery Mall before you end up at Hard Rock Cafe.
Over the one week I was there, state telecoms company Telkom announced that the free trial period of the Kuta Cyber Beach hotspot program will be extended until August 17, in conjunction with the 62nd anniversary of Indonesia’s independence.
After the free trial period, the service will be accessible using a prepaid card called I-VAS, available at cellular phone counters for Rp10,000 to Rp50,000.
The slack is the speed. You can only get 128 kbps while upgrades are being planned to increase it up to 512 kbps. So, the idea is just to let you check emails while holidaying, but be sure to enjoy the sun and sand, and not get hooked to cyber-patrolling.
Rent-a-Villa
Another new trend is emerging in Bali.
For those with money to burn, and a discerning taste to dispense in life, the hip place is no longer the Nusa Dua resorts zone where the Grand Mirage is located.
The in-thing nowadays is stretched home-stays in luxury villas in upscale Seminyak area, which is fast developing into one of Bali’s most fashionable and desirable locales manicured in luscious greens.
One of such luxury villas is Club151 (or the C151 brand) developed by PT. Hanno Bali, a leading foreign-owned developer in Bali, which also developed the 11 private Islands near Singapore around Bintan, fit for the rich and famous.
With the platinum card, you can either rent or buy a C151 villa and add that posh Seminyak address in your collection. (Is Kee Hua Chee up here for the lifestyle review already?)
A C151 villa can be had from US$500++ per villa per night. It comes with 3 suites, a 12-metre private pool in private garden, 3 private bathrooms with jacuzzi, 8 large-screen LCD TVs, and music speakers throughout the villa, including garden and pool. Wireless broadband and satellite channels are an understatement. Mau?
(BTW, "Bali. Mau?" is the latest ad slogan this season.) Must check the Gini coefficient for Bali. I find it disturbing as a traditional masseure of two-year experience, working a maximum of three clients per day on good days, earns about US$150 per month and her rent for a spartan room in Denpasar eats up Rp250,000 (US$26) per month.
Peace and serenity
While attending an intensive course, I managed to steal time to click the shutter though the gloomy weather and overcast weren't kind to a photographer.
TANAH LOT SUNSET... I would have preferred a much stronger sun to beam on the calm seas for more defined hue and contrast
The Sound of Calm in two parts
More high-resolution pictures are available on LensaMalaysia.
I had to make do with the bad lighting conditions and come home with a series on the Balinese serenity. Oṃ śānti śānti śānti.
FOOTNOTE: If you are a free-and easy traveller to Bali and need local transport, contact Mr Putu Suastika at mobile: 08123834146. Good English, a thirty-something, he works hard to raise money to educate his two kids.
Putu ferried us to Tanah Lot for the sunset shots, and brought us to Kedonganan beach (near Jimbaran) for dinner. We shared engaging conversation as I tried to put in a rich pinch of Indonesia accent chatting in Bahasa. On the way back to the hotel, he proudly told me that he has been booked to fetch a group of new arrivals at 1.00am. He would drop us at the hotel, put the kids to sleep, have shower and a short rest, and will dash to the airport for his pick-up. His enthusiasm in sharing me the trivias of his work life, motivated by his urge to educate the children. saya ngak bisa libur biar luang masa, harus kerja kuat, anak harus diberi education sebaik mungkin. Simple words and single-mindedness. They warmed my heart.
May 17, AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes was quoted in the international press as saying that his airline's new long-haul offshoot — AirAsiaX — planned to be the first budget carrier to operate between Australia and Malaysia.
According to media hype then, services was to begin on September 8, either to Avalon Airport or Adelaide.
A new round of hot air has just blown today.
RM88 gross, KL-Sydney one way
Jetstar, a budget airline fully-owned by Australian national carrier Qantas Airways, will commence three times a week direct flights between Kuala Lumpur and Sydney from September 9.
Jetstar's special one-way web fare for the economy class on the Kuala Lumpur-Sydney route is RM88, exclusive of surcharges, fees and taxes which will add at least RM409.50 per passenger.
The flight will initially operate using the 303-seater Airbus A330-200s offering two classes of service including StarClass, Jetstar's business class, before transitioning to a fleet of 15 new Boeing 787 Dreamliners from August 2008, said Jetstar general manager for marketing David May today.
Jetstar's call centre is at: 1800-813-090.
Malaysia made its way into America's headline news, again, for illegal arms sale.
July 19, US time, Jilani Humayun, 59, a New York-based Pakistani, was charged for11 counts of violating the Arms Export Control Act, which regulates the export of "defense articles and services" to an unidentified Malaysian company, ABC News reported.
Humayun, who operates through Vash International Inc., is also charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and launder money.
The charges carry up to 150 years in prison upon conviction.
Prosecution papers alleged that Humayun's company exported F-5 and F-14 fighter jet and Chinook helicopter components to the Malaysian company 11 times during the current Abdullah Administration, from January 2004 and May 2006. Quote:
"The details of the crime with which Jilani Humayun is charged are particularly disturbing, as he is alleged to have knowingly shipped technology as dangerous as F-5 and F-14 parts to Malaysia without any regard for the ultimate destination," said U.S. attorney Michael J. Garcia of the Southern District of New York."As is well-documented in public reports, the sole customer of F-14 parts is the Iranian air force."
According to Reuters which quoted US authorities, Humayun also acknowledged during an interview that the (Malaysian) company is Vash International's largest customer, and that Humayun did not know who the 'end users' are of the items that were shipped".
US Federal agents that questioned Humayun said he admitted that he purposely undervalued the parts in customs paperwork to avoid paying Malaysian customs duties.
They also say the Malaysian company wired US$357,085 to Vash International.
Malaysia declines to comment
Meanwhile, DPM cum Defence Minister Najib Razak, declined comments citing lack of knowledge of the breaking news.
He, however, stated that Malaysia does not possess F-14 though it had been deploying the F-5 a long time ago
The last time Malaysia was implicated in the international illegal arms sale, also involving a Pakistani, was in 2004.
Then, Malaysia was questioned for its role in the nuclear black market used by Pakistan’s top nuclear atomic scientist A.Q.Khan to sell nuclear technology, including a Japan-originated order for centrifuge components, to Iran, Libya and North Korea
Meanwhile, the director of the criminal investigative service in the U.S. Department of Defense, Charles W. Beardall, called the illegal export of U.S. military technology and weapons "one of the most significant and growing threats to our national security."
The U.S. Department of Justice has since issued a press release on the case.
The Geneva-based World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) has issued an urgent appeal globally after having listed blogger Nathanial Tan's arrest under the Official Secret Act (OSA) as Case MYS 130707. Here's the global appeal message:
SUBJECT: Malaysia: Arbitrary arrest, forced disappearance and risk to personal integrity of Mr. Nathaniel TanCase MYS 130707
Arbitrary arrest/ Forced disappearance / Risk to personal integrity
The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Malaysia.
Brief description of the situationThe International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by SUARAM, a member of the SOS-Torture Network, of the arbitrary arrest, forced disappearance and risk to personal integrity of Mr. Nathaniel Tan in Kuala Lumpur on 13 July 2007.
According to the information received, at about 4:45 pm on 13 July 2007, Mr. Nathaniel Tan, an employee of the Peoples' Justice Party (PKR - Parti KeADILan Rakyat) information bureau, was taken for questioning by three plainclothes police officers. They were believed to be from the Special Branch and have reportedly asked M. Nathaniel Tan to follow them for questioning in the Bukit Aman police headquarters without providing any reasons why he had to do so.
The police also allegedly requested that Mr. Nathaniel Tan brings his notebook computer with him for questions that are believed to be related to postings on the Internet. According to the same information, the whereabouts of Mr. Nathaniel Tan remain unknown since his arrest and the police have reportedly denied that Mr. Nathaniel Tan is detained in Bukit Aman police headquarters.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is therefore gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Nathaniel Tan. OMCT calls on the Malaysian Government to guarantee his integrity at all times, locate his whereabouts and release him in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards, or, if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times. Moreover, as an elected member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Malaysia should guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Malaysia urging them to:
Continue reading "Nat's arrest : Listed by Anti-Torture Group as "Case MYS 130707"" »
This is a Bill Moyers essay on Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal, originally aired over PBS June 29, 2007.
Earlier in January 2007, Moyers delivered a keynote, themed: What's Wrong with Big Media at the National Conference on Media Reform in Memphis Tennessee. The conference featured people who work in the media world, politicians and FCC Commissioners.
Famous last words: Shipwreck of journalism... How media owners write the script, and the public? Be damned.
Details here, but debates are sizzling at Global Voices Online (GVO).
One GVO author is getting skeptic about Google hegemony in the social web. "My question is what will be the social web if all those brillant projects (flickr, youtube, feedburner, etc.) will be a division of a large public corporation like Yahoo and Google? and what if tomorrow Google decide to filter feedburner RSS - in China- which is being used by ppl as a proxyfing tool?" he asks.
Another answers:
Any of these large sites are doing extensive user tracking. If you don't like it, you can access them through Tor, or use accounts that keep your real name separate from your online identity.One problem is that when you start an innovative web2.0 company, there are really only a few possible outcomes:
- You fail
- You suceed and get bought by Google/Yahoo/Rupert Murdoch
- You succeed and grow as large as Google/Yahoo/Rupert Murdoch.There are very few companies out there willing to do what Craigslist did and reject huge sums of money for the company... and even they've taken a 25% investment from Ebay, another huge company...
Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. StarTrek said that in its legacy over the 40 years past.
Launched Friday (US time), has anyone from Malaysia got it already? It's US$499 for the 4GB model, and US$599 for an 8GB.
If you are shipping in from the US, remember iPhone is a locked-down phone -- not only can you not swap out the AT&T SIM card for one from another network operator, you can't even swap it out for another AT&T SIM card! (Oh yes, all over US reports that AT&T comes with the activation headache.)
Also, iPhone is stuck with EDGE technology, not 3G and above.
Since I started counting it last January, I think I could afford to wait till next January.
It has been a rocky week for Internet and related technologies. I spotted five points tat prompted me to read.
1 ) PowerPoint turns 20
Snappy presenters who wow their audience with jazzy slideshows may not realise it. PowerPoint is 20 years old!
And, perhaps, not many realise that when Robert Gaskins and Dennis Austin invented PowerPoint 1.0 in 1987, they meant it for for Macs. Frankly, I only came to know about it when I read it on WSJ supplied to my hotel room.
However, it took three more years users got to see the Windows version of PowerPoint. Back then, graphics-oriented computers were still early days, and even venture capitalists insisted that text-based DOS machines would never go away.
Gaskin, however, foresaw that there was a huge but invisible market for business slides with GUI-centric computers. His PowerPoint was bought over -- lock, stock, barrel -- by Microsoft in late 1987 for US$14 million. But PC users had had to wait until 1990 when Microsoft finally released a Windows version of PowerPoint.
Both Gaskin and Austin left Microsoft in the 1990s to pursue personal projects. Ironically, they are less famous than the product they both created.
Read this article, and tell us if PowerPoint will ever become less important for you when you hold the rostrum next.
2 ) France government bans Blackberry
It's the leakage of economic and sovereign intelligence, not the technology.