Najib’s cousin Hisham, who is also Home Minister, has promised no stone will be left unturned:

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein ordered the police to be transparent in its investigation.

He said he would personally be monitoring the investigation and wants the police to investigate “everybody and everything.”

“The incident is sad but the process of the law must take its place without anyone speculating, making false accusations or politicising it. The truth must prevail,” he said. [The Star]

That’s good to know.

But if nothing much turns up after “everybody and everything” is investigated, we should not be too disappointed.

This blog has been made to understand that these sort of cases are not the main priority for our law enforcement personnel.

Under the crime prevention Key Result Area, the government believes that enabling us to hang on to our handbags is the key to a safer Malaysia:

The Home Ministry will focus on curbing snatch thefts as part of the Government’s efforts to reduce the crime rate.

Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said his key performance index (KPI) would depend on the Government’s ability to improve crime prevention with the “priority on snatch theft”. [The Star]

So take note: Mild stuff such as murder, robbery, rape, kidnapping, child sex abuse, domestic violence, and vice come after the abominable, inhumane and massively sinful crime that is snatch thievery in the To-Do list that has been drawn up for the police by the Home Minister.

Boy, I admire Hisham. He’s set really high standards for himself this time.

MACC in particular will have its hands full in helping to ensure Najib and Barisan Nasional get re-elected a few years from now.

The commission has certainly been busy and here we get a glimpse of how it conducts interrogations:

“They called me a stupid Chinese … Are you from China? You can’t speak Malay?” said Tan Boon Wah.

Tan was called in by the MACC as part of the investigation into the alleged misuse of public funds by state executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah.

Tan, who is also a businessman, had last year supplied flags worth RM2,400 for Ean Yong’s constituency of Seri Kembangan.

“They asked whether I supplied flags. I said yes but then I was forced to admit that I did not supply the flags,” said Tan.

… “I was shouted at: ‘This is my place, you better believe that I can hit you’,” said Tan.

… Tan said the MACC officials also threatened to arrest his wife and detain his children.[Malaysian Insider]

Besides the oral and aural examination, the commission also tests your physical fitness by employing methods popular with law enforcement personnel the world over:

Tan … also claimed that he was subjected to torture and was threatened that he would be beaten if he refused to admit to allegations made by the investigators.

… “I was then asked to stand and look straight. I was not allowed to rest my head. I was made to stand for four hours,” he added.

… He denied that detainees were provided with beds to sleep on after interrogation.

Tan is a wuss.

He should be thankful that it was the MACC and not the police that grilled him.

In our efforts to clamp down on corruption in this country, we should not shy away from utilising best practices that produce results.

Granted, there will be collateral damage such as people falling/jumping from the 14th floor of a building, but as the saying goes, “No Pain, No Gain”.

MY CONDOLENCES to the family and friends of Teoh Beng Hock.

May we find out the truth about his death.

The plan is that improvements in these areas will make our lives better and get the Barisan Nasional re-elected in the next general election.

Or so Najib hopes.

To help the dude along way, this blog will highlight the gaps in his efforts so as to keep his administration on its toes and ensure that he cakap serupa bikin. (Now where have I heard that before?)

Today, I’m unveiling a new blog category, KRA, and sub-categories that correspond to the six areas: Crime prevention, combating corruption, providing greater access to quality and affordable education, improving the quality of life for the poor, improving rural infrastructure and upgrading public transportation in the medium term.

Posts under these categories will focus on stuff that demonstrate things have not changed much or are not expected to change much, if they have not gotten worse.

The positive news I leave to the mainstream media, as I trust they are more than willing and able to trumpet the good shit as and when it happens.

So here goes.

We kick off with upgrading public transportation in the medium term.

He also unveiled measures to improve service levels:

… public transport firms were expected to adhere to Government’s guidelines for efficient management of their fleet, display the fare schedule in all their vehicles and ensure training for all their drivers.

… expected to cooperate with the authorities to set up a databank of drivers’ records to aid enforcement against those blacklisted.

… a 25% discount to the disabled and senior citizens, streamlining of fares for Sabah and Sarawak, installation of global positioning systems and phasing out non-air conditioned buses by 2010.

Puspakom … to reduce its fees to re-calibrate taxi meter fare from RM50 to RM10. [The Star]

On the face of it, all this sounds positive.

But will we see improvements in service quality commensurate with a 30% fare hike?

I find it hard to believe that we will. Why?

When asked if the public was going to be upset with the fare hike, Nazri said:

“It is not to burden the people. But if we do not increase it, operators will lose money and close shop. There might not be such services any more.” [New Straits Times]

Now, I thought the increase would allow operators to make more money and hence, spend more to enhance the quality of their services.

But if what Nazri says is true, then the fare hike will merely have the effect of keeping them afloat.

In other words, we are gonna pay more from Aug 1 for the privilege of enjoying the same lousy service we’ve been getting all this while.

Maybe Nazri exaggerates?

Maybe not. Listen to the Pan Malaysian Bus Operators Association here:

The 30% fare increase for express buses and Kuala Lumpur stage coaches will not do much for the industry.

Pan Malaysian Bus Operators Association president Datuk Mohd Ashfar Ali said that a 30% interim surcharge had already been implemented since Sept 15 last year, and this was just making it permanent.

“As far as we are concerned, it’s nothing new,” he said yesterday.

He said the hikes were “sad” as it meant that passengers could not enjoy better service, and workers would not be able to get their bonuses and salary increases. [The Star]

And the taxi drivers:

Despite the announced rise in fares, some taxi drivers currently operating without meters said they did not feel the need to change.

“I can still earn more operating without the meter,” said a taxi driver who did not wish to be identified.

Most taxi drivers interviewed, however, said they were happy with the new rates as it was better than nothing.

Does that sound like people eager and raring to serve you better?

I am honoured.

EARLIER About a week ago, I blogged about our politicians being on Twitter.

At the time, I noted that The Det had 418 followers.

This was way behind the likes of Najib, Anwar, KJ and Lim Kit Siang.

Since then, things have changed:

The Det — 418 to 1,324 followers, 217%

Najib — 2,347 to 2,576, 9%

Anwar — 1,469 to 1,620, 10%

KJ — 1,422 to 1,651, 16%

LKS — 2,673 to 2,836, 6%

Ku Li — 262 to 319, 22%

Jeff Ooi — 1,050 to 1,108, 5%

I think the surge in the number of followers of Da M’s tweets is nothing short of phenomenal — 217% in just 7 days!

Somebody call the Malaysia Book of Records quick.

THE DET has protected his updates and you can only be a follower if he gives you the nod after you put in a request.

Mine is pending.

Oh please, sir, can I be your follower, please?

Wait a minute … what am I saying?

In Bahasa Malaysia, we would say “BODOH”.

I cannot believe such a suggestion could come from people who are in charge of education, in this or any other country.

But I’m okay with taking time off Music and Physical Education.

You don’t need to learn Music in school to achieve great heights in the field. At least not in Malaysia.

All you need is a smattering of talent, and Akademi Fantasia will take care of the rest.

“Pitching to kena jaga“, as they always say on the show.

PE? I have an idea. Let’s replace it with that other Physical Education — Sex Education — and teach it in English.

I bet not many school-going Mat Rempit know what a mofo is, although they need only look in the mirror to spot one.

Seriously though, taught properly, Music and PE are important components of a well-rounded education.

We can teach the two subjects in English.

Doe, a deer, a female deer, Ray, a drop of golden sun, Me, a name, I call myself … you know the rest.

Or don’t you?

Ini tak pegi sekolah tadika ni.

As for PE, give the kids a football and get the teacher to play the role of a very strict referee. Have him blow the whistle for even a hint of roughness, and see how many times he is told to “fuck off”.

A definite improvement would be when the kids can string both more than two passes and two words together. For example, after the teacher-ref disallows a goal scored from a brilliant 10-pass move, the disappointed players rush to him and shout, “You’re a fookin’ disgrace, ref”.

Najib’s increasing popularity and the PAS leadership’s dalliance with UMNO contributed to the result.

It’s decision time: Either go the all the way with UMNO or quit this destructive and scandalous affair altogether.

Maybe PAS should convene an emergency muktamar or something to that effect to settle this issue once and for all.

Whatever the decision, the party should not expect to come out smelling like roses after a romp in the cesspool.

Probably, the thinking is that these are the areas that most concern the public and if reasonable improvement can be demonstrated over the next few years leading up to the general election, there’s a good chance of a solid victory for Najib and Barisan Nasional.

I agree.

The six KRAs are crime prevention, combating corruption, providing greater access to quality and affordable education, improving the quality of life for the poor, improving rural infrastructure and upgrading public transportation in the medium term.

As with many things, actual improvement is not as crucial as improved perception.

Case in point, crime prevention. You need not have been the victim of a crime to feel unsafe.

Crimes in your neighbourhood, friends and relatives falling victim to burglaries and thefts, crime stories in newspapers — these things shape your perception of crime.

The perception gets worse when these things happen around you but the authorities claim the situation is under control.

All this increases public sceptism and despair.

As far as crime prevention is concerned, Najib needs to have the public feel safe and secure again.

It is not going to be easy, especially when the criminals seem to be only part of the problem:

… the government allocated the PDRM RM8 billion to upgrade itself under the 9th Malaysia Plan, a tripling of their allocation under the 8th Malaysia Plan.

Despite the huge extra amounts we are spending on policing, there has been no dent on our crime problem … [Tengku Razaleigh in a speech on June 10]

RM8 billion is a lot of money, especially when it’s taxpayers’ money.

It makes you wonder whether we would have been better off paying local crime lords and kingpins to rein in their underlings, clamp down on foreign worker-criminals, and put the fear of God in the Mat Rempit.

I think they’d have been more than happy do it for RM8 billion over five years.

Right about now, you would be hard pressed to find people who would say the money allocated to the police has been well spent.

It also does not help that the government surrenders all too easily at the slightest hint of opposition to the full implementation of the recommendations of the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operations and Management of the Royal Malaysian Police.

And there is news that IGP Musa Hassan will get his contract extended when it expires in September.

I have nothing personal against the man, but I do not see how public perception of the police and its ability to prevent crime can be turned around when you retain the services of a person under whose watch an expenditure of RM8 billion amounted to nothing more than continued concern over public safety and security, as well as continued resistance from the police force to the implementation of the IPCMC.

Clearly, if Najib does nothing that can turn around public perception of the police, he will not be able to turn around public perception of crime in this country.

I pray that we are succesful in our crime prevention efforts, as all of us want to feel safe again.

But given the issues, I do not see how Najib is going to achieve that.

I think this sharp increase has been primarily due to more people going to his blog after all that media attention on the poll he put up the other day concerning the government’s decision to revert to BM for the teaching of Science and Mathematics.

EARLIER Everybody’s on Twitter these days.

Some of our most famous politicians have jumped on the bandwagon and it’s kinda fun to see how many followers they have.

Malaysia’s uber-blogger, Da M, has 418 followers, and true to the sort of leader he was and perhaps still is, da man follows NO ONE.

The current prime minister Najib Razak has five times more followers at 2,347 and he too follows no one.

Big mistake there I think, because being the inferior persona in the duality known as THE MAHAJIB, he should at least follow The Det.

Boy, Jib, you are so gonna get your ass fried for this oversight, even if THE MAHAJIB is lying low for the moment.

Anwar Ibrahim has 1,469 followers and he in turn follows 9 others, none of whom sound the least bit familiar.

Ma man KJ has 1,422 followers and follows 41 others, including the likes of Tengku Razaleigh, who has 262 followers and follows 4 people, including (surprisingly) Lim Kit Siang, who has 2,673 followers and like M and Jib, follows no one.

DAP blogger-MP Jeff Ooi has 1,050 followers and follows 333 people.

PAK LAH, Malaysia’s happiest retiree, of course does not tweet and this is not surprising as even when he was suppossedly in charge, he hardly did much.

But if the dear man were on Twitter, I bet he would be following EVERYONE.

Okay, okay, that wasn’t nice. I apologise.

PAS leaders don’t seem to be bothered about the whole Twitter phenomenon.

Dudes, I say use it. You’ll thank me later.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s feisty and combative fourth prime minister, is celebrating his 84th birthday two days early in a 1,000-person dinner party here tonight, hosted by tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan at the Berjaya Times Square Hotel ballroom.

… Official records put Dr Mahathir’s birthday as December 20, 1925 but he claimed after stepping down from office that it was actually July 10, 1925. He was prime minister from July 16, 1981 until retiring on October 31, 2003. [The Malaysian Insider]

Among the guests will be members of Mahathir’s Cabinet, although I doubt all of them will be there.

Some have passed away, others have moved on, while Anwar needs to prepare for Sodomy II.

The big surprise is Tok Guru Nik Aziz, who is said to have also confirmed his attendance. Now that’s gonna be a sight to see.

But I’m not sure if he will enjoy the antics of Comedy Court and Harith Iskander, who will provide the entertainment for the night.

I can just picture the Tok Guru muttering under his breath, “Demo ghoyak gapo nih?”

ANOTHER confirmed guest is VK Lingam … correct, correct, correct, that Lingam.

However, Najib and Pak Lah won’t be able to make it.

Pity.