Talkback

A first look at Budget 2013.  

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It is that time of the year again! BFM day! Not our anniversary but Budget For Malaysia Day.

As a precursor to the actual unveiling of the budget for 2013 tomorrow, we are doing a special Talkback Thursday to do TWO things today:

One – look back and review the big items in Budget 2012
Two – asking YOU what you would like to see in Budget 2013.

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The Star online reported MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek  has called on shoppers to boycott shopping malls that failed to provide adequate safety features to protect its customers.

He says that the police cannot be everywhere all the time,” and that it is the responsibility of the shopping malls to strengthen their security features.

While no one would argue that people should stay away from shopping malls that are prone to crime, is it a fair for shopping malls and traders to be boycotted due to the lack of adequate security features?

Security features after all comes in all shapes and sizes but one thing is for sure: they will cost a lot of money!

The president of the  Malaysian Association for Shopping and Highrise Complex Management H.C. Chan said that on a recent visit to Australia, he was surprised to discover that they only needed 15 security personnel for a shopping mall that is larger than KL’s MidValley Megamall. This was reported in The Malaysian Insider on 13 August.

He said: “A similar-size mall in Malaysia would have 10 times more security guards.”

Would increasing the number of security features in shopping malls effectively eliminate crime from being committed in shopping malls?

Do you pay attention to the amount of security features of the shopping malls you visit?

Would you boycott a shopping mall that you deem as having inadequate security features?

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The Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam has lamented at the competitivr job market which is reportedly driving people to resort of using fake degrees to secure jobs. He also said thta the present tight job market favoured qualifications instead of skills. 

Today, we ask you: which is more important in the job market? Qualifications or skills? 

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A special commission to study the transformation of the civil service said unpaid summonses amounted to millions of ringgit.

As reported in The Star , a special commission to study the transformation of the civil service have submitted a proposal to the government that recommends that motorists and motorcyclists who commit traffic offences will have to settle their summonses on the spot or have their vehicles impounded.

The commission reported that unpaid summonses amounted to “millions of ringgit”, although it did not specify whether it was hundreds of million or just more than one million.

The Commussion chairman, former chief justice Tun Zaki Azmi said that according to the various road transport authorities, there are hundreds of thousands of unpaid summonses – again, no specific numbers were shared – just hundreds of thousands.

He added that: “Many errant motorists who failed to settle their fines have escaped warrants of arrest. We want to strengthen the enforcement.”

It is interesting that such an insight would come from a former chief justice.

He cited speeding and beating the red light as among the most common traffic offences, and also called for action against “inconsiderate parking”.

Motorists who parked carelessly should have their vehicles clamped or towed away, he said.

It was reported that Cuepacs president Datuk Omar Osman supported the idea, along with Transport Ministry, Land Public Transport Commission, Road Transport Department, Works Ministry, and Domestic Trade, Co  operatives and Consumerism Ministry.

Cuepecs President Omar urged the 1.4 million civil servants and more than 500,000 pensioners to set an example as responsible road users.

Zaki said the commission hoped that the proposal would be implemented as soon as possible with Hari Raya around the corner.

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On Tuesday, Rafizi Ramli the PKR strategy director said Pakatan Rakyat (PR) will offer a complete revamp of the National Automotive Policy (NAP), including slashing hefty excise duties and reducing the triple-tax burden imposed on cars here, should it come to power in the next general election.

The offer to voters will effectively boost the disposable incomes of Malaysians and reduce household debts
The PKR leader told a press conference here that the plan, to be slotted into PR’s election manifesto for the coming 13th general election, will be used as a major campaign issue for the federal opposition as it fights for federal power.

Rafizi explained that the triple-tax burden imposed on cars — excise and import duties and sales tax — could hike the price of a car by at least 70 per cent for lower capacity cars or over 100 per cent for those with higher capacity.

As an example, he said, a 1,500cc Perodua car could cost up to RM40,000 although its actual cost was merely RM23,500 because of the 60 per cent excise duty and 10 per cent sales tax imposed on the vehicle.

“This means you would be paying an additional RM16,500 for taxes alone on the car,” he said.
He said that boosting an individual’s disposable income by simply revamping the NAP would be simpler than finding ways to increase income.

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Tolerance - what does it mean?

It’s not a difficult word but have we considered what it really means?

It means being patient with, being open-minded with things or ideas and concepts that are different from our own, or even with things and ideas that we absolutely do not agree with.

In the case of a nation, being tolerant means allowing the right of something that one does not approve or agree with.

It would appear, from recent news in the press, that we might be becoming a less and less tolerant nation when it comes to different people, different ideals and different circumstances.

The founding of our country was based on diversity - people of different races,  different origins and even different geographical landmass (we’re referring to Sabah and Sarawak, here) got together to form a country and, tolerance and acceptance were the order of the day.

Is it different now?

Consider the evidence:

1) Just days ago the Prime Minister declared that lesbians and gays are incompatible with our culture
2) We have heard of the degrading stereotypes that people say about dark-skinned people from Africa, and the Middle East.
3) The physical abuse of workers has almost consistently been targetted at foreign maids, be it from Indonesia or Cambodia...

Are we collectively becoming less tolerant of those who are different from us in one way or another?

Do you find yourself comparing differences rather than looking for similarities when meeting someone new?

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The Olympic games of 2012 will begin in 10 days’ time.

Malaysia's 30-strong athletes contingent will be headed to the London Olympics.

At the last Olympics, we were really close with our beloved Datuk Lee Chong Wei who got a Silver medal, beaten by China’s Lin Dan.

What are our chances this year? Will Datuk Lee Chong Wei win a gold medal?

He has a good chance and we all wish him the best of luck! But that aside, we want to ask a more serious question:

What does it take to win an Olympic gold?

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Birds do it, bees do it and even politicians do it.

In between arguments about corruption, employment, economy, and education, it seems every so often, the subject of the sex lives of lour politicians inevitably comes into the picture.

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Just yesterday, MP of Batu Gajah (Ms) Fong Po Kuan claimed that women’s fears about their safety contradicted the statistics on crime reduction under the National Key Result Areas.

This claim attracted a barrage of responses from other MPs  in the Dewan Rakyat with retorts saying that the fear for women’s safety was based on perception and did not reflect the views of the majority of women; that the crime statistics do not lie, and that Malaysia has been acknowledged as one of the safest countries in the world.

According to the Global Peace Index Report of 2011, Malaysia is the safest country in South East Asia and ranked 19th safest in the world.

But recent high profile cases have generated a sense of fear among women:

Just last week, a woman was robbed and slashed on her head at the car park of the Mid Valley Megamall in the capital city. The victim was only several metres away from her parked car when she was attacked. However, the car was not stolen.

The NST report that it was the third robbery at a shopping complex car park in the Klang Valley in the past month. All three cases were women who were walking alone.

Can you blame women for being afraid?

However, the crime statistics collected by the police and reported by PEMANDU has decidedly shown that overall, crime rate has decreased over the past year:

11.1% drop in Index Crime
39.7% drop in Street Crime

Of course, PEMANDU has repeatedly said that crime has dropped, not eliminated. It is still a serious concern and no matter how much fear there is, crime cannot and probably will never be completely eliminated.

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