(B)ankrap (N)egara: Losses - MAS, Proton, Scomi

Daim: NFC 'cow-gate' a serious blow on government

Daim's predictions

• 13th general election
• Opinion

 2012-03-01 18:52

By TAY TIAN YAN
Translated by DOMINIC LOH
Sin Chew Daily

If you want to know what is in store for the country's political future, you've got to ask Tun Daim Zainuddin.

Prior to the last general election, Daim predicted that the BN would lose five states. Almost no one believed him, but he got it all correct.

Daim has since become a soothsayer few can afford to overlook. Some call him a great fortune-teller, others say he is a political sorcerer.

One day, I went to his office with a colleague, and wanted him to show us a way on the country's current political state of affairs, and how he would predict the outcome of the next general election.

A low-key, somewhat mysterious person, Daim always leaves much to be speculated, from his stint as the country's finance minister to the business empire he has built.

It took a lot of effort for us to get an appointment to meet him and conduct a face-to-face interview.

No matter how people look at him, all share a common impression of him, that he is an extremely shrewd man, and the great power that he once had with him proves this point.

Well acquainted with the modus operandi of the government, he knows where the BN's weaknesses lie, as well as its many problems.

He has Umno at his finger tips. Thoughts that prevail in the party, its organisation, and the roles played by individual leaders in the party are all within his grips.

The varied info channels available to him and his broad business perspectives have allowed him to identify the blind spots in Umno and BN, and more objective facts.

As a result, he put it candidly that the 2008 political tsunami served BN and Umno just right, as they were excessively arrogant and conceited, thanks to the landslide victory secured in 2004. The same also made them overlook the changes that were subsequently taking place in the country as well as the various signals and warnings.

The leaders failed to respond to the voices of the public, and the voters decided they had to teach the ruling coalition an important lesson through the ballots in their hands.

The sudden surge in the number of seats won by the opposition was a good thing for the country's democratic development, according to Daim.

Indeed, the government needs to be supervised and the rakyat now have an option.

Daim felt Najib had tried hard to implement the changes after he took over as the prime minister, but he conceded that the "cow-gate" incident had dealt a serious blow on the government.

He revealed a political strategy: Most issues would normally be sedimented within 14 days. In other words, Malaysians have short memories, and many issues that are unfavourable to the government could only work their influences within only two weeks, after which they will be obliterated from the people's minds and there is no need for the government to get excessively concerned.

Nevertheless, if an issue outlives the 14-day cooling-off period, something is going to be not very right. With the NFC scandal holding on for so long and the government not taking any proactive steps to tackle it, the same could work to the disadvantage of the ruling coalition.

As for the other things like whether BN is capable of recapturing the lost states, the status of Najib after the election, the future of MCA, Pakatan's problems and the fate of Anwar Ibrahim, they will all be addressed later in the exclusive interview.

Namewee Fuck Lynas - Good day to die - lynascorp.com

GE13 bell tolls: SANTA NAJIB abolished TWO tolls!

Published: Thursday March 1, 2012 MYT 6:25:00 PM
Updated: Thursday March 1, 2012 MYT 9:51:31 PM

PM: 2 tolls along Cheras - Kajang highway to be abolished midnight

By WANI MUTHIAH

Will the Cheras-Kajang folk be deceived by the pre-election goodies?

Hot & roll: Wholesome tasty treats that aren't filling!

 

 Tried the 'Chicken Floss' Hot & Roll @ the University Hospital.

Tasty yes but not filling.

Tak serang tapi lindung? Kata saje pukul sendiri lah

Read the Malay version of 'Umno says Nurul Izzah not attacked, but protected' here.

“I reject Umno's attempt to whitewash this incident. Their defence of such thuggish behaviour is a sore disappointment to all of us,” Nurul Izzah said when contacted, adding that Asrullah, who PKR claimed had been photographed that night, “lunged” towards her “in an alarming manner” while the demonstration “emcee kept shouting insults and berating (her), Nik Nazmi and (PKR)”.

Multiple attempts have been made to contact Asrullah, via telephone calls, Facebook and text-message, for further comment but so far, he has responded to none.

Umno is not only a violent organisation but it is also a lying machine.

Yes, Umno stands for Ultimately Most Nefarious Organisation.

NFCorp properties: Supermarket, condos, land, car!

I got the wrong mall, says Rafizi

UPDATED @ 03:27:36 PM 29-02-2012

By Yow Hong Chieh

February 29, 2012

A screen capture of the Rochester Mall website shows a listing for a “Farmhouse Supermarkets”.

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 29 — Farmhouse Supermarkets, allegedly linked to Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil’s family, will operate as the anchor tenant of Singapore’s Rochester Mall and not the nearby Star Vista, Rafizi Ramli said today.

The PKR strategic director apologised for the mix up after property developer and manager CapitaMalls Asia Ltd denied that Farmhouse Supermarkets would operate at The Star Vista mall in Buona Vista, Singapore.

“Farmhouse Supermarket has rented units #02-08 till #02-35 at the shopping mall attached to luxury condominiums at 35, Rochester Drive, Singapore,” he said in a statement.

Rafizi noted that a check on Rochester Mall’s website showed that Farmhouse Supermarkets was listed as a tenant, the largest on the second floor.

He added that because Rochester Mall was located right next to The Star Vista, his initial estimate that renting the lots there would cost RM2.2 million a month were accurate.

“Therefore, I believe that aside from a mistake in the mall’s address, the rest of what I revealed yesterday is correct,” he said.

Rafizi also apologised to CapitaMalls and National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) for the confusion, but stressed that this should not detract from the questions raised over the cattle-rearing company’s alleged operations in Singapore.

NFCorp hit national headlines after it made it into the Auditor-General’s Report last year, and has continued to hog the limelight after it was linked to Shahrizat’s family.

PKR has made several claims of abuse over NFCorp’s federal loan involving over RM62 million spent on land, property and expenses unrelated to cattle-raising.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced last month Putrajaya would appoint an auditor to scrutinise NFCorp’s books in light of accusations made against the company.

Opposition parties have called on the government to freeze NFCorp’s assets to stop the company from using more public funds while the probe was being carried out.

Commercial crimes investigators said last week they will recommend to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) that all NFCorp’s directors be charged with criminal breach of trust (CBT).