anilnetto.comanilnetto.comThe journalism and other writings of Anil Netto - featuring real journalism in the cause of justice, freedom and solidarity Articles
Mahathir and the judges? again
2008-06-11 12:37:00 Somehow, even after his retirement, Mahathir is still involved in controversy involving the judges. The Lingam tape, Salleh Abas, Ian Chin… ? What else is coming out of the judicial closet? So what do you make of Mahathir’s response (to Ian Chin’s revelations)? Maybe his memory needs refreshing… Both the New Straits Times and the Star today ... More About: Judges , Judiciary , Malaysian politics
Mouth-watering seafood, anyone?
2008-06-11 05:33:00 By now, you would have heard that Malaysian seafood exports could be slapped with a EU ban. What’s gone wrong? From reports, we hear that: ?… there are infrastructure and facilities such as fishing vessels, fish landing ports, and fish and prawn farms, which are lagging behind the standards set by EU,?… Random checks conducted on nine seafood companies ... More About: Europe , Seafood , Accountability , Mouth
Corporate doublespeak: subsidies vs ?incentives?
2008-06-10 14:19:00 I walked into a petrol station along a busy road in Penang last night and engaged in some small talk with the cashier. I asked him what kind of impact the petrol price hike has had on his collection. “In ringgit terms, it has gone up,” he replied. “But in terms of litres sold, there has ... More About: Corporate , Poverty , Accountability , Incentives
From People Power to Pedal Power
2008-06-10 06:36:00 There has been a lot of talk about people boycotting the petrol pumps - you can see this being circulated via email. Only snag is how long can people sustain this? So it’s time for pedal power! Hey, if Paris can do it, why not KL, Penang, Ipoh, Johor Bharu, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu? It ... More About: Power , Environment , People , People Power , Pedal
Why the generous subsidies for IPPs?
2008-06-09 16:24:00 Oil price hike protest in Ipoh (Source: Unknown; forwarded via email) So Petronas and the Malaysian government says subsidies distort the market. Of course, the withdrawal of subsidies will encourage conservation of a scarce resource - which is a good thing. It might even reduce pollution and congestion. Roads were noticeablly less congested in parts of ... More About: Environment , Health Care , Accountability , Generous
Would you like to see this in your city?
2008-06-08 12:43:00 A modern tram in Grenoble, France - Photo credit: Wikipedia (copyleft) The tram initiative is building up momentum. So far, 25 29 30 31 bloggers and websites have signed on to the campaign. Civil society activists have articulated their views too. Here’s what some people are saying: Heritage writer Khoo Salma Nasution: Heritage writer Khoo Salma Nasution noted that ... More About: Public Transport , City
More on the mysterious oil subsidies
2008-06-07 17:40:00 Some more light on this mysterious subsidy thing: Most of the country’s oil fields contain low-sulfur, high quality “sweet” crude. Malaysia exports the majority of its oil to Japan, Thailand, Singapore and South Korea. And we import cheaper, lower-grade oil from elsewhere. This from The Star: Commenting on the fuel price increase, the Petronas boss said the corporation did ... More About: Accountability , Mysterious
At least RM500/mth to use the second Penang bridge
2008-06-07 05:48:00 Now that oil prices have gone up by 41 per cent and diesel by even more, our planners should scrap the proposed second cross-channel road link for Penang . If the RM4.8 billion second Penang bridge (all 24km of it, 17km over water) sounded like a bad idea before the oil price hike, today it sounds like ... More About: Public Transport , Accountability , Bridge
Time to bring back the trams
2008-06-06 08:38:00 Before the general election, they told us that we would become a net importer of oil by 2011. Now, with the sharp oil price increase, they tell us we can remain a net exporter of oil until 2014-2015. You see, domestic demand will slow down. Some of us might turn to bicycles - and even live ... More About: Time , Back
Subsidy? What subsidy? Aiyah, I don’t understand-lah…
2008-06-06 03:29:00 For the last few days, I have been trying to figure out what exactly this oil “subsidy” is that the government is talking about, which it cannot tahan any longer and so it has to collect more money from the people. What exactly is this “subsidy”? Everyone is talking about it without really knowing what this ... More About: Understand
It?s a jungle out there! Oil price hike madness?
2008-06-04 18:05:00 I was stuck in a massive jam after I went to pick up a friend from the Penang airport. No matter how hard I tried to avoid the petrol stations, it seemed like the whole of Penang was out on the streets looking for oil, before the price hike at midnight. While listening to the radio, ... More About: Public Transport , Accountability , Price , Jungle , Hike
What are they doing on the Penang Bridge centre-span?
2008-06-04 08:58:00 High above the Penang Bridge For the longest time now, there has been major ongoing work on the three-lane centre-span of the Penang Bridge. The work seems never-ending. Many motorists are puzzled about the long-term closure of the far left lanes on the centre span. Only two of the three lanes on the centre-span are in ... More About: Accountability , Centre , Span
Petronas? RM600 billion profit: Where has it all gone?
2008-06-03 09:30:00 So the figure has been revealed. Petronas ’ group profit before taxes, royalties, dividends and export duties amounted to RM570 billion for the period from its establishment in 1974 to 31 March 2007. If you include the figure for the period until 31 March 2008, then you are probably looking at a figure closer to RM700 billion, ... More About: Profit , Accountability , Billion
Second Penang bridge cost soars to RM4.8 billion
2008-06-02 12:30:00 Traffic jam on the Second Penang Bridge in 2020? Toll $$$ for UEM In July 2007, the estimated cost of the second Penang bridge was RM2.7 billion. By October/November 2007, it had crept up to RM3 billion. By January 2008, it was between RM3 billion and RM4 billion. In April, we were told it would come to RM4.3 billion! ... More About: Cost , Accountability , Billion
Urban planning gone crazy
2008-06-01 16:38:00 This is an example of urban planning without a thought to pedestrians. It is a world in which cars reign supreme and pedestrians are just above cockroaches in the “food chain”. It is a world in which pedestrians - what more people with disabilities - seem to be completely forgotten. Thanks to the blog reader who ... More About: Planning , Urban , Crazy
RSS feed addresses
2008-06-01 08:07:00 As you can see, I have been tinkering around with this site. Thanks to N4M for his suggestion to make the URLs search-engine friendly. I have done that, and now you can use any one of the following URLs for the feed: http://anilnetto.com/feed/rss/ http://anilnetto.com/feed/ http://feeds.feedburner.com/Anilnettocom More About: Feed
Blogger Power drives Penangites for Trams Campaign
2008-05-31 09:19:00 The campaign to bring back the trams to Penang is picking up momentum as more bloggers join in the action. So far 22 bloggers have joined in the campaign. That’s brilliant! Click here to see the full list. If you are a blogger and you want to join in the campaign, just add one of the ... More About: Power , Blogger , Campaign , Public Transport , Civil society
The Ghost of Penang Future: State govt should establish ?green? credentials
2008-05-26 17:54:00 Cover-up job: The rape of hill-slopes continues (Photo credit: Rhino) Last Friday, another mud slide struck Penang on the stretch of road between Tanjong Bunga and Batu Ferringhi. It was not surprising given the sort of hill-slope development taking place. This one occurred in the vicinity of the Ivory building project. You can see from this ... More About: Environment , Ghost , Future , Green
Zaid Ibrahim to address media freedom activists
2008-05-25 08:24:00 On Sunday, 1 June, journalists and concerned citizens are planning to taking a symbolic Walk at Dataran Merdeka to promote the cause of media freedom. The organisers stress that it is not a public gathering but a walk. They expect Zaid Ibrahim to deliver a keynote address. According to the organisers, Zaid has made two requests - ... More About: Freedom , Media , Democracy , Address , Civil society
Penang Turf Club members sue committee over sale of land
2008-05-23 21:01:00 Two Penang Turf Club members, Tan Sri Tan Kok Ping and Dato’ Lee Ah Hoe, on behalf of the other members, are suing the Club’s 12-person committee for substantial damages over various issues pertaining to the sale of the Batu Gantong land. The civil suit summons comes up to over 30 pages so I will ... More About: Sale , Accountability , Land
Singapore gets the Island; Malaysia on the Rocks
2008-05-23 11:44:00 Well, there you have it. The ICJ has declared that the jurisdiction of Pedra Branca falls to Singapore by a 12-4 majority. The other territory - Middle Rock and Southern Ledge - fall to Malaysia by a 15-1 majority. A glum-looking RTM presentator says Malaysia has “kehilangan kedaulatan over Pulau Batu Puteh” - and then goes on ... More About: Politics , Island , Asean
Penang Turf Club member to move for EGM to reclassify land back to ?recreat
2008-05-22 11:01:00 In a surprise development, a prominent Penang Turf Club member, Tan Sri Tan Kok Ping, said he will, together with a group of members, “requisite for for an EGM to be convened as soon as possible to pass a resolution mandating the Turf Club committee to take immediate steps to submit application to the authorities ... More About: Environment , Back , Accountability
Mokhzani follows Dad out of Umno: Mahathir?s multi-prong strategy
2008-05-21 05:21:00 So Harakahdaily reports that Mokhzani is following his Dad out of Umno. He reportedly made the announcement this morning. The shrewd politician that he is, Mahathir probably has a few tricks up his sleeve. Scheming and scheming all the time… I believe he is opting for a multi-prong strategy in his battle to unseat Abdullah and put ... More About: Strategy , Multi , Prong
Ku Li tells 1,000-strong crowd he is going for top post after Mahathir quit
2008-05-19 08:33:00 5.30pm - Ku Li has addressed a crowd of over 1,000 people at the ballroom of another hotel in Alor Star. Commenting on Dr Mahathir’s shock decision to quit, he said that the former premier had wanted to send a strong message to Umno. Tengku Razeleigh also said he would be challenging for the top post ... More About: Post , Democracy , Quit , Strong , Tells
Mahathir quits Umno: What?s next - Umno Baru Baru?
2008-05-19 08:01:00 So the man who established Umno Baru in 1988 quits the party he founded in a huff. Now this comes just a few days after he and a string of his cronies were accused of involvement in the fixing of appointments of judges. Over the last few months, Mahathir has watched from the sidelines as his house ... More About: Judiciary , Malaysian politics
How did Abad Naluri get over 1,000 acres of Batu Kawan land?
2008-05-16 19:47:00 When discussing the RM1.5 billion PGCC scandal along with the scandalous rezoning from “recreational” land to “new development”, we cannot afford to ignore what was going on in Batu Kawan, which is closely connected to the PGCC saga. The PGCC and Batu Kawan deals reveal some highly questionable circumstances. During a meeting between Chief Minister Lim Guan ... More About: Environment , Accountability , Land , Acres
How to stop any development of Penang Turf Club for now
2008-05-15 06:41:00 The dream of a Penang People’s Park lives on. But Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng seems concerned that if he rezones the Penang Turf Club land back from “development” status to “recreational”, it could expose the state government to claims of compensation. But he needn’t have to worry too much. For the Penang state government holds ... More About: Environment , Development , Accountability
Bloggers launch ?Penangites for Trams? campaign
2008-05-14 08:59:00 Today, several Penang-based bloggers and websites are due to simultaneously launch a “Penangites for Trams” campaign. We hope more and more bloggers and webmasters - especially all those who care for Penang - will join in the campaign by placing the graphics here on their blogs or websites. You can link the graphic to the ... More About: Environment , Campaign , Bloggers , Launch , Civil society
Suaram activists released on police bail, complain of ?mala fide?
2008-05-12 06:10:00 This morning, Suaram Penang coordinator Lau Shu Shi, who is also Penang coordinator for the Abolish ISA Movement (GMI), and Teh Chun Hong were released on police bail. Shu Shi told me she is required to report to the police on 21 May to find out about a possible charge under Section 90 of the Police ... More About: Human Rights , Released , Civil society , Malaysian politics
PGCC the biggest land scam: Guan Eng slams Koh and Teng
More articles from this author:2008-05-11 09:17:00 The PGCC project has been the biggest land scam in Penang, Penang Chief Minister Guan Eng said today, adding there were a couple of other large scams still under investigation. He was responding to a statement by Teng Hock Nan yesterday (see full statement below). The Penang state government had converted the Turf Club land from ... More About: Environment , Accountability , Land , Scam , Civil society 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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