Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Anwar’s second bid to recuse judge
- Intelligence unit predicts GE in 2012
- Anwar uses IPP contracts to attack Najib administration
- Perimekar: Chronicle of a death foretold?
- June 8 hearing for PKR's bid to challenge ROS decision
- PKR urges police to probe 'new evidence' in Customs officer's death
- Umno anti-1 Malaysia, Kit Siang tells Soi Lek
- Guan Eng Should Lead Pakatan
- Police abused power, claim residents
- Hisham’s order on ‘Sulu Sultan’ an eyewash
- Najib needs to buy some time
| Anwar’s second bid to recuse judge Posted: 01 Jun 2011 07:13 AM PDT The defence team is expected to file a fresh application with the High Court registry tomorrow. (Free Malaysia Today) - Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's lawyers will file a fresh application to recuse his sodomy trial judge Mohamad Zabidin Mod Diah with the High Court registry here tomorrow. FMT learnt that one of the factors for the application would be Zabidin's lengthy grounds to order Anwar to enter his defence. "Normally such broad reasons will be given at the end of the defence or if the defendant is acquitted at the end of the prosecution's case. But here, the judge took more than one and a half hours to order Anwar to enter his defence," said a source close to the defence team. Contacted later, Anwar's counsel Sankara Nair confirmed that an application would be filed but declined to reveal the grounds. In a related development, Sankara said the defence team had only interviewed five out of the 25 witnesses it had requested. These were former sprint queen Mumtaz Jaafar, Dr Mohd Osman Abd Hamid, a medical doctor from Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's private secretary and complainant Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan's younger sister. Sankara said former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan and former Malacca police chief Mohd Rodwan Yusof had agreed to be interviewed last Friday but did not turn up. The interview was scheduled to take place at one of the deputy public prosecutor's room on the fifth floor of the Jalan Duta Court. "No reasons were given," he said, adding that the defence also requested to interview Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor but the prosecution had yet to indicate when and where this could take place. On May 16, immediately after Zabidin's decision, Solicitor-General II Mohd Yusof Zainal Adiden informed the court that the prosecution was offering 72 witnesses to the defence.
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| Intelligence unit predicts GE in 2012 Posted: 31 May 2011 09:44 PM PDT By Stephanie Sta Maria, Free Malaysia Today PETALING JAYA: The Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) has predicted that the general election will only be called next year to allow the Barisan Nasional (BN) government time to recoup the full support of ethnic minorities. The latest EIU report for the forecast period of 2011-2015 alluded to the outcome of the recent Sarawak state election where waning Chinese support for the BN indicated that more work is needed if it is to win a two-thirds majority. The EIU is the research and analysis centre of the Economist magazine. The report also forecast yet another David-and-Goliath scenario with the cash-strapped opposition being pitted against the BN's well-oiled machinery. "The BN is well positioned to win the polls although the width of its victory margin remains unclear," the report said. "(Prime Minister) Najib (Tun Razak) has worked hard to present the image of a politician who is committed to economic reform, but this attitude has yet to resonate among the country's ethnic-minority population." The EIU also highlighted Pakatan Rakyat's shortcomings which included lack of funding and possibly strong competition from the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) and People's Welfare Party (Kita). Both organisations have declared their intention to field candidates at the next general election and the EIU anticipates that the contest could eat into one-half of Pakatan's 76 parliamentary seats. But the report has not painted a particularly glowing outlook for either the BN or Pakatan in terms of both parties' political strength and appeal. "Although the 2008 election revealed that Umno could no longer count on the strong support of the majority of Malays, Pakatan still does not offer a sufficiently credible, stable alternative," it noted. "The BN's success will depend largely on whether it can keep its power bases intact in Sabah and Sarawak. The outcome of the Sarawak state election was not the resounding victory that it had hoped for." Alternative news The EIU warned that unresolved issues, like illegal foreign immigration to Sabah, could drive BN parties or individual parliamentary members there to defect or threaten to do so in order to secure greater influence within the coalition. It also observed that while Umno continued enjoying the loyalty of rural voters, it may have lost the support of many educated, liberal middle-class Malays who are exposed to alternative news via the Internet. "Umno's internal leadership elections, which have been postponed until 2012, could be a source of political instability in the forecast period, particularly if the party fails to secure a clear victory at federal and state level in the next elections." |
| Anwar uses IPP contracts to attack Najib administration Posted: 31 May 2011 09:36 PM PDT By Lee Wei Lian, The Malaysian Insider SELAYANG, June 1 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim piled pressure on the Najib Administration over the rising cost of living and pressed the issue of the country's increasingly unpopular Independent Power Producers (IPPs), claiming that that the government's apparent reluctance to renegotiate profitable power purchasing agreements reflected the "stranglehold" of the IPPs. Anwar also revisited history and referred to an interview that former Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) chairman Tan Sri Ani Arope gave The Star newspaper in 2006 where the latter claimed that there was virtually no negotiation and TNB was "humiliated" by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) and directed to accept terms and conditions that were "grossly unfair." This comes after the government raised the price of electricity earlier this week, leading to concern that it would worsen inflationary pressure. The Opposition leader alleged at a forum on public housing here today that the lack of attempts to renegotiate the power purchasing agreements showed how strong a "grip" the IPPs had over the government He also said that a revision of the contracts was the "minimum" that the government was expected to do. In his 2006 interview with The Star, Ani said that he was given no option but to buy electricity from the IPPs at rates far above what TNB was producing at and in excess of its actual needs. "There was no negotiation. Absolutely none," Ani said. "Instead of talking directly with the IPPs, TNB was sitting down with the EPU. And we were harassed, humiliated and talked down every time we went there. After that, my team was disappointed. The EPU just gave us the terms and asked us to agree. I said no way I would." Ani also said that he had objected to the terms and conditions and was subsequently "put out to pasture." The former TNB chairman said that the national utility company was producing electricity at eight sen per kWh but was asked to buy from IPPs at up to 23 sen per kWh for a specific number of years and at a certain volume regardless of its actual requirements. Ani claimed that one IPP had agreed to sell at 12 sen per kWh but was shot down by the EPU and had to eventually sell at 14 sen per kWh. Ani also criticised the cost pass through mechanism. "If the price of fuel went up, the extra cost is passed through (from the IPPs) to us. And in other words, it is passed on to the consumer," said Ani.
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| Perimekar: Chronicle of a death foretold? Posted: 31 May 2011 09:17 PM PDT By Céline Boileau, Free Malaysia Today PETALING JAYA: Businessman Lodin Wok Kamaruddin has recently been cited by WikiLeaks as one of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's close friends. What WikiLeaks didn't reveal is that Lodin Wok was also one of the directors of Perimekar Sdn Bhd until last year. Last year too, the company registered huge losses. Perimekar had acted as the go-between for the procurement of two French-made submarines by the Malaysian Defence Ministry. In the process, the company made RM534.8 million in commission. A simple line, buried in a mass of documents, is sometimes enough to cause an avalanche of surprises. The US diplomatic cable from the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur revealed by WikiLeaks on May 19 contains a list of friends of Najib. One of them is "Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, Chief of the Armed Forces Fund Board", an institution also known as Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT). Due to the various companies in which Lodin Wok has held positions of responsibility, the businessman may find himself involved in the case of "Scorpene scandal", currently under probe in France. Thus, in addition to his position in LTAT, Lodin Wok is deputy chairman of Boustead Holdings Bhd. These two companies hold 20% each of Perimekar shares, through the holding KS Ombak Laut Sdn Bhd. The remaining 60% is held by KS Ombak Laut. What is less known is that according to Perimekar financial statements, Lodin Wok is one of the five directors of Perimekar, alongside Mazlinda Makhzan, Rozana Abdullah Meili, Abdul Rani Mohd Hussin Abdullah and Mohd Hussin Tamby. He also sits on the boards of Affin Bank Bhd,one of Perimekar's bankers. These string of "coincidences" could place the 61-year-old businessman in an difficult position regarding the submarines deals. When contacted for comment, Lodin Wok said he had resigned from Perimekar board on July 1, 2010 after the company completed its contract with the government upon the delivery of the two Scorpene submarines. He added that he was a director in the company as a representative of LTAT. Ups and downs of Perimekar Besides, it appears that Perimekar has been declining since last year. Suspected of being created for the sole purpose of distributing a RM500 million commission between Malaysian and foreign beneficiaries after the sale of the submarines, the company, registered in 1999, defines its activity as "marketing, maintenance and other activities related to submarines and surface vessels…". The financial statements report that Perimekar has a single customer: the Malaysian government. They also show that the company has a wide range of financial performance from year to year. For example, while the company has reported a net loss of RM8.2 million in 2003, it declared a net profit of RM24.7 million the following year. In 2008, Perimekar also became a group with two small subsidiaries (Prima Laksana and Gagah Nirwana). Now, has the golden age of Perimekar gone? Between 2009 and 2010, while the submarines were being delivered, Perimekar's activity has (almost) tumbled down: the company has seen its net income decrease from a profit of RM19 million to a loss amounting to RM3.3 million. The turnover has plunged from about RM85 million to RM23 million – an amount still comfortable enough for its shareholders. They have been granted dividends of RM56.2 million in 2009 (66% of the turnover) and RM18.7 million in 2010 (81% of the turnover). Between 2003 and 2010, the company received more than RM200 million from its contract with the government. However, the financial report of 2010 stated: "The company's project with the governement of Malaysia was completed on Dec 25, 2009, after which a downsizing exercise was done in a fair manner and the company was focusing on prospecting for other viable business opportunities." The second company According to Dr Kua Kia Soong, director of Suaram and author of the book "Questioning arms spending in Malaysia", the rise and fall of Perimekar sounds like a convenient story to hide from the investigation into the Scorpene deal. "We would like a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate how Perimekar disbursed 114 million euros (RM500 million) for apparently 'coordination and support services" in those six years," he said. READ MORE HERE. |
| June 8 hearing for PKR's bid to challenge ROS decision Posted: 31 May 2011 05:15 PM PDT (Bernama) -- The High Court has set June 8 for Parti Keadilan Rakyat's (PKR) application for leave to seek a judicial review of the Registrar of Societies' (ROS) attempt to deregister the party. PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and secretary-general, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail also filed a prohibitory order to seek a stay on any ROS proceedings before the matter is heard in court. PKR filed the application following a notice issued by ROS, dated May 9, 2011, to revoke PKR's registration. PKR counsel Fadiah Nadwa Fikri told reporters the June 8 case is scheduled to be heard before Judge Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim. PKR claimed that the notice issued by ROS was made in bad faith, illegal and unlawful. According to PKR, ROS' claim that the party had violated Article 32.2.1 of the party constitution by sacking A. Rajagopal without a disciplinary board hearing was not true as there was no such member or clause in the PKR constitution. ROS had given the party until June 9 to show cause as to why it should not be deregistered.
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| PKR urges police to probe 'new evidence' in Customs officer's death Posted: 31 May 2011 05:02 PM PDT (The Star) - PKR has asked Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar to conduct immediate investigations on 'new evidence' in the death of Selangor Customs assistant director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed. The evidence came from Ahmad Sarbani's widow Maziah Manap, who lodged a police report early May alleging that an investigating officer from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had told her on April 28 that his "people" were involved in the death of her husband. Maziah claimed to have met the MACC officer at the Customs office when she went there to collect her husband's personal items. She then lodged a police report on the matter on May 5. "A month has passed since she lodged the police report but no further action has been taken by the police," PKR vice-president N. Surendran told reporters outside Bukit Aman here Wednesday. Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar urged the police to conduct immediate investigations into the report. "The police need to explain why no action has been taken against those involved in or responsible for Ahmad Sarbaini's death," she said. Several PKR leaders, including Nurul Izzah, vice-president Tian Chua, Surendran and Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin were present to deliver a memorandum to the police demanding immediate action on the matter. Ahmad Sarbani was among 62 Customs personnel under investigation by the MACC for alleged corruption and money laundering. He had gone to the MACC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on April 6 just days after he was released on bail. About two hours after entering the building, he was found dead on a badminton court on the first floor landing. He was believed to have fallen from the third floor of the five-storey building. When contacted, City acting Police Chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Amar Singh said he was aware of the memorandum. "We will conduct investigations to verify if the allegations are true," he said.
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| Umno anti-1 Malaysia, Kit Siang tells Soi Lek Posted: 31 May 2011 04:53 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - DAP's Lim Kit Siang told Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek today to observe Umno's refusal to discard racial politics before defining 1 Malaysia as the government's "Malaysian first, race second" vision. Lim pointed out to the MCA president that Umno's repeated attempts to lure PAS into forming a unity government with Barisan Nasional (BN) was in itself against the concept of 1 Malaysia. "Why is it that Umno has to try to entice PAS for the sake of Malay unity? If you want to talk about 1 Malaysia, why not BN instead lure PR to form a unity government?" he said when contacted. Since Election 2008, Umno has made numerous attempts to draw PAS into its fold, ostensibly using Malay unity to bargain with the Islamist party. Lim reminded Dr Chua of his party's constant criticism of DAP's partnership with PAS in the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pact and asked the former minister why MCA has yet to strongly condemn Umno for courting PAS. Referring to a recent report in an online news portal, Lim noted that Umno had purportedly offered three federal ministerships and five mentri besar posts to PAS if the party were to agree to a unity government. "What is MCA's position on this? MCA has been attacking DAP for co-operating with PAS but Umno is trying to do the same. MCA should issue an ultimatum to Umno or immediately quit BN now," he said.
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| Posted: 31 May 2011 01:40 PM PDT By Dajmarizal Zolkipli, Malaysian Digest Looking at the possible candidates to take over the Pakatan leadership we have the likes of Lim Kit Siang (DAP adviser), Karpal Singh (DAP chairman), Abdul Hadi Awang (PAS president), Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKR president) and Azmin Ali (PKR deputy president). From this name list, the two main key leaders from PKR Wan, Azizah and Azmin would naturally be considered by many as potential figures to take over from Anwar. Anwar did hinted that he wanted to pass the baton to Azmin, however, most people, even those in PKR, do not approve of this suggestion by the party de facto leader. |
| Police abused power, claim residents Posted: 31 May 2011 01:27 PM PDT By G Vinod, Free Malaysia Today PETALING JAYA: Yet more police reports. This time against several policemen and City Hall officers. The Bukit Jalil estate action committee and individuals have now filed seven reports over a breach of a court injunction. The 41 families residing at the estate obtained an ex-parte interim injunction from the Court of Appeal on May 13 to stop Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) from demolishing their homes. In its report at the Dang Wangi police headquarters yesterday, the committee claimed the DBKL officers and the police personnel had been in contempt of court as DBKL had been slapped with the injunction from entering the site. On May 25, some 30 policemen and DBKL officers, led by an inspector known as Chandraratna had entered the estate, tore down their banners and broke several chairs in a guard post. When the residents queried them, the officers allegedly intimidated and rained insults at them. Despite being shown a copy of the injunction, Chandraratna had refused to acknowledge it. |
| Hisham’s order on ‘Sulu Sultan’ an eyewash Posted: 31 May 2011 01:23 PM PDT By Queville To, Free Malaysia Today KOTA KINABALU: Is Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein oblivious to fact that the police have already concluded a 'thorough' investigation into self-proclaimed Sulu Sultan Mohd Akjan Ali Mohamad and are awaiting the Attorney-General's directive on the matter? This is the question posed by an ex-senator who warned that Sabah is well on its way to being fully colonised by Peninsular Malaysia. Dr Chong Eng Leong said the only way for the state to keep intact its sovereignty within Malaysia is to vote for change in the next general election. Chong said he came to this conclusion after Hishammuddin ordered the police to "thoroughly and seriously" investigate the citizenship of Akjan, a former Umno member who created waves in Sabah with his self-proclaimation. The former PBS leader, who is now a Sabah PKR leader, said Hishammuddin's statement could only mean that the recently concluded police investigation on Akjan was 'neither thorough nor serious.' "Surely our Home Minister has not forgotten that the police had completed the probe and had submitted the investigation papers to the A-G chamber for a decision." Chong also reminded Hishammuddin that Akjan was an ex-ISA detainee who was held for activities related to issuance of 'ICs' to foreigners in Sabah and that the police must already have all the facts concerning him. He however expressed doubt the police would "thoroughly investigate" Akjan's case given the fact that the federal government refusal, until today, to admit to the existence of the infamous 'Project IC'. The so-called 'project' is widely believed to have been engineered by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad back in the 90s, with the chief aim of altering the demography of Sabah to oust the Christian-dominated PBS state government at that time. Criminal act Lurid tales of thousands of homeless and stateless children in Sabah, many of them drug addicts, have been published by the international press without much comment from the federal authorities. Most believe that acknowledging that there are such destitute children living of the streets in Kota Kinabalu would force the government to admit that a criminal act had been committed. "Already there are more than 600,000 foreigners in Sabah having possession of such ICs today and they claim Sabah native status," said Chong. "How many times does the federal government need to be told that Sabah's security and sovereignty within Malaysia is at stake, a time-bomb ready to explode any moment?" Chong pointed out that there was strong circumstantial evidence that Akjan's claim that he is a bona fide Malaysian is false. He noted that online news portal Sabahkini had reported in February that Akjan was born in Jambangan, Nipah-Nipah, in Philippines, on Nov 23, 1957 and a few individuals have also testified against his citizenship claim. However Akjan's Malaysian IC states that he was born on July 7, 1957 and he claimed that he was born in Kg Limau-Limauan, Kudat. |
| Posted: 31 May 2011 12:25 PM PDT By Oon Yeoh, The Sun ELECTION fever is in the air. Everyone seems to think national polls are imminent. The general argument in favour of this view is that things might get worse on the economic front later on down the road so we might as well get the election over with before it gets worse.
I majored in Economics in university but I've never worked as an economist so I'm hardly an expert on the subject. But I know this much: It's very hard to predict how the economy would be even just a year down the road. Who's to say the economy won't be better in 2012 or 2013? Nevertheless one real economic challenge that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has to contend with is how long he can afford to delay cutting subsidies. The country cannot afford to keep the subsidies but if he makes these painful cuts, it would surely cost the government some votes. The Opposition has predictably criticised the government's plan to cut subsidies and has promised to keep prices low if it comes to power. This is not because they don't understand the need to cut subsidies but what do you expect the Opposition to do, hail such efforts? Naturally the Opposition will want to offer a better alternative. Whether they can afford to maintain the subsidies should they come to power is another question. But for now, supporting subsidies is a popular and electorally-shrewd stance to take. And it's a problem for Najib. The problem with holding elections soon – before any subsidy cuts are made – is that the Opposition can claim that subsidy cuts are imminent and that they will be implemented soon after Najib gets a new mandate. With the Internet now widely available, word can get around easily, making this a risky move. It probably would make more sense for Najib to both hold off on subsidy cuts for another year or so (the country is not going to go bankrupt during that time) and hold off on calling a general election until he can address the many other challenges his coalition faces. He needs to buy himself some time. There are many non-economic challenges. The Chinese are still upset over a wide range of issues including the Teoh Beng Hock case which is still unsolved and most recently the PSD scholarship debacle that left many straight A students without scholarships. Meanwhile, the Christians – many of whom are Chinese – are still upset over various issues including the right to use the word "Allah", Bible seizures, and unsubstantiated allegations about a plot to install a Christian prime minister. I've said before that Najib has a "Chinese Dilemma", especially in the urban areas. What the recent Sarawak state election shows is that this issue is not limited to the peninsula though it's certainly more pronounced here. With an Umno-owned newspaper and an Umno-friendly Malay rights group regularly blaring the "Ketuanan Melayu" message, it's really up to the non-Malay component parties – namely MCA and Gerakan – to win back the Chinese votes. The problem is that they are both a shadow of their former selves. MCA and Gerakan (which is nominally multiracial but is, for all intents and purposes, a Chinese party) have an uphill battle convincing the Chinese community they are effective in the face of an increasingly dominant Umno. Umno might be able to win considerable Malay support and, at the end of the day, this might actually be sufficient to win a simple majority even if the non-Malay component parties fail to deliver. But can a government with little non-Malay representation be viable in a multiracial country like Malaysia? Perhaps the answer can be found in the blunt message Pahang Mentri Besar Adnan Yaakob delivered to the MCA during the party's retreat in Genting Highlands over the weekend: "The Chinese must be convinced that MCA can fight for the Chinese ... we cannot say we are multiracial if there are no Chinese representatives in BN."
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