Screenshots

How about.... a National Debt Clock?

Wonder if Bank Negara, the PM's Department (EPU & ICU), the Treasury, Khazanah and the Statistics Dept can get together to update us these on one web page, on a Year-to-Date (YTD) basis:

1 ) National Debt - GDP vs. Debt Per Citizen
2 ) Private Debt - Credit Card Debt, Ah Long Debt vs. Private Debt Per Citizen
3 ) Growth & Spending - Tax Revenue vs. Spending Per Citizen
4 ) Budget Deficit - Tax Revenue & Borrowings vs. Expenditures
5 ) Expenditure on Defence, Education & Infrastructure
6 ) Bailouts of all sorts (From Bank Bumiputra x 3 to PKFZ, and all things in between)
7 ) Balance of Trade - Malaysian Debt held by Foreign Countries

etc etc etc

Don't reinvent the wheel. There's already a ticker-tape model of Real Time US National Debt Clock.

Oral Question 3: US envoy... Why JJ?

The Minister of Foreign Affairs answered my oral question on the rationale of considering the MP for Rompin as the new ambassador with ministerial power to the USA.

The question was answered together with two other but similar questions raised by other MPs -- YB Abdul Hadi bin Awang [ Marang ] which was queued as Question No. 113 for June 16 and delivered as a written reply. Mine was queued as Question No. 107 for June 17. Ipoh Timur was queued for June 30, 2009.

QUESTION PR-022-L19074
Tuan Jeff Ooi Chuan Aun [ Jelutong ] to ask the MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS to state the reasons for YB Rompin being nominated for the post of Ministerial level Ambassador of Malaysia to America even though he has no experience of being a senior diplomat.

QUESTION PR-022-L19730

Dato' Seri Abdul Hadi bin Awang [ Marang ] to ask the MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS to state:

whether the vacant post of Malaysian Ambassador to the US has been filled; and

if the post is recently filled, the rationale why the Government waited for almost a year for it to be filled and if not, why.

ANSWER:

( 1 ) Izinkan saya menjawab soalan-soalan yang dikemukakan oleh YB Marang (Selasa, 16 Jun 2009), YB Jelutong (Rabu, 30 Jun 2009) dan YB Ipoh Timur (Selasa, 30 Jun 2009) secara serentak kerana didapati soalan-soalan yang diutarakan Yang Berhormat-Yang Berhormat berkenaan adalah berkisar mengenai perkara yang sama dan saling berhubung kait.

[...]

( 5 ) Dalam keadaan tertentu, Kerajaan juga melantik secara 'political appointment' Duta Besar atau Pesuruhjaya Tinggi yang terdiri dari kalangan ahli politik,ahli perniagaan, bekas pegawai tinggi Kerajaan atau personaliti tertentu yang difikirkan mempunyai kepakaran yang khusus dan mampu meningkatkan hubungan dua hala dan diplomasi di antara Malaysia dengan negara sahabat.

( 6 ) Sebagai sebuah Kementerian yang menguruskan dan menentukan hala tuju hubungan dua hala Malaysia dengan negara-negara asing, Wisma Putra perlu meletakkan Duta-Duta Besar dan Pesuruhjaya-Pesuruhjaya Tinggi yang berkelayakan terutamanya di negara-negara strategik seperti United Kingdom, Jepun, China, Arab Saudi dan Amerika Syarikat. Sehubungan ini, sama ada seseorang bakal Duta Besar dan Pesuruhjaya Tinggi itu adalah dari kalangan diplomat professional (career diplomat, dengan izin) atau lantikan politik bukan lagi suatu isu besar sebaliknya Kerajaan lebih menekan aspek merit calon-calon yang layak.

( 7 ) Seperti Yang Berhormat-Yang Berhormat sedia maklum, Malaysia masih lagi belum mengisi kekosongan jawatan Duta Besar Malaysia ke Amerika Syarikat apabila bekas Duta Besar Malaysia ke Amerika Syarikat Datuk Rajmah binti Hussein menamatkan perkhidmatannya pada 20 Jun 2008. Namun begitu, ini tidak bermakna Kerajaan tidak memandang serius dalam menempatkan seseorang Duta Besar yang baru kenegara berkenaan apatah lagi apabila negara-negara asing yang lain berlumba-lumba memperkukuhkan hubungan dua hala masing-masing dengan kepimpinan baru Amerika Syarikat.

( 8 ) Selain itu, tahun 2008 merupakan tahun pemilihan presiden baru Amerika Syarikat yang menyaksikan seluruh jentera pentadbiran Kerajaan Amerika Syarikat menumpukan sepenuh perhatian terhadap pilihanraya negara tersebut. Perubahan besar-besaran pentadbiran Kerajaan Amerika Syarikat selepas pilihanraya sedikit sebanyak mempengaruhi kriteria-kriteria calon Duta Besar yang bakal dilantik malah proses mendapatkan persetujuan penerimaan calon juga memakan masa yang lebih panjang. Oleh yang demikian, adalah wajar pemilihan calon dan urusan pencalonan bekal Duta Besar Malaysia ke Amerika Syarikat perlu dibuat secara lebih berhati-hati dan teliti supaya beliau merupakan personaliti yang dapat diterima oleh pentadbiran baru Amerika Syarikat.

So, after verbose reply, the question remains: Why JJ... and why not JJ?

Continue reading "Oral Question 3: US envoy... Why JJ?" »

Oral Question 2: Third Link, Desaru

UPDATED VERSION, 12:14hr, June 18, 2009. SHOCKER FOR NAJIB.

The Sultan of Johor, in his opening speech at the State Assembly, rejects the proposed third bridge to link Malaysia and Singapore.

ORIGINAL POSTING

June 16, the Prime Minister answered my oral question on the third link between Singapore and Johor -- which was queued as Question No. 119 and delivered as a written reply.

QUESTION PR-022-L19075

Tuan Jeff Ooi Chuan Aun [ Jelutong ] to ask the PRIME MINISTER to state the economic criteria for choosing Desaru in East Johor as the site for the third bridge between Malaysia and Singapore. Whether it will be more effective than "The Crooked Bridge" was was Tun Dr Mahathir's idea, and whether it intends to make Changi more prosperous as the world's logistics and communication hub.

ANSWER

Untuk makluman Ahli Yang Berhormat, objektif cadangan pembinaan sebuah jambatan baru bagi menghubungkan bahagian timur Johor dengan timur Singapura untuk melancarkan lagi pergerakan orang ramai, barangan dan perkhidmatan antara bedua-dua negara. Buat masa ini, satu kajian kemungkinan dan viabiliti bagi cadangan pembinaan tersebut akan dibuat oleh Kerajaan dalam memastikan pelaksanaan yang tepat dan berkesan dilakukan.

Cadangan pembinaan jambatan ketiga ini tidak dilihat sebagai bertujuan untuk memakmurkan lagi Changi, bahkan sebaliknya ianya dijangka dapat membantu meningkatkan sosioekonomi dan sektor pelancongan negara khususnya di Johor.

Incidentally, the Prime Minister had used his answer to me to reply to YB Khalid Abdul Samad [ Shah Alam ] who had raised the same matter with regards to Koridor Iskandar Malaysia, which was slated to be answered on Jun 18.

iPhone 3G (S)

Available in US from tomorrow.

Enhanced features: Faster processing power, Video recording, 3-megapixel camera, voice control, voice memo, compass, cut-and-paste, landscape keyboard, SMS with forwarding and attachment features, spotlight search, accessibility to aid visually and hearing impaired.

Price: US$299 for 32GB, US$199 for 16GB.

The 8GB version for original iPhone 3G is now US$99.

'Bathing keris with Chinese blood'... not true

Najib today denied in the Parliament that he had uttered a battlecry to "bathe the keris with Chinese blood" allegedly delivered at the TPCA Stadium, Kampung Baru, in the run-up to the infamous Operation Lalang in 1987.

Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh cornered Najib with the question during Question Time this morning.

Contrast this with a wikipedia listing.

Oral Question 1: Danajamin Nasional Bhd

My Oral Question 1 was queued for No. 57 today, so it was responded as a written answer. Due to 24 minutes of pandemonium, only 5 oral questions were answered by the respective ministers.

QUESTION PR-022-L19070:
Tuan Jeff Ooi Chuan Aun [ Jelutong ] to ask the MINISTER OF FINANCE to state the full list of companies seeking guarantees for bond market worth RM15 billion through Danajamin Nasional Bhd.

ANSWER:

1 ) Sejak pembentukan Danajamin Nasional Berhad (Danajamin) diumumkan pada 15 Mei 2009, pelbagai syarikat-syarikat swasta telah menghubungi Danajamin dan beberapa institusi-institusi kewangan untuk mendapat nasihat mengenai penerbitan bon masing-masing. Syarikat-syarikat ini terdiri daripada golongan syarikat dari sektor pembinaan, hartanah, perusahaan dan perkhidmatan.

2 ) Hasil perbincangan awal dengan para penasihat kewangan syarikat-syarikat berkenaan, lebih daripada 60 syarikat telah menunjukkan minat untuk menerbit bon dengan jaminan daripada Danajamin. Danajamin dijangka akan menerima permohonan rasmi daripada syarikat-syarikat berkenaan pada hujung bulan Jun 2009 dan akan menandatangani perjanjian jaminan pertama pada bulan Julai 2009. Hanya syarikat yang ditarafkan "investment grade" (kadaran BBB ke atas) dan juga memenuhi dasar kredit dalaman layak untuk mendapat sokongan Danajamin.

Regrettably, the Minister of Finance did not mention in his answer that, for the sake of transparency, the list of companies receiving Danajamin support will be published on a website.

HAVE STIMULUS PLANS ALL FAILED?

It has been seven and three months, respectively, since the first and second stimulus packages were announced.

But this morning, it was Najib who told the Parliament that less than one-sixth of the RM17 billion allocated for fiscal spending between the two stimulus packages has been spent.

To be exact, only RM1.4 billion of the RM7 billion out of the first package has been spent.

Of the RM60 billion packaged for the second stimulus plan -- remember, only RM10 billion of which is actual government spending for 2009 -- only some RM1.2 billion had gone to the ground.

This is despite the fact that 99% of the first package had been allocated, in addition to RM4.2 billion allocated in the second package.

This clearly shows the Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU) within the PM's Department must mobilise fast to fulfil the expectation of the "People First, Performance Now" motto. Ain't PEMUDAH supposed to lessen bureaucratic inertia?

What was clear was that the growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) 2009, originally projected to track at 1% to negative 1%, has been readjusted to shrink between 4 to 5%.

Summary of answer in English:

Continue reading "Oral Question 1: Danajamin Nasional Bhd" »

Recipe for active Parliament

UPDATED VERSION. One minute MP Nizar Jamaluddin was sworn in, the next minute he was thrown out from the house.

Uproar in the Parliament and the Speaker was having a hard time getting decorum to commence the sitting.

Follow my Twitter.

ORIGINAL POSTING

Today is Najib's first day in Parliament as the PM, and Perak's people elected MB Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin will be sworn in as the MP for Bukit Gantang.

Nizar is to be seated at the last row, last block on the Opposition side.

The first oral question is on 1Malaysia raised by Tenggara MP (BN-Umno), the second by Anwar Ibrahim on police actions in the Perak debacle; and the controversial Bintulu MP connected to PKFZ sham will be third, raising question on aid dished out by government agencies. Bagan MP will raised the fourth question on monies managed by the National Heritage Department and allocated to Penang and Melaka.

As at 9.00am, the Parliament network has blocked access to Twitter. Some of us will use wireless broadband to tweet. Expect live updates on these Twitter pages:
- twitter.com/limkitsiang
- twitter.com/Jeff4Malaysia

The bell to convene Parliament sitting rang one minute late at 10.01am.

UK in countdown mode

The next general election in the UK will likely fight many battles online. The countdown starts with a widget galore.

Get this widget!

The widget on top is from a non-profit, while The Tory dispenses its own, at the bottom.

Tory said yesterday, June 13:

David Cameron has repeatedly called on Gordon Brown to dissolve Parliament and hold a General Election immediately. But even if he doesn’t have the courage to call an election now, Mr. Brown can’t put it off forever.

He has to hold one before June 3rd next year - and we’ve built a widget that counts down the days until the people of Britain finally get their say.

Worth watching!

What do Penangites benefit from LKY's visit?

While Screenshots was offline over the weekend to allow the Sys-Op shift the dedicated server to co-locate at a new data centre, I used Facebook and Twitter to microblog.

Somehow, an innocent Facebook Note on the Wall drew over 40 responses (including two from me), with my Facebook friends firing darts and warts at each other. Didn't expect this at all.

This is my short note on Facebook at 11:12hr this morning:

LKY in Penang. All he bought was just a lousy T-Shirt?

Lee Kuan Yew failed his trip to Penang. What he got was lousy roads, finger-pointing and more finger-pointing. See http://bit.ly/FJi3i

I think not many really got what I actually meant. Anyway... read the Facebook comments.

LKY made to acknowledge First Lady

Rosmah must see.

According to Singapore Straits Times, Minister Mentor or otherwise, Lee Kuan Yew said he called on Rosmah Mansor because he had been told that she and her husband worked as a team and it was necessary for him to understand both members of the team.

So Lee asked to see her, and PM Najib made arrangements for them to meet.

That's how recognition is earned nowadays.