Halliburton denies involvement in Iraq?...please

It makes me want to puke hearing claims that the US oil and gas company Halliburton denied having any more links with the pillaging and plunder of Iraq's oil. All said and done, how come cases relating to the company are still being heard and pending?

You see, it is not whether Halliburton has ended all kinds of involvement with Iraq...it is about what they have done through the years while there. Those were years soaked in the blood, sweat and tears of the Iraqi people. Now that it has 'ended' its links over there , we hear of Halliburton coming to Malaysia's Iskandar Development Region to invest using what the world see as money tainted by the sufferings and anguish of the Iraqis.

Within such a scenario are Malaysians so forgiving as to sell their soul for the sake of foreign investment?

Ponder this:

"...The arrival of Dick Cheney as CEO in 1995 was, by far, the best decision Halliburton ever made. Under Cheney's tenure as CEO, Halliburton's revenue from federal government contracts nearly doubled. Government-backed loans from the Export-Import bank increased from $100 million to $1.5 billion. The company became the 18th-largest defense contractor, in terms of revenue, whereas before Cheney's arrival the company was the 73rd largest contractor.

Halliburton saw its revenue increase 30 percent to $16 billion in 2003, largely because of its military contracts in the middle east. Halliburton was the number one U.S. Army contractor in 2003 with the total value of its Army contracts valued at $3,731,725,648. Dan Briody, in his book The Halliburton Agenda, described Halliburton's relationship with Cheney as "the embodiment of the Iron Triangle, the nexus of the government, military, and big business that President Eisenhower warned America about in his farewell speech..."

UMNO perlu tongkat?

Dah...tiba-tiba muncul suara veteran UMNO Tan Sri Aziz Tapa mencadangkan supaya 'perbalahan' di antara Tun Mahathir dan Pak Lah dirujuk kepada yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Saya kira cadangan itu tidak sepatutnya timbul langsung di peringkat ini, apatah lagi disebarkan melalui media massa untuk dipersenda dan diketawakan orang luar.

Apakah UMNO begitu lemah hinggakan pertelingkahan sebegini pun memerlukan campur-tangan yang di Pertuan Agong? Bukankah UMNO sudah berusia melebehi 62 tahun? Pada usia masak sebegini parti itu sepatutnya begitu matang untuk menangani pelbagai isu dalaman. Apatah lagi perbalahan tersebut di antara dua tokoh yang begitu 'dewasa' dan amat berpengalaman dalam arena politik...tak payahlah merujuk kepada Tuanku.

Di satu penjuru pemimpin UMNO berkata isu ini tidak membimbangkan sangat dan 'life goes on' tanpa kehadiran Tun, sementara di beberapa sudut lain ada yang berpendapat berlainan pulak. Tak apa berlainan pendapat, tetapi dalam hal ini baiklah kita selesaikan secara tertutup.

Tun, we practice what you preach...

Tun Mahathir should practise what he had preached for many years – forget about individuals and remain steadfastly loyal to the party.

Hamid Albar said it's very surprising for Tun to be making calls for party members and BN MPs to leave the fold when he himself was the one who had always reminded everyone to be united and remain steadfast.

Syed Hamid said now almost all UMNO members are heeding his advice and sticking to the party to ensure it remains intact and strong.

He said said any efforts to wreck the party should not be supported, and that even though one might not agree with the leader, party members must stick together.

UMNO belongs to the Malays and not to anyone in particular.

Syawal gembala kambing

Dalam filem P.Ramlee, AHMAD ALBAB, Syawal Gembala Kambing menjadi kaya raya setelah diberi harta oleh jin yang turun ke bumi untuk mencarikan kawan untuk anaknya kerana di dunia jin, anaknya tidak dapat mencari kawan yang baik. Jadi keluarga jin menjadikan anak Syawal, Ahmad Albab sebagai kawan anak mereka. Sebagai balasan Syawal mendapat harta berpeti-peti dengan syarat setiap bulan purnama Ahmad Albab mesti datang ke gua tempat jin sekeluarga tinggal.

Setelah menjadi orang kaya di Kampung Pening Lalat , Syawal didatangi oleh orang kampung meminta bantuan. Suatu hari penghulu Kg Pening Lalat membawa mangsa kebakaran yang terdiri daripada orang kampung. Syawal telah mengarahkan petugasnya menilai kerugian orang kampung dan membayar "double" semua kerugian itu. Syawal sebenarnya memperlihatkan contoh wakil rakyat, YB yang prihatin kepada nasib masyarakatnya.

Sedih kerana wakil rakyat kita sekarang berada di persimpangan jalan, tidak pasti simpang mana yang harus diikuti, tambah lagi selepas dikejutkan dengan keputusan Tun Dr Mahathir meninggalkan UMNO.

Sejauh mana benarnya kenyataan bahawa UMNO kini beyond repair seperti yang diucapkan oleh Mantan Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Banyak sangat diversion dalam menangani UMNO sekarang. Tidak ada satu kekuatan yang mengawal, betul-betul fokus dalam menetapkan landasan yang perlu kita ambil sekarang.
Masing-masing pemimpin tidak mahu tersilap langkah memberi sokongan. Jalan paling selamat ialah berdiam diri. Tetapi apakah ini baik untuk memulihkan UMNO ?
Kalau mereka betul-betul jujur menyokong kepimpinan Pak Lah, tunjuk sokongan dengan menyemarakkan semula perjuangan. Bukan bermain di tepi gelanggang !
Kalau sebaliknya, bentangkan pelan menyelamatkan UMNO, tidak kira siapa pemimpin yang menerajuinya.

Ini adalah detik dan ketika yang kritikal bagi parti orang Melayu. Ini ialah mengenai keselamatan dan masa depan. Ini ialah mengenai penentuan sejarah, kedudukan ekonomi dan maruah. Ini bukan lagi soal marah, soal balas dendam dan fitnah. Ia memerlukan pengorbanan menyelesaikan masalah bangsa, bukan lagi membangkitkan hal projek sasa.
Kalau pemimpin UMNO tidak faham atau sengaja tidak mahu faham, sia-sialah perjuangan UMNO mahu memartabatkan kedudukan orang Melayu. Jangan kita jadi Nujum Pak Belalang, sentiasa bergantung kepada nasib dan menolak realiti.

Govt should NOT give money to MIC

The MIC president said that the fund "will be used mostly to help poor Indians." He is to meet the Prime Minister next week on the matter.

I don't support this idea given the dismal track record of Maika Holdings, the investment arm of the MIC. The Government had given over RM200mil to the MIC via Telekom shares to invest in Maika Holdings at its inception with the objective of uplifting the economy of the Indians. The Indians were deceived into getting a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.The poor Indians mortgaged their jewellery and livestock to get into the game but what do we see some three decades later? With no dividends forthcoming to service the loans, many of them are bankrupts.

Under pressure, MIC promised to pay back ringgit for ringgit to the shareholders at the beginning of this year but once again it proved to be an empty promise.

MIC members being thoroughly disillusioned by a continuous string of empty promises and bungling by the ineffectual leadership of the party overwhelmingly voted for the Opposition in the recent polls.

Given this pathetic state of affairs, it would be blatantly unwise to give such hard cash to the party leadership however noble the motives maybe. In the Tamil language there is a saying that such a move is as good as giving a garland of sweet-smelling flowers to a monkey.

What the Indians need is equal opportunities in all fields e.g. education, employment, loans from financial institutions and religious matters. Aid to the poor irrespective of race or religion should be given in a holistic fashion preferably managed by a select, dedicated and apolitical high-powered team under the Prime Minister's Department.

DR A. SOORIAN,
Seremban.

Pak Lah tetap PM tetapi akur kesan tindakan Tun kepada UMNO...

Pak Lah tidak akan tunduk kepada Tun Mahathir supaya beliau meletak jawatan sebagai PM. Beliau sebaliknya yakin majoriti orang UMNO akan terus setia kepada pucuk pimpinan.

Dalam reaksinya sebentar tadi beliau bagaimanapun akur akan kesan kepada parti itu apabila anggota UMNO mengigut jejak Tun.

Kerajaan Perak akan menjual lot rumah Bumiputera di Pasaran terbuka

Kerajaan Perak dikatakan akan menjual lot-lot perumahan bumiputra di pasaran terbuka. Tindakan tersebut kononya bagi mengelak daripada menghadapi masalah 'stok tergantung' di negeri itu.

Menurut Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin 130 unit bernilai RM5 juta telah diluluskan bagi tujuan tersebut.

Mula-mula mereka membelakangi sultan, kini mereka memperkotak-katikkan hak bumiputera pula. Apa salahnya berbincang dulu dengan pertubuhan yang mewakili kepentingan kaum bumiputera dulu sebelum mengambil sebarang keputusan?