IN THIS ISSUE
 Cantonese
soap opera sensation!
Malaysians
second longest in Asia
Four-year
old called to testify in court
Curse
on Langkawi officially lifted
Mahathir
speaks up for Aussie natives
Melaka
officials to be sent back to kindergarten
Wanita
unites after UMNO elections
UMNO
declares war on traitors
Chief
Justice rapped for holiday with tycoon's lawyer
 ARCHIVES
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Mahathir speaks up for Australian natives.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad last month demonstrated that he
is not only the champion of the Third World but also a champion of the
world's indigenous people when he sharply criticized Australia for its
treatment of its aboriginal community. Mahathir last month attacked Australia
as "having a lot of racial problems" and "being very unfair
to the aboriginal people."
"We are proud that our PM is so sensitive to the
rights of indigenous peoples," said a Sarawak government official
as he toured the Bakun Dam project, which will forcibly move more than
10,000 indigenous people from their native customary lands. "Here
we treat our natives with respect - except, of course, when they blockade
our logging camps. Then, we have to shoot them."
When asked to comment on Mahathir's statement that Australia
was a regional "bully", an official of the Australian High Commission
who refused to be named assured Malaysians that Australia not be so recalcitrant
in the future. "We will try to emulate Dr Mahathir's gentle style,
quiet diplomacy and soft-spoken demeanour."
He said that economic ties between the two countries are
normal, despite the diplomatic flare-up. "In fact, Malaysian investment
in Australia is estimated at over one billion Australian dollars, mostly
in the property market. And not all of it is from Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad
Taib's 'brother'."
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Muhammad
Taib: Keen
investor
in Australia
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Wanita unites after UMNO Elections
 
Rafidah and Zaharah: Bickering bitches? |
In true UMNO spirit, the two factions in its Women's
Wing closed ranks and united after the bitter UMNO Elections by accusing
each other of squandering millions in party funds, getting rid of their
opponents and arguing like a pair of bickering bitches.
Rafidah Aziz, who beat Zaharah Sulaiman by a narrow 12
votes to win leadership of UMNO Wanita, displayed her generous, magnanimous
and forgiving nature by immediately sacking nine State chiefs who were
aligned to her opponent. She also accused Zaharah of leaving Wanita with
RM1.3 million in debts. Zaharah claimed the debts were from Rafidah's previous
tenure as chief.
An UMNO official who refused to be named said the sacking
of the nine State chiefs was not a politically-motivated purge but normal,
democratic practice. "It is normal practice in UMNO that when you
lose an election, you are expected to be crushed into the dirt like an
ant. UMNO is not a vengeful party."
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Melaka officials to be sent back to kindergarten
Melaka State government officials may be sent back to
kindergarten for refresher courses in arithmetic when the Auditor-General
revealed that the state had 'lost' over RM58 million in State funds. In
addition, almost all state governments departments and agencies in Melaka
will be probed by the anti-corruption agency.
A state official who refused to be named said he could
not understand where the RM58 million could have gone. "Perhaps we
missed a couple of zeroes somewhere while we were doing the accounts."
"Investigations are underway. We should have the
mystery of the missing cash solved in either six months time or half a
year, whichever is shortest," the official said, after trying in vain
to count to six on his fingers.
Melaka Chief Minister Mohd Ali Rustam had last year told
the State assembly that the Melaka Civil Service was "the best in
the world". "We didn't know he meant the best in the world at
losing money," the official lamented.
UMNO Melaka politicians were confident that the losses
were due to poor artithmetc rather than corruption. "The state government
is confident the money was lost due to miscalculation rather than misappropriation.
There is no corruption or abuse of public funds in Melaka," said a
senior state politician said while sailing in the Mediterranean in his
luxury yacht.
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