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Friday, August 29, 2008

Budget 2008

Budget 2008: Responsible Leadership for Uncertain Times


Building on the Government’s 2007 Economic Statement, the Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, tabled a balanced, focused and prudent budget to strengthen Canada amidst global economic uncertainty. Budget 2008 continues reducing debt and taxes, focuses government spending, and provides additional support for sectors of the economy that are struggling in this period of uncertainty.

In fact, this year alone the Government is injecting $21 billion of stimulus into the Canadian economy. As a share of the economy, this is significantly greater than the stimulus package offered by the U.S.

“Our Government is meeting the challenge of global economic uncertainty with a plan that is real, a plan that is responsible, a plan that is working,” said Minister Flaherty. “In the weeks to come, Canadians will see $2.9 billion in retroactive personal tax relief that was announced in the fall. We didn’t wait, we acted and Canadians can see the results.”

Budget 2008 also provides the most important federally driven personal finance innovation since the introduction of the Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP): the Tax-Free Savings Account. This flexible, registered, general-purpose account will allow Canadians to watch their savings—including interest income, dividend payments and capital gains—grow tax-free.

“The Tax-Free Savings Account is the first of its kind in Canadian history,” said Minister Flaherty. “It will provide all Canadians with a powerful incentive to save. An RRSP is primarily intended for retirement, but the Tax-Free Savings Account is like an RRSP for everything else in your life.”

Budget 2008 also demonstrates responsible leadership by:

  • Reducing debt. Since taking office, the Government has reduced the federal debt by more than $37 billion, including $10.2 billion this fiscal year. The Government’s aggressive debt reduction has resulted in ongoing interest savings of $2 billion per year. Under the Tax Back Guarantee, the benefits of debt reduction are passed on to Canadians in the form of lower personal income taxes.
  • Strengthening Canada’s tax advantage. Since taking office, the Government has delivered almost $200 billion in tax relief over this and the next five years. Budget 2008 extends accelerated capital cost allowance treatment for the manufacturing and processing sector by three years on a declining basis—this will provide these businesses with an additional $1 billion in tax relief.
  • Investing in the country’s manufacturing heartland. In February 2008, Parliament passed the Government’s $1-billion Community Development Trust to support communities and workers. Budget 2008 builds on this investment by providing $250 million for an Automotive Innovation Fund to help Canada’s automotive sector adapt to the challenges of the future.
  • Investing in the priorities of Canadians. Budget 2008 is providing $400 million to hire 2,500 new front-line police officers over the next five years. Budget 2008 also supports the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and will improve the safety systems for food, consumer and health products.

We have come to a fork in the road,” said Minister Flaherty. “Some would have us go down the path to higher spending, higher interest payments and higher taxes. That approach is misguided. Our Government is taking the path that requires focus, prudence and discipline.”

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Tiga tokoh Pemuda Umno dapat projek RM1.2 bilion?

Tiga tokoh Pemuda Umno dapat projek RM1.2 bilion?

KUALA LUMPUR,23 Julai (Hrkh) - Tiga tokoh penting Pemuda Umno Malaysia didakwa mendapat projek sistem perisian komputer E-Tanah sejumlah RM1.2 bilion secara runding terus tanpa tender terbuka namun sehingga kini gagal dilaksanakan semenjak dimulakan pada tahun 2006.


Ahli Parlimen Machang, Saifudin Nasution Ismail yang mendedahkan perkara itu di Dewan Rakyat baru-baru ini memberitahu, ketiga-tiga individu terbabit dikaitkan juga dengan Precision Portal Sdn Bhd, sebuah syarikat yang terbabit dengan sistem perisian komputer di Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri (LHDN) yang membabitkan kos hampir RM250 juta.

“Masalahnya ialah sistem itu tidak menetapi spesifikasi LHDN dan salah dalam kiraan taksiran. Ini serius sebenarnya.

“Hari ini kakitangan LHDN terpaksa betulkan kesilapan sistem komputer itu satu persatu cara ‘manual’ dan 80 peratus daripada masa kakitangan terpaksa digunakan,” katanya ketika memohon penjelasan dalam Rang Undang-undang Perbekalan Tambahan (200 8) di Dewan Rakyat baru-baru ini.

Berikutan itu katanya, kelemahan dan kesilapan syarikat ini terpaksa ditanggung oleh LHDN sedangkan jutaan ringgit telah pun dibayar kepada syarikat terbabit walaupun sistem perisian tersebut gagal dilaksanakan.

“Projek syarikat ini, syarikat ini sudah dapat duit habis, sistem dia tidak jalan. LHDN balik asal. Ini berat ini. Kerajaan yang amanah, cemerlang, terbilang dan segala-gala macam itu harus teliti perkara ini dengan serius,”tambahnya lagi.

Beliau juga turut membangkit isu sistem E-Tanah berjumlah RM65 juta yang diperuntukkan untuk ‘pilot project’ di Pulau Pinang namun gagal juga dilaksanakan.

“Mengaibkan, memalukan! RM1.2 bilion ‘witout open tender’, bagi sahaja, belakangnya Pemuda Umno Malaysia berjuang untuk agama, bangsa dan negara tetapi rompak di siang hari,” katanya.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Press Statement by Datuk Seri Anwar IbrahimThe hospital report



.This report makes a mockery of the so-called “impartial police investigations” and clearly showfour weeks of their “thorough and professional investigations” have overlooked such a critical piece of evidence? I condemn in the strongest terms their negligence, dishonesty and recklessness in humiliating the nation by dragging us all through this vile and filthy charade.

Our refusal to submit a DNA sample has been vindicated. The failure of the police to disclose this medical report all but confirms their intention to frame me. Although quite apparent even before yesterday, their desperate attempt to collect a new DNA sample is now even more clearly a last ditch effort to build a case where none exists.

The statement by Bar President Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan in response to this latest development bears repeating.

s the dubious but persistent attempts to incriminate me by whatever means employable.How else can we fathom why the police during the last “The credibility of the Malaysian justice system as a whole is therefore atstake. The integrity of professionals, be they doctors or lawyers, must never be interfered with. The public must be left in no doubt that the criminaljustice system in this country will not be misused or abused.”

Several weeks ago I filed a police report implicating Musa Hassan and Gani Patail in the conspiracy to fabricate evidence in my 1998 case. The ACA subsequently opened an inquiry into the matter. Given their current involvement as heads of the police and Attorney General’s chambers, and their earlier attempts to discredit and defame me, I have consistently asserted that a fair investigation into this matter would be impossible, notwithstanding the dubious character of the complainant and his association with the Deputy Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister’s wife and, her staff, as well as key figures in the police department.

I reiterate earlier calls to ensure the safety and security of the doctor who authored this medical report. Reports that he and his family may be in danger must not be taken lightly given earlier instances when key witnesses in high-profile cases in Malaysia have been threatened, coerced or gone missing.

My family and I have endured a great deal during the last month. Our fears of arepeat of the trauma and abuse inflicted upon us in 1998 were bearable only with the tremendous outpouring of support from our friends in Malaysia and throughout the world. We breathed a deep sigh of relief upon hearing of the report and after seeing it with our own eyes felt a great burden lifted from our shoulders. We remain eternally grateful to them for their belief in us and their commitment to the cause of freedom and justice in Malaysia.

I have willingly cooperated in the police investigations; careless and vindictive though it has turned out to be. But I have decided that nation is in a grave situation economically and socially and I can no longer be distracted by such nuisances. I am now determined to move ahead with the reform agenda, which the Malaysian people endorse in the last elections, and i do not intend to address this scurrilous accusations anymore.

At a time when the world economy is spiraling into recession and Malaysia has struggled to remain competitive with its neighbors, this scandal was raised at the worst possible moment. The problems of inflation, unemployment, and investor confidence grow more serious by the day The authorities, aided by senior Ministers in the government, appear to be willfully dragging the nation’s stature down in their last ditch efforts to retain power. The international community has expressed its disdain for what is happening and that will translate to less foreign investment, less tourism and an even weaker economy.

I call upon the government to rise above petty vindictiveness and maneuvering for power, and to be sincere, honest and hence effective in its actions. The national good that, for the moment now reposes in their hands, demands nothing less.