TR EMERITUS

The Malaysian Insider, 1 June 2010 Datuk Wira Chor Chee Heung was appointed the new Housing and Local Government Minister while Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha replaced Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat as Transport Minister in a minor Cabinet reshuffle today. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the appointments today, which are seen as a reflection of the recent MCA elections which saw Ong lose the presidency to former Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek. Dr Chua was not appointed to the Cabinet while Ong (picture) has been dropped, marking the possible end of the road for his political career. However, Dr Chua’s son, Labis MP Chua Tee Yong, was among a number of new deputy ministers appointed by Najib. Tee Yong was appointed Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister, just a week after his father appointed him to manage the MCA's assets worth some RM2 billion. In an immediate reaction, Kong expressed gratitude to the prime minister and MCA for allowing him the opportunity to continue serving the people as a full minister. Kong said he would do his best in his new post, adding that his new appointment as Transport Minister was part of a learning process for him "I hope also that the former ministers (Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy) will offer me their guidance and advice and impart their knowledge to help me run this ministry successfully," he said. Kong suffered a major blow during the MCA polls when he lost to Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai in the race for party deputy presidency but was later appointed as the party's secretary-general by Dr Chua. Kong also pledged he would proceed with efforts to probe the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, a promise made by his predecessor. Chor, who is currently the Deputy Finance Minister, thanked Najib for the confidence. The five-term Alor Star MP said he had heard rumours of a promotion from the press. "I am thankful that my party has confidence in my capabilities. I will not disappoint the Prime Minister and the rakyat," Chor told The Malaysian Insider. MCA vice-presidents Senator Datuk Donald Lim and Senator Gan Ping Sieu were also appointed deputy ministers. They both won in the recent MCA elections together with Chor. Lim will now be Deputy Finance Minister while Gan is the new Deputy Youth and Sports Minister, replacing Pekan Nenas MP Datuk Wee Jeck Seng who has been dropped from the post. Among the other minor appointments, PPP vice-president Senator Datuk Maglin Dennis D’Cruz was made Deputy Information, Communications and Culture Minister. MIC deputy president Senator Datuk G. Palanivel is the new Deputy Plantations Industry and Commodities Minister, while Serian MP Datuk Richard Riot is the new Deputy Foreign Minister. The prime minister also re-assigned several deputy ministers, moving Datuk Rohani Abdul Karim from the Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries Ministry to the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministr while Jelaing Ak Mersat has been sent from the Home Ministry to the Transport Ministry. Others moved included Datuk Lee Chee Leong from the Foreign Ministry to be the Deputy Home Minister, Senator Heng Seai Kie from Information, Communication and Culture Ministry to be the new deputy minister in the Women's, Family and Community Development Ministry. - The Malaysian Insider  Read More →

The Malaysian Insider, 31 May 2010 You have to hand it to Datuk Seri Najib Razak. He was spot-on in his first day of being prime minister when he said, “The days of government knows best is over.” Datuk Ibrahim Ali told Najib that much last night when he said the Malays, or rather his followers, had rejected the New Economic Model (NEM). They want to stick to the New Economic Policy (NEP), drawn up by Najib’s father Tun Abdul Razak Hussein in the aftermath of the May 13 riots. Ironically, Ibrahim’s Malay Consultative Council (MPM) had recently said the NEP had failed the Malays. The contradiction however, escaped the Pasir Mas MP who wanted to press home the point that Malays want to continue to enjoy all the privileges dished out under the NEP. But not all Malays enjoy the privileges nor do non-Malays who make up some 40 per cent of the population. For them, the government definitely does not know best if it waffles on key recommendations of appointed experts to institute steps and open the Malaysian economy. After all, Malaysia’s sixth prime minister is betting on the NEM to provide a fillip to the slowly recovering economy for him to seek his own mandate in the next general elections. Najib is right that shouts of “Hidup Melayu” will not bring food to the table for the community. But he has to stand firm and ensure measures that will benefit all Malaysians remain in place when he tables the NEM in the 10th Malaysia Plan this June 10. Being the cautious consensus-builder, the prime minister should also get the views of other Malaysians on the future direction of the national economy. He has less than two weeks to do so if the NEM proposals are really “trial balloons” and not the real thing for the country’s future. And he has to show leadership that his father did in rebuilding a country that had saddened “the world’s happiest prime minister” Tunku Abdul Rahman. Leadership to move the country to a new age, one not mired in the hang-ups of the past but of necessity. For Tun Razak, it was to balance the country’s economic inequalities and eradicate poverty during his time in office. For his eldest son, it is to repair the damage of that policy which only focused on Bumiputeras but was abused by rent-seekers who now use the lacklustre achievement of just 19.3 per cent stake in the national economy to justify keeping the NEP. While the government doesn’t know best, the least Najib can do is take the best of the NEM and implement it notwithstanding the carping from the likes of Ibrahim. Najib has to make it happen and not allow it to flounder like proposals for the GST, petrol price hike or stopping the sale of 14-stick cigarette packs. After all, the only thing new about the NEM would be if it is implemented at all. - The Malaysian Insider  Read More →

An elated Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has conveyed his congratulations to the Singapore women Table-Tennis team for winning the World Championship for the first time in its history. In a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office, Prime Minister Lee said: "I am delighted that our table tennis players have done us proud. Congratulations to them, and to the coaches and supporting team who made this happen. I was at a post-golf game dinner at Orchid Country Club last night (30 May), organised by the PAP Town Councils. We managed to catch a little bit of the last game on TV before dinner. At dinner we tracked the game almost point by point. Lee Bee Wah was there, receiving regular updates by SMS. When we heard that our team had won, she went up on stage to interrupt the proceedings and announce the good news. As you can imagine, the audience cheered, and drank more than one yam seng to our team." Lee Bee Wah is the President of the Singapore Table-Tennis Association. Singapore's trio Feng Tianwei, Wang Yuegu and Sun Bei Bei rocked the sports world in Moscow when they beat reigning champions China 3-1 in the championships to become world champions. Despite the official hype surrounding the victory, the response from Singaporeans has been lukewarm so far with some netizens pouring cold water on the Singapore team's success by describing the finals as between "China Team A and B".   Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to create awareness of the current affairs affecting Singaporeans. Please use our online web form to contact us.  Read More →