de facto or Defunct?

The following article was in Malaysiakini. It is about someone who cannot even ensure free and fair elections in the party he is assumed to be in control of as de facto leader. As de facto leader basically means PKR can elect whoever to whatever position in the party but the de facto leader still calls the shots. Err...looks to me like that's pseudo-democracy.

This son of an Ibrahim should not try to sell something he does not even buy himself and this time he has stuck his foot into his own gap on two accounts. One, he has no moral right to talk to Najib about "free and fair" elections and secondly, Bersih 2.0 is not about him and his politics. I think to most people rooting for genuine change in this country whether it be from BN or PR, Anwar is becoming increasingly defunct as he continues to be de facto.

Since he says he CAN tell Ambiga to call off Bersih 2.0, then it would be logical that if anyone gets hauled up in a preemptive swoop by the police, he should be thrown in first, with 500 c.c. motorcycle and all.

It also appears PAS supporters will form the majority of the BERSIH 2.0 rally participants so why didn't Anwar say he will tell PAS to call off BERSIH 2.0?

Lastly, you wanna know what Bersih 2.0 is really about? Go here.

************************************

Anwar: I'll tell Ambiga to call off Bersih rally if...

Hazlan Zakaria
Jun 19, 11
8:36pm

PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim said that he would tell Bersih 2.0 chairperson S Ambiga to call off the July 9 rally if Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak can assure tomorrow that elections will be free and fair.

"I will call Ambiga and tell her to call off Bersih, if Najib can promise free and fair elections tomorrow," he told over 2,000 PKR members at the party's election convention in Shah Alam today.Anwar (left) said this in his concluding speech at the convention, that aimed to educate and energise the party's grassroots election machinery who were mostly present at the event.

The Permatang Pauh MP was trying to make a point, arguing that the BN regime will not dare to allow free and fair elections because the ruling coalition knows that it no longer has the favour of the voters and thus has to resort to dirty means to cling on to power.

Former Bar Council chief Ambiga was however not amused, and in an immediate response ticked Anwar off for overstepping his role."It is not up to him to decide,” the activist quipped.

“We have decided to hold the rally and it is we who will decide on whether or not to hold it," she told reporters prior to the official launch of the Bersih 2.0 rally in Kuala Lumpur tonight.

Ambiga: 'It's not about me'

Ambiga also refuted right-wing pressure
group Perkasa's allegations made in the latter's launch of their anti-Bersih rally in Kuala Lumpur earlier today."Bersih is not about the individual; it is not about me. I will not respond to their character attacks," she said.

The lawyer added that she will neither respond to Perkasa nor lodge police reports on the group burning her photo and making threats against her during their event.

"Free and fair elections is our message, and our means is peaceful. If there is violence on that day it will not be from our side," assured the Bersih chief.

The Berish 2.0 coalition for free and fair elections comprising over 60 NGOs and political parties is planning a mega rally on July 9 to press for electoral reform.

The organisers aim the event to be even bigger than the first Bersih rally in November 2007, that saw 40,000 turning Kuala Lumpur into a sea of yellow shirted protestors demanding changes to the electoral system that critics say is favouring the ruling party.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?

I bumped a ride from a very good friend to a meeting we were both attending today. As I got in I saw the note which read, "Sit N DONT MOVE MY SITTING POSITION". His wife had stuck it there.

What moves a person to put up such a note?

Apparently, it is a big issue with her and she would threaten to kill because of it. I don't know...tak masuk akal. So I did what I would normally do...I adjusted the seat to make it more comfortable for ME. It appears my friend would have to get a car with seat-memory feature if he wants to remain alive.

This phone-video was actually taken inadvertantly:

From NEP To NEM; The Cannibalization Of The UMNO NEP Mindset

I am sure Najib and Nazir are close not only as siblings but also as "colleagues" in driving forward Bumiputra (and National?) socio-economic agenda. They must have been of the same mind and coordinated what each said last week at the same forum, the MCA organized Chinese Economic Congress. They knew full well they would draw flak from obvious quarters within their own community; not least of all Ibrahim Ali's obligatory vitriol on the subject of the NEM.

Why then did they do it? There is only one answer here; both sincerely feel the NEP in its current form WILL kill the nation and time and timing is running out! They know the NEP has to be replaced by a more holistic and inclusive economic policy but resistence from within UMNO (and yes, Perkasa is also UMNO) is too strong because the NEM will push the diseased UMNO (sick with money politics and patronage) over the brink. There is no other way for genuine renewal in UMNO but death, and rising like the Phoenix from the ashes. Obviously, resistance to forced change is great when change is made less palatable by the fact that proof of resurrection can only come after taking their own lives, so to speak! It is like most people look towards the rewards of being in heaven but none are looking to die for it. Alas! the UMNO Malay (and perhaps Malays in general) is faced with Hobson's Choice because death is inevitable and hopefully this makes change possible.

After 40 years of the NEP, there needs to be a more viable option going forward. Najib definitely knows this and therefore his call for a high income society and his lastest plea to the Chinese business community to help grow (once again) the domestic economy. This was augmented by Nazir's bold "bastardization" statement. The NEM must replace the NEP and our Malay brethren must accept the reality they may have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the sacrificial altar but change they must and that this is a zero-sum situation. Whatever the NEM seeks to achieve for the sake of the vast majority (Malays, Chinese, Indians and all other races) must be at the expense of the privileged few that were created by a "bastardized NEP".

The sooner the UMNO mind can accept that change is not a choice and that it is safe to make changes, the sooner we can move forward as a nation. For this, UMNO leaders if they are sincere about the Najib proposed NEM and 1Malaysia must walk their talk and initiate a canibalization of the UMNO NEP mindset to bury the NEP once and for all.

In marketing and strategy, there is a meaning for "cannibalization" which refers to a reduction in the sales volume, sales revenue, or market share of one product as a result of the introduction of a new product by the same producer.



For example, if Coca Cola were to introduce a similar product (say, Diet Coke or Cherry Coke), this new product could take some of the sales away from the original Coke. 


Although business cannibalization may seem inherently negative, it can be a positive thing. It sometimes involves a carefully planned strategy, and it also forces a company to think outside the box in order to evolve with the changing needs of both the marketplace and the consumer. In the world of e-commerce for example, some companies intentionally cannibalize their retail sales through lower prices on their online product offerings. Seeing these on-line discounts, more consumers than usual may buy them, especially if they'd previously been anchored to the retail prices. Even though their in-store sales might decline, the company may see overall positive gains.


In project evaluation, the estimated profit generated from the new product must be reduced by the earnings on the lost sales (Reference Wikipedia)


There are none so blind as those who will not (probably cannot afford to) see.  


Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor cyber friends

kicking and screaming to the sacrificial altar korban

walski

zero sum

najib political death ... eroding political will and capital

Salahuddin ilk...

TRH Sak know this thats why still in UMNO

Nazir 'anak bangsawan' should stop talking cock


by A Voice



The MCA Economic Congress has just ended.

Blogger AK47 Sakmongkol [read here] believe it was a success over Perkasa-led Kongres Ekonomi Bumiputera (KEB). Obviously, Malay liberal inclined Sak would see any public expression of openness, liberalisation, and laisse fairre economic policies as a success.

KEB exposed the glaring weakness in the assumptions of the New Economic Model (NEM). The Kongres Ekonomi Cina (KEC) supported the NEM and it's weak and unjustified assumptions.

Najib and Nazir deserve Ibrahim's lashing. Najib seemed to go back on his words at Perkasa that NEM was a trial baloon when he seeked the Chinese to take a lead in the NEM.

Is Najib turning into a chameleon like Anwar's changing colors to different audience and following the popular voices? That is not the act of a leader but a political monkey jumping from tree to tree unable to have a coherent position on issues.

Anwar lies. Leaders should not.

Nazir described the NEP as bastardised from it's origional objective of eradication of poverty to enriching few pockets.

Impractical

Let's come back to the MCA Economic Congress which seemed more appropriate to be called Kongress Ekonomi Cina (KEC) for the consistency in view with DAP.

Much as most critic view KEB resolutions as suffering from 'business as usual' preservation of old NEP, KEC resolutions suffer from the same issue of impracticality.

The Chinese can't deceive the Bumiputera majority to claim of being marginalised, thus seeking for more opening of opportunity.

Bumiputera equity ownership in Bursa stands at best at 20%. Excluding foreign ownership, Chinese equity ownership is estimated at almost 65%. Property ownership and the whole supply chain of retailing is dominated, if not monopolised, by Chinese.

The demand they made on the Prime Minister cannot avoid from being perceived as greedy and insensitive.

Other than Chairman of SP Setia, Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin, who said that Chinese business strive under NEP, every speakers and presenters seem to take a common planned line to criticise the NEP to seek for more openness, liberalisation and free market.

This include CIMB CEO and younger brother to the Prime Minister, Dato Nazir Tun Abdul Razak.

Melayu liberal

In a tone more direct, harsh and politically incorrect than his interview with Mingguan Malaysia few months back, Nazir decide not to allow the newspapers to tone down his views.

Without mincing his words, Nazir described NEP as having been bastardised i.e. deviating from its original purpose of social engineering experiment to eradicate poverty.

Nazir claim NEP appeared to enrich small pockets of people. He added, "But now it is so embedded in every thing that we do, in every part of the government, in every part of businesses that it become a problem."

What does he mean by "a problem"? Let's read cautiously Malaysiakini version of his speech below:

Nazir Tun Razak says NEP 'bastardised'

Malaysiakini, August 14th, 2010

In the harshest rebukes yet of the New Economic Policy (NEP) yet, CIMB group CEO Nazir Abdul Razak described the NEP as having been bastardised by deviating from its original purpose.

"I have strong opinions about how the NEP has been bastardised over the years," he said in a question-and-answer session after delivering a talk at the Chinese Economic Congress this afternoon.

Saying that it has come a long way from the social engineering experiment originally aimed at eradicating poverty, Nazir (right) said that the NEP has appeared to enrich small pockets of people.

“At that time, no one knew what the outcome would be. It was a social engineering experiment that no one had ever done before in any country. So they gave it 20 years. And they felt that after 1969 they had to give it a try.

“But now it is so embedded in every thing that we do, in every part of the government, in every part of businesses that it become a problem.

“And today, every time I mention the NEP, I get blasted,” Nazir said when fielding a question from the floor on his thoughts on the policy.

"What I don't understand is giving these people Approved Permits (AP).That should go.

"If you just want a small number of people to make money, might as well just give them money," said Nazir, was reported to be the highest-paid GLC CEO back in 2007, drawing in an income of RM9.35 million then.

Incidentally, the main architect of the New Economic Policy when it was drawn up in 1971 was Nazir's own father, the country's second prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein.

'Time to review NEP'

Boldly departing from the normal comfort zone, the banker also said that the affirmative action needs a relook.

“Now we need to address what kind of affirmative action we want to have. It is so infused in everything. But we will one day need to confront it one way or another,” said Nazir, who is the younger brother of current PM Najib Razak.

The NEP officially came to an end in 1990, but its traditions and policies still continue to this day. Najib had announced a New Economic Model back in March to reform and rebuild the Malaysian economy.

However, details still remain to be made public.

'Ignore extremist groups'

Speaking after delivering his luncheon address titled “Strength in Diversity, Beyond the Rhetoric”, Nazir also told the mainly Chinese participants to look beyond party calls advocating the rights of their own race.

Careful not to name names, he just advised the participants to “ignore them” when asked his stand on such groups.

“We have to accept that in a free and open society, we have to expect extremes. A few noisy people in the corner do not make up the majority or represent the majority.

“We as the majority have the strength to ignore them. Don't get too caught up with what others are saying, or what they are doing.

“Don't waste your time engaging with them,” he said.

Earlier, he also joked that he is a descendant of an immigrant family.

“I told Tan Siok Choo (grand-daughter of one of MCA's founding members Tan Cheng Lock) that her family came to this country earlier than my family,” he said in between chuckles.

Removed from reality

Clearly, Nazir was speaking from the perspective and interest of a corporate man who wish to see an easier passage for his company or business's quest for profit.

Nazir is not concerned whether the high income will ever be attained by Sibu Iban working in sawmill monopolised by Chinese tycoons. THese tycoons' business model is based on paying them at poverty level income of RM14 a day.

Najib or Nazir would neither have an inkling or appreciation of the difficulty to them for RM10 is the cost of one-way one hour boat ride from the rumah panjang to Sibu town.

He couldn't possibly appreciate that 5 sen rise in sugar or basic food or 78 sen rise in petrol makes live difficult for the poor. Frankly, this blogger doubt the brothers knows what the common pariah or rakyat had to undergo.

As politician, Najib only want the rakyat to believe they are given priority.

Both the brothers do not know the hell the poor Malays are facing to secure scholarships for theiur children to further education. And yet we motivate them to study hard and don't indulge in politics because education will lead them to a better future.

This is one problem with this country. Too much expectation is placed on people with myopic vision, but is actually tuned to self interest rather the interest of the common rakyat and nation, to provide input into economic policy. Members of the NEAC was a classic example.

The likes of Nazir is likely to believe in the mantra that meritocrasy will push Bumiputera to work harder and succeed.

And, he is likely to believe that Malay must get out of their shell to see beyond the immediate frontier to not depend on their Bumiputeraness and attain competitiveness, global competitiveness.

Blue blood and shielded

It doesn't matter if he is the son or/and the brother of the Prime Minister, this 'anak bangsawan' and Melayu liberal should stop talking cock.

Ibrahim Ali is right to say in his Sunday press conference, "Nazir is talking nonsense.

Nazir had subtly lashed at Perkasa by seeking all to ignore. Clearly, he was playing to the gallery to be a "chinese hero." A clear indication he is an 'anak bangsawan' far removed from the reality that Perkasa is popular at the ground and building into a major force.

Ibrahim Ali continued, "Even if he is a banker, he is new. And we have to ask how he got to where he is today. CIMB did not become successful because of him."

He is still restraining himself because Nazir's career path was never as banker.

Nazir took a similar career path as elder brother Nizam. He started out as a company dealer in a stockbroker. He did not go through the tough training as analyst or fund manager or credit analyst, but the easier path of matching deals left and right.

With his blue blood connections, he expectedly did well and rose to become CIMB Securites CEO, after the company was taken over by CIMB.

Only then did he moved to Merchant Banking and rightly push the organisation strategically for fee based income. For all you know, the people at Ministry of Finance or Bank Negara had whispered to him of the impending industry restructuring.

Would he had rose to CEO if he had been Jailani bin Miskon from some Kampung Parit something in Batu Pahat, Johor? Jailani would not, because there is no one to guide and shield him.

Talking cock

Even as CEO of a bigger CIMB, with a commercial bank and all other financail services subsidiaries, certain circle cast doubt in his capability to pull of the job he is in now.

For instance, Government had to merge three major plantation companies into a gargantum mess, to generate fee based income to the estimated tune of at least RM300 million. It was a deal decribed as the fee justify the deal.

Now do you understand why he said NEP is a problem? That only means it was a hindrance for him to propose more funny corporate restructuring exercises.

If Nazir is really the new Malay capable of being competitive, just before CIMB goes bust from bad loans, he should leave to an MNC company.

The Malays would like to see neo-liberal embracing Nazir make it without using his Bumiputera status and blue blood connection. See how he carries his Cambridege degree and "Investment Banking" resume.

Switching places with another Cambridge trained failure at the top of Khazanah does not count.

Sometimes these 'anak bangsawan' can talk cock but their views are seldom far from reality? How does his brother's Nizam, Johari and Nazim fair? Would Nazir dare to claim they did not use their position and blue blood connection to seek for Government or Government related contracts and jobs?

Perhaps it best to limit it to just questions this blogger already has answers.

That is exactly one problem with NEP. The royals, blue blood and powerful are using the NEP program to help further enrich themselves than really giving the marhaen a chance.

The abuse by even those claiming abuse of NEP that denied the real Malay and Bumiputera from the real oppotunity. The real enriching benefit of NEPs were distributed among royalties, pembesar and bangsawan, and politicians at the expense of the truly deserving and sloughing Bumiputera.

The abuse by the royals, blue bloods and powerful are seldom done in co-hort with non Malays, particularly Chinese. Most of them look patronisingly down on their fellow Bumiputera.

Nizar, for instance, rise using his Bumiputeraness and Malay blue blood connection but refuse to assist and guide other Bumiputera. The biggest complain against Nazir is he discriminate against Malay and perhaps out of his own inferiority complex, look more highly at non Malays in CIMB.

This is because Nazir got it easy on a silver plater. He fits in this blog's derogatory description of a Melayu liberal.

Irrational Faith - The Root of All Evil. The God Delusion.

The book was great and this documentary is good if you have not read the book. More people should open their minds although their hearts are often trapped in religiosity; many should watch this documentary:

Of Crosses And Moons

I am no Christian nor Muslim. Heck I am not even a member of the Red Cross Society or Red Crescent Society or whatchamacallit. But this (Photoshopped from mental image) is what I saw on Aljazeera News this morning. The news clip was about Israeli security forces being overly physical with peaceful Palestinian demonstrators:

It seems a right touch compared to:

What would the Society be called then?



Delayed But Not Too Late. The Return Of The Erdogans.

It is funny how the face of politics in Malaysia can change sometimes so suddenly or because of changes happening seemingly off the mainstream.

This year's PAS Muktamar was not only keenly contested, it was also keenly observed. I am sure UMNO was watching and yes, the non-Muslims especially the Chinese were watching too. Now to see whether the Erdogans actually will make a difference. Going forward, lets see their public statements on pluralism and how they tackle socioreligious matters. In the past, PAS had a tendency of shooting itself in the foot and for "foot-in-mouth" disease.

Nevertheless, I think this PAS election result is significant for the next GE. The following article was in Malaysiakini:

Mat Sabu is PAS new deputy president

Jun 4, 11 9:01am

PAS grassroots leader Mohamad Sabu has won the PAS deputy post in the Islamic party's most hotly-contested polls to date.

In a surprise victory, Mohamad ousted two ulama (religious scholars) candidates in the election - the three-term incumbent Nasharudin Mat Isa and a last-minute challenge from Pahang PAS commissioner Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.

According to election committee chairperson Abdul Halim Abdul Rahman, Mohamad bagged 420 votes against Tuan Ibrahim, 399 and Nasharudin, 224. 

Mohamad, who has succeeded in his second go at the number two position, is the first non-ulama to hold the post for two decades.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that Husam Musa (right), another non-ulama, has made an astounding comeback by winning one of the three vice-president's posts.

The other two winners are incumbents Salahuddin Ayub and Mahfuz Omar, both of whom are also non-ulama.

It appeared that PAS delegates have opted to reach out to a wider audience by electing all the non-ulama.

Salahuddin is the highest vote-getter in the vice-president contest with 753 votes, followed by Mahfuz, 616 and Husam, 660.

The losers in the six-way contest are Idris Ahmad, 491, Mohd Amar Abdullah, 321, and Nizar Jamaluddin, 217.

Husam, a senior member of the Kelantan state cabinet, had previously held the vice-president's post, but failed in the polls three years ago in his bid for deputy presidency.

Husam is considered close to PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Aziz and is seen as a progressive voice in the party.

The victor and the vanquished

Mohamad, the new No 2, is fast-talking and a crowd puller at ceramahs who rose up the ranks from the very grassroots movement, lending him hard-earned street credibility.

The Penangite, however, does not have a religious background and his success in bagging number two may indicate a rejuvenation in PAS, as well as a boost to its image as an accommodative and open party.

Well-received by supporters of DAP and PKR alike, Mat Sabu or Abang Mat as he is fondly referred to, is expected to forge stronger ties between the Islamic party and its Pakatan Rakyat partners.

Yesterday, Mohamad was spotted outside the muktamar venue amid a flock of youngsters all eager to snap a photo with him on their mobile phones.

His youth appeal is expected to draw a younger and more diverse lot of supporters to PAS.

Once considered to be progressive, Nasharudin (left) has apparently failed to use his long tenure as deputy president to his advantage raising questions over whether he has the mettle to deal with issues confronting PAS.

This could be a concern for the Islamic party as it goes into an anticipated stiffly-contested general election.

The former International Islamic University Malaysia lecturer rose through the ranks of PAS at lightning speed and was a high performing secretary general before elected onto the number two spot in 2007, to much surprise.

The other loser, Tuan Ibrahim, is said to be a candidate representing the ulama faction, which is uneasy with Sabu's ascendancy.

Although relatively unknown at national level politics, Tuan Ibrahim (right) is almost a celebrity in the religious scholar circles and is now spearheading PAS anti-slander campaign in response to the sex video said to be of a man resembling PKRde facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.

The nephew of PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat, Tuan Ibrahim religious background and his good relations with Anwar will help him balance party and Pakatan Rakyat interests, as PAS grows to take a more significant role in national politics.

He had previously held the post of vice president.

All three VPs are non-ulama

Joining the new leadership team under president Abdul Hadi Awang, who won uncontested, are winners of a crowded vice-president race - all of whom are non-ulama.

Mahfuz (right), who has retained his post, is widely believed to be the running mate of Mohamad.

Like Mohamad, the Pokok Sena MP, rose through the ranks from the grassroots and is popular with both PAS members and Pakatan Rakyat supporters alike.

Meanwhile, Salahudin, who has successfuly defended his post, is a double-term Kubang Krian MP and is seen to be a diplomatic leader who has managed to appease different factions of the party, sometimes appearing sympathetic to the unity government call.

Those who failed to make the cut in the vice-president race included Nizar Jamaluddin (left), an engineer by training who gained superstar status in the bid to defend his position as menteri besar in the Perak coup.

Nizar, who came in last, is possibly the most popular PAS leader among the Chinese community, second only to Nik Aziz.

Also defeated in the six-way contest are two ulama - information chief Idris Ahmad, and another member of Kelantan executive council Mohd Amar Abdullah.

Erdogans control party's central committee

It appears that victory by the professionals over the ulama also included the party's powerful central committee.

The results showed the professionals, also known as the Erdogans, won the majority of the 18 seats.

PAS new central committee - those widely considered as Erdogans in bold

Mazlan Aliman, 884 votes

Dr Hatta Ramli, 765

Kamarudin Jaffar, 739

Hanipa Maidin, 735

Azizan Abdul Razak (Kedah MB), 721
Dzulkefly Ahmad, 702

Mujahid Rawa, 651

Khalid Samad, 643

Ghani Shamsuddin, 579

Amiruddin Hamzah, 576

Abdul Wahid Endut, 556

Abu Bakar Chik, 527

Mohd Amar Abdullah, 470

Mahfodz Mohamed, 449

Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud, 445

Hassan Mohamed Ali, 437

Abdul Ghani Abdul Rahman, 430

Nuridah Salleh, 416

IPP Owners Need Not Defend Their Contracts. The Government Is Doing All The Talking. Ever Wonder Why?

Ex-Government Appointees coming out of the woodwork? This Ani Arope would know what he is talking about, wouldn't he? The IPPs are basically Mahathir's babies and legacy. I am sure he will not let this go unanswered; the question is, what will he say. What can he say? We wonder why the IPP owners are not defending themselves but it's the government doing all the fire-fighting. Ani Arope's term "Economic Plundering Unit" will stick and one wonders who the EPU plunders for. This is in the Malaysian Insider:

Ani Arope blames high power tariffs on ‘Economic Plundering Unit’

By Debra Chong

June 03, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 — Former Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) chief executive Tan Sri Ani Arope is blaming the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) for rising electricity tariffs, saying the powerful agency forced the national power company to sign lopsided purchase deals nearly 20 years ago.

Ani said EPU, which he sarcastically dubbed "Economic Plundering Unit", forced Tenaga to buy electricity from an independent power producer (IPP), believed to be Genting Sanyen, at 14 sen per kilowatt hour (kWh) despite an existing offer of 12 sen/kWh then; other IPPs then were charging 16 sen/kWh.

Genting Sanyen became the first IPP to transfer 15 million watts (MW) in electricity to TNB’s national grid on April 15 and is scheduled to complete a RM1.8 billion upgrade on its existing gas-fired plant with a capacity for 720 MW by June next year.

“You don’t need to go to a fanciful business school to figure out why we need a tariff hike — just revisit the terms given to some IPPs,” Ani, who helmed the utility company between 1990 and 1996, said in his last Facebook posting three days ago.

“With the take-or-pay clause and with the 40 per cent excess reserve that we have today, one only has to produce half of one’s capacity and be paid 80 per cent of the agreed capacity. Well done the then-EPU — Economic Plundering Unit,” he added, mocking the economic unit under the Prime Minister’s Department.

Ani called for a review of the original terms with the IPPs as the storm over energy price deals continues to build up.

DAP publicity chief Tony Pua cited today Ani’s 2006 interview with English daily, The Star, to increase pressure on the federal government to declassify the power purchase agreements (PPAs) inked between TNB and the IPPs.

Ani caused a stir 15 years ago when he chose to resign from his executive chairman post rather than sign the imbalanced deals, which saw the first generation of IPPs created, such as YTL Power Services, Powertek and Malakoff during the Mahathir administration.

“TNB is the whipping boy. TNB has no control of the price it has to pay to the IPPs. Get to the source of the problem,” said the Penang-born who turned 79 on May 17.

The Najib administration has been savaged for allegedly protecting the interests of IPPs rather than the public.

Putrajaya announced the 7.12 per cent hike in electricity rates in an effort to trim a subsidy bill that would otherwise double to RM21 billion this year and promised the hike will not affect 75 per cent of domestic consumers.

But power prices will now rise by as much as 2.3 sen per kWh in areas taking TNB’s electricity supply, a potential source of public anger just ahead of a general election expected within the year.

The Star daily reported today the government was close to inking a deal for a 1,000 MW coal-fired plant in Manjung which will charge 25 sen/kWh.

Cancer Con?

Found these two articles on the Net. Chemotherapy is just another colossal con-job! The statistics itself speak. The following are excerpts:
****************************************************
Improving Health of Cancer Patients - July 16, 2010

Richard Loyd, Ph.D.

It is my opinion that in general, cancer is not a medical emergency that requires immediate invasive and toxic interventions. It is a degenerative condition that requires improving of health. There are medical emergencies that require the best medical help you can find. Car accidents with catastrophic injuries or life-threatening burns are examples. In those cases, you need the best emergency room you can find. Cancer can become a medical emergency. If the digestive tract is completely blocked by a tumor so that passage of material is impossible, emergency surgery may be needed. If breathing is becoming impossible due to a tumor blocking the respiratory tract, emergency intervention is appropriate. If a tumor in the brain has grown to the point where there is pressure that is causing damage, surgery may be advisable. It also possible that medical treatment for cancer will cause enough damage that more medical treatment will be required. But in general, cancer is not a condition that requires treatments that actually worsen health.

Many people are trying to recover from cancer with non-toxic therapies. This is an attainable goal and it is often achieved. Patients often spend a lot more money than necessary and take huge numbers of pills, many of which do not have a direct bearing on their problem and may even block progress. More may not be better!

People sometimes tell me that they were perfectly healthy until the cancer suddenly appeared. I point out that they were not really healthy. They had viral infections, toxic metals, parasites, infections in tooth sockets, radiation stress, bowel toxicity, chemical toxicity and probably mold toxicity. There may have been a metabolic imbalance. In other words, the things that cause cancer. The things that have to go away so they can get well.

Anyone with a condition that normally requires the services of a physician is urged to consult one. Ask your physician if this program can be used along side whatever medical treatment you decide on. This is not a "cure" for cancer. It is a method of becoming healthy. If you are considering chemotherapy or radiation, ask your oncologist if the suggested therapy ever cures your kind of cancer. If the answer is "no", then THINK ABOUT THIS! Of those who depend on chemotherapy for survival (in other words, the surgeon "did not get it all"), the five year survival rate is only 2.1%. For some cancers the rate is better, but for some types of cancer, it is 0%.



Does this make you feel like chemotherapy is a cruel fraud in most cases? If you do not get that impression yet, please study the chart some more!

****************************************************

How Much Is Life Worth: Cetuximab, Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer, and the $440 Billion Question
By Tito Fojo, Christine Grady

Affiliations of authors: Medical Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute (TF), and Department of Bioethics, The Clinical Center (CG), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD . Correspondence to: Tito Fojo, MD, PhD, Medical Oncology Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bldg 10, Rm 12 N226, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892 (e-mail: tfojo@helix.nih.gov ). See “Notes” following “References.” DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djp177 Published by Oxford University Press 2009.


The spiraling cost of cancer care, in particular the cost of cancer therapeutics that achieve only marginal benefits, is under increasing scrutiny. Although health-care professionals avoid putting a value on a life, our limited resources require that society address what counts as a benefit, the extent to which cost should factor in deliberations, and who should be involved in these decisions. Professional societies, such as the American Society of Clinical Oncology, government agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, and insurance companies should be involved. However, no segment of society is better qualified to address these issues than the oncology community. Oncologists must offer clear guidance for the conduct of research, interpretation of results, and prescription of chemotherapies. We review recent drug approvals and clinical trials and comment on their relevance to the issue of the spiraling cost of oncology therapeutics. We suggest some standards that would serve as a starting point for addressing these issues.

The year 2008 was one with few major breakthroughs in cancer treatment. A highlight of the war on cancer at the annual meeting in 2008 of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) was the reporting of the results of a multi-institutional European trial in which cetuximab was added to cisplatin and vinorelbine to treat patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The overall survival (OS) advantage from adding cetuximab was 1.2 months (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.871, P = .04). This extra time was accompanied by a substantially higher rate of febrile neutropenia in those receiving cetuximab, along with higher frequencies of acne-like rash, diarrhea, and infusion-related reactions. Unfortunately, there were no systematic quality-of-life assessments reported to objectively determine the tolerability of the agent compared with conventional treatment.

Did the results of this trial constitute a breakthrough? According to the researchers, “Cetuximab added to a platinum-based chemotherapy sets a new standard for the first-line treatment of patients with non–small cell lung cancer”. And the ASCO press briefing asserted, “these findings are likely to have a significant impact on the care of patients with these types of cancer”. But the only reasonable conclusion is that a magic anticancer bullet aimed at an important target missed by a wide margin. Nevertheless, the presentation raised once again an even more pressing and important set of issues: What counts as a benefit in cancer treatment? How much should cost factor into deliberations? Who should decide? As oncologists, we cannot go on without answering these questions. The moral character of our specialty depends on the answers.

Drug (brand name)	Regimen	Dose†	Amount needed†,‡	Cost per milligram or cost per tablet	Total cost‡	Increase in OS‡
Cetuximab (Erbitux)	Loading: 400 mg/m2; maintain: 250 mg/m2/wk	Loading: 600 mg; maintain: 375 mg	6975 mg	$11.52/mg	$80 352	1.2 months
Bevacizumab (Avastin)	10 mg/kg every 14 d	600 mg every 14 d	13 200 mg	$6.88/mg	$90 816	1.5 months§
Erlotinib (Tarceva)	150 mg daily	150 mg/d; 1 tablet per day	112 tablets	$140.64 per tablet	$15752	10 days
Sorafenib (Nexavar)	400 mg twice a day	800 mg/d; 4 tablets per day	692 tablets	$49.67 per tablet	$34373	2.7 months

* Costs from Red Book 2008 (Drug Topics Red Book) by Harold Cohen. PFS = progression-free survival. OS = Overall Survival
† Calculated for a 60 kg/1.5 m 2 patient.
‡ For the regimen cited, administered as in the study cited, until the time of median disease progression as reported in the published study.
§ Not statistically significant.


Read more here

****************************************************

You be the judge...ask an oncologist to undergo chemo when has cancer.