Cooking Lynas-style nonsense for Pengerang

Cooking Lynas-style nonsense for Pengerang

Pahang MB DS Adnan Yaakob had cheekily described the anti-Lynas demo in Kuantan today as a tourism demo. Beautiful Kuantan is after-all a tourist town.

Well, Tok Nan seems to be a different kind of man than Johor MB Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman. He likes to be funny sometimes, even on serious issues.

Can't really blame the man. The Lynas demo was indeed funny - complete with a khalwat drama and everything.

I don't think if it's Ghani, he will even dignify the demo people with any comment, colourful or otherwise. All those khalwat elements would not interest him that much. He would instead let the demo people tire themselves by being stupid and continue with his work

We will probably see Ghani do exactly that now that the Pakatan gang are apparently planning to spark something similar to the Lynas thing in Johor.

The latest report that I got was that the Pakatan people are now laying the groundwork to do so in Pengerang, Kota Tinggi.

When I did this posting , A little pig oinking at our police , I was not sure where it was heading, except that it's the usual Pakatan's police bashing exercise. Only later on that I realise it's a start of a new campaign to undermine the BN government, especially in Johor.

On Friday last week, it was discovered that the Pakatan people had recruited 18 locals of Pengerang to be agents tasked with instigating the residents of Pengerang to protest against the planned Petronas RAPID pateroleum hub project. The project was expected to involve an investment of up to RM200 billion.

This Pakatan efforts is being helmed by PKR, Pas and of all people, the Johor Bar Council.

I don't know la how stupid the lawyers are, but this time they are clearly playing an open card by declaring that they are indeed pro-Pakatan.

What is also noticeable is unlike Lynas, the DAP this time is not among the Pakatan front liners on this particular issue. Quite smart of them. Pengerang is a Malay area, so, they just push their Malay balachis to do most of the dirty work. See. who said manipulation of racial sentiments is not a consideration among the Pakatan people?

I am not yet sure how they are going to angle their attack. It could be on environment or land matters. Either way, they will try to cook it up to be another national issue like Lynas.

Of course, just like Lynas, they can't stop the project but this is simply to stir up something. Johor has no real big issue, so this probably will do, so that they can have something to say during their ceramah or an excuse to initiate another publicity-attracting demo like the Lynas one. They know there is really nothing wrong with the project, but it's creating the negetive perception that matter to them.

They would never care that the RM200 billion investment of the project will generate economic growth of more than trillions of ringgit within 15 years.

They would never tell the villagers in Pengerang that by that time, their children will have lots of employment opportunities from the economic growth, and that their children would not have to go far from their hometown to get a good job.

These Pakatan people who wanted the Pengerang folks to protest against the project are almost entirely made up of outsiders. They never care that all these while, the place has been a Johor backwater, and that it is currently only famous for being the departing and arrival points of illegal immigrants via the so-called laluan tikus.

Do those people such as the suited up smarter than anyone else pricks from the Bar Cuncil really care about the mostly poor fishermen and farmers of Pengerang? I don't think so. They are just there to reap political benefit and use those whom they think could be manipulated for their ends.

The Pakatan people know they can't win in Pengerang as it is a BN stronghold, yet they will proceed trying to make an issue over the planned construction of the petroleum hub.

All that they want by creating the issue is not to protect the interests of the Pengerang folks but instead to have it to play with in projecting themselves as being people and environment friendly with the general election around the corner.

An aspiring MB and his merry men

An aspiring MB and his merry men

What la this latest thing I heard about people of a certain aspiring MB behaving so unashamedly as if their boss is already certain to get the job.

Cannot wait until Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman step down first ka? Cannot wait until after the general election ka? Cheyyy....

Hey, malu you know behaving like that.

I hear this from the JCS people, ok? Not Ghani people. Ghani people had already been told not to make noise about this nonsense as they need to focus on the coming general election.

These JCS people told me that this bunch of people are already touring Kota Iskandar, telling the people there which rooms they are going to occupy when their boss become menteri besar.

They were said to have even asked for the list of JCS people so that they can determine in advance who are to go to what post to suit their "needs".

Let's not even let me begin on how these bunch of people use filthy tactics to make sure Ghani vacate the MB post so that their boss can take over. Eh, Ghani don't want the post anymore la. No need to be so gelojoh, ok?

This is the old sickness of Umno. Party members who think they are so powerful just because they are from Umno. Lebih sudu dari kuah (more spoon than gravy). These are the sorts of people who are the curse of Umno.

These are the sorts of nonsense behavior which make people who are pro-Umno but not party members got sick of Umno. Lets not even talk about the fence sitters let alone those on the other side.

I don't know whether their boss know about their behaviour but if he does, he better tell them to stop it.

I know, the PM is going to spend quite a lot of time in their area when he visit Johor next month. But they should get it in their thick skull that he is going there not to endorse their boss as the next Johor MB. He is going there because their area is classified as "grey". That means their area are in danger and the PM need to be there to bolster support for BN. Got it or not? Sheeessshhh....   

Talks on the ground among Johor contractors at the moment are that, if this aspiring MB really get the job, they need to hike up the cost of their projects by as high as 100 per cent  to accommodate the demands of his machais.

I tell you....if this happened, Johor will definitely go into the longkang.  This is what I have feared all the while.

My prayers now is for PM DS Najib Razak to be strong and wise in his decision.

Please Datuk Najib,   appoint someone who can really take care of Johor after Ghani retires.

I guarantee you, if a wrong choice was made, that's the end of Johor as we know it.

Kulai is black area

Kulai is black area

If there is going to be a place where Johor BN will lose in the next general election, it should be in Kulai.

Kulai has  about 34,000 voters. It is the parliamentary constituency in Johor with the biggest percentage of Chinese voters.

The current MP of Kulai is former MCA president Ong Ka Ting.

The Kulai parliamentary constituency comprise 31 per cent Malay voters, 59 per cent Chinese and 10 per cent Indians.

There are three State constituencies within the Kulai parliamentary area.
1. Bukit Permai - 52 per cent Malays, 36 per cent Chinese and 11 per cent Indians. The seat currently belongs to Umno.
2. Bukit Batu - 30 per cent Malays, 63 per cent Chinese and 7 per cent Indians. The seat currently belongs to Gerakan.
3. Senai -  22 per cent Malays, 67 per cent Chinese and 11 per cent Indians. The seat currently belongs to DAP.

The situation in Kulai is not good at all for BN. The leadership of Umno and MCA there are in disarray while their machinery in a state of paralysis. Only Gerakan, led by its Bukit Batu assemblyman Cheong Chin Liang seems to be doing some serious work. Kulai Wanita Umno also seems to be trying their best but they were hampered by a lackasadical attitude among division leaders.

It is understood that Kulai Umno leaders are currently jockeying for the single state seat allocated to them in Bukit Permai. Up to four leaders from the division were said to be lobbying the party leadership in Kuala Lumpur to be the Umno candidate there for the coming election.

Pas' presence there may be small and Umno likely to retain the seat, but the probability of Malay votes going to the opposition for the parliamentary seat from Bukit Permai will be quite significant in the overall scheme of things.

Even in Bukit Batu, the hardworking Cheong is struggling to keep things together for BN, especially among his Chinese constituents. It is going to be a 50-50 chance for BN in Bukit Batu as DAP is expected to field a strong candidate there.

It will be even more difficult for BN in Senai with its 67 per cent Chinese voters. MCA, which was supposed to field a candidate there are really handicapped with Ong Ka Ting hardly bothered to be in his area now that he knows he is already out of power in MCA and not going to defend his Kulai seat.

As for the Kulai parliamentary seat, DAP is expected to field their biggest gun, State opposition leader Dr Boo Cheng Hau who will also be defending his Skudai state seat. Any MCA candidate fielded there is expected to be blown out of the water by Dr Boo if Kulai BN do not get their act together.

The situation was made even worse by the refusal of the Kulai Umno division leaders to work with the party's State liaison committee which were trying hard to coordinate with the grass-root leaders in defending, especially the Kulai parliamentary seat. As far as Umno leaders in Kulai are concerned, all that matter to them is the single Umno seat of Bukit Permai.

It was quite sad, especially for grass-root members who are worried over the situation yet were hopeless to do anything because their leaders are only interested to further their own agenda.

It is understood that BN number two man Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is coming to Kulai at the end of this month to see for himself the situation there. Hopefully he will talk some sense into the ears of Kulai BN leaders, especially those from Umno. 

Guan Eng's little mischief on Dr Boo and Jui Meng

Guan Eng's little mischief on Dr Boo and Jui Meng

When appeal by MCA-reject-turned-PKR Johor chief Chua Jui Meng to contest his former constituency Bakri was snubbed by DAP handsome poster boy Lim Guan Eng, everyone seems to think that Guan Eng got something serious against Jui Meng.

I believe most of you had already read an article in the MCA's pro-DAP The Star on the matter several days ago which pointed towards that conclusion.

The truth is, except for Jui Meng being formerly an old enemy, Guan Eng actually doesn't think much of the man. When Anwar Ibrahim put Jui Meng as PKR chief in Johor, Guan Eng probably had a very good laugh.

It just confirmed the fact that PKR have no one else to lead them in the State and that Johor PKR will have to kow tow to Johor DAP if they want to achieve anything. The same way that Johor Pas is now beholden to Johor DAP.

Case in point was the Tenang by-election where the Pas lady candidate received less than 3,000 votes of which more than half of them were from pro-DAP voters in the Labis Tengah ballot area which were made of about 93 per cent Chinese.

It is not a secret that in Johor, the only real problem faced by BN is the perceived dissatisfaction of the Chinese community.

All BN's black or grey areas are those with over 45 per cent Chinese voters. This was largely due to the constant harping about the Chinese community being victimised in this country by none other than DAP leaders.

In all honesty, there are no real big local grass-root issues in Johor which had not been handled by the State government.

Ok, there are questions about Lim Kang Hoo, JCorp, Medini, Kulim and such, but those are not what will swing votes to BN or Pakatan in large number. In the first place, were the allegations true? How many of the ordinary reasonable men and women out there really care about those corporate wheeling and dealings? How many seats in Johor will BN lose because of those question marks?

What? In Pakatan's states got no such question is it?

For those who don't believe me, please try to walk around in down-town JB and befriend a Chinese guy. Then ask him what is his main grouse against BN. I bet he will not say it's KPRJ doing business with Lim Kang Hoo. He will instead most likely say that he is not happy because last night some DAP people told him that Malay enforcement officers (who are likely members of that evil Malay Umno) have this very bad habit of throwing innocent Chinaman out of window of tall buildings.

Never mind, lets get back to Guan Eng and Jui Meng. Let me repeat this - Jui Meng and Johor PKR are NOTHING without the support of Johor DAP. They do not even have a proper election machinery in Johor.

Jui Meng will lose if he contest in any area without DAP's help. That's a fact. The only place he stands a chance to stand on his own two feet is in his old constituency of Bakri in Muar where some of his old MCA supporters are still loyal to him.

Guan Eng know this and when Jui Meng made his intention known that he wants to go back to his now DAP-held Bakri, he seized the opportunity to teach the Johor Pakatan people two lessons -
1. DAP is the supreme leader of Pakatan in Johor
2. The Lim family are the ones who calls the final shots in DAP, even in Johor.

Everyone should by now know about the lesson number one.

But lesson number two is what is even more important to Guan Eng this time.

He need to tell off the hugely popular but independent-minded Johor DAP chief  Dr Boo Cheng Hau that not being a Lim disqualifies him from being a real major player in the party.

It is known by everyone that Dr Boo has had his run-ins with Guan Eng and his Johor-based proxies. So far Dr Boo seems to hold his ground against Guan Eng as far as Johor-related matters were concerned.

However, it so happened that Dr Boo and Jui Meng are not the best of friends either.

Initially, Jui Meng had wanted the Gelang Patah parliamentary seat which in 2008 was contested by PKR.

This spectacularly pissed off Dr Boo as his Skudai constituency is within that parliamentary area and he had worked hard to increase DAP's support there. Gelang Patah which has 54 per cent Chinese voters is a prime target as Kota Iskandar, the state administrative capital is located there.

It was said that Dr Boo would definitely win if he contest either his current Skudai state seat or Gelang Patah parliament seat or BOTH.

Dr Boo was so angry at the prospect of Jui Meng contesting in Gelang Patah that in September last year he refused to attend a major Pakatan dinner function near Sutera Mall in his Skudai constituency which was attended by Anwar and other Pakatan bigwigs. He repeated the snub, again at the same place last week during Johor PKR CNY gathering which was again attended by Anwar.

Jui Meng has now realised that Dr Boo may sabotage him if he press on wanting to contest in Gelang Patah. He knows that the DAP people loyal to Dr Boo are willing to do that. They would rather let BN win in Gelang Patah in order to spite Jui Meng. That was why he decided to approach Guan Eng and his people in KL to get their blessing for him to go back to Bakri.

Now, Guan Eng being Guan Eng, he decided to rebuff Jui Meng, knowing this will hugely embarrass the hapless man, who suddenly has no where to go. I can just imagine Guan Eng breaking into his trademark childish sniggering after pulling that fast one on Jui Meng.

Brilliantly, this also put Dr Boo in a rather tight spot. He is now forced to give way to Jui Meng. As Johor DAP chief , Dr Boo could not be seen as bullying a weaker PKR ally.

By right, Gelang Patah should be PKR's but most of the Pakatan's hard work there were done by DAP. Even if Dr Boo decides that he do not want to sabotage Jui Meng if he is to be the Pakatan candidate there, his people may still go ahead and sink the man, with or without Dr Boo's instruction.

Guan Eng may emerge the victor in this personal one-upmanship with Jui Meng and Dr Boo, but  what he may not realise is that Johor Pakatan may lose in both Gelang Patah and Bakri due to this little game he played.

Jui Meng may lose in Gelang Patah because of the Dr Boo's unhappiness factor while DAP may lose their Bakri parliament seat because of the unhappiness of Jui Meng supporters there.

Well, guess some people rather keep their big ego rather than using their brain. In this case good also lah, Now BN stands a better chance in Bakri and Gelang Patah. Thanks Guan Eng.

The weird EDL toll

The weird EDL toll

Today there is going to be a small demo by JB MCA and Gerakan youths over the toll charges at the newly completed Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL) of MRCB.



This is a hot issue here....eerrr, among those who frequently travel to Singapore. The Pakatan people have been going to town about it. Make it as if the evil BN government is sucking the rakyat's blood again.

Now MCA and Gerakan also joined the fray. Well, never mind lah. The more the merrier.

These people said they don't like the toll charges as they are imposed at the CIQ of the Causeway. Meaning that those coming in and out of Singapore will have to pay it even if they do not use the EDL after leaving the CIQ, such as going to the Inner Ring Road or Stulang.

What they want is for the toll charges to be imposed only on those who use the EDL, and not on those going in and out of Singapore but choose to use other routes.

As it is today, the EDL is free for those who use it, unless they go to or coming in from Singapore.

Personally, I prefer the way it is now. I know, not seems to be fair to those who drives to Singapore and of course Singaporeans coming here la...but, aiya, those who drives to Singapore are rich la, and the Singaporeans are even richer. A bit a bit leeching on them cannot ka?

Hmmm...if cannot, never mind lah. MCA is going all out on this issue. Dr Chua Soi Lek, their president said the other day that the government had agreed to review the matter....so, actually no need to demo demo. Bising kacau orang saja la itu.

BTW, most Malaysians working in Singapore and living in JB go there by motorcycle or bus. No need to pay toll. Bus fare probably a few sen more expensive. That's all.

Here is a bit on EDL, courtesy of Wikipedia -

JB Eastern Dispersal Link (also known as Johor Bahru Eastern Dispersal Scheme) is a new expressway in Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. The 8.1 km (5.0 mi) expressway will connect the end of North-South Expressway Southern Route at Pandan to the new Sultan Iskandar Building CIQ Complex in the city centre. It will act as bypass to CIQ complex without using Tebrau Highway (Federal Route Jkr-ft3.png) to the city centre.

What Johor DAP really want

What Johor DAP really want

Last night MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek told Chinese Johoreans that they should not vote for Pakatan because if the State falls to those people, they will have a Pas MB.

He said a State government in Johor led by Pas will be disastrous to Chinese interests, particularly their businesses as Pas is only interested in their Islamic agenda.

He was attending the Gelang Patah MCA CNY celebration at a Chinese School in Skudai, a hotbed of DAP.

Hmmm.... fine, but I think Dr Chua need to be more "deep" than that in convincing the Chinese not to fall for DAP tricks.

First of all, Pakatan will never be able to win in Johor in the next general election.

Even the most fanatical Johor DAP people know this.

They know that their Malay allies in Pas and PKR would not make that much impact on the Malay Johoreans (unless of course if the Umno people sabotage each others like what they did in Sungai Abong and Maharani in 2008 la).

Therefore, what Johor DAP really want are more parliamentary seats. State seats are just bonus to them.

They themselves do not want a Pas MB as they know that Johor Pas are led by not so bright Malays. Really, can you name a bright Pas fella in Johor?  Mazlan Aliman? Please don't make me laugh.

Ok, now they are talking about Salahudin Ayub. Come on lah, if the guy is so good, why the hell he went all the way to Kelantan in the first place? Remember arr, he was the Pas campaign director during the Tenang by-election. See, what happened? The husband of the Pas candidate went and faked his MC also he cannot handle. Like that also cannot handle, how to become MB lah? The most he can be is something like that stupid dum dum Nizar of Perak whose balls are in the pockets of cousins Ngah and Ngeh.

Honestly la, DAP knows Johor will not survive a Pas MB. They know the Chinese in Johor do not want that to happen too.

All they want from Pas is for them to break up the Malay votes so that they can win parliamentary seats such as in Gelang Patah and Kulai. That is all.

Johor DAP will try to tell the fence sitters among the Chinese not to worry about Pas. They will stress on them to just give them their votes for parliamentary seats. They will still have the BN wakil rakyat in the State to do the donkey works while having a Chinese DAP rep in parliament to bolster the DAP strength in the event Pakatan takes over Putrajaya.

This will exactly happened in places like Tebrau. Halim Sulaiman of Puteri Wangsa need to buck up. DAP have been pumping more than 3,000 new Chinese voters who are their supporters into his area since early last year. Stop kacau-ing Maulizan and MB and do your work lah? You don't want to be wakil rakyat tell early lah. Can put someone else there to do the work. Save the crap until after the election, can or not?

Errr, ok lah, back to Soi Lek....please uncle arrr, tell Jason of Gelang Patah to be more handsome handsome. Maybe he can takes on Dr Boo in Skudai. The boy got great potentials but everyone thinks he is a bit of a gangster. Need to be refined a bit eh. The rest you know what to do lah. Push a bit la uncle, don't wait until the Umno guys having to go to all the temples and Chinese schools before you all like in Bakri. Can arrr?

KPRJ and Danga Bay

KPRJ and Danga Bay

I had decided to abandon my KPRJ story.

The one I've written so far was too long and convoluted. I have to admit that I am not a good writer. Somebody scolded me today and said I am writing crap when I showed the one I had done so far and told me to throw it away into the longkang.

I would therefore like to apologise to those who have been waiting for that story.

Anyway, I don't want that KPRJ story to suffer the same fate as the long long  Khazanah's explanation on Medini in Utusan.

As compensation, here is the full speech delivered by Johor MB Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman at the 15th anniversary of  Danga Bay earlier today.

It is concise and easy to understand.

UCAPAN YAB DATO’ HAJI ABDUL GHANI BIN OTHMAN, MENTERI BESAR JOHOR DI MAJLIS SAMBUTAN 15 TAHUN DANGA BAY DI PUSAT KONVENSYEN DANGA BAY, PADA 12 FEB 2012.

Bismillahiirahmaniirahim

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh dan Salam Sejahtera.

Mengadap Duli Yang Maha Mulia Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar, Sultan dan Yang Dipertuan Bagi Negeri dan Jajahan Takluk Johor Darul Ta’zim.

Dan Duli Yang Maha Mulia Raja Zarith Sofia Binti Almarhum Sultan Idris Shah.

Ampun Tuanku,

Patik bagi pihak Kerajaan Negeri dan seluruh hadirin sekalian, dengan penuh hormat takzimnya merafak sembah menjunjung setinggi-tinggi kasih atas perkenan Duli Yang Maha Mulia Tuanku dan Duli Yang Maha Mulia Raja Zarith Sofia Binti Almarhum Sultan Idris Shah, mencemar duli berangkat ke Majlis Sambutan Ulangtahun ke-15 Danga Bay pada petang ini.

Sesungguhnya keberangkatan Duli Yang Maha Mulia Tuanku melambangkan kesungguhan dan sokongan yang amat sangat serta menambahkan lagi serinya majlis ini.

Ampun Tuanku

Patik juga menjunjung kasih di atas keberangkatan Duli Yang Amat Mulia Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim, Tunku Mahkota Johor dan Yang Amat Mulia Tunku Idris Iskandar Ibni Sultan Ibrahim, Tunku Temenggong Johor, Paduka Putera-Putera serta Kerabat Diraja sekalian ke majlis ini.

Ampun Tuanku

Patik mohon perkenan untuk berucap kepada hadirin sekalian.

Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak
Perdana Menteri Malaysia dan

Yang Amat Dihormati Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor,

Yang Berhormat Menteri-Menteri Kabinet,
Ahli-Ahli Yang Berhormat,
Tan Sri-Tan Sri dan Dato-Dato
Serta Dif-Dif Jemputan yang dihormati sekalian.

1. Alhamdulillah, bersyukur kita ke hadrat Allah SWT kerana dengan rahmat dan limpah kurnia-Nya, dapat kita menghadiri majlis pada petang ini sempena ulangtahun ke-15 Danga Bay.

2. Bagi pihak kerajaan negeri, saya mengalu-alukan kehadiran YAB Dato’ Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, Perdana Menteri Malaysia, dan Yang Amat Dihormati Datin Seri yang sudi meluangkan masa melawat negeri Johor, khususnya ke Danga Bay. Kehadiran YAB Dato’ Seri dalam lawatan singkat ini, tentunya turut menjadi dorongan kepada usaha-usaha memakmurkan negeri Johor yang sedang pesat membangun.

3. Kerajaan Negeri pada 15 tahun lalu melihat bahawa Johor memerlukan pembangunan yang lebih seimbang lagi menyeluruh, lebih-lebih lagi dari segi keperluan asas rakyat, bukan sahaja di bandar-bandar dan pekan-pekan bahkan di kampung-kampung.

4. Sehubungan itu kerajaan negeri menubuhkan sebuah syarikat iaitu Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor (KPRJ) untuk melaksanakan pembangunan infrastruktur luar bandar melalui kaedah pembiayaan daripada pembangunan tanah yang dikurniakan kepada syarikat tersebut.

5. Selain pembinaan jalan-jalan kampung di seluruh negeri dan daerah, KPRJ juga membina penempatan semula perumahan setinggan termasuk di Kong Kong, Tok Siak, Bakar Batu dan Sri Stulang untuk dinikmati oleh 6,000 keluarga. Pendekatan ini membolehkan rakyat menikmati pembangunan keperluan asas tersebut dalam tempoh lebih cepat.

6. Dalam masa dua tahun pertama mulai tahun 1996, KPRJ menyiapkan 1,700 kilometer jalan kampung di 1,500 kampung di seluruh negeri Johor. Namun selepas itu, berlakulah kegawatan ekonomi dan KPRJ berdepan dengan keadaan mencabar untuk melunaskan pinjamannya kerana pembangunan tanah tidak dapat dilaksanakan.

7. Satu lagi cabarannya ialah tanah-tanah yang dikurniakan itu rata-rata merupakan kawasan paya, muara sungai, dalam air dan yang diduduki oleh setinggan.

8. KPRJ berusaha mencari pelabur untuk usahasama termasuk syarikat-syarikat yang tersenarai, tetapi mereka hanya bersedia menyertainya dengan mencadangkan nilai tanah pada harga beberapa sen sahaja setiap kaki persegi.

9. Dalam keadaan mencabar tersebut, muncul satu syarikat yang sanggup melabur dengan menilaikan tanah seluas 350 ekar itu, yang masih di dalam air, pada harga RM23 sekaki persegi. Melalui usaha ini KPRJ telah dapat melunaskan pinjaman sebanyak RM200 juta.

10. Selanjutnya pembangunan tanah-tanah tersebut dilaksanakan secara usahasama melalui kaedah Public Private Partnership (PPP) di mana kerajaan bersama-sama memegang ekuiti di dalam syarikat berkenaan iaitu Danga Bay Sdn Bhd.  Pelan pembangunan Danga Bay ini telah dilancarkan oleh Perdana Menteri ketika itu, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

11. Pendekatan pembangunan oleh Danga Bay Sdn Bhd ialah menyediakan kemudahan rekreasi untuk orang ramai terlebih dahulu sebelum tumpuan diberikan kepada pembinaan untuk tujuan komersil. Kawasan Danga Bay yang dahulunya tidak terurus, kini telah menjadi tumpuan keluarga, khususnya pada hujung minggu untuk beriadah.

12. Setelah 10 tahun pembangunan Danga Bay dilaksanakan, Kerajaan Persekutuan melancarkan pembangunan Iskandar Malaysia pada tahun 2006 dan menyalurkan dana pembangunan untuk meningkatkan infrastruktur yang membolehkan jadinya Pembangunan Iskandar. Ini telah mengukuhkan lagi pembangunan di Danga Bay.

13. Pembangunan melalui perkongsian Public Private Partnership di Danga Bay ini berkembang daripada kawasan Barat Johor Baru, iaitu di Danga Bay, ke Timur Johor Baru yang melibatkan kawasan di Lembangan Tebrau Plentong. Seterusnya, untuk mengukuhkan  jentera pembangunan  ini, KPRJ-Danga Bay telah dilantik untuk pembangunan semula pusat Bandaraya Johor Bahru (CBD). Pembangunan CBD ini dijalankan bersama-sama dengan pihak-pihak yang berkepentingan di kawasan yang terlibat.

14. Justeru itu, Danga Bay dijenamakan semula dengan nama Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd dan ditugaskan sebagai Master Developer untuk kawasan Timur, Barat dan Tengah Bandaraya Johor Bahru. Dengan ini, Negeri Johor telah pun melaksanakan satu projek yang benar benar merupakan perkongsian di antara awam dan swasta (Public Private Partnership).

15. Semua ini dapat diterjemahkan dengan sokongan dari Kerajaan Persekutuan, dan sokongan ini berterusan melalui dana Facilitation yang kini telah diluluskan untuk pembersihan Sungai Segget sebanyak RM200 juta serta RM200 juta lagi untuk projek “The Venetian” di Sungai Danga. Kerajaan Negeri sangat menghargai keperihatinan dan sokongan kuat Kerajaan Persekutuan ini dalam usaha membangunkan Negeri Johor.

Ampun Tuanku,

Sesungguhnya segala perancangan yang telah patik sembahkan, dengan ini patik memohon perkenan dan restu Duli Yang Maha Mulia Tuanku untuk dilaksanakan dengan jayanya.

Akhir sekali, patik berdoa agar Duli Yang Maha Mulia Tuanku sentiasa berada dalam peliharaan Allah SWT, sihat walafiat, selamat sejahtera, aman sentosa dan makmur berpanjangan.

Wabillahitaufik Walhidayah, Wassalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

Ampun Tuanku.

JB's Chingay and its political angle by Sin Chew (UPDATED)

JB's Chingay and its political angle by Sin Chew (UPDATED)

UPDATED


Ok, today I feel much better. Things seems to be cheerful here in JB as my Chinese friends being all geared up for tonight's celebrations. I'm going to join them as a spectator of the Chingay procession.


As you may notice from the Sin Chew's article I pasted below, the presence of PM DS Najib Razak at the event tonight is of a very great significance.


Declaring the Chingay event as a national heritage will be a major boost for the improving Chinese support for the BN government. It's a goodwill gesture which will be well received by the Chinese community, particularly those in southern Johor, which will be the main battleground in this State for the coming general election.


The parliamentary areas in southern Johor are Pulai (40 per cent Chinese voters), Gelang Patah (54 per cent), Kulai (58 per cent), Tebrau (38 per cent), Pasir Gudang (40 per cent) and Johor Baru (43 per cent). The State constituencies are Pengkalan Rinting (44 per cent), Kempas (36 per cent), Skudai (66 per cent), Nusajaya (40 per cent), Bukit Permai (36 per cent), Bukit Batu (63 per cent), Senai (67 per cent), Tiram (31 per cent), Puteri Wangsa (47 per cent), Johor Jaya (49 per cent), Permas (30 per cent), Tanjong Puteri (32 per cent) and Stulang (55 per cent).


Since the Pakatan gang seems to be confident about getting the bulk of the Chinese votes, the parliamentary areas in real danger of falling into their hands are Kulai and Gelang Patah while the State constituencies are Senai, Bukit Batu, Skudai, Puteri Wangsa, Johor Jaya and Stulang.


At the moment, they only got Senai and Skudai.


Read again the Sin Chew article below and you will know that Pakatan will largely depend on their perceived support of the Chinese community in Johor.  So much for their claims that they are not depending on racial politics. 


 That is exactly why they seems quite perturbed that Najib will be down here in JB for the big occasion. They know that Johor MB Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman has been actively engaging the Chinese associations and getting positive results. Also, MCA and Gerakan have also seems to start being more hard working these days.


Whatever it is, the Chinese community in Johor are not a fanatically chauvinistic lot as the Pakatan gang are hoping. They know what is best for their own community and would not let outsiders tell them what to do. Of that I am certain.




ORIGINAL POSTING

Tomorrow is a big day in JB.

It's the celebrations of the Chingay festival.

PM DS Najib Razak will be here for the occassion tomorrow. He is expected to announced that the chingay event to be accorded the national heritage status, something which the Chinese associations in Johor have always wanted.



I'm a bit lazy to write today, so, here is a little of the event which I cut and paste from Wikipedia -

Johor Bahru Old Chinese Temple known as Old Temple by the locals, is a Chinese temple located in Johor Bahru. Located at downtown Johor Bahru of Jalan Trus, the temple is flanked by modern skyscrapers. This temple is one of the oldest structures in Johor Bahru. The temple is a place of worship and a symbol of unity among Five Chinese Dialect Groups which are "Teochew", "Hoklo (Hokkien)", "Cantonese", "Hakka" and "Hainan".
In 2007, a Documentary Series called My Roots featured the temple in the episode "Grand March with the Deities".
The temple was built during the 19th Century by then Head of Ngee Heng Company led by Tan Hiok Nee and various Chinese community leaders.
Although there are no actual records regarding the completion of the temple, the plaque and the century-old bronze bell located in the temple shows that the temple is around 130 years old.
In 1995 / 1996, it underwent a major renovation at a cost of MYR1.5 million. Much of its cultural aura was preserved, and important relics such as the century-old bronze bell, joss stick pot and wooden tablet remain.
The temple hosts 5 Deities. There are:
    Yuan Tian Shang Di
    Hong Xian Da Di
    Gan Tian Da Di
    Hua Guang Da Di
    Zhao Da Yuan Shuai
Each of the deities are separately worshipped by "Teochew", "Hoklo (Hokkien)", "Cantonese", "Hakka" and "Hainan" people
Every year in the first lunar month of 20-23rd , the Temple organizes its annual Chinngay known as the Parade of Deities.
The Chingay parade lasts for four days. The climax of the parade is on the night of the 3rd day when the Deities parade around the Johor Bahru Town Centre.
The annual Chingay has attracted more than 300,000 people to march around the major roads of Johor Bahru together with the 5 Deities being worshiped in the Old Temple.


And here is a take by Sin Chew Daily on the political angle of the big event.

By LIM MUN FAH
Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE
Sin Chew Daily

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will attend the chingay parade organsied by the Johor Bahru Old Chinese Temple on 12 February 2012. It is indeed an unprecedented major even in the history of the century-old temple. Not long ago, the Prime Minister has also announced that the parade has been awarded national heritage status by the Government.

As the next general election seem to be approaching, the election atmosphere has inevitably filled the air, including the annual chingay parade.

Interestingly, Johor will show its unparalleled political status in the next general election.

Traditionally, Johor is a fortress of the BN. It is another fixed deposit state of the BN carrying high expectations, in addition to Sabah and Sarawak.

Meanwhile, the Pakatan Rakyat has also listed Johor as a frontline state, and even called for a regime change.

DAP Parliamentary Leader Lim Kit Siang, however, has made it very clear that the Pakatan Rakyat must achieve good results in Johor, but it does not mean that they want to take over the state government. "A shift in one-third of the seats towards the opposition is enough to signal a major change in the national political landscape," he added.

In other words, Lim hopes to realise the dream of taking over the federal regime through winning one-third of seats in Johor, Pahang, Sabah and Sarawak.

In fact, Lim understands that winning one-third of seats is a better way of saying to encourage party members and supporters. To put it negative, it means that it is quite impossible for the Pakatan Rakyat to win the federal regime unless if it is able to gain one-third of seats in Johor, Pahang, Sabah and Sarawak.

As for taking over Johor, it is obvious that Lim is not having the confidence to do so yet at the moment. It might be possible to achieve after two or more general elections. The most important factor would be the attitude of Malay voters.

Johor PAS chief Mahfodz Mohamed also admitted that it is more difficult to fight for Malay votes in Johor, compared to Chinese and Indian votes. According to him, a poll showed that 70% of Chinese voters and 50% of Indian voters are supporting PAS.

Since it is unlikely to take over Johor, is the target of winning one-third of seats in Johor more pragmatic for the Pakatan rakyat?

There are 26 parliamentary seats in Johor and the current situation is, the BN is holding 25 seats with 16 seats occupied by Umno, seven seats by the MCA, one by the Gerakan and another one by the MIC. Meanwhile, the Pakatan Rakyat is holding only one seat, occupied by the DAP.

It means that the Pakatan Rakyat must win another eight seats to achieve the target of one-third, or nine seats.

For the Pakatan Rakyat, the Johor Umno is too strong and thus, the eight seats eyed might be occupied by the MCA, Gerakan and MIC. However, would the anti-incumbent fever strong enough to help the Pakatan Rakyat win nine seats in Johor? Obviously, it is a big challenge that even requires a little miracle to achieve.

In any case, the battle in Johor affects the federal regime and thus, it is worthy of our patience to wait and see the move of Najib at the chingay parade!

Two in One : SC and Medini (UPDATED)

Two in One : SC and Medini (UPDATED)

 UPDATED

Sin Chew Daily had today came out in defence of Zarinah Anwar in light of the article on her by pro-Pakatan Malaysian Insider.

I translated the key points of the article here -

Zarinah could stay due to her active contribution to promote regulatory reform/ Sin Chew Daily.

Speculations on Zarinah leaving the SC due to the E&O saga could make a dramatic turn due to her contribution to promote regulatory reform in the capital market. Analysts believed that Zarinah's work should not be underestimated and she could be asked to stay to continue the reform.

An SC spokesperson, however said they would not comment on this matter as the decision will solely be determined by the Ministry of Finance. "We would not have a clear answer until the end of May," said the spokesperson.

The Straits Times (of Singapore) had reported that Zarinah will leave SC at the end of her contract, ending her six years at the helm of the commission.

The Straits Times said government officials and financial executives close to the situation told the newspaper that Prime Minister Najib Razak will decide on Zarinah's replacement in the comming weeks. According to the Singaporean daily, candidates to replace Zarinah include deputy central bank governor Datuk Muhammad Ibrahim and the SC's managing director Datuk Ranjit Ajit Singh. It also said that Datuk Johan Raslan, executive chairman of Pricewaterhouse Coopers, has repeatedly turned down the offer to head the watchdog agency.

Areca CEO Huang De Ming said no matter what, the outcome will not affect the SC as a new management will continue to lead the organisation.

Analyst Feng Ting Siew said, "Frankly  speaking, Zarinah's stepping down is not the ideal solution to solve some regulatory loopholes. The authorities  should instead focus on how to manage the potential conflict of interests when any staff (or any related parties) from the regulators were involved in any corporate transactions.

"Zarinah has been actively promoting corporate governance and perhaps things would take a dramatic turn - with her contract being renewed at the end of the day! And the regulators could concentrate on formulating some policies to manage this area (conflict of interests) better," said Feng.

He further stressed that the development of guidelines to avoid a regulatory staff involved in business transactions is due to the market decipline, as in the case of the Sime Darby-E&O deal and how things have evolved today, it just goes to show that the regulators need to enhance its system and enhance its system and to be extra cautious when handling business transactions that involved any of its internal staff.

He admitted that the fact that a minority shareholder (of E&O), who brought the case to the court has no doubt indirectly fuse the exit of Zarinah, if it eventually happened.

"This is an unexpected outcome. She should leave in dignity in view of her contributions to the capital market of this country. Her exit is not going to help the governance issue in the Malaysian capital market."

Feng said the fact that Zarinah's husband is the chairman of E&O has apparently put her in an awkward position.
"But we can't deny the fact that she is a very professional regulator and has contributed a lot to the capital market." 



ORIGINAL POSTING

SC

I wrote about the latest attack against Zarinah Anwar and her Securities Commission here How the "credible media" was manipulated - SC case.

And today, the pro-Pakatan Malaysian Insider came out with this story which I am cutting and pasting here. Hope my friend Jahabar don't mind too much about me taking his story without his permission. Don't be angry bro, promoting you what.

Jahabar Sadiq
Editor

February 09, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 — The Securities Commission (SC) will revamp its top post with retiring Treasury chief Tan Sri Dr Wan Abdul Aziz Wan Abdullah taking over as non-executive chairman from current executive chairman Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar when she steps down at the end of March, sources say. 

   The Malaysian Insider understands that Zarinah’s regulatory duties will be taken over by Datuk Ranjit Ajit Singh, who is now the executive director of market supervision in the commission. It is learnt that Putrajaya felt Ranjit was most capable for the top job but there was concern the right wing in Umno may jump if a non-Malay took the post, leading the government to split the job to provide cover for any non-Malay getting such a post and placate the Malay ground.
“Dr Wan Abdul Aziz will come on board as non-executive chairman and Ranjit will be the top regulator,” a government source told The Malaysian Insider.

Another source said the government will make the announcement soon, including naming a replacement for Wan Abdul Aziz in the Treasury. “They’ve decided to split the SC post for accountability purposes and to provide cover for any non-Malays getting such a job while placating the Malay ground,” he said, adding that Zarinah was both chairman of the commission and also head of the senior management in the SC.
“So now, the top regulator reports to the commission,” the source said.
Singapore’s The Straits Times reported last week that Zarinah was stepping down as the SC chief next month after six years at the helm of the capital markets watchdog.
Her contract ended amid pressure over the market regulator’s role in conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd’s acquisition of a 30 per cent stake in E&O Berhad last August, where her husband was chairman of the property developer.
The Straits Times said government officials and financial executives close to the situation told the newspaper that “Prime Minister and Finance Minister Najib Razak will decide on her replacement in the coming weeks.”
“The E&O deal has put Tan Sri Zarinah in a tight spot. The reason is that her husband, who is E&O chairman, had raised his personal stock holdings in the company just days before Sime Darby’s announcement,” it reported.
State-controlled Sime Darby purchased its 30 per cent interest from three major shareholders — E&O managing director Datuk Terry Tham, Singapore’s GK Goh Holdings and a group of investors led by businessman Tan Sri Wan Azmi Wan Hamzah — at the end of August last year in a deal that valued E&O shares at RM2.30 a piece.
The purchase price represented a 60 per cent premium over the value of the shares in the company on the open market when the deal was announced.
The RM776 million deal triggered unease over the widely perceived coddling by the agency of large state-controlled companies at the expense of minority shareholders when exercising its authority on corporate takeovers.
The SC ruled six weeks after the deal that the plantation-based conglomerate did not have to make a general offer, prompting E&O minority shareholder Michael Chow to sue the SC for failing to compel Sime Darby to make a general offer for the rest of the shares, which would cost an additional RM1.8 billion.
This came despite a SC task force finding that Sime Darby was obliged to make a general offer for E&O shares after acquiring a 30 per cent stake in the property developer.
Singapore’s The Straits Times reported last week that the task force was of the view that a general offer obligation had been triggered as a new “concert party” was created between Sime Darby and Tham, who jointly controlled more than 33 per cent in the property concern after the deal.
Malaysia’s takeover rules stipulate that any party that acquires more than a 33 per cent interest in a public-listed entity must carry out a general offer for the remaining shares.
A general offer can also be triggered if a new party buys less than 33 per cent, but secures management control of the target company.

Apparently pro-BN bloggers, who had all these while been hantaming Zarinah seems to have started rejoicing at the news. Here is Big Dog's take on it, Another one bites the dust.
Opening up the Pandora Box, you said Big Dog?
Well, I would not be too quick at being happy if I were you.

Then again, Big Dog and the gang probably do not really know who is this person Malaysian Insider said is going to be the real one in charge of SC after Zarinah is gone - Ranjit Ajit Singh.

Jahabar's source was quoted as saying, “They’ve decided to split the SC post for accountability purposes and to provide cover for any non-Malays getting such a job while placating the Malay ground,”
Zarinah was both chairman of the commission and also head of the senior management in the SC.
I wonder, who is that Jahabar's source, who seems not totally happy about a non-Malay having only half of Zarinah's job after she stepped down.

Have the pro-BN bloggers ever wonder why the last three attacks on Zarinah and SC came from the pro-Pakatan Malaysian Insider and Singapore Straits Times?

Have they ever wonder where ST correspondent Leslie Lopez got his materials on SC from?

I smell something rotten all the way from the top-level of SC itself and all the way up to the MOF, causing those info leakages.

Then again a cat probably have a better sense of smell than a dog.


MEDINI

OK, now moving on to the Medini of Iskandar Malaysia issue.

Yesterday, another friend Asuki Mohd Abas, a Khazanah vice-president wrote a long long article denying any hanky panky in the Medini deal.

It took a whole broadsheet page of Utusan Malaysia to fit it. I had in Dec 2011 posted some stuff on the matter similar to those which appeared in the letters to the editors of Utusan which prompted Asuki's article. Good also lah, it gives credibility to Utusan.

Well, anyway, sorry bro Asuki, your article too long leh. I read halfway and got pening kepala. Since Malaysian Insider seems to be on the roll now, I'm again cutting and pasting their shorter version of Asuki's answer to the queries on Medini here.


By Lee Wei Lian

February 09, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 — Khazanah Nasional Berhad yesterday denied allegations of questionable deals in the development of the ambitious multi-billion ringgit Medini integrated development in Johor. The questions were raised in two letters to the editor published in Utusan Malaysia and revolved around the decision of a Khazanah- and EPF-linked company to lease land to Middle Eastern investors in Medini in 2007 and the subsequent buy-back of the land by the state asset manager from the same investors — purportedly at a higher price just a few years later, enabling the investors to flip the land for a profit despite not having paid for it in full.
The letters also alleged the existence of a complex web of related party transactions, with the Khazanah subsidiary partnering with a foreign investor to lease Medini land to other Middle Eastern companies in which the same foreign investor has a stake.
Other allegations raised were that the Khazanah-linked company in charge of developing Medini had paid out massive dividends of RM475 million in 2008 despite facing cash flow issues, 25 per cent of which went to the foreign partner even though it did not deliver satisfactory results.
The company at the heart of the controversy is Iskandar Investment Berhad (IIB), in which Khazanah holds 60 per cent equity. The rest of the shares are held by EPF and Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor
IIB had partnered with UWI Capital Ltd, which is registered in the British Virgin Islands and an associate company of Dubai’s Jumeirah Capital, to created Medini Iskandar Malaysia Sdn Bhd (MIMSB). This was then tasked to develop Medini.
IIB has a 75 per cent stake in MIMSB with UWI Capital holding 25 per cent.
At the same time, IIB signed a deal worth US$1.2 billion (RM3.6 billion) with a consortium of Middle East entities led by Abu Dhabi based Mubadala Development Company and Kuwait Finance House (KFH) to develop Medini.
One of the letters claimed that the controlling stakeholder in UWI Capital also owned a 10 per cent stake in Mubadala and KFH, which allowed him or her to realise profit from both the seller (MIMSB) and the buyers (Mubadala and KFH), and questioned the wisdom of IIB partnering with the foreign entity.
Khazanah said in its statement that it was normal for investors in large scale projects to ask for land to be returned if the schemes failed to deliver the desired returns, adding that it was an important feature to attract first mover investors.
“It also gives flexibility to investors to change their commitment levels and appetite for investments for long-term projects like Medini, which will take 25 years,” said Khazanah.
Khazanah said UWI Capital was invited to help develop Medini based on their track record of structuring, promoting and large infrastructure projects in the Middle East.
The state asset manager said that UWI was asked to be an equity partner and was not just a land broker, and also entered the deal with land valued at RM10 psf (per sq foot) as compared with RM7.30 psf as valued by CH Williams Talhar and Wong in 2006.
Khazanah noted that the letter raised questions as to why it would deign to partner with a company that was registered in the British Virgin Islands as if such companies had something to hide, and said that registering in tax havens was standard practice for all serious investors, including Khazanah.
It also defended UWI, saying that the company only received a net dividend of RM43 million after reinvestment.
Khazanah said that a large part of the land that had been returned or bought back from the investors was later resold by IIB at a 23.7 per cent premium.
In December last year, Sunway Bhd teamed up with Khazanah to buy 276.4 hectares of land in Medini for RM745.3 million.
Khazanah added in its statement that as a result of the global financial crisis, IIB and MIMSB had chosen to restructure rather than postpone projects in Medini but the Middle East consortium remained investors.
Noting that the letters had called for tighter monitoring of Khazanah, the state investor said that it had always practised the highest standards in corporate governance, including the establishment of independent executive and audit committees.
IIB was also in the news last month when it was reported that a former senior vice-president of an IIB subsidiary pleaded guilty to soliciting for bribes related to the Iskandar Malaysia development project.
Mohd Amin Suhaimi, husband to former IIB chief executive Arlida Ariff, was also charged with three counts of soliciting and taking bribes from a construction company to secure a tender worth RM40.8 million to build a boarding school in Pulai.
Arlida, who was headhunted by Khazanah, was removed from her position in 2010 amid speculation of alleged irregularities in the award of infrastructure contracts.
Medini is a 2,230-acre international mixed-used development, which is one of the core components of the Iskandar Malaysia special development zone in south Johor.
Among the major projects in Medini are Legoland, which is slated to open later this year, and a RM3 billion iconic wellness township to be developed by E&O and Khazanah and Singapore’s Temasek.

I'm now going to sit back and see how this thing developed.....err, MACC boys and girls....do your job properly ya.....don't let me down, ok?

The untold story of Zulkifli Abdul Khir

The untold story of Zulkifli Abdul Khir

First of all, is he really dead?

News reports flashed all over the world said Malaysian terror suspect Zulkifli Abdul Khir @ Marwan is indeed dead after an air strike on Jolo Island, in southern Philippines on Thursday.

But then in the latest rounds of reports, the Philippines Armed Forces announced that they have yet to find any body at the scene of the US-aided strike despite earlier confirming Zulkifli's death along with several high ranking AlQaeda-linked individuals.

How come there was not a single body found while in the earlier reports it was said up to 15 terrorists were killed?

Could it be that the elusive terror suspect had given the long arms of CIA and other security agencies in the world another slip? He after all did just that over 10 years ago when police closed down on his Kumpulan Militan Malaysia.

Who is this guy, actually?

The truth is, little is known about Muar-born Zulkifli Abdul Khir despite him being among the top most wanted terrorist suspects in the world. He actually ranked just a few rungs lower than Osama bin Laden in the US' most wanted list for many years till now.

With USD5 million bounty on his head, what makes this low-profile chap so dangerous? My bet was that because he is a US-trained engineer and a top notch bomb making expert. He is also considered as being highly intelligent and brave.

I did some search on this Johorean fella and other than those you had probably read in the newspapers about him, I discovered some very interesting stuff.

Zulkifli was born into a big family in Kampung Jeram Masjid, Bakri, Muar in 1966.
His growing up years was typical of any kampung kid in any village in Johor.
He did well in his studies and was enrolled at the prestigious boarding school, Sekolah Datuk Abdul Razak, Seremban in 1979.

He was a normal teenager, who likes to watch kung fu movies and listened to rock music. He prefer Bruce Lee than Jackie Chan and his favorite rock band was Deep Purple. He was also said to be a very good snooker player. All these were said to have been due to the influence of his elder brothers.

Zulkifli did show some early traits of rebelliousness during his school years. Like the other more adventurous boys, he picked up some bad habits such as smoking and going on excursions of climbing over the school fence for a night out. But all that were just more for fun than anything else. It can't be said that he was the naughtiest boy in the school. His nickname among school friends was "Cheng", which was given by seniors due to his Chinese look.

Zulkifli prays five times a day but was not really involved in any of the school's Islamic association activities. He normally perform his prayers in his dormitory instead of going to the surau. In another words, he didn't grow up being an Islamic fundamentalist.

It was said that Zulkifli was a rather quiet but likable boy. Despite being a rather shy character, Zulkifli did talk about his liking of girls to his school friends . He preferred Chinese girls or those of the same features.

His first experience of holding a firearm was when he joined the Army cadet. It was the only uniformed extra-curricular activity he took part in school. He was the best marksman in his batch of cadets and was said to be extremely good in handling the SLR rifle, being able to disassemble and reassemble the British-made weapon in record time.

The first real indication that Zulkifli would one day be a jihadist was in 1982. Just like Osama bin Laden, it was the Sabra and Shatila massacre during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon that year, which first made him hate the US, Israel and their allies. He was said to be very affected by the incident and had kept pictures of the massacred Palestinian civilians which were cut out from the Times magazine.

He did, however, studied very hard in his final year at school and did very well in his SPM to win a scholarship to further his studies in the US.

While studying electrical engineering in the US,  Zulkifli continued with his interest in military training and spend most of his summer holidays at private camps where he got himself acquainted with more types of firearms.

His studies did not however proceeded smoothly, probably because it was believed that during that period he began to have contacts with radicals elements among fellow students from the Middle East.
Zulkifli nonetheless completed his studies to obtain a degree in electrical engineering.

This was in the late 1987 , where in another part of the world, it marked the tail end of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

Instead of coming home to a good job and comfortable life like most other Malaysian students, Zulkifli decided to join the fight in that war-ravaged country.

He traveled to Pakistan and using his contacts from the Middle East entered Afghanistan and joined a group of Arab fighters, whom later be infamously known as the Al-Qaeda. They were at that time close allies of the Afghan mujaheddin faction led by the hardliner Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. It was, however, not known whether Zulkifli had personally met Osama bin Laden when he was in Afghanistan.

Despite the mujaheddin at that time being on the verge of winning the war, life was still hard and dangerous for Zulkifli and his fellow fighters. They were still heavily outgunned by the Soviet troops.

Zulkifli was attached to a squad of mostly Arab fighters. He became their expert in defusing land mines and unexploded Soviet bombs which were later used against the enemies. He was also their designated cook. It was said that their meal mostly consisted of rice mixed with ghee and the occasional ladies fingers and potatoes. Only once in a while they get supplies of meat.

Zulkifli was also among the best snipers in the squad. His sniping exploits include crawling through land mines armed with an AK-47 to get close to a Soviet position before letting off a single shot at a prized target and enduring the ensuing barrage of mortar fires.

He, however survived the war unscatched despite the extreme danger.

Some times after the Soviets pulled out of Afghanistan in 1989, Zulkifli was advised by his "seniors" to return home after her received news of some family problems back in Malaysia.

When he came back, he was at first finding it difficult to secure a steady job and ended up doing odd jobs while staying at a rented house in Shah Alam with some friends, several whom were themselves Afghan veterans.

Surprisingly though, old friends who met him during this time said Zulkifli was still the same shy but likable guy they know many years earlier.

He prays five times a day but still listened to rock music and seems to be cheerful about his then much more mundane life. He hardly talked about Islamic fundamentalism.

There were not much indications about his militancy except for him sometimes telling his old war stories to close friends. Even when telling those stories, he did so in such a way that they sounds quite comical rather than them being a really dangerous experience.

It was around this time that he told friends that his family had arranged for him to get married with a very pretty girl from Kluang, Johor. He was said to be very much in love with the girl from the very first time he was introduced to her by family members.

He was very happy at the prospect of settling down and had vigorously looked for a better job to prepare for a family life. He finally landed a job with Telekom Malaysia sometimes before his wedding. This was in the mid 1990s.

Unknown to most of those close to him, even during this time, Zulkifli was still in contact with his former mujaheddin friends in Malaysia and Afghanistan. This was probably what led him down to the dark path in later years.


The rest of Zulkifli's story had been extensively covered by the newspapers and news agencies across the world.
Here is a bit of those from the Star yesterday -

PETALING JAYA: Zulkifli Abdul Hir, born in Muar in 1966, was a telecommunications engineer trained in the United States.
Zulkifli, whose aliases included Marwan and Musa, was believed to be the head of the Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM), accused of being a senior member of the regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and blamed for multiple bomb attacks in the Philippines.
He was a protege of JI bomb expert Dr Azahari Hussin, a Malaysian killed by an Indonesian anti-terrorism unit on Nov 9, 2005.
He was wanted for his role in leading KMM in a Southern Bank robbery in Petaling Jaya in May 2001, and the murder of Lunas assemblyman Dr Joe Fernandez and the bombing of a Hindu temple in Pudu, both in 2000.
He fled to Indonesia where he was believed to be involved in the Bali bombing in 2002, which claimed more than 200 lives. It is thought that he then escaped to Jolo Island in Southern Philippines in 2003.
In the Philippines, he cooperated with Abu Sayyaf and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to attack and bomb several American interests and military bases there.
This led him to being placed in the top 10 list of the world's most wanted terrorists with a US$5mil (M15mil) bounty on his head.
He was also high on the Philippines police's wanted list after two of their personnel were killed in a clash when they attempted to approach his hideout near Manila in August 2006.
Marwan had also been accused of helping to secure funds and weapons for Abu Sayyaf from foreign donors.
In March 2010, the Philippines marines launched an assault against Marwan, killing at least seven al-Qaeda linked militants in a raid at Laminusa Island, off southern Sulu province.
However, he managed to escape.
In October last year, Marwan fled from a military assault by the Philippines, which killed three Abu Sayyaf commanders and two other militants near the Indanan town in southern Sulu province.
His brother-in-law, Taufik Abdul Halim, was caught when he tried to set off a bomb at Plaza Atrium in Jakarta in 2001.
However, he ended up losing part of his right leg when the bomb exploded prematurely.

This report by Star, some how missed the fact that Zulkifli's 48-year-old elder brother who had obtained US citizenship and was living there is currently detained in Guantanamo Bay after suspected of giving him financial assistance and other materials.