PM Muhyiddin - Pendapatan bulanan RM93,841.65 menimbulkan banyak tanda tanya? Bila gaji bulanan PM adalah RM93,841.65?

Apakah sumber yang menjadikan gaji bulanan Perdana Menteri Muhyiddin Yassin menjadi RM93,841.65, manakala undang-undang, MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT (REMUNERATION) ACT 1980] menyatakan bahawa gaji Perdana Menteri adalah  RM93,841.65 sahaja. Ini berasaskan apa yang diistiharkan kepada MACC.

Prime Minister's salary RM22,826-65, so what are the other sources of Muhyiddin's RM93,841.65 monthly income?

Rakyat ada hak untuk mengetahui, dan Muhyiddin perlu jelaskan. Adakah ini daripada elaun sah - takkan elaun bulanan melampaui nilai gaji?

Adakah ini daripada 'perlantikan politik' yang lain, di mana ini dilakukan oleh Perdana Menteri, Menteri atau kabinet?

Apa yang diperlukan adalah deklarasi yang jelas dan terang - tentang sumber pendapatan bulanan

Gaji Perdana Menteri - Berapa?

Elaun tambahan kerana jawatan Perdana Menteri - Berapa?

Elaun tambahan selaku Ahli Parlimen? - Berapa?

PENCEN(jika ada) - Berapa?

Pendapatan lain(Dividend, Faedah simpanan) - Berapa?

Pendapatan lain(Sewa,) - Berapa?

Derma politik orang ramai dan/atau penyokong - Berapa?

Derma politik daripada syarikat atau perniagaan - Berapa?

RASUAH - Berapa?

Kekayaan lain saperti tanah, rumah, syer, wang dalam bank, dll... ini tak begitu menjadi isu > TETAPI apa-apa perolehan semasa menjadi PM, Menteri, Ahli Kabinet adalah sangat relevan - kerana ianya mungkin 'rasuah' untuk melakukan sesuatu(atau tidak melakukan sesuatu).

Untuk membenteras RASUAH, Kleptokrasi atau salahguna kuasa - mungkin Malaysia juga memerlukan undang-undang yang menjadikan penerimaan wang, hadiah atau faedah daripada mana-mana pihak lain, semasa menjadi Perdana Menteri, Menteri atau Ahli Kabinet satu kesalahan, di mana juga mungkin menyebabkan kelucutan jawatan.

Thailand, negara jiran, pun ada undang-undang sedemikian. Seorang bekas Perdana Menteri kerana menerima bayaran daripada satu rancangan masak di TV apabila beliau menyertai program masak menjadi alasan mengapa beliau hilang kelayakan terus menjadi Perdana Menteri. Terima RM50 pun salah...jumlah tak penting.

Seorang Menteri lain kerana terima hadiah jam tangan pun sama - ia merupakan kesalahan.

Malaysia juga memerlukan undang-undang sedemikian untuk memastikan Perdana Menteri dan ahli Kabinet semua BERSIH. Menerima wang atau hadiah dari pihak lain semasa mereka memegang jawatan pentabiran kerajaan adalah satu kesalahan yang akan menyebabkan mereka hilang jawatan, dan juga posisi MP atau Senator.

Kini, DEKLARASI yang perlu Ahli Kabinet dan ahli Parlimen beri adalah tak memadai - Biar jelas dan ada butiran mencukupi mengenai pendapatan bulanan, serta sumber pendapatan.

KEKAYAAN LAIN tak begitu penting kecuali

(1) Syer atau kepentingan dalam mana-mana syarikat atau perniagaan. [MENGAPA - kita tak mahu kerajaan/PM/Menteri membuat apa-apa keputusan yang akan membantu perniagaan tersebut - saperti memberi projek, dll - kerana ia secara tidak langsung akan juga menjadi pemegang syer/kepentingan lain juga kaya);

(2) Tanah di mana (Mengapa? Kerana kerajaan dan Menteri mempunyai kuasa membuat keputusan mengenai pembangunan setempat, yang akan secara tak langsung menyebabkan nilai tanah ini naik - justeru memberikan keuntungan besar kepada pemilik tanah. Bila kerajaan membuat keputusan meminda pusat pentadbiran kerajaan ke Putrajaya - ramai yang 'tahu terdahulu' mungkin telah cepat-cepat pergi membeli tanah di situ, dan apabila pengumunan dibuat secara rasmi - mereka menang kerana nilai tanah meningkat. Perkara sama berlaku di Janda Baik, kerana dulu ada ura-ura kerajaan mungkin akan memajukan kawasan tersebut - akhirnya tak ada apa-apa yang berlaku dalam kes ini.]

Bagi orang biasa yang meneka, dan membeli tanah  atau syer syarikat sedemikian bukan isu besar - tetapi bagi mereka saperti Perdana Menteri, Menteri atau ahli Kabinet yang mempunyai maklunat perlu dan kuasa membuat keputusan sedemikian, mereka atau ahli keluarga(atau rakan karib) tidak harus dibenarkan beruntung akibat keputusan kerajaan sedemikian.

SEMUA mahu kerajaan dan pemimpin negara BERSIH dan BERAMANAH - tujuan deklarasi pendapatan dan aset bertujuan untuk menghalang salah-laku sedemikian mengunakan maklumat atau kuasa dalam pentadbiran kerajaan.

Deklarasi Pendapatan dan Aset sekali saja tak cukup - ia perlu dibuat mungkin 3 bulan sekali, mungkin 6 bulan sekali - paling kurang sekali setahun, sama sebagai kehendak kini berkenaan deklarasi kepada pihak Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negara.

Ini penting supaya rakyat boleh memantau setiap masa - dan akan mempersoalkan apa-apa pendapatan yang tiba-tiba meningkat. Jika wang masuk dalam akaun peribadi sebagai DERMA pun mesti diistiharkan.

AKAUN BANK - sekiranya ada akaun bank di luar negara pun, di mana ini tempat ramai penjenayah menyimpan 'wang haram' kerana di luar bidangkuasa kerajaan Malaysia, dan setengah bank sedemikian juga tidak akan dedahkan butiran akaun kepada kerajaan atau mana-mana penyiasat jenayah.

Adakah PM, Menteri, Ahli Kabinet, MP, Senator atau ADUN ada memiliki akaun sedemikian di bank luar negara? Ini juga maklumat perlu yang perlu didedahkan.

Penyimpanan wang di bank sedemikian juga biasa tidak didedahkan atau diketahui oleh pihak Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negara(LHDN) - justeru cukai yang perlu dibayar untuk apa-apa pendapatan atau perolehan dapat dielakkan. Mangsa terus adalah RAKYAT MALAYSIA.

* Kita tahu semasa pemerintahan BN dan PH terdahulu, ahli parlimen parti kerajaan telah diberikan berjuta ringgit, kononnya untuk digunakan untuk membantu rakyat di kawasan Parlimen atau ADUN berkenaan > Mana akaun pembelanjaan tersebut? Kenapa BN, PH atau PN tidak mendedahkan? Adakah wang tersebut telah digunakan untuk rakyat dengan betul - adakah wang itu diambil oleh wakil rakyat berkenaan untuk memperkayakan diri atau kepentingan peribadi? Adakah wang itu digunakan untuk memperkayakan kroni atau parti? Semua ini rakyat perlu tahu dengan jelas, kerana ini DUIT RAKYAT?

Sekali buat DEKLARASI tak memadai? Membuat DEKLARASI tanpa butiran tak cukup.

Tujuan utama DEKLARASI sedemikian adalah untuk memberikan jaminan kepada rakyat bahawa PM, Ahli Kabinet atau MP tidak mengunakan kedudukan, kuasa atau posisi untuk memperkayakan diri, keluarga, kawan secara salah - untuk memastikan tak ada RASUAH, dsb.

Selepas buat DEKLARASI, kesalahan dilakukan kini tidak akan diketahui umum - Deklarasi harus dilakukan setahun sekali, lebih baik setiap 3 atau 6 bulan.

PM Muhyiddin tops MACC list with RM93,000 monthly income, 10 other govt officials have assets over RM10m

Wednesday, 22 Jul 2020 09:48 PM MYT

BY IDA LIM

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin had on June 15 declared his monthly income to be RM93,841.65 and his total assets to be worth more than RM10 million. — Picture by Miera Zulyana

KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 — With his public declaration of getting RM93,000 every month, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin earns the highest income in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

A list of assets owned by 57 of the country’s top officials who have declared the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is now publicly accessible on this portal as part of a move towards greater government transparency. However, this list does not include all 70 government officials.

Muhyiddin had on June 15 declared his monthly income to be RM93,841.65 and his total assets to be worth more than RM10 million.

10 other officials with assets exceeding RM10 million

The list also names 10 others in PN as having declared their assets to be worth more than RM10 million to the MACC.

They are:

1. Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa

2. Deputy Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Jeffrey Kitingan

3. Deputy Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Ahmad Amzad Mohamed @ Hashim

4. Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Zainal Abidin

5. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Maximus Johnity Ongkili

6. Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Kamarudin Jaafar

7. Deputy Education Minister II Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon

8. Deputy Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Edmund Santhara Kumar

9. Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Hanifah Hajar Taib

10. Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Lim Ban Hong

However, they are not necessarily the ones with the highest monthly income that has been declared.

The MACC portal does not put the exact amount when it comes to the assets held by the members of the PN government.

Instead of listing the exact amount, MACC gave a range of values for the assets declared by each of the 57 members of the PN administration.

The other brackets of asset values listed by the MACC and the government officials in them are as follows.

With assets worth RM8.5 million to RM10 million:

1. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof

2. Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Khairy Jamaluddin

With assets worth RM5 million to RM8.5 million (eight individuals); RM2.5 million to RM5 million (12 individuals); RM1 million to RM2.5 million (16 individuals including Datuk Shahruddin Md Salleh who has since quit as deputy works minister); and those with less than RM1 million (eight individuals).

The eight individuals with less than RM1 million in declared assets are Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan; Environment and Water Minister Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man; Deputy Finance Minister II Mohd Shahar Abdullah; Deputy Home Minister I Jonathan Yasin; Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Arthur Joseph Kurup; Deputy Human Resources Minister Awang Hashim; Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Harun; and Deputy Rural Development Minister II Datuk Henry Sum Agong.

The previous version of the MACC portal that was first unveiled on November 1, 2018 initially only listed the total income for members of the administration and MPs from the ruling coalition, but did not include information on the value of their declared assets. The previous version of the portal had subsequently the same month included the exact value of the total assets declared by members of the then Pakatan Harapan administration and MPs from the ruling coalition.

The new version of the portal contains additional information such as the post of the individuals in the government.

Unlike the older version, the new version omits information on whether the spouse and children of the government official in question had also made declarations to the MACC.

Top 10 earners in PN government

Other than Muhyiddin, the top 10 monthly income earners are:

1. Annuar at RM87,877.20

2. Kitingan (RM85,450)

3. Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin (RM84,615.20)

4. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed (RM69,427.20)

5. Senior Minister and Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali (RM69,186.48)

6. Redzuan (RM65,407.20)

7. Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong (RM65,236.48)

8. National Unity Minister Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique (RM64,527.20)

9. Ahmad Amzad (RM64,087.41)

The top 11th to 20th earners in terms of declared monthly income are:

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan (RM62,412.13), Tengku Zafrul (RM62,077.20), Khairy (RM61,188.22), Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee (RM59,972.43), Shahruddin (RM59,524.27), Ongkili (RM59,500.20), Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Ali Biju (RM58,762.89), Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Rosol Wahid (RM57,322.89), Environment and Water Minister Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man (RM57,227.20) and Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Mansor Othman (RM56,347.65). If Shahruddin is excluded from the list since he has quit as deputy works minister, Rural Development Minister Datuk Abd Latiff Ahmad will be the 20th highest monthly earner at RM55,147.35.

As for the 10 who have the lowest declared monthly income in the list as of the time of writing, they are Deputy Transport Minister Hasbi Habibollah (RM36,262.89), Deputy Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Hamzah (RM36,262.80), Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datin Mastura Mohd Yazid (RM35,847.65), Deputy Minister Lim Ban Hong (RM34,347.65), Senior Minister and Education Minister Mohd Radzi Md Jidin (RM34,242.00), Rina (RM34,004.48), Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister I Willie Mongin (RM33,450), Deputy Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (RM 25,700), Datuk Henry Sum Agong (RM25,700) and finally Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican at RM24,687.

Those yet to declare their assets

The MACC said that it has to date received and displayed the information on assets declared by 57 out of the 70 members of the PN administration. If Shahruddin is excluded, 56 have made their declarations to the MACC.

Based on the MACC’s definition of members of the administration covering the prime minister, senior ministers, ministers and deputy ministers, there are currently 14 of them who have yet to submit their monthly income and total assets declarations to the MACC.

Based on Malay Mail’s comparison of the MACC portal and the current list of ministers and deputy ministers, five of the 32 PN ministers are not currently listed as having declared their assets to the MACC for the public portal.

These five ministers are:

1. Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan
2. Energy and Natural Resources Minister Datuk Shamsul Anuar Nasarah
3. Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba
4. Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi
5. Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali

Of the 38 deputy ministers, nine not on the MACC list are:

1. Deputy Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz
2. Deputy Home Minister I Datuk Seri Ismail Mohamed Said
3. Deputy Works Minister Datuk Shabudin Yahaya
4. Deputy Rural Development Minister I Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Mohamad
5. Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Abd Muttalib
6. Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin
7. Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal
8. Deputy Environment and Water Minister Datuk Ahmad Masrizal Muhammad
9. Deputy National Unity Minister Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker

* A previous version of this story contained errors which have since been corrected - Malay Mail, 22/7/2020

RM1 million to PR ADUNs, RM0 to BN and other ADUNs - Discrimination just like what BN did

BN is bad when it only gives allocations of millions to their own MPs and ADUNs .... but, just like BN Pakatan Rakyat (Selangor) is also doing the same. I hope that PR will behave differently, and if there are allocations going to ADUNs for the benefit of the people in the constituencies, then the allocations must be for all the ADUNs, the representatives chosen by the people irrespective of the ADUN's political affiliations. Just giving to PR ADUNs and not to BN and other ADUNs is discriminatory, disrespect for the people and the democratic process, and certainly wrong.

So, when PR come into power, will things be the same as now. Would only PR MPs get money from the Federal Government? Will BN States not get the same allocations as the other PR States? Will 'oil royalties', etc due to the state be withheld because the state is being governed by a BN government? Will Najib and some BN leaders be languishing in Kamunting under the ISA? 

Malaysians want PR to be different - to be a better alternative to the present BN, but the actions of the Selangor PR government does not help.

SHAH ALAM: The Selangor state government is allocating RM1mil to each of its Pakatan Rakyat state assemblymen to carry out upgrading works in their respective constituencies ahead of a possible general election this year.

Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said the allocation was for road repairs, drainage and other upgrading works for the people’s benefit.

Speaking to reporters after chairing the weekly exco meeting yesterday, Khalid said, no allocation, however, would be channelled through state representatives from Barisan Nasional.

Explaining the matter, he said, Barisan federal government also discriminated against Pakatan MPs.

“If Parliament allocates funds for its MPs, we will also do the same,” he said. - Star, 13/1/2011, S’gor PKR reps to get RM1mil for upgrading works

See also earlier posts:-

RM1 mil for BN MPs, RM500,000 for PR ADUNs - this is Discrimination, bad practice and should stop

BN ADUNs should also get RM500,000 from Selangor Government. End discrimination - respect people's democratic choice

SELCAT- step in the right direction. Open to the public? Non-PR ADUN should also get the RM500,000

Remember also that Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael D Jeyakumar has taken this matter to court in an effort to end this kind of discrimination by the UMNO led-BN Federal Government, and so really Pakatan Rakyat must not be like the BN.

In my opinion, there should maybe not be such allocation to MPs/ADUNs, i.e. "...for road repairs, drainage and other upgrading works for the people’s benefit...". MPs/ADUNs should be doing the job of MPs and ADUNs and not that of the Local Councils and other departments. People should be educated and empowered about the various different departments/etc that they should go to get their road repaired, etc. MPs/ADUNs of the Opposition, the alternative to BN, must stop the old ways of BN that tells people that they cannot do anything or get anything done unless they come through BN. This must change... 

If the State or Federal government wants to give MPs and/or ADUNs additional allocations, then this must be for setting up of 'service centres', hiring of more staff, researchers, phone/communications, etc for currently the allowances of MPs/ADUNs is pathetic and there is not enough even to set up a good team of assistants to the ADUN/MP - who would include also research assistants who will assist MPs/ADUNs go through Bills they have to debate, research so that when they make a point - it will no more be 'cakap kosong' but is backed up with some good points, etc...

And if MPs and/or ADUNs are given any allocation by the Federal (or State governments or Local Governments), then it must be to all of them irrespective of party affliations. 

Talking about roads and drains... maybe, as a matter of practice, the ADUN  and the MP and/or  their nominated representative, should be members of the Local Council - and this is where such matters could be effectively raised by these democratically elected  representatives of the people...

Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim today announced an allocation of RM1 million to all Pakatan Rakyat state assemblypersons disbursed within the next three months.

“This is for the state representatives to repair roads, build bridges and improve drainage, in conjuction with the respective local governments,” explained Khalid at a press conference after chairing the state exco meeting at the state secretariat building in Shah Alam this afternoon.

However, he admitted that the disbursement of the allocations will mimic BN's practice of withholding allocations from opposition elected represenatives, in an eye-for-an-eye move that will see state allocations denied to BN representatives.

“This allocation is only to Pakatan representatives, just like they withhold funds from our parliamentarians,” said Khalid (left), who is also Bandar Tun Razak MP.

Asked if he would follow BN if the ruling coalition "jumped off a cliff", Khalid laughed it off.

“If they jumped off a cliff, we will look first,” quipped the MB.

Taking a more serious tone, he said that they had actually approached BN to try and work out a solution.

“We offered them that if they distribute allocations to all MPs fairly, we will do the same with state allocations.

“But they refused,” said Khalid, shrugging off the matter.

Draft amendment ready next week

Meanwhile, at the same press conference, Khalid also announced that the final draft for the proposed bill to amend the state constitution to return the power of appointing state executive officers to the MB and sultan, will be ready next week.

“The initial draft is ready, but we need to discuss with our exco members further. We already briefed them, but they are asking for another meeting.

“We also need to brief our friends in Pakatan, as this is a big issue with serious implications. I estimate that the draft will be ready next Wednesday at the latest,” he said.

Khalid was also asked for his reaction to Umno's challenge for him to point out how have they committed treason against the king.

Umno took away sultan's power

“I never said they committed treason, but if that word is used, I am okay with it.

“They took away the power of the sultan in 1993,” said Khalid in response.

Asked about Umno's answer that they remain loyal to the sultan as they continue to consult the ruler over state executive appointments after the amendment, he argued that it was just an Umno PR exercise.

“They were just being diplomatic.

“They took away the sultan's power and then went to him and say, this is our choice, now you just look and smile,” contended Khalid. - Malaysiakini, 12/1/2011, RM1 million windfall for Selangor Pakatan reps

 

Support Letters :- A disempowering tool used to keep people down and promotes dependency

Empowering of the people so that they may be able to stand on their own and fight for their own rights and issues was the philosophy that was adopted by many community organizers, labour and political activist in the past. The 'outsiders' and/or 'leaders' emphasized in process, and their role was merely to facilitate the bringing of  people together so that they can sit down understand, discuss, analyze their reality, develop solutions/visions for change and there after act to bring about changes. Success is achieved the day the community of people are empowered and are able to act on their own.

See, Judge and Act was one of the many names that this process was given, and interestingly we find many of the present leaders of trade unions, civil society and even some political parties are products of this empowering process. People share their perception/facts about the reality. They strive to try to find out more information to understand their reality - and this would mean going through resource materials, like articles and books and even maybe listening to some resource persons. They then proceed to analyze the facts, interested always in determining also who really benefits from the current reality. They judge based on their own sense of good and bad, right and wrong and/or just or unjust and basis of this judgment is their own value system which could have come from their religion, their family/community and their life experience. 

And then, they move towards trying to discover how things could be better, more just, more equitable and more pro-people. It would be good if people are aware of alternative ways of doing things, but alas the UMNO led-BN government has ensured that people are just not aware of any alternative ways of doing things by media control, and the suppression of freedom of expression. Criticism of government proposals, and suggestion of alternative better ways are doing things are almost totally absent from the mainstream media. 

Then, there is a need for the people to act to bring about changes and/or improvements on their own....but alas, today UMNO-led BN government has created a culture so much so that people believe that they need to get the support of the BN MPs, ADUNs and/or the BN parties before they can get anything done, and this support usually comes in the form of a support letter...by the relevant politician asking that the matter be looked into and action taken. Note that this practice just creates dependency, when really people can just go straight to the relevant government departments and/or Local Authority with their complaints, applications, etc. What is communicated to the people is also that in the absence of local BN support, their attempts to go directly to claim rights will be futile, or will take a very long time. 

Sadly, this culture of dependency and 'people have no power by themselves to get things done' has also been adopted by most of the Opposition politicians, and even some of civil society groups....and this is very sad. This is happening at all levels, even when it comes to building plan approvals, government tender applications, claims to Labour Department for worker rights violations, claims for compensation/benefits under the SOCSO, Welfare Department, etc... The message is simple, 'If you do not have a letter of support and/or support from the politicians then nothing will get done'.

Recently, Chuah Boon Seong (BN ASUN of Mentakab) again reiterated that people with problems should come to him or to the BN party service centres to get the letters of support and/or support to ensure that their applications/complaints get the necessary reponse from the relevant government departments. He said he will write letters to the relevant department, etc. 

The Malaysian government promotes this culture of dependency, keeping people dis-empowered, by its failure to disclose information about rights/benefits/assistance available, and what are the steps that should be done to claim these rights, and which department one should go to claim these rights. There really is a lack of education about rights and access to justice in Malaysia - it should be a priority of governments to educate people so that they can go direct to the relevant department/office - and this could very easily be done by TV ads, etc.

This culture of keeping people dis-empowered, promoting that idea that you can never achieve/.do anything without the explicit support of your politician and/or political party is also being propagated by Opposition. 

Support letters is one of these tools used, and surely it is wrong when decision to process and approve an application is governed on whether one has support letters from the ADUN,MP, Politicians...and who. A support letter from PM/Menteri Besar may produce better results than a support letter from a Minister/State Exco...and so on and so forth.

If there is a failure on the part of any department/office, then people should write complaints about inaction or slow action or... to the relevant heads of Department, Minister, State Exco, Prime Minister and/or Menteri Besar demanding speedy action.

Complaints can also be addressed to the Public Complaints Bureau, and also SUHAKAM (Malaysia's Human Rights Commission)...and also the ADUNs/MPs/Political Party. Complaints could also be raised to the media. 

If the relevant departments/offices of government is showing bias with regard to application - i.e. process first those that have 'letters of support' or approving only those that have "letters of support" - then this is so very wrong and discriminatory. I am certain that the relevant Acts/State Enactments/Regulations do not even have provision for the need of such "letters of support"...

The government's of the day should discontinue this practice, and instructions must be given that such "letters of support" should either be removed and destroyed, or all applications should be treated equally irrespective of whether there is a letter of support or not, and the fact that there is a letter of support should not factor at at all in the decisions/actions of the relevant government department/office/authority.

Klang Municipal Councillor Tee Boon Hock will take temporary leave until the state finishes its investigation over an allegation that he had abused the state's letterhead in getting contracts.

Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, in a statement today, said he had directed the state's Audit Department to conduct a probe into the issue.

"Its director Ungku Arfah Ungku Tahir will be given a month to conduct an investigation to scrutinise the letters and also interview the parties and individuals related to the matter.

"Until then, I have suggested that Tee take leave from his post until a decision had been made, and he has agreed."

The menteri besar emphasised that the Selangor government will not punish anyone until he has been proven guilty.

"The state adopts a responsible and transparent administration, and will not compromise on any abuse of power," Khalid said.

Tee is involved in a possible abuse of Selangor exco member Ronnie Liu's letterhead and seal to obtain contracts worth a total of RM1 million for 20 companies, including one to a family member. - Malaysiakini, 29/7/2010, Letterhead abuse: Tee asked to take leave

The question must also be whether Ronnie Liu, other State Exco members, the Menteri Besar, MPs/ADUNs, Local Councillors are issuing these kind of letters of support. Is Anwar issuing letters of support? If Lim Kit Siang/Anwar/Hadi  issued a letter of support that this project should be given this Local Council project, would he/she not get it as the Local Councillors are all appointed by the 3 parties and fear of no re-appointment would ensure that the request is complied with...

Openess, transparency, accountability would ensure that these 'letters of support" is not the reason why some get the projects...and others do not. But alas, still Local Council minutes are kept 'secret'....

I say, that until there is a full disclosure...openness and transparency, we may have to assume that the bad practices and culture of the UMNO led-BN is still continuing today in the new Pakatan Rakyat governments.

Until there is free and fair Local Council Elections, then Local Councilors may not be independent, and will more likely than not follow the request in these "letters of support"  especially when it comes from those who can influence/determine who gets re-appointed and who does not.

Healthcare: Nurul and other 'wakil rakyat' must also use government clinics/hospitals to understand better the issues..

Nurul Izzah(and another) recently wrote an article on healthcare in Malaysia, and I was glad that more Malaysian people's representatives are getting interested in healthcare in Malaysia - and are campaigning for free universal quality healthcare for all.

Then, a closer look at the article reveals that the examples cited were of those that were using privatised healthcare in Malaysia... what about the majority of the poorer Malaysians that are users of the available public healthcare provided by the government. I believe  that they who paid the RM400,000 went to a private hospital not a government hospital where most Malaysians will go to... I am also sure that government hospitals have the capability to deal with breast cancer without the need to go overseas...(and if Malaysian government hospitals do not have the capacity - this is something that need to be looked into...)

Recently a friend's mother was diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer. In her mid-50s, with two children of college age, she was obviously desperate to put up a brave fight for as long as possible....Six months and RM 400,000 worth of treatment later she sadly lost her battle with the Big C, leaving a grief stricken family that had re-mortgaged the family home and were waist deep in debt. Although she had healthcare insurance, the insurance firm would only cover 70 percent of the costs, hence the need to dig deep into savings and release property equity to raise the additional funds, at considerable cost to her loved ones.

We need to guarantee that the next time a minister's wife develops breast cancer she is able to access the best up to date treatment on her doorstep without having to fly halfway round the world. Along with our mothers, sisters, wives and daughters.

It is is the rich and the upper-incomed group that normally have access to (and use)  the more expensive private healthcare. Why? Because sometimes it is a 'status symbol' - a perception that public healthcare is only for the poor and those that cannot afford private healthcare. There is also a belief that private healthcare is better than public healthcare that is provided for in the government clinics, hospitals, specialist hospitals, etc - and this is definitely wrong for government healthcare facilities provide equal...if not better healthcare. Private healthcare facilities sometimes get caught up with trying to charge the patient as much as it can ...and hence may subject patients to many different (sometimes unnecessary) tests...and medicines that cost more [or maybe just to medicines which the said medical institution may be getting a better deal from the pharmaceutical company supplying/manufacturing it].

I wonder whether Nurul Izzah...and many other ADUNs/MPs even had to resort to going to the government clinics/hospitals to get medical care...and that may be the problem...when we choose the rich and a certain class as people's representative. They just do not know what the majority of Malaysians are going through...and hence they cannot talk on behalf of the majority of Malaysians. Maybe these MPs/ADUNs should make it point to use government clinics/hospitals...public transport, etc... themselves so that they can better represent the Malaysian people...

What we need to focus on is public healthcare provided by the government clinics, hospitals and establishment. Private healthcare is a privilege accessible for the rich and those that can afford it...and these should not be a primary concern at the moment. In Thailand, there is a scheme that is in place that allows the ordinary citizen to get healthcare from private hospitals at the same nominal rate that they pay at government hospitals - this maybe something that we may have to look into.

Malaysian government is certainly not spending enough for healthcare .... There are not enough medical supplies, including medicines - and it is common now that patients are asked to return every month(or 2 weeks) to get supply of medicines. There are not enough money for maintenance...and even blood-testing equipments that break down takes some time to get repaired. To save money, doctors are no longer getting regular blood and other tests done, which was the norm before when tests were done annually (or regularly) depending on the tests - which is very important to monitor the general health of Malaysians - now, only tests that are 'really' required. The regular tests allowed for early detection - and faster treatment - but now no more after the recent budget cuts...

A lot of money is being wasted on submarines (why do we need submarines?), APCO, etc ---- all these are money that could be better used for healthcare...

Nurul does good in raising this issue (and writing this article)...and there is a need for more MPs/ADUNs to write articles on various matters that affect Malaysia and its people....and more importantly give concrete ideas/suggestions on how things could be better. It is also important for these MPs/ADUNs to have (or to get ) personal experience of using these government hospitals/clinics....I wonder whether Najib ever used a government clinic/hospital -- most times many politicians only visit ...but not really use these public facilities, hence they will never understand what the ordinary Malaysian has to go through...

It is frequently said that a true measure of society is how it treats its weak and poor. To this we would like to add that the true measure of a civilisation is how it cares for its sick and dying.

Recently a friend's mother was diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer. In her mid-50s, with two children of college age, she was obviously desperate to put up a brave fight for as long as possible.

Six months and RM 400,000 worth of treatment later she sadly lost her battle with the Big C, leaving a grief stricken family that had re-mortgaged the family home and were waist deep in debt. Although she had healthcare insurance, the insurance firm would only cover 70 percent of the costs, hence the need to dig deep into savings and release property equity to raise the additional funds, at considerable cost to her loved ones.

Cardiovascular disease, diabetes and stroke are already among the leading causes of mortality in Malaysia, in line with that of the rest of the developed world. Cancer diagnosis is on the rise and over the next 20 years it is projected that 1 in 3 to 1 in 4 of us will develop cancer.

Many of these diseases don't discriminate - at some point in the future either we ourselves or someone close to us will suffer from a potentially serious healthcare condition. How much will this cost us and how many of us will be unable to afford the treatment we need?

In recent years, Malaysia has witnessed the growth of the private sector share in our healthcare system. Whilst many private hospitals provide good standards of care, some are more concerned with profit margins.

Many of us will be familiar with stories of private hospitals performing unnecessary tests and additional treatments as a means of income generation. A friend's uncle tells the hilarious story of climbing a rambutan tree a few years back and falling off a branch, sustaining a mild concussion.

With a bit of a sore head he thought he'd better go and get checked out. Despite little in the way of additional signs and symptoms he was subjected to a MRI scan at a popular private hospital and an IV drip overnight although he was perfectly capable of eating and drinking.

The outcome? He was discharged the next day with a bill for RM5,000. On relaying his story to a doctor friend later on he was berated for having been taken for a ride, when a couple of Panadols and close observation would probably have sufficed.

Profiting from pain

When a close friend was recently accepted into an oncology training programme overseas, her father's friend, a respected surgeon, noted what a good career move she'd made. He congratulated her father on the fact that when she returned to Malaysia she could hope to make up to RM 70,000 a month as an oncologist in the private sector.

She was stunned and clearly dismayed by this proposition -in her mind, no one or no institution should ever be able to profit out of the pain and suffering of others. There is something fundamentally wrong with a system that puts profit and material gain before human life.

Some will argue that a private healthcare system should be allowed to develop and those that can afford it continue to pay, whilst those that can't can fall back on the government system.

We would argue that promoting a two tier healthcare system is dangerous both in terms of ensuring equitable access, maintaining healthcare standards, promoting research and development as well as the inevitable brain and talent drain that follows -as clinicians are drawn away from the government system towards the private sector.

Currently the private sector accounts for 23 percent of the country's hospital beds (12,000 beds per year). Around 40 percent of the country's doctors are employed within the private sector (9,000 doctors) with a doctor to patient ratio of 1 to 1.3. This is compared to a doctor to patient ratio of 1 to 3 in the public sector.

However with the move towards semi-privatisation and lack of a coherent social welfare system, even healthcare provisions within the government sector are not completely 'free'.

Neither are these provisions always affordable. A friend recalls undergoing cancer treatment at University Malaya Medical Centre (formerly known as University Hospital).

She was charged RM30 for her first round of chemotherapy. At the same time in the chemotherapy suite was another woman who was bemoaning the fact that she couldn't afford to have further treatment.

She unfortunately was now onto her second course of chemotherapy for cancer recurrence and this time round had to pay around RM3,000. Apparently this was part of the additional charges for successive chemotherapy sessions.

Ethical dilemmas

Also, doctors in the government sector often face tough ethical dilemmas. One senior doctor was seriously disillusioned by the fact that difficult cost-benefit calculations have to sometimes be made on behalf of patients. Some patients may be faced with the prospect of treatment that may buy them a further 18 months of life but leave their family with RM 20,000 worth of debt.

For many of us, ANY additional time spent with a loved one would be considered immeasurably precious. However for a family existing on RM1,000 a month this could spell financial ruin. In many instances, doctors in the government service heroically choose to turn a blind eye and continue to treat patients regardless of their ability to pay. Many of them however find themselves on the sharp end of rebukes from finance departments and hospital managers.

So what is it that Malaysians need and what is it that they deserve?

We would argue that instead of wasting taxpayers money through superfluous vanity projects and outrageous spending, (the purported RM77 million splurged on the US-based Apco Worldwide consulting firm just to revamp the new Prime Minister's image being a prime example), the Malaysian government should in fact be focusing on providing a world class healthcare system that is free to all at the point of delivery.

And by that, we don't simply mean a few token clinics hastily scrambled together devoid of properly qualified medical officers.

Malaysians are more than capable of leading cutting edge research and providing world class healthcare services that saves lives -the fact that there are many Malaysians in top consultant/research/public health posts abroad in the UK, US, Singapore, Canada and Australia is testimony to that.

Comprehensive plan required

We need to come up with a plan for comprehensive healthcare coverage that ensures we get the treatment we need when we need it, regardless of our ability to pay. We need a comprehensive overhaul of our public health policies that make diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer diagnosis and treatment top on our list of priorities.

We need to guarantee that the next time a minister's wife develops breast cancer she is able to access the best up to date treatment on her doorstep without having to fly halfway round the world. Along with our mothers, sisters, wives and daughters.

Breast cancer is, after all, hardly a rare disease. We need to pay our doctors a fair wage and reward initiative, innovation and hard work, so that we retain the talent we need to build a world-class health system within the public sector.

We need to invest more money in healthcare- last year the government spent only three percent of our gross domestic product (GDP) on healthcare (and only half of this-1.5 percent was spent in the public sector).

During the recent economic downturn, public healthcare expenditure was among the first to be slashed by a staggering 30 percent. 

It is bad enough that existing levels of expenditure for healthcare fall short of the World Health Organisation recommended level of five percent and that of China and India who over the last seven years have consistently spent over five percent of their GDP on healthcare.

Most importantly we need to remind ourselves that many illnesses, including cancer, do not discriminate, and when you're ill and vulnerable all the money and material wealth in world may fail to make things better.

More than skyscrapers, shopping malls and multi-million dollar vanity projects we need a robust healthcare system that serves the people and can be trusted and relied upon to care for us when we are at our most vulnerable.

NURUL IZZAH ANWAR is Lembah Pantai member of parliament and YOLANDA AUGUSTIN is a Malaysian doctor training in the United Kingdom.- Malaysiakini, 5/5/2010, Nation's healthcare system ill, needs attention

RM1 mil for BN MPs, RM500,000 for PR ADUNs - this is Discrimination, bad practice and should stop

Opposition MPs are unhappy that the government discriminates against them, and their constituents.

Malaysian Federal Constitution guarantees equality - and there is no justification why the Federal Government of Malaysia does not treat all MPs equally. 

Money - UMNO-led BN MPs get an annual grant for constituency development of RM1 million (I thought it was RM2 million), but not the non-BN MPs. Is this not discrimination? Yes, it is. The people democratically chose their MP, and it is wrong for the Federal Government to treat MPs differently, i.e. solely based on the political party they belong to. All MPs should get the RM1 million from the government.

But wait, the Pakatan Rakyat also practices similar discrimination. The Selangor government also give allocations to the ADUNs, but only the Pakatan Rakyat ADUNs - and this is also very wrong.

Pakatan Rakyat hence loses the moral standing to now criticize UMNO-led BN government preferential treatment of MPs and ADUNs belonging to BN parties (or friendly to BN). See earlier post:BN ADUNs should also get RM500,000 from Selangor Government. End discrimination - respect people's democratic choice

I expected Pakatan Rakyat to do better - and teach the BN good practices in a democracy. But alas, the justification is that BN gives only its people - so now, the Pakatan Rakyat also will give to its own people. Wonder Pakatan Rakyat is doing the same also when it comes to projects, approvals, etc. Will there be more development projects now (and money spend) in constituencies where the MP/ADUN is Pakatan Rakyat. Will those who chose BN be sidelined?   - Change. Respect people's choices and freedom to choose who they want.

Malaysiakini
Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael D Jeyakumar is seriously considering taking the federal government to court for withholding the annual grant for constituency development.

He said he has appointed a lawyer to study the matter and has given himself two months to decide whether or not to proceed with the suit.

“We want to make sure the case is watertight,” he said when contacted today. “The federal government has no right to withhold the money. This is the people’s money, not Barisan Nasional’s money. Who is using the money? Where is the accountability and transparency to ensure the money is well spent for the benefit of the people?”

Each parliamentary constituency is allocated RM1 million as an annual grant for development projects.

Jeyakumar – the sole MP from Parti Sosialis Malaysia – said that, to the best of his knowledge, opposition MPs have not received the allocation.

Two demands

If he proceeds with filing legal action, Jeyakumar indicated that he would seek two declarations from the court:

• that it should be left to the MP to choose the projects; and
• that the allocation should be disbursed in a transparent manner so that there is no abuse of the process.

He reiterated that he is merely fighting for the rights of opposition MPs who now face unequal treatment compared to their BN counterparts

“The grant is not for me, it is for the people. Let us be transparent as to where it is allocated,” he said.

Jeyakumar caused a major upset in the 2008 general election when he defeated MIC president S Samy Vellu, who had held the Sungai Siput seat since 1974.- PSM Website

By, the way the other interesting question is whether it is legal for the government to be giving such "development grants" to MPs/ADUNs directly? Is there any provision of law that allows for this? I do not think so. There are clear laws that provide for what is the role and responsibility of an MP/ADUN, and also how much he/she gets from the government?

MPs/ADUNs should bring to the attention of the relevant State/Federal Departments/Local Councils about things that need to be done - that is all. It is then the responsibility of the relevant department, who should be handling all these 'development grants', to do the needful? There is no need for individual MPs/ADUNs to be getting any money from the government. 

If money is to be given to MPs/ADUNs, it must be part of the budget - and, in my opinion, the only money that may be given may be rental & utility bills of service centres, salary/benefits of a certain number of support staff, etc - not money to 'bribe' the constituents to vote them in again. A bit of money for the youth football team, jerseys & trophy, some bags of rice, some RM to the poor/elderly, etc - is this not wrong. All monies should be disbursed by the relevant departments...not given to MPs/ADUNs, who then go around dishing out money/gifts pretending that it comes from them. That is what the BN was doing ...but Pakatan Rakyat and other MPs/ADUNs should not get into this bad practice. 

Very wrong to suspend ADUNs/MPs - revoke the suspoension order of Khir Toyo & 3 Ors..

No Member of Parliament(MP) or Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri(ADUN) should be suspended...

Why?
Because these are the people's elected representative, and the act for suspending them from the House is an anti-people action - it deprives these people their right to be represented, their right to be heard, their right to participate..

We have all condemned strongly the suspension of certain opposition personalities in the past, when it was done by the BN - but today Pakatan Rakyat seems to be WORSE because their suspension is not merely some token 1-day suspension but suspension for long periods..

It started in Perak with the Pakatan Rakyat Speaker suspending ADUNs for of up to 18 months for one (and 12 months for some other ADUNs)...

Then, we had a 'retaliation' of sorts with Gobind being suspended by a BN-majority Parliament for

Now, Selangor is doing the the same...and this 'anti-people' and undemocratic action must be condemned in the strongest terms...

Soon, we may find the BN also doing the same - maybe suspending all 7o over Members of Parliament(MPs) - and that will be OK...will it? I think not.

No duly elected people's representative must be prevented from carrying out all of his duties and functions - and the most important of this is to attend the sitting of the Dewan Rakyat/State Assembly as apeople's representative - to voice out opinions, to debate, to vote on motions and Bills.

A deprivation of this right and privilege accorded to a people's representative by a Speaker...or some Parliamentary/State Assembly Committee or even the full Dewan/Assembly is wrong...and certainly against the principles of democracy..

See also earlier related post:- The power to suspend MP/ADUNs must be removed, and Judicial Review must be made available

The Selangor assembly's powerful rights and privileges committee has suspended state opposition leader and former menteri besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo for 12 months from the House.

MCPX

The decision follows the Umno leader's absence from the Balkis inquiry in March and for criticising the Selangor Select Committee on Competence, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) in his blog.

The privileges committee also called for the suspension of Barisan Nasional assemblypersons Warno DogolIsa Abdul Kasim (Batang Kali), Marsum Paing (Dengkil) and Mohamad Idris Abu Bakar (Hulu Bernam) for six months for questioning the integrity of Selcat...

State assembly speaker and committee chairperson Teng Chang Khim announced the decision after chairing the privileges committee meeting in Shah Alalm to discuss the matter.

State assembly speaker and committee chairperson Teng Chang Khim announced the decision after chairing the privileges committee meeting in Shah Alalm to discuss the matter.

"Khir is found guilty of contempt of the House in refusing to attend the Selcat hearing, and is suspended from the assembly for 12 months and his allowances would also be frozen during the period.

"However, the decision would have to be tabled at the Selangor state assembly sitting scheduled in July for it to be adopted. This includes the suspension of the four other assemblypersons," he said - Malaysiakini, 19/5/2009, Khir Toyo suspended one year

What other wrongs have been done?

Suspending the allowances of a Wakil Rakyat is also very wrong. Remember not all MPs/ADUNs have got other sources of income...from businesses, law firms, etc. Some of these MPs/ADUNs depend only on their allowances as wakil rakyat - and it is this money that is used to pay the rent of service centres, pay their support staff, etc... and when you suspend or deprive a ADUN/MP of his allowance, it is really very very wrong...

Teresa Kok, when she was MP of Seputeh used what she received as an MP to maintain her staff and her service centre - and she was a good MP, as she was not distracted by other business or professional work. We want MPs/ADUNs to be such totally dedicated to being a 'wakil rakyat'...

I strongly urge the Selangor Speaker, Selangor Select Committee on Competence, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat), and the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat to immediately revoke that suspension orders.

There must be other means of 'punishing' - maybe a reprimand ...a strong reprimand would suffice. Even, if there is to be suspension, it should be something very rarely used, and it should only be suspension for not more than until the next rising of the sun...

Maybe, using that Contempt of the House (Selangor Legislative Assembly) Enactment 2008 could be used. I have not seen that Enactment, and hoped that it has a very narrow and clear definition on the meaning of 'contempt'. The Enactment should apply to a person who failed to attend Select Committee hearings, on being summoned., etc ..but it never be too wide or vague, for that will be too open to possible abuse...

Respect the people - respect their representative and the duties that the rep has to perform for and on behalf of his/her constituents...

We appreciate all the difficulties that Pakatan Rakyat State governments may be facing with the many 'interferences' from the BN State government...by the refusal of BN Federal Government to duly channel required funds through the legitimate State Government rather than through other 'proxies' (like the BN MPs/ADUNs/BN JKKKs/BN Party Offices/ etc...) but Pakatan Rakyat has to be different...and struggle on always doing the right thing.

And for me, suspending wakil rakyat is very wrong...

REVOKE immediately all suspension orders...

PERAK: Getting bored with all these political clowing around...

It all started with some ADUNs of Pakatan Rakyat 'hopping' to become independents supporting the BN...

2 PKR ADUNs, 1 DAP ( and the other 1 UMNO who, I believe, jumped to PKR and back to UMNO) - end result Pakatan Rakyat lost the majority - and the PR Menteri Besar ( a good man) had most likely no more the confidence of the majority...

Out comes 3 resignation letters from the 2 PKR ADUNs and the 1 DAP ADUN - Were these pre-signed letters, dated later by the Speaker (or the Pakatan Rakyat or some other)? We have also heard that BN has a similar practice - pre-signed resignation letters? - What do the rakyat (the people) say about pre-signed resignation letters? I am of the opinion that this practice is wrong and should be stopped...

UMNO-BN wrests the majority when 2 PKR and 1 DAP ADUN jump ship? Why did these ADUNs jump ship? Maybe they were offered rewards ....maybe they were threathened? Either way, the blame/fault lies with these 3 ADUNs - and with the Pakatan Rakyat who picked them as their candidates to run for the said State Assembly Seats.

LESSON: Pick persons of credibility and honour. Pick persons who 'cannot be bought' or be threathened into doing things. Pick persons with an history of struggling for justice and human rights... (Pick certainly not some ex-UMNO, ex-BN party leader - .... Pick certainly not some 'opportunistic politician'...). Sadly, sometime the choice is not based on credibility, history of struggle, character - etc - but whether this is a person who will listen to me (the political leader), not even whether this person will listen to the party...

All that followed in PERAK, including in the courts, were just matters that resulted from the not following of the procedures provided for in the Constitution (and the law).
- A new MB was appointed by the Sultan when the old appointed MB was and still is a Menteri Besar
- The Election Commission overuled the Speaker's decision that the 3 former PR ADUNs had resigned and there was now a vacancy - and a by-election was needed. Did the EC have such a power?
- The Speker's suspension of some BN ADUNs (including that 'BN MB') - suspending them from attendance in the State Assembly for a very long time [which resulted that if and when the Assembly sits, there will be still more PR ADUNs who will be able to attend...]
- The calling for an Assembly seating by some other, who did not have the authority to do so.
- The interference of the court (the Federal Court, included) into matters that were clearly beyong the jurisdiction of the courts - which was also clearly stated in the Constitution..
- The Democracy tree - ....

Well, all the above arises by reason that proper procedures as per law, and Constitution, were not followed...

BUT - really, if there was no real resignation of the 3 former ADUNs of PR - it means that the BN now has the majority support...

At the end of the day, PR is to be blamed for picking the wrong persons to become ADUNs

BEST SOLUTION FOR PERAK : - Dissolve the Perak State Assembly, and go for a fresh Elections
[But UMNO-led BN is certainly too scared to do that, as more likely this will result in an even greater victory for the Pakatan Rakyat...]

Why will UMNO-led BN do worse that it did before?
Before GE2008, many would not have believed that it was possible to defeat the UMNO-led BN (who ruled for the past 50+ years) at the Federal level or in the West Coast States - hence, many would have just voted for BN - the sure winning side. But today, if there is to be another Perak Elections, more votes will be obtained by the PR and Opposition - and this may translate into more seats. The past few by-elections in the Peninsular Malaysia also supports this. Prior to GE2008, it was near impossible to win against the UMNO led-BN candidates...

What Pakatan Rakyat must concentrate on today is to show the people (the rakyat) how things would be different and/or better if the PR rules...the time has come to go beyond those nice sounding slogans - and put forward concrete workable ideas and solutions for change...

The passing of new GOOD laws require only a simple majority. Changes to the Constitution require 2/3 majority. [PENANG - the PR has sufficient majority in the State Assembly for even the amendment of the State Constitution to put in guaranteed rights for the people, .... [Without Penanti, PR already has a 70 % majority - i.e. more than 2/3]

The people really want change - they want real choices and options...

True acceptance of people's choice must translalte into equal treatment of peoples' representatives irrespective of party affliations

The people's choice of their Member of Parliament(M) or Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (ADUN) should be respected.

The people should never be penalized by the Federal Government (or State Government) if they choose persons not from the ruling coalition government.

BARISAN Nasional and Umno accept the decision of the voters in the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary by-election with an open heart and mind, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said here yesterday. - New Straits Times, 19/1/2009 - PM: It's people's choice

But Mr Prime Minister - your's and BN's actions in the past really do not indicate a 'true' acceptace of the people's choice.

Opposition MP's(and ADUNs) are not given the same privilege, recognition and respect by the BN Federal and State governments. BN MP get money that they can use for small development projects in their constituency - whilst opposition MPs do not get this. This kind of behaviour does not reflect 'true acceptance' of the peoples' choice.

In Trengganu, when opposition won - their oil royalty money suddenly stopped flowing. When BN wins back the State, the money starts to flow again. This was not an 'accepting of the people's choice'.

I just hope that you (and the BN) would change your ways and this time, you speak the truth - and it is not pure hypocrisy as in the past. Hope that your actions will show.

Every MP and/or ADUN should be treated equally by the Federal/State government concerned irrespective of the person's party affliations.