The Enigm@ Chronicles

The recent economic woes that has gripped the whole world recently has been a subject I have followed quite diligently. And when I find some time to do a writeup on my thoughts on the matter I will.

However for now I want to highlight a fact that I just learnt about today. A scarry one at that!

The story goes something like this:

There is a ‘clock’ in New York that’s called The National Debt Clock. It’s purpose is to track and display the current standing of the US national dept. 

The problem: The clock only has tracking capability to the value of 10 trillion.

Why is that a problem: The US national Debt just crossed the 10 trillion mark and now stands at the grand sum of USD 10.2 trillion!

Yup… the shit has most definately hit the fan!

The Enigm@ Chronicles has historically seen bouts of inactivity as the sole blogger, i.e. myself, has occasionally found that blogging on certain matters (hint* hint* … politics) can be a dranning experience.

However fret not as the said blogger has always return to TEC and picked up where he left of. Meaning which, as you read this post and have not yet realized it, I’m BACK….

To those friends that have continually check back here for recent updates and in finding none have buggerd me every which way to get back posting - thank you for you care & concern. Keep checking back and hopefully you can look forward to some new areas that I would like to explore with TEC.

In the ongoing issue of police communication equipment project, statements made today have highlighted the discrepancies and contradictions that are abound among the people who are in the know.

The following is what Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar had to say:

The tendering process was done “according to due process, above board” and had complied with the required regulations.

“All the companies and their personnel involved were vetted by the police and there were no Israelis involved”

Then we have Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan saying:

The police were aware of the involvement of the Israelis in their communications systems upgrading project

“We informed the Home Ministry as soon as we learnt about it.”

By now you would probably be wondering who is right and who is wrong.
One might also wonder if this is a classic case of dumb and dumber?

Then again with our Malaysian government this is hardly surprising, no!

FYI, any interested party who happens to be looking for a notebook cooling pad and a free 4GB thumbdrive thrown in to boot or possibly a new MP3 player and a 1GB memory card - well look no further than the upcoming PC Fair on this 1st to 3rd August (Friday - Saturday).

As per norm, local IT Magazine HWM and it’s sister magazine GameAxis are giving away this cool gifts and others for the first 100 subscribers on each day. (See posters below)

That’s right.

The subscription promotion is only valid for the FIRST 100 subscribers! You snooze, you lose!

Additionally the first 20 subscribers per day for HWM will also be getting their lucky paws onto a copy of Kingsoft Office 2007.

Moreover the first 30 subscribers per day for GameAxis will receive a limited edition of the Cabal Online boxset! Woot!

Judging from my past experiences, anyone keen on getting their hands on the promotional items best make sure they are there bright and early each morning as the queue to the 100th spot can literarily be snapped up in the opening 30 minutes of the fair!

Good luck!

PC Fair 2008 HWM Promotion

PC Fair 2008 GameAxis Promo

The question of energy has taken a forefront in local news this week, in light of the various announcements and also due to exposing of hidden secrets that would see the state of Serawak building up to 12 more dam’s in the coming future.

Bad as that may sound , I for one am equally if not more concerned with the statement made by the Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Shaziman Abd Aziz Shaziman Abu Mansor following on the heels of the announcement from the Malaysia Nuclear Agency.

To sum it all up here’s what was said:

Dr Muhd Noor, Deputy Director of Malaysian Nuclear Energy:

With prices of fuel escalating drastically, there have been calls for Malaysia to consider nuclear energy as it is cheaper in the long run.

Typically, it takes 15 to 20 years for a nuclear power plant to be completed.

We cannot rush into nuclear energy as there are a lot of construction management issues. There is a lot of effort and know-how that need to be translated into a real plant.

The longer Malaysia waited, the costlier it would become to implement it. Currently, the estimated construction cost of a 1,000MW nuclear power plant could vary from US$1.5bil to US$3bil (RM4.8bil-RM9.6bil).

He, however, admitted that setting up a nuclear power plant had its challenges such as high capital expenditure, long project implementation and liability and a long payback period

Datuk Shaziman Abd Aziz:

The country shouldn’t reject the possibility of using nuclear energy in the future.

The implementation of nuclear fuel facilities takes time by at least 12 to 15 years. Acts and regulations have to be tabled.

My Corncens

Being a simple layman myself, here’s what I find perplexing.

1. Malaysia energy provider TNB already is purchasing a 40% surplus of energy from the Independant Power Providers (IPP) and have agreements in place for continued purchase for a period up to 30 years.
2. The state of Serawak is on the path of plundering the vast natural reserves of it’s forest in a deluded attempt to build up to 12 hydroelectric dams.
3. Nuclear energy is a long term investment that on the face value only, could cost the country anywhere from RM 4.8 billion up to RM 9.6 billion. I cannot stress the importance of the term face value - as we are well aware that initial estimates such as this always end up being bloated to double or triple of the original cost.
4. Malaysia being Malaysia, we should be marginally aware of the classical case of our 3rd world mentality that always see major screw ups on most projects undertaken. When it comes to nuclear energy, any type of screw up is definitely going to be costly!
5. Most importantly, I must ask the powers that be what about using ‘green’ power i.e. sun and wind power as potential renewable energy sources. Being situated on the equator Malaysia is prime position to embark on solar energy initiate and in addition to that we have long coastlines that make wind turbine energy generation is distinct possibility.

As the famous saying goes, a picture can speak a thousand words, so I leave you with the following images.

Will this …

Nuclear Power Plant in Malaysia?

equate to this ….

Can anyone say Chernobyl?

or will the government of the day wise up and go for …

Solar(photovoltaic) panels provide clean and free energy

and also for …

Wind turbines for Malaysian coastlines

For your reading:

1. 20 years for a nuke plant - The Star
2. Don’t reject possibility of using nuclear energy: Shaziman - The Star

The 12 dams on paper if the Serawak government has its way

The ever contoversial state government of Serawak is once more in the news. This time the storey has broke concerning a previously secret state energy masterplan that would see the eventuality of 12 dams being built in the state.

The story was caught on by environmentalist when they came across presentation slides, of which the above picture is part of, placed online at a Chinese website. The presentation by the Serawak state government energy arm, Serawak Energy Berhad, details plans for the eventual building of 12 hydroelectric dams beginning from 2008 until 2020.

Already the controversial Bakun hydroelectric dam project that is well underway has seen the flooding of forest areas ammounting to the size of Singapore. The environment impact from this project has seen the destruction of acres and acres of natural forests, the displacement of native tribes, and the loss of uncountable flora and fauna as their habitats were destroyed.

And not being content with that, it would now seem that the state government is eying to further build 12 more dams. Their justification is that the energy generated will be used for local consumption - in light of budding industrial economies in the state - while the surplus energy will be sold to the peninsular states. And if things go as they want it to, by 2020 Serawak will see the energy generation quota of 600% from what is required today.

The flaw in the case is that that the Bakun dam is already earmarked for energy generation for the state whilst the majority of energy generated will be for the peninsular states. This also does not cater to the fact that as of currently Malaysia energy provider TNB is already sitting on an energy surplus of 40% of the requirement and paying handsome for the mentioned surplus.

So one begs to ask, why the need for more power via more dams with the trade off that vast tracts of century old rainforest will be destroyed?

This then leads one to question who exactly will benefit from such a massive scale project as the building of the 12 dams?

I am quite sure that it’s not for the country, the economy nor the people that this project is catering to. Certainly it will be the personages and cronies of the current state government that will see huge sums of cash inflow - all at the expense of mother nature and the Malaysian taxpayers.

Once the stone is cast, there can be no going back! Don’t let this …

Natural Rainforest

end up becoming this …

The effect of Bakun Dam on nature

In the newest and latest umbrage to local carmaker Proton and not to mention the tax paying citizens of Terengganu, the state government has forgone their support for the Proton Perdana V6’s and instead has selected to purchase 14 Mercedes’s E200 Kompressor from the foreign car manufacturer for the use of their state exco’s.

The MB of Terengganu - in a knee-jerk attempt to explain the decision - has indirectly stated the reasons for the switch being that there are various issues that have plagued Proton cars especially in the area of the maintenance costs.

He also has the nerve to cite better resale value for the Mercedes as a plus point for the Mercedes purchase. This of course is pretty much bullshit as we Malaysian all know that the state official cars are mostly sold off for peanuts to these politicians who basically end up taking us all for the ride!

Now I am not even going to ask the question why would the exco’s of Terengganu require such expensive cars the likes of Mercedes when in reality the current standing of the state of Terrengganu is as the 2nd poorest state in the country.

Instead I would like to pose this scenario to the people of Terengganu:
Imagine being a low income citizen struggling to survive in these harsh times, who has the misfortune to see their duly appointed politician making their rounds among the citizens in their luxury Mercedes!
Turun Ke Padang has never been so stylish as it will be in Terrengganu.

Furthermore this issues has highligted another glaring sign of the lack of power of our current PM and his DPM holds. Instead of directly telling off their subbordinates in Terrengganu to stick to Proton as would have been the case previously, Najib has instead announced that the ‘cabinet’ will meet and discuss the issue. I mean with things like an ailing economy of their books one would think that the cabinet has better matters to talk about.

Visit to the bakery perhaps?

A-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y   F-r-e-a-k-i-n-g   F-u-n-n-y   !!!!

Only in Malaysia can you find biased scholarships!

Only in Malaysia can you find race-based policies that determine scholarship allocations!

Only in Malaysia is the needy yet deserving students marginalizes when it comes to scholarship allocations!

We call this Malaysia Boleh! And mind you that’s nothing to be proud about. Every year it’s the same thing all over again. Straight A’s students who for no good reason are deprived of the opportunity to further their studies - all because biased policies that are the norm ensure that these deserving students are not allocated scholarships.

The PSD claim of ensure all straight A’s students receive scholarships is a farce of magnanimous proportions. Once more, as has happened for years on end, top scorers are still denied scholarships. Instead the large portion of scholarships end up going to lesser performing students who might or might not be deserving the funds. Worse still is that there are cases of the rich and well provided for who somehow still manage to get scholarships. In a system that rewards the mediocre and forgets the top performers, the Malaysian education and scholarship machinery can only be surmised to be biased and lacking in foresight.

Policies that practice racial biasness in the allocation of scholarships will only engender further racial discord. In their agenda to raise one race above the others, these shortsighted policies of the government is greatly ignoring the fact that the boycotted top performers of today are the building blocks of this county’s future. When you ignore your future’s prospects, you are only undermining your own self.

Chances are the top performers will have to look to other avenues to find a means to further their education. This usually results in their taking up of foreign scholarship offers. For years it has been a known fact that Singapore has displayed more foresight in luring those top performers that are blatantly ignored here in Malaysia over to their country. And the chance is high that those who except the offer will often choose not to come back to their homeland.

After all were you in their shoes, can you honestly say that you want to come back and serve Malaysia - the very country that couldn’t be bothered to provide for you? Let us not kid ourselves here. The answer is most definitely a resounding NO!

As for myself, a person who has already completed his studies I am already past this stage of mockery in our education system. All that is left for me to decide is in due course when I do decide to have kids - will I want to put my children through the same process that is highly likely to continue it’s biased ways and practices? I most probably would be seriously looking at other avenues which might result in my having to migrate away from Malaysia. I don’t want to but circumstances dictate otherwise.

Royal professor Dr Ungku Abdul Aziz first made the claim that the fabled Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy) was never a physical contract and was ‘coined‘ by politician to further their agenda.

He was quote saying the following at a forum in Shah Alam recently:

“There is no such thing as social contract. It was a fantasy created by politicians of all sorts of colours depending on their interest”. (refer to this article from The Star for full details)

Rightly so when a learned academician with the stature of Dr Ungku Abdul Aziz makes such a statement, there has to be some degree of truth to it. More so in light that his claim has open the proverbial can of worm on how the Ketuanan Melayu agenda has always been a political agenda from day 1 right up to this very day.

Therefore it is unsurprising to learn that a follow up report, here,  by independent news portal Malaysiakini that took the very questions on the substantiality of Dr. Ungku Abdul Aziz statement to recognised expert and academician for their own opinion, lo and behold they all agree that ‘Ketuanan Melayu‘  or the social contract of fable is just that - a political spin to further political agenda!

The detailed elaboration of the prominent academician have been quoted, word by word, in a short summary below. For the full report please head on to Malaysiakini to read it yourselves. These are their views:

Professor Shamsul Amri Baharudin, UKM’s Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA) director

The translation of ketuanan Melayu is wrong. It is not Malay supremacy, it is Malay sovereignty. Ketuanan is a very colonial term. Abdullah Ahmad had very little knowledge as to what it means when he first raised it in 1986. Sovereignty is not a foreign concept as it is prevalent in other countries such as Belgium and England with monarchs. The idea that Malays are the boss and the rest is not, is a misconception.

Professor James Chin, Head of Arts, Monash University

The documents deposited in ISEAS (Institute of Southeast Asian Studies) library by MCA elites states clearly that the Malays will get special help in things like the civil service and scholarships but there will be a time when these will stop.

This cannot be confused with the constitutional rights that was agreed to in Article 150 to 153 because it has no details. The constitution does not spell out the operations of the special rights like the New Economic Policy (NEP) on quotas and equity ownership. All it says is that Malay will have special privileges.

Dr Mavis Puthuceary, Associate Research Fellow at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)’s Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS)

Political parties are using the social contract out of this context and it has no meaning in Malaysia. So that’s why we need a discourse and debate on this. We need to work out a national consensus in figuring out what and where do we go from here and now. We can all agree that something more than a bargain was made when the state was formed but I won’t call it a social contract.

Dr Azmi Sharom, Associate Professor, Law Faculty, University Malaya

However, to a certain extent it is true - the special privileges involves safeguarding the Malay language, the Sultanate and Islam on the surface appears to be going against the grain of equality. The non-Malay Malaysians were happy to accept this then. But the idea of give and take does not extend to the concept of Malay supremacy created by political parties, namely Umno.

The original constitution has elements of compromise but that compromise is from the layman’s perspective, the document does not suggest Malay supremacy or mastery. Ketuanan Melayu is a fallacy. I just don’t see the justification for this. The so-called social contract is relevant only to racists and people who want Malaysians to continue to be divided along racial lines.

Dr Johan Saravanamuttu, visiting researcher at ISEAS, Singapore

On ketuanan Melayu, there si no such thing as ketuanan Melayu. It is a concoction by political entrepreneurs by Umno on promoting Malay supremacy. The constitution does not say anything about Malay supremacy but only on the special privileges such as land and language afforded to them. It is the jaundiced Malay politicians who use it too embed themselves in position or create and perpetuate power for themselves.

Dr Chandra Muzaffar, academician and political scientist

I don’t see ketuanan Melayu as part of the social contract or Merdeka constitution. By accepting the Malay polity, it does not make Malays and non-Malays unequal and it doesn’t make non-Malays second-class citizens. ketuanan Melayu is an idea that is an impediment to ethnic relations for the country. It does not mean one race is dominant and another race is subordinate or a master-servant connotation.

The above statements are all made by recognised academician who are experts in their respective areas. When you have a full 100% agreement of context between all 5 of the experts you cannot deny that there is a whole lot of truth behind their statements.

This than makes you wonder what backlash the politicians who have milked the ‘Ketuanan Melayu‘ agenda will next invoke to further drive the learned and their opinions to the foreground. Unfortunately we cannot totally discount the idea that certain parties or personages will definitely be prepared to stoke the fires of racial tensions in order to evoke emotions to override further discourse on the matter - in a worse come to worse scenario. I for one sincerely hope that things do not resort to that level.