黄黄培根：无暇顾及人民利益 内斗无法为民服务
新闻 - 中砂
作者：iudneditor
周二, 25 11月 2008 18:23
（本报诗巫25日讯）国阵成员党的党内斗争，使国阵部长与代议士无暇顾及人民的利益，然而一个国家的政府操作，不应因为政党内部的斗争而遭瓦解。
砂行动党宣传秘书黄培根今日在该党每周新闻发布会上，对本地传媒如是声称。
他强调，马来西亚国阵政府目前处於近乎真空状态，完全未顾及人民的实际利益。
“当世界原油价格从140余美元大幅下跌，至现今的不及50美元，国阵政府根本无法给人民一个好的解释，为何我国目前的燃油价格甚至远较非产油国，如台湾等为高？”
黄培根感慨地说，我国政府仍以10仙或15仙的幅度在慢慢地调降燃油价格，为何并非一如今年6月初般，单次调涨幅度近1令吉？
“更令人遗憾的是，燃油价格虽逐步调降，然而国内食品与百货价格仍维持原有水平，而未获得适度下调，这充份显示，国阵政府并未顾及广大人民的利益。”
他指出，上月国家银行宣布我国通膨率介於7.6％，然而人民在选购消费品与生活必需品之际，却再再感受了通膨率不仅7.6％，而是高达了20％左右，这亦致使人民生活负担日益沉重。
“如今国阵成员党在党内斗争耗时耗力，尤其全国最大华基政党与土著政党皆然，这种情况在砂州亦不断上演。”
他表示，人民希望看到的是政治领袖为民解困，而非持续的党内斗争，而行动党亦呼吁人联党无论如何进行党内斗争，无论是谁担任党主席，最终应将人民权益放在第一位。
“我们认为，倘若人联党真能确定争取党内职位，即可纾缓人民的问题，那么我们希望人联党能告诉我们，并做出宣布，选出哪位领袖得以解决人民目前的困境？”
同时，黄培根重申，内斗并不能为人民提供服务，而人民不欲看到这样的党内斗争，而是看清时局并解决人民现在所面对的种种难题。
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Bank Negara is too slow and doing too little!
Bank Negara has announced that it will reduce its overnight interest rate by 0.25% with effect from 1st December. The current rate is 3.5% and the reduced rate would be 3.25%!How can the economy waits for the BNM to wake up?
The world economy is changing by the minute if not by the second and yet the Malaysian central bank makes an announcement to reduce the over night rates effective a full week after the decision has been made to reduce it!!
The FED in the US fixed the key rate at 1% in order to minimise the effect of the recession and to let the home owners and business a breathing space. Most economist would agree what the FED did was correct under the circumstance. Malaysia would not be able to be isolated itself from the world crisis and as far as we know, there are a lot of Sarawak companies asking employees to take a month leave until further notice. Some in the export-based companies are asking the employees to take a pay-cut to deal with the problems.
2009 will see much difficulties for the businesses as well as those in the employment sector. Many would face lay-off and salary reduction and many more would file for bankruptcy. And many have term loans or housing loan and business loan with the bank. Like the saying goes "the bank only offer the umbrella during the good time..", i guess that is very true. I was a banker once and i know how the banks operate during the bad time, they simply take away the umbrella from the small businesses and the consumers while trying to protect the giant corporations because of their high exposure.
We do not have the safety nets for the unemployed while the advance countries offer social welfare programs to their citizen. How are the average going to cope with high interest rates during the time of recession? The government is not offering much hope except to say that Malaysia would be able to handle the economy crisis because of our high Foreign Reserve, that is bull to the ordinary people on the street. It seems that the BN government is lost as what direction to take as it fumbles on many issues and notably among them is the ECONOMY!
This morning in my weekly press conference, i lash out at the BN for their failure to address the problems of the people while spending all their resources and energy on party's in-fighting. UMNO, MCA, SUPP and PKR are all having leadership struggles. I asked them to prove me wrong and i challenge them to tell the people what we have to gain from their internal strife. Instead of govern, the BN is wandering in the bush.
The world economy is changing by the minute if not by the second and yet the Malaysian central bank makes an announcement to reduce the over night rates effective a full week after the decision has been made to reduce it!!
The FED in the US fixed the key rate at 1% in order to minimise the effect of the recession and to let the home owners and business a breathing space. Most economist would agree what the FED did was correct under the circumstance. Malaysia would not be able to be isolated itself from the world crisis and as far as we know, there are a lot of Sarawak companies asking employees to take a month leave until further notice. Some in the export-based companies are asking the employees to take a pay-cut to deal with the problems.
2009 will see much difficulties for the businesses as well as those in the employment sector. Many would face lay-off and salary reduction and many more would file for bankruptcy. And many have term loans or housing loan and business loan with the bank. Like the saying goes "the bank only offer the umbrella during the good time..", i guess that is very true. I was a banker once and i know how the banks operate during the bad time, they simply take away the umbrella from the small businesses and the consumers while trying to protect the giant corporations because of their high exposure.
We do not have the safety nets for the unemployed while the advance countries offer social welfare programs to their citizen. How are the average going to cope with high interest rates during the time of recession? The government is not offering much hope except to say that Malaysia would be able to handle the economy crisis because of our high Foreign Reserve, that is bull to the ordinary people on the street. It seems that the BN government is lost as what direction to take as it fumbles on many issues and notably among them is the ECONOMY!
This morning in my weekly press conference, i lash out at the BN for their failure to address the problems of the people while spending all their resources and energy on party's in-fighting. UMNO, MCA, SUPP and PKR are all having leadership struggles. I asked them to prove me wrong and i challenge them to tell the people what we have to gain from their internal strife. Instead of govern, the BN is wandering in the bush.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
A mother's sorrow
I received a call from someone i know requesting to meet in person so as to listen to her grievances. As always, whenever the other party is a woman i made it a point and actually a rule that i shall not entertain her without the presence of another, just to be careful and avoid any untoward incident. That afternoon, my wife was with me when i met her in a Muslim cafe as i felt that we would not be overheard in our conversation for the sake of the woman who told me that it was a family type of problem that she wanted to talk.
We (with my wife) were there first at the cafe before she walked in with a small girl. As they sat down opposite us, i had a better look at both of them. The mother was in her 40s with a sad and heavy physical dispositions obviously from a hard and harsh life. Her hands tell of those who makes a living off the farm or labor-intensive work. The small girl looks the age of 7-8 most with a slim and frail skeleton but innocent-looking big eyes.
I asked them to order a drink just to ease their uneasiness as it must be so when one has to tell of her family problem to an outsider. The woman then thanked us for being there to listen which we politely brushed aside. She told us that the small girl is her youngest daughter and is helping her now because of the school holiday. She is running a mee stalk in one of the coffee shops in town and she doesn't employ anyone as the business is bad and she can't afford an assistant. To make ends meet she also help people to clear land for farming in th elate afternoon.
Then she told us of her real motive to meet, it was to seek the advise as what to do with her second daughter. "What should i do? Send her to the correction center or just treated her as non-existence?"she asked. She was crying then as she told us of the unfortunate family problem with a none committed husband who brought woman back to home and physically abused her and her financial problem in keeping with a daughter in local U and a young 8 years old. But to her sorrow, it was her second daughter who have left her who came back demanding RM65,000 to settle her debt to the loan shark!
"I don't have any money left as i have smashed my youngest daughter piggy bank to pay for my second daughter's debt" she wiped her tears away with her swollen hand as she told us of the heart wrenching story of how she paid some RM1700 plus to settle her daughter's debt. She continued " when i smashed my youngest daughter's piggy bank, i smashed out all the hope left of this family, my own hope and my youngest daughter's as well."
She told us that the 2ND daughter have not come back at all, not even for the Chinese New Year, for the past 3 years although she is in Sibu. The only time when she calls it was always about borrowing money from the mother. One time she called her mother to demand some money for lunch and the mother sent to her all she has left, RM30, and know what she told the mother "Is that all, RM30?" Not knowing to the young girl, her mother told us that on that day, she and her youngest daughter have not eaten themselves as the coffee shop that her stalk opens was closed for almost a week for reason which i didn't even bothered to listen.This time it was a RM65,000 debt that she wanted her mother to pay!
She further told us that because of her family problems lately, her head was so screw-up that on her way back one day, her motorbike was knocked down by a dog and she was hospitalised for a week. She said in her husky voice "what actually hurt was i survive! It would be better if i didn't."
Coming back to the question "what should I do?" I told her that she should just treat her as non-existence and just put her hope on the eldest daughter who should finish her study by next year and raising the youngest one. I told her not to pay a single sen to the loan shark and report to the police if she be harrased by them.
There wasn't any solution when it comes to family's problem. A dishonest husband who abandoned his family with a ungrateful daughter who keep on coming back for money from an uneducated and broke mother and a young 8 years old to raise, what a life that was!
Of course, my wife did offer her our token help which was out of context here to mention. But for us, me and my wife, maybe the encounter offered some sort of reminder that the family value is the key to educate our own children and we did tell our kids about the poor and sorrowful mother and her unfortunate fate.
P/s A mother's sorrow was chosen as the title because that was what hurt the poor woman most as she told us as we walked out of the cafe that she has treated her husband as "dead" already and she just hope that she can bring up her youngest daughter to adulthood before she breathes her last breath.
David Wong
November 2008
We (with my wife) were there first at the cafe before she walked in with a small girl. As they sat down opposite us, i had a better look at both of them. The mother was in her 40s with a sad and heavy physical dispositions obviously from a hard and harsh life. Her hands tell of those who makes a living off the farm or labor-intensive work. The small girl looks the age of 7-8 most with a slim and frail skeleton but innocent-looking big eyes.
I asked them to order a drink just to ease their uneasiness as it must be so when one has to tell of her family problem to an outsider. The woman then thanked us for being there to listen which we politely brushed aside. She told us that the small girl is her youngest daughter and is helping her now because of the school holiday. She is running a mee stalk in one of the coffee shops in town and she doesn't employ anyone as the business is bad and she can't afford an assistant. To make ends meet she also help people to clear land for farming in th elate afternoon.
Then she told us of her real motive to meet, it was to seek the advise as what to do with her second daughter. "What should i do? Send her to the correction center or just treated her as non-existence?"she asked. She was crying then as she told us of the unfortunate family problem with a none committed husband who brought woman back to home and physically abused her and her financial problem in keeping with a daughter in local U and a young 8 years old. But to her sorrow, it was her second daughter who have left her who came back demanding RM65,000 to settle her debt to the loan shark!
"I don't have any money left as i have smashed my youngest daughter piggy bank to pay for my second daughter's debt" she wiped her tears away with her swollen hand as she told us of the heart wrenching story of how she paid some RM1700 plus to settle her daughter's debt. She continued " when i smashed my youngest daughter's piggy bank, i smashed out all the hope left of this family, my own hope and my youngest daughter's as well."
She told us that the 2ND daughter have not come back at all, not even for the Chinese New Year, for the past 3 years although she is in Sibu. The only time when she calls it was always about borrowing money from the mother. One time she called her mother to demand some money for lunch and the mother sent to her all she has left, RM30, and know what she told the mother "Is that all, RM30?" Not knowing to the young girl, her mother told us that on that day, she and her youngest daughter have not eaten themselves as the coffee shop that her stalk opens was closed for almost a week for reason which i didn't even bothered to listen.This time it was a RM65,000 debt that she wanted her mother to pay!
She further told us that because of her family problems lately, her head was so screw-up that on her way back one day, her motorbike was knocked down by a dog and she was hospitalised for a week. She said in her husky voice "what actually hurt was i survive! It would be better if i didn't."
Coming back to the question "what should I do?" I told her that she should just treat her as non-existence and just put her hope on the eldest daughter who should finish her study by next year and raising the youngest one. I told her not to pay a single sen to the loan shark and report to the police if she be harrased by them.
There wasn't any solution when it comes to family's problem. A dishonest husband who abandoned his family with a ungrateful daughter who keep on coming back for money from an uneducated and broke mother and a young 8 years old to raise, what a life that was!
Of course, my wife did offer her our token help which was out of context here to mention. But for us, me and my wife, maybe the encounter offered some sort of reminder that the family value is the key to educate our own children and we did tell our kids about the poor and sorrowful mother and her unfortunate fate.
P/s A mother's sorrow was chosen as the title because that was what hurt the poor woman most as she told us as we walked out of the cafe that she has treated her husband as "dead" already and she just hope that she can bring up her youngest daughter to adulthood before she breathes her last breath.
David Wong
November 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Bank Negara urged to lower interest rates and BLR
By Barbara Hagenbaugh and Sue Kirchhoff, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — A deep rate cut from the Federal Reserve and other central banks Wednesday will have little immediate impact on consumer borrowing rates, but it sends a clear signal that central bankers are working together to quell an intensifying financial panic that threatens the world economy.
The Fed slashed its target for short-term rates a half-percentage point to 1.5%, the lowest in more than four years. Fed policymakers voted unanimously during an emergency meeting Tuesday night to approve the cut.
"The pace of economic activity has slowed markedly in recent months," the Fed said in a statement. "Moreover, the intensification of financial market turmoil is likely to exert additional restraint on spending, partly by further reducing the ability of households and businesses to obtain credit."
The Fed lowered its target for the federal funds rate, what banks charge each other for overnight loans. The rate is a benchmark used by lenders in setting rates for consumer and business loans.
The European Central Bank and central banks in Canada, England, Sweden and Switzerland also cut interest rates a half-percentage point. China's central bank also cut rates. It was the first such move by so many central banks in a single day.
Some economists said the Fed's move wasn't enough to rescue the USA from recession, but called it one in a series of drastic steps to prevent the downturn from becoming much more serious.
"The playbook to avoid depressions says rates need to be as close to zero as possible, banks have to be rescued, public spending has to rise," said Ian Shepherdson, economist at High Frequency Economics. "The U.S. is making progress on all fronts, though the economy is still condemned to immediate recession followed by a long period of slow growth."
In the short run, the Fed's action is expected to have only limited impact on borrowing costs, given that credit markets are constricted for even the worthiest of borrowers, no matter what the price.
Credit card rates are already hitting floors that are set in agreements with customers, and issuers are being cautious about who gets the benefit of the lower rates. Rates on home-equity lines of credit will fall, but many homeowners have had their credit lines frozen or reduced, so there won't be a big boost to consumer spending, Bankrate.com senior analyst Greg McBride says.
The move will likely not have an impact on fixed-rate mortgages and may not help those with adjustable-rate mortgages, depending how their rates are set, McBride says. Meanwhile, "Savers will be thrown further under the bus as their interest income declines," he says.
Fed policymakers prefer to cut rates at regular meetings, so the fact they didn't wait until their Oct. 28-29 meeting shows how serious they believe the situation is. UBS and Global Insight expect the Fed will lower rates to 1% by the end of the year.
Monday, November 17, 2008
RM 100 per signature?
There are rumor in town that certain activists are giving our cold cash of RM 100 to each applicant who joins a certain political party as instructed by them. The news was that the persons behind are actually some corporate figures who are trying to buy some "political insurance" in the wake of the political uncertainty in the country. I was not a bit surprise by the rumor as this is the norm rather than the exception in Malaysia. Many corporate figures are involved in politicking so as to protect their own interests as in a less than democratic society of ours, politics and business go hand in hand together. Many would say that is Asia, just look at Taiwan, the ex-president Chen is now in the lock up as the prosecutors dig out more evidents of corrupt practises, mis-appropriation of public funds and out-right abuses by Chen's families and cronies.
Certain leaders use the tactic of using the number game when they apply to join a new political party to show how much support and influence they have and how many followers they have.They came with a motive, a political motive that was not to serve but to lobby for a certain position or promises that are self-serving. They would deliver speeches, some less than compassionate, to the "recruited" members and the press, of course. Some well known politicians would be invited to grace the occasion and the highlight would of course be the handling over of the appication forms in the tens of thousand. In actual fact, these "recruited" members are paid to sign on the dotted line and were invited to dinner with pocket money to spend of course.
Looking at the UMNO assemblies in the run off to their general assembly in march 2009, the meetings are marred by physical violence's,money politics backstabbing and what not. The problem is Umno being the backbone of the Barisan Nasional, the ruling coalition in Malaysia since the birth of Malaysia, the party's position is key to the government's position. Whoever elected as the President of Umno is automatically the PM of the country and the second man is also the deputy PM and so on. Thus, the jostling for position is not only normal, it is the survival game for many politicians and their cronies.
So coming back to the RM 100 per signature, how many are not willing to sign in exchange for the cold cash? They are playing along the political line just like the politicians and their cronies are, the only difference may be it is a token amount compared with the big guys in the big party. But in the end, everyone is content that they get what they want (or do they) and who cares what happen tomorrow, maybe and just maybe, there is another show that the poor guys would be invited to the dinner with some pocket money to spare, actually the more the merrier!
Happy dinner and happy "recruitment"!
Certain leaders use the tactic of using the number game when they apply to join a new political party to show how much support and influence they have and how many followers they have.They came with a motive, a political motive that was not to serve but to lobby for a certain position or promises that are self-serving. They would deliver speeches, some less than compassionate, to the "recruited" members and the press, of course. Some well known politicians would be invited to grace the occasion and the highlight would of course be the handling over of the appication forms in the tens of thousand. In actual fact, these "recruited" members are paid to sign on the dotted line and were invited to dinner with pocket money to spend of course.
Looking at the UMNO assemblies in the run off to their general assembly in march 2009, the meetings are marred by physical violence's,money politics backstabbing and what not. The problem is Umno being the backbone of the Barisan Nasional, the ruling coalition in Malaysia since the birth of Malaysia, the party's position is key to the government's position. Whoever elected as the President of Umno is automatically the PM of the country and the second man is also the deputy PM and so on. Thus, the jostling for position is not only normal, it is the survival game for many politicians and their cronies.
So coming back to the RM 100 per signature, how many are not willing to sign in exchange for the cold cash? They are playing along the political line just like the politicians and their cronies are, the only difference may be it is a token amount compared with the big guys in the big party. But in the end, everyone is content that they get what they want (or do they) and who cares what happen tomorrow, maybe and just maybe, there is another show that the poor guys would be invited to the dinner with some pocket money to spare, actually the more the merrier!
Happy dinner and happy "recruitment"!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Press statement about the august house
In the PC held yesterday (news in Mandarin,photo left), I called on the elected representatives not to treat the DUN as a circus to promote their political shows.
I also expressed the needs for the DUN's number of sitting to be increased from the current 16 days (the record was 21 days only) to at least 60 days in view of the problems faced by the state of Sarawak. I openly denounced the government for not having more sitting so that all the matters about the state development can be fully debated and the obsolete laws be amended, and i specifically mentioned the Sarawak Land Code,the high inflation rates in the state, floods problems in Sarawak .
Nobody can deny the fact that the state of Sarawak is at least 20 years behind those in the peninsular Malaysia, Ironically, isn't that equivalent to the number of years our current CM is heading the state BN government? Shouldn't the CM be blamed for the lack of development in Sarawak then? Yet i can not see what the CM is currently undertaking to turn around the situation!
This morning I received a SMS , "Ur press statement 2day seems very sour 2 d opposition members too!" I replied the sender with the following:
1)Politics should be used to advance the interests of the people,
2)The Dewan is not a circus and the Speaker should not be the circus master who dictates what "show" to put on, and it is certainly not a platform for child play either,
3)My advise transcends political boundaries as the call is for all the members to do the same so as to solve the problems encountered by the people and the state which is lacking since the BN governs the state.
4) Only those who fails the people need to be disturbed by my statement just like only someone who has anything to hide needs to be bothered by a simple English word camouflage as put forward in the Dewan by Wong Ho Leng (Bukit Assek-DAP).
In the PC yesterday,I also commented that we need a first-class Dewan in its members and not in its grand building (the new DUN building costs us nearly RM300 million) or infrastructure and it is regretful that is what i see (a third-class) in the performance of the DUN now. I elaborated that when the elected representatives care less about the problem of the people than their own stupid ego and pride, no one can say we have a first-class DUN.
David Wong
DAP Sarawak publicity sec.,
12-11-2008
12-11-2008
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