Of Foreign Maids, DOE study, UMNO election and ACA

• The plan by the Terengganu state government to train single mothers as maids is commendable. The State Government needs to think about nationwide deployment of these single mothers and whether an average of RM400-500 per month is sufficient as salary. If these two are not acceptable, then the reliance on foreign maids would likely to increase further.
• In today's STAR, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Enviroment Datuk Maznah Mazlan said that at least 7 out of 184 rivers in the country were classified as highly polluted. Is this really a big surprise to anyone? Isn't it time to report something like "The Ministry is happy to announce that it has completed clean up operations of 15 of the most polluted rivers in the country. The ecotourism in those areas have been restored and are now generating almost RM1M a year thanks to local retail entrepreneurs and tour guides". Singapore has generated massive income form Boat Qui and other strategic river bank locations from ecotourism, retail and F&B. Perhaps Kuching's river side should also be a model or Charles river in Boston, MA.
• There's a strong contention for the post of Kota Tinggi UMNO Division Chief (incumbent is Datuk Seri Syed Hamid). Syed Hamid trails by 7 nominations behind his challenger Daeng Malek.
• Since ACA is now investigating Monsoon Cup and the crystal mosque in Terengganu, should it also investigate the sale of MV Augusta for Euro 1 (subsequently sold to both BMW and Harley Davidson for a combined Euro 160M). I wonder if ACA has enough funds and staffing to handle these big cases given the pressure from public to expedite these investigations.
  

UMNO Election (Update 4) and PR's choice for DPM (update 1)

Update 4 (28/7): Tok Pa pulled out from the race.

Update 3 (27/7): Datuk Seri Utama Mohamad Hassan pulled out from the VP race.

Update 2 (25/7): List of UMNO Vice Presidency candidates:

1. DS Hishamuddin Tun Hussein
   
2. DS Syed Hamid Albar (being challenged at Division)
   
3. TS Rahim Tamby Chik
4. DS Khaled Nordin
5. DS Ali Rustam
6. TS Muhammad Muhammad Taib
7. DS Shafie Afdal
8. DS Adnan Yaakob
9. DS Musa Aman
10. TS Mohd Isa Abdul Samad
11. DS Rais Yatim (being challenged at Division by his deputy Datuk Yunus Rahmat, Klawang State Assemblyman)
12. DS Shahidan Kassim
13. Datuk Zahid Hamidi

20/7:

• One branch attempted to open the flood gates by nominating Datuk Seri Najib as UMNO president. One division in Johor might follow suit. Other contests:
• Sembrong, Kubang Pasu (TDM's former division), Balakaban (enjoying pension money after declining deputy minister post), Beaufort, Sipitang have nominated AAB as President and DSNR as Deputy President.
• Gua Musang nominated their chief as candidate for presidency
• Putrajaya plans to also nominate AAB and DSNR this Saturday
  
• D Mukhriz supports DS Hisham's notion that the top two posts should be contested
• PR has officially announced DSAI as their choice for the top seat should PR takes over from BN government. The question is, who is their choice for DPM? PAS will be furious if the composition of the newly formed government does not have at least 60% of Malay YBs after the planned hop in September (now DSAI says the plan has been delayed because of the sodomy case). PAS has already met with their UMNO counterparts to discuss issues regards the Malays and Islam. Will this widen the crack in Pakatan Rakyat?
  

Terengganu MB prefers Mercedes (update 8)

Update 8 (27/7): Excos were seen using the mercs less the visitors, despite instructions from numero uno. So far, 9 have been questioned by ACA regarding the high maintenance costs incurred for the Perdana V6 fleet.

Update 7 (26/7): Now Datuk Ahmad Said is requesting ACA to investigate the other 'mega projects' instead of picking on the little cases. Meanwhile, Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin made it clear that the cars used by Terengganu State Executives cost RM542 per year on average for maintenance. Meanwhile, correction for update 6: PM approved the procurement of the cars but not to be used by Excos, only for state visitors. Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh is also considering to file a lawsuit against the Terengganu State Government for producing erroneous figures. State Secretary Datuk Mokhtar Nong apologized for the inaccurate figure, claiming it was a regrettable by a clerk. Dato' Seri Najib is urging Terengganu to consider this case closed.

Update 6 (25/7): PM approved the use of Mercedes for Terengganu MB and State Excos, according to Terengganu MB himself during a press conference today after lunch.

Update 5 (25/7): The Terengganu Exco spent RM1M for the last 4 years to maintain their fleet of Perdana V6 cars (clever attempt to divert attention to the former MB). Meanwhile, the current Exco line up is adamant to use the newly procured Benzs.

Update 4 (24/7): BPR has been mobilized to investigate the procurement of the Merdeces cars and whether proper procedure was followed. Datuk Ahmad Said defended himself by releasing the maintenance expense of the car used by former MB, Dato' Idris Jusoh. The costs of maintenance were allegedly increased by 25% higher than actual for some reason.

Update 3 (24/7): For someone who defied the Prime Minister of Malaysia during the selection of Menteri Besar, I don't think Datuk Ahmad Said really cares what people think about the procurement of the cars. Despite showing the "Surat Pekeliling Perbendaharaan Bil. 1 Tahun 2008", Datuk Shahrir Samad said that all administrators including Menteri Besar are supposed to use the national car. The need for other CKD cars apply for 4-wheel drives for special purposes or other types of vehicles for specific use.

Update 2 (23/7): Cost to maintain Perdana V6 is RM175k.

Update 1 (21/7) : DS Najib to discuss the purchase by Terengganu MB in the next cabinet meeting. " “Saya guna kereta nasional dan Perdana Menteri pun gunakan kereta nasional,” katanya.

After bulldozing his way to MB's office, defying the Prime Minister with the backing of the King himself and demanding the return of royalty money for Terengganu from oil exploration.... his first act as Menteri Besar.....is to purchase Mercedes for fellow exco members. His justification is that Proton cars don't last for more than 2 years. Should he suggest that PM, DPM and cabinet ministers trade-in their V6's to E200s? Syabas Terengganu folks for choosing your distinguished leader! Please let us know when leaders are ready to get some work done.