Journalists inspect the closed "Camp X-Ray" overgrown with vegetation at US Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, December 9, 2008
Kemunting Camp still houses ISA detainees comprising 16 JI members, 13 Darul Islam members, 10 involved in identity card and passport forgeries, five Hindraf members and two individuals who were working for foreign intelligence agencies.
2 JI MEN AMONG 6 ISA DETAINEES FREED
Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 10, 2008): Six Internal Security Act (ISA) detainees, including two Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) members, have been released from detention, Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said.
(FILE PHOTO)
He said the six were freed as they no longer posed security threats to the country.
Five of them -- comprising two Thai nationals who were members of a separatist group, and three Malaysians, one of them a member of the JI militant group -- were released on Dec 4, he said.
Another Malaysian, Yazid Sufaat, also a JI member, was released last month, said Syed Hamid.
"If a detainee no longer poses a threat to the country, the person will be released after rehabilitation and returned to the society," he told reporters at parliament lobby here yesterday.
Syed Hamid said there were 75 ISA detainees when he was appointed to the portfolio in March but the number had gone down to 46 people at the moment.
He said that of the total, 16 were JI members, 13 Darul Islam members, 10 involved in identity card and passport forgeries, five Hindraf members and two individuals who were working for foreign intelligence agencies.
On the landslide in Bukit Antarabangsa, Syed Hamid said he would instruct the National Registration Department (NRD) to assist the victims who lost their identification documents in the incident.
If need be, the NRD would open a special counter near the landslide area to facilitate the renewals of the documents, he added.
PUSAT TAHANAN GUANTANAMO DITUTUP MANAKALA MASIH ADA 46 TAHANAN ISA DI KEM KEMUNTING
AUKU HAS BEEN AMENDED TO ALLOW FOR GREATER UNIVERSITY AUTONOMY
At last university autonomy in Malaysia shall be made possible with the recent passing of the AUKU (Amendment) Bill 2008 and university/ college students can contribute more towards nation building.
"Autonomy concept can help universities be flexible in making decisions that can help enhance progress and keep pace with the increasingly competitive international university sector." according to USM VC
# Dewan Rakyat passes amendments to AUKU
# Consider autonomy for universities seriously: USM VC
Dewan Rakyat passes amendments to AUKU
sun2surf
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 11, 2008): The Dewan Rakyat today passed the Universities and University Colleges (Amendment) Bill 2008 to improve and expand the autonomy of universities.
Under the bill, several powers held by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and minister will be transferred to the university authorities which, among others, comprised the Board of Directors, Senate and Vice-Chancellors of the universities.
The bill also emphasised on the internal and external openness, transparency and accountability of the administration of each university.
It also allows the student to be an affiliate or member of an organisation or union whether within or outside the country.
The bill also empowers the chancellor to revoke the degree of any graduate for involvement in any scandal.
When winding up the debate earlier, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the amendment to the act was made based on educational considerations and principles and not for political purposes.
Consider autonomy for universities seriously: USM VC
Bernama
PENANG (Dec 12, 2008): The concept of autonomy for universities must be given due consideration so that universities can fulfill their individual missions, diversify and meet the changing needs without interference from governments.
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) vice chancellor Tan Sri Dzulkifli Abdul Razak said the autonomy concept can help universities be flexible in making decisions that can help enhance progress and keep pace with the increasingly competitive international university sector.
However, the concept must go through an in-depth study before being implemented as local universities operate in an increasingly legislated and regulated environment, requiring an unprecedented level of reporting to the government, he said.
"The autonomy concept may have pros and cons, depending on the implementation process," he told reporters after opening the 2008 Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning (ASAIHL) conference here today.
Dzulkifli, who is also ASAIHL president, said the Malaysian government was looking into ways to adopt a more flexible approach towards higher learning by making a number of amendments to the Universities and College Universities Act.
The two-day conference themed "University Autonomy: Interpretation and Variation" would be attended by 100 participants from 15 countries.
Dzulkifli said during the conference, there would be discussions on the aspect of autonomy for universities in various context and variation, to provide an impetus for universities to move forward with new innovative ideas.
Apart from discussions, participants can also exchange ideas and information to expedite changes in their respective universities aimed at churning out students who excel in their respective field.
He added that ASAIHL had also introduced a Young Scientist Award to identify and honour young scientists in the region and would be held at USM tomorrow.
ASAIHL, formed in 1956, is one of the oldest education based institution and has membership comprising 168 universities from Brunei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Vietnam, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and USA.
DIRGAHAYU TUANKU SULTAN SELANGOR
Salasilah kesultanan Selangor mulai 1756
KESULTANAN Selangor bermula seawal tahun 1756 apabila ia berada di bawah pemerintahan Raja Lumu yang menjadi Yang Dipertuan Besar Selangor dan bergelar Sultan Salehuddin Shah.
Biarpun berasal dari kalangan orang Bugis, kesultanan baginda diiktiraf oleh Sultan Perak pada pertengahan kurun ke-18 yang turut membawa kepada pembebasan negeri Selangor daripada kekuasaan kerajaan Johor.
Pemerintahan Sultan Salehuddin berterusan sehingga tahun 1778 apabila baginda mangkat lalu digantikan oleh putera baginda, Raja Ibrahim Marhum Saleh yang kemudian bergelar Sultan Ibrahim Shah.
Sepanjang pemerintahan Sultan Ibrahim Shah, Selangor menempuh pelbagai peristiwa antaranya, serangan tentera Belanda pada 13 Julai 1784 yang berjaya menawan kota Kuala Selangor.
Ini diikuti perjanjian kerjasama antara kerajaan baginda dengan kerajaan negeri Perak yang akhirnya membawa kepada perselisihan hutang piutang yang diselesaikan melalui campur tangan Robert Fullerton, Gabenor Inggeris di Pulau Pinang.
Selepas kemangkatan Sultan Ibrahim Shah pada 27 Oktober 1826, anakanda baginda, Raja Muda Selangor dilantik menjadi Sultan Selangor dan bergelar Sultan Muhammad Shah.
Menurut sejarah, pemerintahan baginda dianggap lemah ekoran ketidakupayaan baginda untuk menguasai raja-raja dan para pembesar di daerah-daerah lain di Selangor.
Oleh itu, berlaku perpecahan daerah di Selangor iaitu Bernam, Kuala Selangor, Kelang, Langat dan Lukut.
Sungguhpun begitu sepanjang 31 tahun memerintah, baginda telah menampakkan beberapa perubahan dengan pembukaan lombong bijih timah di Ampang diikuti dengan pembinaan kedai-kedai bagi keperluan rakyat terutamanya para pelombong.
Kemangkatan baginda secara mengejut pada penghujung tahun 1857 menyebabkan timbul perbalahan di kalangan kerabat di raja dan para pembesar Selangor dalam soal memilih Sultan yang baru.
Keputusan akhirnya dicapai dua tahun kemudian untuk melantik Raja Abdul Samad Raja Abdullah sebagai Sultan Selangor, biarpun baginda hanyalah anak saudara kepada almarhum Sultan Muhammad Shah.
Sejak permulaan pemerintahan baginda, lombong bijih timah di Ampang mula mengeluarkan hasil untuk diperdagangkan ke negeri-negeri Selat serta berjaya menarik kemasukan lebih ramai pelombong Cina.
Pada tahun 1868, Sultan Abdul Samad melantik menantunya, Tengku Dhiauddin ibni Almarhum Sultan Zainal Rashid (Tengku Kudin) selaku Wakil Yamtuan Selangor dan menyerahkan Langat sebagai hak milik menantunya itu.
Selepas memerintah Selangor selama 39 tahun, Sultan Abdul Samad akhirnya mangkat ketika berusia 93 tahun pada 6 Februari 1898 lalu dimakamkan di Jugra dan disebut `Marhum Jugra'.
Almarhum digantikan oleh cucundanya, Raja Muda Sulaiman ibni Almarhum Raja Muda Musa pada 17 Februari 1898 dan bergelar Sultan Alauddin Sulaiman Shah.
Semasa pemerintahan baginda, Selangor mula mengalami perubahan besar apabila lebih banyak jalan raya dan landasan kereta api dibina begitu juga meningkatnya pembinaan rumah dan kedai terutama di Kuala Lumpur dan Kelang.
Kebijaksanaan baginda memerintah telah mendorong rakyat mengadakan sambutan keramaian Jubli Emas di Kelang sempena genap 40 tahun pemerintahan baginda.
Namun begitu, beberapa bulan kemudian, pada 30 Mac 1938, baginda pun mangkat dan dimakamkan di Kelang dengan gelaran `Marhum Atiqullah'.
Pemerintahan Selangor diambil alih oleh anakanda almarhum Sultan Alauddin Tengku Alam Shah yang ditabalkan pada 4 April 1938 dan diberi gelaran Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah.
Kerajaan baginda bagaimanapun tidak kekal lama apabila dipaksa turun takhta pada tahun 1942 oleh tentera Jepun yang sebelum itu menyerang dan mengalahkan negeri-negeri Melayu.
Jepun yang merasakan kekanda Tengku Alam Shah, Tengku Musauddin lebih layak menjadi pemerintah Selangor telah melantik baginda sebagai Sultan Musa Ghiatuddin Riayat Shah dan Tengku Alam Shah diminta memberi kerjasama membantu kekandanya dalam soal pemerintahan.
Penguasaan Malaya yang berubah ekoran kemasukan semula tentera Britain lebih tiga tahun kemudian turut mengubah struktur pemerintahan kerajaan Selangor kembali kepada pimpinan Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah.
Berikutan perisytiharan kemerdekaan pada 31 Ogos 1957, Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah dilantik sebagai Timbalan Yang di-Pertuan Agong Negara Persekutuan Tanah Melayu, sementara jawatan Yang di-Pertuan Agong yang pertama disandang oleh Yang di-Pertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Abdul Rahman ibni almarhum Tuanku Muhammad.
Berikutan kemangkatan baginda Tuanku Abdul Rahman pada 1 April 1960, Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah pula dilantik menjadi Yang di-Pertuan Agong kedua.
Lima bulan kemudian, baginda pula mangkat pada 1 September 1960 setelah gering selama 27 hari lalu pemerintahan Selangor diterajui oleh putera sulung baginda Raja Abdul Aziz sebagai Sultan Selangor yang bergelar Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah. Untuk anakanda-anakanda S Tuanku SSAAS di SINI
Kesultanan Selangor di bawah pemerintahan Sultan Salahuddin banyak meninggalkan perubahan yang membanggakan rakyat lantas baginda tetap kekal dalam kenangan selepas kemangkatan baginda di Pusat Perubatan Gleneagles Intan, Jalan Ampang.
Rujukan di SINI
Read More “DIRGAHAYU TUANKU SULTAN SELANGOR” »»
KETUA POLIS SELANGOR BUAT SIDANG MEDIA
Dato' Khalid meminta pihak media agar melaporkan berita yang lebih adil dan positif agar dapat melancarkan lagi kerja-kerja operasi yang dijalankan.
- 5 kawasan yang mesti dikosongkan iaitu Kondominium Impian Selatan, Taman Bukit Jaya-Jalan 6A yang melibatkan rumah semi D dan teres, keseluruhan Taman Bukit Mewah, Taman Wangsa Ukay-Jalan 9 dan 11.
- Para penduduk yang ingin mengambil barangan penting mereka dibenarkan berbuat demikian dengan kerjasama MPAJ dan pasukan lain.
- Penempatan sementara yang disediakan adalah di Sekolah Kebangsaan Hulu Kelang.
- Penempatan di hotel hanyalah untuk mereka yang rumahnya benar-benar sudah musnah iaitu 14 rumah.
Polis ingatkan 5 kawasan di Bukit Antarabangsa mesti dikosongkan
Anis Nazri/ HARAKAHDAILY
BUKIT ANTARABANGSA, 10 Dis (Hrkh) - Operasi mencari dan menyelamat mangsa wanita Sri Lanka dalam kejadian tanah runtuh di Taman Bukit Mewah, diteruskan seawal jam 6.30 pagi tadi, bagaimanapun sehingga kini tiada sebarang penemuan baru.
Demikian disahkan Ketua Polis Selangor, Dato' Khalid Abu Bakar, ketika sidang media, dekat sini, pagi tadi.
Menurut beliau, operasi tersebut akan diteruskan sehingga jam 2 petang, sebelum pihaknya berbincang langkah-langkah yang lebih efektif untuk meneruskan operasi berkenaan.
Dalam pada itu, beliau berkata para penduduk yang ingin mengambil barangan penting mereka dibenarkan berbuat demikian dengan kerjasama MPAJ dan pasukan lain.
Bagaimanapun, beliau sekali lagi mengingatkan bahawa lima kawasan yang mesti dikosongkan iaitu Kondominium Impian Selatan, Taman Bukit Jaya-Jalan 6A yang melibatkan rumah semi D dan teres, keseluruhan Taman Bukit Mewah, Taman Wangsa Ukay-Jalan 9 dan 11.
Bagi penduduk di kawasan perumahan lain tidak perlu berbuat demikian, namun sekiranya masih ingin berpindah, pihak polis tidak sesekali melarangnya.
"Bagi kawasan-kawasan yang saya sebutkan tadi, saya mengharapkan kerjasama untuk berpindah kerana kawasan tersebut merupakan kawasan yang berbahaya," tegas beliau berkali-kali.
Beliau turut memaklumkan satu laluan baru akan dibuat dengan mengalihkan jambatan yang disediakan ATM sebelum ini, memandangkan jambatan tersebut kemungkinan akan digunakan bagi keperluan banjir di tempat lain.
Laluan alternatif itu, katanya akan dibina oleh JKR.
Sementara itu, Khalid turut meminta pihak media agar melaporkan berita yang lebih adil dan positif agar ia dapat melancarkan lagi kerja-kerja operasi yang dijalankan.
"Saya kesal apabila melihat media melaporkan perkara yang agak negatif. Sebagai contoh, ada yang melaporkan anggota Rela mengambil barangan penduduk. Sedangkan mereka membantu penduduk mengangkat barang.
Jika benar ada kejadian itu, buatlah laporan polis dan kita akan siasat seadil-adilnya. Jika membuat laporan tanpa pengesahan saya, ia akan mengguris hati anggota Rela dan mungkin mereka tidak berani untuk membantu lagi," tegas beliau.
Mengulas lanjut berkenaan penempatan sementara yang disediakan, Khalid berkata penempatan sementara yang disediakan adalah di Sekolah Kebangsaan Hulu Kelang.
Tambah beliau, sekiranya ada penduduk yang tidak mahu duduk di situ dan mempunyai tempat tinggal lain, ia perlu dimaklumkan kepada pihak polis agar mudah dihubungi untuk perkembangan seterusnya.
"Berkenaan penempatan di hotel yang disebut Menteri Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, apa yang saya faham ia hanyalah untuk mereka yang rumahnya benar-benar sudah musnah iaitu 14 rumah. Bagi kawasan lain, penempatan yang disediakan adalah di sekolah yang dikatakan tadi," tegas beliau.
Beliau turut mengingatkan para penduduk agar lebih bersabar menanti giliran untuk naik dan turun, selain tidak meletakkan kereta di kiri kanan jalan yang akan menyebabkan kesesakan teruk. Read More “KETUA POLIS SELANGOR BUAT SIDANG MEDIA” »»
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM U.S. ECONOMIC TURMOIL?
As 2007 came to a close, the estimated national debt of the United States was about US$9.2 trillion. With a population of 304 million, that averages out to each citizen's share of debt at US$30,000 plus.
ChangeWave’s latest corporate quarterly survey shows the U.S. economy caught in the clutches of a recession far deeper and more painful than that of 2001 – with alarmingly low 4th Quarter sales projections, abysmal visibility, a deteriorating job market and a severe pullback in capital spending. Refer to graphs.
Other negative indicators include a rapid deterioration of the labor market, coupled with a huge increase in cancelled orders and a pullback in customer willingness to spend.
*The Death of an Empire: A problem of Psychology
*Beginning of the End for U.S. Auto Manufacturing
*4Q 2008/1Q 2009 Corporate Quarterly Report
Grim Snapshot – The U.S. Economy in Rapidly Accelerating Freefall
The Death of an Empire: A problem of Psychology
Comments by Bob Bauman JD, former U.S. Congressman and long-time Legal Counsel and Senior Writer for The Sovereign Society.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Of course, as with many memorable aphorisms, William Shakespeare got there first with: "What is past is prologue."
The parallels of the British Empire with present day America are there to see, and enough to make a thoughtful reader more than uneasy.
It wasn't just the loss of colonies in India and Africa that killed the British Empire. The British Empire rapidly disintegrated after World War II because the U.K.'s financial and material resources were depleted by its war against Germany. The country was worn out by massive borrowing and expenditures the U.K. couldn't afford.
It was this financial and economic overextension that drained the imperial lifeblood and caused a rapid global demise.
As 2007 came to a close, the estimated national debt of the United States was about US$9.2 trillion. With a population of 304 million, that averages out to each citizen's share of debt at US$30,000 plus.
"Then there is the continuing massive trade deficit. Since 2001, the trade deficit has doubled to more than US$700 billion. At best, these deficits will gradually harm all Americans' future incomes. At worst, they could trigger a national fiscal crisis, which could accelerate and increase the economic damage.
Five years ago I noted in this column: "My checkbook balance tells me I can't spend what I don't have. In fact, writing bad checks is a crime in every state. And if a collective national confidence in the economy is a key to prosperity, what happens when Americans finally wake up and discover the financial cupboard is bare?"
How can a government that is bankrupt possibly act as lender and guarantor of last resort?
The answer is that it cannot - and so we will all be paying, for years to come, in taxes, in inflation, in lost freedom, the horrible price for our government's and our leaders' all too obvious failures.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
The Death of an Empire: A problem of Psychology
As one who loves history and has read hundreds of histories and biographies, I must agree with the late George Santayana's sentiment carved into the wall of the National Archives in Washington, D.C. - "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Of course, as with many memorable aphorisms, William Shakespeare got there first with: "What is past is prologue."
Some time ago I recommended for your reading Professor Niall Ferguson's impressive book, Empire (2002 Basic Books), which details the rise and fall of the British colonial empire. The parallels with present day America are there to see, and enough to make a thoughtful reader more than uneasy.
But aside from the moral objections to abusing military power to achieve laudable colonial ends, Professor Ferguson points to the real reason the British Empire fell.
It wasn't just the loss of colonies in India and Africa that killed the Empire. The British Empire rapidly disintegrated after World War II because the U.K.'s financial and material resources were depleted by its war against Germany. The country was worn out by massive borrowing and expenditures the U.K. couldn't afford.
It was this financial and economic overextension that drained the imperial lifeblood and caused a rapid global demise.
Does that description suggest perhaps the current situation of these United States of America?
Advice From Beyond the Grave
This is not the first time that America's economy has collapsed into recession or even a major depression. (Read "Rainbow's End: the Crash of 1929" by Maury Klein (Oxford Univ. Press, 2001). And in many respects, the causes now and then have too many frightening parallels.
Benjamin Strong, Jr. (Dec 22, 1872 - Oct. 16, 1928) was an American economist and vice president of Banker's Trust of New York. He was one of the founders of the Federal Reserve System and served as the first Governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for 14 years until his death. Strong exerted great influence over the policy and actions of the entire Federal Reserve System.
Strong was J.P. Morgan's emissary to the secret Jekyll Island, Georgia, gathering in November 1910 - one of the selected members who stayed at the luxurious Jekyll Island Hunt Club retreat for a private ten-day conference that included some of America's wealthiest men, many of them bankers, led by Senator Nelson Aldrich (R-RI), maternal grandfather of the late New York governor and U.S. vice president, Nelson Rockefeller.
Out of this meeting eventually came the Federal Reserve system created by the Glass-Owens Act and signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913, after a conference between the president and the New York financier, Bernard Baruch, one of Wilson's largest campaign donors and a leader of the Democratic Party.
A Matter of Psychology
Benjamin Strong was one of the strongest leaders of the Federal Reserve System at a critical time. His policy of maintaining price levels during the 1920s through the open market purchase of securities, and his willingness to maintain the liquidity of banks during panics gained many supporters, as well as critics.
Such critics as President Herbert Hoover, elected in 1928, blamed Strong for the easy money policy that he said fueled the stock market rise, leading to the Crash of 1929. But Strong had a clearer sense than most of what was happening. In one of his last letters he summarized the dilemma:
"I do not think the problem is necessarily one of security prices or of available volume of credit, or even of discount rates. It is really a problem of psychology. The country's state of mind has been highly speculative, advancing prices have been based upon a realization of wealth and prosperity ... consequently speculative tendencies are all the more difficult to deal with ... The problem now is so to shape our policy as to avoid a calamitous break in the stock market, a panicky feeling about money, a setback to business because of the change in psychology."
House of Cards May Come Crashing Down
Last January, (under the above heading), I asked my readers to "consider the current depressing economic statistics in the United States. As 2007 came to a close, the estimated national debt of the United States was about US$9.2 trillion. With a population of 304 million, that averages out to each citizen's share of debt at US$30,000 plus.
"Then there is the continuing massive trade deficit. Since 2001, the trade deficit has doubled to more than US$700 billion. At best, these deficits will gradually harm all Americans' future incomes. At worst, they could trigger a national fiscal crisis, which could accelerate and increase the economic damage.
"Since President Bush's first presidential term began in January 2001, the dollar has also dropped over 36%. Meanwhile the housing market is in the doldrums, mortgage foreclosures are in the millions and rampant federal deficit spending continues unabated."
We Warned You
Of course you've read similar warnings from me and my colleagues at the Sovereign Society for a good part of the last decade. It wasn't that we were mystic soothsayers endowed with great powers of divination. It was because we know history - and because we can count. And to this day we continue to give you good advice, even in a time of great economic suffering.
Five years ago I noted in this column: "My checkbook balance tells me I can't spend what I don't have. In fact, writing bad checks is a crime in every state. And if a collective national confidence in the economy is a key to prosperity, what happens when Americans finally wake up and discover the financial cupboard is bare?"
The Last Resort
The stark contradiction in all these extant and proposed U.S. government bailout and stimulus billions, (nay trillions if President-elect Obama has his way), is that the American people and the world have finally reached the point that a dying Benjamin Strong spoke of in 1928 - a change in mass psychology has occurred.
People now are asking the pertinent question: How can a government that is bankrupt possibly act as lender and guarantor of last resort?
The answer is that it cannot - and so we will all be paying, for years to come, in taxes, in inflation, in lost freedom, the horrible price for our government's and our leaders' all too obvious failures.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
BOB BAUMAN, Legal Counsel
P.S. We here at the Sovereign Society are dedicated to steering a clear path between the propaganda of government and the irrational exuberance of businessmen.
Beginning of the End for U.S. Auto Manufacturing
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 - Vol. 10, No. 270
Today's comment is by Eric Roseman, Editor of Commodity Trend Alert and Investment Director at The Sovereign Society
In 1955, U.S. manufacturing was approximately 55% of the nation's GDP. Today, manufacturing is barely 15% of GDP as the United States and other industrialized countries continue to transition to service-based economies. Unfortunately, the backbone of American industry is now coming apart at the seams and desperately hungry for a government bailout.
In 2004, I predicted that one of the Big Three auto companies would fail in a few years. Though not a bold forecast by any measure - the autos were long bleeding before 2004. My target back then was Ford. At the time, I plugged put options on Ford Motor and made a profit on that trade; now I wish I had purchased long-term LEAP put options. Ford in July 2004 traded north of $13; today, Ford Motor (NYSE:F) fetches just $1.76.
Ford's stock price chart starts to resemble everything else...
Detroit is home to America's Big Three auto companies. It's also home to one of the worst contractions in manufacturing activity accompanied by seemingly never-ending losses.
General Motors (NYSE:GM), Ford and Chrysler are bleeding profusely and need emergency cash funding right away. Of the three, General Motors is headed into bankruptcy first unless the government comes to the rescue.
The world's second largest car company (Toyota is now #1), GM has just enough cash to last until January at the latest. Chrysler and Ford probably have enough funding for another 6-12 months. Beyond that period, it's Game Over.
Bailout Bonanza
The scope of Washington's bailout reach is now extending: mortgages, banking, investment banking, insurance and now auto manufacturing. Pretty soon it might extend to the airlines, real estate companies and who knows, maybe even every industry that comprises the S&P 500 Index. This whole bailout thing is totally out of control.
Should the government let the Big Three fail? Combined, these three goliaths employ more than 300,000 people worldwide with most of that total in the United States. The pressure is on the government to bailout the autos. Paulson isn't too keen on extending TARP to the auto companies but Obama certainly is. I reckon Detroit's odds of obtaining a bailout are pretty good.
With the economy showing no signs of bottoming as we shortly conclude a miserable 2008 for investors it would only seem prudent to remain underweighted stocks. The market shows no convincing ability to bottom; every major rally is met by big selling as investors eagerly grab short-term gains to raise cash.
This recession will be a long, drawn out affair, probably lasting throughout 2009, possibly 2010. Housing is at the core of this secular bear market. I don't see housing bottoming or at least stabilizing until at least mid-2009 with inventories still rising in Q3. Mortgage rates, which declined following the initial Paulson Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac government guarantee in September, have since risen again. Mortgage rates must come down.
It's now time for America to become thrifty again. The correlation between a rise in the savings rate and corporate earnings growth is negative. Earnings expectations remain too bullish for 2009 and must still be revised lower. Earlier this fall I had expected a rally following the post-October 9 crash; thus far, the Dow is up just 7% off its low for the year or 42% off its October 2007 high. Now I'm beginning to think we might test fresh lows and soon.
Equity Markets in line for another Beating.
The Dow will test its October 2002 low of 7,286. In my mind, there's no way this bear market is not as severe as the 2002 debacle. It's much worse.
Should stocks decline another 15% from current levels the Dow would sit 57% off its best level in October 2007 but still about 30% above the trough of the 1932 lows. From October 1929 until late 1932, the Dow collapsed a cumulative 86%. I doubt we'll see that sort of spectacular decline; yet it's pretty likely that a 42% peak-to-trough loss thus far won't kill this bear.
If one of the Big Three is allowed to fail, watch out. That would trigger another crash. The market is drunk, expecting another industry bailout. Let's not disappoint Mr. Market.
ERIC ROSEMAN, Investment Director
4Q 2008/1Q 2009 Corporate Quarterly Report
Grim Snapshot – The U.S. Economy in Rapidly Accelerating Freefall
Overview: Most everyone knows it’s a jungle out there for the U.S. economy, but how does this recession measure up to the last one we went through in 2001?
ChangeWave’s latest corporate quarterly survey shows the U.S. economy caught in the clutches of a recession far deeper and more painful than that of 2001 – with alarmingly low 4th Quarter sales projections, abysmal visibility, a deteriorating job market and a severe pullback in capital spending.
The survey was conducted November 20-December 1, 2008 and a total of 3,029 U.S. respondents participated.
Highlights:
4th Quarter 2008 Performance: A whopping one-in-two respondents (51%) project that their company sales will come in Below Plan for 4th Quarter 2008 – 16-pts worse than the previous quarter. Only 11% say their company sales will come in Above Plan – a 7-pt decrease.
As the following chart shows, these 4th Quarter (Dec ’08) corporate sales projections are the worst ever recorded in a ChangeWave survey dating back to the depths of the 2001 recession.
1st Quarter 2009 Sales Pipeline: There is also a huge plunge in visibility going forward. Sales pipeline projections for 1st Quarter 2009 show just 9% of respondents say their company will come in Above Plan – 12-pts less than the previous survey. At the same time, 39% report they’ll come in Below Plan – 18-pts worse than previously
Once again, these are by far the lowest sales pipeline numbers ever recorded in a ChangeWave quarterly survey.
Massive Pullback in Cap Spending: In perhaps the most ominous sign of rapidly deteriorating U.S. business conditions, survey respondents project a massive cutback in capital spending going forward.
Only 6% project an increase in their company’s 1st Quarter capital budget, while nearly half (45%) project a decrease. Note that these are the worst cap spending numbers ever recorded in a ChangeWave survey since we began asking this question back in December 2002.
Most disturbingly, capital spending is plunging at a time of year when we normally experience seasonal increases. This becomes immediately apparent when you look at the change for each December - beginning with December 2003 - in the Overall Capital Budgets chart above.
Ever since 2003, December has always been the peak point of the yearly cycle in this survey – up until December of 2007. That was when we had the critical early warning that cap spending was very seriously breaking down. Continued deterioration for the next 4 quarters led us to this December’s historic collapse.
Labor Market Woes. The survey also shows an unprecedented deterioration in the labor market. One-third (31%) of respondents say there are Less new hires in their company at this point in the 4th Quarter vs. last quarter – a 9-pt increase since the previous survey. Only 8% say there are More new hires.
Credit Crisis Tightens its Chokehold.
Over the past year we’ve been measuring the impact of the credit crisis on U.S. businesses – generally thought to be one of the key causes of the recession. Yet despite the U.S. government’s numerous attempts to open the credit spigot, the credit crunch continues to worsen.
Three-in-ten respondents (30%) now say that it is harder for their company to borrow money than it was just 90 days ago – a 5-pt jump from previously. Less than 1% say it is easier to borrow money.
Biggest Drop in the Price of Products. The slowing economy continues to drive down the prices companies are charging for their products.
Simply put, the current results show a major acceleration of the downward price pressures we first picked up in our September survey – capping a dramatic turnaround from the upward price spikes we saw during the first half of 2008.
Only 7% now report prices are rising for their company's products –15-pts less than the previous quarter. At the same time, the percentage reporting falling prices (24%) has nearly doubled.
We also note that there has been an improvement in the ability to purchase commodities. One-in-four (26%) say it is easier for their company to purchase commodities than it was 90 days ago – a five-fold increase from previously. At the same time, just 8% say it’s become harder – 16-pts less.
Bottom Line: The current survey results provide clear evidence that the U.S. recession has now entered a far more virulent period – characterized by an unprecedented and rapidly accelerating freefall.
Moreover there is no relief yet in sight. Rather, 1st Quarter sales pipeline projections are by far the most dismal of any ChangeWave survey of the past eight years, and massive cutbacks are occurring in capital spending going forward.
To top it off, the U.S. credit crunch is now weighing even more heavily on U.S. businesses than at any previous point of the past year.
Further negative indicators include a rapid deterioration of the labor market, coupled with a huge increase in cancelled orders and a pullback in customer willingness to spend.
HOW WOULD YOU RATE THIS STUDY REPORTS BY CNN
The study "Analyzing the Impacts of the Hajj Pilgrimage to Mecca," by David Clingingsmith, Asim Ijaz Khwaja and Michael Kremer, was published April 23, 2008.
For the study, three economists interviewed 1,600 Pakistanis, half of whom had been on the hajj in 2006 and half of whom had applied for visas to go but were rejected. Respondents answered 200 questions in face-to-face interviews that lasted hours. The interviews took place five to eight months after the pilgrims came home.
The study might have found different results in another country. "Pakistanis, whom maybe more liberal than Saudis but more conservative than Indonesians or Malaysians, may have been influenced by the large, relatively liberal southeast Asian population in Mecca. People become more orthodox yet more tolerant," one of the study's authors, Asim Ijaz Khwaja of Harvard University, said of hajjis.
Hajj makes Muslims more tolerant, study suggests
By Richard Allen Greene
CNN
(CNN) -- The pilgrimage that brings more than 2 million Muslims to Mecca every year tends to make them more religiously observant and also more tolerant, a huge study of Pakistani pilgrims suggests.
Hamoud al-Massri, of Egypt, says that after this year's hajj, he will read more about people of different cultures.
Muslims who undertake the hajj "return with more positive views towards people from other countries," are more likely to say "that people of different religions are equal," and are twice as likely as other religious Muslims to condemn Osama bin Laden, the study found.
"People become more orthodox yet more tolerant," one of the study's authors, Asim Ijaz Khwaja of Harvard University, said of hajjis -- those who make the pilgrimage.
He described the study's findings Monday, as this year's annual pilgrimage reached its climax, the symbolic stoning of the devil on the festival of Eid al-Adha, an Islamic holiday that traditionally marks the end of the hajj.
This year's hajj ends Tuesday.
Habib Allah, a 24-year-old Pakistani who never left his home country before undertaking this year's hajj, echoed sentiments expressed by many people in the study, which surveyed pilgrims from 2006. The Pakistani said he felt like he had seen "the whole world" in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
"I felt like we are all brothers," he said. "I never thought about this before. The hajj has changed my thoughts about other Muslims from other countries. The hajj has united us as Muslims and as brothers."
And that feeling extended to non-Muslims as well, he said.
"After I performed the hajj, I felt that the world is small and we all sharing one place ... the earth. We should all live in peace with each other, whether with Muslims or non- Muslims," he said
Hamoud al-Massri, a 29-year-old teacher from Cairo, Egypt, expressed similar thoughts about his hajj journey this year.
"The hajj taught me that at the end we are all human beings [who] need each other. From now on I will start reading more about other cultures, and not only Muslim cultures but all others," al-Massri said.
Khwaja and his colleagues were startled by that sentiment.
"What was surprising to us was that the tolerance extended to others -- to non-Muslims as well," he said.
Hajjis are also more likely to back education for girls and work for women, the study found.
Khwaja suspects that is because men and women mix so freely on the hajj, even at prayer -- partly because it is impractical to segregate the sexes when more than 2 million people converge on Saudi Arabia en masse.
"Men and women interact with each other, actually praying side by side," he said.
That can be a new experience for many men from Pakistan, where women sometimes are discouraged from attending mosques.
But some responded positively, the researchers found.
"The fact that men and women can pray together is good," one 45-year-old man told them. "You cannot dislike anything about the Kabaa," the cube-shaped building within Mecca's Great Mosque toward which Muslims worldwide face during daily prayers.
Going on the hajj, which all Muslims must do at least once if they are able, can also embolden women to challenge religious authority when they return home.
"A woman may not be encouraged to go to the mosque or seek education or work in Pakistan -- in fact, she may face resistance in doing so, particularly by local clergy," Khwaja said.
Khwaja said if she has not been on the hajj, "she has no authority for challenging that."
"But on the hajj, she might see a woman who is leading her group, in control of a group, in this most holy of places. If she sees that this is allowed in Mecca and Medina, now she is armed to say to her local cleric, 'I saw this in Mecca, so who are you to tell me it is wrong?' " Khwaja said.
John C. Green, a senior fellow in religion and American politics at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, said he was startled by some of the findings.
Other studies have suggested that deeply religious people tend to be more tolerant than average in some ways, but not in others.
"Higher levels of religious observance tend to make people more tolerant of different religions," Green said. Religious people also tend to be more accepting of other ethnic groups, he said.
But being deeply religious is not commonly associated with women's empowerment, he said, expressing surprise at that aspect of Khwaja's study, which he said he had not read.
"That would be a very powerful finding, and it would suggest that there is something unique going on with the hajj," Green said.
Khwaja chuckled at the Mark Twain quote: "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." But Khwaja said it was not simply travel that changed pilgrims -- it was seeing unfamiliar practices in the holiest of settings.
"That this is happening in a highly religious context may give them the ability to accept diversity. If you see people praying differently, you will say that [a given local practice] can't really be the only acceptable way to pray -- wearing a hat, or keeping your pants above your ankles," he said, citing two common Pakistani customs.
And indeed, Khwaja said, going on the hajj makes pilgrims less likely to observe strictly local customs, such as the use of amulets.
The study could have major policy implications for those fighting extremism, he said.
Encouraging the hajj might increase the pool of Muslims whose tolerant attitudes would inspire them to moderate those with more extreme views in their midst, he suggested.
"In Pakistan, that is not happening much. People are often passive and say, 'That is not my business.' But as tolerance builds up, ultimately there is a greater chance that it will become more active," Khwaja said.
He admitted that the study might have found different results in another country. Pakistanis, whom he called more liberal than Saudis but more conservative than Indonesians or Malaysians, may have been influenced by the large, relatively liberal southeast Asian population in Mecca.
"It would be interesting to see what the effects are on Indonesians or Americans -- to see if they become more conservative," he said.
For the study, three economists interviewed 1,600 Pakistanis, half of whom had been on the hajj in 2006 and half of whom had applied for visas to go but were rejected. Respondents answered 200 questions in face-to-face interviews that lasted hours. The interviews took place five to eight months after the pilgrims came home.
Khwaja said he was not aware of any earlier large empirical study of hajjis. "Most of the literature of the hajj consists of personal narratives. Most of the 'evidence,' therefore, is anecdotes."
The study is "Analyzing the Impacts of the Hajj Pilgrimage to Mecca," by David Clingingsmith, Asim Ijaz Khwaja and Michael Kremer, published April 23, 2008.
CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, contributed to this report.
KENYATAAN BALAS LAPORAN DIPUTARBELIT um DARI KETUA PENERANGAN PAS SELANGOR
Putarbelit akhbar tentang Sidang Akhbar Exco Selangor SINI
Kenyataan media Pas Selangor yang dikeluarkan oleh Ketua Penerangan, Roslan Shahir Mohd Shahir.
PAS Selangor kesal dengan laporan mukadepan akhbar Utusan Malaysia bawah tajuk "PAS akui sukar tadbir Selangor bersama PKR,DAP" (bertarikh Sabtu, 6 Disember 2008) yang sesungguhnya tersasar dan menyeleweng samasekali dari kenyataan sebenar Pesuruhjaya PAS Selangor, Dato' Dr Hasan Mohd Ali, di dalam sidang media PAS Selangor yang diadakan pada hari Jumaat 5 Disember, 2008.
Di dalam sidang media berkenaan Dato' Dr Hasan tidak pernah menyebut bahawa PAS menghadapi kesukaran untuk memperjuangkan serta mempertahankan hak orang Islam dan Melayu di Selangor sebagaimana yang dilaporkan oleh Utusan Malaysia. Malah beliau menegaskan dalam sidang media berkenaan bahawa PAS tidak terpinggir dan sebarang anggapan sebegitu tegas beliau sebenarnya dimanipulasi oleh Barisan Nasional untuk menggugat kerjasama baik antara PAS, DAP dan PKR di Selangor.
Dato' Dr Hasan juga tidak pernah menyebut bahawa kadang-kala PAS terpaksa melupakan matlamat perjuangan utama parti iaitu untuk menegakkan syiar Islam semata-mata kerana mahu mengambil hati PKR dan DAP sebagaimana dilaporkan oleh Utusan Malaysia. Malah yang sebenarnya beliau telah menggariskan dengan jelas bahawa PAS tidak pernah dan tidak akan bertolak-ansur dalam hal-hal berhubung Islam dan kepentingannya di Selangor.
PAS Selangor merasakan bahawa pihak Utusan Malaysia sangat tidak bertanggungjawab sehingga terlanjur mengeluarkan laporan yang sedemikian rupa yang mencerminkan rendahnya nilai profesionalisma di dalam akhbar berkenaan. PAS Selangor beranggapan laporan tersebut berunsur jahat kerana tidak ada mana-mana pihak dari media arus perdana yang turut hadir dalam sidang media berkenaan membuat laporan seperti itu di akhbar-akhbar mereka.
PAS Selangor ingin menasihatkan pihak Utusan Malaysia agar lebih berhati-hati dimasa-masa yang akan datang dan tidak lagi mengorbankan etika dan profesionalisma kewartawanan ketika membuat laporan sebagaimana yang berlaku ini. Dalam pada itu PAS Selangor akan terus mengadakan sidang media setiap dua minggu sekali bagi memberi peluang kepada rakyat Selangor dan seluruh masyarakat Malaysia mendapat maklumat terus darihal peranan dan perkembangan PAS Selangor di dalam kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat negeri ini.
Roslan Shahir bin Datuk Mohd Shahir,
Ketua Penerangan PAS NegeriSelangor Shah Alam,
Ahad, 7 Disember 2008.
TANAH RUNTUH LAGI: APA KATA PIHAK BERWAJIB
*Pembangunan Lereng Bukit Tidak Dibenarkan: MB Selangor pada 28/08/08
*Lulus projek tanah tinggi hak negeri: Timb Menteri Hamzah Zainuddin
*Nasec kesal amaran awal tidak diendah: Prof Roslan UiTM
*History Of Landslides In Hulu Klang
*Landslides Are Preventable, Says Geo-technical Engineering Authority
*10 Hari Untuk Ketahui Sama Ada Kawasan Bukit Antarabangsa Selamat Atau Tidak, Kata MB Selangor
Lulus projek tanah tinggi hak negeri
utusanonline
KUALA LUMPUR 8 Dis. - Semua kuasa untuk meluluskan projek pembangunan dan perumahan termasuk di kawasan tanah tinggi yang berisiko adalah di bawah kerajaan negeri.
Timbalan Menteri Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan, Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin berkata, kementeriannya tidak mempunyai hak untuk berbuat demikian kerana itu hak kerajaan negeri iaitu di bawah bidang kuasa pihak berkuasa tempatan (PBT).
"Ini termasuklah projek-projek perumahan di kawasan lereng bukit dan cerun berisiko tinggi. Kami tidak ada hak untuk meluluskannya walaupun ia terletak di Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur," katanya ketika dihubungi Utusan Malaysia di sini hari ini.
Beliau diminta mengulas kejadian tanah runtuh di Jalan Bukit Mewah, Bukit Antarabangsa kelmarin yang dipercayai berlaku disebabkan oleh projek perumahan yang dijalankan di kawasan lereng bukit dan cerun.
Dalam kejadian pada pukul 3.50 pagi itu, empat terbunuh, 14 cedera manakala seorang lagi dikhuatiri terperangkap setelah 14 banglo di kawasan seluas empat hektar tertimbus.
Hamzah berkata, projek perumahan di Bukit Antarabangsa diluluskan oleh Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya (MPAJ) termasuk dari segi pelan susun atur, pelan bangunan dan kerja-kerja pembangunan.
"Tugas kementerian hanya memberi lesen kepada syarikat pemaju hartanah untuk membina projek perumahan dan menjual rumah-rumah yang telah siap dibina," ujarnya.
Bagaimanapun, beliau berkata, Kerajaan Pusat akan mewujudkan Pelan Induk Kecerunan yang membolehkan kementeriannya memantau projek pembangunan di cerun berisiko tinggi.
"Kami berharap semua pihak berkaitan akan mematuhi garis panduan yang ditetapkan oleh pelan tersebut jika mereka hendak menjalankan projek pembangunan di cerun-cerun," katanya.
Menurutnya, semua projek pembangunan di kawasan cerun juga perlu mematuhi laporan kajian Kesan Penilaian Alam Sekitar (EIA) terlebih dahulu.
Nasec kesal amaran awal tidak diendah
Utusanonline
SHAH ALAM 8 Dis. – Pusat Penyelidikan Tanah Runtuh Negara (Nasec) Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) kesal kerana amaran awal pihaknya mengenai kemungkinan berlaku tanah runtuh di Bukit Antarabangsa, Hulu Klang tidak diendahkan.
Pengarahnya, Profesor Dr. Roslan Zainal Abidin (gambar) berkata, pihaknya sebelum ini pernah melaporkan bahawa hujan sekurang-kurang tiga hari berturut-turut serta ketibaan musim peralihan monsun akan menjadi antara penyumbang utama risiko tanah runtuh di kawasan berkenaan.
Beliau berkata, berdasarkan kajian ke atas sampel tanah berhampiran pangsapuri Highland Towers dan Bukit Antarabangsa yang pernah runtuh sebelum ini, para penyelidik mendapati berlaku pergerakan air bawah tanah di kedua-dua kawasan itu selepas hujan turun selama tiga hari berturut-turut.
Selain itu, tambah beliau, bulan Mac, November dan Disember setiap tahun merupakan tempoh kritikal disebabkan musim peralihan monsun yang membawa hujan lebat.
History Of Landslides In Hulu Klang
Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR: Hulu Klang, the place where the latest landslide occurred in Taman Bukit Utama and Taman Bukit Mewah in Bukit Antarabangsa Saturday (6 Dec), is actually an area that is prone to landslides.
On 11 Dec 1993, 48 people were killed when one of the three condominium blocks of Highland Towers in Taman Hillview, located 1.5km away from Saturday's landslide scene, collapsed.
The tragedy shocked the whole nation as it was the first in its history since the independence.
The collapse of the building after three days of heavy downpours had created public awareness on the safety of buildings built on hillslopes.
Apart from the Highland Towers, other landslide-related incidents which had occurred in the Hulu Klang area are as follows:
10 Dec 1985: Two new unoccupied double-storey houses in Taman Melawati, collapsed at 8.50am during heavy downpours.
17 Sept 1998: One house was destroyed in Gombak due to soil erosion.
29 March 1990: A landslide occurred in Taman Setia Wangsa, affecting 80 families in two flats.
25 Dec 1997: Three people were buried alive in a landslide in Km 17 of the Ampang-Hulu Kelang Expressway.
15 May 1999: Thousands of residents in Bukit Antarabangsa and Wangsa Ukay in Jalan Hulu Klang were trapped when a 100-metre long landslide occurred at 5.20am and cut off the only access road to the hilly residential area.
24 Feb 2000: A four-year-old child was killed in a landslide in Kampung Sri Damai, near Taman Kencana, Ampang.
5 Oct 2000: A landslide occurred in Jalan Bukit Antarabangsa during heavy downpours but no casualty was reported.
20 Nov 2002: A landslide at 4.30am flattened the double-storey bungalow of Affin Bank Bhd chairman Gen (Rtd)Tan Sri Ismail Omar.
His wife, Puan Sri Azizah Abdul Aziz, his son Hijaz, two in-laws, two grandchildren and two Indonesian maids, perished in the 4.35am incident.
The bungalow was located 300m away from the Highland Towers.
31 May 2006: Four people including two children were killed when they were buried alive in a landslide that flattened three blocks of longhouses at Kampung Pasir during a heavy downpours at 4.45pm. (Bernama)
Landslides Are Preventable, Says Geo-technical Engineering Authority
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 8 (Bernama) -- Most landslides are preventable and Malaysia already has the expertise to drastically reduce the frequency of such incidences, says Dr Ir Nehemiah Lee, a geotechnical engineer and authority on reinforced soil techniques.
Geotechnical engineering is a branch of engineering specialising in assessing the stability and strength of soil and rock materials, as well as groundwater conditions.
Dr Lee, who was previously attached to the Drainage and Irrigation Department, said incidences of landslides were known to geotechnical engineers as slope stability problems.
"The question is whether we are willing to channel resources in terms of expert personnel and adequate funding to resolve the problem," he told Bernama, Monday.
Referring to calls for a total blanket ban on hillside development following the landslide at Bukit Antarabangsa here, Dr Lee, who is now managing director of Nehemiah Reinforced Soil Sdn Bhd, a company employing mostly Bumiputera engineers dealing with reinforced soil technology, said it might not be the most appropriate approach to solve the problem.
Dr Lee, who has been invited to speak on the subject at many international conferences, said the continued growth in population and increasing scarcity of flat usable land would continue to exert tremendous pressure to develop on hilly terrain.
"Even if the total ban is implemented, the problems remain because there are existing slopes that are not stable. Moreover, slopes that are steeper than 35 degrees may be safe whilst slopes that are gentler may not be safe," he said.
Dr Lee said the stability of slopes depended on a host of other factors beside slope gradient.
They include rainfall intensity and duration in the locality, the type of soil, the geological formation, the effectiveness of drainage system and the type of vegetation growing on the slope.
"In addition, there is still a small element of uncertainty concerning the unknown and unquantifiable factors that are beyond the state of the art of geotechnical engineering professionals," he said.
Dr Lee proposed that the way forward would be the establishment of a special purpose body solely dedicated to slope safety management in Malaysia.
This body should be manned by experts in geotechnical engineering and complemented by engineering geologists, soil erosion experts, hydrologists, drainage experts, environmentalists, lawyers, policy makers and regulators.
The role of this body will be to regulate and audit the investigation, design, construction, monitoring and maintenance of man-made slopes, which include cut slopes, fill slopes and retaining walls.
Besides its regulatory role, Dr Lee said the body should undertake research and education, including forensic investigation into landslides, which would help enhance understanding of the causes of landslides.
"Public education is also important to develop awareness of risk and importance of slope maintenance among home owners," he stressed.
Dr Lee said the first task of this body would be to work with private home owners' associations and developers to carry out risk assessment of every existing slope in the country that was a potential threat to public safety.
Any slope found to be unsafe should be strengthened to the required level of safety while any defects and deficiencies in the drainage system should be readily rectified, he said.
As for new hillside development, Dr Lee said this body should rigorously scrutinise the design, construction and maintenance of man-made slopes within the development to ensure compliance with the highest standard of engineering practice.
Above all, he felt that this body should also be vested with statutory powers to approve or reject any new hillside development so that no town council or municipality would issue a certificate of fitness unless prior approval was obtained from it.
Dr Lee hoped incidences of landslide would be greatly reduced with the setting up of the body and that sustainable, environment-friendly development on hilly terrain could continue unimpeded.
10 Hari Untuk Ketahui Sama Ada Kawasan Bukit Antarabangsa Selamat Atau Tidak, Kata MB Selangor
KUALA LUMPUR, 8 Dis (Bernama) -- Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR), Institut Kerja Raya Malaysia (Ikram) serta pakar geologi yang ditugaskan memantau kawasan Bukit Antarabangsa dan sekitarnya memerlukan tempoh 10 hari untuk membuat kajian bagi memastikan sekiranya kawasan itu selamat untuk didiami.
"Walaupun dalam keadaan hujan dan berisiko lebih tinggi, pihak berkenaan menyatakan bahawa 10 hari adalah tempoh masa yang munasabah untuk mereka menyediakan jawapan sama ada kawasan ini berisiko atau tidak," kata Menteri Besar Selangor Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.
Bercakap kepada pemberita di sini hari ini beliau berkata JKR, Ikram serta pakar geologi itu sudah memulakan kajian mereka hari ini dengan menempatkan pelbagai peralatan mereka di kawasan berkenaan.
Katanya bagi tempoh jangka panjang, kerajaan Selangor akan mengarahkan supaya pemantauan dibuat di seluruh penempatan berhampiran lereng bukit, terutama di sekitar Kajang dan Hulu Selangor.
Beliau berkata hasil pemantauan yang mengambil masa tidak lebih daripada tiga bulan itu akan didedahkan kepada penduduk di kawasan tersebut, di mana penduduk akan dimaklumkan mengenai tahap risiko kediaman mereka serta bagaimana cara mengatasinya.
Kejadian tanah runtuh awal pagi Sabtu lepas yang mengakibatkan 14 buah banglo Taman Bukit Mewah dan Taman Bukit Utama di Bukit Antarabangsa tertimbus sehingga kini mengakibatkan empat orang terbunuh.
Ulasan Exco Perumahan Selangor di SINI
SATU PENGAKUAN
Semua pihak mengakui berleluasanya amalan politik wang dalam UMNO.
Tiada sesiapapun dari kalangan pemimpin tertinggi Pertubuhan
Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu yang menyangkal dakwaan atau mahu
mengheret sesiapa yang membuat kenyataan tentang isu politik wang
dalam pertubuhan tersebut ke mahkamah demi membersihkan imej atau
nama.Dulu mereka tidak mengakuinya. Sekarang nah apa lagi,
calon-calon yang jelas terlibat dengan politik wang hendaklah
dinyahkan dari bertanding atau jangan disokong sama
sekali. Jikalau memiliki prinsip dan harga diri, bertindaklah pada
peringkat yang lebih tinggi dan mulia lagi iaitu, keluarlah dari
UMNO. 
Isu politik wang jejas imej UMNO luar negara
Utusan online
PUTRAJAYA 8 Dis. – Beberapa aktiviti kelab UMNO di Australia telah dipinggirkan oleh pelajar dan rakyat Malaysia di sana kerana isu politik wang.
Ahli Majlis tertinggi UMNO, Datuk Mustapa Mohamed mendedahkan, dalam pertemuan beliau bersama ahli kelab-kelab UMNO di Australia termasuk di Perth, Canberra dan Melbourne, mereka telah menyuarakan kebimbangan mengenai UMNO yang dipinggirkan ekoran gejala itu.
“Mereka kini sukar untuk menganjurkan sebarang aktiviti kerana sukar untuk menarik pelajar dan rakyat di luar negara turut serta.
“Kini ramai yang mempersoalkan kewibawaan UMNO dan sedikit sebanyak menyukarkan pergerakan itu dalam usaha untuk menarik minat golongan muda dan pelajar kepada UMNO,” katanya.
VIDEO NASYID PERGI HAJI
Pergi Haji / PILGRIMAGE
Labbaikallah humma labbaik
Labbaikala sharikalakalabbaik
Innal hamda wanni'mata
Lakawalmulk la syarikalak
Artinya menuju Allah yang esa
Membawa hati dan diri yang hina
Memberi hadiah kepada Allah
Berhati-hatilah menghadapNya
Setiap hamba
Pergi haji dengan segala yang baik
Hati yang baik akhlak yang baik
Harta yang halal hati yang bersih
Niat yang suci amal mulia
Pergi haji
Ilmu tentangnya mestilah ada
Agar syarat dan rukun tepat sempurna
Sah dan batalnya dapat dijaga
Agar amalan hajinya tidak sia-sia
Tata tertib dan akhlak kenalah jaga
Buatlah dengan tenang serta tawadu'
Sabar dan tolak ansur mestilah ada
Jangan berkasar merempuh manusia
Tanah haram jagalah pantang larangnya
Pergi haji bukannya masa untuk membeli belah
Beringatlah betulkanlah niat kita
Moga-moga haji kita diterima
Jagalah pantang larangNya
Yang boleh rusakkan hati
Jauhkan maksiat dan yang sia-sia
Takutkan Allah yang esa
Ingat selalu padaNya
Agar kita senantiasa memiliki jiwa hamba
GOING FOR PILGRIMAGE
Labbaikallah humma labbaik
Labbaikala sharikalakalabbaik
Innal hamda wanni'mata
Lakawalmulk la syarikalak
Going for hajj means going to face Allah the Only God,Bringing heart which is shamed,
Giving gift to Allah,Be careful when facing Him
Every slave going for hajj with good intention
Pure heart and good akhlak,halal wealth and clean heart,Pious intention and good amal
Going for hajj, you must have knowledge about it, So that you complete its rukn(stepwise)
Sah and batal will be observed,So that your amal is not wasteful
going hajj, you must take care of ur akhlak
tertib and akhlak must also be observed
performed it with peace and tawaddu',you must have patience and cooperation, dont be pushing other human
being in haraam, be careful of its rule
going for hajj its not the time for shopping
remember to straighten ur niat/intention
so that ur hajj will b accepted
observed the rule which can ruin ur hajj
get away from maksiat which is wasteful
fear Allah and remember Him always
so that we have soul of a slave
VIDEO NASYID KASIH SAYANG
KaSiH SaYaNg / AFFECTION
Kasih Sayang
Artist: Raihan
Kasih sayang itu titi
Kasih sayang penghubung hati
Kasih sayang itu tali
Kasih sayang pengikat diri
Dari kasih timbul simpati
Dengan sayang ada persaudaraan
Kerana kasih ingin berbakti
Saling sayang ma'af mema'afkan
Kasih sayang itu baja
Kasih sayang penyubur jiwa
Kasih sayang itu penawar
Penguat cinta penghapus duka
Kasih manusia sering bermusim
Sayang manusia tiada abadi
Kasih TUHAN tiada bertepi
Sayang TUHAN janji-NYA pasti
Tanpa kasih sayang TUHAN
Tiada simpati tiada persaudaraan
Tanpa kasih sayang TUHAN
Tiada bakti tiada kema'afan
Kasih sayang pada semua
Kasih sayang sesama kita
Kasih sayang oooo dunia
Moga selamat di Akhirat sana
"Affection is a bridge
Affection ties the heart,
Affection is a junction,
Affection unites.
From affection comes sympathy,
From love comes togetherness,
From affection come benevolence,
Mutual love and forgiveness.
Affection flourishes,
Affection blooms the heart,
Affection alleviates,
Strengthen the love, wither the woe.
Human's affection is like the seasons,
Human's love is momentary,
The love from God has no boundaries,
His affectionate promises are bound to be.
Without His love and affection,
There's no condolence and companions,
Without His love and affection,
There's no kindness and compassion.
(Chorus)
Love and affection for all,
Love and affection for each one of us,
Love and affection Oo~ World..
May we be protected in the hereafter."
