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money
When BN signs the cheques
“…[I]f we pay to the state government, we do not know how the money will be spent. If it is paid through the state government, I am not confident that it will be transparent as (proven in other assistance previously) they give it only to their (PAS) people” DEPUTY Finance Minister Datuk Dr Awang Adek […]
The Nut Graph‘s future
Letters from our readers TIS the season for celebrating so here’s the good news. The Nut Graph is going to be able to keep going until June 2010 for sure, potentially even to September 2010. And if some other funding we’ve applied for, and will be applying for, is approved in the months to come, […]
Do subsidies work?
Petrol prices are going up in MalaysiaON 4 June 2008, the Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government announced a 40.6% petrol price increase effective at midnight. Pump price went from RM1.92 to RM2.70 per litre. Barely a week later, the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) federal opposition launched its Protes campaign. Then PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa promised […]
Questioning the monarchy
Construction site for the new Istana Negara (© Rachel Leow) IF you drive down Jalan Duta in Kuala Lumpur today, along the road that runs from the Sri Hartamas housing estate to the foot of the majestic Masjid Kuala Lumpur, most of the journey will be flanked on your right by a large temporary wall. […]
Sponsoring Nik Aziz
“Orang nak bawa saya pergi ke Mekah, kenapa saya nak tolak. Saya pergi ke Mekah, jarang belanja saya sendiri. Orang tolong bayar. Semua orang berebut (untuk membiaya saya ke Mekah).” Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat admits receiving sponsorship worth RM65,000 to perform his pilgrimage to Mecca. However, he opined that it […]
Malaysian musicals rock
WHATEVER anyone wants to say about the Malaysian theatre scene, when it comes to musical theatre, I think we are getting somewhere. PGL the Musical promotional picture (source: pglthemusical.com.my) I have seen three different musicals at Istana Budaya — P Ramlee the Musical, Puteri Gunung Ledang (PGL) the Musical and lately, Cuci the Musical — […]
The financial disadvantage of being councillor
I AM a politician in the public’s eyes. Along with that recognition is the belief that I am flushed with cash, simply because my position allows me access to multitudes of government projects. Being supposedly cash rich, I am also expected to donate handsomely to needy people. To finance these handsome donations, I am expected […]
Budget 2010: Goodbye credit cards
Corrected at 3:25pm, 27 Oct 2009 I MUST say that Budget 2010, announced by Datuk Seri Najib Razak on 23 Oct 2009, contained quite a few surprises for better or for worse. And my observation is from someone who has pored through the government’s budget over the past five years. (Source: babble.com) For one, I’ll […]
Where’s Penang’s heritage money?
“The Government will provide an allocation of RM50 million for conservation works of heritage sites in Malacca and Penang, to support activities undertaken by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and [the] private sector.” Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi during his 2009 budget speech in Parliament. The former prime minister, who was also finance minister, referred to Malacca and […]
