FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT

1. One reason advanced by the advocates of letting the Ringgit to be traded abroad is that it will encourage foreign direct investment.

2. There was a time when Malaysia practically pioneered encouragement for foreign direct investment. It was even before FDI became popular with many developing countries as a shortcut to economic growth. Malaysia wanted FDI for job-creating labour intensive industries because of the need to create employment opportunities for its workforce at that time. It was really not about growing the economy.

3. For Malaysia at that time, foregoing taxes and even local participation were not important. The Government did not rely on FDI to fill its treasury.

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MALAYSIA ACCORDING TO LKY

1. Mr Lee Kwan Yew, the Minister Mentor of Singapore is three years my senior. That means he and I practically grew up in the same period of time. That also means that I have been able to watch the progress of Mr Lee, and in fact to interact with him on various occasions.

2. His assertion in his interview with the New York Times that “Race relations (would be) better if Singapore (had) not (been) “turfed out” (of Malaysia) is worth studying. Is it true or is it fantasy?

3. Before Singapore joined the Peninsular, Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia, there was less racial politics in the Federation of Malaysia. In 1955 the Malays who made up 80 per cent of the citizens gave a large number of their constituencies to the few Chinese and Indian citizens and ensured they won with strong Malay support. As a result the Alliance won 51 of the 52 seats contested.

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DINAR EMAS 2

1. Izinkan saya jelaskan pandangan saya terhadap kegunaan dinar emas yang saya cadangkan.

2. Saya telah cadang dinar emas digunakan untuk dagangan antarabangsa sahaja. Saya tidak pernah cadang dinar emas diguna sebagai matawang mana-mana negara untuk kegunaan harian.

3. Walaupun harga emas lebih stabil daripada matawang, tetapi nilai emas juga bergerak. Semasa Perjanjian Brettonwoods satu auns emas bernilai $35 Dolar Amerika. Tetapi sekarang satu auns emas bernilai $1,300 Dolar Amerika. Ini bermakna nilai Dolar telah jatuh degan teruk. Namun untuk dagangan antarabangsa Dolar masih diguna.

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SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI

Saya dan isteri saya mengucapkan Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Maaf Zahir Batin, kepada semua rakyat Malaysia yang berugama Islam, khususnya kepada pembaca blog ini.

Saya harap semua rakyat Malaysia akan dapat merayakan hari kebesaran ini dengan penuh ketenangan dan kegembiraan, dan tradisi kunjung mengunjung ke rumah terbuka akan diteruskan dalam semangat perpaduan yang erat antara kaum.

Bagi mereka yang pulang ke kampung berhari raya, pandulah dengan cermat. Biarlah lambat sedikit asalkan kita sampai ke destinasi yang dituju untuk beraya dengan orang yang dikasihi.

Saya juga ambil kesempatan ini untuk menjemput kepada yang berkesempatan ke rumah terbuka saya pada hari Ahad, 12hb September 2010 di kediaman saya di 58, Jalan Kuda Emas the Mines, Seri Kembangan bermula dari jam 10.00pg – 1.00tgh dan 3.00ptg – 5.00ptg

Mahathir dan Hasmah

1 Syawal 1431 Hijrah

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

1. The Government has been urging Malaysian institutions and individuals to be innovative, to do research and invent. For this the Government has allocated over a billion Ringgit to help those doing research and inventing things which can contribute towards greater efficiency in the production of goods and facilitating all kinds of work.

2. I will not talk about how difficult it is to gain access to Government funds. That is a major problem for researchers, especially indiiduals and institutions in the private sector. But when the results are achieved, no one wants to use or apply them.

3. Malaysian business and people generally do not believe Malaysian products are any good at all. Often they would reject outright, simply because they are Malaysian inventions. Since theinventors are not business people and finding money to do the research had already been very difficult, they are not in a position to invest in their products in order to produce the quantities and the standards acceptable to the market. Producing something in the laboratory is not the same as producing on a commercial scale.

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SAHOCA

1. The Sultan Abdul Hamid College in Alor Setar is the alma mater of many who have done well in life. Of course there are the two Prime Ministers, but there are also Ministers, business tycoons, professionals in every field and heads of many Government Departments at State and Federal levels.

2. All must remember the fun and games and the great days of schooling. And many must be nostalgic about those days of youth, uncomplicated by the need to struggle for a living. Of course there were exams to get through and that can be a bore – except when you happen to be a distinction kid.

3. I think it is payback time now. Not many schools have hit the century. But in 2008, SAHC became 100 years old.

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TURKEY TO SELL GASOLINE TO IRAN DESPITE SANCTIONS

1. America has a strong grudge against Iran ever since the Islamic revolution when personnel in the United States’ embassy were incarcerated in Iranian jails for a very long period. Attempts to rescue them failed miserably when helicopters carrying a special force crashed.

2. Because America supported and sustained the autocratic and oppressive rule of the Shah, the Iranian revolutionaries labeled the United States as Satan.

3. As usual the US resorted to economic sanctions. Reserves belonging to Iran held in America were frozen.

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MERITOCRACY

*SAYA UCAPKAN SELAMAT MENYAMBUT HARI MERDEKA KE-53 KEPADA SEMUA RAKYAT MALAYSIA KHUSUSNYA KEPADA PEMBACA BLOG INI*


1. I dislike to return to this subject but I need to explain myself.

2. I was prompted to write about the racism in meritocracy because of the reaction to Malay criticisms against the ideas coming out of the Chinese Economic Congress.

3. The leader who made the statement on doing away with quotas etc said that cannot we discuss anything without (the Malays) raising racial issues. He apparently considers his call for meritocracy was not racial.

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IS MERITOCRACY RACIST?


1. In 1964 Malaysia held its first elections. The Tunku had an understanding with the Chief Minister of Singapore, Mr Lee Kwan Yew that the PAP (People Action Party) would contest only in Singapore and would stay out of the rest of Malaysia. It was really not a smart kind of agreement. It was not put on paper at all. Only an understanding between two leaders.

2. It was not surprising that the PAP decided to contest in the peninsular. Lee had expected the Malaysian Chinese who had been represented in the Government only by the MCA could be persuaded to support him. If he defeated the MCA then the Tunku would replace the MCA with the PAP in the Alliance.

3. The PAP is a Chinese party largely. But it had always projected itself as non-racial. To win in Malaysia he had to appeal to Chinese chauvinism. However he could not do this openly.

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TONY BLAIR 3

1. I hate to return to this subject but since the Malaysian papers carry no news about Blair, Malaysians generally consider Blair as another great Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

2. Currently the British Government had set up an enquiry commission under Sir John Chilcot to look into the background of Britains war against Iraq.

3. Blair had been called to explain why he supported America in the war against Iraq. He claimed there was “some intelligence evidence about loose links between Al Qaeda and various people in Iraq – it would not be correct to say there is no evidence whatever of linkages between Al Qaeda and Iraq”.

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