Lulu, Lina and Their Lord

From the Bible, the book of Acts, Chapter 11

19Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews.
20Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.
21The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

I do feel very sad for Lina Joy.
but I also take comfort that the Lord's hand is with Lina Joy and her boyfriend.
The Federal Court's ruling that she remains a Muslim and her religious status will not be removed from her identity card, does not necessarily equate to No Joy For Lina Joy.

As long as Lina is in the Lord, there will be joy.

Lulu Didn't Study Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) in Oxford

or anywhere else for that matter, but Lulu has had enough years of schooling and reading Readers Digest to know that a goverment which has no opposition is NOT GOOD for any country.

Our PM's sSIL was quoted by mainstream media as saying,
My responsibility is to destroy the opposition

If anyone succesfully destroys any form of opposition, wouldn't that leave us with an autocratic government.

from my favourite wikipeida, on autocracy

An autocracy is a form of government in which the political power is held by a single person.
The term autocrat is derived from the Greek word autokratôr (lit. "self-ruler", "ruler of one's self"). Compare with oligarchy (literally means rule by the few) and democracy (rule by the majority, by the people).
Today it is usually seen as synonymous with despot, tyrant and/or dictator, though each of these terms originally had a separate and distinct meaning (see their respective articles).
Autocracy is not synonymous with totalitarianism, as this concept was precisely forged to distinguish modern regimes that appeared in the 1930s from traditional dictatorships. It also isn't synonymous with military dictatorship, as these often take the form of "collective presidencies" (see the South-American juntas). However, an autocracy may be totalitarian or be a military dictatorship.

Bad enough, parliament has the sufficient 2/3 mandate that it needs to pass whatever law they deem beneficial to exactly-who-i-don't-know. But at least we have some form of opposition to question the implications and nessecity of these new bills.
Do you really want to be ruled by a despot, tyrant, and/or dictator?

Really, to want to destroy the opposition?
How? Kill them, jail them, sue them, smear them, make them one of you?? How??

I dunno about you, but it's long overdue. We need to strengthen the parliament in our country. This would mean a stronger opposition. When you cast your one precious vote, please, go with Lulu and vote the opposition.

If anything, for more accountability in the government of the day, and better governance of the tanah tumpahnya darahku.

Or even if it's just to see Lulu smile... do place your X in the correct box.

Lulu's Calendar - Updated

okay. The debate on education and civil service between two highly educated Oxford graduates is OFF.
Actually, even the statement "two highly educated Oxford graduates" warrants a debate on it's own.

He-whose-name-Lulu-couldn't-be-bothered-to-mention dismissed the challenge.
He, whom everyone except Lulu the dreamer said would not meet the challenge, did not meet the challenge.
He, whose shameless ways in creating a "new culture" in UMNO, does not want to stoop to the "low" level of an intellectual debate.

Shame isn't it?
yah... it is.

but TonyPua and co does not want to disappoint the crowd. There will be still be a forum on the Civil Service. Details are as follows

CIVIL SERVICE EXCELLENCE: QUALITY VS QUANTITY
“The Government must hence take the painful but very important step of trimming the civil service sector into a leaner and more efficient “machine”. The increase in pay will be a waste of public funds, if the move is not accompanied by a corresponding increase in civil service productivity.” Tony Pua
“Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO mendesak Pua dan DAP mengambil langkah memperbetulkan kata-kata mereka yang langsung tidak bertimbang rasa dan begitu menghina sekali.”
“Pua’s negative comments about the civil service can cause considerable damage to the morale and image of the public sector.” Khairy Jamaluddin
Panel of Distinguished Speakers
Lim Kit Siang, Parliamentary Opposition Leader
Lim Guan Eng, DAP Secretary-General
Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, PKR Secretary General
A. H. Ponniah, former Secretary of Public Service International (Asia-Pacific Region)
Nurul Izzah Anwar, Special Assistant to Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim
Tony Pua, Economic Advisor to DAP Secretary-General
* Open invitation to Khairy Jamaluddin, UMNO Deputy Youth Chief*
Venue: KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
Date: 30th May 2007 (Wednesday)
Time: 8.00 pm

Lulu will not be there. She was feeling SO, SO disappointed that the great debate was not taking place, made other plans for Wed. I'll allow you to take a peek.

Lulu Questions

If you needed surgery for a complicated problem, a matter of life and death, would race be a criterea on who you want to cut you open?
If you got into a big time legal problem with grave implications, would you look for a lawyer based on his race, or would you look at his track record?

I don't know about you, but I would choose the best person for the job.

What about you? Post these questions to yourself, and tell Lulu whether you still want to look at things in terms of race.

Lulu's Marking Her Calendar

Lulu would be so, so, so disappointed if it didn't take place.

see... it's marked in her calendar already.

from Malaysiakini,

Pua challenges Khairy to a debate

Name the time and place... These were the words of DAP leader Tony Pua to his fellow Oxford graduate Khairy Jamaluddin after issuing a challenge to him for a public debate on the civil service issue.

“Instead of asking the party and myself for an apology, Khairy should do away with emotive arguments as well as semantics and focus on the issues at hand,” he said.

Pua, who is the economic advisor to DAP secretary- general Lim Guan Eng, said the debate could be held at the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall next Wednesday at 8pm. Or it could be held at any time or place of Khairy’s choosing, he stressed. “We will make time for him. There is no point in making statements in the press, nitpicking on certain points that I raised based on facts and not focusing on the issues at hand,” he added.

Pua said the debate should focus on three issues:
- How to prevent our education system from churning out graduates who are unable to gain employment despite the large number of advertised vacancies in the market.
- How to improve our civil service delivery system to substantially increase the satisfaction of the people and the successful completion of government projects.
- How to streamline a bloated civil service, disproportionate to the size of the Malaysian population to reduce tremendous economic burden of the government.

Pua also claimed that his earlier statement had been misconstrued by the media.

He acknowledged saying that the civil service had become a ‘dumping ground’ for unemployed Malay graduates but denied stating that the civil service was totally made up of unemployed Malays. “I have no intention to make such claims," he stressed.

Come one, come all, but please bhave yourselves.


see, like this one, welcomed
see how she sits down pleasantly, and smiles prettily. welcome-welcome!

like that one - aiyoh, keep for another glamour moment, kay. It's a debate on education and civil service between two highly educated Oxford graduates. Let's sit down and hear what they have to say.

I'm SO looking forward to it

Lulu Not Sure

when Badawi was talking about this in the papers yesterday, was he talking about these?

from last year

and coming up next year

or he was talking about the corner shop kedai kopi and sundry shop?

*bat eyelash* *bat eyelash* *bat eyelash*

btw, not so many pink highlights today, but there are links embedded under the logo to indicate the source

Now That The Government Servants Fatt Tatt, Lulu Hopes They Take Into Account How Real the Fatt Tatt Is

Two weekends ago, I accidentally lulu-ed and lost my wallet. Thought I'd joined the politikus and freelunch gang. I went back all the way to my office in Shah Alam twice to look for it, had people korek my car and search my room.









I guess if your table in the office looked like this, there is a real possibility that it may be buried.
if anyone recognises this, hush!
haha... anyone wanna try to psychoanalyse Lulu?

But alas, it was not to be found.
Totally broken hearted, I went to the police station and lodged a police report.

When I went back to work on Monday, someone returned the wallet to me. I had really lulu-ed and left it in one of the meeting rooms.

I knew I had lulu-ed, and told myself that I have to go back to the police station to cancel the report. But like a budak kecil, I was very reluctant, cos bimbang kena marah.

sigh...

so, when I heard the news on the payrise for the public servants, I knew it was time to go to the police station and confess to my lulu-ness.
After all, how could anyone who "menerima durian runtuh yang lebih istimewa iaitu kadar kenaikan gaji antara 9 hingga 42 peratus, iaitu 20 peratus lebih tinggi daripada peratus kenaikan gaji kakitangan awam lain" still be in a mood to tegur this Lulu for being so lulu?

True enough, when I went to the police station, everyone looked like they were in a good mood. I explained to them that i wanted to cancel or update my report as my wallet had been found. They asked me if all the contents were in tact, and indeed they were, so, there's no need to do anything. I was outta there in an instant. It spent more time looking for parking compared to telling my "sob" story.

... which brings lulu to the topic of the day...

Govt servants get big raise , Kenaikan gaji terbaik

how much more?
Support Staff 2, Grade 1 hingga 16, basic salary increase as much as 35%
Support Staff 1, Grade 17 hingga 40, basic salary increase as much as 25%
Management and Professionals, 15%
Kumpulan Pengurusan Tertinggi (JUSA) 7.5%

That's quite a lot of money..

As much as they want to deny it ala Najib, "the hikes were not calculated to raise spirits ahead of an expected early general election", ... somehow, err... Lulu's not convinced.

Lulu has two main observation on this pay increase

1. The bloated Malaysian payroll.
Quoting from the Utusan, Sebanyak 1.02 juta kakitangan awam terlibat

Liew Chin Tong, in his article in the Singapore Straits Times dated 6th Feb noted that there was an accelerated increase of government servants post-Mahathir. Since 2000, there has been an additional 210,000 new posts.

If I'm doing my math correctly, that as 20.6% increase since 2000. Another way of putting it, for every 4 government servants there were in Y2000, there is an additional one today. Where they are, what they are doing, I don't know.

One would have thought that in the advent of computerisation and things going on-line, less people would need to be employed by the government. Why the need for so many staff? The answer would probably run along the same line as why the need for such a large cabinet.
Lulu can only hope [and some may say dream] that the increase was in doctors and nurses, not administrators and beaurocrats.

Who knows, if they were able to reduce the size of civil service, maybe the government would be able to afford more generous pay every year, insted of just those years when an election date is marked on the calendar. But then again, that would mean less indebted-to-the-government government servants and an annual pay rise would mistakenly evolve as a hak instead of a keistimewaan.

2. Will the payhike bring them to an upgraded lifestyle, or is it just sufficient to cover the additional higher cost of living today?
I suspect it's the latter. Everything's naik-ed harga.
Last week, the government announced that flour naik harga.
The papers have also noted that dairy based products, and lulu's favourite Milo also naik harga.
Madmonk says that the price of commercial tin cooking oil went up from RM26 to RM40 something now, at last count.
Petrol super naik harga last year, spiralling upward with it, all transportation related costs.

momentary sidetrack... come let's sing along...
[to be sung in tune of "Oh my darling, Clementine"]
Naik harga
naik harga
semua barang naik harga
no ending to the tune yet, cos it's too early in the morning for me to think of one, and I really don't think the spate of naik hargas has ended either.

The thing is, the cost of living has gone up. As many have pointed out in Lulu's previous post, when the government allows flour, which is a neccesity and a product which makes up the basket for our CPI, to go up before elections, we have much to fear post-election.

I hope the government servants will sit down, kirakan their household expenditure, balance their books before taking the "extra" cash to help Proton's sales.

:-P next government office stop IRB. I overdeclared one of my gifts for charity. Have to correct that as it was a 2005 donation, not 2006 donation. Hope they'll still be in a good mood.

fatt tatt - cantonese for prosper, become wealthy... along those lines-la

Lulu Also Got Leaking Problem

Looking at the list from the Star on the repairs needed on the Parliament roof to ensure that the roof do not fall on men who spew racial and sexist slurs on their opponents at the "heat of the moment" and other spineless men and women who do not defend those who are attacked based on racial and sexist slurs, Lulu noticed at least one same problem that she's facing with her apartment.

Samy Vellu said the department's report revealed:

• CRACKS and water seepage on the concrete roof;
• SEEPAGE through the rain gutter surface edge;
• CLOGGED gutters which caused water retention;
• WATERPROOFING on the roof was not working and had been used beyond its lifespan;
• WATERPROOFING was installed on the concrete surface without any protective layer;
• CLOGGED drainage pipes;
• SEWERAGE pipe leaks at VIP and other toilets;
• DAMAGED expansion joints; and
• THE absence of maintenance work.

yeh... my clogged gutter is causing water retention, which in turn is clogging the gutter and caused the water to seep in through my ceiling. or something like that.

maklumlah, I don't have RM22mil of government money to spend to inspect the gutter. neither do I think that the RM22 mil that will be used to inspect governmet buildings in Putrajaya would include an inspection on my apartment. But at least my apartment is 22 years old, unlike those Putrajaya buildings. It's a sheer waste of money, and like what I've said before, I'm fed-up.

Anyway, Lulu has to fork out her own money to do her own repairs. It's "painful", it's expensive but I don't mind. It has to be done.
For that and some other reasons, I've also decided to change my ceiling. I thought I'd as well get it done now.

And I'm getting some responsible people to fix it. I am not choosing a relative to do it. And I have no cronies to choose from. Nor is there anyone whom I owe a "favor" to. Neither will I choose someone who will sub-contract it out to do it. It's my home and my hard earned money, and I will choose wisely.










sigh.. if only the people at PWD would think like Lulu too.

it just crossed my mind, since my MP is famous for fixing clogged drains, do you think she'd have helped clear the clogged gutter if I had asked?

Lulu Explains

you know those pink color bold texts in my posts?
eg
from my post Lulu "play-get word-pause-write" cycle Malaysiakini's Recording of Sharizat,
listening to Malaysiakini.TV’s recording of the women’s protest
I was at Khoong coffee shop this morning
they were full of praises for the cilipadi, Fong Po Kuan,

somtimes, you see some text in bold and colour [pink/purple], and sometimes even underlined, those are links.
click on to them, the link will send you to a reference site.

lol :D
last night, i met someone who thought those were highlights/emphasis. He said something like "i really like you bold pink emphasis".
i was like, "huh?"
then i realised, he mistook my links as an emphasis!

aiyoh and adoi!
gosh... if he, who is quite net savvy in my opinion, could mistake them as emphasis, gosh (again), there must be others who also think the same. hence, the "Lulu explains".

so, the next time you come across a bold pink/blue/purple underlined (sometimes not) text, move your mouse to the link, and if there is a link, click on it. The links are quite interesting.
for example, if you want to know which blogger said that, click this link ;P

Lulu "play-get word-pause-write" cycle Malaysiakini's Recording of Sharizat

I don’t know how many of you did this when you were young, but i was one of those who got songs taped from a friend, and I wanna sing along, but no lyrics. So, in order to get the lyrics, i would play the cassette, get a few words, pause the cassette, write it down, play-get word-pause-write cycle starts again, until i have the lyrics of the whole song. Yah… those were the pre-internet "lyrics search" days, and this was what those who didn't buy original stuff (which came with lyrics) would do.

Last night, I had a chance to relive the play-get word-pause-write cycle.

listening to Malaysiakini.TV’s recording of the women’s protest, there were quite a number of “interesting” points that Sharizat kept repeating.
Like
- Kita, Kerajaan barisan nasional, kita mengambil berat usul-usul wanita.
- It is very important for MPs and everybody, the whole countryto be gender sensitive
- We are very sensitive, we’re following this issue and will take (the necessary) steps.
- I would expect everyone, from backbenchers to the opposition, to behave with decorum and dignity. It is not acceptable

Quite an interesting recording.
I want to “quote” the end of the interview "transcribed" via the play-get word-pause-write method:

Sharizat
Saya kesal kerana satu dua , you know, yang berbuat demikian maka yang lain, ahli parlimen yang lain yang tidak pernah tidak menghormati wanita yang gender sensitive, nama mereka tercemar. Itu yang saya rasa kesal, ya.
Because of one or two only, it would appear as if the Malaysian parliament is like that. It’s not.
I’m a member of parliament too, apart from being a minister , i have great respect for the men and women. I will say that majority of the MPs have great respect for one another.
So it is very sad. I don’t want the world to think that Malaysia parliament is unruly or that you know, the others are not gender sensitive.
A lot of them are gender sensitive.
Sayang, kerana satu dua...

(a voice interjects)
Lima actually, Datuk
We have been monitoring
It’s regarding Sri Gading, Jerai, Kinabatangan, Jasin and Rantau.
Jasin and Rantau Panjang has begun this year.
But these three, Kinabatangan, Sri Gading and Jerai since 2001.

[chart from Malaysiakini]

Sharizat
I want to say that we take it very seriously and i will be bringing it up to cabinet.

(a voice interjects)
Do we have to wait another 2-3 years, Datuk?

Sharizat
Sorry... i’m not.. question-answer time.
[and returns back to the ministry]

The "yang lain", "yang tidak pernah tidak menghormati wanita yang gender sensitive, nama mereka tercemar", Lulu considers them almost as guily as the "satu dua, no datuk, lima actually" who makes callous remarks. For them to stay silent as the chauvinists spew their sexist, racist remarks in no way shows that they are MPs who show great respect to their fellow MPs.

keep this in mind.
First they came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.
Keeping silent when abuse is taking place right before your eyes is wrong. w.r.o.n.g. wrong.
wrong-wrong-wrong.

I think the only recourse left to the two is discipline, not a talkdown from Sharizat. Cabinet should be responsible enough to handle them, instead of chickening out and leaving it to Sharizat to deal with them with her very limited powers. Wonder what the papers will report about the meeting. There's nothing much she can do, yet she must look like she's in control, and dealt with them in a way which would appease the Malaysian public.

btw, I was at Khoong coffee shop this morning, and the uncles there were also very disgusted with the two, and were discussing the audacity of their did-they / did-they-not apologise. They were pointing-pointing at the newspaper, and scolding Jasin and Kinabatangan. Najib & co, it's not just the women who are angry. oh! and they were full of praises for the cilipadi, Fong Po Kuan, who to quote them, "even defeated Ong Ka Ting's brother". Way to go, gal!

Lulu Busy Kerja

remember this?

it was a poster originating from cheesie of cheesieland.
when lulu posted it up, lulu THOUGHT she was having a busy at work.

i thought i was busy then. now my busyness has reached those "no time to fall sick, only have time to die" type.

the sad truth is, lulu does not have the option to just resign like this.

for starters, Lulu loves baking. Have been too busy to bake though. But Lulu really enjoys it. sometimes I bake and bake and bake, but there are not enough makan-ers for my cake, and end up giving it to any Tom, Dick or Harry I see.
back to the point. Lulu loves baking.
But harga tepung naik!

How to continue baking if I can't afford the tepung.

I'm scared to think of the ripple effect it would have on the roti canai, bread, noodles, my cintan mee.

I also enjoy reading. Not those deep philosophical stuff. Not chic lit. Somehow, I missed that stage. But I enjoy mystery, suspense and whatever you call those Jeffrey Archer/Ken Folliet stuff. I am also a supported of Malaysian non-fiction publications.
But I just can't bring myself to do what these kids did

eli wong has the low-down on these low-lifes.
so, looks like I'll have to continue doing what any self respecting person would do - pay for my own book purchases.

Have you met coffee addicts? Those whose day only picks up after a good mug of caffeine? You seen what they look like before their coffee? i try to keep away from my boss before he has his coffee - mood not so nice pre-coffee.
anyway, Lulu is not a coffee addict. alas, Lulu is a Milo junkie. Yes, the "minum milo anda jadi sihat dan kuat" type. I love it, love it love it. When I travel, I'd even bring a softpack with me. Trust Lulu, Milo in the UK tastes different from the ones here. Palm based Milo, in Lulu's opinion, is superior to malt based Milo. When I have my afternoon cuppa [the second cup of the day], my smile really goes from ear to ear, and somehow, I can feel this wave of happiness. My colleagues can recognise my Milo glow.
alas again, even harga Milo naik.
Bad enough I have to pay more for my Milo, if I resign, I can't get my free flow from the office daily.

The signs are there - Lulu cannot resign. Not now.

so how?
Lulu has to weather the busy-ness.

maybe even vote in someone else to Parliament to help make life more affordable.

convince a few more to join Lulu and make that change.

then maybe, the next time I'm overloaded with work, I have a realistic option to tell my boss, "I'm tired, I want to leave".

Until then, it's back to work for Lulu.

Lulu Presents You Views From Another Angle

Lulu first read about Maybank's discriminatory selection from the Edge on Saturday. The edge did not mentino the bank, but it was revealed on Sunday via the Star's "other newspaper" column, a translation of the news highlights from the Malay, Chinese and Tamil papers. Lulu was speechless reading it. I wanted to blog about it, but my PC let me down, and I've been so, so busy in the office.

The Utusan did quite an "interesting" coverage on the issue now that it has been "resolved". "" because what Maybank has said and "decided" may be different from what happens in practise.anyway, From the Utusan, Some points to take note of

1. Ahli-ahli ekonomi, peguam dan tokoh politik Melayu hari ini meminta kerajaan mempertahankan tindakan Malayan Banking Bhd. (Maybank) mengenakan syarat pemilikan 50 peratus kepentingan bumiputera dalam firma-firma guaman yang mahu menjadi panel bank tersebut
2. dasar baru berkaitan firma-firma guaman adalah selari dengan polisi kerajaan untuk mengagihkan secara adil kekayaan negara, khususnya kepada kaum bumiputera yang masih jauh ketinggalan dalam bidang ekonomi berbanding kaum lain.
3. kerajaan perlu menghargai langkah Maybank
4. Seorang ahli ekonomi, Haim Hilman Abdullah berkata, Maybank sebenarnya telah melaksanakan tanggungjawab sosial korporat terhadap kaum bumiputera di negara ini dengan memperkenalkan syarat-syarat baru berkaitan firma-firma guaman.
5. Still this En Haim, “dasar Maybank berkaitan ekuiti bumiputera dalam firma-firma guaman itu adalah ‘amat pragmatik‘”’ pada masa ini memandangkan orang Melayu memang belum mampu bersaing.
6. Pensyarah Fakulti Ekonomi Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Prof. Madya Asan Ali Gulam pula berkata, “Kabinet sepatutnya menggalakkan bank lain mengikuti langkah Maybank dan tidak melihat syarat itu sebagai diskriminasi kepada kaum lain.
7. Yang Dipertua Dewan Perniagaan Melayu Kuala Lumpur (DPMKL), Datuk Syed Amin Aljeffri Katanya: “Jika tindakan Maybank dianggap diskriminasi kaum, bagaimana pula tindakan sesetengah syarikat yang siarkan iklan pekerjaan mengutamakan mereka yang fasih berbahasa Mandarin sahaja untuk menghadiri temu duga.”
8. Pemangku Pengerusi Kelab Penyokong Kerajaan Barisan Nasional (BNBBC), Datuk Raja Ahmad Zainuddin Raja Omar menegaskan, tindakan mengekalkan kuota 50 peratus ekuiti bumiputera bagi firma guaman yang ingin berurusan dengan Maybank dibuat bukan untuk menguasai ekonomi.
9. Ketua Pemuda UMNO Johor, Razali Ibrahim menjelaskan, setelah berlaku eksais penggabungan bank di negara ini, bantuan kepada bumiputera, termasuk kepada firma guaman, semakin berkurangan.
10. Presiden Persatuan Peguam Muslim Malaysia, Datin Paduka Zaitoon Othman pula mengingatkan semua pihak supaya tidak menjadikan isu itu kontroversi.
‘‘Syarat itu tidak bermaksud firma bukan bumiputera tidak boleh menawarkan khidmat kepada Maybank, cuma mereka perlu memastikan ada 50 peratus ekuiti bumiputera dalam firma mereka,” katanya.
‘‘Tolong jangan perlekeh usaha Maybank ini,’’ katanya.

i think that as lawyers, those who need help already have been given the foot up via university entrances and CLP pass quota. Not all need help. Those who did their law degree abroad [i would like to think] got in on their own merit. [funding is something else]. Now as practising professionals, they still want these jalan-jalan? And worse still, hoping to shortcut the process into "owning" a law firm by this 50% requirement. Most law firms already have a bumi partner to make some people happy, but not to the 50% partnership level because that really should be earned.

and it disturbs me that this remark comes from professionals. Even the Malays at Promuda seems to be sokonging it, defending it as their right. And that leaves Lulu feeling very disturbed.

This was followed up be a document from Don Rahim, giving a Summary of selected Bumi devt initiatives at GLCs

If you browse through other documents in http://www.pcg.gov.my/news.asp , you'll notice that some pages/contents on sensitive stuff ( e.g. Bumi issues in GLCs) are missing! That's understandable.
Perhaps they forgot to "include" the info below?
Regards,
Don
Appendix 1 :
See http://www.pcg.gov.my/PDF/PCG%20Chapters%201-7.pdf , exhibit 1.6.

EXHIBIT 1.6
Summary of selected Bumiputera development initiatives at Khazanah related companies

Bumiputera entrepreneur development programme
• Since 1995, RM2.5 billion worth of contracts awarded to 108 Bumiputera entrepreneurs under the Vendor Development Scheme byTNB
• 192 entrepreneurs developed byTM since 1994, of which 23 have manufactured products worth RM518 million
• 33% of EON and Proton Edar dealers are Bumiputeras (as of 2004)
• Faber Mediserve(part of UEM group) engages 67% of Bumiputera contractors with an annual contract value of RM37 million

Bumiputera procurement/ supplier policies
• AtTNB, 67% of procurement contracts in 2004 were to Bumiputeras, with an average of 30% of procurement contracts annually to Bumiputeras
• 72% of total value provided by Bumiputeras atTM, which involves 1,228 Bumiputera suppliers (of 54% of all suppliers)
• Bumiputera suppliers increased from 4 (24% of total value) in 1985 to 108 (38% of total value) in 2004 atProton
• At UEM Group, Bumiputera suppliers increased from 106 (46% of total) in 2001 to 130 (78% of total) in 2004; equivalent to an increase of RM92 million in contract value (88% of total) in 2001 to RM150 million (93% of total) in 2004

Bumiputera retailer development programme
• As of June 2005, 1,226 or 68% of retail lots owned by UDA were let to Bumiputeras
• Between 1996 to 2005, 59% of sales valued at RM68.7 million of retail space was sold to Bumiputeras by UDA

Employment and Human Capital Development at GLCs* of Bumiputeras
• 85% of Board of Directors are Bumiputeras
• 81% of professional executives and 76% of senior managers are Bumiputeras
• 80% of total executive staff or 11,125 executives employed by these GLCs are Bumiputeras
• Targeted programmes such as Smart Orange atTM andYES at UEM

Scholarships, unemployed graduates, community development programmes
AtTNB, 85% or 3,800 students sponsored were Bumiputeras, while atTM, 81% of total scholars were Bumiputeras
• Khazanah's GREEN programme which aims to assist and equip unemployed graduates with invaluable skills and experience to improve their chances of employment in the labour market
• 30 schools were adopted by various GLCs in Penang
• Community colleges being established, for example by UEM Group, to provide a source of skilled workforce during the construction of the Second Penang Bridge
• Holistic development plans, including social and Bumiputera development under theWilayah Pembangunan Iskandar Comprehensive Development Plan

It's an open secret which no one wants to acknowledge.

Lulu Hopes

You know how in life, there are some people whom you hope to have very much happiness in life?
News like this
knowing that joy and happiness is entering his life makes Lulu very happy.

and on the flip side, there are those whom you have another sort of hope for.
In this case, that they are NEVER EVER seen in parliament again.

Maybe on a mean day, you would hope that the leaking pipes would crash down on them and maybe knock some intelligence and manners into them.

pic thanks to Mob1900

read more about it from Chow Kon Yeow and Lim Kit Siang. They were there and defended her.

this one, dunno if she was there as Hansard is not out yet. She has yet to make a stand on chauvanism and sexist remarks in the parliament.

Lulu's not sure which emotion is more geram-ing at the moment
that the two MPs could make such an uncouth statement and insulted all women
or
the amazement and pity for those two MPs for having absolutely no values in them.

Maybe Lulu Should Sell Whatever She Has, Save Like Crazy

in order to buy a house in Aman Suria.

why Aman Suria? Because it's so safe there.

It is.

It's a gated community, and to quote the Star,

Aman Suria Damansara residents committee chairperson Wendy Chan said it is no longer safe for residents to step out of their neighbourhood.

see, it's very safe IN their neighbourhood, but when you step out of there, to the land of the Lulus, Lulas and Lalas, it is no longer safe.

They already have guards around the perimeter of their housing area, but it's not enough.

“What we really need is a police beat base outside Aman Suria to stop these crimes,'' said Chan.

Guess what?

Lulu who stays in the electoral area of Kg Tunku, PJ Utara can't even say that it's safe to step out of her house, much less her neighbourhood. Lulu also needs a police beat base IN her neighbourhood.

So does Carol who was slashed 4 times by robbers right outside her house in Tmn Megah. Also in PJ Utara.

And Agnes who was asleep with her kids in her house in Damansara Jaya when theives broke into their house and drove off their BMW. hey DJ! also in PJ Utara, right?

We all stay in PJ Utara too, you know. What about us?

Anyway, back to Alam Suria.

alas, a house in Alam Suria is not cheap. Even if I sell off my propoerty, shares, car, the rosak Ipod, walk to work from PJ to Shah Alam. I can't afford it. I just can't.

Looking at the Star Classifieds,

AMAN SURIA 22x75 RM799-830k, semi-d RM1.7M up b'glow RM2.45M. Limited. Dont miss. YC 012-2020998, 78803192 VE30113 10/5/2007

AMAN SURIA 2storey, 22x75, freehold, gated, face North, renovated, owner occupied, RM825K. 012-2625009 5/5/2007

Maybe if I follow this kind of career path,

maybe then, I could afford my own home in Alam Suria, to feel really safe in there, maybe even make demands/request/whatever for more policemen for the area within 500m from my home.
until then, I have to tabahkan diri, and be come careful and vigilant when I'm out on the streets of Petaling Jaya and pray hard that nothing nasty happens to me, or anyone else for that matter.

Kempen Bantu Lulu Gantikan Ipod Kesayangannya

Lulu does not have many toys.

no dopods, phone with camera, pdas etc.

But I do own an Ipod. It's a 30gig Ipod video. And I love it.

It holds all those 105.7 "Light and Easy"-type music which I enjoy singing along with, my Mandarin songs from the 70's and the Canto tunes from the last millenium.

Believe it or not, the most frequently played song is "一场游戏一场梦" by Wong Kit.

Annie Lennox and U2 are also constant features.

and I never realised how much I enjoy British pop until I looked at my playlist the other day.

and being Malaysian, I've also got Alleycat, JayJay& Carefree, Freedom, even Shima. Surprisingly, no Sheila Majid. Didn't realise it.

ok, most of my music is like 20-30 years ago, but you have to understand, I'm a lulu, and it takes me forever to learn the lyrics of a song.

My ipod goes with me everywhere.
It's on throughout the day when I'm in the office, playing all my favourite songs. Later in the evening, when most people have gone home, I'll sing along with the music as I do my work.

My Ipod battery died during the weekend.

sad, sad day.

I called the Apple center, and they explained to me that when the battery dies, the Ipod is as good as dead too.

sad sad sad day.

They've offered my an out of warranty replacement, meaning I can get a replacement unit, but I have to pay for it. albeit, lower than having to buy a brand new one, but I still have to pay a few hundred for it.

This got Lulu thinking....

maybe, maybe if you guys at the organising committee of BUM could make some phonecalls to Apple Malaysia, offer them a free booth right next to the registration counter of one of M'sia's more techie event to display their latest toys in exchange [yup! no freelunch! no freelunch!] for some lucky draw gifts in the form of Ipods AND THEN rig the draw so that Lulu gets the 30gB Ipod video, that would be great! I'm not greedy. I just want the 30gB. The 80gig, the nano and the mini, you can give [or rig] it to someone else.

How 'bout that guys? A lucky draw with Ipods sponsored by Apple?

and to shortcut the process for you,

Apple Malaysia

Unit 02, Plaza Level, Block A Wisma Tenggara

No 45, Medan Setia 1 Plaza Damansara

Bukit Damansara

Tel: +6 03 2711 1888Fax: +6 03 2711 2888

For the rest of you, non-comm members, if you're already going, see you there. I'll be the quiet perempuan you see sitting somewhere at the back. Not a social butterfly, so highly doubtful if I'll be flitting and floating around. But do say hi if you suspect you recognise me.

If you haven't decided whether or not to go, do decide soon as the deadline is tomorrow. Give the org committee a break. It will greatly help them go forward with the plans.

Their website : BUM2007

btw, Lucia looking for contests that offer handphone as a prize.

Lulu's Election Date Guess

Lulu's not sure who controls/influences who, but between the PM and his son-in-law, Lulu doesn't think that either one wants to choose a date that may prevent him from accompanying Nori for “every single one of her doctor’s appointments and every single non-doctor’s appointment.”

So, it will not be held the next 4 months because the apple of the PM's eye is 5 month pregnant. Add another month for confinement so that KJ can full time be by her side, not distracted by having to be carried around.

Because schools are used as centers, and teachers as counters, probably during the school holidays after the SPM and STPM.
But it will be this year, as PakLah has launched his bodek government servants campaign. That would be a bit difficult to repeat again next year, even thought they "deserve" it. Not forgetting the much postponed GST. How many more years can they delay it, postponing it for the sake of not angering the voters who would feel an immediate hit on their purchases.
I guess the Budget to be tabled in Oct will be a very pleasant one as it is quite close to elections.

Lulu will keep some of her annual leave for this exciting time. Maybe it's time to go to the ground and help someone's campaign. I'm a bit on the tongue-tied side, so, I guess I'll be the one you see at HQ stuffing posters into plastic bags and getting them to be ready to be strung around town.

And a note for KJ : by the looks of it, the current UMNO trend is to angkat their bosses. And I mean angkat literally. Maybe it's time to show some kindness and thoughfulness by losing some weight for the sake of the poor minions angkating him. You could do it the "chilli wrap" way, or the "go to gym" way. Take your pick, but please lose some weight.

Lulu Wonders If Policemen Are Really So Volatile

Filmmaker jailed for insulting policeman
KUALA LUMPUR: A day’s jail and a RM100 fine – that is what a film director got for swearing and showing her middle finger at a traffic policeman.
Grace Koh Kher Sze was stuck in an evening jam on April 23 when she wound down her car window and shouted a four-letter word as well as stuck her middle finger out at a policeman manning the Jalan Hang Tuah-Jalan Imbi intersection.
The policeman, who saw what the 28-year-old did, and together with his partner, went after her and arrested her.
At a magistrate's court here yesterday, Koh pleaded guilty to insulting behaviour.
In mitigation, Koh told the court that she was sorry and that she had regretted the act. She also promised that she would never repeat it.
Prosecuting officer C/Insp R. Rukumar asked that she be fined and jailed for the offence, saying she had insulted a government official.
He said something bad could have happened had the traffic policeman concerned lost his patience.
When asked by Magistrate Aizatul Akmal Maharani what he meant by that, C/Insp Rukumar said the traffic policeman could have lost his cool and took out his firearm.
Fortunately, he did not do that and only arrested the accused.
After sentencing Koh, Aizatul Akmal reminded her not to repeat the act.
“Even I have to show respect to policemen,” he said.
Koh was accompanied by a male companion while she served her one-day sentence in court.

The policeman, the prosecuting officer and the magistrate seem to think so.
Lulu hopes they're wrong, for the sake of the safety and well-being of all Malaysians.

Ananda Krishnan Dashed Lulu's Hopes of Being a Millionaire

In Public Bank's recent AGM, founder Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow mentioned that a shareholder of 1,000 Public Bank shares in 1967 would now be owner of 129,720 Public Bank shares worth RM1.55mil (including all gross dividends)!

Lulu thought that Maxis could be the next Public Bank.

and so like those 1,000unit of PBB shareholders in 1967, Lulu thought that maybe in 2047, Lulu could be a millionaire thanks to her 1,000 units of Maxis. And maklumla, in 2047, that money is going to be needed cos Lulu'd probably need to pay for hospital bills, old folks home fees, etc cos my government ain't going to pay for it.

alas, that was not to be.

Ananda Krishnan insists on delisting it.

Farewell my friend!

Farewell my generous dividends!

Farewell my daily thrills of seeing the share naik turun!

If migration is offering you a better life [or is it list] abroad, go ahead. We'll miss you here. If only our country could have treated you better.

Lulu Not Sure What To Make Of This, But Thought You'd Like To Know

fresh from Malaysiakini

Rubber tapper P Marimuthu, who is seeking the release of his Muslim wife and children from the Islamic religious authorities, won custody of his seven children today. The Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) this morning agreed to grant the custody of the children to Marimuthu to be raised as Hindus. They will be handed over to Marimuthu later today.However his Muslim wife Raimah Bibi Noordin would still be in the custody of the religious department. She will be granted access to her children but would not be allowed to live with her Hindu husband. The agreement between Marimuthu and the religious department was made at the Shah Alam High Court.

updated some thoughts @ 8:00pm

Sorry for such a short newsflash. Saw it during lunch, and had a meeting to attend, so didn;t have time to arrange my thoughts.

Kittykat remarked that it was Raimah Bibi made a very severe Mother's Day sacrifice by "admitting" that she is a Muslim, and not contest her "re-education" in return for the release of her children to their father.

Uncle Kit records in his blog,

“Yes, I agree to surrender my children to Marimuthu,” she said, wiping her tears with the ends of her headscarf.

Marimuthu’s lawyer, Karpal Singh indicated that Raimah Bibi gave up the children as a compromise to end the family’s predicament.

This truly takes the Mother's Day Award in Lulu's books.

Secondly, many have noted that this is a precedent in in these non-Muslims marrying don't-want-to-be-Muslim-but-were-born-into-it cases.

Lulu has a very uncomfortable feeling on this. Did JAIS agree on this compromise because it was the correct thing to do in their book, book as in the Quran/Hadith/whatever prescribes their rules, or was it because of other reasons?

If it is for the former, then this will be a true precedent, and future cases will use this case as a reference, but if it isn't, then this will be a flip-flop decision, depending on when your case is heard, what the murmuring on the ground is, and [of course], what the political masters dictate.

Only time will tell.

In the meantime, do pray for the family, that they will be comforted and one day, be united again.

Simple Minded Lulu Trying to be Philosophical, ending up being Lulu-sical

i meant to put this post up earlier, but maklumla, at home, i've the time, but pc refuses to allow me to blog, and in the office, I've the pc, but no time.

i have some lulu-sical [friend of philosophical, but the lulu version] thoughts on this picture.

The infamous picture is from NatTan at jelas.info
Looking at it, I see the parallels reflected in UMNO politics.

1. To get up, you need to be carried by someone.
2. When you're up there, someone's bound to be grabbing your *ahem*
3. You're not very comfortable up there
4. You're constantly worried in case you'd topple down.
5. Things aren't all that stable up there.
6. You can get really fat up there

hope this post has helped you ponder about the symbolism of this photo and the state of politics in UMNO. I'm interested to hear what else you can THINK of.

whilst i'm being lulu-sical, i've noticed that no one has tagged me for the "Five Thinking Blog" award. very sad-la...is it because Lulu doesn't inspire you to think?
hmmm...

Clean Sweep Ignatius Makes Lulu Think of Someone

CLEAN SWEEP IGNATIUS is about a Nigerian finance minister (Ignatius) looking for a solution to end all the corruption in his land.

an exerpt
FEW showed much interest when Ignatius Agarbi was appointed Nigeria's Minister of Finance. After all,the cynics pointed out, he was the seventeenth person tohold the office in seventeen years.
In Ignatius's first major policy statement toParliament he promised to end graft and corruption in public life and warned the electorate that no one holding an official position could feel safe unless he led a blameless life. He ended his maiden speech with the words, "I intend to clear out Nigeria's Augean stables."
Such was the impact of the minister's speech that it failed to get a mention in the Lagos Daily Times. Perhaps the editor considered that, since the paper had covered the speeches of the previous sixteen ministers in extenso, his readers might feel they had heard it all before.
Ignatius, however,was not to be disheartened by the lack of confidence shown in him, and set about his new task with vigour and determination.
Within days of his appointment he had caused a minor official at the Ministry of Trade to be jailed for falsifying documents relating to the import of grain. The next to feel the bristles of Ignatius's new broom was a leading Lebanese financier, who was deported without trial for breach of the exchange control regulations. A month later came an event which even Ignatius considered a personal coup: the arrest of the Inspector General of Police for accepting bribes - a perk the citizens of Lagos had in the past considered went with the job.
When four months later the Police Chief was sentenced to eighteen months in jail, the new Finance Minister finally made the front page of the Lagos Daily Times. A leader on the centre page dubbed him "Clean Sweep Ignatius", the new broom every guilty man feared. Ignatius's reputation as Mr Clean continued to grow as arrest followed arrest and unfounded rumours began circulating in the capital that even General Otobi, the Head of State, was under investigation by his own Finance Minister.

from Clean Sweep Ignatius, a short stroy found in Jeffrey Archer's A Twist in Tale or The 36 Collected Short Stories.

I read this a few years back before our very own Mr "Clean" was in vogue. Having read it again recently, I could not help thinking of Mr "Clean".

YOU MUST READ THE TWIST AT THE END
You could
0. Dust if off your bookshelf
1. Buy a brand new copy from the local bookstores
2. Buy a 2nd hand copy at Payless books [most of my collection comes from Payless]
3. Find a seat in MPH/Borders and read it there. It's a short story, should not take long to read it
4. Borrow from a friend
5. Call Lulu and pinjam from her

Have a good 2nd weekend. Lulu'll be in the office, trying to catch up on work.