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‘Corruption’ is First Word When Malaysians Think of Their Government, survey says

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 — Most Malaysians immediately think of “corruption” the moment they are asked to talk about their government, while “profit” comes to mind when thinking about corporations, an international survey has revealed.

In the Corporate Perception Indicator 2014 survey jointly carried out by CNBC and Burson-Marsteller,1,076 Malaysians were asked the open-ended question of “What is the first thing that comes to the mind when you think of the government?”.

The resulting answer from both Malaysia’s 1,001 general public and the 75 executives polled was “corruption”, which was also the most popular word in most of the 25 countries surveyed.

This puts Malaysia in the company of the India, US, Brazil, Mexico, Columbia, UK, Spain and South Africa, while only the general public in neighbouring Indonesia, China, South Korea, Canada, Russia, UAE immediately linked “government” to “corruption”.

In a similar open-ended question on corporations, the top answer for the 1,076 Malaysian respondents was “profit” – a word similarly shared by most Asians polled including those in Indonesia, India, Japan and executives in Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea.

Malaysians polled in the survey also felt that small businesses were profit-driven.

The general public in Malaysia trusted the government the most to steer the local economy at 33 per cent, while executives here placed their trust in corporations instead at 31 per cent.

Most Malaysians also believed that the most important role for corporations is to strengthen the economy, with 44 per cent polled saying businesses had “just the right amount” of influence over the economy as opposed to firms wielding “too much” influence at 29 per cent.

A high number or 59 per cent of Malaysians polled said it was good for corporations to be influential as this would help drive economic growth, with a whopping 70 per cent pointing to businesses as a “source of hope” for them.

Out of all 25 countries, the Malaysians showed the strongest preference for multinationals at 43 per cent, while 37 per cent said it did not matter to them, with both those supporting domestic companies and who did not indicate a preference standing equally at 10 per cent.

Malaysians polled also believe the news media to be the most socially responsible industry, with many saying that firms should direct their corporate social responsibility efforts towards social welfare.

Malaysians picked heads of government out of 10 professions as both the most powerful and most respected people in society.

The Corporate Perception Indicator 2014 survey was jointly carried out by CNBC and Burson-Marsteller through online questionnaires answered by over 25,000 people between June 28 and August 15 this year.

The margins of error for the sample size in Malaysia of 1,001 members of the public and 75 high-ranking executives at companies employing more than 50 people are 3.10 per cent and 11.32 per cent respectively.

Source: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/corruption-is-first-word-on-malaysians-minds-when-thinking-of-government-su

September 30, 2014
Aliff Aziz Curi Telefon Bimbit, Didenda $2000

PENYANYI kelahiran Singapura yang telah mencipta nama di seberang Tambak, Aliff Aziz, dikenakan denda $2,000 Jumaat lalu atas kesalahan mencuri telefon bimbit.

Jika gagal membayar denda tersebut, dia boleh dipenjara 20 hari sebagai ganti.

Menurut kertas pertuduhan, Aliff, 23 tahun, atau nama sebenarnya Mohamad Aliff Aziz, didakwa mencuri dua telefon bimbit berjenama HTC one dan Samsung Note 1, yang setiap satu bernilai $800.

Telefon itu dimiliki seorang individu bernama Yong Kit Siong.

Aliff dikatakan mencuri telefon bimbit itu bersama seorang lagi lelaki bernama Muhammad Nurazlee Roslee pada atau sekitar 12.01 tengah malam pada 24 Mei lalu di kolong blok Blok 36 Tanglin Halt Road.

Bagi kesalahan mencuri, dia boleh dikenakan hukuman penjara sehingga tiga tahun, denda atau kedua-duanya sekali. Aliff didakwa di mahkamah buat kali pertama pada 16 Ogos lalu.

Satu laporan di laman akhbar Berita Harian Malaysia pada 27 Ogos lalu memetik ibu Aliff, Cik S. Hafiza Basharahil, sebagai berkata bahawa anaknya itu berada di Singapura ketika itu dan keadaannya baik-baik sahaja.

Menurutnya, Aliff berada di sini atas urusan peribadi dan akan pulang ke Kuala Lumpur dalam masa terdekat.

Sebelum itu, dia dikatakan telah menghilangkan diri daripada lokasi penggambaran sebuah drama dan pulang ke Singapura.

Aliff dan pasangan duetnya, Siti Nordiana, yang menyanyikan lagu Tak Ada Cinta Sepertimu, turut dicalonkan untuk kategori Kolaborasi Terbaik (Artis) bagi Anugerah Planet Muzik (APM) 2014 yang akan berlangsung pada 17 Oktober ini.

Menurut satu laporan di laman mStar Online bulan lalu pula, dia ditukil sebagai berkata dia tidak hilang, bersembunyi atau melarikan diri daripada sesiapa atau mempunyai masalah kewangan tetapi sebaliknya hanya berehat daripada industri seni buat sementara bagi menguruskan beberapa hal peribadi.

Dia juga berkata, dia memadamkan semua gambarnya di laman sosial Instagram kerana ingin mulakan hidup baru dan berjanji akan kembali semula dengan ‘Aliff yang baru’.

Menerusi laman Twitter miliknya di bawah nama @aliffaziz pula, artis muda itu memuat naik status kelmarin dengan berkata: “Selamat tengah hari dunia. Saya akan kembali tidak lama lagi. Tidak lama lagi.”

Sumber: http://beritaharian.sg/setempat/aliff-aziz-curi-telefon-bimbit-didenda-2000#sthash.bpRq5vrm.dpuf

September 30, 2014
Malay Race Being Discriminated When Apply for SG Citizenship

As promised this is the real-life story which I feel all true blue Singaporeans should know. Compare it with the ease with which PR and citizenship are dished out to foreigners, especially from the PRC, the PAP’s favourite hunting ground for immigrants to make Singapore more Chinese than it already is. And naturally Yang Yin’s case comes to mind.

This insulting tale which I’m about to tell I believe is not an isolated one. Many others may have been suffering – and still suffering – in silence.

Yaacob (not his real name) is the youngest in a family of 6 children – 5 boys and a girl. He is in his thirties and was born, bred and schooled in Singapore. He works and contributes to the economy as a forklift operator.His elderly parents and all his elder siblings are full citizens with pink ICs. Through some unexplained circumstances Yaacob is the only one holding a blue IC.

The fault could have been caused by an inadvertent mistake of his father, a simple folk, or that of the officer at the NRO.

Having faced all the inconveniences of a blue IC holder and missing out on all the rights and privileges of a citizen through no fault of his, Yaacob finally decided seek help. He did not say whether he had gone to see any MP because he might have thought that as a blue IC holder he would not be entertained. Incidentally he lives in Ang Mo Kio and the principal MP there is none other than the PM himself.

He went straight to the Immigration/National Registration Office at Kallang, armed with copies of his parents’ and siblings’ birth certificates and ICs.
After a lengthy wait he was interviewed by an officer. But instead of assisting him the officer, a Chinese, threw insults at him by telling him:

1. Though he might be born in Singapore it does not necessarily mean that he can become a citizen.
2. The issuing of pink ICs to his parents and siblings was a mistake, and this killer statement …..
3. His parents could have got married after he was born!

He was then asked to bring his school records and told to leave and wait for a letter from the authorities. He is still waiting.

Yang Yin forged a degree, joined the RC, allegedly cheated and stole from an elderly Singaporean, lied about his association with local organisations, took photographs with the MP and the PM and rumoured to have donated large sums of money to the PAP grassroots, etc and he got his PR. No question need to be asked nor a background check necessary.

Yaacob on the other hand is only making his contributions as a forklift operator but born, bred and schooled in Singapore. What is he getting? INSULTS! CAN YOU TAKE THIS?

To the PAP skin colour and money talk! Others don’t matter.

Authored by Mohamed Jufrie Bin Mahmood*

*Mohamed Jufrie Bin Mahmood is a politician from Singapore. He was a prominent opposition political figure in the country in the 1980s and 1990s, when he stood in elections as a candidate for both the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and the Workers’ Party. He served as the Chairman of the SDP from 2011 to 2013.

September 29, 2014
Roy Ngerng and Han Hui Hui Are Anarchists, Visceral and Vicious Towards Special Needs Children

The actions of the ‘activists’ at Hong Lim Park on Saturday betray the anarchic nature of their cause and the demagogic character of the individual actors.

The anger with which Roy Ngerng and Han Hui Hui spoke was visceral and vicious. What cause have they to speak so incensed? What gross injury is being done to them? One can hold different views on important issues but there are mature and peaceful ways to communicate and debate them.

Instead these self-styled “champions of the people” choose confrontational methods which play on the emotions surrounding hot button issues. They blow things out of proportion and seek to provide legitimacy for themselves and their cause through “victim-seeking” tactics.

Their actions to disrupt the YMCA event speak to self-indulgence, social carelessness, immaturity and this is ironical, a disregard for the rights and concerns of other Singaporeans especially those in genuine need.

But that is not what is fundamentally egregious about these political provocateurs. This is that they are possessed of a mind-set framed by two self-reinforcing features.

First, the view that Singapore and specifically, its governance, is a grand conspiracy. Everything about the government and all events are construed as being part of a system of control. All and any action but anyone who differs from their extreme views is treated as a co-conspirator. It is this mind-set that explains how they could perceive an event to raise awareness and support for children with special needs as a power-play to stymie their protest.

Second, they seem to believe, and waive dubious charts and circular arguments to the effect, that they possess some special insight into the truth about public policies. The simplistic and even silly interpretations of complex policy issues makes the propositions of these provocateurs superficially attractive. Instead that they reveal is that the output of being uninformed and uneducated is the conviction that simple straw man arguments have credence because they are asymmetrical to matters which have innate complexity.

These two mental qualities play into each other into a simple set of motives. First that the government is out to cheat the people. Second, that foreigners are a source of evil. Third, that our social challenges are easy to solve. Fourth, confrontation is the best mode of advocacy.Tools

Each and everyone of these motives are a nonsense and the twinned frames which make up their mind-set are shoddy construct made up of intellectual drift-wood held together by the creeper vine of ignorance.

The failure of the official opposition to date to take a strong stand on the behaviour of these provocateurs is reprehensible. But this failure would be a shared one by all reasonable Singaporeans if we do not now take a stand to condemn these provocateurs, see them for what they are – anarchists, and insist on ejecting them from the space for legitimate debate on issues of national importance. This is their McCarthy – Murrow moment.

Let us stand up for Singapore by demonstrating to ourselves foremost but to all others too, both what we, as a people, are not – we are not stupid, we are not anarchic, we are not gullible, we are not xenophobic and we are not socially careless, and what we are – active, informed, mature, considerate, welcoming and respectful.

Authored by Devadas Krishnadas*

*Devadas Krishnadas is the chief executive of the Singapore-based Future-Moves Group, an international strategic consultancy and executive education provider. The views expressed in this Facebook post reproduced in Singapolitics, are his own.

September 29, 2014
Perjalanan Hidup Razzi M Dulu Dan Sekarang

MUZIK telah menjadi darah dagingnya dan minat yang begitu mendalam dalam seni muzik tidak pernah luput dimamah zaman.

Walaupun usia telah menjangkau 67 tahun, selaku ketua dan gitaris utama kumpulan bertaraf legenda, Black Dog Bone (BDB), Razzi M atau Encik Ishhar Masrom, tetap aktif bergiat dalam bidang muzik.

Lima tahun lalu, Razzi menubuhkan sebuah kumpulan muzik, Nadaria, dalam satu usaha mengumpul bakat-bakat muzik lama agar terus bergiat dalam seni muzik.

“Kami kumpulkan kawan-kawan yang boleh main muzik dan kami jadikan satu kumpulan khas bagi persembahan dalam acara seperti majlis perkahwinan.”

Anggota kumpulan Nadaria ini terdiri daripada orang-orang lama yang dahulunya mereka adalah penggiat seni yang pernah main gitar, akordian dan lain-lain.

“Saya bimbing mereka bermain sambil belajar baca muzik. Kami memainkan lagu seperti dari era ’40-an dan ’50-an,” kata Razzi.

Kumpulan Nadaria yang terdiri daripada sekitar 10 anggota mendapat sambutan baik.

“Kami menghidupkan semula lagu-lagu yang didendangkan oleh Nona Asiah dan Allahyarham Tan Sri P. Ramlee,” tambah pemuzik generasi perintis.

Razzi dan isterinya santai ketika ditemui Berita Minggu di halaman rumah di Toh Guan Road.

Isterinya, Cik Rohaya Mohamed Taib, 56 tahun, merupakan penyanyi nasyid kumpulan Hidayah.

Mereka mempunyai tiga orang anak dan masing-masing berbakat dalam bidang seni muzik bak pepatah mana nak tumpah kuah kalau tak ke nasi.

“Buat masa ini BDB belum lagi mempunyai rancangan mengadakan konsert,” kata Razzi yang merupakan presiden bagi Festival Muzik Amal (CMF).

Awal tahun ini, BDB membuat persembahan di CMF II – Masih Ada Yang Sayang – bagi mengumpul dana membantu rakan seni yang memerlukan bantuan kewangan rawatan kesihatan.

Antara penerima lalu CMF adalah pemain bes BDB, Hamid Ahmad, yang kini telah dapat berjalan dengan bantuan kaki palsu.

Kisah beliau diterbitkan akhbar ini baru-baru ini. Perancangan CMF tahun depan pula telah pun diadakan. “Kami akan adakan konsep keluarga dan dapatkan artis-artis yang digemari semua generasi,” ujar beliau.

Baru-baru ini, Razzi mula menceritakan kisah-kisah lalu BDB di laman Facebook yang turut disisipkan gambar-gambar. “Orang selalu bertanya macam mana asal BDB dari titik mula ia ditubuhkan. Jadi saya ceritakanlah segala perkembangan BDB sejak awal dan kisah jatuh bangun kami,” katanya.

Dimulakan pada 1973 di Singapura, BDB telah mewarnai industri muzik serantau lebih empat dekad. Bagaimanapun, katanya, sebelum itu anggota BDB berasal daripada kumpulan yang bermain dan mengiringi artis-artis Cina. Katanya, cinta terhadap muzik merentasi bangsa dan bahasa.

Dijelaskannya di laman Facebooknya, Razzi mengimbas kembali pada 1968 di mana beliau berjinak-jinak dengan muzik Cina dan bekerja di Malaysia Bar Kelang Lane bermain gitar bas dengan gaji sebanyak $120 sebulan. Itulah titik permulaan persahabatannya bersama pemuzik mapan, S. Atan.

“Pada mulanya kecoh jugak sebab tak pernah dengar pun lagu-lagu Cina ini, mentelah lagi lagu-lagu Cina klasik… tapi S. Atan banyak membantu kerana beliau memang dah master dengan lagu-lagu Cina, lagi pun beliau boleh bertutur dan menulis dalam bahasa Mandarin… yang bestnya kita dapat bekerja di tiga berlainan kelab sebab sebuah kelab hanya bekerja selama tiga atau empat jam saja.

“Ini berlanjutan sehingga dapat saya kumpulkan teman-teman yang diberi nama Black Dog Bone… Jadi jangan heran kalau Black Dog Bone memang berasal daripada kumpulan yang bermain dan mengiringi artis Cina… dari bar ke restaurant, dari restaurant ke kelab, lagu-lagu Cina dah sebati dengan kami…” tulis Razzi dalam Facebook-nya.

Pemuzik generasi perintis serta rakan seperjuangya itu telah pun mendapat pujian sejauh Eropah.

Tahun lalu pula, BDB diberikan Anugerah Khas Anugerah Planet Muzik (APM) yang merupakan pengiktirafan tertinggi dalam majlis anugerah tersebut.

“Saya rasa ada harapan muzik tempatan boleh berkembang.

Kebanyakan mereka meraih populariti secara segera melalui memuat naik rakaman ke laman Facebook dan YouTube.

“Mereka seharusnya pelajari daripada pengalaman penyanyi lama yang bermula dari bawah dan terus mengasah bakat mereka,” nasihatnya kepada generasi pelapis yang bakal menerajui persada seni masa depan.

Sumber: http://beritaharian.sg/setempat/perjalanan-hidup-razzi-m-dulu-dan-sekarang

September 26, 2014