Di bawah ini adalah kenyataan Datuk Mukhriz Tun Mahathir mengenai Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Pastinya Mukhriz membuat kenyataan ini secara ikhlas kerana beliau amat mengetahui betapa remuknya perasaan Tun Mahathir yang sentiasa diperlekehkan oleh segelintir budak-budak Abdullah selama ini. – Ruhanie Ahmad
HORMATI ABDULLAH SEBAGAI PEMIMPIN AGUNG - MUKHRIZ
KOTA BHARU 22 Feb. - Anggota Parlimen Jerlun, Datuk Mukhriz Tun Mahathir meminta semua rakyat terutamanya anggota Umno menghormati Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi sebagai pemimpin agung selepas era kepimpinannya, apabila berakhir Perhimpunan Agung Umno, Mac ini.
Beliau berkata apa yang berlaku terhadap bekas Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad selepas menyerahkan jawatan pemimpin nombor satu negara kepada Abdullah tidak seharusnya berlaku lagi sebaliknya semua pihak perlu meletakkan mereka di tempat sewajarnya.
“Jangan lagi perlakukan Pak Lah seperti mana yang berlaku terhadap Tun Dr Mahathir kerana akhirnya Umno akan dibenci rakyat kerana tidak menghormati pemimpin.
“Kita mesti memberikan penghormatan tinggi kepada Pak Lah kerana dia adalah Perdana Menteri dan pemimpin kita,” katanya kepada pemberita selepas majlis memperkenal calon-calon kepada perwakilan Pemuda Umno Kelantan di Bangunan Umno di sini, hari ini.
Mukhriz yang juga calon Ketua Pemuda Umno berkata adalah menjadi adat bangsa Melayu mengenang budi bekas pemimpin mereka terutama kepada pemimpin yang sangat berjasa untuk bangsa dan negara.
Beliau berkata apa yang berlaku kepada Dr Mahathir sebelum ini perlu dielakkan kerana ada dakwaan yang mengatakan Kedah tewas di tangan pembangkang pada pilihan raya umum disebabkan anggota Umno tidak mengenang budi bapanya.
“Semua rakyat di Kedah marah dan kecewa dengan apa yang berlaku terhadap Tun Dr Mahathir dan diterjemahkan melalui undi pada pilihan raya,” katanya.
Ketika ditanya mengenai saranan agar Dr Mahathir dilantik sebagai penasihat sama ada di dalam kerajaan atau parti, Mukhriz berkata sebagai anak adalah tidak wajar untuk beliau memberikan pendapat.
“Terpulanglah kepada parti untuk berbuat demikian seperti mana yang dilakukan oleh parti lain apabila bekas pemimpin mereka dilantik sebagai penasihat parti selepas tidak lagi menjadi presiden,” katanya.
Mukhriz juga berharap proses peralihan kuasa itu nanti akan berjalan dengan baik dan berharap kepimpinan baru nanti akan meneruskan kesinambungan pemimpin sedia ada bagi memperbaiki parti dan memakmurkan negara. – BERNAMA
http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2009&dt=0222&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Terkini&pg=bt_15.htm
HORMATI ABDULLAH SEBAGAI PEMIMPIN AGUNG - MUKHRIZ
KOTA BHARU 22 Feb. - Anggota Parlimen Jerlun, Datuk Mukhriz Tun Mahathir meminta semua rakyat terutamanya anggota Umno menghormati Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi sebagai pemimpin agung selepas era kepimpinannya, apabila berakhir Perhimpunan Agung Umno, Mac ini.
Beliau berkata apa yang berlaku terhadap bekas Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad selepas menyerahkan jawatan pemimpin nombor satu negara kepada Abdullah tidak seharusnya berlaku lagi sebaliknya semua pihak perlu meletakkan mereka di tempat sewajarnya.
“Jangan lagi perlakukan Pak Lah seperti mana yang berlaku terhadap Tun Dr Mahathir kerana akhirnya Umno akan dibenci rakyat kerana tidak menghormati pemimpin.
“Kita mesti memberikan penghormatan tinggi kepada Pak Lah kerana dia adalah Perdana Menteri dan pemimpin kita,” katanya kepada pemberita selepas majlis memperkenal calon-calon kepada perwakilan Pemuda Umno Kelantan di Bangunan Umno di sini, hari ini.
Mukhriz yang juga calon Ketua Pemuda Umno berkata adalah menjadi adat bangsa Melayu mengenang budi bekas pemimpin mereka terutama kepada pemimpin yang sangat berjasa untuk bangsa dan negara.
Beliau berkata apa yang berlaku kepada Dr Mahathir sebelum ini perlu dielakkan kerana ada dakwaan yang mengatakan Kedah tewas di tangan pembangkang pada pilihan raya umum disebabkan anggota Umno tidak mengenang budi bapanya.
“Semua rakyat di Kedah marah dan kecewa dengan apa yang berlaku terhadap Tun Dr Mahathir dan diterjemahkan melalui undi pada pilihan raya,” katanya.
Ketika ditanya mengenai saranan agar Dr Mahathir dilantik sebagai penasihat sama ada di dalam kerajaan atau parti, Mukhriz berkata sebagai anak adalah tidak wajar untuk beliau memberikan pendapat.
“Terpulanglah kepada parti untuk berbuat demikian seperti mana yang dilakukan oleh parti lain apabila bekas pemimpin mereka dilantik sebagai penasihat parti selepas tidak lagi menjadi presiden,” katanya.
Mukhriz juga berharap proses peralihan kuasa itu nanti akan berjalan dengan baik dan berharap kepimpinan baru nanti akan meneruskan kesinambungan pemimpin sedia ada bagi memperbaiki parti dan memakmurkan negara. – BERNAMA
http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2009&dt=0222&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Terkini&pg=bt_15.htm
12 comments:
Puteramaya,
Salam Siber!
Adakah Abdullah akan bersma-sama Perdana Foundation selepas melepaskan jawatan Perdana Menteri?
Adakah Abdullah dia akan dilantik sebagai Penasihat sebuah firma koporaat kalau bukan sebuah entiti ekonomik strategik negara?
Adakah Abdullah sanggup melaksanakan dengan cemerlang, gemilang dan terbilang tanggungjawab-tanggungjawab seorang negarawan negara tercinta
membina tamaddun melayu moderen bertunjangkan akidah Islam dan adat-adat Islam?
Sekiranya baginda tuanku payung negara perkenan elok juga Abdullah selalu disamping tuanku payung negara - maka adakah ianya boleh dikira Abdullah pemimpin Agung dalam kata ahulul sunnunah wal-jamaah islamiah?
C-Prince,
The Shia Factor
(in a sunni conundrum)
Weekend Edition
February 27 - March 1, 2009
Unrest in Medina
King Abdullah Has No Robes
By RANNIE AMIRI
Located in the Hijaz region of western Saudi Arabia, Medina is the second holiest city in Islam. It is home to the Prophet’s Mosque and its famous green dome, beneath which is found Muhammad’s tomb. Millions of Muslims visit Medina each year, often as a stopover before beginning the Hajj, or annual pilgrimage to Mecca. This week though, in the normally tranquil environs of the mosque, violence erupted and blood was spilled. The strife in Media comes on the heels of recently announced ‘reforms’ of the religious police and judiciary by Saudi King Abdullah, and is a telling sign of just how dismissively they were received.
Background
Many Muslims from Saudi Arabia and beyond chose to visit Medina and the Prophet’s Mosque outside of the Hajj season, particularly Shia Muslims, as they did this week. It was to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Prophet Muhammad on 28 Safar (in the Islamic lunar calendar) in 632 AD, corresponding to Feb. 24 this year.
Situated across from the Prophet’s Mosque is a cemetery known as Jannat al-Baqi or “The Garden of Heaven.” It is where many notable persons in Islamic history are buried, including the Prophet’s companions, wives, and the 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th Shia Imams (who are direct descendants of Muhammad through his daughter Fatima, and his cousin, Ali). Hasan, the second Imam and grandson of the Prophet, was murdered on 28 Safar. Since the day of his martyrdom coincides with that of the Prophet’s death, many pilgrims were also drawn to al-Baqi.
Before continuing, it should be understood that although Saudi Arabia claims to follow the Hanbali school in Islam, one of the four main schools of Sunni jurisprudence, in reality they follow Wahhabism; an ultra-puritanical and often intolerant version of the religion derived from the 18th century teachings of Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahab.
It was the Muhammad ibn Saud, the founder of modern-day Saudi Arabia, who first forged an alliance and secured a pact with Abdul Wahab, which continues to be honored to this day. The followers of Abdul Wahab (or Wahabis) are allowed control over the educational and religious institutions in the country in exchange for permitting the Saudi royals family to rule it.
It is the Wahabis who have branded Shia Muslims ‘infidels’ for, among other reasons, their deep respect for, and veneration of, the family of the Prophet Muhammad. They consider the practice of visiting the graves of the Imams (who the Shia believe to be the Prophet’s divinely appointed successors) tantamount to idolatry. Indeed, not only visiting graves but commemorating anyone’s birth or death is anathema according to Wahabi doctrine.
As a result, there is pervasive and institutionalized discrimination against Shia Muslims in Saudi Arabia, where they form about ten percent of the population. Among other examples, they are barred from obtaining governmental positions; activists are routinely jailed; academic prejudice is commonplace; religious leaders are prevented from broadcasting on radio or television and religious rites are curtailed to the extent possible (which media are also prohibited from covering). In one instance, Shias were even banned from donating blood.
Pilgrims vs. Religious Police
And so they came.
Between 5,000-7,000 Saudi Shia pilgrims from Qatif and Al-Hasa in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, where they constitute one-third of the population, arrived in Medina to visit the Prophet’s Mosque and al-Baqi cemetery in the days prior to 28 Safar.
The trouble started on the evening of Feb. 20 when the Mutawwa, or Saudi religious police, who work under the authority of the “Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice” were found to be illegally filming Saudi Shia women who had gathered outside al-Baqi (so much for virtue). Five male relatives who witnessed this demanded the police hand over or destroy the film. Instead, they were arrested.
After these arrests, thousands of pilgrims protested outside religious police headquarters. Scuffles ensued and riot police began beating protestors. In the following days, the religious police barred women from visiting al-Baqi, even in areas reserved specifically for them (women are not allowed to visit graves in Saudi Arabia) and were addressed with derogatory language at the Prophet’s Mosque. When all were prevented from entering the cemetery on Feb. 23, further clashes ensued. Three pilgrims were killed and nine arrested. Press TV also reports that a bus carrying them was attacked and a cleric stabbed.
Sheik Hussein Al-Mustapha, a prominent Shia cleric, told the Associated Press, “There was a flagrant aggression on women's rights and the Shiite visitors. It was a premeditated action by extremist men who want to put an end to visits by Shiite visitors.”
It would not be the first time Shia pilgrims have been harassed and abused when visiting the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. In 2007, American citizen Sayyid Jawad Qazwini and a group of US and UK pilgrims experienced first-hand the ruthless behavior the Saudi religious establishment exhibits toward Shias.
‘Reforms’ of King Abdullah
Less than a week prior to the violence in Medina, King Abdullah unveiled the most sweeping reforms and reshuffling of prominent department officials the country has seen since he became king in 2005.
They included:
Sacking the head of the religious police, Sheikh Ibrahim al-Ghaith. His replacement,
Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Humain told Al-Arabiya news, “We will try to be close to the heart of every citizen. Their concerns are ours.”
Removing Supreme Judicial Council leader Sheikh Saleh al-Luhaidan (infamous for his fatwa ordering that owners of satellite channels showing “immoral” content be killed).
Expanding the Ulema Council (council of religious leaders) to include members of all four branches of Sunni Islam. Previously, it was limited to only those following the Hanbali school. No Shia members were included, although there are indications two eventually may be.
Appointing the first woman deputy minister, the most senior job ever held by a woman in the Kingdom (although women are still prohibiting from driving).
New heads of the administrative court, the Supreme Council of Justice, and the Supreme Court were named.
The Aftermath
The tragic events which occurred in Medina are sobering evidence of the grip that the Wahabi religious establishment has on Saudi society, its police, and judiciary. The wanton discrimination and violence which continues to be meted out against Saudi Shia citizens make the reforms of King Abdullah—no matter how well intentioned—appear empty and hollow. Saudi columnist Najib al-Khonaizi remarked, "There's a feeling that the Shiites' ambitions have not been realized as hoped, and that could have played an indirect role in inflaming emotions. We have to admit that there's tension in the Shiite street."
As a result of the clashes, arrests and killings in Medina, there are now reports of protests breaking out in the Eastern Province with demands for increased freedom of expression and equal rights becoming more vocal. As reported by the Associated Press, demonstrators were even seen carrying banners reading “down with the government” and spray painting anti-government slogans on billboards—all unheard of in the tightly controlled nation.
It may very well be that spreading anger over the harassment and violence directed against Shias in Medina—insultingly juxtaposed against King Abdullah’s purported reforms—will become the real nidus and driving force behind meaningful change in the Kingdom.
Until then, it will be Saudi Arabia’s Shia Muslims who will point to King Abdullah and the litany of his reforms and remind everyone that truly, “the emperor has no robes.”
Rannie Amiri is an independent Middle East commentator. He may be reached at: rbamiri at yahoo dot com.
what for a news is this?
what about unrest in UMNO?
East-West divide plagues Europe
By Stephen Castle
Friday, February 27, 2009
BRUSSELS: Confronted by a rapidly worsening financial crisis in Central and Eastern Europe and increasing worries about a long and severe recession across the Continent, European leaders are converging on Brussels this weekend for yet another "emergency" economic summit meeting.
Or, to be more precise, for two separate summit meetings.
At 1 p.m. on Sunday the 27 heads of government in the European Union will meet for lunch and three hours of talks in the building where diplomats and top officials from around the bloc normally congregate to negotiate deals.
Earlier Sunday, though, the prime ministers of nine East European countries that are members of the bloc will assemble at the Polish Embassy to the EU on the outskirts of Brussels for an invitation-only gathering.
The convening of this highly unusual "pre-summit summit" meeting underlines the deep divisions and continued disarray among politicians as Europe confronts its greatest economic and political challenge since the end of the Cold War.
"Where is the European leadership?" asked Karel Lanoo, chief executive of the Center for European Policy Studies in Brussels. "I am getting more and more concerned that the whole thing is falling apart."
With Europe's economies in varying degrees of trouble, there is little consensus on what should be done or who should pick up the tab to help a handful of struggling nations to the east or support countries like Ireland and Greece within the euro zone that also are at risk.
Divisions between "old" and "new" member states, between east and west and north and south have been around for years.
But the gaps are reopening with a vengeance as worries grow that Europe's vast single market will splinter under the pressures of classic beggar-thy-neighbor actions aimed at protecting specific industries and jobs within individual nations.
To make matters worse, fears are growing of a financial crisis in Eastern Europe that could spark wider economic turbulence across Western Europe because of the close connections to Scandinavian, German and Austrian banks.
And if even a small number of East European countries descend into a debt crisis like the Asian financial collapse of the late 1990s, that could cause further outbreaks of social unrest that threaten to politically destabilize the most vulnerable European states.
"It's fairly chaotic," said a European diplomat close to the heart of the discussions. "Various countries have been calling for various measures, seemingly out of the blue, but also seemingly well planned" to advance a particular agenda.
The main EU summit meeting on Sunday is intended to show that the bloc is both active and united - two qualities lately in doubt.
Moreover, many diplomats are questioning whether the "emergency" EU meeting, called by the Czech Republic, which holds the EU presidency, is even necessary.
After all, the 27 EU leaders are due to gather again in the same building in Brussels for their annual economic meeting 18 days later. Two weeks ago the leaders of Europe's biggest economies met in Berlin.
Lanoo, the European expert, said the Czechs had convened the meeting to show that they were being active. "But I don't see why we need to have one summit, then another in two weeks," he said.
Whatever the reason, it is clear that there are different agendas.
"We need," Mirek Topolanek, prime minister of the Czech Republic, wrote in a letter to fellow leaders, "to stress the vital role played by the single market in making the European economy more resilient."
Meanwhile Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, is calling for a pan-European plan to aid the struggling automobile sector. Sarkozy has already criticized the European Commission's more limited plans for the auto sector, which are intended to maintain a level playing field in the EU's internal market of almost 500 million people.
The Czechs felt under pressure to call the weekend meeting, analysts said, to help contain the demands from the French, who held the EU's rotating presidency for the last six months of 2008, when the economic crisis erupted in Europe.
Sarkozy's hyperactive presidency involved a series of "emergency" summit meetings that produced plenty of action. So it was no surprise that he was interested in yet another one, even if it meant going around the Czechs.
In early February, Sarkozy suggested a meeting of leaders of the 16-nation euro zone, which the Czech Republic does not belong to. If it had taken place, the French president would probably have chaired it.
That idea was blocked by Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, whose relationship with Sarkozy is strained.
Meanwhile, unveiling plans to help the French auto sector, Sarkozy warned that he did not expect companies receiving aid to move a factory "to the Czech Republic or elsewhere." That provoked a direct accusation of protectionism from Topolanek.
French officials say they have no intention of closing markets or discriminating against other Europeans but simply want those given aid to help improve the economy.
To add to the tensions, some East European nations are eager to speed up entry into the euro zone, which has provided a shield for weaker economies like Greece and Ireland. That might increase the burden on richer, older states if bailouts have to take place.
Germany, the biggest contributor to the EU, is at pains to limit the scope of any pan-European bailouts and to prevent a major deterioration of public finances.
Relations between Sarkozy and Topolanek remain strained. The two men were supposed to meet on the margins of the Berlin summit meeting, but because Sarkozy arrived late, that never took place.
Though Sarkozy has never publicly criticized the Czechs, officials in Prague blame his administration for a blizzard of French news articles complaining about the inaction of the current EU presidency and attacking the European Commission, the executive arm.
kenapa ya berita ini dikaitkan dengan tajuk anda itu?
"pemimpin agung, kemana kita?"
Khalifah, Kesusunan dan Kesultanan Melayu
(tunjuki kami siraatol mustaqim)
Sultan Selangor murka
* Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah menyifatkan orang Melayu yang terus mempersoalkan kedudukan raja-raja dan bangsanya sendiri sebagai biadap.
* Golongan ini juga disifatkan baginda sebagai tidak berbudi bahasa dan tidak ada perasaan malu kerana mempertikaikan perkara berkaitan kedudukan raja-raja dan hak orang Melayu secara terbuka.
* Kemajuan dan pembangunan yang dicapai boleh hancur jika orang Melayu terus bercakaran, disebabkan terlalu ghairah merebut kuasa.
* Tidak ada gunanya bangsa Melayu kekal di dunia tetapi tidak bertamadun, tidak dihormati dan boleh dipermainkan serta diperalatkan.
* Orang Melayu perlu bersatu apabila timbul isu-isu yang melibatkan kepentingan mereka dan Islam.
apa pula kata sultan-sultan yang lain dan Mahathir Mohamed:
berapa ramaikah orang melayu dan siapakah melayu itu dan mengapa dengan sendirinya ada orang melayu yang sudah tidak gemar lagi akan sultan-sultan mereka?
(masih adakah orang istana yang tahu menggunakan sebaik-baik mengguna barang barang istimewa dan ajaib istana? jangan pula nanti dikatakan si-putera menggendong biawak hidup, Prince)
Sekiranya Pemimpin Agung kita dapat menikmati membaca lapuran sebegini dalam bahasa melayu:
Recession on track to be longest in postwar period
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Delicious Digg Facebook Fark Newsvine Reddit StumbleUpon Technorati Yahoo! Bookmarks Print By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer Deb Riechmann, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 9 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Factory jobs disappeared. Inflation soared. Unemployment climbed to alarming levels. The hungry lined up at soup kitchens.
It wasn't the Great Depression. It was the 1981-82 recession, widely considered America's worst since the depression.
That painful time during Ronald Reagan's presidency is a grim marker of how bad things can get. Yet the current recession could slice deeper into the U.S. economy.
If it lasts into April — as it almost surely will — this one will go on record as the longest in the postwar era. The 1981-82 and 1973-75 recessions each lasted 16 months.
Unemployment hasn't reached 1982 levels and the gross domestic product hasn't fallen quite as far. But the hurt from this recession is spread more widely and uncertainty about the country's economic health is worse today than it was in 1982.
Back then, if someone asked if the nation was about to experience something as bad as the Great Depression, the answer was, "Quite clearly, `No,'" said Murray Weidenbaum, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Reagan White House.
"You don't have that certainty today," he said. "It's not only that the downturn is sharp and widespread, but a lot of people worry that it's going to be a long-lasting, substantial downturn."
For months, headlines have compared this recession with the one that began in July 1981 and ended in November 1982.
_In January, reports showed 207,000 manufacturing jobs vanished in the largest one-month drop since October 1982.
_Major automakers' U.S. sales extended their deep slump in February, putting the industry on track for its worst sales month in more than 27 years.
_Struggling homebuilders have just completed the worst year for new home sales since 1982.
_There are 12.5 million people out of work today, topping the number of jobless in 1982.
"I think most people think it is worse than 1982," said John Steele Gordon, a financial historian. "I don't think many people think it will be 1932 again. Let us pray. But it's probably going to be the worst postwar recession, certainly."
The 1982 downturn was driven primarily by the desire to rid the economy of inflation. To battle a decade-long bout of high inflation, then-Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, now an economic adviser to President Barack Obama, pushed interest rates up to levels not seen since the Civil War. The approach tamed inflation, but not without suffering.
Hardest hit was the industrial Midwest; the Pacific Northwest, where the logging industry lagged from construction declines; and some states in the South, where the recession hit late.
Frustrated workers fled to the Sunbelt to find work. In Michigan, which led the nation in jobless workers, newspapers offered idled auto workers free "job wanted" ads in the classified section. Mortgages carried double-digit interest rates. When the 1982 recession ended, the national jobless rate had hit 10.8 percent.
Just like today, that recession led to political finger-pointing.
When the government reported a 10.1 percent jobless rate for September 1982, organized labor rallied across the street from the White House. A few protesters chained themselves to an entrance at the Labor Department. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce called it a national tragedy and blamed Democrats. Democrats called it a national tragedy and blamed Reagan.
Even months after the recession officially ended, Reagan was greeted in Pittsburgh by signs that said: "We want jobs, Mr. Hoover" and "Reagan says his economic program is working — are you?" President Herbert Hoover's term is forever linked in history with the Great Depression.
Those not as badly hurt have fuzzy memories of the 1981-82 recession.
Not Jim O'Connor of Pekin, Ill., who was president of United Auto Workers Local 974 when Caterpillar Tractor Co. was laying off workers in Peoria in the 1980s.
Maybe time has soothed the sting O'Connor felt, but he contends the economic problems facing workers today are worse than during the recession he survived nearly three decades ago.
"The days of walking out of one factory and walking into another one down the street are over," O'Connor said. He retired from Caterpillar in 2001 but thinks he might find part-time job to help pay his health insurance.
"When I hired in at Caterpillar in 1968, we had numerous factories here. Almost all of that has left the country or moved South. The unions don't have any leverage anymore at the bargaining table. So these young people (today) aren't only out of work, you know. They weren't making a living wage when they lost their job," he said.
Like Reagan did then, Obama is dishing up hope. Trouble is, people can't visualize any reward they might get from making it through this recession, said William Niskanen, an economic adviser to Reagan.
There's little hope of any gain from the pain. Falling housing and stock prices have undermined household wealth. People are worried about losing their jobs, their homes and their retirement savings all at a time when health care is weighing down income.
"In the 1980s, it was clear to people that the inflation rate was going to come way down and it did," Niskanen said. "There was a sense that we were going through a tough time for a while as a price of getting inflation down and that things would come back up. Today, they can't see any gain from what's going on."
Consumer confidence is in free fall. Banks are in peril. The overall economy, as measured by the GDP, shrank at a 6.2 percent annual rate in final three months of last year, the worst drop since the first quarter of 1982. The unemployment rate, at 8.1 percent in February, hasn't reached the 10.8 percent reported in November 1982, but the recession is not over.
It's not only blue-collar workers who are feeling the greatest anguish. Americans who are trapped in houses worth less than their mortgages are suffering. So, too, are people whose personal wealth is tied to the stock market. Personal wealth is dwindling in the U.S., and the effects of the financial meltdown have been felt around the world.
"This recession is broader, deeper and more complicated than virtually anything we have ever seen," Wachovia Corp. economist Mark Vitner said. "The whole evolution of the credit markets resulted in all sorts of complex financial instruments that are difficult to unwind. It's like trying to unscramble scrambled eggs. It just can't be done that easily. I don't know if it can be done at all."
He said he sees fear in the eyes of his clients.
"I've had people come up and hug me after a presentation, which is unusual," he said. "I haven't told them anything about how it's going to be better, but they just feel better having a better understanding of what's happening."
maka kita cepatlah bertanya secara bergurau 'bagaimana pula cerita orang melayu di persekutuan tanah melayu, sabah dan sarawak sambil teruja pula dengan mengenali cabaran saudara-mara dan muslim di tanah-tanah negeri seberang menghadapi ancaman kepada kebebasan minda dan perekonomian yang sama' walaupun pada 1982 duit dollar itu lebih besar bandingan nulnya dari sekarang walaupun nilainya serupa dan belum masanya lagi yen yuan euro dan dinar-dirham datang mengintip-intip.
(ithnin 12hb rabiu'ul awal
monday, march 09, 2009 2:23pm)
resources management, security and control.
Sapa2 pun pemimpin kita, apa2 yang baik dilakukannya, kita perlu hargai..
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Azam Baru – Semangat Baru UMNO
http://TeamPemudaUMNO.blogspot.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Brunei nafi bincang isu Limbang - Jock Seng
MIRI 19 Mac - Menteri Luar dan Perdagangan Kedua Brunei, Datuk Seri Lim Jock Seng menafikan bahawa isu tuntutan ke atas Limbang telah dibincangkan semasa mesyuarat antara Sultan Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah dengan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Isnin lepas.
Berucap pada sidang Dewan Perundangan Brunei pada Selasa, beliau berkata, perbincangan yang membawa kepada penandatanganan Surat Pertukaran (LoE) di Bandar Seri Begawan itu adalah mengenai penandaaan sempadan daratan secara keseluruhannya.
"Laporan akhbar tertentu semalam (Isnin) mendakwa Brunei telah menggugurkan tuntutan ke atas Limbang. Sebenarnya, tuntutan ke atas Limbang tidak pernah dibincangkan," kata beliau dalam laporan dalam sebuah harian tempatan Brunei, Borneo Bulletin semalam.
Beliau menegaskan satu kenyataan akhbar bersama telah dikeluarkan selepas mesyuarat itu yang menyebut mengenai penandaan sempadan daratan antara kedua-dua negara akan diselesaikan berdasarkan perjanjian sejarah yang wujud antara Kerajaan Brunei dengan Negeri Sarawak dan sebagaimana sewajarnya, berdasarkan prinsip watershed.
"Selepas itu satu kumpulan kerja terdiri daripada jurukur am kedua-dua negara akan melaksanakan aspek-aspek teknikal bagi menyelesaikan isu sempadan tanah," ujar Jock Seng. - BERNAMA
Brunei gugur Limbang
Gambar:ABDULLAH Ahmad Badawi dan Sultan Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah bertukar-tukar Surat Pertukaran selepas majlis menandatanganinya di Istana Nurul Iman di Bandar Seri Begawan, semalam.
BANDAR SERI BENGAWAN 16 Mac – Brunei Darussalam hari ini secara rasmi menggugurkan tuntutan ke atas Limbang di Sarawak selepas Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah dan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi menandatangani Surat Pertukaran bagi menyelesaikan isu sempadan dan tuntutan bertindih.
Berita menggembirakan itu dinyatakan oleh Abdullah kepada pemberita Malaysia selepas upacara tersebut yang ditanda tangani pada kira-kira pukul 12.05 tengah hari di Istana Nurul Iman di sini.
Peristiwa bersejarah itu turut disaksikan oleh Tuanku Mahkota Brunei, Al-Muhtadee Billah; Menteri Luar, Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim dan rakan sejawatnya, Putera Mohamed Bolkiah; Menteri Pelajaran, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein; Ketua Menteri Sarawak, Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud dan Ketua Menteri Sabah, Tan Sri Musa Aman.
“Hari ini adalah hari yang cukup bersejarah kerana Brunei telah menggugurkan tuntutan ke atas Limbang dan dengan ini Limbang akan menjadi sebahagian dari wilayah kita.
“Apa yang lebih menggembirakan lagi ialah isu-isu sempadan dan perkara-perkara pokok yang berlarutan begitu lama sejak 1995 telah dapat diselesaikan,” kata Perdana Menteri kepada pemberita Malaysia di pejabat Suruhanjaya Tinggi Malaysia di sini.
Isu Limbang selama ini meletakkan kedua-dua negara dalam keadaan dilema kerana wilayah itu agak unik kerana memisahkan dua kawasan daratan di Brunei...
(terdengar bunyi selipar jepun)
The Prince's Copy
Tindakan & Tindakbalas
(kesan permainan ekonomi dan matawang G7)
1. Renewed strength of euro threatens economy
By Matthew Saltmarsh
Friday, March 20, 2009
PARIS: After a brief respite, the euro is gaining strongly against the currencies of its main trading partners, further threatening the Continent's wilting economy. That is adding to pressure on the European Central Bank to enact radical steps similar to those that are weakening the dollar, the pound and the Swiss franc.
A rising currency typically dampens demand for exports, an important component of growth. That in turn slows production in factories, with ripple effects on related industries and on jobs.
Since the start of the month, the euro has gained about 7.8 percent against the dollar, 4.7 percent against the pound and 3.1 percent against the franc.
Despite falling on Friday, the euro still posted its biggest weekly gain of the year against the dollar. In late trading in New York, it was at about $1.36.
Jean-Michel Six, chief European economist at Standard & Poor's, forecast that the euro would push through $1.60 by the end of September, and also pass the parity level against the pound by then.
"If the euro keeps rising, it will be really grim news for the euro economy, which is already in very bad shape," said Paul de Grauwe, a professor at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium.
Even before the recent rally, exports from the 16-country euro area had been decimated. During 2008, the region recorded a trade deficit of €32.1 billion, compared with a surplus of €15.8 billion in 2007.
The value of exports from Germany, the world leader in manufactured goods, fell more than 20 percent in January, the sharpest drop in 16 years. Industrial production in the euro zone has fallen for five straight months.
The main reason for the currency's rise, analysts said, is because central banks in the United States, Britain and Switzerland are taking radical steps to increase the amount of dollars, francs and pounds in circulation to try to revive lending. But their actions, known as "quantitative easing," also carry inflationary risks.
The E.C.B., based in Frankfurt, has chosen not to follow this path, for now.
"All eyes are on Frankfurt," said Jim O'Neill, chief economist in London at Goldman Sachs. "Foreign-exchange markets are sensing that there's a new game unless they do something more to facilitate a weaker euro."
There are now some signs of discontent from policy makers, who fear that the European economy is bearing a disproportionate burden in the global adjustment that is under way.
One euro-zone finance ministry official, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said that the falling pound could soon start to cause distortions in the European internal market, if inexpensive British goods started winning market share in the euro zone and in outside markets.
"It could become a substantial problem," he said.
After coming to power, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France berated the E.C.B. on a number of occasions for not doing enough to revive the economy.
But for now, French officials are wary of putting more political pressure on the E.C.B. even if exporters based in France, like EADS, the parent of Airbus, suffer as the euro rises.
Berlin has always been loathe to back steps that might compromise the independence of the E.C.B., and French officials are aware that they need German cooperation on a host of other economic issues, from market regulation to bank bailouts.
Relations between France and Germany are only just starting to improve after recent tensions.
Still, the finance ministers of France and Ireland, as well as the governor of the Bank of Italy, have in recent weeks grumbled about the low level of the British currency, comments that have raised eyebrows in the market.
The level of the pound is important for the euro zone. It accounts for 21 percent of the E.C.B.'s nominal effective exchange rate, a weighted average of euro currency rates against its major trading partners. The dollar accounts for 24 percent.
There appears to be less concern about the weak dollar, something that many European officials feel is needed to bring down the U.S. current-account deficit and help rebalance the world economy.
Switzerland also been taking steps to weaken its currency, the franc. The Swiss National Bank intervened last week in foreign-exchange markets. The bank also said it would buy corporate bonds as it cut its benchmark interest rate to 0.25 percent from 0.5 percent. But Switzerland is a less important trading partner.
The E.C.B. has room still to lower its benchmark interest rate, which at 1.5 percent is the highest in the Group of 7. The Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan have lowered their key rates to close to zero and the Bank of England's is at 0.5 percent.
But the other central banks, and the Swiss, have also said that they will purchase government bonds in an effort to reduce long-term interest rates and revive economic growth. With higher rates, and a reduced likelihood of an inflationary expansion of money supply, investors have chosen to shift into euro-area assets, especially German government bonds.
Another side effect of those actions has been on commodity prices like gold and oil, which have gained this week as investors moved out of dollar assets and into what are perceived as safer assets.
As long as the E.C.B. does not follow the actions of the others, "it's beggar thy neighbor for the euro," said de Grauwe, the professor. "When your house is on fire, you don't just stand back and watch."
Some E.C.B. Governing Council members have made it apparent that they could support such steps. But so far the E.C.B. has resisted, preferring to take a wait-and-see approach. The E.C.B. inherited from the German central bank a basic fear of stoking inflation.
Another problem is that the E.C.B. is limited by treaties in how it operates in the government bond market. And there is also the question of which country's bonds it would buy.
The E.C.B. president, Jean-Claude Trichet, said this past week that the bank was studying unconventional monetary steps, although "they won't necessarily be the same as our counterparts."
One option for the E.C.B. would be to intervene in the currency market. Only instead of buying euros, as it did alongside other major central banks in 2000 after the euro hit a record low around 82 cents, this time it would be selling them.
However, it would probably have to act alone; the currency issue is not on the agenda of the upcoming meeting of the Group of 20 nations in London to discuss steps to restart growth and improve regulation.
Also, analysts said, intervention has a limited effect unless the currency involved has reached an "inflection point" where it can easily change direction.
The only other option is verbal intervention, and ministers might eventually try to talk down the currency.
But are the markets in a mood to listen? "Forget about it," said Mr. Six, of Standard & Poor's. "It might work for 10 minutes. After that, it shows you have no power."
(saperti kata tun che det - jangan pandai berbahas dalam apa bahasa pun tetapi ilmu tiada macam temasek jadinya)
2. Auditors project deeper deficits for Obama budget
The Associated Press
Saturday, March 21, 2009
WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama's budget would produce $9.3 trillion in deficits over the next decade, more than four times the deficits of Republican George W. Bush's presidency, congressional auditors said Friday.
The new Congressional Budget Office figures offered a far more dire outlook for Obama's budget than the new administration predicted just last month — a deficit $2.3 trillion worse. It's a prospect even the president's own budget director called unsustainable.
In his White House run, Obama assailed the economic policies of his predecessor, but the eye-popping deficit numbers threaten to swamp his ambitious agenda of overhauling health care, exploring new energy sources and enacting scores of domestic programs.
The dismal deficit figures, if they prove to be accurate, inevitably raise the prospect that Obama and his Democratic allies controlling Congress would have to consider raising taxes after the recession ends or else pare back his agenda.
By CBO's calculation, Obama's budget would generate deficits averaging almost $1 trillion a year of red ink over 2010-2019.
Worst of all, CBO says the deficit under Obama's policies would never go below 4 percent of the size of the economy, figures that economists agree are unsustainable. By the end of the decade, the deficit would exceed 5 percent of gross domestic product, a dangerously high level.
White House budget chief Peter Orszag said that CBO's long-range economic projections are more pessimistic than those of the White House, private economists and the Federal Reserve and that he remained confident that Obama's budget, if enacted, would produce smaller deficits.
Even so, Orszag acknowledged that if the CBO projections prove accurate, Obama's budget would produce deficits that could not be sustained.
"Deficits in the, let's say, 5 percent of GDP range would lead to rising debt-to-GDP ratios that would ultimately not be sustainable," Orszag told reporters.
Deficits so big put upward pressure on interest rates as the government offers more attractive interest rates to attract borrowers.
"I think deficits of 5 percent (of GDP) are unsupportable," said economist Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "It will lead to higher interest rates to the point where it will force policymakers to make changes."
Republicans immediately piled on.
"This report should serve as the wake-up call this administration needs," said House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio. "We simply cannot continue to mortgage our children and grandchildren's future to pay for bigger and more costly government."
But Obama insisted on Friday that his agenda is still on track.
"What we will not cut are investments that will lead to real growth and prosperity over the long term," Obama said. "That's why our budget makes a historic commitment to comprehensive health care reform. That's why it enhances America's competitiveness by reducing our dependence on foreign oil and building a clean energy economy."
Obama's $3.6 trillion budget for the 2010 fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 contains ambitious programs to overhaul the U.S. health care system and initiate new "cap-and-trade" rules to combat global warming.
Both initiatives involve raising federal revenues sharply higher, but those dollars wouldn't be used to defray the burgeoning deficit and would instead help pay for Obama's health plan and implement Obama's $400 tax credit for most workers and $800 for couples.
Obama's budget promises to cut the deficit to $533 billion in five years. The CBO says the red ink for that year will total $672 billion.
Most disturbing to Obama allies like Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., are the longer term projections, which climb above $1 trillion again by the end of the next decade and approach 6 percent of GDP by 2019.
Among about a dozen major changes to Obama's budget, Conrad is looking to curb Obama's 9 percent increase for non-defense appropriations to show short-term progress and insists that the long-term deficit and debt crisis will have to be addressed via a special bipartisan commission.
"The budget that I'll submit will cut the deficit by more than two-thirds over these first five years," Conrad. "These imbalances are just absolutely unsustainable."
The worsening economy is responsible for the even deeper fiscal mess inherited by Obama. As an illustration, CBO says the deficit for the current budget year, which began Oct. 1, will top $1.8 trillion, $93 billion more than foreseen by the White House. That would equal 13 percent of GDP, a level not seen since World War II.
The 2009 deficit, fueled by the $700 billion Wall Street bailout and diving tax revenues stemming from the worsening recession, is four times the previous $459 billion record set just last year.
The CBO's estimate for 2010 is worse as well, with a deficit of almost $1.4 trillion expected under administration policies, about $200 billion more than predicted by Obama.
Long-term deficit predictions have proven notoriously fickle — George W. Bush inherited flawed projections of a 10-year, $5.6 trillion surplus and instead produced record deficits — and if the economy outperforms CBO's expectations, the deficits could prove significantly smaller.
Republicans say Obama's budget plan taxes, spends and borrows too much, and they've been sharply critical of his $787 billion economic stimulus measure and a just-passed $410 billion omnibus spending bill that awarded big increases to domestic agency budgets.
The administration says it inherited deficits totaling $9 trillion over the next decade and that its budget plan cuts $2 trillion from those deficits. But most of those spending reductions come from reducing costs for the war in Iraq.
On the Net:
Congressional Budget Office: http://www.cbo.gov/
(sebenarnya negara-negara selain G7 adalah hamba kepada negara G7 atau Tuan Scribe ada pandangan berbeza dan hanya mahu melihat sejauh hari semalam: cukuplah kita berpolitikusing sekangkang kera dan mati tupai berangan semacam bro anwar bin ibrahim (dan bro anwar bin ibrahim - sebenarnya fairus tkm1 itu dah lama nak kena tendang - tak percaya tanya si zahrain mof pkr)
G20 supports IMF's plan to sell 403 tons of gold
Endorsement signals plan likely to be approved by member countries this year
By Moming Zhou, MarketWatch
Last update: 3:30 p.m. EDT April 2, 2009Comments: 130NEW YORK
(MarketWatch) - Leaders from the Group of 20 nations Thursday endorsed the International Monetary Fund's plan to sell 403 tons of gold to raise funds to support the world's poorest countries.
The announcement from G20 leaders helped add pressures to Thursday's gold trading. Gold futures fell $20.30, or 2.2%, to $905.80 an ounce in recent trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. See Metals Stocks.
The G20 vowed in its statement to "use the additional resources from agreed IMF gold sales for concessional finance for the poorest countries." Read more on G20.
The endorsement suggests that the IMF's gold sales plan is likely to be approved by its member countries later this year.
The IMF has been planning to sell gold since as early as 2007 to diversify its revenues and strengthen its balance sheet. But the plan needs to be approved by an 85% majority vote from its 185 members.
The U.S., which has 17% voting power in the fund, essentially holds veto power. The U.S. government has informed the IMF that Congressional authorization by law is required before it is able to support the plan.
The U.S. Treasury announced last year that it will seek authority from Congress.
Hussein Allidina, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, said in a note Thursday that he expects the IMF to implement the sales over the next few years, "but do not believe that this presents a strong negative risk to gold prices - as it will be 'orderly' and maybe even off market."
The US administration has seemed supportive, both for expanding the IMF's role as well as helping its long-term funding challenges. This makes the proposed IMF gold sales much more likely, as the US Congress effectively has a veto on this decision, with the US having a 17% vote on an IMF decision that needs 85% to pass.
Minimize market impact
The IMF, which holds more than 3,200 tons of gold, is the third-largest holder in the world after the U.S. and Germany.
Most of the IMF's gold holdings come from the fund's member countries, which are required to commit 25% of their quota in gold. The fund can't sell those holdings into the markets.
But an additional 403.3 tons of gold the fund acquired through off-market transactions in 1999 and 2000 - such as interest payment from countries that received IMF loans - are not subject to the restriction.
If member countries approved the gold sales, the IMF can find ready buyers in countries with low gold reserves, especially Russia and some Asian countries such as China, Taiwan, and India.
China, with less than 1% of its $2 trillion reserves held in gold, has expressed interest in buying more gold, crude oil, and other strategic commodities.
According to the IMF's plan, the gold selling will be implemented in coordination with major central banks to minimize the impact on the market.
The European Central Bank said Wednesday it had completed the sale of 35.5 tons of gold.
The gold sales were in full conformity with the second Central Banks Gold Agreement, which was signed in 2004 by the ECB and other European major official gold holders.
The second CBGA, which caps total gold sales of the signatories at 500 tons a year, expires in September. Some analysts expect a third CBGA to be signed before September.
Banking Group Eyes Mega Islamic Bank Launch In 2009
By Muin Abdul Majid
DUBAI, April 1 (Bernama) -- Al Baraka Banking Group chairman Sheikh Saleh Kamel is heading an alliance to launch what is expected to be the world's biggest Islamic bank before the end of this year, with an initial public offering of US$3 billion.
This was disclosed by Al Baraka chief executive officer Adnan Youssef in an interview with CNBC Arabiya.
In remarks made available here, Adnan was quoted as saying the necessary research for launching the Islamic bank had been completed.
"There are currently discussions between Sheikh Saleh Kamel and investors to prepare for the public offering," said Adnan, who is chairman of the Union of Arab Banks.
Announced last year, the "mega bank" will have an initial capital of US$10 billion through a number of initial public offerings and private stock options.
-- BERNAMA
ular campur mamak, pemusnah bangsa yang berselindung disebalik ketuanan melayu kununnya...
tak melayu hilang diunia,tetapi semasa soal siasat, bangsa bukan persoalan nya .kenapa ada pelbagai dan berbagai bangsa tuhan jadikan di muka bumi ini? aku pun taktahu...
Rakyat perlu belajar menghargai jasa orang lain.
View Profile: Rantong™
Puyeramaya,
Salam Siber!
Abdullah memang pemimpin agung cuma di dilahirkan di zaman yang salah.
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