No Smoking Ban is Good for all

I don’t want to lose you, too!

By Stephen Ng 

I lost my father when he had just turned 66 years old.

A couple of years later, I also lost another close relative when he, too, died of lung cancer, while my children lost their nanny’s husband and their wonderful godfather due to this deadly disease that knows no mercy.

Fans of the once-popular Radio Four would also remember the late Kenny Lim, who used to phone in the talkshows, he too died of lung cancer in his early fifties. 

You can understand why I am saddened each time I hear someone is suffering from lung cancer. It is a matter of what stage he is in. There is hardly any cure for any of this cancer patient. 

This is why I appeal to the public to understand what the Ministry of Health is trying to achieve when they banned smoking in restaurants. This is an important milestone in Malaysia. It has taken 61 years to implement this new and very bold ruling.

It used to be that smokers could even smoke in the coaches. On my way to Penang back in the 80s, I remember sitting just beside a chain smoker. While I was trying to catch up with some sleep, he was puffing the whole night. 

We have come a long way. I urge the Opposition not to politicise every single move made by the new government. 

I also urge the Sarawak State Government to be sensible and implement without reservation the ‘No Smoking’ ban, instead of fighting it. Sarawak Housing and Local Government state exco, Dr Sim Kui Hian is also a doctor; he should know the deadly malady. 

After May 09, there appears to be too much opposition to everything good and bad done by Pakatan Harapan – reject the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), reject the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), and now, reject even the ‘No Smoking’ ban on restaurants. 

There are indeed some good initiatives that the Opposition should support such as the ‘No Smoking’ ban. Majority of the non-smokers support it; therefore, it would do more harm to the Opposition’s narrative if they fought it. 

And being one of those who gave the thumbs-up to both Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad and Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Lee Boon Chye for their stake-it-all initiative, I certainly do not want to lose any of my loved ones to cancer of the lungs.

And, you, too!

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008. After May 9, 2018, he is now involved in contributing ideas towards rebuilding of the nation.

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Stateless Child says 'Thank You' to those who have helped out

 

Photo credit: Malaysiakini

By Stephen Ng

In the midst of all the attacks on Pakatan Harapan, there are stories that would would not do justice if not being told.

I am writing on behalf of a stateless child who was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE).

As SLE is a chronic inflammatory disease requiring long term and frequent treatment at the hospital, the family had to initially bear the cost of treatment as though she was a foreigner.

However, with the help of both Minister of Health, YB Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad and his deputy, YB Dr Lee Boon Chye, and their special officers, Dr Pa and Dr Naja, respectively, the case was taken into consideration.

Although neither the family nor I have met Dr Pa and Dr Naja personally, they helped to get the girl's case solved. Knowing her plight, Dr Dzulkefly even donated to the family.

Several Members of Parliament also donated to the family, but now, thankfully, the child is treated like a local citizen. Even YB Ronnie Liu who is based in Sungai Pelek, tried to help the family in his own ways.

At the same time, Segambut MP YB Hannah Yeoh and her assistant Yap Yee Vonne also assisted in bringing the case of this constituent of theirs to the attention of Minister of Home Affairs YB Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin so that application for her citizenship could be expedited. 

Unless her citizenship issue is solved, past 12 years old, the girl would not enjoy free medical treatment. She has to be warded nearly every month since she was diagnosed of SLE and if not for the help obtained from good politicians, the hospital bill has in fact hit some RM13,000. 

In the process of seeking more help for this case, I also wrote to YAB Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. Her personal assistant also wrote to both the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Health to give the case a worthy consideration.

Since the child has a birth certificate which clearly stated that her father is a Malaysian, under the Financial Act, the child was to be treated like a citizen. With this letter from the Ministry of Health, the hospital administration has no problem treating the child. 

The family is now relieved that at least the frequent visits to the hospital would not become a financial burden to them. The girl still needs constant daily dietary such as proper nutrition and healthcare supplements.

On behalf of the child's family, I would like to thank all parties, including doctors at the pediatric rheumatology department, nurses and hospital administrators, who worked hard to help a child in need.

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Vigneswaran should be charged for breaching airport security

Photo credit: Malaysiakini

By Stephen Ng


SA Vigneswaran as the president of Dewan Negara need to know what rules are; therefore, I find it hard to believe that he would expect to be treated as a VVIP when he violated the KLIA's security protocol and dress etiquette.

Vigneswaran should know that people are watching his antics. If he is not a VVIP, at least he is a public figure.

This is not befitting a member and what's more the president of the Dewan Negara. If he were to do this in the United States of America, he would have been arrested by the Immigration officers.

The president of MIC should not behave arrogant especially since he is not even an elected member of the parliament. He is only appointed to the position, therefore, he does not enjoy the popularity.

With his behaviours, he is attracting more flak from the public and submit himself to the rule of law. As a matter of fact, he should be charged for the felony of breaching the security protocols.

Meanwhile, we need more ministers like Transport Minister, Anthony Loke who is willing to put his foot down on such misdemeanour if you consider this as only a minor wrongdoing.

VVIPs or VIPs should not be given as an excuse to breach the security protocols or dress etiquette at any official function or place.

Vigneswaran should try wearing a pair of thongs to the Dewan Negara and see if he would be thrown out by the parliament. Or, he should do the same walking into the palace to see if he would be treated like a mad man!

I applaud Loke for taking the bull by the horn. Vigneswaran should apologise not only to the Malaysia Airport Berhad authority, staff and the Transport Minister, but also to ALL MALAYSIANS who are watching as this drama unfold.

PH is looking in the wrong direction for support

By Stephen Ng

The Pakatan Government, especially component party Bersatu, needs to understand that the last general election was won with the support of a majority Chinese, Indian and East Malaysian votes.

Only 30% of the Malays voted for PH in the last general election. To therefore submit to the political narrative of the other 70% Malays who voted for Pas and Barisan Nasional is a big let down for the voters like me who helped to put PH in power.

Whether the PH remains in power in the next general election will depend largely on where the current supporters put their votes. With just a slight shift in the voting trend, PH can be thrown out of Putrajaya.

With such a precarious situation that PH is finding itself in, I find it hard to understand why it is still playing the old politics of trying to appease BN supporters at the expense of those who have supported PH.

When the recognition of the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) was brought up, just some noise made by Umno Youth was enough for the spineless Education Minister Maszlee Malik to withhold the recognition under the pretext of doing a holistic study.

Now, the government is contemplating the ratification of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).

It is yet to be seen if the PH government would go ahead to do what is right or it would bow to political pressure from the Opposition.

Many of us are shocked at how former Umno minister, Rais Yatim can now turn around and say that the Ketuanan Melayu was never in the federal constitution, and that it was only a "political battle cry".

Was he not one of those who pushed for the Ketuanan Melayu agenda to the point that it destroyed the country's social fabrics? 

Supposedly graduated with a PhD in law from the University of London, he was spiteful in the way he spoke to a reporter. This is obviously the attitude of a supremacist Malay, who should not have studied in Great Britain. 

If he could not respond to a question in English in the way many other ministers responded to journalists with decorum, he should have obtained his PhD from some universitas in Indonesia. It was unbecoming in the way he behaved when he was later appointed a minister of culture. 

In fact, what kind of culture did he represent with his (using his own words) mulut celupar? This is the Ketuanan Melayu that he was portraying all along.

  

It would have been a disaster had Rais been picked as the parliamentary speaker. I cannot imagine him speaking like this in the august house. The present speaker, Mohamad Arif Md Yusof is far more honourable.

Back to the PH manifesto. Surely anything that the PH government seeks to do, Umno or the lone ranger in MCA would create a ruckus. There will be demonstrations. After all, this is what Umno has been training its men and women to do.

Their objective, of course, is to create dissatisfaction of the rakyat towards Pakatan Harapan and to win back Putrajaya. PH will never (I repeat, will never) win these hardcore Umno and Pas supporters. Their intention is to derail the policy drawn out by PH.

But for many of us, it is unlikely that we would vote for Barisan Nasional at least in the next general election. We know that the moment BN is back, people like Najib Abdul Razak, Rosmah Mansor, Shafie Abdullah and their cronies would go scots free. The nation's wealth would be plundered again.

No, we won't vote for BN unless PH fails us in fulfilling the promises made in the manifesto. We won't vote for BN unless BN has reformed itself and proved to be more capable to run the country, this time with the help of men and women of integrity. The old hats cannot be trusted to run the country.


END.

Tan Keng Liang, think before you speak

Photo credit: Malaysiakini

By Stephen Ng

Gerakan Youth Chief, Tan Keng Liang appears to be bankrupt of ideas every time he speaks.

In his latest statement, he questioned if Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad would expose a letter from PAS Kelantan asking the Finance Ministry for money to pay the salaries of civil servants.

This has nothing to do with Gerakan, but Tan chose to pick a bone with Finance Minister, Lim Guan Eng.

I find this amusing. Lim had made a comment in passing when he responded to Kelantan MPs who wanted to know if the federal government would proceed with the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) should the Kelantan State Government come out with its fund.

Kelantan MPs took offence of his remark that the Kelantan State Government has no money even to pay the salaries of civil servants in the state.

As a member of the public, I would surely like to know whether the remark made by Lim holds water.

Lim did the right thing to read out the letter written by the Kelantan State Government to settle any lingering doubts about the statement he made in parliament.

After all, the letter was not stamped Official Secrets Act (OSA). It is a correspondence between the Kelantan State Government and the Federal Government.

So, why can't Lim provide evidence to back up what he said? And, why Tan should pick up the issue as though there are more important issues to address.

Grow up, Tan!

END.

Civil Servants Must be Polite at All Times

Source: https://mothership.sg/2015/10/man-takes-to-facebook-to-accuse-changi-airport-immigration-officer-of-infringing-his-rights/

By Stephen Ng


Comment: Reading the story about how an immigration officer treated a man who applied for a social visit pass extension for his pregnant Indonesian wife, I cannot help but recall an incident happening at the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority of Singapore.

Although this incident happened about 10 years ago, I can still remember vividly the immigration officer who shares the same surname as mine.

It was very late at night, and I did not realise that I had walked into their auto-gate system, thinking that it was similar to the auto-gate system at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The immigration officer shouted at me rudely: "Do you think this is the auto-gate system in your country?" I retorted back: "Excuse me, Sir! Can you be a bit more polite?"
He took my passport away and went back to his office. I waited by the side while he checked my particulars on the computer system. It took some time before I called out to him, "Sir, is there anything wrong with my passport? If nothing, I want my passport back."

To my horror, the officer shouted at the top of his voice. Provoked by his rude behaviours, I told him off: "Sir, I will definitely be lodging a complaint against you for your rude behaviours. This I promise you!"

I took my passport and joined the queue.

On arrival home the next morning, I immediately wrote an email to the Immigration chief in Singapore. I also sent emails to the Minister of Home Affairs in Singapore as well as to the Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Syed Hamid Albar.

My Singaporean reporter friend advised me to also write to several Members of Parliament in Singapore, after he heard that the Immigration Office in Singapore had defended their officer.
He told me that the MPs in Singapore are very efficient. If any complaints to their attention, especially the Opposition Leader, things would move very fast. Unfortunately, I proved my friend wrong. Singaporean MPs are hopeless.

I finally sent an email to the Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr Lee Hsien Loong and within 24 hours, I received a reply from his private secretary claiming that investigation had been carried out and the officer was not in the wrong.

Such was the response from the Prime Minister's office. I had no choice but to reply with the following words to the effect of saying: "Sir, if this had happened at Tullamarine Airport, the immigration officers there would have told me, 'Excuse me, Sir, but you are on a wrong queue.' This is the difference between a country where people are more polite, compared to a country with rough and rowdy immigration officers like Singapore."

I left it at that. This incident has given me a very negative impression of Singapore as a country that its people lack a sense of courtesy.

Another story showing the lack of culture in the immigration officers at Singapore Immigration & Checkpoints Authority.


END.

Tough for Zahid to prove his innocence

By Stephen Ng


It is not difficult to say that A. Zahid Hamidi and his wife's credit card expenses simply do not add up.

RM800,000 is a lot of money for most Malaysians, and for the couple to spend that amount of money raises questions as to where they obtain the money. It is close to a million Ringgit.

The six million dollar question is: "How on earth did Zahid and his wife spend so much using their credit cards?"

The deputy prime minister would have to earn at least RM2 million a year for the couple to spend that amount. Does a deputy prime minister's salary touch anywhere near RM2 million per annum? I doubt.

 So, when Zahid said that it was his staff's mistake when cheques were issued using funds from Yayasan Akal Budi to pay the credit card bills, I could only roll my eyes in disbelief.

What may appear obvious to me is that Yayasan Akal Budi was set up as a front to receive bribes in the form of donations. Until the Prosecution proves it in court, my suspicion remains a suspicion.

Zahid will have a tough time to prove that he has the means to pay an accumulated credit card bill of RM800,000. There are over 44 other charges that he has to prove his innocence.

This is going to be very tough for Zahid. Even when his men stand in solidarity with him but as Umno president, if he fails to defend himself, he will be sent to jail.

It is interesting that although one of his foot soldiers had blasted out his call to rally for Zahid, only 200 people turned up at the Kuala Lumpur High Court, which works out to be only one percent of the people whom he had broadcast the messages.

People like Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Adnan Mansor and the infamous Jamal Mohd Yusof were surprisingly missing in action.

Zahid knows that his chances of winning the case are very slim. Could this be the reason why he went to see Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad recently?

Any effort to merge Bersatu or PKR with Umno would surely cause a big revolt among the voters and both Tun Mahathir and prime minister designate, Anwar Ibrahim know this very well.

People's confidence in the present government and the cabinet will help it to take Malaysia to the next level. Therefore, Zahid has very slim chances of saving himself and former prime minister, Najib Abdul Razak.

For all Malaysians, the next two or three years, we will be seeing all the evidences brought to court. If the appeals are rejected at both the Court of Appeal and Federal Court, then Sungai Buloh prison officers will have the privilege of looking after a few more VIP prisoners.

The Malaysian Government has to uphold justice and be seen upholding justice.

The details of the charges are as follows:

Criminal breach of trust

1. Criminal breach of trust involving RM537,513.64 from welfare foundation Yayasan Akal Budi between Jan 13, 2014 and Dec 23, 2014.

2. Criminal breach of trust involving RM38,070.49 from Yayasan Akal Budi between Feb 19, 2014 and Oct 29, 2014.

3. Criminal breach of trust involving RM107,509.55 from Yayasan Akal Budi between Jan 22, 2015 and Sept 23, 2015.

4. Criminal breach of trust involving RM708,134.47 from Yayasan Akal Budi between Jan 27, 2015 and Aug 21, 2015.

5. Criminal breach of trust involving RM3,914.84 from Yayasan Akal Budi on March 20, 2015.

6. Criminal breach of trust involving RM17,953,185.21 from Yayasan Akal Budi between June 23, 2015 and June 28, 2015 .

7. Criminal breach of trust involving RM30,635.80 from Yayasan Akal Budi on July 9, 2015.

8. Criminal breach of trust involving RM100,000 from Yayasan Akal Budi on Aug 20, 2015.

9. Criminal breach of trust involving RM1,300,000 from Yayasan Akal Budi on Nov 23, 2015.

10. Criminal breach of trust involving RM54,168.99 from Yayasan Akal Budi on Jan 11, 2016.

Receiving gratification

11. Receiving gratification as Home Minister for accepting a RM250,000 cheque from Mastoro Kenny IT Consultant & Services to help the company get a MyEG project on Jul 15, 2016.

12. Receiving gratification as Home Minister for accepting 13 cheques worth RM8 million from Mastoro Kenny IT Consultant & Services to help the company get a MyEG project between Dec 7, 2016 and Jan 5, 2017.

13. Receiving gratification as Home Minister for accepting 10 cheques worth RM5 million from Mastoro Kenny IT Consultant & Services to help the company get a MyEG project on Feb 8, 2017.

14. Receiving gratification as Home Minister for accepting a RM5 million cheque from Datasonic Group Bhd director Chew Ben Ben on April 26, 2017. Datasonic had won a direct tender contract from Home Ministry to supply Malaysian passport chips.

15. Receiving gratification as Home Minister for accepting a RM1 million cheque from Datasonic Group Bhd director Chew Ben Ben on April 26, 2017.

16. Receiving gratification as Home Minister for accepting a RM300,000 cheque from Profound Radiance Sdn Bhd director Azlan Shah Jaffril on Aug 3, 2017. Profound Radiance runs migrant visa one-stop centers in Pakistan and Nepal.

17. Receiving gratification as Home Minister for accepting a RM1 million cheque from Profound Radiance Sdn Bhd director Azlan Shah Jaffril on Jan 9, 2018.

18. Receiving gratification as Home Minister for accepting a RM700,000 cheque from Profound Radiance Sdn Bhd director Azlan Shah Jaffril on March 15, 2018.

Money laundering

19. Money laundering by depositing RM3.8 million as a fixed deposit on May 27, 2016.

20. Money laundering by depositing RM3 million as a fixed deposit on June 14, 2016.

21. Money laundering by depositing RM4.6 million as a fixed deposit on June 14, 2016.

22. Money laundering by depositing RM3 million as a fixed deposit on June 16, 2016.

23. Money laundering by depositing RM9,350,265.21 as a fixed deposit on July 13, 2016.

24. Money laundering by depositing RM5,460,361.14 as a fixed deposit on July 21, 2016.

25. Money laundering by depositing RM600,000 as a fixed deposit on Aug 29, 2016.

26. Money laundering by depositing RM600,000 as a fixed deposit on Sept 13, 2016.

27. Money laundering by depositing RM1.2 million as a fixed deposit on Nov 7, 2016.

28. Money laundering by depositing RM619,680.70 as a fixed deposit on Jan 6, 2017.

29. Money laundering by depositing RM3 million as a fixed deposit on Jan 9, 2017.

30. Money laundering by depositing RM1.2 million as a fixed deposit on Jan 17, 2017.

31. Money laundering by depositing RM600,000 as a fixed deposit on Feb 15, 2017.

32. Money laundering by depositing RM1.2 million as a fixed deposit on April 14, 2017.

33. Money laundering by depositing RM6 million as a fixed deposit on April 28, 2017.

34. Money laundering by depositing RM8,348,040.90 as a fixed deposit on May 11, 2017.

35. Money laundering by depositing RM1.8 million as a fixed deposit on Aug 17, 2017.

36. Money laundering by depositing RM600,000 as a fixed deposit on Oct 10, 2017.

37. Money laundering by depositing RM600,000 as a fixed deposit on Nov 17, 2017.

38. Money laundering by depositing RM600,000 as a fixed deposit on Dec 20, 2017.

39. Money laundering by depositing RM600,000 as a fixed deposit on Jan 17, 2018.

40. Money laundering by depositing RM600,000 as a fixed deposit on Feb 14, 2018.

41. Money laundering by depositing RM700,000 as a fixed deposit on March 20, 2018

42. Money laundering by depositing RM600,000 as a fixed deposit on March 20, 2018.

43. Money laundering by depositing RM600,000 as a fixed deposit on April 11, 2018.

44. Money laundering by purchasing two bungalows in Mukim Kajang, Hulu Langat, Selangor for RM5.9 million on Jan 9, 2017.

45. Money laundering by ordering the conversion of RM6,885,270.20 in cash into 30 cheques to be used for fixed deposits between March 29, 2016 and July 15, 2016.

Source: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/447983

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