Syed Ahmad Fathi's Blog, page 26

The Iron Man of India

Picture 1 : India Times

India has unveiled its mega statue of Sardar Patel – The tallest statue in the world as the symbol of its independence movement. The statue located at about 3.5 km downstream the Sardar Sarovar Dam near Rajpipla, 100 km southeast of the city Vadodara. The ceremony held in Wednesday, in conjuction with the 143rd anniversary of Patel’s birth was attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the mastermind behind the creation of the masterpiece.

About the project

The construction began on December 19, 2015 and took about 34 months to complete. The project leader, Padma Bhushan Ram V.Suthar is a 93-year-old acclaimed sculptor who graduated from the prestigious J.J School of Art in Bombay. He had been involved in numerous sculpting project such as Mother Chambal at Gandhi Sagar Dam, equestrian statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Amritsar and few statues of Mahatma Gandhi.

The statue is divided into five zones – Up to its shin is the first zone, comprising three levels, including an exhibit floor, mezzanine and roof. This zone will contain a Memorial Garden and a large museum. Zone 2 extends up to the statue’s thighs at 149 meters, while Zone 3 goes up to the viewing gallery at 153 meters. Zone 4 comprises the maintenance area and Zone 5 the head and shoulders.

Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi stated that the statue will stand high not just in meters and feet, but much more in terms of academic, historical, national and spiritual values

Who is Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel?

Vallabhbhai Patel popularly known as Sardar Patel or “iron man” of India was born on 31 October 1875 in Gujarat, India. He was an Indian barrister and statesman, the founding father of the Republic of India as he united all diverse 562 princely states to build one great Republic of India after its independence in 1947.

He also presented the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) in the constituent assembly. He served as the 1st Commander-in-chief of the Indian Forces, Minister of Home Affairs and as the first Deputy Prime Minister of India.

All you need to know about the statue

 

 

 

Picture 2: Statue of Unity

The Statue of Unity is currently the tallest statue in the world with the height of 182 meters, nearly twice the height New York’s Statue of Liberty
Materials consumed: 70,000 tonnes of cement, 18,500 tonnes of reinforcement steel, 6,000 tonnes of structural steel and 1,700 metric tonnes of bronze, which was used for the outer cladding of the structure, according to a government statement.
Engineered to withstand wind speeds of up to 50 m per second (almost 180 km per hour wind speed)
The viewing gallery at the height of 135 meters can accommodate up to 200 people at a time with the charge of 350 Rupee (USD$5) per person.
The total cost of the project is 2,989 crore (US$420 million).

  India’s new tourism spot

According to the official site, this statue will not just be a mute memorial but a fully functional tourism spot. Apart from the mega statue, tourists can visit the Valley of Flower, Museum & Audio Visual Gallery, and the research center. The statue will be expected to attract 10,000 tourists daily.

 

Menjelang Bajet 2019

*The following article is based on the reported news by BH online

SETIAP kali pembentangan bajet negara, seramai 1.6 juta penjawat awam pastinya tidak sabar menunggu pengumuman bonus, manakala rakyat berpendapatan rendah dan sederhana pula mengharapkan pengumuman bantuan kewangan dan pelbagai subsidi.

Tidak terkecuali Bajet 2019 yang akan dibentangkan Jumaat ini, ditunggu-tunggu pelbagai lapisan masyarakat untuk mengetahui goodies atau oleh-oleh yang memanfaatkan mereka.

Bajet berkenaan juga yang terakhir sebelum negara melangkah ke 2020 bagi merealisasikan Wawasan 2020 untuk menjadi negara maju mengikut acuan sendiri yang diilhamkan Perdana Menteri, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad pada 1991.

Bagaimanapun, kalangan penganalisis ekonomi yakin tidak banyak goodies yang diperoleh rakyat berikutan keadaan ekonomi negara yang tidak mengizinkan ketika ini.

Ada dalam kalangan penganalisis ekonomi menjangkakan tiada pengumuman mengenai bonus kepada penjawat awam, begitu juga kenaikan gaji dan elaun.

Jangkaan subsidi minyak dikurang

Bantuan Sara Hidup Rakyat (BSH) yang menggantikan Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) yang memanfatkan 4.1 juta penerima juga dijangka ditukar daripada pemberian wang tunai kepada barangan makanan.

Pakar ekonomi, Prof Dr Barjoyai Bardai menjangkakan subsidi minyak juga akan dikurangkan untuk meningkatkan pendapatan negara demi manfaat rakyat.

Perbelanjaan untuk sektor pertahanan dijangka dikurangkan, manakala tumpuan perbelanjaan kekal terarah kepada pendidikan dan kesihatan.

Walaupun sektor pendidikan terus diberi tumpuan, jumlah pinjaman menerusi Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional (PTPTN) mungkin dikurangkan.

Dianggap ‘belanjawan zaman susah’

Bajet 2019 boleh dianggap ‘belanjawan zaman susah’ berikutan bebanan hutang negara ditinggalkan Barisan Nasional (BN), selain jangkaan berlaku kegawatan ekonomi negara.

Sebagai belanjawan pertama kerajaan Pakatan Harapan (PH) selepas mengambil alih tampuk pemerintahan negara, sudah tentu kerajaan akan melakukan sesuatu yang akan dikenang oleh rakyat, aspirasi itu pastinya akan diambil kira oleh kerajaan.

“Namun, saya menjangka belanjawan untuk Pendidikan Teknikal dan Latihan Vokasional (TVET) akan meningkat kerana kerajaan memerlukan tenaga kerja berkemahiran tinggi serta memperkenalkan pembelajaran kemahiran baharu bagi mendepani cabaran Revolusi Perindustrian 4.0,” katanya ditemui, baru-baru ini.

Langkah menangani isu kos sara hidup kumpulan berpendapatan isi rumah 40 peratus terendah (B40) dan kumpulan berpendapatan isi rumah 40 peratus sederhana (M40) sewajarnya diberi tumpuan dalam Bajet 2019.

Bagi golongan tidak memiliki rumah sendiri sudah tentu mereka mahukan kediaman selesa untuk keluarga dan mengharapkan ada subsidi dan inisiatif diperkenalkan kerajaan.

Mereka sudah tentu mahu inisiatif yang akan diperkenalkan oleh kerajaan menerusi penggabungan semua agensi yang berkaitan perumahan negara menerusi Majlis Perumahan Mampu Milik Negara (MPMMN) memberi manfaat dan penyelesaian kepada masalah ketidakmampuan memiliki kediaman sendiri.

Rumah mampu milik isu yang berpanjangan yang bagaikan tiada penyelesaian sehingga ada menganggap rumah yang ingin dimiliki sebenarnya hanya ‘rumah mampu tengok’ bukan mampu dimiliki.

Penubuhan MPMMN diumumkan oleh Dr Mahathir ketika membentangkan Kajian Separuh Penggal Rancangan Malaysia Ke-11 (RMKe-11) bagi menyelaras pengurusan perumahan mampu milik awam.

Harga makanan

Menurut Kumpulan Bank Dunia, kenaikan harga makanan dan rumah serta pertumbuhan upah yang tidak menentu di Malaysia dijangka meningkatkan kos sara hidup kumpulan berpendapatan rendah secara lebih cepat dan beberapa kali ganda, berbanding golongan berpendapatan pertengahan dan tinggi.

Ketua Pakar Ekonomi dalam Makroekonomi, Perdagangan dan Pelaburan, Richard Record berkata, agensi itu menjelaskan jumlah yang tinggi daripada pendapatan isi rumah yang dibelanjakan golongan berpendapatan rendah ke atas makanan dan perumahan melonjakkan inflasi kumpulan itu melebihi kadar purata.

Sebab itulah Bajet 2019 perlu mengambil kira kepentingan golongan berkenaan, apatah lagi mereka golongan yang memberi sokongan padu kepada PH sehingga membentuk kerajaan dalam Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-14 (PRU-14), 9 Mei lalu.

Portal hartanah, PropertyGuru Malaysia (PropertyGuru) pula mengesyorkan kerajaan membenarkan pembukaan tanah rizab untuk pembangunan perumahan mampu milik pada pembentangan Bajet 2019. Langkah itu menurutnya dilihat mampu membantu meningkatkan pemilikan kediaman dalam kalangan rakyat tempatan.

Bantuan Pelajar Pendidikan Tinggi atau Baucar Buku 1Malaysia juga dinanti-nantikan pelajar, sama ada dasar itu diteruskan atau sebaliknya, hanya diketahui Jumaat ini.

Bantuan sebanyak RM300 setiap pelajar yang didebitkan menerusi Kad Diskaun Siswa 1Malaysia (KADS1M) memanfaatkan 1.2 juta pelajar pra-universiti, institusi pengajian tinggi (IPT) dan matrikulasi tahun ini.

Sabah dan Sarawak

Kerajaan sepatutnya meneruskan bantuan ini kerana ia memberi manfaat kepada pelajar dan jika jumlah penerima dikurangkan, ia seharusnya menumpukan kepada mahasiswa daripada keluarga berpendapatan rendah.

Penduduk Sabah dan Sarawak juga sudah tentu mahu menerima manfaat daripada belanjawan berkenaan dengan kurang-kurangnya 30 peratus daripada peruntukan pembangunan keseluruhan dalam Bajet 2019 disalurkan kepada dua negeri terbabit.

Pengerusi Pakatan Harapan Sarawak, Chong Chieng Jen mahu jumlah peratusan itu setimpal dengan keperluan pembangunan di kedua-dua wilayah, khususnya di kawasan pedalaman dan luar bandar yang serba kekurangan.

Berdasarkan belanjawan terdahulu yang dilaksanakan kerajaan BN ketika itu, Sabah dan Sarawak hanya memperoleh 10 hingga 13 peratus peruntukan pembangunan dalam bajet Kerajaan Persekutuan.

Dalam bajet kali ini, sudah tentu kedua-dua negeri ini mahu peruntukan lebih adil bagi memperkasakan pembangunan bersesuaian dengan saiz kedua-duanya sebagai wilayah terbesar di Malaysia.

Credit : Mohd Azrone Sarabatin

IMO 2020 Sulphur Emission

image 1 : EGCSA

SOx emission control

IMO has been working to reduce harmful impacts of shipping on the environment since the 1960s. Annex VI to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL Convention) was adopted in 1997, to address air pollution from shipping.

The main type of “bunker” oil for ships is heavy fuel oil, derived as a residue from crude oil distillation. Crude oil contains sulphur which, following combustion in the engine, ends up in ship emissions. Sulphur oxides (SOx) are known to be harmful to human health, causing respiratory symptoms and lung disease. In the atmosphere, SOx can lead to acid rain, which can harm crops, forests and aquatic species, and contributes to the acidification of the oceans.

image 2 : International Maritime Organization 

Limiting SOx emissions from ships will improve air quality and protects the environment. This is the reason why the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will enforce the emission limit of sulphur to 0.50% m/m (mass to mass) by 1 January 2020. Currently in certain area the emission has stricter limitation at 0.10 % m/m. This is the Emission Controls Area (ECA) zones that includes Baltic Sea area; the North Sea area; the North American area (covering designated coastal areas off the United States and Canada); and the United States Caribbean Sea area (around Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands).

 

What should the ship owner do?

Most of the merchant vessels in the world are equipped with diesel engines which are running in marine diesel oil (MDO) and heavy fuel oil (HFO). These engines are classified according to the IMO emission standards that commonly referred to as Tier I to Tier III standards. In the presence, IMO Tier I engines are no longer in service due to the regulations.

image 3 : Dieselnet

To further comply with the becoming IMO 2020 sulphur, the ship owners may opt to use emission compliant fuels such as LNG. They need to do major overhaul on the main engines; to change to engines that can run on the compliant fuels. This alteration may take some time and costly.

Another option is to install the scrubbers. It is an additional structure that being installed at the funnel area to act as a ‘filter’. The sulphur oxides from the exhaust are passed through a water stream system (gas treatment unit) to become sulphuric acid. This highly corrosive acid will be neutralised with sufficient alkaline seawater before being discharged to open seas.

Since the beginning of 2018, the scrubbers retrofit work had gradually increased. A survey of EGCSA members and recent reports have revealed that major ship operators such as Spliethoff, Frontline, DHT and Star Bulk have opted for scrubbers. The survey showed that 63 per cent of all ships have been or will be retrofitted with scrubbers, with 37 per cent are new building installations. 988 of 1,561 individual scrubber towers installed or on order are for open loop scrubbing. Bulk carriers are reportedly the top ship type adopting scrubber technology, with containerships and tankers following. In each of these sectors, open-loop installations predominate.

 

What happen to vessels not comply with the new regulation?

The vessels might be sanctioned and fined by individual Parties to MARPOL such as flag authorities and port States. IMO does not set fines of sanctions.

Lion Air crash in Indonesia

The tragedy of Lion Air  JT 610 has been the headlines since Monday. The Boeing 737 with 189 people on board took off from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at 06:20 local time and scheduled to arrive at Pangkal Pinang crashed into seas off Jakarta just after 13 minutes into flight.

It was reported that the pilot had made a “return to base” or “RTB” request slightly after took off and approved by ATC.

A search and rescue agency official says he’s not expecting any survivors from the Lion Air plane that crashed into seas off Jakarta with 189 people aboard.

The operations director at the agency, Bambang Suryo Aji, says the search effort is focusing on finding bodies. He said six body bags have been used so far for human remains recovered.

Aji said the location of the plane hull hasn’t been identified yet. Waters where it sank are up to 30 meters (100 feet) deep.

The piloting crew on that day, Captain Bhavye Suneja assisted by his co-pilot, Harvino had a combined total of 11,000 hours flying time, according to a statement by Lion Air.

Meanwhile the Australian government officials and contractors has been instructed not to fly on Lion Air and their subsidiaries airlines. The statement will be reviewed once the investigation are clear. Malaysian government has confirmed, no Malaysian on board the flight.

This is the second major case of domestic plane crash involving Lion Air after the Bali incident in 2013. The flight JT904 from Husein Sastranegara International Airport in Bandung to Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali was crash landed  but no fatalities reported.

Source: BBC, MSN

Sang penguasa yang jatuh dari takhta

 Picture credit: British Journal of Photography

Sejarah adalah kumpulan cerita berkenaan dengan peristiwa dan manusia di masa lalu. Howard Zinn berkata bahawa orang yang tidak mempelajari sejarah umpama anak kecil, yang tidak mempunyai pengalaman lampau. Dia mudah diperdaya oleh orang lain. Dalam susur galur sejarah kita membaca bagaimana pemimpin-pemimpin megah jatuh dari takhta kuasa. Kuasa yang dipegang seolah-olah kebal akhirnya runtuh umpama tanah di lereng bukit yang dimajukan di Pulau Pinang. Nampak gah diluar tetapi asasnya terhakis, kuasa yang korup akhirnya akan jatuh juga.

Ferdinand Marcos di Filipina merupakan antara kisah sejarah yang wajar kita ambil pengajaran. Marcos merupakan presiden Filipina ke-10 bermula pada tahun 1965. Beliau memerintah secara diktator dan mengunakan undang-undang tentera. Beliau terkenal dengan korupsi, kemewahan dan pemerintahan yang brutal. Beliau jatuh dari takhta kuasa pada tahun 1986 melalui People Power Revolution. Beliau kemudian lari meninggalkan Filipina dan tinggal di Hawaii. Isteri beliau, Imelda Marcos meninggalkan 508 baju gowns, 888 beg tangan dan 1060 pasang kasut di Istana Malacanang. Marcos menghembuskan nafas terakhir pada tahun 1989 di Honolulu, Hawaii.

Viktor Yanukovych juga merupakan kisah sejarah yang wajar kita pelajari. Yanukovych dilantik menjadi presiden Ukraine ke-4 pada tahun 2010. Yanukovych tinggal di sebuah kompleks mewah yang dinamakan Mezhyhirya yang bernilai 300 juta USD, yang kini telah diubah menjadi muzium yang memaparkan kehidupan mewah beliau. Kejatuhan beliau dari kuasa bermula dengan protes kecil yang dipanggil Euromaidan, yang menolak polisi pro-Moscow beliau, protes ini merebak ke skala nasional apabila polis mula menggunakan kekerasan. Beliau kemudian melarikan diri ke Russia pada tahun 2014.

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali merupakan presiden Tunisia ke-2 dari tahun 1987 hinggalah beliau digulingkan pada tahun 2011. Beliau dianggarkan mengumpul kekayaan sebanyak 17 billion USD di akaun-akaun luar negara termasuk Argentina, Cayman Islands, Virgin Islands, Qatar dan UAE. Protes rakyat bermula apabila Mohamed Bouazizi, seorang peniaga sayur jalanan membakar diri apabila barang jualannya dirampas pihak berkuasa. Protes ini kemudian merebak menjadi revolusi rakyat yang marah dengan kadar pengangguran tinggi, harga barang makan yang mahal, korupsi dan sekatan kebebasan politik dan bersuara. Ben Ali kemudiannya melarikan diri ke Arab Saudi dan mendapat suaka politik.

Najib Razak merupakan perdana menteri Malaysia ke-6 dari tahun 2009 hingga 2018. Beliau telah memperkenalkan GST pada era pemerintahan beliau bagi mengimbangi pendapatan kerajaan yang berkurangan apabila harga petrol dunia menurun. Langkah ini tidak disenangi kebanyakan rakyat. Semasa pemerintahan beliau juga telah berlaku skandal 1MDB yang mengumpulkan hutang yang dianggarkan sebanyak 12 billion USD. Serbuan polis ke rumah beliau mendapati 1400 tali leher, 567 beg tangan, 2200 cincin, dan 423 jam tangan dirampas. Najib tewas dalam pilihanraya ke-14 pada 9 Mei 2018. Setelah tewas Najib melarikan diri ke facebook dan mula memuat naik status troll terhadap Lim Guan Eng.

 

Edisi Posmen : Surat Untuk YB Maszlee

 

 

Kehadapan YB yang dikasihi,

Semoga YB dalam keadaan waras dan sihat hendaknya. Pertama sekali saya nak meluahkan rasa simpati kepada YB kerana lately ni YB sering menjadi bualan orang ramai. Sejujurnya saya nampak benar keikhlasan YB dalam membentuk masyarakat Malaysia Baharu ni. Kadang-kadang bila YB cemas dan mati akal bila dihujani soalan-soalan cepumas dari wartawan-wartawan yang entah dari mana tu, saya pun jadi sedih. Alah, jangan pedulikan lah mereka-mereka tu YB. Mereka tu bukan tahu pun maksud seni sebenar. Bagi saya warna stokin hitam tu memang idea yang bernas. Bak kata Rain dalam iklan shampoo dulu: “Hitam itu kemas, Hitam itu menawan”.

Tapi hal stokin ni bukanlah maksud sebenar saya mengirimkan surat ini. Begini kisahnya YB:

Tengahari tadi dalam pukul 1 lebih, usai menghantar surat di Tasek Gelugor saya pun singgah la di kedai nasi campur bersebelahan sekolah tahfiz. Cuaca pun asyik mendung dari pagi tadi, saya fikir elok benar la saya isi perut sebelum ke Kubang Menerong. Elok je saya duduk, ada seorang ustaz tiba-tiba mengamuk sambil hentak meja. Sikit lagi nak tertumpah milo ais saya. Ini semua berpunca dari Timbalan Menteri YB yang mengatakan bahawa program MyBrain15 tidak akan disambung. Terkejut saya YB, tapi saya maintain cool and handle the surprise. Tak mungkin jabatan dibawah kelolaan YB akan membuat keputusan membabi buta macam ni. Saya bertanya la pada ustaz yang mengamuk tu untuk kepastian. Alangkah pilu hati saya melihat berita yang disiarkan di Utusan Online tu YB.

YB kata program MyBrain15 tu takkan disambung dengan alasan tak mendapat kelulusan peruntukan. Saya baru je memasang hajat nak menyambung pengajian dalam jurusan logistik tahun depan. Cita-cita saya adalah untuk memastikan Pos Malaysia terus berkembang pesat dalam industri logistik dan mampu menaja pasukan bola gergasi Inggeris yang unggul seperti Liverpool FC contohnya. Tapi apa kan daya, angan-angan saya jatuh berderai, layu di tasik madu.

YB,

Saya masih ingat pada 17 September lepas, rakan DAP YB di Sabah, Datuk Wong Tien Fatt berkata bahawa Sabah kekurangan tenaga doktor. Beliau juga mengakui bahawa bukan sahaja Sabah malah seluruh negara memerlukan lebih tenaga doktor untuk mengatasi masalah 1:600 ratio doktor dan pesakit. Selepas itu, pada 26 September pula rakan YB dari AMANAH, Dato’ Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah selaku Timbalan Menteri Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan berkata bahawa negara kita memerlukan lebih ramai arborist untuk menjaga keseimbangan alam sekitar. Tiba-tiba pada bulan ini, Timbalan YB, Teo Nie Ching pulak mengumumkan tidak akan menawarkan lagi program MyBrain15 pada tahun ini untuk rakyat dan diakui oleh YB sendiri. Apa semua ini YB?!

YB,

Macam ni lah, saya terangkan dengan konsep yang mudah nak faham. Umpamanya YB ada 2 ekor anak ayam. YB nak kembangkan dari 2 ekor tu kepada 2.6 billion ekor. Jadi YB kena lah jaga ayam yang YB ada tu dengan membeli makanan terbaik, panggil veterinar datang check up, supaya ayam-ayam YB boleh beranak pinak. Ini tidak, YB buat relax, bagi alasan tiada modal. Memang sampai bila-bila lah Pakatan Har… maksud saya harapan YB hanya tinggal harapan.

YB,

Akhir kata, apa pun terjadi, saya tetap di belakang YB. Selaku seorang pemuda yang berdedikasi, saya akan teguh menyokong wadah perjuangan YB dan rakan-rakan walaupun kadang-kadang penyataan YB membuatkan saya confuse lalu hilang fokus saya ketika menunggang motosikal dalam perjalanan menghantar surat. Mungkin level pemikiran seorang Posmen biasa macam saya ni tak berupaya nak menghadam hal politik Malaysia Baharu ni. Maafkan saya YB.

Oh ya satu lagi perkara YB. Kalau plan stokin YB berjaya, saya ingat nak jadi supplier di zon utara ni. What say you? Maklumlah harga stokin di Padang Besar murah-murah. Boleh juga tambah-tambah pendapatan ye tak?

Yang Benar,

Jefryzal Talib

 

 

1948: The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine

There are several competing narratives about the tragedy that befell Palestinians in 1948. The Palestinians regarded the event as ‘Nakba’ or catastrophe in English. The Israeli regarded it as their victory and the foundation of their modern state. Ilan Pappe, the Chair in History at the University of Exeter, UK, however, challenge these two narratives. He argues that what happened in 1948 was a clear-cut case of a war crime, a systematic and planned ethnic cleansing which rooted from the Zionist ideology.

The result of this crime was the expulsion of 800,000 Palestinians, 531 villages destroyed and 11 urban neighborhood emptied. Pappe argued that the evidence of this crime is abundance, it is possible to reconstruct the historiographical account of the crime, and the names of the criminal are known. He argued that all these criminals must be brought into a special tribunal and serve justice.

Pappe described in the book how British, with the work of their officer, Orde Wingate, helped train Jewish settlers combat tactic. Wingate who was enchanted with the Zionist ideology transformed the paramilitary organization, the Hagana to become a military army. Wingate attached the Hagana with British forces to crush the Arab revolt, which they jointly attacked villages. The Hagana also gained valuable military experience by volunteering in British war effort in the second world war.

Pappe also disclosed detailed data collection and studies done by the Zionist called ‘The Village Files’ which gather information on every single village by the help of professional topographer, photographer, surveyor, and a network of spies. These files include data on political composition, religious affiliation, quality of land, water springs, main sources for income, the name of the mukhtars, and during the final update in 1947, the files focused on ‘wanted list’ for each village. This intelligence was crucial during the execution of the ethnic cleansing operation in 1948.

Early on the Zionist leadership understand that the major problem to established an exclusively Jewish state is the vast population of Palestinians living in their desired territory. Ben-Gurion, the architect of the ethnic cleansing admits this reality to his Mapai party in 1947, that 40% of the Jewish population will not create a stable state. To overcome this problem the Zionist encourage Jewish immigration in a public venue as a solution. But they know this will not be enough, in their closed meeting the solution on the table was expulsion by force.

The initial Zionist strategy is to used retaliation as a pretext to expel Palestinian villagers. Although many of the villages have been attacked up to December 1947 the mood on the ground did not give the Zionist this pretext. Palti Sela, Zionist intelligence officer reported that although many Jewish settlements have turned their residence into a military outpost. Many Palestinians villages continue to live as normal, in fact, many received him during his visit with a warm greeting as a potential customer for trading. The Zionist knew they need a new strategy as they did not have any pretext to retaliate.

Pappe noted the betrayal the Palestinian has suffered from their Jewish neighbor, who they themselves had invited to come and stay with them in the Ottoman period. The Jew arrived in Palestine wretched and penniless from Europe, they shared their thriving metropolitan city only to be expelled and betrayed by their neighbor.

Starting in February 1948 the operation to ethnically cleanse Palestine become more systematic, no longer sporadic as in December 1947. Qisayra was the first village to be explled in its entirety on 15 February 1948 under the watchful eyes of the British troops stationed nearby. The Zionist in their operation will blow up houses while the families still sleeping inside, which left many dead children. Up to this moment, the Palestinians still reluctant to fight, the Zionist later codified their operation into a well-defined plan to uproot the Palestinians en masse from their homeland. The massacre in Deir Yassin also was discussed in the book, the Hagana sent Irgun and Stern Gang to absolve themselves. Many villagers were massacred in cold blood, sparing not even children, and women were raped.

Arab leaders at that time were not serious in defending Palestine while the king of Jordan made a secret pact with the Jews on dividing the land between themselves. The Arab leader also knew that their young nations have inferior military power compared to the Jews. Although the leaders are weak, their citizens demanded action, as the event evolved, although their leaders betrayed the people, volunteers and soldiers on the ground fight heroically, some defied their leader’s order to retreat.  Among them, worthy of mention include the volunteer from the Muslim Brotherhood, volunteers and soldiers from Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.

Looking at the historical archive, Pappe dispelled Israeli myth about Palestinians voluntary flight. Popular among traditional Israeli historians that they made way for invading Arab armies, the reality, however, is that hundred thousands of Palestinians already been uprooted and expelled even before the war began. This sheer fabrication according to Pappe – “holds no water”. Many of the massacres committed by the Jews were re-told vividly by Pappe from survivors account. One survivor, Muhammad Nimr al-Khatib described the massacre that took place in Tantura “The Jews gathered all women and children in a place, where they dumped all the bodies, for them to see their dead husbands, fathers, and brothers..”.

Despite the cowardice and betrayal from Arab leaders, Pappe recounted the bravery of individual soldiers, who defied orders to retreat and hold ground to defend the villagers. Captain Abu Rauf Abd al-Raziq for example, decided to stay behind and defend the village of Taytaba and Qalansuwa. There is also an account of Lebanese soldiers, crossing the borders to help defend Palestinians villages.

Then there are cases of rape. The most chilling was the case on 12 August 1949 by soldier based in Kibbutz Nirim where they abducted 12 years old Palestinian girl. She becomes a sex slave for the Jewish platoon, 22 soldiers participated in this barbaric act. The soldiers shaved her head, gang-raped her and in the end murdered her.

The Jews not only committed genocide and land grab. They also were responsible for what Pappe termed as ‘memoricide’ – a systematic act backed by the apartheid state to erase the memory of the Nakba in 1948. This was done by demolishing the villages, renaming the site with a Jewish name, reconstructing settlement on top of the ruin villages, and also planting a forest to cover the destroyed villages. This policy of erasing the memory and history of the Palestinians on their stolen land was the main job of the Jewish National Fund (JNF).

At the end of the book, Pappe highlighted that there are minority Jews that are not blind and deaf to the crimes committed by their army. Although their numbers are few, they hold the key to reconciliations with the Palestinians, as Pappe believes that peace only can be achieved, when these crimes were acknowledged and the right of return for refugees are respected. Overall the book is about how Palestinian been betrayed by their elites, Arab leaders, British, UN, and their Jewish neighbor. All of whom left them to bleed to death, savagely massacred by the Jews fueled by the Zionist ideology. If you did not cry reading this book, you have lost your heart.

 

 

Bantah1050 – Kaji semula gaji minima

SIDANG MEDIA MENGUMUMKAN PENYAMPAIAN MEMORANDUM KEPADA YAB PERDANA MENTERI MALAYSIA 17 OKTOBER 2018 • DI PARLIMEN

KAJI SEMULA AMAUN GAJI MINIMA. KAMI BANTAH KENAIKAN CUMA RM50!

Pagi ini (Jumaat) 12 Oktober 2018 sidang media penting telah di adakan oleh MTUC bersama wakil kepimpinan Gabungan Bantah 1050 untuk mengumumkan maklumat penyampaian Memorandum seperti di atas.

Anda sedia maklum bahawa YAB Perdana Menteri telah mengumumkan Gaji Minima baru seragam RM1050 di Semenanjung dan Sabah dan Sarawak.

Bagi Semenanjung, kenaikan Gaji Minima hanya RM50. Amaun ini adalah satu penghinaan kepada kaum pekerja di Malaysia yang telah menyumbang produktiviti mereka untuk menjamin keuntungan para majikan dan pembangunan negara.

Lebih 30 organisasi terdiri dari Kesatuan Sekerja, Organisasi dan parti politik akan hadir untuk menyerahkan memorandum dan menuntut kajian semula kenaikan RM 50 kepada jumlah yang lebih tinggi – RM 1,800.

Netizenism: Feeding the Monster

One of the fine book to understand how propaganda and social media works best was Ryan Holiday’s work through his book ‘Trust me I’m lying’. He brilliantly explained how publicist and propagandist used readers emotion such as anger and hate, to put forward their argument, swayed public opinion for their political purpose, and market their products. But, Holiday argues that often these tactics of consuming public anger given rise to many negative implications, such as permanent hatred and in worst cases, death. He used a metaphor of “feeding the monster”. Often a seemingly harmless person working with keyboard and screen resulted in great damage in society.

Returning to local politics here in Malaysia, today we saw Malaysians netizens bashing the new government almost every day. Every government move, whether good or bad, was smacked with insult, sarcasm, criticism, and all sort of condemnations.

The newly formed government seems to have lost their game in the social media arena. Minister of the religious affair for example, after waves of criticisms about his conduct, has back-off saying that “netizen is not at the same level as him” for him to argue with. More embarrassingly was the education minister, who cheated voters with his promise to abolish toll and put an end to political appointment in local universities. He used to troll the previous government with his witty criticism, now embarrassed with his own words, he had to backtrack and delete his past postings as a swarm of netizens used his very words against him. The more recent case was a punk-hair YB in Melaka who threaten to sue villagers who made his rude video gone viral. A nationwide netizen joint forces mocking his hairstyle and rude behavior, he finally brought down and apologize for his misconduct.

The apologist and defender of the current government always lamented this fact. They argued that the netizen only knows how to bash and criticize their government without having real picture and facts in hand. They spew hate to discredit the government, always irrational and out of their mind. The netizen has become a monster, and they are on the loose. But who actually created them?

No one can tell for sure, but what is clear is that the current government during their time in opposition is the one feeding the monster in the past before they came back to bite them. They used to feed on people’s anger for their campaign, always without giving them any room to think rationally. They objected to all what the government did, whether good or bad. Cash payment for lower income group branded as bribery and ‘dedak’, infrastructure projects are attacked, foreign investments are mocked as selling off national sovereignty, even criminal cases are politicized squeezing the judicial branch to exercise their independence. Today, the same monster they have been feeding in the past, came haunting them back.

That is why when I heard the apologist argument to salvage people’s trust, I find it very laughable. If they are searching for somebody to blame they just need to look at the mirror. They only have themselves to blame.

 

Masalah kalau bagi budak jadi menteri

Oleh: Abdul Rahim Hilmi Zakariya

Lim Teong Kim merupakan Pengarah NFDP (Program Pembangunan Bola Sepak Kebangsaan). Dia bukan pengurus skuad B-16 negara sahaja. NFDP ini melatih akar umbi bermula dari skuad B-12 sehingga skuad B-17.

Jika hendak mengukur kejayaan LTK ini, kita perlu lihat kemajuan semua pasukan yang berada di bawah program NFDP.

Contohnya skuad B-13 yang menjadi juara Iber Costa di Portugal 3 tahun lepas. Mengalahkan skuad muda Sporting Lisbon 2-1. Sporting Lisbon ini kelab yang mengasah bakat Cristiano Ronaldo dan Luis Figo. Dan kita menang.

Kejohanan ini bukan calang calang penyertaannya. Skuad B-14 China, FC Basel dan Bayer Leverkusen antara yang turut sama mencabar. Tetapi kita menang. Malahan pemain Malaysia Nabil Zainuddin dipilih pemain terbaik kejohanan dan Zulhilmi Sharani pula menerima anugerah penjaga gol terbaik.

Sebulan sebelum itu, skuad ini juga menang Whitsun U-14 Challenge di Dortmund, Jerman. Menjadi juara kumpulan dan menumbangkan kelab Denmark FC Midtjylland 4-0 pada perlawanan akhir. Pasukan senior kelab ini adalah Juara Liga Super Denmark musim lepas. Kelab ini juga adalah kelab pertama di Denmark yang mempunyai akademi bola sepak dan paling banyak melahirkan bakat muda untuk negara tersebut. Kelab ini dah ada 14 tahun program akademi muda yang tersusun, boleh kena buli dengan skuad negara yang baru 4 tahun buat program NFDP.

Sebab itu saya berani sebut menteri sukan kita ini terlalu mentah apabila menilai prestasi LTK hanya untuk satu skuad sahaja. Dan kebodohan paling utama adalah apabila beliau mempertikaikan gaji LTK sebanyak Rm175,000 sebulan. Seolah-olah beliau tidak tahu harga pasaran.

Gaji LTK itu hanyalah kira kira €8000 seminggu. Dan mengambil kira reputasinya selaku jurulatih skuad muda Bayern Munich dan pernah melahirkan pemain bernilai tinggi seperti Thomas Mueller, gaji itu sebenarnya munasabah.

Terutama apabila kita membandingkannya dengan gaji Jupp Heynckes, pengurus Bayern Munich pada 2013 (tahun akhir perkhidmatan LTK di Bayern) adalah kira kira € 100,000 seminggu.

Sepatutnya benda-benda ini cuma perlu buat post mortem dan cadangan penambahbaikan. Bukannya diumum seolah olah macam hendak mengatakan LTK ini makan duit rakyat tanpa buat kerja.

Kan kita persoal gaji dia sebagai MP, menteri dan elaun-elaun lain yang berpuluh ribu tapi tiada hasil signifikan tu macam mana pula?

Dan kalau betul-betul hendak di tutup NFDP kerana nak jimat duit, yang pergi isytihar nak buat pasukan MotoGP tu pakai belanja air liur kah?

Ini lah masalah kalau bagi budak jadi menteri.

Artikel ini merupakan pandangan penulis dan tidak semestinya mewakili pendirian The Independent Insight.