Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by encore83

where restaurant sell takoyaki

encore83 — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 16:09:59 +0800

anyone?

Muslim /k fags

encore83 — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 09:45:54 +0800

lupa mandi wajip this morning? if puasa whole day valid or not?

Dafuq?

encore83 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:43:49 +0800

QUOTE

WASHINGTON Amerika Syarikat (AS) - Presiden Barack Obama mencadang menggunakan separuh daripada wang yang dijimatkan ekoran tamatnya perang AS di Iraq dan Afghanistan untuk membina landasan kereta api berkelajuan tinggi dan bagi membaiki jalan raya serta infrastruktur negara yang uzur.

Pelan tersebut dijangka berdepan halangan anggota-anggota Kongres daripada Parti Republikan yang berulangkali menyatakan pembinaan landasan itu sebagai satu pembaziran, apatah lagi ketika AS berdepan bajet ketat.

"Masih banyak yang perlu dibina semula di AS," kata Obama dalam ucapan negara tahunannya kelmarin sambil menambah, AS memiliki jalan raya dan jambatan yang uzur.

Obama tidak mendedahkan jumlah wang yang diperlukan bagi menjayakan misi tersebut.

Namun, Pejabat Bajet Kongres AS menganggarkan penjimatan belanja perang sekitar AS$440 bilion (RM1.35 trilion) dalam tempoh 2012 hingga 2021.

Sejak beberapa tahun kebelakangan ini, AS menjunam dalam senarai penarafan sistem infrastruktur negara oleh Forum Ekonomi Dunia.

Dalam laporan forum berkenaan untuk tahun 2007 hingga 2008, infrastruktur AS berada di tempat keenam terbaik di dunia.

Laporan tahun 2011-2012 pula mendapati AS berada pada kedudukan ke-16 dunia. Kualiti jalan raya di AS kini setara dengan jalan raya di Malaysia. - Reuters

SOS:KOSMO

inb4 slowpoke

Samsung's transparent smart window

encore83 — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 12:59:39 +0800

inb4 apple will rage again..

[YOUTUBE]mTVPVobDrms[/YOUTUBE]

Website knows what you've illegally download

encore83 — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:17:01 +0800

It could be trouble for those who steal copyrighted music and movies

QUOTE

A new website that keeps track of everything you download from file-sharing sites could spell trouble for the scores of people who steal copyrighted music and movies.

The site, Youhavedownloaded.com, does exactly what its name implies: It keeps a huge database of millions of media files that have been downloaded to tens of millions of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses from file-sharing websites and services such as BitTorrent. When you visit the site, it automatically scans your IP address and reveals what, if any, files you've downloaded.

To date, Youhavedownloaded has a database of more 52,286,000 users and 110,800 torrents made up of 1,918,000 individual files. A glance at the homepage shows a small sample of what people have downloaded, including the film "Spy Kids 4," the AMC show "The Walking Dead" and season four of FX's "Sons of Anarchy."

The site was built as a proof-of-concept, Suren Ter-Saakov, one of its founders, told noted cyber security researcher Brian Krebs. As such, it stops short of parsing through "dynamic" IP addresses, which change and can be used to conceal one's online activities. The site's servers don't store timestamps or gather personally identifiable details either.

Despite its limitations and innocent nature, Youhavedownloaded.com still has the capability to scare — or shame — people into thinking before they blindly download pirated material.

Ter-Saakov said he received an email from someone who asked to have his information taken down "because he was downloading porn and was afraid his parents would be able to see what kind of files he downloaded."

Beyond calling people out, Krebs said the site highlights something that's important but often overlooked among casual Internet users, which is that file-trading networks "are an extremely common and easy way to spread malicious software."

Skipping the ethical argument about downloading copyrighted material, if you're on a file-sharing site, be very cautious about what you download. There is no guarantee the song or TV show you think you're getting is what it claims to be. Make sure your computer is outfitted with anti-virus software, and to protect yourself even further, run all downloads through a malware-scanning program

Iran hijacked US drone, claims Iranian engineer

encore83 — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:10:28 +0800

QUOTE

ISTANBUL, Turkey — Iran guided the CIA's "lost" stealth drone to an intact landing inside hostile territory by exploiting a navigational weakness long-known to the US military, according to an Iranian engineer now working on the captured drone's systems inside Iran.

Iranian electronic warfare specialists were able to cut off communications links of the American bat-wing RQ-170 Sentinel, says the engineer, who works for one of many Iranian military and civilian teams currently trying to unravel the drone’s stealth and intelligence secrets, and who could not be named for his safety.

Using knowledge gleaned from previous downed American drones and a technique proudly claimed by Iranian commanders in September, the Iranian specialists then reconfigured the drone's GPS coordinates to make it land in Iran at what the drone thought was its actual home base in Afghanistan.

"The GPS navigation is the weakest point," the Iranian engineer told the Monitor, giving the most detailed description yet published of Iran's "electronic ambush" of the highly classified US drone. "By putting noise [jamming] on the communications, you force the bird into autopilot. This is where the bird loses its brain."

More world news from the Christian Science Monitor ..The “spoofing” technique that the Iranians used – which took into account precise landing altitudes, as well as latitudinal and longitudinal data – made the drone “land on its own where we wanted it to, without having to crack the remote-control signals and communications” from the US control center, says the engineer.

The revelations about Iran's apparent electronic prowess come as the US, Israel, and some European nations appear to be engaged in an ever-widening covert war with Iran, which has seen assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists, explosions at Iran's missile and industrial facilities, and the Stuxnet computer virus that set back Iran’s nuclear program.

Now this engineer’s account of how Iran took over one of America’s most sophisticated drones suggests Tehran has found a way to hit back. The techniques were developed from reverse-engineering several less sophisticated American drones captured or shot down in recent years, the engineer says, and by taking advantage of weak, easily manipulated GPS signals, which calculate location and speed from multiple satellites

QUOTE

Western military experts and a number of published papers on GPS spoofing indicate that the scenario described by the Iranian engineer is plausible.

"Even modern combat-grade GPS [is] very susceptible” to manipulation, says former US Navy electronic warfare specialist Robert Densmore, adding that it is “certainly possible” to recalibrate the GPS on a drone so that it flies on a different course. “I wouldn't say it's easy, but the technology is there.”

UFO or secret military aircraft?

encore83 — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:45:48 +0800

[YOUTUBE]A3OjXTWArrQ[/youtube]

another stealth UAV i guess..

No seat, so Boo Chang left PKR

encore83 — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:34:15 +0800

QUOTE

Bukit Gelugor division chief Lim Boo Chang quit PKR because he knew he will not be considered for the coming elections

QUOTE

GEORGE TOWN: Bukit Gelugor PKR division chief Lim Boo Chang decided to quit PKR when he found out that he will not be considered for the next general election.

Although the party has not finalised the list of candidates, PKR state chairman Mansor Othman confirmed that Lim will not be given a seat to contest in coming polls.

“He was more interested in becoming a candidate.When he knew he would not get a seat , he left,” Mansor, who also the state Deputy Chief Minister 1, told a press conference in his office in Komtar here yesterday.

Lim has the unenviable reputation of being a party-hopper. He was a Gerakan member for 15 years holding various top positions, including national vice-president and youth wing chairman.

He then quit Gerakan just after the 1999 general election to join MCA. He left MCA after the last general election to join PKR. Now, he wants to go back to Gerakan.

State PKR vice-chairman Abdul Malik Kassim confirmed Mansor’s statement, saying that it was the real reason for Lim’s departure.

“He took the (quit) action because of the seat,” said the state executive councillor and Batu Maung assemblyman.

He also chided Lim for breaking the party convention by going to the media to indicate why he should be chosen as a candidate.

Lim had asked through the media to PKR leadership to give him either the Nibong Tebal federal or Datuk Keramat state constituencies to contest.

Lim is former Datuk Keramat two-term assemblyman (1995 – 2004)

Not a loss for the party

Yesterday Lim announced his decision to quit PKR and all party positions citing loss of confidence on PKR to fulfill its reform agenda.

Lim cited the Subterranean Penang International Convention and Exhibition Centre (sPICE) mega project as among reasons for his resignation.
Lim was among the two councillors to openly object to the project when debating the council Budget 2012 in October.

Mansor said Lim’s departure was not surprising because the state PKR knew it was coming.

Lim has been critical against the state government and party for few months and he also did not bring his division team to attend the party congress in Johor Baru and did not hold divisional meetings as well for past few months.

Mansor said the party would not be affected by Lim’s exit, instead he claimed that it would become stronger, united and motivated to face Barisan Nasional.

“Individuals can come and go, but the party stays. PKR has many capable leaders who always put party interests above themselves,” he said.

For time being, he added that the state liaison committee would take over the management of Bukit Gelugor division

Saya calon boleh menang

encore83 — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:29:02 +0800

QUOTE

Semua rakyat tahu. Kalau tidak ada hal saya tak akan keluar dari Perlis. Saya akan duduk dari pagi sampai ke malam di kawasan saya sahaja.....jumpa rakyat

QUOTE

KUALA LUMPUR: Timbalan Pengerusi Perhubungan Umno Perlis Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim berkata beliau adalah seorang “winnable candidate” iaitu calon boleh menang untuk Umno dan Barisan Nasional pada pilihan raya umum akan datang.

Bekas Menteri Besar Perlis itu yang juga Anggota Dewan Undangan Negeri Perlis kawasan Tambun Tulang berkata keyakinannya itu berdasarkan pandangan rakyat terutama di kawasan yang diwakilinya.

“Semua rakyat tahu. Kalau tidak ada hal saya tak akan keluar dari Perlis. Saya akan duduk dari pagi sampai ke malam di kawasan saya sahaja…jumpa rakyat dan sebagainya. Kalau macam itu bukan ‘winnable candidate’, apa makna sebenarnya?” katanya kepada Bernama di sini.

Ditanya sama ada beliau bersedia untuk bertanding semula pada pilihan raya umum datang, Shahidan yang juga Anggota Majlis Tertinggi Umno dan Ketua Umno Bahagian Arau, itu terserah kepada pucuk pimpinan untuk menentukannya.

Dalam laman Facebook beliau, Shahidan turut mengulas mengenai calon boleh menang bagi semua kawasan di Perlis, dengan memberi penilaian iaitu baik, sederhana baik, buruk, terburuk kepada mereka.

“Ada sesetengah pihak mempersoalkan kenapa saya buat macam itu.

“Masalahnya rakyat dah bercakap (menilai) macam itu. Bukan kita yang buat penilaian tetapi rakyat yang membuat penilaian. Jadi saya bagi pandangan rakyat apa yang berlaku. Kita bercakap (mengenai winnable candidate) tapi tak ada ciri yang jelas,” katanya.

Masalah rakyat

Shahidan berkata bahawa dalam menyelesaikan masalah rakyat, seorang calon boleh menang tidak akan memberi alasan tidak ada peruntukan dan sebagainya, sebaliknya perlu berikhtiar dan berusaha termasuk mengeluarkan perbelanjaan sendiri.

“Rakyat tak faham (soal peruntukan) itu. Kalau calon boleh menang, dia perlu berkorban. Tetapi pada masa yang sama hakikatnya ialah bukan semua masalah boleh diselesaikan serta merta oleh kerajaan,” katanya.

Mengenai senario politik semasa, beliau berkata negara tidak akan kekal aman sekiranya kemenangan berpihak kepada minoriti yang mahu menguasai majoriti.

Katanya penduduk Malaysia merangkumi 67 peratus kaum Melayu dan Bumiputera, 22 peratus Cina dan lapan peratus India, jadi kemenangan wakil rakyat mesti mewakili nisbah mengikut kaum untuk keharmonian negara.

PAS tak akan jadi pemerintah sebab dia minoriti. Kalau nak jadi pemerintah pun DAP. Tapi kalau dia jadi pemerintah pun, bolehkah dia mewakili rakyat secara keseluruhan?” kata Shahidan.

Menyentuh politik di Perlis, beliau berkata Umno dan Barisan Nasional boleh mengekalkan negeri itu pada pilihan raya umum akan datang dengan syarat parti dapat memperkukuhkan perpaduan anggota dan mempunyai jentera pilihan raya yang berkesan.

“Kita boleh menang dengan cemerlang dan boleh kalah dengan teruk. Isu dalaman kena diperbetulkan. Begitu juga dengan orang yang menyokong MCA. Tapi di peringkat akar umbi, jentera sudah bergerak di seluruh negeri,” katanya.

Shahidan berkata Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak sendiri telah menunjukkan jalan terbaik dan memberi contoh kepada kepimpinan peringkat bawahan supaya bermula sekarang bagi memenangi hati rakyat.

“Siapa yang tak mahu ikut perubahan dia mesti diubah,” katanya.

– Bernama

‘Rosmah, Dr M should stay out of politics’

encore83 — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:19:29 +0800

QUOTE

The Kita president says the former premier should realise his time in politics is over

QUOTE

SHAH ALAM: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s wife, Rosmah Mansor and former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad should not meddle in politics, said Kita chief Zaid Ibrahim.

“Mahathir, now that he has retired, should stay out of politics. Once your time is over, it is over,” Zaid said in response to a question at a forum entitled “13th General Election: Whose Vote Decides?” organised by Malay daily Sinar Harian yesterday.

A polling agent raised the question of Rosmah’s influence on her husband and if it may contribute to BN faring badly in the upcoming general election.

The other speakers were Deputy Higher Education Minister and Umno supreme council member Saifuddin Abdullah, Penang Chief Minister and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, Lembah Pantai MP and PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar and Universiti Malaya media studies senior lecturer Abu Hassan Hasbullah.

Saifuddin came to the government’s defence and dismissed the notion of Rosmah’s influence on her husband and in the politics of the day.

He cited the amendments to the Universities and University Colleges Act, the government’s transformation programmes and the repeal of the ISA as examples of how Najib acted independently without anyone’s influence.

Rosmah has been in the news for her alleged exhorbitant and extravagant spending since Najib came into power in April 2009.

Abu Hassan weighed in by calling voters to reject individuals who misuse public funds.

“Irrespective of whether they are wives or children of ministers, if they misuse public funds, they must be rejected,” he said.

The panellists, however, had different opinions on which group would be an influential force to decide on the fate of the next government.

New reality voters

Zaid said that the Malay votes would be a crucial factor. “They will determine the outcome as they are the biggest group.

“The Malays would only be able to be a strong voter bloc if they were willing to reject the corrupt culture perpertrated by Umno whom he referred to as the ‘biggest Malay party’.”

Abu Hassan named three groups who he said will play a crucial role in the outcome of the next general election.

“The 21 to 40 age group who make up 68 percent of the voters (three percent of this group have already made up their minds); the Chinese community who make up 45 percent of the voters in some places; and lastly, the women bloc who have 48 to 57 percent influence in generally all the constituencies,” said Abu Hassan.

Lim’s witty reply was: “Phantom voters would decide. And if reform efforts fail, then we would have a phantom government.”

On a serious note, he acknowledged that Sabah and Sarawak voters were a formidable bloc.

“They can determine the fate of at least 112 parliamentary seats,” Lim said, adding that he hoped Pakatan Rakyat would form the next federal government with a simple majority.

Currently, Pakatan has 77 seats in Parliament after five MPs turned BN-friendly independents.

Saifuddin, however, picked the new reality voters as the group that would be the deciding factor.

“It is definitely not BN or Pakatan supporters but the new reality voters,” he said.

He described the new reality voter group as those who are connected on social networking sites via informal groupings and are for participatory democratic transformation.

Nurul said that Umno-BN would be the deciding factor based on the ruling coalition’s willingness to implement electoral reforms

‘Loss of confidence’: PKR leader quits

encore83 — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:06:17 +0800

QUOTE

Division chief Lim Boo Chang says he has more confidence in Najib and BN as opposed to PKR fulfilling its reform agenda

QUOTE

GEORGE TOWN: Bukit Gelugor PKR division chief Lim Boo Chang has quit the party effective today citing loss of confidence in the party to fulfill its reform agenda.

He has also resigned as a councillor in the local island municipality (MPPP) and expressed his desire to return to Gerakan.

Lim has been a Gerakan member for 15 years holding various top positions, including national vice-president and youth wing chairman.

“But if Gerakan rejects my application, I will quit politics altogether,” he told a press conference.

Gerakan state chief Dr Teng Hock Nan indicated that Lim would be welcomed back into the party but added that it was the party central working committee’s prerogative to decide on this.

“Gerakan is always open to any Malaysian,” said Teng.

Lim had sent his resignation letter dated Dec 14 to PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. In the letter, he cited intense internal bickering and monopoly of power by certain factions and sidelining of others as among the main reasons for his resignation.

Lim also quit his position as state party legal and community service bureau chief as well.

“I joined PKR believing in its reform agenda. But now, I have lost confidence in PKR being able to fulfill its promises,” he said.

Lim also submitted his resignation letter dated today as a councillor representing PKR in MPPP to council president Patihiyah Ismail.

In the letter, he cited the Subterranean Penang International Convention and Exhibition Centre (sPICE) mega project as a clear abuse of power by the Pakatan Rakyat state administration helmed by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Lim was among the two councillors to openly object the project when debating the council Budget 2012 in October.

It is learnt that Lim had been reprimanded by a state PKR leader acting upon Guan Eng’s directive, over his objection against sPICE.

Lim, together with Lim Chien Aun, quit Gerakan just after the 1999 general election to join MCA.

He left MCA after the last general election to join PKR.

He won the Bukit Gelugor division chairman post against incumbent VS Raventharan in the PKR elections last year.

Greater confidence in Najib

Lim said he now had greater confidence in Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s leadership and Barisan Nasional.

“After being an active PKR member for nearly four years, I believe Najib remains as the only viable national leader capable to steer the nation to greater heights in years to come,” he said.

Lim also predicted a fatal crack to appear in Pakatan after the next general election due to different agendas propagated by its allies – PKR, DAP and PAS.

While PKR was harping on its reformist agenda, he said DAP was embarking on its Malaysian Malaysia struggle. But he warned that Pakatan’s biggest problem would be taming PAS’ Islamist agenda.

“The split won’t happen now. But it will be more obvious after the polls,” he said.

Contacted later, Bukit Gelugor division deputy chairman Roslan Rahman Shah expressed surprise over Lim’s resignation.

“Anyway Lim is a seasoned politician and knows what’s best for him. I wish him the best,” he said, adding that an emergency committee meeting would be held this week to discuss the matter.

Saddened by Lim’s exit, division committee member R Karnan said the party lost a capable political leader.

“His detractors may criticise him for hopping from MCA to PKR. But he was a good, honest and sincere party worker,” he added.

However, Pantai Jerejak assemblyman Sim Tze Tzim cricised Lim for constantly changing parties on his Facebook posting.

“Some people lobby hard to contest in the election. PKR refused… he sees no hope… then quits. How many times he quits a party and joins another?” he stated.

Party state vice-chairman and state assembly speaker Abdul Halim Hussain was more sympathetic, acknowledging Lim’s contributions to PKR.

“Lim has (made) his contributions to the party and local council during his term as councillor. Wish him all the best,” he told FMT in a text message

Adnan: I didn’t get a sen from Lynas project

encore83 — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:46:13 +0800

QUOTE

KUANTAN: Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob says he has never received a sen from Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd to enable the rare earth processing plant to be built at the Gebeng Industrial area here.

He said that the issue of the factory’s construction has been manipulated, with various wrong statements and lies made by certain parties, making people nervous and anxious, especially residents in Kuantan.

“In the name Allah and the Prophet, I did not receive a sen from Lynas,” he said when winding up the debate for the 2012 state budget at the State Legislative Assembly here today.

Adnan said that he, members of the state executive council and Umno members never received any contract or payment to enable the factory to be built in Gebeng.

He said that he made a detailed explanation over the issue in his winding-up speech to quell any misconception that he was quiet because he was afraid of the issue.

He said that friends of the opposition members in the state assembly were the ones who obtained various construction projects for the factory.

Holding a document, Adnan said construction projects totalling RM35 million, RM25 million and RM2.4 million respectively were given to those linked to the opposition members.

Adnan said he did not intend to expose the full details of the matter at this juncture, saying “It’s not nice to expose all, releasing bit by bit will be more interesting.”

As the session wound up, Adnan also replied to various innuendoes raised by certain parties on the construction of the factory.

He said that questions of health and safety were the government’s main priorities before the pre-operation licence was issued to Lynas Malaysia.

He said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as well as foreign experts, confirmed that construction of the factory was safe, but the issue was manipulated by certain parties who claimed that the project was detrimental to human health

- Bernama

Canadian citizen but voter in S’wak

encore83 — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:19:20 +0800

Chief Minister Taib Mahmud's daughter Jamilah holds a dual citizenship

QUOTE

KUCHING: Even as the opposition here has called for the 20,180 postal voters in Sarawak to be barred from voting here, a new revelation has surfaced – that of dual citizenship holders who are registered as voters.

The latest disclosure is that Chief Minister Taib Mahmud’s daughter Jamilah is a Canadian citizen but is registered as a voter in Sarawak.

Jamilah is also mired in controversy over her involvement in some 80 companies in Sarawak.

In Malaysia, it is an offence to hold two passports and be citizens in both countries. Jamilah holds both Malaysian and Canadian citizenship.

Jamilah, 51, has been living in Canada for the past 30 years. She is married to a Canadian businessman Sean Murray and is widely known to be her father’s nominee.

Her full name, Jamilah Hamidah Taib, and her identity card details appear in both the Satok state and Petra Jaya parliamentary constituency list.

Satok assemblyman is Abang Johari Tun Haji Openg, who is Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) deputy president and a close ally of Taib.

Petrajaya MP is Fadillah Yusof. He retained his seat in the 2008 general election, garnering 19,505 votes. He too is closely aligned to Taib.

The disclosure of Jamilah’s dual citizenship came about inadvertently when her husband Murray issued a statement explaining why he and his wife did not want to be interviewed on a Canadian prime time programme “16×9”.

The programme spoke of the deforestation in Sarawak and the Taib’s family’s investment in Ottawa.

More questions

An excerpt of the statement, which was aired on the programme, reads: “My wife and I are private Canadian citizens. She has lived here for more than 30 years and we have no interest in being interviewed in the press about ourselves, our business, our relatives or about Malaysian politics…. ”

The verbal slip has thrown into light interesting questions.

In Sarawak, there’s curiosity as to whether Taib himself is a dual citizenship holder.

Taib’s wealth extends to eight countries, according to the Swiss-based Bruno Manser Fund (BMF).

BMF released the names of 49 companies in eight countries which were linked to Taib. At least four countries have relented to BMF pressure and are investigating the source of these companies’ wealth.

BMF claims that the origin of Taib’s wealth in these countries was from the deforestation and displacement of the indigenous communities in Sarawak.

Just in Sarawak itself, Taib and his family sit in some 330 companies in Sarawak, acting as directors in many of them.

It is a known fact that a number of corporate leaders in Malaysia hold dual citizenship. But it would be interesting to know how many of our current political leaders or their families hold dual citizenships. Are they all registered as voters here?

Also, is it right for candidates with “conditional” loyalty to the King and country to decide for the genuine Malaysians? Is it right for such leaders to helm and steer Malaysia?

And does Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s vetting process for “winnable” and Pakatan Rakyat’s “principled” candidates include screening them for citizenship, loyalty and patriotism?

‘No room for negotiation if caught’

In 2008, then home ministry parliamentary secretary Abdul Rahman Ibrahim said that Malaysians found holding dual citizenship would have their Malaysian citizenship revoked automatically.

He said the government had revoked the citizenship of 5,310 Malaysians who held dual citizenship.

He said the government detects dual citizenship from reports from Malaysian embassies and consulates overseas, the Immigration Department, police and also the National Registration Department.

“Once we detect Malaysians with dual citizenship or two passports, their Malaysian citizenship is automatically revoked. There is no room to negotiate or choose,” he said

Guan Eng gives submarine the thumbs-up

encore83 — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:36:22 +0800

QUOTE

LANGKAWI: After experiencing the dive with KD Tun Razak submarine for one-and-a-half hours, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng acknowledged the capability of the national submarine which was a subject of criticism by several opposition leaders for purportedyly not being able to dive.

Lim also described his first submarine experience today as interesting and exciting and was full of praise for the professionalism of the officers and men of the Royal Malaysian Navy (TLDM).

“We dived down 30 metres… there’s no doubt about it,” he told reporters after returning from the submarine cruise by helicopter at Langkawi International Airport here today.

He said he was impressed with the professionalism of the commanding officer and the sailors.

“If you go into the submarine… it’s very enclosed space. For 32 officers and crew to be able to function and operate in an enclosed space for a long period of time is an exceptional and impressive achievement. I’m proud of our boys,” he said.

He said he appreciated the contributions of national heroes who served the nation and were willing to sacrifice for the nation and their professionalism was unquestionable.

However, he had a very different view on the cost of the submarine.

“We need to have submarines. But there’s one thing that we have our views, it’s about cost,” he said.

Lim said he was invited by Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to take a dive with the submarine and accepted the offer as he wanted to see the condition of the submarine himself.

Accompanying Lim in the submarine dive were both Penang Deputy Chief Ministers Mansor Othman and P Ramasamy. Also joining the submarine cruise were three media representatives from Bernama and TV3.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid who received Lim at the airport said the KD Tun Razak submarine had to travel for 45 nautical miles since 10am before it reached deeper water to dive.

He hoped Lim would relate the actual experience today so that the issue of defence was not politicised.

-Bernama

Taib’s ‘clever’ daughter sits on 80 companies

encore83 — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:32:13 +0800

QUOTE

Taib Mahmud and his family own shares and directorship in 330 companies in Sarawak

Last week, the Bruno Manser Fund (BMF) published some truly astonishing research.

The fund, which works to defend Sarawak’s rainforest and its peoples from devastation and criminal exploitation, has been examining the company ownership of the family of the Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.

Earlier this year, Taib went on record claiming that his hugely wealthy family does not do business in Sarawak because he wants to avoid accusations of corruption and conflict of interest.

Acknowledging the huge wealth of his children and his siblings, he came up with the explanation that each and every one of them is exceptionally clever and that they had gone “outside the country” to earn their money, so he could avoid “being hounded” over “using my influence to enrich myself”.

The BMF research, which is based on official company records in Malaysia and abroad, demonstrates that these claims of the chief minister are simply untrue.

In fact, they amount to the most enormous lie. The chief minister and his family, it turns out, have stakes in over 330 companies in Sarawak, acting as directors in many of them.

These stakes are worth huge amounts of money. The share value of the Taib family alone in just 14 of these Sarawak-based companies amounts to RM4.6 billion.

This sum is clearly just a fraction of the families overall wealth, since it does not include the vast property assets abroad, the rest of the Malaysian assets and their 80 or so other companies worldwide.

‘Passive ownership’

Even as this information was released in Malaysia, the Taibs were facing separate questions in Canada.

Canada’s Global TV’s 16 X 9 programme produced a major exposé last weekend on Taib’s daughter Jamilah Taib Murray’s businesses in Ottawa and questioned whether they had benefited from the money made out of Sarawak.

Jamilah and her husband Sean (who acts as manager for numerous Taib family businesses) brought in lawyers to claim this was not so.

They did admit that Jamilah’s businesses (including the property company Sakto) were started with money given by Taib.

They also acknowledged that Taib’s brother Onn was an original director in the company alongside Jamilah and Abu Bekir, when they were mere students.

However, Jamilah intriguingly claimed that her business in Canada does not invest in any of the wealth she makes back in Sarawak.

In fact, she explained that her role in Sarawak is merely that of a “passive investor”.

‘Passive investor’

What are we to make of this extraordinary statement, that contradicts her own father’s description of the situation?

Taib painted a picture of his clever children who had actively made themselves rich through their “entrepreneurship”.

He even promoted a recorded interview with himself, entitled “Jamilah is rich because she is good”

So what does her lawyer mean by passive investor?

Her father said that she is a thrusting and active businesswoman.

But, could the truth be that Jamilah is just the investor in name and that she is holding those shares as a proxy for her father?

What is certain is that we are talking about a very serious investment indeed. The BMF research showed that Jamilah alone has stakes in well over 80 companies based in Sarawak. She is a director of many of them.

Indeed, along with her sister Hanifah (who equally owns a mass of companies and shares), Jamilah owns the largest stake in Sarawak’s biggest company CMS.

Given that CMS and all of Jamilah’s companies have benefited overwhelmingly from the contracts and permits from Taib, could Jamilah’s “passive ownership” in fact mean that she is merely a name on a piece of paper to disguise her father’s “exploitation of his influence to enrich himself”?

Exploiting Sarawak

Jamilah’s lawyers further claimed that her husband Sean (Hisham) has no interests at all in Sarawak.

We ask, therefore, why is Murray constantly trying to pick up business there from the state government?

For example, a recent investigation in Sarawak Report showed that Murray is a director of the company Premier Cottage (alongside Jamilah’s sister Hanifah), which was recently awarded a pivotal status in Taib’s pet Kuching Isthmus project. This would appear to be a pretty active role.

The shareholder of Premier Cottage is a mysterious foreign outfit called Pioneer City Enterprises.

Why are we not being told who is the beneficial owner of Pioneer City Enterprises, which Murray is so clearly linked to?

And if he is so anxious to keep out of Sarawak, how is it that Murray’s companies are behind the much-touted yet-to-be-built Kuching Tower project?

It turned out that the whole project management of that enterprise has been handed to Sakto-related companies working out of Murray’s Ottawa offices.

So, if the role of Jamilah and Murray is so passive in Sarawak, then who is the real mover and shaker in these major construction enterprises?

More questions than answers

Indeed, every time Taib and his family attempt to answer the glaring questions about the source of their wealth and the nature of their businesses in Sarawak, they raise even more questions in everyone’s minds.

And there is really only one convincing answer that makes perfect sense, which is that Taib is indeed corruptly exploiting his influence to do business and enrich himself in Sarawak – and that he is using his family in a clumsy way to conceal it!

Meanwhile, nothing could have illustrated better how little the people are getting from this form of government than a recent attempt to promote Taib by the Borneo Post.

After 30 years of the chief minister’s so-called “progress and development”, a period in which he has destroyed the forest and planted a million hectares of oil palm, Barisan Nasional’s latest big gesture to the Sarawak’s rural poor is plastic rain-water tubs!

In return for their priceless wood and their land, is this really all they get as a pre-election offering?

Taib’s “passive investment” in his people is the really shocking story here and he deserves no dividends at the coming polls.

Clare Rewcastle Brown is the founder-editor of SarawakReport and an FMT columnist

why people like to withdrawn money

encore83 — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 16:26:37 +0800

im on rushing, when i reach at atm there a one person in front me, i tot he will be fast enough, but he keep repeating withdrawn money 3 times at the times! gooshh why not just withdraw money for once?? this not the 1st time im clash with this situation issit becoming a trend now day???

Smartphone fag pls come in

encore83 — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 09:03:25 +0800

If i use prepaid services does smartphone will suck up ur credit frequently even i dont use it?

wreckage of Chinook helicopter shot down last week

encore83 — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 16:16:34 +0800

QUOTE

Burnt first aid instructions are seen near the wreckage of Chinook helicopter shot down last week at Tangi Valley in Wardak province some 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011. The Chinook helicopter that insurgents shot down over the weekend burst into flames before hitting the ground, leaving wreckage scattered on both sides of a river in eastern Afghanistan and killing 30 Americans and eight Afghans, witnesses told The Associated Press on Thursday. The crash of the Chinook CH-47, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Kabul, was the deadliest single loss for U.S. forces in the nearly 10-year Afghan war.

QUOTE

A part of a gun stamped "Made in Germany" is seen among the wreckage of Chinook helicopter shot down last week at Tangi Valley in Wardak province some 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011.

How to know kamikaze tered? i dont want donate

encore83 — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 08:38:50 +0800

haizz, i want to be carefull after this, kamikaze/trolling tered just like landmine sometimes, we can accidently post in such tered. i need waiting for others /K to reply then i'll be the next.

funny pics

encore83 — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 16:10:32 +0800