Source: http://pemudamic.blogspot.com

JOHOR BARU: The state government will instal rubbish traps in Sungai Skudai, Sungai Segget and Sungai Tebrau in Johor Baru costing a total of RM94 million to rehabilitate the three rivers which are highly polluted.
Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said a private consultant had been appointed to clean the three rivers of solid waste."We will overcome the pollution caused by solid waste in the three rivers located in the Iskandar region. "These three rivers, together with Sungai Tukang Batu in Pasir Gudang, have been categorised as highly polluted," he said after a programme to clean the Sungai Tebrau, here yesterday.Also present at the gotong-royong were Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad, who is also Johor Baru member of parliament, and Johor Baru Mayor Datuk Mohd Naim Nasir. - Bernama

(AFP) - Malaysia's ethnic Indian activists Sunday warned the government to provide medical aid to one of its leaders and free those detained under tough internal security laws or face more street rallies.

More than 50 protestors from Indian rights group Hindraf blocked the entrance to a shopping mall at the iconic Petronas twin towers in downtown Kuala Lumpur to demand medical attention for P. Uthayakumar, who is diabetic.

Uthayakumar and four other members of the rights group Hindraf have been detained under the tough Internal Security Act (ISA) since December after holding an anti-discrimination rally.

"This gathering is to send a clear message to the government," Hindraf coordinator S. Jayathas told reporters.
"If (the government) deny (treatment to Uthayakumar and do not release the ISA detainees), then we will have a bigger gathering, that is definite," he said.

Hindraf leaders angered the government last November with a mass rally alleging discrimination in Malaysia, which is dominated by Muslim Malays.

Mounting anger within the Indian community was said to have been a factor in the government's drubbing in March 8 polls where it lost its two-thirds majority in parliament.

Opposition lawmaker Sivarasa Rasiah, who turned up to support the event, said the government should release ISA detainees unless they had proof to charge them in open court.
"As far as I am concerned, one day under ISA detention is too long, one ISA detainee is too many," he added.

Close to 300 policemen were deployed outside the busy shopping mall to control the protestors, with watercannon vans and riot police waiting nearby.
Hindraf supporters carried posters showing a weak-looking Uthayakumar behind bars as the crowd yelled, "Abolish the ISA" and "Freedom."
Similar protests were held in six other locations through the country, organisers said.

Rights groups say 70 people, mainly alleged Islamic militants, are being held under the ISA.
Parts of the ISA date back to the British colonial era, when it was used against communist insurgents. It provides for two-year detention periods that can be renewed indefinitely.

Although the 12 GE has over, the consequences of the outcome still haunts Barisan Nasional day and night. What I can conclude ( my personal opinion and experience ) is we can learn 3 things based on the upshot.

First, we must constantly learn and develop ourselves. If we stop learning, we’ll be obsolete very fast. The oppositions were hard pressed to spread the news of a need to change the way of governing. Due to the restrictions in media, they learnt to use current technological means of disseminating news. Blogs, Youtube and websites have only grown popular in the past few years, yet the opposition is able to use it effectively. BN however, were ignorant about it until after the election. If we continually invest in personal development, then we can keep up with the changing trends of the world and keep abreast of new developments. This will enable us to find opportunities and seize it.

Second, blogs, youtube and news websites cater to targeted readers and viewers. They flock to such sites because they are looking for answers. They are looking for solutions to problems. In this election, the people were unhappy with the problems caused by the government, so the people were looking for solutions. The opposition provided the solutions in the blogs, youtube and news websites. Not only that but the blogs and news website also pointed out and reinforces more problems and provides the solutions as well! This is the way to be successful in internet marketing. You need to find a big problem or problems faced by many people. Then you provide a solution to the problems and charge an affordable fee for it. Internet marketing is that simple. But implementation is difficult because there are some basic technical skills you need to know first or if you are press for time, you can outsource it.

Third, know your competitors. If you are sitting in an ivory tower and don’t know anything outside the tower, you are being ignorant and doomed to fail. BN has failed to hear the people’s voice in the last 4 years. They also grossly underestimated the opposition team. If you apply this in your internet marketing or offline business, you are sure to fail. If you don’t hear what your customers want and just anyhow offer something which the market dislikes, how are you going to make a sale? You need to understand or know your competitors so that you can formulate successful strategies to fight for sales. So, understanding your customers’ taste, preference, market trends and your competitors are very important.

I'm a new kid in the blogasphere,guess i'm one of the late bloomers yet latest in the arena..

Blogs and bloggers have always been a subject of interest for many. Some say bloggers hide behind the mask of anonymity when criticizing or condemning people, organizations or policies. Others say bloggers are irresponsible cowboys who "shoot" randomly at people. Others meanwhile want to regulate blogs.

However, it is interesting to note that blogs started off as an alternative means to relay information and disseminate news from a different perspective - usually from the man-on-the-street's point of view. Most definitely, blogging has gained momentum in its popularity, so much so that it is now no longer considered to be an "alternative" or "underground" media, but instead it is regarded as "mainstream."

Certain quarters here fail to acknowledge this until the political Tsunami that hit Malaysia on the March 8th general election. Now, it seems everyone is blogging. Of course, a number of politicians (mainly from the opposition) have started blogging a long time ago. Lim Kit Siang for instance is one of the earliest, if not the earliest, to do so. Then there's Jeff Ooi with his famed Screenshots blog, although he started blogging way before he joined active politics. And there's also Tony Pua who blogs from Parliament. From PAS, the one that I am aware of that has a blog is Husam Musa. Then there is PKR's Che Gu Bard - who took on and lost to Khairy Jamaludin Abu Bakar - in Rembau in the general elections. And of course, the list wouldn't be complete without mentioning Anwar Ibrahim’s blog.

Barisan Nasional members have also joined in the fray, although I must say that I wish they had done so much earlier. Former Selangor Menteri Besar, Dr. Mohd Khir Toyo has started blogging after BN lost in Selangor. Perhaps he now has a lot more free time to spare in the blogosphere. The Ketua Menteri of Melaka, Mohd Ali Rustam has also started blogging. Perhaps the earliest of the BN leaders to blog is the maverick politician, Shahrir Samad, who is now a minister in the current federal cabinet.

Retired politicians also have their blogs these days. One of the earliest retired politicians to blog is Ruhanie Ahmad. And don't forget the latest kid on the blog - Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad!

While Tun Mahathir may be new to the blogging world, his outspoken daughter is not. Marina Mahathir's ranting is as spicy as ever as her articles in The Star. And most certainly, there are many more political blogs around. We are actually spoilt for choice. The only thing that I wish to state is that, it is best that we don't take what is written at face value without counterchecking the facts. What is presented may be one person's point of view. As with many things in this world, there are many views as there are people.

It is good to see that freedom of speech is alive and well in the blogosphere at least. While freedom of speech is much cherished, equally important is the wisdom that has to be coupled with the freedom. Wisdom must exist on the part of bloggers as well as blog-visitors. Nonetheless, it goes without saying that everyone is indeed blogging these days....

..including Amitabh Bachchan!

Living in Malaysia all my life, I have never seen deadly riots ala LA 1992 or France 2005. I have never seen a leader assassinated the same way Juvénal Habyarimana, Rafik Hariri, Indira Gandhi and Benazir Bhutto were. I have never seen Indians chopping Malay heads, nor have I seen Chinese people burning Malay homes.

But what if someone did? Who will be responsible? What can be done?

Those are three questions that have led to the creation of the ISA. After May 13 1969, the ISA is set up so that such event won't happen again.

In the cases of Ops Lalang and the HINDRAF 5, I know it's unfair for journalists, activists, and politicians to be locked in Kamunting and get punished ala Shawshank Redemption, but that doesn't mean the ISA should be repealed. Sure, the mistreatment was unfair, but we can change that.

I partially support street rallies hold by Bersih, UMNO Youth or any organizations. I again partially support the causes of HINDRAF because it's the best way for the MIC to reform itself.

However, street demonstrations must be held in a civilized and orderly manner just like Anonymous and Stop the War Coalition, and the protestors must be responsible for their own actions. I don't want street demonstrations to be turned into riots. I don't want shops and businesses being destroyed. I don't want this country to have a bad worldwide image. If such happens, where do i look up to? Of course, I look up to the ISA.

In the wake of the DAP and the Pakatan Rakyat calling for the repeal of the ISA, here's an advice: Don't repeal it, but reform it. I say let's make things better. Let's change the ISA. Give more freedom, more trials and less punishment. Give its detainees sunlight. We don't want a South East Asian Guantanamo Bay. We want the ISA to be a lesson for May 13.

Let me tell you this: If Lim Kit Siang/Abdul Hadi Awang/Anwar Ibrahim is the new PM, none will repeal the ISA. Why? Because street riots always happen in every country, and the only way they could control is through he ISA.