Buildings in S'pore, KL shaken by Sumatra quake!

My flat in Singapore was shaken, says my son.
My house in KL was shaken and the TV shook a bit, says my wife.
And my own office on the second floor in Singapore, swayed a bit around 6pm.
Early reports say 7.6 to 7.9 magnitude quake in southern Sumatra.
Our office got many calls from concerned Singaporeans!
And this on the same day as the Samoan tsunami.

The one that caused tsunami in south Sumatra was 9.0.

This is pretty grim news.

Didedah akhbar, Ms World Singapura turun takhta

Budak pompuan ni menang Miss World di Singapura.
Tetapi baru menang, akhbar My Paper, mengeluarkan cerita bahawa Ris Low pernah bekerja di sebuah klinik di mana dia mencuri tujuh credit card pelanggan.
Digunakan untuk membeli barangan mewah dan makan di restoran.
Hari ini, setelah berdolak-dalik seminggu, Ris, 19 tahun, turun takhta.

My Paper ialah akhbar percuma di Temasek seperti The Sun. Cuma ia dwibahasa. Di depan bahasa Inggeris, di belakang bahasa Mandarin - sebab ada market untuk pembaca dwibahasa ni.

Yang menarik juga, baca 70-lebih posting pembaca di bawah cerita tu.
Ada juga yang sokong dia.

Cerita tentang Ris sama panas dengan perlumbaan F1 di Temasek hujung minggu lalu.
Kesian juga. Baru 19 tahun dah ada wiki entry.

Dia memperkenalkan perkataan popular baru di Singapura.
Sama seperti 'I'll be back' (Arnold Schwarzenegger) atau 'wardrobe malfunction' (Janet Jackson), Ris menggunakan terma 'bipolar disorder' untuk menjelaskan kenapa dia jadi budak baik satu hari, budak jahat esoknya.

Writer with sharp words, William Safire, dead at 79

They say the pen is mighter than the sword.
This is one guy who showed me that.
Although an arch conservative in the old American mould he is.
One of my fav columnists, Safire is dead.
At a time when American journalism is in decline too, after failing to adjust to the Internet age.

Singaporeans will remember him, perhaps, for his run-ins with the Lees of Singapore - see here also.

Apa jadi dengan imigresen airport Penang tadi?

Apa kita nak kata pun tentang agensi kerajaan Malaysia, ada satu agensi biasanya tak ada problem besar dengannya, sehingga kita semua 'take for granted'.
Apabila kita keluar-masuk Malaysia, pastinya ada orang cop passport.
Mungkin nak komplen mereka kerja slow, atau lebih gemar bercakap dengan rakan daripada bertugas dengan lebih semangat, tetapi mereka tetap ada di kaunter.

Tetapi Ahli Parlimen Jeff Ooi mem-blog di sini, di lapangan terbang Pulau Pinang pagi tadi, mereka tak datang kerja pada masa yang ditetapkan!?!?!
Alamak. Apa dah jadi?
Mereka kena jelaskan, sebab ini melibatkan ramai orang, dan imej negara.
Ada isu dengan bos ke? Atau sengaja boikot datang lambat?
Tak boleh suka-suka 'bang, akak, ini bukan kerja kat restoran tepi jalan.
Bukan pun kaunter kerajaan di pejabat biasa yang lain - kalau pegawai gi makan kita boleh tunggu satu-dua jam pun.

AirAsia, penerbangan yang terlibat, juga pastinya kena check dan beritahu orang ramai.
Saya khuatir juga sebab saya kalau keluar-masuk Malaysia suka naik flight pagi (melalui LCCT Sepang atau KLIA).

Saya harap jika ada rakan dari media perdana yang baca, tolong check sikit. Untuk kebaikan negara dan rakyat, bukan nak tuduh melulu atau marah.
Jika sistem lemah, boleh diperkuat. Adakah ini pertama kali ia terjadi?

Singapore says F1 good for its branding

The F1 night race is in Singapore this weekend, for the second year.
Even as Malaysians agonise and question the need for the 1Malaysia F1 Team Lotus, Singapore says being involved in the racing has been good for the country's branding as a "happening place".
"We want to have a reputation that this is a good place to work, to live, to play. F1 helps us to acquire that reputation," said Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong here.

There are details of how much is being spent each time - S$150 mil/RM345 mil, 60 per cent by the Singapore government.
And how much money is brought in was also mentioned in story; you can't see in the online version, but I have mentioned it here before - over three days, 40,000 foreigners came last year, spending S$168 mil/RM386 mil.

Then again, sometimes I get the feeling that Malaysia doesn't want to be known as a happening place. It wants people to come work, live and PRAY.
Nothing wrong with that, if you are a religious site or city with religious history (like Rome, Qom, Fatima or Madinah), but a disaster for Malaysia where the most religious site was the teapot kingdom of Ayah Pin.

Then again, Malaysians are correct too, to agonise.
They don't question the holding of F1 RACE in Sepang (the idiots in opposition who opposed the event that started off in 1999 has long shut up, seeing that it did bring benefits to the country's branding).
Malaysians are now questioning the need for an F1 TEAM.

Although PM Najib Razak has said the government will have NO equity in the team, it still begs the question of why anyone wants to waste zillions of dollars a year for something that won't bring much financial benefit to the country.
Also, people want to know who will pay for the LAND and the COST of building the Malaysian F1 technical centre in Sepang, and to develop a race car for Lotus (RM1 bil total costs did someone say?).

There is that feeling that the government is NOT putting everything on the table.
(I am just asking the questions that many people want to know).
- No we won't have any equity in the team, but yes we will provide land for the technical centre? And maybe even raise the building itself? Rakyat's money?
- No we are not involved, but Proton, majority-owned by the government, is involved because Lotus is the constructor of the cars? Rakyat's money?
- No we are not involved but Petronas, owned by the government, will be a sponsor to provide engine oils and lubricants? Rakyat's money?
- And there is the nagging question that if the three private groups are so keen to support 1Malaysia and Proton/Lotus, they will surely want some return on their investment? So what do they get? The joy of seeing a few Malaysians learning new engineering skills?
Though to be fair, Tony F did say that he expects the team to make money. But he didn't want to talk details.

My worry is this: Sad to say, in typical Malaysia style, the move to defend a policy or major event comes in dribs and drabs. After weeks or months had passed, and negative perceptions formed, only then will the government decide to step in or come out to explain properly.
Again I say, don't you guys in government (or in this case, the F1 Team) watch West Wing the series?
Learn how to handle public relations and PR disasters?
Or maybe it's time to call in Fox Comms.

PM Najib, Subra and Makkal party woo Indians

Yes, we know that S. Samy Vellu is a liability to MIC and BN.
MIC has been abandoned by the Indians.
(If he is much loved still, he wouldn't have been voted out in his Sungei Siput ward, a constituency that he nurtured for umpteen years).
But is it true also that MCA has been abandoned by the Chinese?
And surely, we are not wrong to say that to many poor urban Malays, Umno is not relevant to them?

So how?
Will ditching Samy help MIC regain the trust of the Indians? (Under G. Palanivel, a Samy shadow).
Just like - will ditching Ong Tee Keat and putting up Chua Soi Lek help MCA bring back Chinese voters to BN?

Now, there is talk that after having lost recently to find relevance in MIC, S. Subramaniam may ditch the party. Utusan has the story here - word has been out on the street since he lost in the fight for the MIC No.2.
Subra, it is said, will soon leave MIC and hopes to bring a big chunk of the party faithful.
Where will he go?
Perhaps to a party that will be launched by PM Najib Razak soon.
But the big question remains: If Umno-BN-MCA is still seen as irrelevant to many voters, will ditching MIC for Parti Makkal Sakthi (People's Power) Malaysia help bring back Indian voters?

Maybe PM Najib is banking on this: The MIC has already been abandoned, so there is nothing to lose in opening a new book with a new ally.
Throw away the old baggage, buy a new luggage carrier from Samsonite.

All that is needed now is for the Indian community to see that Umno-BN is sincere in wanting to help them (like no more cow-like antics, including by Home Minister).
It might just work.

But first, we shall see what happens at the planned large Indian gathering in Klang Sunday/tomorrow for the Maperum Perani, the Great Movement.

1Malaysia F1 Team - RM308 juta belanja tahunan

Kan semua orang nak tahu berapa akan dibelanjakan Tim F1 1Malaysia?
Kini ada sedikit jawapan diberi.
Sila lihat press release di bawah.

Baguslah ada detail seperti ini - RM308 juta setahun. Tetapi ini hanya baget nak kendalikan team.
Tidak termasuk:
- harga membina pusat teknikal di Sepang,
- harga develop kereta F1 Malaysia,
- harga nak kumpulkan seluruh team F1, termasuk gaji dan elauns (200 orang).

Siapa yang bayar, 'bang? Ada nama-nama syarikat itu di bawah.
Tetapi jika mereka nak belanja banyak itu, apa mereka dapat? Membeli saham syarikat Proton?
Takkan beri percuma gitu saja?

Dan penting juga: APA KEUNTUNGAN yang Malaysia akan dapat?
Saya pernah menyokong rancangan F1 ni, kemudian saya flip-flop.

Saya tak mahu dilihat sebagai negatif sangat. Kita kena sabar tunggu kerajaan dan group pembiaya ini jelaskan dalam beberapa bulan ini.
Mungkin ada kebaikan besar untuk Malaysia.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KUALA LUMPUR, 25 Sept 2009:

1Malaysia F1 Team Gathers Momentum

• Proton confirms 1Malaysia F1 Team’s license to return Lotus brand to F1 as a constructor
• Private Investor Group confirm RM168 million founding capital and baseline racing budget of RM308 million per annum
• Plans advance to develop 1Malaysia F1 Team Technical, R&D and Manufacturing Centre on 8-ha site at Sepang International Circuit
• Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) join forces with the national team
• Composites Technology Research Malaysia (CTRM), a leading composites manufacturing company commences initial production of main car parts

The engines are revving for the 1Malaysia F1 Team!

The team’s shareholders are pleased to confirm committed start up capital of RM168 million. The team’s baseline annual budget is presently estimated at RM308 million.

And Proton Holdings Berhad (Proton) will licence its Lotus brand to the 1Malaysia F1 Team. The partnership license will include a variety of benefits for both Lotus and Proton involving technology transfer, marketing rights and employment opportunities both within the national F1 Team and at the team’s technical centre in Sepang and its satellite base in Norfolk, UK.

1Malaysia F1 Team is a government and private sector initiative, combining the collaborative experience of Proton, the Lotus sports car name, the proven leadership of a group of highly respected Malaysian entrepreneurial investors – Dato’ Sri Tony Fernandes, Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun and SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin – and world-class expertise, backed by Sepang International Circuit (SIC), Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM) and Automobile Association of Malaysia (AAM). The government holds no equity in the project, either directly or indirectly through any of the government-linked companies.

1Malaysia F1 Team is a privately-funded project and jointly owned by Tune Group, Naza Group and Litespeed UK. Tune Group is jointly-owned by 1MF1T Team Principal Dato’ Sri Tony Fernandes and 1MF1T Director Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun. Other Directors of 1MF1T are SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin, the CEO of Naza Group and Zahri Ismail of 1Malaysia F1 Sdn Bhd.

1Malaysia F1 Team will be collaborating with two local universities – Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) – to help realize the aspiration of creating a growing class of high-technology, knowledge-intensive human capital for the country. Composites Technology Research Malaysia (CTRM), a leading composites manufacturing expert, will also be part of the project.

Plans are in the advanced stage to develop the 1Malaysia F1 Team technical, research and development and manufacturing centre on a 8-ha site at the Sepang International Circuit.

1Malaysia F1 Team Principal Dato’ Sri Tony Fernandes says: “Our creation of the 1Malaysia F1 Team is all about working together to give our youth the chance to be the leading engineers of tomorrow. This endeavour is a true Malaysian dream, fuelled by Malaysian pride and powered by Malaysian hopes and aspirations. Our F1 dream will be open to all Malaysians.

This is a lifetime achievement for all of us Malaysians as other countries had been bidding hard for this spot but Malaysia, through our concerted effort and strength in the true spirit of 1Malaysia managed to pull it through. This will be an excellent opportunity for Malaysian corporates to share this dream that finally came through.”

“We are delighted to be partnering Proton in a way that allows both of us to focus on our core businesses yet shares the benefits of our collaboration in a mutually beneficial manner. I am equally pleased too that we are able to announce that every day we are deepening our relationships with CTRM and SIC, with UTM and UTP. It’s an immense privilege to be working with institutions that have embraced the spirit of the Prime Minister’s 1Malaysia vision.

“In sum, our programme is specifically designed to strengthen our industrial base, inspire our students to focus on a wide variety of skills, boost our image as a tourist destination and provide a competitive advantage for our country on the world stage.

“The project will help Malaysia move up the value chain by emphasizing innovation and technology. Having been involved in Formula One we are very excited at Malaysia owning a Formula One team and the amazing benefits it will bring the country,” Fernandes added.

Dato’ Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, Proton Managing Director said: "We are very excited and supportive of this Malaysian initiative and, through the impending licensing arrangement between Lotus and 1MF1, we are certain that the brand association will be beneficial to both Lotus and PROTON as it will definitely heighten global brand awareness. At the same time the PROTON Group also hopes to capitalise on this opportunity from a technical and engineering aspect, particularly for Lotus, as the exposure from Formula 1 racing is invaluable, especially when Lotus is a renowned sports car manufacturer and a respectable engineering firm."

-ends-

Notes to Editors

The national F1 team will rapidly integrate a Malaysian technical and pit crew totaling some 200 people managed by one of Formula One’s most respected and accomplished Technical Directors, Mr. Mike Gascoyne, who has already recruited a core team of international experts with proven track records in the many and various engineering, design and manufacturing disciplines needed to ensure that the 1Malaysia F1 team is of international standard, readiness and capable of competing with the world’s greatest racing marquees on the world’s most prestigious racing stage.

Malaysia has been involved in Formula One since 1999 through Sepang International Circuit, which has been on the race calendar since and will host the 11th F1 Petronas Malaysian GP next year. PETRONAS, a Malaysian owned oil and gas company, has made further advancements in this arena via its sponsorship of the BMW Sauber team for the last four years, so the setting up of a national team, as envisioned by the Prime Minister, is a natural progression to increase the country’s returns from investments in Formula One.

The 1Malaysia F1 Team project takes its name from the ‘1Malaysia - People First, Performance Now’ policy mooted by Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak earlier this year as the unifying foundation for all Malaysians to come together in celebrating the co-operation amongst its multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious society for the betterment of the nation.


(Press release ini dikeluarkan oleh Tune Group)

Samy Vellu is in trouble with Najib, Indians

No fun lah reading this serious piece about Samy Vellu being in trouble with PM Najib.
This story is better:

Samy Vellu and his driver, Muniandy, were cruising along an Indian area in Sungai Siput country road one evening when an old bull loomed in front of the car.
Muniandy tried to avoid it but couldn't - the old bull was killed. Samy Vellu told Muniandy to go up to the farmhouse and explain to the owners what happened.

About an hour later, Muniandy staggered back to the car with his clothes in disarray. He was holding a bottle of expensive wine in one hand, an expensive Cuban cigar in the other and was smiling happily, smeared with lipstick.
"What happened?" asked Samy Vellu.
"Well," Muniandy replied, "the farmer gave me the wine, his wife gave me the cigar, and their beautiful twin daughters were so happy they kept kissing me!"
"My God, what did you tell them?" asked Samy Vellu.

Muniandy replied: "I'm Samy Vellu's driver, and I just killed the old bull."

Hasan Ali, kerajaan Selangor dan kuasa rakyat

Tak ada power, rakyat dah kasi kuasa.
Lima negeri sekali (OKlah satu dah kena curi sebab kamu lalai).


Jaga diri baik-baiklah, jangan sampai rakyat marah, tarik balik power.
Ni gaduh di peringkat atas sampai nak rak apahal pula Hasan Ali & Company?

Mungkin ada yang kata ini mainan media arus perdana.
Tapi kalau tak ada monyet goncang pokok (ini kata KJ dulu apabila beliau serang Dr M), takkan pokok macam nak tumbang?
Media boleh main kotor secara limited saja, lepas tu kalau tak ada apa-apa tak akan menjadi.
Jangan salahkan media saja.

PKFZ - 'A minister' or 'ministers' to be questioned?

Someone go get the tape recorder from the press conference with IGP Musa Hassan yesterday/Wednesday!

First Bernama reported that "a minister" would be questioned by police over the scandal linked to the secret government documents leaked to Malaysia Today over the Port Klang Free Zone.
Story was picked up by Malaysiakini and TheMalaysianInsider.

But the version on online The Star said several individuals including "ministers" (plural) would be hauled up by police.

Later, the police denied that the IGP mentioned "a minister" or even "ministers".
He only said "several individuals".
The revised Bernama story is here.
The "updated" Insider story is here.
IGP denies saying "a minister" or "ministers" here.

Either reporters cocked-up big time, or the IGP did and had to do damage control.

But does this mean that NO minister would now be questioned?
Because if it was indeed Cabinet papers that were leaked, then errr.... shouldn't ministerS be questioned on how they handled such papers?
Like how many of their aides would come into contact with such papers, who are they, and was this the normal procedures.
The 18-page Cabinet paper in Malaysia Today has the word "RAHSIA" on every page.

Then again, maybe Abang Polis does not want to play politics with anyone. It would indeed question ministers but why should it let the media or anyone knows. Because in the media's eyes these days, being questioned is as good as being guilty.
So might as well work behind the scenes, rather than create a scene.
I sincerely believe this is the rationale behind the story.

Raya di Temasek - Jumlah warga tua meningkat

Setelah berjalan raya di Singapore dua tiga hari ni, saya dapat rasai masalah yang sedang dan akan terus melanda negara ini.
Ianya masalah warga tua - baca data dan perbahasan detail.
Saya pernah menulis mengenai isu tua di sini dan kaitannya dengan perumahan. Anda dah tua, anak tak mahu lagi, siapa nak kasi duit belanja harian?

Isu ini sesuatu yang dihadapi pemerintah Temasek dengan agak gusar hati.
Isu ini juga ada kaitannya dengan kenapa negara cili padi ini membuka luas kemasukan warga asing, hingga menjadi isu politik di sini.

Sebelum itu: Tidak seperti di Malaysia atau Indonesia di mana bila hari raya/lebaran, orang bandar semua lari ke kampung, kami di negara sebesar Perlis ni (untuk orang KL: negara sebesar Gombak ke Shah Alam), hari raya pun masih tinggal di flat yang sama.

Sebanyak 85 peratus rakyat Singapura tinggal di apartmen binaan HDB.
(Housing & Development Board ialah developer perumahan pemerintah. Nak kata mudah untuk orang KL, dia buat flat DBKL. Atau di Selangor, dia macam PKNS membina flat).
Cuma 15 peratus yang mampu tinggal di kondominium atau di rumah teres atau rumah di tanah nyata.

Di Temasek, nak tahu rakan anda tu kaya ke tidak senang saja: Tanya alamat dia. Jika dia tinggal di apartmen HDB macam saya, maknanya dia 'orang biasa'.
Tetapi jika dia tinggal di kondo (walau pun disewa! Sebab sewa di kondo berganda dengan di flat HDB), maknanya dia orang kaya, atau sekurang-kurangnya gaji dia besau.
Jika dia tinggal di landed property (rumah bertanah seperti teres atau semi-d), wow, dia atau keluarganya sangattttt lah koyo royo (hanya kira-kira 5 peratus mampu tinggal di landed property).

Balik ke cerita asal: Dalam perjalanan raya saya di flat-flat rumah saudara mara, ramai yang makin tua (macam aku juga).
Baik pakcik atau makcik saya.
Ada yang dah buta tak nampak, yang terlantar di katil, yang menggunakan kerusi roda, yang kena makan belasan pil setiap hari ('Sebelum tidur pun, kena makan ubat', kata seorang makcik saya).
Teringat diri yang semakin tua, dan kini berpenyakit pula.

Dan teringat saya isu tua yang dihadapi Singapore.
Dalam 2020, rakyat Singapura yang berumur 65 tahun ke atas akan berganda kepada 20 peratus daripada jumlah penduduk. Sekarang hanya 10 peratus.
Wooi. Ramai itu. Maknanya setiap seorang dari lima orang yang anda akan jumpa ialah orang yang dah tua.
(Umur bersara di sini ialah 62 tahun, bukan 55 atau 56 seperti di Malaysia).

Bayangkan jika kita tinggal di sebuah rumah, ada seorang tua (emak, misalnya). Seorang anak kecil, dan dua orang yang bekerja.
Tentu standard of living keluarga itu rendah daripada rumah di mana ada TIGA orang yang bekerja. Sebab orang tua perlukan ubat, kena hantar klinik selalu, dan tak dapat masak pun mungkin sebab menggunakan kerusi roda. Dan mungkin kena ambil orang gaji.

Sama jugalah seperti di negara Singapore.
Jika ramai sangat warga tua, maka hasil produktiviti negara turun, harga perubatan naik melambung.
Memang nampak zalim jika dipandang begini.
Tetapi ini isu besar kerana jika ekonomi lemah, maka daya tarikan sesebuah negara akan turun. Orang yang nak mentadbir negara, bank atau syarikat berkurangan.
Yang nak kerja di kilang atau jadi drebar teksi pun tak cukup.

Tidak seperti Malaysia, Iran, India atau Indonesia yang mempunyai ramai anak muda, negara tua lain termasuk Jepun, South Korea dan Hong Kong.

--------------------------------------------------------
Statistik Malaysia

Jika di Singapura, 10 peratus rakyatnya kini berumur 65 tahun ke atas, di Malaysia jumlah mereka ialah 4.6 peratus - lihat data di sini.
Ini kerana kadar beranak-pinak Malaysia tinggi.
Di Singapore, wanita berbangsa Cina yang educated ramai; dan mereka yang tak minat nak berumah-tangga, sebab tanpa suami pun mereka dah ada gaji besau. Bebas pula tu!
Dan yang berkahwin pula, tak suka ramai anak, tidak seperti orang Melayu Singapore yang gemar mempunyai ramai anak!

Tetapi sebelum anda di Malaysia melonjak gembira, masalah negara yang ramai ORANG MUDA pula ialah memastikan ada cukup institusi pengajian.
Dan yang lebih penting, cukup jumlah pekerjaan setiap tahun!
Di Malaysia, kerajaan berkata 100,000 pelajar berdiploma dan berijazah keluar setiap tahun.

Kalau tidak ada kerja dan kelaparan, takut rakyat muda mengamuk dan berdemo seperti yang terjadi di Perancis sedikit masa lalu!!!
Tidak seperti warga tua, kalau tak cukup hospital atau pill pun, dia nak demo jalanan macam mana? Nak demo kat mana kalau naik kerusi roda? Kena sembur water cannon atau gas pemedih mata, hancur!
--------------------------------------------------------
TAMBAHAN 10.40pagi Rabu

Apabila ke masjid saya nampak sesuatu yang jarang dilihat di Malaysia.
Di barisan terakhir sembahyang, atau di barisan tepi, mesti disiapkan kerusi plastik beberapa biji. Mula-mula pelik kerana saya ingat ada VIP nak duduk.
Kegunaannya? Untuk orang tua duduk atas kerusi untuk bersembahyang.
Kalau Jumaat, adalah dari 10 hingga 15 kerusi yang ada penghuninya.
Di barisan tempat solat wanita pun ada kerusi sedemikian.
Ini fenomena baru, saya rasa, sebab beberapa tahun sebelum ini, saya tak nampak (Atau mungkin tak sedar tak?).

---------------------------------------------------------

Isu warga tua di Singapura ini boleh nampak di setiap blok HDB yang anda kunjungi.
Setiap blok HDB sebelum ini mempunyai lif-lif di tingkat 1 (tingkat bawah), kemudian lat 3 atau 4 tingkat, sampai di atas.
Misalnya, di flat lapan tingkat saya, ada lif-lif tingkat 1, 4 dan 7. Yang lain kena naik tangga.
Di blok setinggi 22 tingkat yang saya pernah tinggal di Holland Drive dulu, lif-lifnya di tingkat 1, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20.

Tetapi kini, kerana ramai semakin tua, HDB membuat rancangan baru sejak beberapa tahun ini - Lihat GAMBAR.
Setiap blok akan mempunyai LIF-LIF TAMBAHAN. Ia berhenti di SEMUA TINGKAT.

Gambar menunjukkan lift shaft (berwarna grey) yang sedang dibina.
Dan di bawahnya (di belakang van putih) ialah lorong wheelchair, wheelchair ramp, bagi mereka yang tak berdaya lagi nak menaiki tangga. Jika nak lihat lebih jelas, click untuk besarkan gambar.

Ini adalah cabaran besar bagi Singapore.

Raya di Temasek - Isu kemasukan pekerja asing

Salah satu isu terbesar di Temasek ialah kemasukan pekerja asing.

Isu ini semalam menjadi sebahagian daripada topik Khutbah Hari Raya.
Pak Imam, membacakan teks khutbah (wajib menggunakan teks Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura) yang menyatakan kita perlu hidup saling harmoni dengan kaum pendatang. Cuba faham-memahami.
Inilah salah satu perkara yang sedang ditekankan oleh pemerintah sebab ramai orang gelisah kerana kemasukan warga asing yang dirasakan mendadak, tetapi tenaga mereka diperlukan.
Ah, jadi di sini saya nak cerita sikit tentang isu pekerja asing ni dan negara sebesar noktah kecil merah (little red dot).

Pemerintah tahu ramai orang Singapore marah kerana orang luar dirasakan mengambil tempat pekerjaan rakyat tempatan.
Dan satu lagi problem: Di kedai kopi, mahupun supermarket dan di shopping mall atau di stesen pam minyak, ada pekerja asing frontline tak pandai bertutur bahasa Inggeris.
Misalnya, saya sendiri pernah ke kedai kopi order teh dalam bahasa Inggeris, si pekerja tak faham sebab dia dari China dan menjawab dalam Mandarin. Buat aku marah.
Problem tambahan: Kerana ada 478,000 warga asing yang menjadi penduduk tetap, mereka menaikkan harga rumah di sini. Warga asing tidak boleh membeli flat direct dari HDB (public flats), tetapi mereka boleh membeli kondo dan flat HDB di open market.
Kerana ramai yang masuk ni pekerja profesional, maka mereka mampu membayar harga lebih tinggi.

Argumen pemerintah ialah ekonomi Singapura berkembang pesat beberapa tahun lalu (bukan sejak 18 bulan ini) maka pintu masuk dibuka luas kerana sebagai negara kecil tak cukup pekerja.

Tetapi gelisah orang Singapura bukan main kerana bahasa yang menyatukan kami di sini ialah bahasa mat salleh ni. Kalau tak pandai bahasa Inggeris, lebih baik jangan masuk arena pekerjaan di sini. Baik drebar teksi, office boy dan security guard pun cekap berbahasa Inggeris kalau tidak susah nak kerja.
Jadi orang marah: Jika si asing ni tak faham bahasa Inggeris macam mana pemerintah boleh benarkan sang majikan bawa dia masuk!? Bukan saya seorang yang kata begitu.

Daripada 4.8 juta penduduk Singapore, 3.2 juta warga Temasek.
Sebanyak 1.6 juta dari luar. Mereka termasuk 478,000 penduduk tetap (permanent resident, PR).
Maknanya terdapat 33 peratus pekerja asing.
Seorang dari setiap tiga penduduk Temasek ialah orang asing!

Bandingkan dengan Malaysia di mana penduduk tempatan ialah 27 juta (jumlah pekerja 11juta) dengan kira-kira 3 juta pekerja asing. Katalah 4 juta kerana ramai pekerja asing tanpa izin.
Maknanya, tenaga kerja asing di Malaysia ialah 8-10 peratus.
Dan kebanyakan tenaga kerja asing di Malaysia pekerja blue-collar: pembersih pejabat dan pekerja restoran.
Sedangkan di Singapore warga asing bekerja dari di atas sekali - CEO bank dan pengarah syarikat, hingga di bawah sekali. Jadi jika anda warga Singapore ada PhD atau MBA pun, apply kerja kena lawan warga asing ni, yang mungkin sanggup mengambil gaji lebih rendah!

- Di Singapura, ramai golongan atas warga asing ni adalah PR. Mereka golongan profesional seperti banker dan peguam, akauntan, dan jurutera dan arkitek.
Mereka tetap pegang pasport negara asal - baik Malaysia, Amerika, Eropah atau Indonesia.
Singapura dikenali sebagai negara di dunia yang mempunyai golongan jutawan yang paling tinggi di dunia (Nak kira anda millionaire ni gunakan US$ bukan ringgit atau Singdollar - baca tulisan saya sebelum ini).
Jadi termasuk golongan yang ramai menjadi PR Singapore ialah puak kaya ini.
Baik jutawan dari India, Amerika, Russia, Indonesia dan Britain (Malaysia pun ada ler) mereka beli kondo mewah dan kereta di sini, Singapore My Second Home.
Mereka buat duit di Delhi, Jakarta, KL dan Moscow, simpan duit dan keluarga di Temasek Darul Dollar.
(Di sini pun ada orang miskin ler, jangan ingat semua orang Singapore kaya - baca cerita di sini).
Yang dah syiok sangat dengan Singapore jadi rakyat, seperti Jet Li dan Gong Li.

- Baki PR di sini ialah mereka yang menggunakan pas pekerja tahunan, seperti puluhan ribu pekerja yang duduk di Johor dan menyeberang masuk setiap pagi. Pekerja blue-collar.
Misalnya, saya pasang cable TV di rumah du tahun dulu, yang pasang orang Malaysia. Saya pasang aircon di rumah tahun lalu, pekerja pun dari Malaysia. Ke shopping centre beli barang elektronik Raya tahun lepas, budak Cina berbahasa Melayu dari Malaysia; di stesen pam minyak Shell pun ada pekerja budak India dari Johor.
Yang lain termasuk ratusan ribuan dari China, Bangladesh dan India.

- Dan ada pekerja di tahap pertengahan profesional (marketing executives, wartawan, bank clerks, senior nurses, junior engineers). Mereka boleh bertutur bahasa Inggeris tentunya, tetapi dirasakan 'mencuri' peluang pekerjaan rakyat tempatan kerana sanggup menerima gaji lebih rendah.

Kerana dah banyak sangat komplen, maka pemerintah berkata baru-baru ini bahawa ia akan slow sikit bawa masuk pekerja asing.
Tetapi ia juga mahu rakyat berdiri di bumi nyata: Pekerja luar ni membawa banyak experience dan negara kecil tak ada pilihan lain tetapi membuka pintu masuk.

Raya di Temasek

Pada 7.03malam ini di Temasek, azan Maghrib, maka berakhirlah bulan puasa dan masuk 1 Syawal.
Maknanya, Hari Raya jatuh malam ini (Sabtu), bukan tunggu dinihari/midnight atau esok!

Esok pada 8pagi, saya bercadang solat raya di Masjid An-Nahdhah dekat rumah saya (GAMBAR). Masjid tiga tingkat, berbentuk pejabat komersil berbumbung 'kaabah'. Ada lif dan basement carpark, terletak di depan stadium Bishan.


Mari saya cerita pasal masjid-masjid Singapore sikit di penghujung Ramadan.
Jangan terkejut, masjid di Temasek Darul Minority bentuknya pelik-pelik, tidak seperti masjid berbentuk Moghul atau Arab dengan onion domes = kubah berbentuk bawang, mahupun ciri Melayu (seperti Masjid Negara KL yang berkubah payung).
Click gambar-gambar masjid Singapore di sini, website masjid Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura, MUIS.

Antara yang 'pelik':
- Al-Falah, di bawah multi-storey car park di Orchard Road, depannya ada 7-Eleven. Berdekatan Lucky Plaza dan Takashimaya.
- Al-Iman dan Al-Mawaddah, macam shopping centre.
- Al-Mukminin, seimbas kilang.
- Bencoolen dekat Raffles Hotel, dan Haji Mohd Salleh, kedua-duanya di bawah bangunan pejabat.
- Kalau rasa Singapore nak berperang, lari ke masjid bentuk kubu Darussalam.
- Masjid paling mengejutkan saya ialah Assyafaah di Sembawang. Saya mulanya ingat ia kilang siap dengan chimney warna coklat.
- Ada dua 'masjid Malaysia' - sebuah di tanah Sultan Johor. Dan sebuah lagi Masjid Tentera di Raja, dekat National University of Singapore.

- Dan yang paling canggih ialah masjid BAWAH TANAH Moulana Mohamed Ali yang terletak di basement UOB Plaza, bangunan tertinggi di Singapore.
Plaza ini di tebing Sungai Singapura, di financial district Raffles Place.
United Overseas Bank (UOB) apabila hendak membuat plazanya dulu perlukan tanah masjid - jika tidak tak cukup lapang nak buat bangunan setinggi 280 meter.
Tetapi tanah wakaf tak boleh dijual, maka ada deal - kamu guna tanah di atas, tetapi buat masjid di bawah tanah. Masjid gunakan aircon tetapi kalau solat Jumaat ada maksimum 800 orang, sesak juga nak bernafas.
Bangunan tertinggi di Singapore ada limitnya (sebab negeri kecil, kalau ketinggian tak dikawal macam mana pesawat jet nak mendarat di Changi?) - lihat gambar ini.
Ada tiga bangunan yang paling tinggi di Temasek di sini.
Semuanya setinggi 280 meter.
(Petronas Twin Towers setinggi 452 meter/88 tingkat. Yay, Malaysia menang!)

Dalam gambar:
- Yang kanan ialah UOB Plaza One, 67 tingkat. Ada restoran berpusing di atas, masjid di basement.
- Di tengah - cermin biru, dinding marble coklat - ialah Republic Plaza, milik Hong Leong group.
- Di sebelah kirinya, berbentuk cube, ialah OUB Centre, milik Overseas Union Bank.


Panjangnya cerita masjid.
Kesimpulannya, walau dah duduk di KL hampir 15 tahun, hanya setahun saja saya pernah berhari raya di ibukota Malaysia Darul Majority. Jika tak salah tahun 1996.
Masa itu, sanggup berbaris satu jam hendak masuk ke Sri Perdana lama, rumah rasmi Perdana Menteri Mahathir Mohamad.
Sunyi raya di KL sebab semua balik kampung.
Maka itu, saya selalu beraya di kampng saya di Singapore.


Selamat Hari Raya, sahabat dan pembaca.
Jari sepuluh disusun saya pohon maaf, kerana blog ini selalu redah saja perasaan orang.
Eid Mubarak.

Mas Selamat jumpa isteri Raya nanti - Malay Mail

Baru saya mengumpat tentang rakannya, kini Mas Selamat pun masuk dalam berita.
Ini scoop Malay Mail - di sini.

Mas Selamat Kastari, terrorist warga Singapura, akan dikunjungi isterinya pada Hari Raya ini di Kamunting.
Isterinya juga warga Temasek.
Mereka mempunyai lima orang anak - empat lelaki, seorang puteri (terima kasih Malay Mail kerana saya tak tahu fakta ini!)

Izin untuk kunjungan ini pastinya dibuat oleh Menteri Dalam Negeri Hishammuddin Hussein, yang baru membebaskan lima orang yang disyaki member KMM atau JI (kita pun tak tahu yang mana satu, sebab polis sudah pusing-pusing dalam cerita ini).
Sebelum orang marah Hisham kerana nampaknya berlembut dengan pengganas, atau mereka yang disyaki pengganas, sebenarnya dalam proses memulihkan mereka perkara seperti ini boleh membantu.
Biar Mas Selamat jumpa isterinya, dengar cerita anak-anak membesar tanpa ayah, dan bagaimana pemerintah Singapore membantu keluarga tahanan JI -- ini cerita betul, pemerintah Temasek membantu bekas tahanan JI agar tidak terus sesat, baca di sini, sini dan di sini.

Kenapa bekas terrorist dibantu?
Sama seperti kenapa masyarakat mesti membantu bekas banduan - macam mana dia nak masuk kembali ke arus masyarakat tanpa bantuan? Mana dia nak cari kerja? Anak dia nak makan apa, nak ke sekolah siapa yang bayar? Dia confused tentang ideologi agamanya.
Di Singapore kumpulan pembantu mereka dikenal sebagai RRG, Religious Rehabilitation Group, kumpulan ulama yang merapatkan diri dengan bekas pengganas.

Saya memang pandang tinggi orang yang berjihad, tetapi bukan yang merancang nak membunuh orang awam yang tidak berperang dengan umat Islam.
Mengebom atau merancang pengebomam orang yang sedang makan di restoran atau mengadakan meeting di hotel kerja orang amarah yang tidak berfikir.

GAMBAR. Dari website jenaka-politik terkemuka Singapore, talkingcock.com.

RM1 billion untuk F1 Lotus Team. Tak payahlah!

TAMBAHAN 10.30mlm
---------------------------

Sebenarnya ada cerita di sebalik cerita. Mula-mulanya saya tak mahu letak.
Tetapi untuk berlaku adil kepada kerajaan Malaysia, saya rasa kena tulis juga. Tetapi ini cerita saja, tak confirm lagi.
Ada bisikan di Malaysia bahawa kerajaan "terpaksa" memasukkan wang lagi (iaitu melabur/invest) dalam F1 Team Lotus ni.
Ya, katanya terpaksa.
Ini kerana banyak negeri lain yang mahu membina litar F1 di tempat masing-masing dan mereka sanggup membayar wang untuk mendapat tempat.
Sejak Sepang menjadi sebuah litar F1, negeri Arab, China dan Singapore, misalnya, dah masuk.

Tetapi team-team dalam F1 semuanya komplain. Jika litar perlumbaan terus ditambah dan ditambah, bila mereka nak rehat?
Jalan kompromi ialah membuang satu-dua litar yang sedia ada.
Dan ceritanya, litar Sepang ni dah agak lama dan tak glamour.
Dah lah tu, di Temasek - betul-betul di sebelah Malaysia - pun kini dah masuk dalam kalendar F1. Jadi kalau Malaysia disingkir pun F1 tak rugi apa - dari segi peminatnya di seluruh dunia.
Sesiapa orang Asia Tenggara yang nak menonton F1 boleh ke Singapore, tak payah pergi jauh walaupun jika Sepang terkeluar.
Jadi kalau Malaysia tak mahu disingkirkan apa dia kena buat?
Dia perlu menunjukkan dia sanggup melabur lagi dalam perlumbaan glamour ini - put up, or shut up, kata orang putih.
Itu ceritanya. Wartawan di KL mungkin boleh confirm.


CERITA ORI
--------------------------------------------------------

Apabila PM Najib Razak mengumumkan bahawa Malaysia nak masuk sebagai salah satu dari team dalam Formula 1, saya menyokong - di sini.
Pada masa itu saya tidak terfikir banyak mengenai kos nak memulakan projek ini.
Saya cuma terfikir - Malaysia sekarang membelanjakan RM100 juta setiap tahun untuk promote perlumbaan F1 di litar Sepang, jadi pada saya tambah sikit okaylah.
Rupa-rupanya, mak oi, punyalah mahal nak letak team dalam F1 ni.
Maka itu saya berubah fikiran - Tak payah lah, To' Sri.
Saya buat U-turn. Saya flip-flop.

Tetapi argument saya bukan seperti orang lain.
Saya rasa tidak adil jika kita bandingkan perbelanjaan berbilion yang akan keluar ini dengan berapa banyak rumah kos rendah yang boleh dibina, berapa banyak sekolah pintar, berapa banyak longkang dan parit yang dapat dibuat di kampung.

Usaha masuk F1 ini memang sepatutnya ada pulangan, memang betul.
Seperti Malaysia masuk perlumbaan F1 dengan membina litar Sepang, pulangannya ialah sejak beberapa tahun ini, nama 'Se-PANG, Malaysia' kerap diulangi di arena TV antarabangsa dan akhbar luar negeri.
Tak payah beli advertisement di CNN Sport, BBC atau Fox News, atau International Herald Tribune, Asahi Shimbun, The Guardian atau Times of India, setiap tahun, sebelum dan selepas perlumbaan di Sepang, nama Malaysia diulang-ulangi.
Kalau ada accident atau scandal besar, lagi bagus! Macam sekarang scandal besar Team Renault di Singapore tahun lalu. Free advertisement.

F1 saja mempunyai 110 juta penonton setiap perlumbaan, dan setiap tahun puluhan ribu tourists datang untuk menonton siri selama tiga hari itu (termasuk dua hari test drive).
Jadi jika berbelanja RM100 juta setahun untuk dapat 'advertisement' nama negara Malaysia ini, pada saya ok (Kalau nak fikir berapa ramai orang miskin boleh ditolong, berapa banyak jalan kampung boleh dibuat, tak payahlah buat promosi pelancongan yang nilainya berjuta ringgit setiap bulan - cuba tanya Azalina Othman Said dulu dan Ng Yen Yen sekarang!)

Tetapi, rupa-rupanya, nak masukkan sebuah team dalam perlumbaan ini ceritanya lain.
Saya rasa tak lumayanlah, kerana menurut laporan The Sun ianya kira-kira RM1 billion.
Ini baru nak buat team headquarters dan kereta F1 Malaysia (yang berwarna-warni macam batik).
Belum lagi bayar gaji drivers - dua orang - dan teknisyen. Dan mereka semuanya kena dibawa terbang ke seluruh dunia setiap dua minggu dari satu race ke race yang lain. Tinggal di hotel mewah. Takkan nak letak mereka di Chow Kit atau Geylang, oi.
Waduh, siapa mahu bayar ini semua, Pak?

Yang lebih penting, apa pulangannya?
Dulu masa litar Sepang dibina dan F1 ditarik ke sini, Dr Mahathir ada menyatakan ia akan melahirkan generasi yang minat dalam engineering kereta ni.
Tak ada pun.
Maksudnya memang ramai anak Melayu pandai repair kereta sekarang berbanding apabila saya mula jejak di KL 15 tahun lalu, tetapi itu terima masih kepada Proton dan Perodua, dan polisi Bumiputera yang mewajibkan teknisyen syarikat kereta asing mempunyai pekerja Bumi di bengkel kereta*.
Bukan kerana mereka menonton F1, jadi syok, lalu berminat dalam kejuruteraan kereta.

(*Inilah salah satu sebab kenapa polisi Bumiputera patut disokong. Anda benci kepada excesses polisi ini - seperti melahirkan kroni cepat kaya - tetapi mesti menyokong dasar yang melahirkan karyawan dan pakar Melayu seperti lebih ramai akauntan, doktor dan repairman kereta).

Yang adapun, yang pernah ramai membaca, ialah dua tiga orang anak Melayu yang bekerja dengan Petronas yang diberi tugas mengikut salah sebuah team (BMW Sauber?) untuk belajar macam-macam teknik F1. Itupun sebab Petronas bayar semua.

Jadi saya tak rasa dengan adanya F1 Team Lotus ni, tiba-tiba ramai anak Malaysia akan tiba-tiba minat dengan kejuruteraan kereta.
Saya tak rasa juga dengan tiba-tiba, orang satu dunia nak beli kereta Proton kerana anak syarikat Proton kini masuk F1. Lainlah kalau Team Lotus kerap dalam top five perlumbaan kelak.

Dan menurut berita, kerana ini team Malaysia, kerajaan nak letak lebih ramai warga Malaysia dalam kumpulan ini - tidak seperti team lain yang menggunakan tenaga pakar tak kira bangsa apa. Hancurlah 'bang. Anak Melayu baikpun Cina atau India Malaysia, apa yang dia pandai tentang F1? Lebih baik jika cara Petronas itu diikuti (lebih murah) - sponsor anak Malaysia join salah satu team F1 yang ada sebagai teknisyen.

Hadiah Raya Indonesia, Noordin Top 'terbunuh'

TERBARU:

Confirm yang mati ditembak dekat Solo, ialah Noordin Top.
Syabas Densus 88!!!
Takbir!




CERITA AWAL
-------------------------------------------------------------

Noordin dah mati terbunuh ke?
Jika benar, baguslah.
Kalau Indonesia nak buat 'sweeping' rakyat Malaysia, buatlah ke atas sampah masyarakat seperti Noordin Top ni.
Kerjanya menghasut orang lain supaya mengebom mereka yang tidak berdosa.
Kalau nak sangat membunuh musuh Islam, berjihad konon, pergilah lawan Israel dengan anda menetap di negeri Arab yang bersebelahah negara Yahudi tu.

Saya tahu ramai orang Muslim yang menyokong pembunuh seperti Noordin ini. Kononnya beliau membantu agama. Agama siapa? Perjuangan apa?

Saya benci langsung dengan dia, sebab merosakkan imej Islam dengan membunuh orang yang tak ada kena mengena dengan peperangan, sesuatu yang dilarang agama.
Dia juga mahu menjahanamkan Indonesia, sebuah negara Islam yang baru nak maju.
Dia hingga sanggup hendak membunuh presiden Indonesia! Kerja gila.
Kalau negara besar itu kocar-kacir, Malaysia-Singapura pun akan hancur ekonominya sebab berjuta orang miskin akan lari ke arah sini nak cari makan.
Lepas Indonesia dan seluruh Nusantara kocar-kacir, katanya akan tumbuh Khalifah Islam. Apa punya planning. Bodoh.

Buat malu nama Malaysia lagi.
Sejak beberapa tahun ini, orang Muslim Malaysia yang ke negara Barat untuk bercuti atau business, kini di imigresen luar diperiksa rapi dan diragui kerana setan seperti Noordin dan Dr Azahari Husin (yang dah maut).
Saya pun jika travel - walhal gunakan passport Singapura - diperiksa rapi sebab banyak masuk ke Malaysia (mereka tak tanya, maka saya tak katalah saya penduduk tetap Malaysia dan penyokong PAS dan Umno, nanti kena cepuk pulak).


Tetapi, nanti dulu.
Selepas pasukan anti-terror Indonesia Densus 88 (Detasemen Khusus 88) gagal baru-baru ini nak membunuh anak si Top ni, tentunya ramai yang was-was betul ke pembunuh ini dah mampos.
Jika benar, hadiah Lebaran/Hari Raya yang besar buat umat Islam di rantau ini.

Singapore, Malaysia in Sumatra anti-haze moves

Let's today talk peace in the region, instead of the usual venom over each other.

While most of us could only make our annual complaints about the haze, the Singapore and Malaysia governments had quietly gone to the ground in Sumatra over the years to try and help.
They went down to two Indonesian provinces - Riau and Jambi, the nearest to our two countries - to try and tackle the burning of the land.
Maps of the provinces in relation to Mal-Sing are here - Riau with Pekanbaru as capital, and Jambi with its capital also called Jambi.

But since this type of work is not sexy, the main news agencies and ang mor newspapers have not been writing about it.
The projects are part of Asean's plan to tackle the issue rather than just complain to the Indonesians.

There is of course a strong suspicion (not expressed publicly) that Jakarta has been slow to react to the haze because it rarely gets smogged over.
The haze from Sumatra hit Singapore, west Malaysia and even southern Thailand, but not Jakarta the capital.
The haze from Kalimantan regularly hits Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei, never Jakarta.

Of course there is also the money factor. Since it doesn't hit you in the face and nose, why spend money to tackle the issue? That has been the complaints of the governors in the provinces - they need funds to buy tractors to help farmers clear the land.
And then there is a horrible factor often under-reported too: Some of the burnings are/were suspected to be from the big Malaysian companies with palm oil landbanks there. And on Indonesian paper-pulp and palm oil companies.
Added to this are suspected corruption, and the problem will never go away.

So now, the projects carried out by Singapore and Malaysia are hoped to help out the state provinces of Jambi dan Riau (Indonesia has a total of 33 provinces - propinsi or provinsi, equivalent to Malaysia's 13 states).
In July, Singapore officially handed over air quality and weather monitoring stations to the Jambians, see here.
Not much, but this is part of Singapore's contribution of S$1 million (RM2.3 million) to help out in Jambi that also included teaching farmers zero-burning practices.
And then there is the push to let local farmers go into tilapia fish-farming, instead of burning land every year to make way for new crops.

Malaysia is helping out in Riau, with weather stations and canal-blocking projects.
See report here. I can't seem to find more details like how big is the project and how much it costs.
Malaysia is also trying to persuade its three Malaysian palm oil companies with a total of 180,00 hectares in Indonesia to do more to curb open burning.

And now, 1Malaysia F1 team, run by Tony

1Malaysia in Formula 1.

Well, why not?
We only need to know how much it will cost taxpayers.
Because Lotus, fully owned by Proton, will be the team behind it.
Or maybe AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes will provide ALL the finances? No?

Still, if you think in terms of advertising a country to tourists and F1 fans - millions of them all over the world - this upcoming plan is better than the previous try by Malaysia in Formula 1.

Previously, the decal on the racing car was called 'GoKL'. It means nothing to ang mor or Asian F1 fans because not many people know that KL stands for Kuala Lumpur.
(And Alex what's-his-name was always last).

But to have '1Malaysia' emblazooned on the side of a Lotus.
Ah, pandai! People will right away sing 'To know Malaysia, is to love Malaysia'!
Proton will get mentioned everytime too (I hope it won't be corot all the time lah).

NEW 9.30pm.
I was told by a senior industry official when I was doing about F1 in Sepang story long ago - The promotion budget for this motorsport was RM100 million a year! Paid by Malaysians.
Yes sir, you think it is free to bring tourists, journalists and sponsor companies to Malaysia shores?
Notice the giant BMW billboards around Mandarin Oriental every year, for example?
You want them ang mors and rich Singaporeans, Thais, Indonesians, Filipinos etc to stay at Malaysian hotels, eat, drink and be merry for a few days, only to attend a function under the hot sun where the cars zip by at 300km/h?
It is a small price to pay, really, to bring in the multiple effects of billions of dollars of revenue for the economy.

If the positive effects on the tourism dollar was not so profitable, a tiny island in the south would not have chased up F1 so hard.
The F1 night race last year in Darul Dollar, the first in the Tiny Red Dot, attracted 40,000 foreigners to the three-day event.
Global TV audience? 110 million people.
They brought in S$168 million (RM386 million) in revenue. I don't know how much was spent on promotions etc, though.
But certainly, the news effects from newspapers and global TV were tremendous because it was the first F1 night race in the world.

So now, to have the 1Malaysia Lotus Team go round the world.... Wah.
As good as when 'Se-PANG, Malaysia' gets mentioned lots of time during races eh.

PICTURE. How the 1Malaysia car will look like.
Alamak, warnanya macam tenunan batik aje.... Nanti orang Jakarta marah lor.

(P.S. Apols, but I still DO think watching F1 and English football league games are a waste of time! See my reasoning here).

Malaysia govt takes baby steps to reboot

For a government used to doing its way no matter what people say, I sense a slight U-turn in how it works. Rather, how it wants to work from now on.

Led by parti gebede Umno, this was a government that did not care much about how people feel.
It didn't care much how people on the street reacted, as long as its warlords were kept fat and happy.
Forests of Shah Alam raped? Semuanya okay.
Istana Zakaria looked kinda shady? Other people also made same mistake.
Masjid Kristal and the Monsoon Cup a huge waste of public money? So what?

Or take the street protests: Remember Reformasi of 1998-99?
And just look at how it reacted to the now in/famous Hindraf demo in front of KLCC, and the Bersih protest.
There was always the standard reaction by the politicians, even as the cops were used to keep the peace.
Umno politicians made threatening noises. The poor abang polis were told to mount roadblocks and then dispense teargas and chemical-laced water.

Errr, but why all the use of past tense by me?

- Because, after the initial SOP (standard operating procedure) with regards to the protest by stupid Shah Alam cows using a cow-head, 12 people have been charged in court.
- After a longgggg period of hesitation, the man with the famous Bali Mansion has now been called in to explain how he could afford such extravagance.
And he was asked about the in/famous Disney trips also. You know, the high-end hotels and the rentals of limos, allegedly using money that taxpayers paid.

There will be a lot of sceptics. People who are saying 'this is all for show'.
But if the government didn't do nothing at all, then they will be accused of not listening to the rakyat (though truth be told, often times, the people who call themselves rakyat all belong to Pakatan).

- So, these events, plus the fact that the government bent over backwards recently on the Teoh Beng Hock inquest to listen to this fabled 'rakyat', is a good sign.
We shall see if this is carried through religiously in coming months and years to show that in issues that disgust people. act fast. Even if warlords are rattled.
Then Pakatan will be worried that the Najib administration wants to change the game.

- The next thing to look out for in the turning over of a new leaf for Umno (if that is what it is!), is of course coming very soon: whether it will retain a tainted old warlord in Negeri Sembilan, or pick someone else. Like Isa Samad's untainted son, Najib Isa.

Abang Najib hensome, kata nenek 107 tahun

Wanita ni sedang cari laki ke 23. Yang 22 macam dah nak lari, katanya.
Pandai juga dia memancing lelaki.
Baca di sini.

Ramai pemain bola Singapura lari ke Indonesia

TERBARU 7.45MLM
-----------------------
Baca laporan di sini, sini dan sini.
Satu laporan menyatakan pemain Singapore ni lebih popular dari yang di Vietnam, Malaysia dan Thailand kerana mereka diyakini lebih 'bersih' dari jeratan korupsi: pemain yang mungkin boleh dibeli untuk menjual game.
Nampaknya sampai ke arena bola pun gejala 'politik wang' ('permainan wang'?) menghantui pelabur luar.


--------------------------------------------------------
Sedang warga Malaysia hendak lari dari Indonesia, atau memboikot Pulau Jawa, setelah kes 'sweeping' dan kata-kata kesat yang keluar dalam kontroversi dua-hala, pemain bolasepak Singapura ramai yang sedang hendak lari ke sana.
Ini termasuk striker utama dan kaptain pasukan Temasek, Noh Alam Shah.
Mereka berebut-rebut hendak masuk Indonesia Super League (ISL).


Sebelum itu:
Saya tak minat dunia bolasepak langsung - hanya menjadi pengikut Italy dan Turki setiap empat tahun siri Piala Dunia.
Di Singapura, seperti di Malaysia, orang gemar menonton liga Inggeris lebih dari S-League (Singapore League).
Pada saya, buang masa menonton siri bolasepak di mana Manchester United kerap menang. Samalah buang masa menonton F1 kerana Ferrari asyik menang saja. Jangan marah ah.

Tetapi berita ramai pemain bola Singapore hendak lari ke Indonesia, kini tersebar luas.
Ini kerana ramai sangat yang nak tukar kelab.
Pemain bolasepak Singapore ni kebanyakannya anak-anak Melayu.
Talent and money do not recognise race/bangsa. Didn't I say that often?

Sebelum ini, rakyat Temasek yang paling terkenal bekerja di Indonesia ialah Fandi Ahmad, bekas hero bolasepak yang menjadi coach Pelita Jaya. Beliau masih di sana.
Dalam kerjayanya, Fandi pernah bermain dengan Niac Mitra di Indonesia, FC Gronigen di Holland, Kuala Lumpur FC dan OFI Crete di Greece.

S-League ni macam Malaysia Super League yang dikepalai keluarga di raja Pahang - hidup segan mati tak mahu.
Setiap perlawanan biasa, jika ada 2,500 orang penonton di Temasek dah kira ramailah tu.
Di Indonesia, sekurang-kurangya 30,000 penonton menghadiri setiap perlawanan. Syiok.

Hadiah menjadi champion S-League ialah S$150,000 (RM345,000).
Jika menang Singapore Cup dapat S$80,000 (RM184,000).
Di ISL, hadiah ialah US$1 juta sebagai juara kelab, US$2.5 juta sebagai pemenang Cup. Wow.

BARU. Baca laporan di sini, sini dan sini.


Senarai pemain yang dah confirm lari:
- Noh Alam Shah, dari Tampines Rovers di Singapore, ke Arema Malang. Kena potongan gaji.
- Precious Emuejeraye, Woodlands Wellington, ke Sriwijaya. Former Nigerian who became Singaporean.
- Baihakki Khaizan, Geyland United, ke Persija. Gaji berganda. Dapat kondo, kereta berdrebar di Jakarta.

Pemain pasukan nasional Singapore lain yang disebut akan berpindah:
- Tiga dari Tampines Rovers.
- Seorang dari kelab Sengkang Punggol.
- Seorang dari Singapore Armed Forces FC.

Lima orang yang lain sedang berbincang dengan kelab Indonesia Arema Malang, Persija dan Persisam.
Seorang lagi sedang dikejar oleh kelab bolasepak Australia.

Kenapa popular sangat pemain Singapore ni? Kerana ISL kini memulakan sistem baru.
Setiap kelab dibenarkan mengimport lima pemain asing.
Sistem '3+2Asian berth' bermakna dari lima pemain import, dua mesti dari kelab di Asia.
Saya tak membaca berita sukan Malaysia - mungkin pemain Malaysia pun kena 'curi juga. Asal mereka tak kena 'sweeping' kelak sudah.

Alamak! Rumah Anita Sarawak nak dirompak!

Rumahnya di Taman Melawati.
Baca laporan The Star di sini.

Lagi di sini - rupa-rupanya rumah ibu tirinya, Umi Kalthum.
Untung juga perompak kenal dia, lalu terkejut berok dan lari.
Kalau perompak nampak muka aku, orang Melayu Singapore tertindas, lagi kena tetak agaknya.

Jika Isa Samad menang di Bagan Pinang....

Kita katakanlah bahawa Isa Samad dipilih bertanding di Bagan Pinang.
Dan oleh kerana beliau, seperti yang dikatakan penyokongnya, memang sangat popular di situ,
Isa menang.

Memang kita tahu bahawa semua orang di luar Umno, dan mungkin ramai di dalam pun, akan mencemuh beliau.
Tetapi selepas beliau menang, adakah kemenangan itu baik atau tidak untuk Umno?
Ini pendapat saya:

Senario 1
-------------------------------------------------------

Dengan kemenangan itu, ADUN BN yang tidak ngam dengan MB Mohamad Hasan akan berpuak dengan Isa.
Sekarang pun dah ada kumpulan yang mahu Mohamad diganti. Hanya mereka tidak ada kepala saja.
Dengan kembalinya Isa, bekas MB Negeri selama lebih 20 tahun, maka perpecahan akan semakin ketara.
Ini hanya akan melemahkan Barisan Nasional.

BN ada 21 kerusi di Negeri, berbanding 15 untuk Pakatan.
Ini bermakna, hanya jika EMPAT ADUN BN lari, kedudukan kerusi menjadi BN 17, Pakatan 19.

Atau jika BN berpecah dua tetapi tidak lari ke Pakatan pun, BN akan lemah juga.
Isu ini akan menjadi seperti di Terengganu di mana walaupun kerajaan BN tidak tumbang, ianya hidup segan mati tak mau.

Maknanya, selepas masalah di Perak dan Terengganu, Negeri pun menjadi negeri bermasalah buat PM Najib Razak.
Dan datang 2013 kelak, dikhuatiri Negeri selain Perak dan Terengganu berpindah tangan.


Senario 2
--------------------------------------------------------

'Kerjaya' Isa sebagai Naib Presiden Umno terbantut kerana beliau didapati bersalah akibat terlibat dalam politik wang.
Tentunya beliau merasakan jika dulunya popular sehingga dapat pangkat itu - walaupun sebenarnya dengan menyogok wang (sebab itu didapati bersalah) - kenapa tak mencuba sekali lagi?

Maknanya, dalam pilihanraya Umno tiga tahun lagi, fenomenon Isa Samad mungkin berulang.
Jika bukan untuk jawatan Naib Pres, tentunya paling kurang beliau akan ingin bertanding sekurang-kurangnya sebagai Ahli Majlis Tertinggi.


BAIK Senario 1 atau 2, imej Umno akan terus di basement dalam pandangan orang luar.
Ini kerana Umno dilihat sanggup menaikkan kembali seorang ketua yang telah didapati bermandi lumpur politik wang.


Kenapa Isa tidak dipujuk saja supaya sanggup menjadi sebagai mentor kepada orang yang akan dipilih sebagai calon di Bagan Pinang. Beliau akan ada peranan tetapi yang kurang kontroversial.

Jantan Berbaju Putih - buku baru sejarah PAP

Ramai orang gemar menonton movie Men In Black, yang menceritakan tentang sekumpulan pemburu alien.

Kini di Temasek Darul Dollar, ada sebuah buku baru yang diterbitkan syarikat saya, Singapore Press Holdings. Men In White.


Ia mengenai sejarah People's Action Party, tetapi bukan dari kacamata PAP saja tetapi juga dari musuh politiknya dulu.
Seramai 300 anggota Parti Tindakan Rakyat (PTR atau Petir, dalam Bahasa Melayu), ahli parti lain dan pemerhati diwawancara.
Buku ditulis oleh tiga wartawan veteran The Straits Times - lebih veteran sikit dari saya. At least aku masih 'chome sokmo' kata orang Klate. LIHAT GAMBAR Sonny Yap, Richard Lim dan Leong Weng Kam.

Yang pelik bagaimana mereka ada masa nak buat projek ini. Richard - dulu editor seksyen Life!, kini sub-editor kanan untuk Sunday Times - duduk hanya beberapa meter dari saya, tak pernah nampak dia hilang buat interview. Pandai dia cari masa.

Saya baru bukunya semalam. Staf dapat diskaun. Harga diluar S$39.90. Kami dapat S$34 untuk hardcover. Berebut orang beli di kantin semalam.Jika nak baca excerpts, cuba Google. Akhbar saya dah banyak keluarkan sejak dua minggu ini.

Tajuknya Men In White (saya sengaja terjemah Jantan, bukan Lelaki. Hahaha) sebab orang Petir ni bila masa pilihanraya mereka pakai baju dan seluar warna putih untuk kempen. Kerana putih katanya warna orang yang bersih.
Buku menceritakan sejarah awal Temasek apabila Petir berdepan dengan puak Komunis, leftist dan sosialis bandar di Singapore - lebih-lebih lagi parti Barisan Sosialis yang kini dah mati - dan bagaimana mereka akhirnya tewas. Jika puak ini menang, sejarah tentunya masuk bab lain.

Anda ingat anda kaya?

Okay, jadi anda baru beli Audi Q5, lepas tu nak 'action'?
Atau baru beli rumah kat Damasara Heights, ingat dah kaya lah tu?
Baca cerita kat bawah ni.
Mabuk kepayang saya.
Membazir habis.

-------------------------------------------------------

Sep 10, 2009
(sohu.com)

RM2 mil spent on dog in China

BEIJING - A MILLIONAIRE in northern China paid four million yuan (S$864,000/RM2 mil) for a dog and ordered 30 luxury cars to come to the airport to greet her and the animal, local media reported.
The woman and her new pet - a black Tibetan Mastiff - flew into Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, a report on popular news portal sohu.com said.
A convoy of 30 black Mercedes-Benz cars, led by two sports utility vehicles, drove to the airport Wednesday to pick up the pair, who had arrived from the Tibetan-populated province of Qinghai in China's north-west.
Photos of the event posted with the report showed a committee of dog-lovers holding up a long red banner welcoming the mastiff to Xi'an.
The millionaire, who only gave her surname as Wang, said she and a friend had spent a long time searching for an original Tibetan mastiff.
'Gold has a price, but this Tibetan mastiff doesn't,' the young woman said, according to the report.
China's economy has developed at a fast pace, creating with it an increasing number of millionaires.
Research by the Hurun Report, a magazine that tracks China's wealthiest, revealed in April that 825,000 people had personal wealth of over 10 million yuan, or 0.06 per cent of the population. The vast majority of these millionaires have said the global financial crisis has not had any impact on their lifestyle, the research said.



Lihat GAMBAR kerja gila ni kat sini.
Ada gambar anjing, budak pompuan kaya ni, dan juga kereta Merc 30 biji.

Palm Pre, Palm Pixi, iPod Nano, Blackberry Curve

Being a gadget freak has a lot of disadvantages because one is always attracted to the latest toy, most times things that one doesn't really need.

I am using the Palm Centro (with Palm OS, not with stupid Windows OS) for my Malaysian mobile, and the Blackberry Curve 8900 for my Singapore mobile (linked to company's email account).

But there are temptations out there!

The Centro I am using is my third Palm in a row; I used the previous two Palm Treo versions. Treo started off the touchscreen fad long before Apple iPhone came onto the stage, but it was only popular with 'business' users, as compared to the mass market of youths. If you watched the series '24' or American spy movies you can sometimes see the Treo being used by the hero or villians.

Whereas the iPhone is for those who like to listen to music, it is impractical for people like me who need a proper (if tiny) keyboard to type stories on the go.

I had used the three Palm over the years to file stories while in Kedah and Perlis in the 2004 elections, and from Kelantan in the 2008 one.

And other stories from Johor to Penang.

There is nothing like using the Palm with a foldable keyboard in a mamak restoran if you want to stop traffic! See here - an old Treo mounted on a foldable k'board.

While others need to lug their laptops, I didn't and I don't.

I can and have typed stories while in cabs on the way back to a hotel which is like 2hours away from Kota Baru or Alor Setar. Or in the airplane without the bother of having to take out a big laptop.

In Singapore, I use the Blackberry so that I could be directly linked to my office email.

People asked why do you want to be instantly reachable to your bosses?

My answer is that every morning when I wake up, my first instinct is to reach for my 'berry and 5mins later I know what is happening at the office and around the world.

I know who or which bureau of The Straits Times has/have been praised or scolded by the bosses, what are the headlines around the world, and even what new gadgets have just been offered in the world of technology.

I feel at peace, because knowledge is power. Some say Ini kerja orang Gila.

- Anyway, Palm has a new mobile to replace the Treo. It is called Palm Pre (Palm OS and not the quirky Windows OS which I hate). Stupid name, I know.

This one is a curvy slider with tiny keyboard.

It is not in Singapore or Malaysia yet. Supposed to be introduced here next month.

But overnight, a new machine has been introduced. Palm Pixi. Another stupid name.

It looks a bit like the Blackberry Curve. See PICTURE.

It is a bit smaller than the Pre but without wi-fi.

Haiya. Metinks I will stick to the plan to buy the Pre.

- And Blackberry also has a new machine upgrade from the Curve 8900. It is the Curve 8520.

At least it is the same size from the 8900.

The Blackberry Bold is too big, and please do NOT buy Storm because it does not have any keyboard (like the iPhone, you have to use the electronic screen keyboard - susah nak pakai, cos we all have fat fingers).

- And overnight too (overnight in this part of the world), Steve Jobs introduced a new iPod Nano with video recording.

Up to you guys who want to pay high prices for stupid machines. But as some reviewer had already written, it is pretty difficult to record videos with a small Nano - how do you hold the bloody thing steady?

- While kids are so proud to play their music with iPhone and Nano, I have something that few people have. I play music from my 'berry using Sony Ericcson's bluetooth (ie wireless) headphones. All the music without the cords. Mahal nak mampos, but worth it.

- And now, I am looking for an Omron pedometer, after turning my back on a planned purchase of a Polar training monitor/pedometer cos it is too pricey.

- After that, maybe a bluetooth watch, and then maybe a drone missile. I did say at the start that being a gadget freak has its disadvantages, right?

Indonesia guna lembing nak halau rakyat Malaysia

Mujur tak ada rakyat Malaysia yang ditahan oleh kumpulan ini di Jakarta.

Mereka bawa lembing ke tengah jalan, tahan kereta, periksa I.C. semalam/Selasa.

Kalau kamu dari Malaysia, tak tahulah apa akan jadi.

Lihat GAMBAR.

Polis ada di sana, tapi tak buat apa-apa, kata Jakarta Globe.

Laporan Jakarta Post di sini.

Gila.

Kumpulan ini kata mereka akan terus periksa lagi rakyat Malaysia, mungkin dengan pergi rumah ke rumah.
Gila.
Laporan Utusan Malaysia di sini.

Boikot Jakarta?
Nak shopping datang Singapore.
Atau lebih baik ke Sumatra, Bali.

Menteri Penerangan Rais Yatim masih nak berbaik:
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=439049


"Walaupun bendera Malaysia dibakar. Kedutaan kami dilempari telur dan batu, kami tidak akan membalas terhadap kedutaan Indonesia di Kuala Lumpur," kata Rais Yatim.


Malaysia nampaknya terus berlembut, Pengarang Berita Utusan:
http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2009&dt=0909&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Rencana&pg=re_01.htm

Utusan okaylah, quote warga Indonesia lain mengatakan kerja lembing tu kerja segelintir. Tapi tetap bahaya oi, orang ke sana nak bisnis ke nak shopping raya, kena lembing.
Gila.


TERBARU
------------------------------------------------------

Menteri Luar Anifah Aman dan Hassan Wirajuda nak settle benda ni dengan perjumpaan Khamis depan, lapor The Star.
Alhamdullillah.
Bahaya beb kalau dipanjangkan.

Google kini boleh bantu anda terjemah bahasa

Katakan lah anda mendapat dokumen rahsia bagaimana nak merdekakan Palestin. Tetapi dokumen itu dalam bahasa Yiddish (bahasa orang Yahudi). Apa anda nak buat?
Atau anda gemar sangat baca remgold.blogspot (hahaha) tetapi mat ni suka nah menulis dalam bahasa mat salleh. Bagaimana?

Google kini boleh membantu anda menterjemah dari satu bahasa ke bahasa yang lain.
Setelah mencuba beberapa kerat perkataan dan ungkapan, saya dapatinya kurang tepat, tetapi okay lah tu sebagai permulaan.
Tak payah kita kena cari siapa yang faham bahasa Yahudi atau Inggeris. Duduk depan komputer pun okay.
Cuba Google translate di sini.

Bijak giler mereka di Google ni.
Jika orang yang mengaku Islam yang bijak seperti Noordin Top tu bekerja untuk membuat sofwe seperti ini, saya rasa dia dapat membantu kes Palestin dan umat Islam lebih lagi, berbanding kerja bodohnya membunuh orang yang sedang adakan business meeting dalam hotel.
Dia boleh jadi jutawan besar, lahirkan 1,000 lagi penulis sofwe dan engineer lain. Agar nama agama naik oi, bukan kau jahanamkan dengan pengebomam lepaskan geram.
Bila umat ini nak sedar kekata 'Pena itu lebih perkasa dari Pedang'.

Tak apalah. Apapun, cuba anda taip
- 'Saya sedang berpuasa'
- 'Saya malas nak kerja'
- 'Saya suka KJ'

Ada perkataan yang sofwe tak tahu jadi tak diterjemahkan.
Macam kita di KL dan Singapore bila cakap - 'I malas nak work'

Unesco says batik is Indonesian heritage - minister

Indonesia says Unesco has judged that the batik is its cultural heritage.
See Antara news here.
If true that Unescos has passed its judgement, how?
Will Malaysia now go to Unesco, or just don't care. Because the Indonesians have now won bragging rights, lah!

Just as this news came out, my colleague from India said there is also some type of batik in India.
Indeed, like the pendet dance that Bali claims is theirs, I think the batik and many other things came from a Big Brother in times past - India.
Remember the Borobodur? And how the island of Bali became Hindu (most of the rest of Indonesian and Malayan archipelago became Muslims. Due to Arab traders)?
This part of the world were before this Buddhist.
All surely from Indian influence in times past.

Lucky for us, India is not the type that wants to claim everything as theirs rather than something that our ancestors picked up from earlier cultures.

Let's praise a good decision - charging 'em cows

The Malaysian government waffled a bit, took longer than it's thought necessary, but at lat has decided to make a decision.
The cows of the Shah Alam protest will be herded to court. Charged under the Sedition Act for some. I hope so, because they were trying to be really provocative.

The government and the police would otherwise have set a dangerous precedent of allowing illegal protests of causes it likes (in this case showing up the mistake of the Pakatan government) and killing off those that it doesn't like (like.... oh well, there have been so many of them).

The image of the country, battered recently by the Kartika-caning-no-caning case, had been kicked to a new low by the cow-heads.
If you were an investor or even one of those Malaysia My Second Home looker you might have hesitated a bit in the last few weeks. I think the country does not need that kind of image, that of increasing intolerance to other beliefs.
I can tell you, newspapers in India are aghast at what has been happening in Shah Alam. This after a series of controversies involving Hindus and Indians over the years.

So what, you say?
Well, just this, the India middle-class (like those from China) are increasing fast.
If they think Malaysia is an intolerant country that bully their Hindu brothers, they would give Malaysia a miss as a tourist destination.
Their IT professionals (always praised by Malaysian and Singapore employers are being very good yet at affordable salaries) would not come want to come.
At the other end of the spectrum, Indian blue-collar workers might not want to come.
Ultimately, all these would hit the bottomline of Malaysian companies and Malaysians.

Understanding an economic cycle

IT is the month of August, on the shores of the Black Sea.
It is raining, and the little town looks totally deserted.
It is tough times, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit.

Suddenly, a rich tourist comes to town.
He enters the only hotel, lays a 100 Euro note on the reception counter and goes to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to choose one.

The hotel proprietor takes the 100 Euro note and runs to pay his debt to the butcher.
The butcher takes the 100 Euro note and runs to pay his debt to the pig farmer.
The pig farmer takes the 100 Euro note and runs to pay his debt to the supplier of his feed and fuel.

The supplier of feed and fuel takes the 100 Euro note and runs to pay his debt to the town's prostitute. In these hard times, she gives her "services" on credit.
The hooker runs to the hotel, to pay off her debt with the 100 Euro note to the hotel proprietor for the rooms that she rented when she brought her clients there.
The hotel proprietor then lays the 100 Euro note back on the counter so that the rich tourist will not suspect anything.

At that moment, the tourist comes down after inspecting the rooms and takes his 100 Euro note, saying he did not like any of the rooms, and leaves town.
No one earned anything.
However, the whole town is now without debt and looks to the future with a lot of optimism ....

And, that is how the US Government is doing business today.