What award does Rosmah Mansor deserve from Sarawakians?

By Rosita Maja

Prime Minister Najib Razak’s wife Rosmah Mansor spearheaded a ‘First Ladies Summit’ in Malaysia on the theme “A Child Today, a Leader Tomorrow”. Rosmah’s soiree for the ladies cost RM24 million.

The ‘summit’ lasted for three days. It drew a poor attendance: a total of only fifteen ‘first ladies’, mostly from African nations, attended the inaugural ‘First Ladies Summit’.

The issue of this ‘summit’ has been brought up by Zuraida Kamaruddin, Member of Parliament for Ampang, for debate in Parliament, highlighting the extravagant sum of RM24 million spent on the confab and its surrounding publicity.

        What was the ‘summit’ for, and how much did it benefit the people on the ground?

Hajah Zuraida Kamaruddin: Dalam bajet tambahan ini, Yang Berhormat Titiwangsa, sebanyak RM24 juta. Jadi saya tidak tahulah apa program ini. Whether it is a ball night or what, I do not know. What is a program all about, dengan izin.

(Hornbill Unleashed translation: “In this supplementary budget, the Honourable Member for Titiwangsa, the sum of RM24 million (was spent). I have no idea what this programme is. Whether it is a ball night or what, I do not know. What is the programme about?”

Anwar says big projects sign of BN’s imminent fall

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 – Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim attacked the Najib administration for going down the mega projects track to boost the economy, saying  BN’s obsession with “grandeur” marks its imminent fall.

“The government’s excitement to display grandeur, that will be the sign of the fall of their empire. We will pray for this,” the Opposition Leader (picture) told the august House in his debate speech on Budget 2011 in Parliament this morning.

Opposition lawmakers in the House thumped on their tables in rapturous response.
“This rush for symbolic mega projects, supposedly to portray pride for the country, is being repeated now under the present Prime Minister.

“Here I would like to question the wisdom of Permodalan Nasional Bhd’s order from the government to involve itself in mega projects,” he said.

Anwar was referring to the 100-storey Warisan Merdeka skyscraper proposal by the government which is expected to cost over RM5 billion for construction.

Malaysian king's palace to cost millions

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - – A massive new palace being built for Malaysia's king is expected to be completed next June, at a total cost of 258 million dollars, parliament has been told. The "Istana Negara", or national palace, which is taking shape on a hilltop in a Kuala Lumpur suburb is an enormous complex of dome-topped buildings linked to the city's highways with special access roads.

The palace sprawls over a 100,000 square metre (one million square foot) site which was annexed in the 1990s in what has since become a prime residential area. Works Minister Shaziman Abu Mansor said the palace is expected to be completed on June 30 next year, at a total cost of 797 million ringgit (258 million dollars).

File photo shows Malaysian royal, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin (C) flanked by Queen Nur Zahirah (R) alongside former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in Kuala Lumpur. A massive new palace being built for the Malaysian royal family is expected to be completed next June, at a total cost of 258 million dollars, parliament has been told.

RM22,500 to chop down one tree in Kuching

By Joseph Tawie

KUCHING: Did you know that it costs RM22,500 to chop down a tree in Kuching, Sarawak? That was the shocking disclosure by DAP secretary Chong Chieng Jen who said it was ridiculous for the Kuching South City Council to pay tycoon Ting Phek King's company RM22,500 to chop down a tree. 

Ting's company had apparently demanded from the council a payment of RM7.5 million to cut down about 300 trees along the one-kilometre stretch of Tun Jugah road.

Although Ting came under heavy criticism for cutting down the trees, the Mayor of Kuching James Chan in a recent statement defended Ting’s claim saying that the trees needed to be cut down as they posed a danger to road users.

5 Minutes Management Course

Lesson 1:
A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings.
The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbor. Before she says a word, Bob says, 'I'll give you $800 to drop that towel.'
After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob, after a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves. The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs.
When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks,
'Who was that?'
'It was Bob the next door neighbour,' she replies.
'Great,' the husband says, 'did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?'

Moral of the story:

If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.