VIDEO INCLUDED Everyone loves a friend. Some nursery schools reward the child who has been a special friend to others. The child who helps another child who has fallen over, or asks a child who is on his own to join in, be their friend and play in their game, is rewarded. The helpful child is given gold stars in a ‘Star Rating’. Teachers feel that this helps to boost the children’s morale.
When Malaysians heard that the city of Ankara was going to confer our First Lady, Rosmah Mansor, Turkey’s prestigious Award of Social Responsibility for her social work, they wondered whether this was an extension of the Star Rating given out by nursery schools. The only difference is that this Special Star Rating is awarded amongst friends in high places.
Prime minister Najib Abdul Razak cannot fault us. Over the past year, Rosmah has been blazing several trails around the world, with or without him, that we have lost count.
In the past month, she has chalked up enough airmiles to Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Oman. To make it look like serious work, a trip to Bangladesh was also arranged, on the way home.
If we weren’t aware that she was going to the middle-east to talk about talented children, we might be forgiven for thinking all those trips were somehow connected with the recent uprisings in that part of the world.
When John Malott said in his article that Prime minister Najib Abdul Razak was concerned primarily with image, Malott is right.
Both Najib and Rosmah are very image-conscious.
No one in their right mind would spend taxpayer’s money or even their friend’s money, to have a centrepage spread in an American newspaper to promote themselves. It allegedly cost USD7 million for Rosmah’s centrefold last year.
That was when we found out Rosmah had been given an International Peace and Harmony Award by the United States Business Council for International Understanding in recognition of her extensive charity work, and to celebrate Malaysia-US links.
A friend who slips across the border to Haadyai for nefarious activities, claims he ought to be presented with some special award for strengthening Malaysia-Thailand links.
Last summer, we heard that Najib was taking a short break from work. The next we heard, he and Rosmah had popped up in the south of France, where Rosmah was hosting the Islamic Fashion Festival (IFF) Charity Gala Dinner in Monaco-Monte Carlo.
This glittering do ended with a karaoke session, on stage, with Prince Albert of Monaco. Was the First Couple’s trip at our expense?
We didn’t hear any protests from our homeland extremists about the scantily clad guests at this Islamic fashion show. The models may have been appropriately covered up, but the guests were not. Maybe Perkasa & co. were stunned into silence.
At the glittering banquet which was attended by many members of Malaysian royal families and 600 guests from Monaco’s high society, Rosmah who is also the IFF patron, presented a donation of 100,000 euros (RM415,271) to Prince Albert II of Monaco for his charity foundation, the Prince Albert II Foundation of Monaco.
Monégasques are mainly tax-exiles. Why is Rosmah donating to this Monaco Foundation?
Did any of the Foundation’s money make its way back to Sarawak to help the Penan or other indigenous people who have been displaced by Chief Minister Taib Mahmud, who incidentally, was at this event?
We know that there was an auction that night and over a million Euros was successfully collected from the rich and famous. One of the items auctioned was a signed photo of Prince Albert in Sarawak, taken when he went to Mulu as Taib’s guest.
Did any of these Euro millions reach 200 families from two Penan longhouses in Long Kajang and Long Luar which had burnt down a few days earlier? The Penan longhouses went up in smoke and ironically, a massive firework display captivated the guests in Monaco. Some people are happy to burn money.
So are Malaysians delighted that Rosmah will be presented with an award that the Ankara Mayor, Melih Gokcheh said was given because of Rosmah’s “continuous and active participation in social activities” which had enthralled the Greater Ankara Municipality?
The mayor said, “Her presence in extending a helping hand, as well as trying to put a smile on those encountering social, economic, environmental and health problems, was not only playing a great importance in establishing social balance but also producing social benefits.”
But did he care to ask the poverty stricken Malaysians and especially the Penan women who were raped over two years ago and whose plight had been especially brought to her attention enough times, by activists and NGOs in Malaysia?
The foreign awards conferred on Rosmah by her buddies overseas do not benefit the Malaysian public, especially its hardcore poor and deprived children. The awards make a mockery of her and Najib.
There is no point cultivating goodwill abroad when your own people are in despair. So perhaps it is just like teacher said to her charges: “These gold stars will make you feel good”.
Malaysia Chronicle appends below a video of the Monaco fashion show - Rosmah's speech, followed by Najib, Prince Albert, Taib Mahmud gathering on stage to sing "You've Got A Friend" are in the last quarter of the video ... you can fast forward
Bea Johnson wears makeup. She lives in one of the wealthiest counties in the country. And while raising two children, she's determined to live a zero-waste lifestyle.
Four years ago, Johnson's family downsized their home and decided to simplify their life, reducing the amount of stuff they owned. According to this video from NBC News, Bea's now down to one pair of shorts and two skirts. The family refills cloth sacks with grains and produce, have created a major composting system, and make their own cleaning products. Bea even offers reduction tips on her blog, The Zero Waste Home, encouraging readers to buy in bulk and start a junk mail war. The family's cumulative waste for this year all fits into a small metal box. This is a far cry from the over four pounds of waste every American produces per day.
But this family has found a balance, a way to maintain the lifestyle they enjoy, while drastically cutting down on waste. Bea's husband, Scott Johnson, was initially skeptical of the project, confessing, "I was just afraid that I'd be eating a bunch of granola or something all the time." Instead, the family has focused on reducing the number of items in their home, without cutting out the things that truly make them happy.
For Bea, this means the makeup stays - although she uses homemade substitutes. When asked why she doesn't nix the makeup, Bea replies, "If I did, then I'd be miserable, and is life really worth living when you're miserable?"
Not everyone supports the Johnson's zero-waste lifestyle, and Bea has received messages from a fair share of "haters," people who accuse her of being too extreme in her attempts to cut down on waste. But for Bea, her actions make sense, and her motivation is quite simple, as she explains, "I am doing it for my kids future."
WATCH how this family lives in a zero-waste home:
Parti Keadilan Rakyat would like to attract the public’s attention to the recent announcement by the International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamad on the distribution of special bumiputra shares through initial public offerings.
Datuk Seri Mustapa claimed that the Umno/BN government had managed to notch the Bumiputra’s equity ownership of corporate sector to 22% partly through the distribution of special Bumiputra shares administered by his ministry.
It is peculiar that Umno/BN government seems to want to take the credit for supposedly increasing the Bumiputra’s equity ownership to only 22% in 2011 when it has miserably failed to achieve the 30% target set for 1990.
Datuk Seri Mustapa claimed that the Umno/BN government had managed to notch the Bumiputra’s equity ownership of corporate sector to 22% partly through the distribution of special Bumiputra shares administered by his ministry.
It is peculiar that Umno/BN government seems to want to take the credit for supposedly increasing the Bumiputra’s equity ownership to only 22% in 2011 when it has miserably failed to achieve the 30% target set for 1990.
After 21 years and billions’ worth of mismanagement and abuses made in the name of the Malays and Bumiputra, UMNO/BN is willing to take credit for any incremental increase in Bumiputra’s equity ownership despite the obvious failure over the 21 years.
What happened to the RM52bil
However, our real concern is on the management of the share distribution considering the same practice had resulted in the loss of RM52 billion out of the RM54 billion of shares distributed to Bumiputras under the scheme, as admitted by the Prime Minister.
In 2010 alone, 1.5 billion of shares from 18 IPOs were distributed to supposedly Bumiputra investors. 2010 also featured some of the biggest IPOs of late, including Petronas Chemical Group Berhad’s IPO at issue price of RM5.05 per share and Malaysian Marine and Heavy Engineering Holding Berhad’s IPO at issue price of RM3.61 per share. If a significant portion of the 1.5 billion shares distributed by the ministry came from these two Petronas-related groups, there would have been shares valued at a few billion ringgit distributed to investors.
This is the same mechanism that had failed the society and cultivated the culture of political patronage seeking for easy access to shares under the guise of meeting the 30% Bumiputra target. In the end, the billions worth of shares distributed were quickly disposed to create a Malay ruling elite with immense wealth at the expense of the Malay masses.
Therefore, the same mechanism that had caused the loss of RM52 billion worth of shares allotted to Bumiputra in the name of achieving the 30% equity ownership target must be totally revamped.
I call upon the Minister to:
In 2010 alone, 1.5 billion of shares from 18 IPOs were distributed to supposedly Bumiputra investors. 2010 also featured some of the biggest IPOs of late, including Petronas Chemical Group Berhad’s IPO at issue price of RM5.05 per share and Malaysian Marine and Heavy Engineering Holding Berhad’s IPO at issue price of RM3.61 per share. If a significant portion of the 1.5 billion shares distributed by the ministry came from these two Petronas-related groups, there would have been shares valued at a few billion ringgit distributed to investors.
This is the same mechanism that had failed the society and cultivated the culture of political patronage seeking for easy access to shares under the guise of meeting the 30% Bumiputra target. In the end, the billions worth of shares distributed were quickly disposed to create a Malay ruling elite with immense wealth at the expense of the Malay masses.
Therefore, the same mechanism that had caused the loss of RM52 billion worth of shares allotted to Bumiputra in the name of achieving the 30% equity ownership target must be totally revamped.
I call upon the Minister to:
1. Fully disclose the recipients of the 1.5 billion shares allocated in 2010 under the special Bumiputra share distribution scheme
2. Announce to the public improvements made to the mechanism for distribution and tracking of the shares to ensure the same abuse that had caused the loss of RM52 billion worth of Bumiputra shares is not repeated
I will pursue this matter in the next Dewan Rakyat session to ensure full transparency and accountability of the scheme.
In the end, Parti Keadilan Rakyat believes that the thrust of Bumiputra economic empowerment must move away from the obsession for the 30% equity ownership target towards a focus on elevating the household income of the Bumiputra families. They make up 75% of the estimated 11 million poorest rakyat whose monthly average household income is only RM1,500 per month.
The obsession with 30% equity ownership for Bumiputra will not be able to address the economic woes of the poorest of the Bumiputras.
2. Announce to the public improvements made to the mechanism for distribution and tracking of the shares to ensure the same abuse that had caused the loss of RM52 billion worth of Bumiputra shares is not repeated
I will pursue this matter in the next Dewan Rakyat session to ensure full transparency and accountability of the scheme.
In the end, Parti Keadilan Rakyat believes that the thrust of Bumiputra economic empowerment must move away from the obsession for the 30% equity ownership target towards a focus on elevating the household income of the Bumiputra families. They make up 75% of the estimated 11 million poorest rakyat whose monthly average household income is only RM1,500 per month.
The obsession with 30% equity ownership for Bumiputra will not be able to address the economic woes of the poorest of the Bumiputras.
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