Transcript of Pak Lah's press conference

Transcript of Pak Lah's press conference

Posted by: Raja Petra at http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/newsncom.php?itemid=330


Regina William
The Sun

Transcript of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's press conference in Kepala Batas (Thursday, Oct 26) during which he answered questions about his two-hour meeting with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Sunday (Oct 22) at Sri Perdana, Putrajaya.

Q: Will you reply to him (Tun Mahathir) in detail?

A: I will have to prepare the replies for the many issues raised. Actually in our meeting, I gave him the opportunity to raise issues which he was not happy about. There were times while he was talking that I really wanted to intercede and argue with him but if I did that, I would have taken time and Tun would not have been able to say everything. Then people will say that I disturbed him when he wanted to. So I just listened to him.

He took one-and-a-half hours and we had agreed to meet for two hours. He stopped himself and I never told him to stop. When he paused for a while, I took it that he had finished so I spoke about some of the issues he raised.

Firstly, about police state, I said it was not right at all.

Secondly, he said Umno was now controlled and no one could give their views and dared to speak. I said it was not true. Umno members were now more relaxed under my leadership because they feel relieved about whatever is being done. I did say more, but this is just in brief of what I said to him.

He also said I try to prevent him from going here and there. I told him I have never done that. When I was deputy president in the party, by right I would have been able to go anywhere, but I faced restrictions, maybe he was not aware at that time and this was done by those who wanted to make him feel good. That they succeeded in preventing Pak Lah. This has happened to others and to me. I didn't elaborate further, I just touched on this a bit.

Then he raised the issue about my son and son-in-law, calling here and there. He said my son Kamal who had no facilities obtained a charcoal contract ... that he had no ships, he had ships, 180 of them, the ships belonged to a company taken over by Scomi, and they were supposed to build 80 ship frames, bus frames and van frames. The company had a workshop but I did not say more to him. He also mentioned my son getting projects, so I told him his son/s (anak dia) got even more bigger projects that what Scomi got.

The atmosphere was cordial and amicable and before I could finish Tun reminded me that it was two hours already, so it ended. Most of the issues raised were actually what he had raised before in the newspapers.

Many people were hoping for an amicable solution but he has instead stepped up attacks against you.

I felt sad about it. He told me all he wanted to say. I have to take time to respond but he repeated (the attacks) again this time with stronger doses of venom.

What are you going to do now?

Allahmuallam (only God knows). He wants to continue doing what he has been doing all this time.

The Sultan of Johor has issued a statement in support of you and criticised Tun M, asking him to behave like a pensioner.

The Sultan's statement reflects the feelings of the majority of people.

What did the people convey to you during the Hari Raya?

They said "Please continue Pak Lah, you still have time. We support you as we understand you just took over two years ago." Ninth Malaysia Plan was just launched seven months ago, not two years ago like Tun said, it's not true.

What is your view on the two ministers who went to Tun M's Hari Raya open house.

It is bound to happen, but we don't restrict others from going to this or that person's house. That is not right as it is against the spirit of Hari Raya.

About postponing the Umno elections.

That decision was taken. The elections is my prerogative, upto me to decide when I want to have it. Maybe I want to have it next year.

Will there be a second meeting between you and Tun?

Let's see ... maybe yes, maybe not ... Allahmuallam.

When will you be giving the full explanation to Tun?

I will take some time.

Are you going to give him a letter?

Let's see how. For me, I truly understand my (general election) manifesto pledges and I understand and know that I have to fulfil them. I also know that many of the 9MP projects have started but will take time to bear fruit. I am confident that whatever projects we have undertaken, the results will be visible by mid-2007. It will provide business opportunities and jobs to businesses, contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers, etc. We have also allocated projects to many Class F contractors at the constituencies. (Works Minister Datuk Seri S.) Samy Vellu has also fast tracked the technical drawings for some of the projects; otherwise we cannot tender out these projects fast. We decided in the cabinet that that tenders should be given out fast, I have explained this many times.

Even PFIs (private financial initiatives) are not BLTs (build, lease, transfers). For the monorail, I would prefer it to be PFI. The company which is building can forward their suggestions and look for their own financing, feasibility and viability and profitable or not. (It's) Up to the companies they have to run it themselves. Even decide on the charges. In my opinion, there are people who want to build and run it, why would the government want to get involved?

This project can be handled by the private sector. Many other projects we cannot do this. Even concession might not work. One monorail system is good enough for Penang, there can be a monopoly. You can run it yourself. If the people think this is good, let them do it. We have asked companies to come forward with their suggestions, we have offered to them, let's see their response. Some PFIs are BLTs. EPF has formed a company to carry out the project to build for the police. Police budget doesn't allow us to do everything. EPF has the financial resources to carry it out. EPF will build and police will pay rental to EPF and when EPF has made its profits, the buildings will be transferred to the police. So, they don't have to wait for government allocation. Via this method, we can build police stations and homes for them. There are no risks involved and they get better returns, it is a win-win situation.

Why did I criticise the Prime Minister? - Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's statement; 27 Oct 2006

http://www.malaysia-today.net/Tun_Statement_English.htm

Find me on MySpace and be my friend!

VETTAIYADU VILAIYADU

I enjoyed every moment of the movie with my friends in GSC, Berjaya Times Square, Kuala Lumpur. Kamal/Gautham/Harish/Jothika/Prakashraj must be congratulated for relating the realities of a policeman life hurdles - by putting across to conservative Tamils the realities of homosexual psychopaths, a widower marrying a divorcee with a child, giving a real DCP Raghavan in Kamal, without normal Vijayakanth,Vijay kind of fights and stunts and music and actions spilling over everyone`s pants. People like Kamal break the Kolloywood style to make good entertainment for us,and try to bring india on par with hollywood and here we have idiots who who just don`t know how to separate shit from gold. VV will definitely change the viewers expectations about Kollywood. After a long time we had a good cop movie, He,s the man for acting such kind of stories, So now we know why he was called as Universal Hero....

Hereby attached comment from a fan from www.behindwoods.com

Suresh 8/28/2006 10:19:29 AMComments posted as slow, lack of direction, bad camera work, logical aspect of a cop from india being @ US, bad songs, comparing with kakka kakka, Jo performance , no need of romance scenes of KH & JO, did kamal listen to the script , indian families will not see, sex is more, songs r not @ right place,kamal performance , it will not run for packed house, it is flop list of kamal sorry to tell u guys we (I & u (all who posted those messages )) r wrong bcoz even i too thought of same but after few hrs i had to change , it has an impact slowly, never rate a film that direction is wrong as if we know about direction. kamal performance watch out for the first 10 minutes ur money is paid off, jo`s perormance shows the pain off the present genre of female, substance of the film-for how many more days r u going watch the same kind of stories,look for some thing new, Sex it is not vulgar ofcourse its hard digest for people who r not aware of these things, logical - as if kamal as shouted in US like sunny deol or any other hero who goes runs behind the trees in US like shah rukh kHan , songs, songs- how many more kuthu songs u want to listen same dance moments of vijay , ajith, surya, chiranjeevi. action- how many more times would like to watch the same rope pulling action sequences of vijay kanth, vijay, arjun, ajith. how many more funny police officers dialogues of these actors - vijay kanth, vikram, sathyaraj, rajinikanth, ajith Except suryas watch out for kamal showing an humanitarian aspect to deal a criminal in the dialogues with his collegues.

For all the first day morning show audience & who
did not saw the film & commented, it takes time to comment up on a good movie, this is really a good movie, it takes time to generate the buzz in u.

How to Lead a Revolution Against a Teacher

1. Do not listen to anything they say. If they say something repeat after it has been said "What?". This works really well if they have just explained a very long and complicated procedure.

2. If you are playing a game with them for example baseball or cricket always aim the ball at them and if it does in fact hit them deny, deny, deny.

3. Take your time at everything you do. If they shout at you go even slower. If they tell you to start running jog but go even slower.

4. Act so immature that they will not be able to take it. Shouting is a good sign. If they shout, laugh all they way through.

5. Make note of everything they say. Watch for anything that you will be able to say against them. For example if they get your name wrong, then get their name wrong, but make that name humerous and also keep calling them that until the end of the lesson. When my subject teacher got my name wrong, i got me and my friends to call him Mr Wiggles even though his name was Mr Pugh!!!

6. Randomly start to sing or mumble insane rambling under your tongue and then claim that its a medical condition that the docters cannot cure.

7. Pretend that you are mentally disabled and start to have a fit on the floor in front of them. If they start to get really worried, suddenly jump up so that your face is inches away from his and shout "Got Ya" and laugh loudly.

8. Finally if you have nothing to lose attach your tie of a long piece of material round your head, jump on the table and chant "Down with <>, Hes crap at teaching". After generally cause chaos and fashion weapons from rulers, pens and erasers (throw the erasers round the room). Then run out of the room hitting everything you go past with your weapon so that it makes a loud noise.

Golden Rule: Only do these things if your friends are willing to participate. The teacher cannot punish the whole class. If they do give you detention, do the same during detention and so on.

With luck after this your teacher will get so scared that they leave the school and thus you will get another teacher to torment and distress.

Happy Revolting

This article is taken from: http://www.totse.com/en/bad_ideas/irresponsible_activities/howtoleadarevo191549.html

Strengthen Grassroot To Revive M'sian Football - Peter Velappan

August 08, 2006 11:05 AM

Strengthen Grassroot To Revive M'sian Football - Peter Velappan

By L.Jaiarajo

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 8 (Bernama) -- The only way for Malaysian football to be revived is to go back to the schools, districts, towns, villages or even estates, says Asian Football Confederation (AFC) general-secretary Datuk Peter Vellapan.

He says Malaysian football is in a crisis and the only way is to go back to the basics and start rebuilding from the grassroots.

He urged the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), Youth and Sports Ministry and the National Sports Council (NSC) to join forces and set up a task force to review the whole process.

"When a house collapses, you cannot start rebuilding it from the roof, instead we have to start laying the foundation and start from the ground level and the grassroot level is the best place to start," he said, referring to the ongoing crisis in the Malaysian football.

"If any foundation is not reinforced or well maintained from time to time, the building can collapse, and sports, especially football, is no exception," he told BERNAMA in an interview at the Royal Selangor Club's junior football tournament.

"Go back to the schools and start organising more age group tournaments throughout the country, bring back the clubs and allocate weekends for junior tournaments to create awareness and generate interest in football.

He said there was lack of tournaments for the various age groups to maintain the competitive edge among the young ones.

"States must also look at the clubs because it is the clubs that produce players to the states and eventually to the national team. We should look at countries like Brazil, England, Germany, Italy and France who have a very strong club-base," he said.

Malaysian football had come under heavy criticism after slipping down the FIFA World rankings from 118 to 127 and to the present position of 146.

The drastic drop in football standards in the country resulted in a public outcry and a call for the FAM office bearers to quit en-bloc.

Peter, who has been involved in football for more than 43 years and who has been a dominant force behind AFC, said the confederation had also embarked on a junior development programme for those aged six onwards.

"It is at these tender age where a sound basic foundation should be laid for a gradual progress before they graduate into elite players.

"Looking at football in general and from the global aspect, a country can only be as good as its clubs," said Peter who held the FAM assistant secretary's post from 1963 to 1980.

As the AFC general-secretary, Peter has travelled to more than 60 countries and has been involved in the development of football for many Asian countries.

He was also adviser to the organising committee of the 2002 World Cup hosted by Japan and South Korea.

-- BERNAMA

Source:http://www.bernama.com.my/

Malaysia's Economy Will Continue To Grow, Says Zeti

August 08, 2006 14:15 PM

Malaysia's Economy Will Continue To Grow, Says Zeti

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 8 (Bernama) -- Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said that eventhough inflation has peaked, Malaysia will continue to see steady growth in the second half of the year.

"Certainly, we want to see steady solid growth continue in the second half of the year as well as going into next year. As long as inflation remains at manageable level, it will continue to remain supportive of the growth," she told reporters after the launch of Prudential BSN Takaful Bhd, here today.

She was asked to comment on what will be the bigger risk for the Malaysian economy, higher inflation or slower economic growth, if the Malaysian economy went down.

Yesterday, Dr Zeti said Malaysia was expected to register strong second quarter growth this year, having recorded good export numbers so far.

She said industrial production has been also good.

Malaysia's exports in June rose 11.4 percent from a year earlier to RM49.61 billion, in line with projections by economists. It was however lower than the revised 13.1 percent projection in May.

The Malaysia Institute of Economic Research (MIER) had earlier cut its economic growth for the country for 2006 to 5.2 percent from 5.5 percent.

Bank Negara is expected to announce the second quarter growth on August 30, 2006.

Meanwhile, earlier in her speech, Zeti said the consultative paper on the principle-based guidelines on the takaful operational frameworks would be issued soon.

The aim, she said, was to establish the parameters within which the takaful operators carry out their business, whilst allowing for the different takaful models currently adopted by the respective operators.

"This consultative process is a further reflection of the approach adopted to take into consideration feedback from the industry players in designing appropriate regulatory framework and thus balancing the interests of various stakeholders," she said.

Zeti said the industry could also expect to see some progress on the development of international best practices for the takaful industry by the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) in the near future.

-- BERNAMA

Source: http://www.bernama.com.my/

Pepper stray attack on Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad

(Bernama) -- In a rare show of solidarity, government and
opposition leaders condemned the pepper spray attack on former
premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in Kelantan Friday.

Ruling Umno leaders described the attack as "rude" while
opposition leaders said it was "a despicable act".

"Those responsible were not grateful to the immense contribution
of Dr Mahathir to the nation," said Perlis Menteri Besar Datuk
Seri Shahidan Kassim.

He urged the police to quickly investigate the incident and nab
the miscreants.

Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang described the incident as
"despicable"

, saying it reflected "a culture which is completely
unacceptable and must not be allowed to take root in Malaysia."

"However strongly one disagrees with another, and undoubtedly Dr
Mahathir is the object of powerful sentiments of both animosity
and support, there can be no excuse for such a physical attack,"
he said in a statement Friday.

He urged the police to quickly investigate the incident and book
the culprits.

"(It's) not so much because he was the former Prime Minister but
because like any other Malaysian, he should have freedom of
movement, speech and _expression without the fear of loutish and
gangsterish elements taking the law into their own hands," he
said.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi also condemned
the attack and demanded stern action to be taken against those
responsible.

Dr Mahathir, widely credited for transforming Malaysia from an
economic backwaters into Asia's economic power, was reportedly
having trouble breathing after the attack but recovered quickly
and went on with his programme.

The 80 year-old former premier was sprayed with pepper as he
prepared to address a public meeting in Kota Baharu, the capital
of PAS-ruled Kelantan State.

Biograpghy

I am extremely independent guy whom have firm views and broad-minded too. I am very faithful and supportive in the right relationship. Neither smoke nor alcohol is my favourite.

I am gentle and so original! Very tolerant and unprejudiced, tend to stick to my beliefs and I may seem cold to people who don't share their intellectual orientation to life.

Love to go cinema and hanging around with my friends! Sometimes im getting crazy..especially when Chelsea/Argentina lost any futball matches...but most of time i will be very cool&calm guy. I prefer to provide/volunteer myself in social, community and religion activities! Will spend my free time@weekend by watching Astro (Satellite Channel) and going to cinema...! INTERNET is another good fren of mine...intrested in the matters which are new to me! Enjoy buying and reading the books! Books are my good friends too! :-)