Successful manouvering of contentious citizenship issue

Today is Budget day and all eyes will focus on it, but it should not deny due recognition to Home Minister, Dato Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail for successfully manouvering this decades-long and contentious issue of citizenship to do the amendment to the act. 

Saifuddin is Anwar's main man and Secretary General of PKR. And, PKR was formerly a bitter rival of BN, but give credit where it is due. 

It is a long overdue amendment to a longstanding gender inequality issue and grave injustice towards Malaysian women. Their off-spring were denied citizenship for the simple reason they fell in love and had foreign husbands. 

Since it was difficult for the husband to gain employment in Malaysia, they ended up working and uprooted abroad. Its common to encounter Malaysians living abroad and contemporaries stuck in this predicament with family ended up in limbo from being denied access to employment, health services and education. 

The citizenship problem also contributed to the Malaysian brain drain. Once abroad it is not easy to bring them back. The reason the once led by MOF SecGen, Talent Corp initiative ended as a failure.    

The constraint to greater gender inequality still remain and Family Frontier wanted the amendment to be restrospective. At least Saifuddin had the political will kick start by moving ahead and pursue this low hanging fruit. 

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Trump pulls even on the polls, UBS predict 10% drop on S&P

The latest stories this morning on the US election indicate Kamala Harris losing ground, and Donald Trump pulls even on the poll. Forbes reported all 6 battleground states are neck to neck with Trump apparently leading Pennsylvania. 

Local Malaysian bar room political soothsayers been telling all along not to believe a woman and more so, Black and Asian descent will ever make US President. At the final stretch, skin colour will be the deciding factor, they claimed.

Well, Dean from the tiktok of Alexis and Dean have taken the safe view that it is a 50:50 situation three days ago. Both Harris and Trump's campaign team have been taking the attitude it will be down to the wire. Do not read too much into the poll. Hillary had the poll in her favour, but lost the electoral college count. 

In the meanwhile, Forbes reported Trump's tariff could pull the S&P down by 10%. The Forbes report below:

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Challenging budget to be tabled Oct 18th

Government Budget for 2025 will be tabled in Parliament next week on October 18th. The conversation in the mainstream, on-line and social media have begun to pick up and the coverage will be bigger next week leading to Budget day. 

Seldom this blog delved on the Budget before it is tabled. Its decades since this blogger bothered to watch the live Budget presentation. Prefer to buy up all the newspapers the next morning to read the highlights and wait for analysts' reports on Monday. Perhaps, this year will be an exception. 

It is not because of the turmoil in Europe. Middle East and on-going "pivot" on China. And, not because media was mum prior to the Bukit Mahkota by-election and only started to deal with the less-than-rosy news coming.  

The boring predictability of Budget discussion by politicians and public is that its too focused on the spending side. Repeatedly discussed are demand for larger allocations, arguement for prioritising this over that, and what government should do, et al, but hardly anyone talks about where the revenue will be coming from.

For almost a year, this blogger have been concerned with the declining tax revenue despite Royal Customs delivering beyond expectation under its new and lady Director General. The percentage decline heard to be about 15%.  

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BJP continues to be under pressure

From Pakistan and Bangla Desh, might as well touch on the latest happening in Indian politics. It should be on Malaysia's watchlist for many reasons beyond Anwar recently reestablish relation after cold relation between Mahathir and Modi. 

India is a member of BRICS, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), IPEF, Northern Sea Route. etc. Increasingly, India is a regional power with a millitary cooperation with Indonesia.  

The ruling Bharatija Janata Party of India won the general election conducted from April to June 2024, but Modi only returned as Prime Minister for the third time with 293 seats of the 543 seats Parliament as a coalition government with the Telugu Desam Party of Andhra Pradesh and Janata Dal (United) of Bihar as two main allies.

The grand old Congress Party of India seemed to regain a foothold back in Indian politics. According to Wikipedia, "The INDIA coalition outperformed expectations, securing 234 seats, 99 of which were won by the Congress, garnering the party the official opposition status for the first time in 10 years."

The Malay Mail Online reported two days ago below: 

Modi’s BJP projected to lose two crucial state elections in India to opposition Congress

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Strategic outreach to Pakistan and Bangladesh

Letters 

Star Online Monday, 07 Oct 2024

PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s just concluded visits to Pakistan and Bangladesh might have slipped under the radar for many Malaysians. An honorary doctorate and a highest state award conferred notwithstanding, these trips weren’t as headline-grabbing as his recent engagements with China, Japan, or Russia.

And if you’re looking at the trade figures, they pale before those of other nations. In 2023, Malaysia’s total trade with Pakistan stood at RM7.84bil, and with Bangladesh at RM12.7bil – combined, it’s less than what PETRONAS makes in a month.

But focusing on trade figures alone would miss the bigger picture. 

Pakistan and Bangladesh matter far more to Malaysia than the statistics suggest. Both countries hold immense potential for Malaysia, although decades of political strife and external challenges have kept them from realising their full promise.

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From Bloomberg to Murray Hunter, how to misled public with false claim

According to Dato Lokman Nor Adam, Bloomberg became the spokesman for Tun Daim and his wife Toh Puan Naemah to create a false claim that MACC were instructed by the Prime Minister to investigate him and his wife. [Go to his FB here and here]

Its obviously another of Daim's delay tactic to buy time from making his asset declaration. The old man has not exhausted his bag of tricks. Its a matter of time he will resort to claim of suffering from serious mental health to evade trial. 

An old trick was to have foreign media float a claim and other media viral the media report. In this case, the wife make a police report as though it is the truth that vindicated them. 

One wonder why a so-called credible foreign media willing to be an accomplice to cover up alleged crime?  

Whether Bloomberg was in cahoot with Daim or not, they misled other media to report YTL Chairman  accompanied Agong in the recent China official visit to negotiate with China for funding to revive Najib's MyHSR project. 

A local business portal and of all, a reputable international relation portal bought into Bloomberg spin hook, line and sinker. Rocky Bru was amazed with Bloomberg's ability to use the word "alleged" to misled other media and cast a bad aspersion of the King. 

There is a list on when media lie by using certain phrases. 

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"Maju Johor" gear up for JS-SEZ

Throughout the Bukit Mahkota by-election, one can hear Johor Menteri Besar repeating the new tagline for Johor, "Maju Johor" as the state prepare itself for the game changing Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ). 

Dato Onn Hafiz spent much time campaigning at Bukit Mahkota to take the opportunity to hit home to Johoreans that the state will not be the same anymore. They should not be left out of the opportunities that will present itself. 

Already there is a strong interest for JS-SEZ in Singapore with 93% of traders are up for it. 

Self serving political rhetorics of Dr Mahathir against Singapore are a thing of the past. His personal bad experience as Medical student in Singapore should not continue to be a stumbling block to Johor anymore. 

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