ARCHIVES 2012

Money makes the world go round but the debt recovery controversy in Selangor could not have come at the worst time for Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim as he prepares to defend Selangor against an ascendant Barisan.

The 2010 debt recovery effort is a complex financial maze. But to put it simply, the MCA attack team, led by the party’s Young Professionals bureau chief Datuk Chua Tee Yong, had challenged Khalid to explain how an exercise to recover RM392mil of debts that public-listed company Talam Corporation owed the state government allegedly resulted in a deal worth RM1bil.

Joceline Tan, The Star

(The Star) - Former DAP vice-chairman Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim has described the party's politics as that of “blame and hate”.

(The Star) - Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said Saturday he would consult the Attorney-General over a proposal to have the general election held only upon completion of the five-year mandate of the government.

The DAP national chairman says MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek is an unworthy and improper opponent for the Penang chief minister.

(FMT) - DAP national chairman Karpal Singh wants the party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng to call off his debate with MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.

Alwyn Lau, New Manadala

Slavoj Žižek often evokes two images to represent the kinds of critique of ‘Capitalism and the State’ we have today: the fool and the knave. The fool refers to left-wing intellectuals who criticise the system but is not only ineffective in effecting real transformation, he ends up serving the powers that be. To illustrate, Žižek often tells the obscene joke about the peasant and his wife who encounters a Mongol emperor along the road. The emperor proceeds to rape the wife but tells the husband to hold on to his (the Emperor’s) testicles whilst he’s performing the act. After the Emperor leaves, the peasant jumps up and down in delight. When asked by the traumatised wife what the mini-celebration is all about, especially as she has just been raped, the peasant replies that he actually let the Emperor’s testicles touch the sand.

If Najib allows this to continue then I can only say one thing to him: bye-bye Najib. I hope you enjoy your retirement. Oh, and please tell Rosmah to give back the private jet that she uses for her shopping sprees overseas. And I suppose I should also say: hello Muhyiddin -- unless Pakatan Rakyat wins the next general election, of course. Then it would be: hello Anwar Ibrahim.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

(The Malaysian Insider) - Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim firmed up his retirement plan last night despite his daughter’s plea that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) still needs his leadership, declaring at a rally here that the next general election would be his “final attempt” at federal power.

(The Malaysian Insider) - Ketua Umum PKR, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim hari ini berkata kekal dengan pendiriannya untuk bersara sekiranya tewas dalam pilihan raya umum (PRU) ke 13 akan datang walaupun dipujuk oleh anaknya Nurul Izzah semalam.

(The Malaysian Insider) - Already facing possible expulsion, Tamrin Ghafar, the son of former deputy prime minister and Umno strongman Tun Ghafar Baba, has again criticised the party’s leadership for straying from its “original struggle”.

(Bernama) - Suara Inisiatif Sdn Bhd, the company claimed to be linked to Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram), has been given seven days to submit the relevant documents on the company to the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM).