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By David Lang
The following stories may fire your imagination, pique your interest. Some say 1MDB is Malaysia's Sovereign Wealth fund; to others they asked what wealth fund when its total capitalization is just One million ringgit? But, then again, if you think you can look down on the pet idea of the Malaysian prime minister, think again. His idea has the potential of turning the now world famous - or shall we say, infamous - 1Malaysia Development Berhad into a giant corporation you can ever imagine - even bigger than Bill Gate's Microsoft! At least, it could be, if the original course is stayed. It was supposed to inspire Malaysians to think big besides advance growth, according to its slogans screaming out of giant bill boards throughout the country. 'Backed' by the finance ministry who owns it - which means money will never be the problem - it can only succeed. But..it didn't. It failed! That's why it may have piqued many people's curiosity. How can a company flush with cash and can borrow any amount (billions) anytime could fail? Well, this may be in line with your thinking. People have seen since its inception - I mean after its name was changed in 1999 from Trengganu Investment Authority (TIA) to the present - it hasn't done any business! I have used present tense deliberately. It hasn't done any business yet. I mean if you are in business you need to make profit or find ways to make profit. Or close shop. Oh, I had heard about their filings of tax returns and hiring of a couple of internationally known auditors to sign off on their balance sheets; but these concerned only the company's borrowings and interests to be paid. Two massive bonds were issued to the tune of $7 billions. To buy up power plants. Again I want to say if you are in business to make money even investing in independent Power Plants, it should be done with the view to making a profit. The decision may be long term or short term, it doesn't matter, it has to make money, or no deal. May be they have done the right thing. Maybe luck was not on their side. Still, the amount is staggering. I didn't know having or managing so much money can be a problem! But many - especially the Malays - have not given up hope yet. Yes, may be the durians are just ripening; may be they need time and may fall soon!
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!>The DRL Blog > News>Malaysia>opinion
Malaysia's Vision 2020
By:David Lang
Malaysia is supposed to be on its way to becoming a developed nation, by the year 2020. Will she make it (in less than five years -tick-tuck, tick-tuck)? There is no doubt the year 2020 is coming whether the country is ready or not, and if that will be the only requirement then Malaysia will attain that developed nation status on schedule. There is a question, though, Will Malaysia, or Malaysians, for that matter, be ready for that status as far as their affluence, quality of life's concern? Currently Malaysia's GNI per capita stood at US$10060. According to the World Bank high income economies are those with GNI per capita of US$12,745. And until Malaysians earn much more to be there, the developed nation status may not be achieved even by the year 2020. The futility of declaring a country a high income country when it's not, achieves nothing. May be even counter-productive; it lulls the country into false sense of success and premature celebration. Don't forget China reportedly overtook Japan as the world's second largest economy, but in actual fact China's citizens' ca pita income is a fraction of the incomes of the Japanese who earn $37,000. Chinese incomes range from $13,000. China's gross domestic product, taken as a whole, may beat Japan's, but in term of quality of life, and GNI per capita income, the criteria for a developed nation status, China still has a lot of catching up to do. That's why China still qualifies as recipient of Japan's economic aid meant for developing countries. Comparing with the Chinese per capita domestic product, Malaysia is even worse off. Unless the government bucks up and rushes to create more wealth for its citizens, the Vision 2020 dream may remain just that ..a dream.
Jun 29, 2013
'MCA go home' vs 'Where was DAP 13 years ago?' at Jonker Walk
What?! Gan qualified his being there as a survey, not to protest? Let alone to lead the protest? Did Mr. Gan Tian Loo realize that the MCA protest carries more weight than DAP protest many times over. The state government, being UMNO-led government, considers the DAP as the opposition working hand-in-hand with PAS and PKR to oust UMNO from power, rescinding the directive on the request from DAP leaders will make the party even more popular. I thought, at first, here come the MCA, finally to do what it's supposed to do. Then the expected happened. He got cold feet. The reporter who covered the protest reported Gan was suddenly cautious . He was like ..."I'm here to lend my support to..the .. no, wait! I am not here to support the traders - but just to do a quick survey! But I am glad to be standing here with the protesters but reporters, please put it down in black and white I am not, I repeat, am not here as part of the protest. This is the reason the MCA was shunned, I mean has been shunned by the Chinese. They do not represent the Chinese anymore. They cannot get things done anymore unlike in the old days. Gan admitted his meeting with the chief minister was fruitless, but would keep trying. Keep trying for what? He should stop embarrassing the MCA and reducing its credibility further by continuing to beg despite being rebuffed earlier. Again, this proved that the Malaysian Chinese Association has really completely lost its usefulness. If a small matter like Jonker Walk closure was beyond its power then, that 's it.
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The Free Gazette › News›opinion
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Jun 28, 2011
Why do you think Haley Reinhart got voted off Idol?
If you click on the link, you would be taken to Yahoo Answers website. And if you're a member, you could even give your opinion.
I am an active member of Yahoo Answers. After I clicked the link, yes I was taken to answer the question. I was among seven responders to the question. Look for nanoman (my display name) if you want to read my take and others' on the subject
Wait a minute, Blogger is warning HTML is not accepted. So, sorry, you cannot link to the Yahoo Answers from here. It's forbidden. But never mind, I will paste my (nanoman's) answer here:
While I believe all three were good enough to bag the crown, I can live with Lauren or Scotty win.Still, I need to say this: Haley didn't deserve to be booted. She has stage presence (which is part and parcel of being a star, or want to become a kick-*** performer) and she's gorgeous, ever ready to give you that broad and the sincerest of any smiles, and what a talent. But let's face it, there were only enough room for two that night, and Haley got the ax. Poor Haley. She went the way and manner James Durbin went -- judges' comments. But that's where the similarity ended. Haley paid the price due to too many negative comments, while James lost out because of the opposite reason. The two judges' open rooting for him did (him) more harm than good -- it put off some of the nation-wide voters.
If you want to try typing my domain I said earlier in your Firefox (only) browser: http://davidrubinlang.newsvine.com, go ahead, try it.
* 1 month ag
Why Haley Reinhart was booted out of American Idol?
As American Idol Competition inched towards the finale, one notable absentee would be missed. Haley Reinhart.
Haley thought she as much as thought she had every thing looking promising for herself for that coveted crown; she sang her heart out every time she’s called upon to, and every time she finished her songs and heard the screams and applause of approvals from the audience she felt more and more confident that she was on her way. Amazingly she felt right at home on stage, as if she belonged there, and she vowed, win or lose, that’s where she wanted to be. She wanted to be a star, whatever it takes.
However, she also realized that the other two contestants were dreaming of the same thing and they were good, too.
Although she’s doing every thing she possibly could to stay in the competition, which was getting tighter and tighter as they‘re heading to the finale, Haley hoped her broad and captivating smiles would see her through to the finale. They didn’t. And every time Jennifer Lopez or Randy Jackson, or both, took her to task over poor song choices (thank God, not her vocals), her heart sank. She realized the danger of too many criticisms from the judges. While at the tail end of the competition, it was the nation-wide voting which determined who continued to have a shot at the title, she didn’t dismiss the judges' comments as having no effect on her overall chance. They did, unfortunately. She had landed herself in the bottom three more than once and she could not rule out it was not due to the two judges’ remarks.
Even both Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson themselves seemed to realize what happened (they might have gone too far in criticizing Haley) and, to their credit, tried to minimize, if not undo, the damage to the poor girl, but it was too late, to no avail, if you will. Haley was booted out! Look, the nation-wide voters, while they thought the world of Reinhart’s singing prowess, still had two equally good singers to choose from and that’s all they needed. They didn’t relish cutting short Haley’s amazing journey towards the American Idol’s (season 10) crown, but they’d a job to do, and was looking forward to finishing it, with or without Haley. There were only two places in the finale. Somebody out of the three would have to go home and, based on the judges’ (Lopez and Jackson) frequent, unfavorable remarks, the nation-wide voters' task was made easier; they decided it should be Haley.
Poor Haley, she gave her all; but still fell short. Like James Durbin who assigned blames for his defeat, Haley also felt like assigning blames, too, but apparently she was too nice to bring herself to blame others for her own failure. She did the right thing. She told herself she alone was responsible for her being booted out; she fluffed.
To Haley, I want to offer this advice: "Keep doing what you do best. You’re a star, whether you're American Idol or not. You have proven you have what it takes by reaching the last three round. Many people said you have what they call stage presence, and I agree. To be a star you need a total package; singing, prancing on stage and so on. You seemed to have these under your belt. Only a blind man can't see that in you: broadest, captivating smile that will light up anyone's spirit; gorgeous looks, and what a talent.
As far as I am concerned, your American Idol contest participation was just a start…a stepping stone, I hope, to great things to come – such as lucrative contracts and slew of albums to your name, not to mention the #1 spot on the chart, who knows!
"Good luck! Keep singing."