QE II

1. No. QE II is not short for Queen Elizabeth II. Nor is it about the great cruise ship QE II.

2. It is about Quantitative Easing II, i.e. quantitative easing for the second time.

3. What is quantitative easing? It is about printing and issuing money to overcome a financial problem. Lately Britain has printed 75 billion pounds to help distressed banks and others.

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SUPPORTING MH/AK

1. I have been asked why I support bringing MAS and Air Asia together. Don’t I know that it is a bad deal; that MAS has been cheated by Air Asia?

2. I support MAS/Air Asia cooperation because for years now I have been fed-up with the management of MAS. Government had supported MAS with funds and protection but MAS had never done well.

3. Air Asia is a newcomer but it has managed to sustain itself. Despite giving free seats and cheap fares it is still surviving. And it is apparently making some profits. By right it should close down by now. That it is still around must be because its management knows something that I don’t know.

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RADIATION

1. When X-Ray was first discovered it was used extensively in medicine. X-Rays were taken of the human body to detect diseases. Medical assistants and doctors operate X-Ray machines quite oblivious to the dangers from radiation.

2. After many years it was found that X-Rays cause certain diseases and affect fertility. Now when an X-Ray is taken, the radiologists stay outside the X-Ray room.

3. But we still use the X-Ray on patients because the effect of radiation is only felt when exposure is continuous or very frequent as with the staff in the X-Ray room. I was X-rayed many times during treatment for my heart and lungs.

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ADVICE UNSOLICITED

1. An online news portal recently reported the Mufti of Perak, Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria, said in a forum that he advised me not to take action against Anwar Ibrahim because I had no witness and I might lose the case.

2. I am sorry but I cannot recall him giving me such advise, not personally or even in public occasions when I met him.

3. I had been convinced by witnesses, but, if by witness the good Mufti meant four sinless people actually seeing the deed, as required in Shariah court, I admit I did not have.

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9/11 2001

1. I had written in this blog that the attack against the New York World Trade Centre and the Pentagon on 9/11 2001 was not by Muslim terrorist. It could have been by other groups.

2. In the Star of Friday 2nd September, a report by AFP, date-lined New York has this to say:
“For some Americans, the deaths of nearly 3000 people was not the scariest thing about 9/11. It was realising who carried out the attack: yes, the American Government.”

3. I believe Arab Muslims are angry enough to sacrifice their lives and become suicide bombers. But they or their handlers do not strike me as capable of planning and strategising such attacks so as to maximise the damage to the enemy.

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KARPAL DAN MAT SABU

1. Akhbar melaporkan sesuatu yang pelik.

2. Sementara Mat Sabu memuji pengganas komunis, Karpal Singh pula mencuit perasaan Mat Sabu dan mempertahankan peranan yang dimainkan oleh anggota polis dan pasukan keselamatan Malaysia yang lain dalam menyelamatkan negara daripada pengganas.

3. Sungguh aneh sikap Karpal. Tetapi sebenarnya Karpal sebagai ahli politik amat cekap dan sedar akan kemarahan anggota keselamatan terhadap kenyataan Mat Sabu yang boleh mengurangkan sokongan mereka kepada Pakatan.

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SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI

Saya dan isteri saya ingin mengucapkan Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Maaf Zahir Batin kepada semua rakyat Malaysia khususnya kepada muslimin dan muslimat. Kepada yang pulang beraya dikampung halaman, pandulah kenderaan dengan cermat dan kami berdoa agar sampai ke pangkuan keluarga tersayang dengan selamat.

POLITICS AND THE NEW ECONOMIC POLICY

1. The New Economic Policy has been denigrated by opposition politicians including Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim until it seems to be the worse policy ever conceived and implemented in Malaysia.

2. While Ramon Navaratnam blames the NEP as being the cause of foreign investors not coming to Malaysia, Anwar has condemned it for the abuses and corruption involved in its implementation.

3. Anwar loudly proclaims that the NEP benefits only the cronies of the Government and that the contracts, Approval Permits and licenses given out under the NEP involve corruption. He makes it sound as if the NEP did not benefit the Malays and other Bumiputera at all.

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The Arab Spring II

1. The Western Press has decided to label the upheavals in the Arab countries as the Arab Spring. But it is no spring as the attempts to overthrow authoritarian Governments in these countries have resulted in bloodshed and serious damage to property and to the economy.

2. While in Tunisia and Egypt the uprising of the people has been successful, the fighting in the other countries is still going on. There is no doubt that one way or another there will be changes political, economic and social before the uprisings come to an end.

3. But overthrowing the Government is not the end of the struggle. A greater struggle lies ahead – that of setting up new Governments; the true purpose of the uprisings.

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