These residents worked really hard to ensure that they didn’t get stuck with an incinerator that would’ve really screwed up their environment, their homes and their lives. Yeay citizen activism!
Busy few days, but will try to squeak out now and again :)
I think only theSun carried this piece about Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Mohamed Shafie Apdal saying that they’re looking into bringing in Metro AG and (gasp!) Wal-Mart!
I heard so much bad stuff about Wal-Mart when I was in the States.
Lazy bum that I am, behold Wikipedia! Highlights:
With close to two million employees worldwide, Wal-Mart has faced several issues with regards to its employees and workforce. These issues involve low wages, poor working conditions, inadequate health care, as well as issues involving the company’s strong anti-union policies. One of Wal-Mart’s biggest issues is their high turnover rate – approximately 70% of its employees leave within the first year, primarily due to lack of recognition and inadequate pay.[48]
Wages
Wal-Mart employees earn less than those performing similar jobs at other stores. For example, in 2001, the average supermarket employee earned $10.35 per hour, versus an average of $8.23 per hour for stock clerks at Wal-Mart. The company has paid low wages since its inception. Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton once said, “I pay low wages. I can take advantage of that. We’re going to be successful, but the basis is a very low-wage, low-benefit model of employment.”
Working conditions
Wal-Mart has also faced several accusations involving poor working conditions of its employees. For example, a class action lawsuit in Missouri involved approximately 160,000 to 200,000 people who were forced to work off the clock, were denied overtime pay, or were not allowed to take rest and lunch breaks.[55] In 2000, Wal-Mart paid $50 million to settle a class-action suit that asserted that 69,000 current and former Wal-Mart employees in Colorado had been forced to work off-the-clock
Child labor violations
In January 2004, the New York Times reported on an internal Wal-Mart audit conducted in July 2000, which examined one week’s time-clock records for roughly 25,000 employees.[61] According to the Times, the audit, “pointed to extensive violations of child-labor laws and state regulations requiring time for breaks and meals,” including 1,371 instances of minors working too late, during school hours, or for too many hours in a day.[61] There were 60,767 missed breaks and 15,705 lost meal times.
Illegal use of undocumented workers
Wal-Mart has been accused of using undocumented immigrants in many of its stores and work locations…
On October 23, 2003, federal agents raided 61 Wal-Mart stores in 21 states, in a crackdown known as, “Operation Rollback,” resulting in the arrests of 250 nightshift janitors who were undocumented workers.[64] Following the arrests, a grand jury convened to consider charging Wal-Mart executives with labor racketeering crimes for knowingly allowing undocumented workers to work at their stores.[64] The workers themselves were employed by agencies Wal-Mart contracted with for cheap cleaning services.[64] While Wal-Mart executives have tried to lay the blame squarely with the contractors, federal investigators point to wiretapped conversations showing that executives knew the workers were undocumented.
Labor union opposition
Wal-Mart has been criticized for its policies against labor unions. In North America, Wal-Mart has been successful thwarting unionization via anti-union tactics such as managerial surveillance and pre-emptive closures of stores or departments who choose to unionize….
In March 2005, Tom Coughlin was forced to resign from Wal-Mart’s Board of Directors, facing charges of embezzlement.[82] Coughlin claimed that the money was used for an anti-union project involving cash bribes paid to employees of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union in exchange for a list of names of Wal-Mart employees that had signed union cards.[82] He also claimed that the money was unofficially paid to him, by Wal-Mart, as compensation for his anti-union efforts…
I think that’s enough for now. There’s plenty within the original article in W-M’s defence (no prizes for guessing how it got there), but the basic point is, Dtk Shafie shouldn’t be too excited to subjecting Malaysians to these kinds of employers, no matter how low the prices of items.
DS Nazri:
“As I’ve said, there is no need to revamp the Elections Commission. In the past 50 years we have not revamped any ministry. So why must the EC be singled out (to be revamped)?”
Why is it the government always believes that everything is perfect and that nothing ever needs changing? Just how perfect do they think they are? Even a modicum of humility would allow that any institution has room for improvement. No ministry revamp in 50 years is NOT something to be proud of.
As for indelible ink, the minister said it is only used in constituencies with a large number of voters like in India.
“Some constituencies in India can be made up of a million people. So it is difficult to register voters one by one. Hence to ensure nobody votes twice, they use indelible ink
“There are only 24,000 people in my constituency in Padang Renggas, it’s a small number. We also use the identity card in this country. So we don’t need to use the indelible ink,” he said.
This is not logical.
Even in a constituency of 5 people, the problem of people voting twice exists - what you talking? And we’ve seen just how reliable our identity cards are in Sabah.
If you ask me, such virulent refusal to implement such a simple procedure that will cost so little but go so far in preventing voter abuse can only mean that they government has got something to hide.
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For some backdrop to what all this fuss is about, have a look at the BERSIH statement. There’s a lot more hanky panky going on in the EC than the public perceives, I do believe.
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This may be the last post of this sort for some time to come. I know I’ve been promising stuff since around CNY, I do apologise, but I am hopeful things will be made clear soon.
:)
A lawyer friend of mine is tabling a motion to abolish whipping as a form of punishment - focusing especially on the abuse of migrants.
Do have a look at the reasoning used in the motion (reproduced below), and the gory descriptions of inhumane cruelty used as examples.
MOTION FOR THE ABOLITION OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT OF WHIPPING
Whereas:-
1. In recent times, authorities are clamping down with greater brutality on migrants who are deemed “illegal” under the Immigration Act. The increasing demonisation of foreigners in the media as criminals and trouble makers failed to acknowledge that very often these persons are in fact undocumented persons, asylum seekers, migrant workers and refugees who have endured unspeakable horrors escaping conflict stricken territories, and /or suffered at the hands of ruthless agents, traffickers and authorities.
[Read more →]
I’m no expert on acquisition, but TS Khalid, Treasurer for PKR, does seem to raise some cogent and distressing points.
I happen to have an English version of his op-ed, enclosed below.
My dad’s kinda in the news yesterday! But not for the best of reasons.
He and his friends were terrorised by the APMM (Maritime Enforcement Agency - the people recently made responsible for security beyond 12 nautical miles of Malaysian shores) on the high seas.
PKR’s Dep Sec-Gen Dr. Xavier Jeyakumar had white paint splashed across his house by unknown assailants in the dead of Monday night. Dr. Jeyakumar staunchly believes the attack is politically motivated. This infruriating act of cowards will not deter those who fight for what is right!
On a more positive note, Tian Chua writes (with pics too) on how friends and neighbours helped clean the house up, despite the late hour. Hope and warmth amidst darkness.
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Suhakam bravely calls for a public inquiry on the Simpang Renggam assault case - in spite of (”I’m no bad boy”) DS Samy Vellu’s assurance that all is ok. Good on them! However:
When contacted, Suhakam commissioner N Siva Subramaniam said a special team from the commission will draw up the terms of references to get to the bottom of the matter. “It will deal specifically with the assault. We are not going to dwell on other issues,” he added.
= not touching the EO? :( Strategic engagement blablabla and credit where it’s due, but this is a bit of a in-denial attitude. But even if they can afford to sidestep the true root of the problem, damn well doesn’t mean we should. Stop draconian laws!!
Also: one warder is arrested for pushing drugs on the inmates. Just one sacrificial scapegoat for what is most likely a widespread abuse? Let’s hope not. Also see thoughts from faithful anti-EO crusader The Malaysian.
Suhakam will also be looking into one case of bonded slavery.
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After being long quiet, DS Nazri Aziz bursts back on the scene with characteristic swagger in all the wrong places. On corruption:
“The government has done everything it can think of to fight corruption,” Nazri said.. “To this day, people do not believe the government is going strong in its fight on corruption,” he added.
Everything it can think of? Think some moreLAH!!!!
Also, if the government has exhausted its mental capacities while failing to make a significant dent, as the rakyat rightfully believes, did DS Nazri thus just call the government a stupid failure?
On toll secrets:
“The Cabinet is not worried about declassifying the documents. The concessionaires are the ones making the money, not the Government. There is nothing to hide,” the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said.
Nothing to hide? How about the fact that the government is standing like a make donno voyeur while the rakyat is being gang-raped by highway companies?!?!
Eee, cannot tahan the government’s “it’s not our fault!” lame-o line. As I’ve preached many times before, that is the single worst thing a leader can say - especially an elected one. Take responsibility you wussies!!
