Good Ole Days with Bobby Bare and Skeeter Davis

Yes, I am sure you remembered those halcyon days when you sang to the songs of Skeeter Davis such as Silver Threads and Golden Needles' and Bobby Bare's duet with her such as Misty Moonlight and Dear John.

Enjoy them again in these following videos.

I did.



Misty Moonlight



Dear John



Invisible tears



Blueberry hill



Together Again



We'll Sing in the Sunshine



Amazing Grace



Whispering Hope



Silver Threads



A Summer Place

A Smart Dentist Speaks

Listen to the Dentist.

You may not like him. But he speaks some truth here.

Shazwan Mustafa Kamal of the Malaysian Insider reports from Shah Alam after talking to the good dentist over BN’s chances of wresting back Selangor from Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

Look at these gems of experience from Toyo.

Without mincing his words, Toyo explains that an over-dominant Umno in Selangor will cost Barisan Nasional (BN) crucial voter support in the next general election as it will push non-Malays towards PR. He singled out the sole problem in Selangor-that BN component parties were not “unified” — the MCA MIC and Gerakan have failed to play their part in attracting new young voters. As a result UMNO started relying on itself and up its ante to solidify its own support base in preparations for the upcoming polls.

Hear him speak.

“When Umno becomes more dominant, they are going to push away the non-Malay votes.”

He reasoned that one of the reasons during his term why the Chinese did not vote for BN was because Umno was too dominant in Selangor. He added the continuing trend of difficulty in securing urban votes will make it difficult for BN to re-take the state.

Toyo became Opposition leader in the Selangor State Assembly when BN lost to PR in the 2008 general election.PR won 36 of the 56 state seats. He was subsequently replaced by PKR’s Khalid Ibrahim.

Toyo observed that an “almost” balanced voter demographic between Malays and non-Malays in the state made it difficult for BN to gain full electoral support as only Malay votes were currently with BN.[Loaded statement]

Let us look at Toyo’s mathematics.

“Can BN take over Selangor with Umno? We go back to percentage-52 per cent of voters are non-Malays.” He reminded that the problem is that some of the seats which Umno won in 2008 were below 500 votes yet Umno feels all seats are winnable today as it only receive feedback from Malays. ”

He lamented that while Umno had been diligently engaging with the Malay community in Selangor and getting positive feedback, component parties like the MCA and MIC have yet to do the same. [Likelihood in lala la land and converting the converted!]

Khir believes that there is a need to get a timely report from the non-Malays. “Umno does it but component parties should do it for Chinese and Indians. The point is if Umno is too dominant, it makes non-Malays uncomfortable and they then vote for PR in default.”

The solution to this, said Toyo, was for BN to “empower” MCA MIC and Gerakan party leaders by allowing them to announce allocations and projects for their own communities instead of Prime Minister Najib Razak doing so.

Toyo said that non-Malays had lost “respect” for BN component party leaders as they were seen as not being able to do anything to help their own communities. [What a keen observation!]

“That is why now we have to give more power to MCA MIC Make sure their party presidents announce school allocations to their own communities. If we hope for the PM and deputy prime minister to do this Umno will be seen as too dominant and the Chinese will lose respect for their own leaders.[Too late?]

“That’s the problem now and I have always said we need to enhance opportunities to other party leaders to make their own decisions and we give them allocations ”, he stressed.

Toyo praised Mahathir for empowering component party leaders during his tenure as PM and that was why past leaders like Samy Vellu and Ling Liong Sik were respected.

“Umno’s strength alone cannot pull non-Malays like we have done with Malays. Selangor BN needs to move as BN, not Umno. We’re on the last lap before elections.[ Another keen observation!]

“That’s why Samy Vellu was like the king for his race because he announced the allocations; not Mahathir. Last time component leaders were very strong and respected because they went down to the ground and gave things.” [MCA and Gerakan too?]

He pooh-poohed current ministers and said they had no ‘oomph’ factor. He cited Liow Tiong Lai and Kong Cho Ha as such leaders.

He also foresee BN possibly losing the states of Selangor,Perak, Kedah,Negeri Sembilan and the Federal Territory in the 13 GE.

Toyo, the oracler, may be just right this time, you know!

A Re-rating for YTL Corp in the Works?

YTL Corp (YTL) is beating its jungle drums!

Is Francis drumming up buying support for his flagship company?

He has just announced that there are potential acquisitions coming YTL's way come this year and also the likelihood of a doubling up of its dividend payout after the successful completion of its take-over of subsidiary, YTL Cement.

YTL, the best performer on Malaysia’s benchmark index this year, may buy power, cement or property assets in Asia in the next six months to expand its business in the region, according to managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh said.

The utilities and construction group had identified targets and might make a purchase in the second or third quarter, Yeoh, 57, said in an interview on Tuesday, declining to be more specific. The company might boost dividend payouts to the highest level in four years following its takeover of unit YTL Cement Bhd, he said.

In a Bloomberg report, Francis siad,"There are some opportunities looming for acquisitions and we’ve got a lot of good things going on. We have RM13bil cash. We can grow organically or we can acquire assets.”

A large overseas acquisition would be the first in three years for YTL, which has climbed 18% this year, compared with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index’s 3.6% gain. Excluding banking stocks, the group’s cash position is the second-highest after Genting Bhd, boosted by income from power generation and growth in cement production.

YTL’s cash pile put the company in a “very good” position to make purchases abroad, Yeoh said.

“I’m attracted to Asia because somehow the reservoir of money will be in Asia,” he said. “Asian currencies are predominantly undervalued compared with the US dollar. In a way, there is less risk buying Asian assets.”

YTL Power International Bhd, 45% owned by YTL, agreed in December 2008 to buy Singapore’s Power-Seraya Ltd for S$3.6bil.

Yeoh said in April last year that YTL might purchase its units if it couldn’t find suitable companies to acquire. The company made a RM1.06bil

offer in December to buy out YTL Cement through a share swap.

Yeoh declined to comment on whether there was an imminent plan to take over another subsidiary.

The company might double its dividend payout, which was 2 sen per share in the year ended June 30 (FY11), after the purchase of YTL Cement,Yeoh said. That would be the highest level since fiscal 2008.

The acquisition might add RM165mil to the group’s profit in FY12, Yeoh said, based on his calculations. Group revenue might rise to RM20bil, he said. The company had net income of RM1.03bil and sales of RM18.3bil in FY11, according to its annual report.

“By taking over YTL Cement, you would hope that you can pay more dividends to shareholders,” said Yeoh. “That would be the expectation and I think we can meet the investors’ expectation.”

I think this is the new platform for a re-rating of the mother counter of YTL Group of companies.

Watch out for a price increase when volume pick up speed and mass!

Razaleigh: You Can't Touch Me !

Remembered MC Hammer and his hit number, "You Can't Touch That!"?



Yo! That is what Tengku Razaleigh is telling UMNO.

Here, he is refering to himself- You Can't Touch Me!

And that he would not leave UMNO the way Kadir did.

So, it looks like he is playing confrontational 'Chicken' with Najib.

Who will be the first to blink and steer off from collision?

Najib or Razaleigh?

The gauntlet has been thrown.

Will Najib pick it up and dare Razaleigh to quit or get the boot!

That episode will unravel sooner or later.

The options are: Kick him out if he continue to say nasty things or pretend you do not know.

Your guess?

13th GE-The Battle for the Rural Heartland

Barisan Nasional's victories ever since independence has always been the rural heartland. Lose that and its game over,mate.

The early days of pre-Barisan Nasional stranglehold over the voting public until the May 13 Incident, was just that-win over the rural folks. Give them what they need in infrastructure. Victory is in your pocket!

Then was the era of development-It was the 'Needs' period.

Today, except for pocketfuls of rural areas that need the basic 'water, electricity and road' formula and the vast expanse of Sabah and Sarawak which continues to be difficult to access by road or rail,many young voting Malaysians have come of age. It is the 'I Want' period! This is the dynamics of the situation!

That many Malaysians have gone through tertiary education, gone overseas and read widely, have made them more aware of what is happening in the country. While in the past, it was the telephone that disseminates information, that changed with the fax machine. Today, the internet and the alternative media is posing immense challenges to sitting governments. It is in full multimedia! And can be manipulated totally for disinformation purposes!

Is Barisan losing the rural heartland in Peninsular Malaysia? Similarly, what is the true picture in Sabah and Sarawak. Has there been also a rural reawakening in these two states?

Barisan must remember that development politics is a two edged sword. As the people gets access to good roads, that also invite in opposition parties,the internet and the alternative media. Portable DVD players can screen any video onto a large screen which can work against the Barisan. Ease of infrastructure and technology can be a great equalizer!

Right now, BN is walking on eggs if they cannot resolve the listing of FGVB amicably. Losing half the settlers' support is real dicey in Malay heartland constituencies. It's going to be a touch-and-go if they should win.

It would be difficult to win this time around in strong urban areas. Urban areas are traditionally anti-government. Urban poverty is terrible and make voters to go against the establishment. Lately,the Chinese populace has too many issues with the government (Chiefly, Chinese school teachers) and this must be resolved if BN is to be able to hold back the opposition onslaught to secure victory. MCA has failed badly to resolve this particularly explosive problem!

What about the traditional kampungs? Can the government still depend on the village chieftains and the rural teachers? Again there is this remote possibility that these voters may have been alienated by the now aborted salary revision which favours the elite government servants. So, will be new add-on current scheme sway them back to the Barisan camp?

Except for UMNO which can be considered tenacious in possibly winning a big portion of their current seats in the best scenario,all other component parties are having both internal and external problems and these may easily cause the loss of such seats that have been allocated to them to the opposition.

For Gerakan,SUPP and PPP; it looks like they are confronting the 'last nail in the coffin' scenario.

For the MCA, they will likely be decimated except for one or two leaders who may win because of their pluck,luck, personality and the election machinery in their constituencies.

For others, it can be assumed it is one steep hill to run up given the awakening of the semi-urban areas. I do hope they have sufficient and sustainable stamina to oust the opponents.

As PM Najib trudged on and criss crossed the nation,in relentless 'hot breath' campaigning;little do we hear about the rest in UMNO or for that matter from component parties. Are they not campaigning as hard? Or have they been stung by the tze-tze fly?

Perhaps it is the muting period.

13th GE-Oraclers and Seers

Today, we have The Star jumping in as well in being a seer for the 13th GE.

It has looked at some analysts' forecast and has informed us that the GE will likely take place in September. And so goes the guessing game with red herrings galore,unlike in the USA when it has all been scheduled as if by tradition.

As usual the daily has its reasons for speculating the GE would likely occur in September and not in any of the earlier months except for June.

The basic premise is that many important issue need time for closure.

Then, there is the PM's travel to China and to the USA. The US event is insigniicfant. The two-day visit to China from March 31 he will attend the launch of the Qizhou Industrial Park in Nanning with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao can certainly be postponed or downgraded and delegated to the DPM or even the MITI Minister.

The STAR believes that PM may want to go to the USA function and then have a family get-away there just before the GE.

As for August, The Star thinks it is unlikely as it is the puasa month cum Hari Raya festive season and preparations for the national day has also to be organised.

With April just days away, Barisan Nasional component parties are still busy resolving seat swapping issues and the list of candidates has yet to be finalised. [Believe me, this is a tedious process and unhappiness can be brewed along the way and hotspots may emerge.]

June looks likely to be a good window for the election still. If not, then it has to be held after July when the fasting month will begin.

"The whole of August will be taken up by the Hari Raya celebrations and the run-up to National Day" says an analyst,adding that Najib could take advantage of feel-good factors such as the holiday mood and the Merdeka anniversary spirit of patriotism.

If September was picked, another analyst said, it would have to be the first week of the month.

“It cannot be late September as the haj season would have begun, ending only in October.Then, there is the Parliament meeting from Sept 24 until Nov 27, where the Budget needs to be tabled. Once it is tabled, it has to be approved by the Dewan Negara, which means it (the Budget session) will drag on until next year,” he said.

“The Dewan Rakyat is unlikely to be dissolved once the Budget has been tabled. It has to go all the way with the two Houses adopting it.”

Will The Star be the true prophet?

And so the guessing game continues................

No Winds of Change-Najib's Detractor

Najib proclaimed he feels the winds of change in his meetings with the Indian community lately. He believes that he has won them over to the side of BN. His nambikai remains intact.

Now, a detractor has come forward to pour icy cold water over his optimism.

The Malaysian Indians Progressive Association (MIPAS) has claimed it has conducted surveys and studies to glean information about this assertion and their feedback from the rakyat has demonstrated this is not necessarily so.

The felt no strong winds blowing from the community to the side of BN. The community, it seems,does not have confidence and full trust in the BN government as many issues have still not been fulfilled.

MIPAS believes the BN has failed the Indian community as Najib’s Nambikai trust has not fulfilled their needs because many of them are still without MyCards and birth certificates.

Statistics has shown Indians only comprise 3.2 per cent of employees in the government sector when it rightly should be about seven per cent.

On the recent announcments of full scholarships to the top 100 students from the Indian community who graduate with first-class honours from public universities, they felt it could be a tall order as there are not many Indian students in public universities.

They claimed that the government affirms that every vote is equal but when it comes to policy and implementation it is not equal. The cogent example they gave was the reluctance of the government to alienate land to the Indian landless.

MIPAS believes BN can expect an easy victory only in Johor, Malacca and Pahang in the 13th general election.

This is what has been predicted by Daim as well.

Are we having a Delphi at work here, somewhow?