I think Anwar did badly in this interview. He did not address himself to the issue of the stimulus package. The Malaysian economy today faces a very serious economic problem and no one has the answer. Anwar did not even try.
Given the little time, I think he made it clear that this ‘stimulus package’ was nothing more than another means of enriching the monkeys. But yes, I thought that Anwar was not his usual self in confronting the issues, especially on this real and serious issue of the Mongolian murder directly linked to Najib.
The woman who conducted the interview had very negative vibes, reminiscent of Margaret Thatcher or Nurse Ratchet (in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest). All through the interview I had to suppress an irrational urge to throw a pie in her smug uncharming face. Now, that’s enough to throw even a pro like Anwar a little off balance (I sense he was distracted by exactly the same urge
Anyway, forget about the BBC – they long lost credibility with me.
No. You don’t call an interview only to end up echoing the thoughts of the interviewee. Viewers want to know and want to understand. They don’t just want to agree or to disagree. That is secondary.
Antares reaction shows that she was doing the right thing. Anwar fumbled.
The interviewer took a while but finally zeroed in on Anwar’s lack of support for measures to stimulate the Malaysian economy and suggested that Anwar is putting politics before stimulus which in all other countries is a bipartisan issue.
Anwar, according to her, needs to address the short term crisis rather than trying to work for the long term solutions. For example, will Malaysians take up those jobs some 50,000 departing Bangladeshis left behind? Anwar did not address the issue of rapidly rising unemployment but went on to talk about corruption among agencies. As we all know, corruption, lack of transparency and good governance involve long term changes.
Anwar, in his reply to a specific question, pointed to the fact that there is no real difference between short term and long term. A visionary leader though Anwar may be but there are times when even Anwar has to roll up his sleeves and get down on his knees and work with the people to help put bread on the table. Stimulus cannot be made a partisan issue. It affects all Malaysians of whatever socio-economic backgrounds and political affiliations.
PKR-PR leaders need to stop making campaign speeches and help deal with the sputtering economy. Help come up with the right stimulus package instead of just criticizing it.
I had a relook at the BBC interview. Anwar did not fumble. The stimulus package proposed by Najib is just another spending spree by the UMNO-BN regime, only that this time it is going to cost taxpayers and the country rm60 billion for the next 2 years. Please read Anwar’s Nota and his speech in Parliament (video) and Kit Siang’s commentary on the Najib proposals which I posted on this blog. There is no economic recovery plan, just spending one’s way out of a recession without any clear focus. It is just Najib-nomics or vodoo economics couched in Keynesianism.We do not support rubbish in the name of bipartisanship.–Din Merican
“Help come up with the right stimulus package instead of just criticizing it”. Bean
“We do not support rubbish in the name of bipartisanship” Din Merican
Bean,
In this country the opposition has no say in the formulation of stimulus package or budget. Even among cabinet ministers, some are not part of the decision making process to determine the quantum of their own requirement. They are just rubber stamp or yes men. Most of the dollar and cent figures are protected territories of few economic ministries assisted by BNM and EPU and as Dr. M said “Budak Tingkat Empat.
This is where contract negotiations and thereafter contract awards taking place. If you sit in hotel lobby most likely you will hear the famous word “Direct Nego” at this point.
Once all cronies interest identified and assured, the minister of finance will bring the package to parliament for endorsement.
Bang. Bang .(The rubber stamp)
Once the projects that have been “kau tim” read out in Parliament, cronies would be laughing and planning their oversea trips as well as identified the latest model of luxury cars the would like to buy. The preferred shape and curve of their next “trophy wives” also included in the stimulus package details.
This is the Malaysian version of stimulus package, Bean. No wonder Din Merican said ” We do not support rubbish in the name of bipartisanship”.
1. In 2008 Stimulus Package was hurriedly put together with RM5 billion channeled to prop up the stock market
2. Propping up “friendly “corporations, massive spending on less than urgently needed infrastructure projects, and handouts to party warlords
3. Ad hoc packaging of projects with long gestation periods was clearly inappropriate
4. Size of the package is unwieldy
5. Loan for businesses account for RM25 billion or 41 percent of the package, helping industries struggling with debts does not boost consumption like cash vouchers and bonuses or tax waivers.
6. Value Cap given RM5.0 billion to support the stock market
7. Channeling of funds to UMNO linked entities and the various warlords, nothing much provided to cushion the impact on the SMEs or the laid off workers.
8. No measures to reform
9. Over emphasis on infra-structure
10. SMEs marginalized. Vagaries of the NEP and the lack of incentive to private sector
11. Training and job placement programs inadequate
12. No safety net for unemployed workers, no unemployment benefits
13. Cheap and illegal labor continue to flow in to help employers with cheap labor
14. 63,000 to be recruited into government but public sector is currently already bloated and inefficient, outsourcing of services to private sector should be explored
15. Strengthen universities by hiring foreign lecturers
16. RM27.9 b proposed subsidies but no details given
17. RM480 m to ensure taxpayers do not have to pay higher toll rates when the aim is really to support cronies
18. Launching of Savings bonds to generate income is odd when the aim should be to increase consumption and increase consumer demand
19. No direct assistance to retrenched workers, tax exemptions paltry
——–
No amount of finger pointing is going to help the country weather the economic recession. Apportioning blame may help win elections. But right now we need to stimulate the economy, avoid a depression and put a stop to rising unemployment.
I have yet to see PKR-PR come up with a stimulus package of their own – only a criticism of what is wrong with the BN Stimulus Package.
We know what is wrong with the BN stimulus package. We know about the corruption, bad governance, non-transparency, a judiciary that is not independent etc. These are long term changes but the economic crisis is immediate.
I don’t think you guys really know what needs to be done. For example, how could the hiring of foreign lecturers help the country weather the recession?? Every country and every economy has its own problems because each is different. The global recession must have hit Malaysia’s export industries in a big way. Yet the speech by LKS did not so much as mention them and what is needed to help these industries but only to say that SMEs and the private sector are not getting the help they need.
In the U.S. it is all about bailing out the property companies and halting property foreclosures and declining property prices, putting more money into the banking system, and putting money in the hands of the consumers through rebate checks, reducing taxes etc. Taxpayers have received their first round of rebate checks of between US$1,200 to US$600. The second round of rebate checks are coming any time now.
I do not share the same confidence as U.S. President Obama whose Treasury Secretary recently says that the country will begin to come out of the recession in 2010. I don’t think anybody knows. All they could do is appear confident and hope that their measures kick in early enough. The truth is they will not kick in early enough, it takes time and meanwhile the economy will plunge deeper into recession.
No one is cock sure what will happen to the world economy in the next six months or a year. The reason is simply because each and every participants in the real economy would behave in such a way that they think to be the best option for their interests.
Obama and all politicians would love to see the end of recession yesterday. Unfortunately, there are underlying forces of greed and fear, part of human psychology which could not be measured using economic indicators. A clear example is the price of crude oil and US Dollar today compared with the level 1 years ago.
Mr. Bean would be 25 percent richer had he sold Euro and bought USD less than a year ago. Less than 2 weeks ago the citygroup Inc share was only 1 usd and now it is at 3.08. That is 200 percent growth in less than 2 weeks. Why?
It is because of fear that Bean dare not buy the share two week ago.
Not only have I had to turn my TV off, but I have had to pop pills just to get through the day. My libido too has gone. Just the other day, my neighbor appeared nude outside her apartment balcony. Nothing happened. She can be cock sure, nothing could happen to her – nude or fully clothed.
Like the share market, everything is heading south.
Even the porn industry is not spared. Like all other industries the porn industry needs to be massaged back to life.
I can’t help being cynical. The world economy is under the thumbs of the hidden hands.
Like fiddling with an engine,they know what to do to make it run smoothly or to make it stall – the rest of us, we are just passengers, ignorant of the vile schemes of the drivers !
First they will pull out the plugs to cause strive and panic and then of course, there is a price to pay, if the passengers want the plug back on so they can continue with the ride.
So, what is the price, the bottom line – to profit by lending out money to countries to bail out their “failing” economies and to ease the symptoms like unemployment, unperformed mortgages, etc, or even better for them , to buy everything up at rock bottom prices!!!
I think Anwar did badly in this interview. He did not address himself to the issue of the stimulus package. The Malaysian economy today faces a very serious economic problem and no one has the answer. Anwar did not even try.
Mr Bean - March 18, 2009 at 10:40 am
[...] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOwe54n4WJg&eurl=http://dinmerican.wordpress.com/2009/03/18/anwar… [...]
News: Anwar Ibrahim on BBC - World News « The Power Of SMS - March 18, 2009 at 1:47 pm
Given the little time, I think he made it clear that this ‘stimulus package’ was nothing more than another means of enriching the monkeys. But yes, I thought that Anwar was not his usual self in confronting the issues, especially on this real and serious issue of the Mongolian murder directly linked to Najib.
barry - March 18, 2009 at 3:18 pm
The woman who conducted the interview had very negative vibes, reminiscent of Margaret Thatcher or Nurse Ratchet (in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest). All through the interview I had to suppress an irrational urge to throw a pie in her smug uncharming face. Now, that’s enough to throw even a pro like Anwar a little off balance (I sense he was distracted by exactly the same urge
Anyway, forget about the BBC – they long lost credibility with me.
Antares - March 18, 2009 at 5:26 pm
No. You don’t call an interview only to end up echoing the thoughts of the interviewee. Viewers want to know and want to understand. They don’t just want to agree or to disagree. That is secondary.
Antares reaction shows that she was doing the right thing. Anwar fumbled.
Mr Bean - March 18, 2009 at 7:47 pm
The interviewer took a while but finally zeroed in on Anwar’s lack of support for measures to stimulate the Malaysian economy and suggested that Anwar is putting politics before stimulus which in all other countries is a bipartisan issue.
Anwar, according to her, needs to address the short term crisis rather than trying to work for the long term solutions. For example, will Malaysians take up those jobs some 50,000 departing Bangladeshis left behind? Anwar did not address the issue of rapidly rising unemployment but went on to talk about corruption among agencies. As we all know, corruption, lack of transparency and good governance involve long term changes.
Anwar, in his reply to a specific question, pointed to the fact that there is no real difference between short term and long term. A visionary leader though Anwar may be but there are times when even Anwar has to roll up his sleeves and get down on his knees and work with the people to help put bread on the table. Stimulus cannot be made a partisan issue. It affects all Malaysians of whatever socio-economic backgrounds and political affiliations.
PKR-PR leaders need to stop making campaign speeches and help deal with the sputtering economy. Help come up with the right stimulus package instead of just criticizing it.
Mr Bean - March 18, 2009 at 8:29 pm
New Yorker Bean,
I had a relook at the BBC interview. Anwar did not fumble. The stimulus package proposed by Najib is just another spending spree by the UMNO-BN regime, only that this time it is going to cost taxpayers and the country rm60 billion for the next 2 years. Please read Anwar’s Nota and his speech in Parliament (video) and Kit Siang’s commentary on the Najib proposals which I posted on this blog. There is no economic recovery plan, just spending one’s way out of a recession without any clear focus. It is just Najib-nomics or vodoo economics couched in Keynesianism.We do not support rubbish in the name of bipartisanship.–Din Merican
dinobeano - March 18, 2009 at 9:36 pm
“Help come up with the right stimulus package instead of just criticizing it”. Bean
“We do not support rubbish in the name of bipartisanship” Din Merican
Bean,
In this country the opposition has no say in the formulation of stimulus package or budget. Even among cabinet ministers, some are not part of the decision making process to determine the quantum of their own requirement. They are just rubber stamp or yes men. Most of the dollar and cent figures are protected territories of few economic ministries assisted by BNM and EPU and as Dr. M said “Budak Tingkat Empat.
This is where contract negotiations and thereafter contract awards taking place. If you sit in hotel lobby most likely you will hear the famous word “Direct Nego” at this point.
Once all cronies interest identified and assured, the minister of finance will bring the package to parliament for endorsement.
Bang. Bang .(The rubber stamp)
Once the projects that have been “kau tim” read out in Parliament, cronies would be laughing and planning their oversea trips as well as identified the latest model of luxury cars the would like to buy. The preferred shape and curve of their next “trophy wives” also included in the stimulus package details.
This is the Malaysian version of stimulus package, Bean. No wonder Din Merican said ” We do not support rubbish in the name of bipartisanship”.
tean - March 19, 2009 at 1:21 am
Is this the Stimulus Package favored by PKR-PR??
——
1. In 2008 Stimulus Package was hurriedly put together with RM5 billion channeled to prop up the stock market
2. Propping up “friendly “corporations, massive spending on less than urgently needed infrastructure projects, and handouts to party warlords
3. Ad hoc packaging of projects with long gestation periods was clearly inappropriate
4. Size of the package is unwieldy
5. Loan for businesses account for RM25 billion or 41 percent of the package, helping industries struggling with debts does not boost consumption like cash vouchers and bonuses or tax waivers.
6. Value Cap given RM5.0 billion to support the stock market
7. Channeling of funds to UMNO linked entities and the various warlords, nothing much provided to cushion the impact on the SMEs or the laid off workers.
8. No measures to reform
9. Over emphasis on infra-structure
10. SMEs marginalized. Vagaries of the NEP and the lack of incentive to private sector
11. Training and job placement programs inadequate
12. No safety net for unemployed workers, no unemployment benefits
13. Cheap and illegal labor continue to flow in to help employers with cheap labor
14. 63,000 to be recruited into government but public sector is currently already bloated and inefficient, outsourcing of services to private sector should be explored
15. Strengthen universities by hiring foreign lecturers
16. RM27.9 b proposed subsidies but no details given
17. RM480 m to ensure taxpayers do not have to pay higher toll rates when the aim is really to support cronies
18. Launching of Savings bonds to generate income is odd when the aim should be to increase consumption and increase consumer demand
19. No direct assistance to retrenched workers, tax exemptions paltry
——–
No amount of finger pointing is going to help the country weather the economic recession. Apportioning blame may help win elections. But right now we need to stimulate the economy, avoid a depression and put a stop to rising unemployment.
I have yet to see PKR-PR come up with a stimulus package of their own – only a criticism of what is wrong with the BN Stimulus Package.
We know what is wrong with the BN stimulus package. We know about the corruption, bad governance, non-transparency, a judiciary that is not independent etc. These are long term changes but the economic crisis is immediate.
I don’t think you guys really know what needs to be done. For example, how could the hiring of foreign lecturers help the country weather the recession?? Every country and every economy has its own problems because each is different. The global recession must have hit Malaysia’s export industries in a big way. Yet the speech by LKS did not so much as mention them and what is needed to help these industries but only to say that SMEs and the private sector are not getting the help they need.
In the U.S. it is all about bailing out the property companies and halting property foreclosures and declining property prices, putting more money into the banking system, and putting money in the hands of the consumers through rebate checks, reducing taxes etc. Taxpayers have received their first round of rebate checks of between US$1,200 to US$600. The second round of rebate checks are coming any time now.
I do not share the same confidence as U.S. President Obama whose Treasury Secretary recently says that the country will begin to come out of the recession in 2010. I don’t think anybody knows. All they could do is appear confident and hope that their measures kick in early enough. The truth is they will not kick in early enough, it takes time and meanwhile the economy will plunge deeper into recession.
Mr Bean - March 19, 2009 at 7:30 am
No one is cock sure what will happen to the world economy in the next six months or a year. The reason is simply because each and every participants in the real economy would behave in such a way that they think to be the best option for their interests.
Obama and all politicians would love to see the end of recession yesterday. Unfortunately, there are underlying forces of greed and fear, part of human psychology which could not be measured using economic indicators. A clear example is the price of crude oil and US Dollar today compared with the level 1 years ago.
Mr. Bean would be 25 percent richer had he sold Euro and bought USD less than a year ago. Less than 2 weeks ago the citygroup Inc share was only 1 usd and now it is at 3.08. That is 200 percent growth in less than 2 weeks. Why?
It is because of fear that Bean dare not buy the share two week ago.
tean - March 19, 2009 at 9:46 am
BTW, at 3.08 the share is dirt cheap compared to around 50.00 previously.
tean - March 19, 2009 at 9:50 am
tean,
Not only have I had to turn my TV off, but I have had to pop pills just to get through the day. My libido too has gone. Just the other day, my neighbor appeared nude outside her apartment balcony. Nothing happened. She can be cock sure, nothing could happen to her – nude or fully clothed.
Like the share market, everything is heading south.
Even the porn industry is not spared. Like all other industries the porn industry needs to be massaged back to life.
Mr Bean - March 19, 2009 at 6:24 pm
I can’t help being cynical. The world economy is under the thumbs of the hidden hands.
Like fiddling with an engine,they know what to do to make it run smoothly or to make it stall – the rest of us, we are just passengers, ignorant of the vile schemes of the drivers !
First they will pull out the plugs to cause strive and panic and then of course, there is a price to pay, if the passengers want the plug back on so they can continue with the ride.
So, what is the price, the bottom line – to profit by lending out money to countries to bail out their “failing” economies and to ease the symptoms like unemployment, unperformed mortgages, etc, or even better for them , to buy everything up at rock bottom prices!!!
OCHO-ONDA - March 20, 2009 at 3:57 pm