PICTURE SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS

My friend sent me an email containing all of these pictures yesterday. At first, I thought he was about to asked me to join him for a holiday. But, after a few moment I realised - this place didn't exist anymore...

DO YOU KNOW THIS CITY??

..THIS IS GAZA..

Sometimes words isn't needed to tell all, don't you think?

source:www.palestineonly.com

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Listen to your heart-be grateful,think and act right!

Once again as the nation is gearing up to the beat of another by-election, Malaysians in Kuala Terengganu are entrapped between the hues and cries of the many forces of political campaigns and the responsibility of ensuring a good and sound government is installed.

There are many conflicts in the hearts of these voters which hinder wise thinking. So let voicesfromfar share some food for thoughts with you.Its parts of some excerpts which has some relevance to our local scenario.Though there are some small degree of variance in the issues discussed but nevertheless lessons learnt are good enough to ponder/emulate.

Subject: Excerpts from Special Lecture by Lee Kuan Yew

*Lee Kuan Yew*
... Let me start by outlining how I see the world. Singapore survives and prospers only if there is international order, regional peace and stability, and growth instead of wars and conflicts. The region has grown in the last 50 years because there was an umbrella that provided that security and enabled countries to live peacefully together…

*Gordon Wilson*

Minister Mentor, For someone who was frequently in Singapore in the 1960s and 1970s and returning there now 40 Years later, the prosperity and dynamism are phenomenal.The change into a prosperous city state is extraordinary. Has there been a price to be paid?

*Lee Kuan Yew*

I start from first principles. What I have to do was to turn this improbable country into a country and eventually a nation? It took me a very long time. We were a disparate group of people rioting with each other just a few years before we became independent, because Malay extremist forces stirred up problems. You have to work from first principles and to pay no mind to what political scientists say in terms of doing this or that, following this prescription,with free-market democracy according to Fukuyama. I needed a stable,peaceful society, so I had strict laws against inciting racial or religious tensions. At the same time, I made quite sure that everybody is treated equally. Religions were respected…

We also mixed everybody up in high-rise buildings, no longer in enclaves. We have no ghettoes or qasbas. Every constituency has its quota of the less successful.Everybody has the same chances in education and we chose a neutral language – English... After a few years, parents discovered that having English as a first language led to better job opportunities, so that solved itself.

These are basics that you have to get right: a level playing field and a meritocracy regardless of race, language or religion.That is part of our national pledge.

Now we have arrived, why do we not run a liberal democracy? Why should we? I got a clear mandate. The lowest turnout we had was 60% of the electorate. Nobody alleged chicanery or malpractice.

*Gordon Wilson*
Is there as much freedom of expression as perhaps could be allowed in a modern state, as we have today?

*Lee Kuan Yew*

People wondered whether the press was controlled. Everything can be reported, but no crusading is allowed.The internet is there and you can do what you like, but we try to prevent becoming sidetracked. Western political scientists, NGOs and even some US Government officials believe in a prescribed route for success.

We have a coherent Singapore. Do we want an incoherent Singapore and have the whole thing fall apart? Think about it carefully. At every election, I used to tell people to think carefully: 'In the next five years, do you want your homes to be worth more or less?' The smallest taxi driver or hawker has a home worth S$150,000. They are stakeholders. If they vote the wrong government in, property prices drop and they are in trouble. If you produce the right government, there will be more infrastructure and connectivity, a better environment and clean water, thereby allowing you to improve your assets. Why should we change that? The western media and political scientists say that that is wrong, but is it?

The day we become dishonest, ineffective or incapable, we are out.

HOW VERY RIGHT-IF YOU VOTE THE WRONG GOVERNMENT IN, EVERYTHING IN PLACE WILL FALL APART. And now..LET US SEE THE RELEVANCY OF THIS PRINCIPLE IN KUALA TRENGGANU !!!

Just take for example the Chinese community itself in Kuala Terengganu-how have they benefited from the Barisan Nasional government? Not counting the past developments that had taken place, but just for 2009,amongst which we see :-

1. Some RM2.7 million in cash was distributed to about 9,000 needy and elderly Chinese on the 5 January 2009 by BN government. The RM200 to RM300 handout per person is an annual event which usually happens either a week before or after Chinese New Year.

2. The Menteri Besar Ahmad Said has pledged RM3.3 million for the construction of a hall for the Chinese community in Bukit Kecil, with the ground breaking ceremony slated for January 13.

3. Another RM110,000 was allocated to 40 Chinese religious organizations.

4. The Terengganu State government further approved RM2.8 million for the upgrading the hall of SJK (C) Chung Hwa Wei Sin, Kuala Terengganu. The school’s brass band will receive another RM200,000.

5. The state MCA has obtained federal allocation worth RM205,000 for two temples

6. Education Minister Hishamuddin Hussien on Jan 5 announced a RM2,926,000 allocation for 10 Chinese schools in the state.

7. The 583 Terengganu based Malay contractors were offered contracts valued at RM15.8 Million in infrastructure works in the Kuala Terengganu area.

The local community regardless of race and religion,are the stakeholders and know what is best for the country and Kuala Trengganu. Listern to your hearts -Why should you risk the change? Let the words of our neighbouring Minister Mentor be wisdom to you when you are excercising your rights.

THINK ABOUT IT CAREFULLY ! Don`t let racial or religious issues incite you anymore ! We are one Malaysians ,united in voice and strength , and we can ride through the economic and political storm together with the BN government

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Keadilan di bumi Palestin?

Pepatah “Hujan Emas di Negeri Orang, Hujan Batu di Negeri Sendiri” harus dihayati bagi memahami perjuangan rakyat Palestin ketika ini. Saya amat hairan mendengar pendapat segelintir individu yang menyalahkan pertubuhan HAMAS di atas apa yang menimpa rakyat Palestin ketika ini.

Sejarah bisa membuktikan bahawa HAMAS (yang terdiri daripada penduduk asal Palestin) ditubuhkan untuk membela nasib rakyat Palestin – Islam ataupun tidak, untuk memerdekakan bumi mereka daripada jajahan Zionis.

1. Dakwaan bahawa HAMAS yang mencetuskan konflik kali ini adalah tidak benar sama sekali. Perlu diketahui, sepanjang tempoh gencatan senjata 6 bulan lalu yang bermula 18 Jun lepas, HAMAS telah bersetuju tidak melancarkan roket, manakala Israel pula sepatutnya menarik balik kepungan di Gaza. Namun, sebaliknya berlaku. Regim Zionis ini telah memperketatkan lagi kepungan dan memperhebatkan serangan. Malah, pada 4 November dan 17 November lalu, mereka membunuh warga Palestin.

2. Ketidakadilan juga berlaku di bumi Palestin ketika PBB melanggar piagamnya sendiri dalam usaha penubuhan Israel. Termaktub dalam piagam tersebut sebelum sesebuah negara ditubuhkan, rakyat yang terlibat harus diberikan kuasa menentukan masa depan mereka. Namun, hak tersebut telah dinafikan. Ketika awal penubuhan Israel, rakyat Palestin, Islam dan Kristian adalah penduduk majoriti. Dengan bilangan penduduk Yahudi tidak sampai 30%, 60% wilayahnya telah diberikan kepada mereka, manakala bakinya iaitu sejumlah 40% diberikan kepada rakyat Palestin yang merupakan majoriti besar (70%) penduduk ketika itu. Adilkah itu?

3. Titik tolak perjuangan HAMAS dan penduduk Palestin ketika ini juga dilihat bukan lagi berasaskan fahaman agama. Pendirian HAMAS, mereka percaya bahawa Islam adalah agama toleransi, agama keamanan dan mengiktiraf kebebasan beragama. Bagi mereka, rakyat Kristian Palestin adalah saudara senegara, rakan perjuangan dan mangsa kezaliman regim Zionis seperti rakyat Palestin yang lain. Buktinya, selepas pilihanraya 2006, 5 orang warga Kristian bertanding atas tiket HAMAS. HAMAS juga melantik Ir. Jawdat Marqus sebagai Menteri Pelancongan mereka.

4. Sekatan yang dikenakan ke atas bumi Palestin juga perlu ditarik balik. Apabila bekalan makanan, petrol, ubat-ubatan dan pelajaran di sekolah terganggu akibat kekurangan kertas di sekolah-sekolah Gaza dan Tebing Barat, siapakah yang akan lebih merasai penderitaannya? HAMAS ataupun orang awam Palestin sendiri?

5. Kekejaman regim Zionis di bumi Palesti perlu dihentikan. Walau apapun alasannya, tidak ada sebab bagi kanak-kanak, wanita dan orang awam Palestin menerima kekejaman sebegitu rupa. Dunia juga harus menghormati suara rakyat Palestin yang telah memilih HAMAS sebagai tampuk pemerintahan mereka. Jalan penyelesaian harus difikirkan dengan rundingan, dan bukannya di hujung senjata.

sumber : Utusan Malaysia, HAMAS:Daripada Underground kepada Parti Pemerintah

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Of tonic for pensioners-see what it has come to ?

Another new year has come -WELCOME 2009 and whether we are old or young, black or white, male or female; we have like the old chinese saying grown older and wiser by another one year.


The holiday season for all is over and most are moving back into the momentum of another year-children going to school and working people rushing back to work and blaa..blaa...blaa.But what do retired people do all day? What do they do to make their days interesting?


And...Well, this is a classical example of one that I have for you all.

`...the other day my wife and I went into town and went into a shop. We were only in there for about 5 minutes. When we came out, there was a cop writing out a parking ticket.

We went up to him and said, 'Come on man, how about giving a senior citizen a break?'

And again we said , 'Come on man, how about giving a senior citizen a break?'

He ignored us and continued writing the ticket. I called him a Nazi turd. He glared at me and started writing another ticket for having worn tyres

So my wife called him a shit-head. He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then he started writing a third ticket. This went on for about 20 minutes. The more we abused him, the more tickets he wrote.

Personally, we didn't care. We came into town by bus. We try to have a little fun each day now that we're retired. It's important at our age...`

See what it has come to for them as senior citizens or pensioners. They stay fit and active to enjoy life.

In Malaysia last year the government had spent RM101 million on pensioners`medical care to keep them fit and healthy. So instead of spending their time loafing around and playing pranks or becoming a nuisance,perhaps some of them can be National Service trainers ,volunteer workers or be reemployed back into the work force to stay productive.

Like in the words of the Post-Service Division(formerly the Pensions Division) director, the pensioners need to give back something to society for the good life that most enjoy. Though pensions are their deferred salaries, pensioners should not be a burden beyond the two percent of the gross domestic product that we spend on them.

For your information my dear listerners, three pension and remunerations amendment bills were passed by parliament last month. Among the main benefits on the cards are:-

1.Pensions calculations now factor in a maximum 30 years service,up 5 years from 25 years`service

This means pensioners who have served 30years in the civil service can expect a 20% increase on what they are getting now.

2.No more reductions on a derivative pension after 12 1/2 years of retirement.Widows to get full pension as compared to 70% previously.About 38,000 widows stand to gain from this amendment.

3.Removal of residency requirement.Pensioners living overseas will no longer have to return to Malaysia on regular basis to be eligible for pension.

This is because the pension is now recognised as a deferred payment which is owed to pensioners,whether or not he is residing in Malaysia.This amendment will free elderly,ill or destitute pensioners to live with relatives overseas.

The reason that pensions were not given to pensioners who resided oversea was to check the outflow of money.But with globalisation, this was not a concern anymore as money also flowed into Malaysia,brought in by foreign pensioners who came here on the Malaysia My Second Home programme.

There are 1,475 pensioners living in 24 countries. The estimated outflow for this is RM 31 million as compared to RM7.1 billion in total retirement benefits given out.

4. Pensioners who have served a minimum of 25 years` service will receive a minimum pension of RM 720.

5. Parents of deceased single civil servant will receive a lump sum ex gratia.In the past the government does not pay pension to his parent.

6.From February 2009,pensions of single and widowed pensioners or widow pensioners will be paid directly into their bank accounts.

7. A central billing system is being worked out for private health providers to make claims to the government for medical expenses incurred by pensioners.

8. Plans are afoot to set up an employment clearing house to help match skilled and experienced pensioners with suitable employers.

With this in store, pensioners surely can look forward to a great year ahead.The pension has always been considered as just a reward for service to the government. Now by these benefits, we hope these pensioners can be more than just `pensioners` who would not survive with the mindset of entitlement.

Yeah!! you must remember what we are entitled to is only our original pension.Everything else is by the fact we have a caring government who feels that it wants to give us something extra.

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