Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Let’s see who’s bigger, Perkasa dares Bersih
- As mainstream media fails, BN takes on Pakatan in ceramahs
- Bersih rally: Hindraf opts out
- Police brace for hackers’ attack
- RIM wants another file-sharing site blocked
- Not a single decent road in oil-rich Sabah
- Penan hunter-gatherers to be dumped in vast oil palm plantation
- WIKILEAKS: Syed Mokhtar al Bukhary's foray into Iran
- Why Is Perkasa Against Bersih?
- PAS warns Perkasa against causing trouble
- Anwar vs Khairy: Seeking an out of court settlement
- Parliament: Motion To Discuss Customs Officer Ahmad Sarbini's Assets Rejected
- Who Are They Trying To Kid?
- Himpunan BERSIH - Ahmad Maslan Ajak Rakyat Boikot
- PAS will never cooperate with Umno, says Mat Sabu
- Umno turning into the old PAS
- Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, the Prodigal Son, may Return to PBS
- Sarbaini inquest set for July 4
- Nazri says Mugabe, Bashir not welcome in Malaysia
- Amnesty urges Malaysia to arrest Sudan's Bashir
- Anak muda Melaka sertai Bersih 2.0
- Bersih 2.0 diteruskan walau Perkasa halang
- Himpunan Melayu Pulau Pinang selepas Bersih 2.0
- ‘PAS trying to get Anwar off the hook’
- A government of the Cronies, by the Cronies and for the Cronies
- Bersih 2.0: All heads must rise to the challenge
- NST drops to 73,000, B.Minggu loses 30% (ABC sneak peek)
- Ditamas director: No choice but to sell property to Khir Toyo at RM3.5m
- Two Singapore women made to strip, do squats by JB immigration
- Honorable Prime Minister, perception is not reality for you?
- What hypocrisy!
| Let’s see who’s bigger, Perkasa dares Bersih Posted: 14 Jun 2011 01:16 PM PDT (TMI) KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — Claiming the support of 36 NGOs, Perkasa threw down the gauntlet last night to organisers of the Bersih gathering to see who could rally more support when the two groups face off in the federal capital on July 9. The Malay rights group said that it had no choice but to take to the streets to counter election watchdogs Bersih because "if we don't, then the world will think that they have the support of all Malaysians." "Wait for July 9, then we will see who has more," Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali told reporters after chairing a roundtable meeting with representatives from various NGOs. The Pasir Mas MP insisted the 37 NGOs including Perkasa was not trying to "create chaos" as alleged by critics but simply wanting to show that "we are rakyat as well." "The Bersih gathering has a hidden political agenda to cause chaos. There is no justification to gather hundreds of thousands simply to ask for free and fair elections when the Election Commission has already answered.  Ibrahim says Perkasa is not out to cause mischief. — file pic "Please don't assume we are trying to create chaos. That makes no sense at all. Our stand is simple. They march, we march. They cancel, we cancel. We don't want them to say they are doing this in the name of the rakyat. We are also the rakyat," he said. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/lets-see-whos-bigger-perkasa-dares-bersih/ | ||||
| As mainstream media fails, BN takes on Pakatan in ceramahs Posted: 14 Jun 2011 01:02 PM PDT (TMI) KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — With the young ignoring mainstream media, Barisan Nasional (BN) is now penetrating the ceramah circuit to vie for support among the urban youth — a key demographic in the next general election. Bypassing the print and broadcast media it controls and admitting that "online media cannot be controlled," Umno Youth leaders told The Malaysian Insider it has been trying to break Pakatan Rakyat's (PR) stranglehold on public speaking events. "These new voters don't get mainstream media. They don't watch Warta Perdana or Buletin Utama," said Lokman Noor Adam, BN Youth's Unit Pidato (public speaking unit) chief, referring to the primetime news programmes on RTM1 and TV3. He said that the unit, established by Khairy Jamaluddin after he became Umno Youth chief in March 2009, was an effort to address BN's poor performance and response when holding ceramahs, forums and debates. "We didn't have anyone who can convince the public and break down the claims of opposition speakers. We also failed when it came to organising these programmes and mobilising large crowds to attend," the Umno Youth executive council member said. He told The Malaysian Insider that those under 40 make up 80 per cent of newly registered voters. Between Election 2008 to the next GE, they will grow from 41 to 49 per cent of the electorate. Alternative media channels have chipped away at the advantage BN holds from its control of both print and broadcast media. The latest Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) figures for the year ended June 30, 2010 showed that the Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia lost 5.9 per cent of its circulation from the previous year, dropping from 181,346 to just 170,558 copies. The ABC report also showed The Star's circulation dropping from 295,479 to 286,409 (-3.1 per cent), the New Straits Times from 120,770 to 109,341 (-9.5 per cent), and Berita Harian from 183,187 to 160,597 (-12.3 per cent). Meanwhile, social media networks usage among Malaysians has grown exponentially, with 9.5 million Facebook accounts registered as of January 2011. Both PKR and DAP have also set up websites to cater for the Facebook generation that will vote for the first time in the next general election. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/as-mainstream-media-fails-bn-takes-on-pakatan-in-ceramahs/ | ||||
| Bersih rally: Hindraf opts out Posted: 14 Jun 2011 12:57 PM PDT (FMT) The movement's leader says since Pakatan failed to endorse its 18-point demand, Hindraf will not participate in the rally.
PETALING JAYA: Hindraf Makkal Sakti will not be participating in the July 9 Bersih 2.0 rally, said its leader P Uthayakumar. "We are not participating because Pakatan Rakyat failed to endorse our 18-point demand made in 2007," he added in a press statement. Uthayakumar was responding to a news report that linked the Hindraf rally to the first Bersih rally in 2007 that swung public sentiment against the government during the 2008 general election. The former Internal Security Act detainee said back then, the movement supported Pakatan because it did not have a choice. "Hindraf did not have a political choice but to give the unconditional political directions to support Pakatan. But after the 2008 general election, it became more plain and obvious that PKR, DAP and PAS like the Umno-BN regime only wanted Indian votes," he said. Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/06/15/bersih-rally-hindraf-opts-out/ | ||||
| Police brace for hackers’ attack Posted: 14 Jun 2011 12:55 PM PDT (NST) Police are working with several government agencies in preparing for the "worst" in the event a group of international hackers carry out their threat against the country. Calling themselves "Anonymous", the international hacker group has threatened to sabotage and disrupt the Malaysian government's official online portal tomorrow. Federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Syed Ismail Syed Azizan said police were working with the National Security Council and CyberSecurity Malaysia in tracking and monitoring the group. "We are looking at various measures to identify the hackers and take steps to prevent the attack." He said several IT experts had been roped in for this effort. The group, believed to be made up of hackers worldwide, claimed they were targeting the Malaysian government after noticing unreasonable censorship in the country. The group specified that the recent blocking of file-sharing and sites, such as The Pirate Bay and WikiLeaks, as the reason for their outrage and threat. In a message at pastebin.com, the group claimed that the Malaysian gover nment's censorship was similar to taking away basic human rights. "Malaysia is one of the world's strictest governments, even blocking out movies, and television shows. "These acts of censorship are inexcusable," the group said. The group threatened to carry out the hacking, dubbed "Op eration Malaysia" at 7.30pm GMT (3.30am tomorrow local time) which can be accessed on a graphic poster at http://i.imgur.com/PTFWh.png. The discovery of the threat was made by a computer security software firm officer in Finland, with an online notification at 4.42am yester - d ay. Last week, Anonymous launched DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks on Turkish government websites, in protest against the government's plans to introduce Internet filter ing. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said it was working with other government agencies to coordinate security measures to mitigate the attack. It said in a statement that it was aware of the planned cyber attack on the malaysia.gov.my website through news reports on the matter. | ||||
| RIM wants another file-sharing site blocked Posted: 14 Jun 2011 12:52 PM PDT (The Star) The Recording Industry Association of Malaysia (RIM) has called on the Government to ban another file-sharing site - jiwang.org.
It claimed that the site specialises in providing pirated Malaysian music recordings for illegal downloads. RIM said the site also reaps lucrative advertising revenue from commercial organisations. Last week, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) banned 10 file-sharing sites and called on local Internet service providers to block access to the sites. RIM chairman Norman Abdul Halim lauded the Government's efforts to uphold copyright laws in cyberspace by taking action against the file-sharing sites. The websites were among the most visited by Malaysians to illegally download movies. He added that RIM had filed a complaint with the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry about jiwang.org. Norman said the ban was a good starting point against illegal downloads, although savvy Internet users could still circumvent any blocks. Malaysia is the first country in South-East Asia to block file-sharing sites, he said. Although Internet censorship was against the MSC Malaysia Bill of Guarantees, which states that the Government will not censor the Internet, it was illegal to download pirated songs and movies, he said. | ||||
| Not a single decent road in oil-rich Sabah Posted: 14 Jun 2011 12:41 PM PDT (FMT) The federal government had failed to build a modern road network in Sabah despite 47 years of nation-building, says a former minister.
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is clearly not in the nation-building plans of the Barisan Nasional government in the last 47 years. For todate, "not a single decent trunk road or highway" has been built for the state. A former Sabah minister, Kong Hong Ming, said the federal government had failed to build a modern road network in the state almost half a century since the formation of Malaysia. He said Sabahans were still begging for infrastructural development despite regularly giving away 95% of the state's oil and gas resources to the federal government. Kong, now a PKR leader, has accused the Umno-led BN federal government of taxing Sabahans and treating Sabah as a backwater. "With all our oil and gas resources, there is not a single decent trunk road or highway in Sabah after 47 years. "Worse still, almost all the trunk roads linking the major towns in Sabah are in bad shape due to lack of maintenance despite billion of ringgit spent on the task. "Meanwhile, we watch and admire the modern and expensive communication system and networks in Peninsular Malaysia built and enjoyed by the people there. "Obviously, what we have in Malaysia is one country with two systems of administration, with Sabah given lower priority in every aspect of development," Kong said, adding that the BN government had nothing to shout about in so far as development in Sabah was concerned. Unserviceable roads
Kong, who happened to be the "whistle-blower" of the controversial project, also warned that the government might end up wasting another RM270 million of taxpayers' money on the "upgrading" of the road. "It is almost certain that RM565 million of public funds spent on Sapulut-Kalabakan Road has gone to waste. "It is also likely that the government will be throwing away another RM270 million for nothing without a proper study of the current resent deplorable conditions of road. "It appears that the supposedly new road is now already beyond repair and re-construction is necessary," said Kong, a civil engineer. He noted that the federal government had pledged in Parliament in April last year, an additional allocation of RM270 million for upgrading the road, which is meant to link Tawau to here. However, to this day no upgrading has been done. Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/06/15/not-a-single-decent-road-in-oil-rich-sabah/ | ||||
| Penan hunter-gatherers to be dumped in vast oil palm plantation Posted: 14 Jun 2011 12:30 PM PDT By Survival International More than 1,000 Penan hunter-gatherers will be taken from their rainforest home and dumped in a vast oil palm plantation – to make way for the controversial Murum dam.
The Penan have said they do not want to move, but have been given no choice. They told the government that if they had to leave they wanted to move to another part of their ancestral land.
The government accepted this – but has sold the same area to the Malaysian company Shin Yang, which is clearing the forest and planting thousands of oil palms. The Penan, who live in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, rely on their forest for hunting and collecting wild fruits and plants; without it they cannot survive. In an emotional appeal the Penan said, 'Shin Yang has entered the area illegally without our consent. If it is allowed to extensively clear and fell the forest, there will be no more forest left for our community to sustain our livelihood'.
Survival's Director, Stephen Corry, said today, 'Even by the appalling standards of the Sarawak government, which has treated the Penan with contempt for decades, this is breathtakingly cynical. Not only is it forcing more than 1,000 people from the forests they have lived in for generations, it has sold off the area it promised them as a new home, and is allowing it to be cleared for plantations. It looks like the government won't be satisfied until the Penan are reduced to utter poverty and destitution.'
The Murum dam, due to come onstream next year, is the first in a series of twelve new hydroelectric dams that will flood Penan and other indigenous villages. The twelve new dams will facilitate the development of the 'Sarawak corridor of renewable energy' (SCORE), which will involve oil, timber, aluminium and palm oil enterprises and will further threaten the land of Sarawak's tribal people | ||||
| WIKILEAKS: Syed Mokhtar al Bukhary's foray into Iran Posted: 14 Jun 2011 01:00 AM PDT
SKS is small operation controlled by Syed Mokhtar al Bukhary, one of Malaysia's wealthiest industrialists with a Forbes Magazine estimated net worth of $2 billion. Much of Syed Mokhtar's personal wealth has been acquired in dealings with the GOM and GOM-linked corporations. He controls Malaysia Mining Corporation, DRB Hicom, Malakoff, and Gas Malaysia among other significant Malaysian operations. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUALA LUMPUR 000059
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EEB/ESC THAMMANG STATE FOR EEB/TFS CBACKEMEYER STATE FOR NEA/IR RWADHWANI
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/26/2020 TAGS: ECON, EFIN, ENIV, ENRG, EPET, ETTC, IR, KNNP, MY SUBJECT: MALAYSIA: SKS VENTURES EXPLAINS ITS IRAN INVESTMENTS
REF: A. 09 STATE 121808 B. KUALA LUMPUR 0037
Classified By: Econ Counselor Matt Matthews for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
1. (C) Summary: SKS Ventures (SKS) CEO Abang Iskandar Muas (Iskandar) met with Econoff January 19 to discuss SKS plans to develop the Golshan and Ferdowsi gas fields (G&F) in Iran. Iskandar said that the GOM had initially negotiated the deal with the GOI and handed the project to SKS just prior to signing. Iskandar told us that development of the G&F fields is going slowly because sanctions impeded National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) ability to perform basic due diligence functions. He also stated that NIOC has been extremely difficult to work with and that the initial buyback service contract signed in Dec. 2007 is the only commercial agreement between SKS and NIOC. SKS's only investment over the past two years since the announcement was limited to staff time from their 15 employees and air tickets for meetings with a total value under $1 million, according to Iskandar. He was pessimistic on prospects for the deal and said that SKS is considering pulling out altogether. However, he emphasized SKS would need GOM approval prior to exiting the transaction because Malaysian Trade Ministry and Foreign Ministry officials had encouraged SKS to enter into the deal in the first place and had reconfirmed GOM support for trade cooperation with Iran at a recent meeting. Iskandar also denied reports of SKS participation with NIOC in a refinery projects in Syria and Indonesia and downplayed its deal with NIOC which is under review in Malaysia. End Summary. 2. (C) Comment: SKS is small operation controlled by Syed Mokhtar al Bukhary, one of Malaysia's wealthiest industrialists with a Forbes Magazine estimated net worth of $2 billion. Much of Syed Mokhtar's personal wealth has been acquired in dealings with the GOM and GOM-linked corporations. He controls Malaysia Mining Corporation, DRB Hicom, Malakoff, and Gas Malaysia among other significant Malaysian operations. Post believes Iskandar is a credible interlocutor that provided an important window on the GOM's role in the deal and SKS current thinking on the transaction. Iskandar seemed genuinely frustrated that the G&F deal turned out to be an empty business proposition due to NIOC incompetence and Iran sanctions. Other oil and gas industry contacts have confirmed the small size and scope of the SKS operation. End Comment. SKS Ventures 3. (C) Econoff met January 19 with SKS Ventures (SKS) CEO Abang Iskandar Muas (Iskandar) to discuss the SKS intentions to develop the Golshan and Ferdowsi gas fields (G&F) in Iran and implications under the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA). Iskandar mentioned early in our conversation that Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Senior Director Wong had called him January 15 informing him that the embassy had been trying to contact him and he needed to meet with us. Econoff delivered ref A points and offered additional background on our information request. According to Iskandar, SKS has 15 full time employees and works on projects outside of Malaysia for Syed Mokhtar. Iskandar is an experienced O&G industry professional, having worked for Shell Oil USA (based in Houston) for fifteen years in Sarawak, Saudi Arabia (where he was VP for Finance and Human Resources), and Kuala Lumpur prior to assuming his current position with SKS two and one half years ago. Iskandar fondly reminisced of his frequent travel to the U.S. for business and family vacations prior to assuming his position at SKS. Golshan and Ferdowsi: G2G Agreement 4. (C) Iskandar said the G&F deal grew out of government-to-government negotiations between Malaysia and Iran during 2007. The GOM brought SKS to the table late in the negotiations, according to Iskandar, finalizing a buyback service contract between SKS and National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) in December 2007. He added that SKS entered into the agreement based on the GOM's policy of expanding trade cooperation with Iran and the belief that the business climate for oil and gas (O&G) in Iran was improving during 2005-6. Iskandar said that the initial business strategy was for SKS to plan the project, NIOC to perform physical due diligence (appraisals, seismic analysis, feasibility studies, etc.), and, once the project was ready to start, sell controlling interest, at a profit, to an international oil company that could bring resources to develop the fields. Iskandar commented, "We have no wells, no drilling rigs, no facilities, no experts, and no technology" to implement a project the size of G&F. His explanation as to why the Iranians would enter in to a transaction the size of G&F with such a small entity was, "in order to be friendly to the government (of Malaysia)." NIOC Difficulties 5. (C) Working with NIOC, according to Iskandar had been "extremely difficult." He added, "we should have taken a lesson from Petronas" claiming that Petronas will not deal with NIOC any longer because NIOC still owed a substantial amount of money to Petronas from its buyback service contract for South Pars Phases 2 and 3. Iskandar said that NIOC has made no progress on its due diligence obligations at G&F due to international contractors refusing to work in Iran because of sanctions. He complained that SKS and NIOC also have not reached any commercial agreements on the project in the last two years. Iskandar stated, "We have no idea how we would be paid. NIOC has not agreed to LNG and we have no interest in selling gas domestically. Iran uses most of their gas to inject into their oil fields to get more oil or to produce heavily subsidized electricity." He listed numerous other problems plaguing the project related to Iran sanctions such as the inability to import LNG technology or hire expat expertise, a low likelihood that Iranian LNG could be consistently sold on the open market, and NIOC's lack of access to financing. SKS Ready to Walk Away 6. (C) Iskandar described the SKS agreement with NIOC on G&F as "barely hanging on" and that SKS is currently deciding whether to stay in or pull out, and added, "The decision will come sooner rather than later." He viewed the buyback service contract as having "no commercial value" at this time. He noted though that Syed Mokhtar's close connections to the Malaysian government mean SKS will not move on a G&F decision without policy direction from the GOM. "We do not want to be on the wrong side of the government and we have not heard from PM Najib", according to Iskandar. However, he added that SKS has "no money in the ground" in Iran, because the firm did not pay an initial "signing bonus" as the buyback service contract did not carry any vested rights to the gas. He also stated that SKS management is aware of the change in the international political environment with regard to Iran and is "not entrenched," implying SKS would quickly drop the transaction if permitted by the GOM. Another View of the MITI Meeting 7. (C) Iskandar offered a different account of the recent meeting between MITI and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) officials and officers from the three Malaysian companies listed in ref A. Iskandar said that after the companies answered MITI queries on their Iran investments, the companies, especially Petronas, pushed back at MITI and MFA asking "What is the government's stance on trade cooperation with Iran?" and "Should we adjust our investment strategies?" MITI responded that the GOM still supports trade cooperation with Iran, according to Iskandar. (Comment: The MFA account of the meeting (ref B) was similar to Iskandar's but omitted the companies' questions and MITI's response. End Comment.) Other Announcements Inaccurate 8. (C) Toward the close of the meeting, Iskandar addressed recent Iranian and Malaysian press announcements of SKS participation in other transactions with NIOC. He stated that the GOM asked SKS to commission a feasibility study on a project with NIOC. It involved a refinery project in Kedah with a pipeline across the Malaysian Peninsula to Terengganu. Iskandar commented that the pipeline is economically unwarranted and an Iranian partner likely makes the refinery unfeasible. He added that recent announcements of SKS participation in a refinery project in Syria with Iranian and Venezuelan partners and SKS participation in an Indonesian refinery project with Pertamina and NIOC are blatantly false. He said that the first SKS had heard of either project was in press reports. He explained that SKS never issued denials of participation in the deals in order to avoid embarrassment in case the government was involved. KEITH
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| Why Is Perkasa Against Bersih? Posted: 13 Jun 2011 11:52 PM PDT
It may be that the Government takes no action against him because it considers him a clown, or even a paper tiger. Or it may be that he is actually helping the Government by opposing the Bersih 2.0 rally because the ruling party seemingly does not endorse the idea of free and fair elections. After all, the 2007 rally was partly instrumental in its loss of its two-thirds majority. The ruling party would no doubt be worried that another such rally could dim its prospects at the next general election.
MANY people have come to regard Ibrahim Ali as a clown, including Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz. One hopes Ibrahim was just talking like a clown when he recently announced that his organization, Perkasa, would oppose the planned Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9 by staging a counter-demonstration. "That means," as he himself says, "on that day, there will be confrontation." This is militant talk. This is a threat to cause violence. And to add fuel to it, Ibrahim has pledge that in the event of a clash, "I will fight to the end". But why would Perkasa want to oppose the Bersih 2.0 rally? The rally has nothing to do with race – it is not demonstrating against Malay supremacy, which Perkasa was set up to defend. The rally is calling for electoral and institutional reform. It is calling for the electoral roll to be cleaned up, postal voting to be reformed, indelible ink to be used at elections, all political parties to be given free and fair access to the media, automatic voter registration, a minimum of 21 days for the campaign period, the strengthening of public institutions, a stop to corruption, and a stop to dirty politics.
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| PAS warns Perkasa against causing trouble Posted: 13 Jun 2011 11:42 PM PDT
L-R: Hatta, Suhaizan and Mat Sabu (Harakah Daily) - PAS leaders have warned UMNO's sister organisation Perkasa against any act of violence to thwart the planned rally on July 9 by electoral reform group Bersih. Kuala Krai member of parliament Dr Hatta Ramli, who is also in the Bersih committee, described Perkasa's threat to disrupt the rally with its own gathering as "terrorist-like".
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| Anwar vs Khairy: Seeking an out of court settlement Posted: 13 Jun 2011 11:30 PM PDT
(Bernama) - The parties in a defamation suit brought by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim against Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin are to explore possibilities of an out-of-court settlement. Khairy's counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told the media here today that High Court Judicial Commissioner Nik Hasmat Nik Mohamad had asked the parties to do this when meeting the parties in her chambers today. Khairy was also represented by counsel Sarah Abishegam while counsel Mohd Haijan Omar acted for Anwar. Muhammad Shafee said he would discuss with his client (Khairy) on whether he agreed to settle the matter out-of-court. The court set June 24 for case management for them to inform the court of their decision. He said the defamatory statements were carried by the print and electronic media in the country on Aug 3, 2007. Anwar claimed that the statements portrayed him as a politician who could not be trusted by the Malays; who did not give importance to the struggle of the Malays and their rights; and that he was capable of betraying the Malay struggle and rights just to get the support of the non-Malays in the country. Anwar contended that Khairy had made the statements to insinuate that he (Anwar) was a political agent of the United States and the Jews, as well as to ruin his political career, and that he had ill-intention when making the statements, which were lies, baseless and without truth. Khairy defended in his statement of defence that the statements were made on an occasion of qualified privilege, justification and fair comment.
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| Parliament: Motion To Discuss Customs Officer Ahmad Sarbini's Assets Rejected Posted: 13 Jun 2011 11:18 PM PDT
(Bernama) -- A motion to discuss the revelation of deceased Selangor Customs assistant director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamad's assets, was rejected at the Dewan Rakyat sitting, here, Tuesday. Deputy Speaker Datuk Ronald Kiandie rejected the motion tabled by Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur) under Standing Order 18(2) as he found the matter to be not urgent.
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| Posted: 13 Jun 2011 09:36 PM PDT Masterwordsmith So what is the name of the game? Justify those expenses! Who will take responsibility for this? If it is not justified, who will pay? Certainly not the rakyat!!! Have you heard this unbelievable news HERE: A whopping RM1,758,432 was spent on developing six Facebook pages to promote Malaysian tourism, the Tourism Ministry said today.
Tourism Malaysia will be taking over five of London's iconic red double-decker buses, giving the capital's bustling transport system an altogether tropical feel!.
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| Himpunan BERSIH - Ahmad Maslan Ajak Rakyat Boikot Posted: 13 Jun 2011 04:35 PM PDT
(KL Pos) - Ketua Penerangan UMNO Malaysia, Datuk Ahmad Maslan menggesa kesemua warganegara Malaysia membantah Perhimpunan anjuran Pembangkang iaitu BERSIH 2.0 yang dakwa beliau bakal menggugat keselamatan dan periuk nasi warga kota. Beliau juga menggesa kesemua Pertubuhan dan Persatuan Kerajaan mahupun bukan Kerajaan membuat laporan polis sebagai bukti kukuh seterusnya mendesak agar pihak berkenaan menghentikan serta merta perancangan pembangkang. Ahmad Maslan turut mendakwa Pembangkang kelihatan buta dengan kerusi DUN dan Parlimen yang diperolehi mereka setelah berjaya merampas 4 buah Negeri dan menguasai Parlimen di Wilayah Persekutuan pada Pilihanraya Umum ke 12 yang lalu. Ini membuktikan bahawa amalan demokrasi melalui Pilihanraya Umum di Malaysia telus dan bersih dari anasir-anasir kotor. Beliau turut menggesa Pembangkang menganjurkan Perhimpunan ini di dalam Stadium Tertutup yang lebih efisyen dan tidak mengganggu ketenteraman awam di samping tidak menghalang sebarang aktiviti perniagaan dilakukan oleh peniaga-peniaga di ibu kota. Ahmad Maslan berkata demikian di dalam Sidang Akhbar di PWTC, disini sebentar tadi. Turut serta dalam Sidang tersebut Pengerusi PEKIDA Wilayah Persekutuan, Datuk Roslan Dahaman.
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| PAS will never cooperate with Umno, says Mat Sabu Posted: 13 Jun 2011 04:21 PM PDT
(Bernama) - PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu said the party would never cooperate with Umno even in the name of Malay unity, saying that it was tired of Umno's antics. "We do not want a repeat of the 1969 incident when, after they win on the Barisan Nasional ticket, we are kicked out (of the coalition) before the following general election." "Umno leaders are now trying to befriend PAS ... I will not respond to the extended hand," he said in a talk at the Kedah PAS complex here last night.
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| Posted: 13 Jun 2011 03:53 PM PDT
Regardless of the sincerity of the accusation, Umno and its allies insist that PAS is committing a political betrayal. They claim PAS is abandoning the Islamic state ideal and ejecting the ulama from party leadership. Rather than acknowledging the developments as simply a move to the centre, they are more comfortable accusing PAS of kowtowing to DAP. Hafiz Noor Shams, The Malaysian Insider If one had opined that PAS was more of a centrist than Umno 10 years ago, nobody would have believed it. It would have been an outrageous opinion. Yet today, it is no longer so foreign a prospect. The recently concluded PAS internal election is the latest evidence of the party's march to the centre. That election saw both the promotion of the so-called professional group to the leadership of the party and the adoption of a more realistic stance with regards to the Islamic state agenda. The participation of PAS within Pakatan Rakyat has a lot to do with the reconfiguration of the party towards the political centre. While the criticism of ideological difference against the coalition as a whole remains valid, the alliance itself is the great engine that is pulling all of its members to a middle ground. That middle ground is proving to be the Malaysian centre. This is should be contrasted with trends within Barisan Nasional, or really, just Umno. Regardless of the sincerity of the accusation, Umno and its allies insist that PAS is committing a political betrayal. They claim PAS is abandoning the Islamic state ideal and ejecting the ulama from party leadership. Rather than acknowledging the developments as simply a move to the centre, they are more comfortable accusing PAS of kowtowing to DAP. Betrayal or not, as with any move to the centre, those on the fringes will have less hold on the party. That will fuel some discontent. Umno-owned Malay daily Utusan Malaysia wants Umno to appease the fringes. Assistant chief editor of Utusan Malaysia Zaini Hassan has gone as far as suggesting that Umno should have its own ulama wing, perhaps thinking that particular manoeuvre could outflank PAS. He forgets that times are changed. In the past, the Islamisation race between Umno and PAS always ended up with PAS being the loser. PAS did not budge even as Umno encroached on the traditional domain of the former. That allowed Umno to win centrist votes and gain some voters who could have voted for PAS. That little trick might not work again after the latest PAS election. With PAS slowly nudging towards the centre and Umno to the opposite direction, the Islamisation game has only one participant, and that is Umno. With enough momentum powering both sides, Umno might find itself taking the relatively more extreme position compared to PAS. This means Umno is at risk of becoming the loser this time around. If both parties stay on their course, Umno will turn into the conservative party that PAS was. Meanwhile, PAS the centrist should be very happy with that.
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| Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, the Prodigal Son, may Return to PBS Posted: 13 Jun 2011 03:48 PM PDT Selvarajasomiah's Weblog Remember Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, my good friend, that old gadfly of Sabah politics? Well, after spending several years on the margins of mainstream politics, the maverick at long last might be on his way back to the Parti Bersatu Sabah. The return of the prodigal, as it were, has the blessings of the PBS supremo, Pairin Kitingan. Even though a couple of second rung leaders are rather apprehensive of their own place in the party should Dr Jeffrey be allowed to stage a comeback, Dr Maximus Ongkili is still opposed to his return, known to keep his own counsel in these matters, however, cannot be too pleased at the prospect of one of his more trenchant critics a more capable leader than him being allowed admittance in the PBS.
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| Sarbaini inquest set for July 4 Posted: 13 Jun 2011 03:44 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - An inquest into the mysterious death of Selangor Customs assistant director Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed will be held from July 4 to July 15. Sarbaini, 56, was found dead on the badminton court of the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) building in Jalan Cochrane on April 6 at about 10.20am, barely two hours after walking in. His death, which occurred while the Teoh Beng Hock Royal Commission of Inquiry was still ongoing, came as a huge blow to the anti-graft body's already battered credibility. Teoh, a DAP aide, fell to his death at the then-Selangor MACC office on July 16, 2009. An 18-month inquest returned an open verdict, ruling out both suicide and homicide in Teoh's death. The police have recommended an inquest be held for Sarbaini and the Attorney-General has agreed but Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers have criticised the idea, citing Teoh's case as reason to back their doubts. Police filed an application for an inquest at the Jalan Duta court complex on June 3. Coroner Aizatul Akmal Maharani said today the Sarbaini inquest would be heard at the magistrate's court here. Ahmad Sarbaini was among those detained by MACC on April 1 during a graft probe involving Customs officers who allegedly caused the Government to lose RM2.2bil in under-declared taxes. He had been released on bail but went to the MACC building, apparently to change his statement.
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| Nazri says Mugabe, Bashir not welcome in Malaysia Posted: 13 Jun 2011 03:34 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said today that he will "strongly recommend" that the federal government withdraw invitations to Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for an international economic forum here. The two presidents are scheduled to attend a forum to be held in Putrajaya from June 19-21. The minister in the prime minister's department said today that Malaysia had a responsibility to ratify the position taken by the International Criminal Court (ICC), since it was a member. ICC had issued a warrant of arrest in 2008 for Bashir over Khartoum's genocidal campaign in Darfur. "I am taking this matter seriously, will discuss with Cabinet ... we should comply with the charter. As such, I strongly recommend the government withdraw the invitation," the minister told reporters today. He said that he was surprised that Mugabe and Bashir were invited, and that the matter was not discussed during Cabinet meetings.
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| Amnesty urges Malaysia to arrest Sudan's Bashir Posted: 13 Jun 2011 03:30 PM PDT
(AFP) - RIGHTS group Amnesty International urged Malaysia on Tuesday to withdraw its invitation to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and arrest him if he travels to the South-east Asian country. Bashir and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe are among several African leaders expected to take part in the Langkawi International Dialogue from June 19 to 21. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Bashir for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the wartorn western Sudanese region of Darfur. 'Malaysia should not turn itself into a port of call for fugitives from international justice,' said Donna Guest, Amnesty's deputy director for Asia Pacific. 'The Malaysian government should bar Bashir from its territory and arrest him if he turns up,' she added. Bashir is the first sitting head of state to be targeted by an ICC warrant, and ICC statutes dictate that any member country should arrest him if he visits. Malaysia is not a party to the ICC but Parliamentary Affairs Minister Nazri Aziz said earlier this year that Kuala Lumpur plans to recognise the ICC's jurisdiction to declare that it rejects crimes against humanity. 'Malaysia's invitation to Omar al-Bashir flies in the face of its decision to join the ICC,' Guest said in the statement. 'Instead of hosting people wanted by the ICC, Malaysia should reaffirm its commitment to justice,' she said in a statement.
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| Anak muda Melaka sertai Bersih 2.0 Posted: 13 Jun 2011 03:16 PM PDT
(Harakah Daily) - Pemuda Pakatan Rakyat Negeri Melaka melancarkan Bersih 2.0 semalam. Pelancaran tersebut disempurnakan bersama oleh Ketua DAPSY Melaka, Tey Kok Kiew, Ketua Dewan Pemuda PAS Melaka, Yuhaizad Abdullah dan Ketua AMK Melaka, Law Bing Hau di Pejabat PAS Negeri Melaka di Semabok. Dalam ucapan ringkasnya pada program tersebut, Yuhaizad yakin anak-anak muda negeri Melaka akan turun beramai-ramai menyatakan sokongan kepada pimpinan Bersih 2.0 yang menuntut suatu pilihan raya bersih, telus dan adil. "Kita yakin anak-anak muda Melaka akan bersama-sama dengan anak-anak muda seluruh Malaysia turun untuk menyatakan bantahan dan menuntut pilihan raya yang bersih, adil dan telus. "Selain itu kita juga yakin seluruh penyokong PR tidak mengira bangsa, agama, umur dan taraf kehidupan akan turun beramai-ramai bagi menjayakan perhimpunan bersejarah tersebut," ujar Yuhaizad yang merupakan bekas calon PAS Pilihan raya kecil Merlimau. Teh Kok Kiew dan Law Bing Haw juga melahirkan keyakinan yang sama di mana DAP dan PKR kata mereka akan menggerakkan seluruh ahli untuk sama-sama menghadiri perhimpunan aman tersebut. Sementara itu, Pemuda Pakatan Rakyat akan menganjurkan ceramah untuk mobilisasi Bersih 2.0 pada 16 Jun ini bertempat di Dataran Hamas, Kompleks PAS Kawasan Jasin. Timbalan Presiden PAS, Mohamad Sabu akan menyampaikan ceramah tersebut bersama-sama dengan Pesuruhjaya PAS Melaka, Adly Zahari, Pengerusi DAP dan PKR negeri, Goh Leong San dan Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin.
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| Bersih 2.0 diteruskan walau Perkasa halang Posted: 13 Jun 2011 03:08 PM PDT
(Harakah Daily) - Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Mobilisasi PAS, Mohamad Sabu (gambar) berkata, PAS tidak akan berganjak bersama Gabungan Pilihan Raya Bersih dan Adil (Bersih 2.0) untuk mengadakan himpunan besar-besaran di Kuala Lumpur, 9 Julai ini. Katanya, biarpun kumpulan pendesak Melayu, Perkasa memberi amaran untuk menghalang, namun himpunan tersebut tetap akan diteruskan. "Kita akan buat terus, dia (Perkasa) nak buat himpunan itu hak dia," katanya kepada Harakahdaily hari ini. Presiden Perkasa, Ibrahim Ali dalam sidang media di parlimen hari ini memberitahu pertubuhan itu akan melawan habis-habisan himpunan Bersih 2.0 itu. Sambil menyifatkan himpunan itu sebagai "mengacau", Ibrahim turut memberi amaran akan membuat himpunan serupa bagi menghalang himpunan Bersih 2.0 tersebut walaupun terpaksa berlaku pertembungan. Ibrahim, yang juga ahli parlimen Pasir Mas, juga mendakwa himpunan Bersih itu akan menimbulkan huru hara apabila ada pesertanya membaling batu dan membakar kereta. Membidas kenyataan Ibrahim itu, Mohamad yang juga Timbalan Presiden PAS berkata, bukan Perkasa yang menentukan himpunan tersebut huru-hara atau tidak. "Itu kerja polis la nak tentukan aman atau tidak. Datuk Ambiga (Pengurusi Bersih), sudah beri jaminan kita akan buat himpunan secara aman," katanya. Beliau turut memberi contoh himpunan Bersih pertama pada 2007 lalu, menyaksikan himpunan berlangsung secara aman. "Perkasa kalau nak buat juga himpunan, buat hari lain la, kita dah cadang tarikh ni lebih awal lagi," katanya. Declare perang fizikal Seorang lagi AJK Bersih, Dr Mohd Hatta Ramli menyifatkan tindakan Perkasa memberi amaran mahu bertembung dengan peserta himpunan Bersih sebagai tidak wajar. "Kita tak pernah halang Perkasa nak berhimpun. Tapi berhimpun lah untuk memperjuang hak sendiri, bukan sebab nak halang kita semata-mata. "Ini sudah declare perang secara fizikal. Bukan begini caranya, ini cara pengganas," katanya.
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| Himpunan Melayu Pulau Pinang selepas Bersih 2.0 Posted: 13 Jun 2011 03:05 PM PDT
(Harakah Daily) - Timbalan Presiden PAS, Mohamad Sabu berkata, satu perhimpunan umat Melayu Pulau Pinang akan diadakan untuk menempis anggapan kononnya mereka tidak sokong Kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat negeri. Katanya, ia akan diadakan selepas berjaya mengadakan perhimpunan aman Gabungan Pilihanraya Bersih dan Adil (Bersih) 2.0 pada 9 Julai nanti. Semua agenda tambahnya, telah dibincangkan secara tidak formal dengan Ketua Umum Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim dan akan dipanjangkan kepada Pengerusi PKR Pulau Pinang, Datuk Mansor Othman serta Pesuruhjaya PAS negeri, Ustaz Saleh Man. "Perhimpunan orang Melayu di Pulau Pinang juga harus diadakan sebagai tanda mereka tidak terjerat dengan mainan politik jahat Umno dan Barisan Nasional (BN) yang tidak sudah-sudah melemparkan padangan negatif terhadap Kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat," jelasnya ketika ditemui selepas berpidato di hadapan ribuan orang di padang awam, Pekan Penaga malam tadi. Katanya, sebelum membuat persiapan perhimpunan tersebut, satu pertemuan dengan DAP akan diadakan bagi menerangkan hasrat murni berkenaan supaya kepimpinan DAP tidak salah sangka. Mohamad yakin, DAP tidak semacam Umno yang berfikiran tidak matang dan jauh ketinggalan dari arus perkembangan politik yang sihat. Kata beliau, perhimpunan aman itu juga bermatlamat memberikan penerangan sejelas-jelasnya mengenai beberapa perkara yang sengaja dicaturkan oleh Umno setelah gagal mempertahankan Pulau Pinang pada Pilihan raya Umum ke-12 lalu. Mereka, ujarnya nampak agresif memburuk-burukkan Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang dengan kerjasama beberapa badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) yang bersembunyi atas nama perjuangan menegakkan kebenaran tetapi pada masa yang sama bersekongkol dengan segelitir kepimpinan Umno dan BN. "Bila kalah dan rakyat Pulau Pinang menolak kepimpinan yang korup, maka ramailah yang keluar tunjuk perasaan tidak puas hati kononnya habislah negeri ini bila dapat pada DAP atau bangsa Cina," ujarnya. Tambahnya, tanpa orang Melayu sedar bahawa sebelum ini pun Pulau Pinang diketuai oleh Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon, lainlah jika sebelum negeri ini jatuh ke tangan Pakatan Rakyat ia diperintah oleh Umno. Jelasnya, bagi PAS siapa pun yang memerintah patut bersikap adil dan tidak mencuri harta rakyat dengan sewenang-wenangnya. Menruutnya, apabila Pakatan Rakyat diisytiharkan menang, maka DAP yang mempunyai lebihan kerusi akan memegang tampuk pemerintahan. Ini, katanya berbeza dengan Umno yang menang banyak kerusi pada pilihan raya 1990 tetapi memberikan hak ketua menteri kepada Gerakan. "Umno dayus dan hanya sanggup melemparkan kenyataan pedas terhadap Kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat yang berjaya menghalang mereka meneruskan usaha mempergunakan hak kerajaan untuk kepentingan parti dan kroni," ujarnya.
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| ‘PAS trying to get Anwar off the hook’ Posted: 13 Jun 2011 02:52 PM PDT
PAS has urged those accusing Anwar of immorality to back it up by producing four credible witnessess to accompany the accusation. (Free Malaysia Today) - PAS is trying to get Anwar Ibrahim off the hook by insisting there must be four witnesses if he is accused of being the man in the sex video tape. "If this is the case, then PAS must draft a new legislation, as all khalwat (close proximity) cases would be tainted if the prosecution cannot bring forward four witnesses," Kedah Kita chairman Zamil Ibrahim said. He said PAS – a party with Islam as its bedrock – must champion morality and justice in the right frame and not revert to just pure politicking to champion its cause. PAS has urged those accusing Anwar of immorality to back it up by producing four credible witnesses to accompany the accusation. The onus is on Anwar to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he is not the person portrayed in the tape, having sex with an unidentified woman, Zamil said. Kita is an independent party set up by former federal minister Zaid Ibrahim last year, of which some political observers are describing as a third alternative to Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat. Kita executive committee member Christopher Firdaus said PAS should not be misguided by its alliance with Anwar. They should allow the rightful authorities such as the police and the justice system to take their course, he added. "PAS should know that in this modern age, it is difficult to produce four witnesses. Some may be intimidated to come forward as Anwar is a major political personality. We cannot allow the accusers to be victimised by political leanings. We must be neutral."
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| A government of the Cronies, by the Cronies and for the Cronies Posted: 13 Jun 2011 01:43 PM PDT  By Selena Tay, Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle Well, here is breaking news for everyone. Malaysia does not appear to have a government and we kid you not. The people who are in power in Putrajaya don't quite behave like a normal government does - at leasrt not in a developed world. Some aspects of their behavior are reminiscent of pirates intent on plundering and pillaging the nation 24 by 7. And mind you, this damning indictment comes from the creme de la creme of corporate Malaysia - a former head of national enery firm Tenaga, no less! On the political front, the opposition has been hollering if indelible ink had been used in the 12th General Election in March 2008, Prime Minister Najib Razak and his rag-tag Cabinet would not be sitting in Putrajaya now. For those who are tender-hearted, rest assured that if this happened, Najib and the likes of Musa Aman and Taib Mahmud won't be selling durians or nasi lemak. But very likely, they'll be living it up in Monte Carlo, the Alps, London, New York, Paris while the opposition guys, Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang and Hadi Awang, sweat it out trying to balance the unbalanceable Malaysian budget - irreparably busted by decades of reckless BN spending. So this is the state of play in Malaysia - for now at least. A rogue-regime with all the characteristics of a robber-regime versus their likely inheritors - the Pakatan Rakyat, made up of a bunch of young smarties and political veterans seasoned by decades of enforced frugality and hard work. Once they take power, the inheritors will surely be turned into a 'coolie'-regime. Yes, the Pakatan will have to slog 24 by 7 for next decade at least to be able to clear all the dirt and faeces from the Aegean stables vacated by the UMNO elite. Work has already begun at some of these swills and faeces-farms, which coincidentally mirror the 4 most essential elements. The Water Margin First of all, the water industry. Tun Dr Mahathir during his tenure as Prime Minister had ordered a privatization of water assets on the basis that privatization would improve services and save the government cost. But to pundits and many industry experts, it was a bailout. And that is not an unfair premise given that one of the major water players is none other than the treasurer of Selangor Umno - SYABAS' Rozali Ismail. JBAS (Jabatan Bekalan Air Selangor) which was making profits around RM50 to RM80 million per year was privatized in 1997 and thereafter incurred losses as the treatment of water which was bringing JBAS huge profits was privatized to 3 companies: 1. Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd (PNSB); Meanwhile, "non-revenue water (NRW)" was still under JBAS. JBAS, after corporatization became PUAS (Pengurusan Air Selangor Berhad) and was put under the management of the Selangor State Government. PUAS incurred deficits (losses) amounting to RM350 million until it was privatized to SYABAS (Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor) in the year 2005. The SYABAS shareholders are: 1. Puncak Niaga Holdings Berhad (PNHB) - 70% share; 2. Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Berhad (KDEB) - 15% share; and 3. Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor Berhad (KPSB) - 15% share. The Federal Government through the Ministry of Finance has one 'golden share' in SYABAS. To the rakyat or populace, the government announced that after privatization, the water services would be more efficient and lessen the government's burden as the private sector would now oversee the water services. Sad to say, at that time, the rakyat lapped up Mahathir's promises. To the concesssionaires and keen parties in the private sector, who no doubt would have to put up huge capital and long-term investment, the government offered high tariffs, subsidies and compensation. Sad to say, they too believed Mahathir's promises and some of them are now stuck! In order for the government to keep its promises to the private sector, the rakyat have to be burdened. Just like in the electricity tariffs. For the government to continue subsiding IPPs to the tune of RM19 billion, they must cut the subsidy from elsewhere. Guess where? If the answer is from the rakyat and other Malaysian industries, not fortunate enough to have a crony CEO, then this is correct. Take for instance Selangor, where the BN government agreed to allow an increase in water rates of 37% (in 2009), 25% (in 2012) and 20% (in 2015). PM Najib now intends to bail out the water concessionaires who have incurred debts of RM6.4 billion to bond-holders. It's a puzzle where the money comes from, considering that his administration is always yapping about not having enough money for all. Yet, somehow, his government is ever-ready and ever-willing to assist the 'special' firms. Of course, at the same time, the burden of the rakyat is increased. The Fire Thieves? Now for the other element, fire or rather, electricity. TNB (Tenaga Nasional Berhad), similar to JBAS was a nationalized body and it was efficient and making profits until it was privatized and strangled by the IPPs (Independent Power Producers). It was the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) that was responsible for this whole fiasco. TNB is able to provide electricity at the rate of 8 sen per unit (for each kWhr) but had to pay the IPPs at the rate of 23 sen per unit. In actual fact, TNB is able to supply electricity at the rate of 17 sen per unit without the IPPs. The reserve capacity of electricity at over 50% is one of the world's highest. It is obvious that the BN Government is profiting their cronies at the expense of the rakyat. Why should Malaysians pay so much for something they don't use. And the scary thing is that this outsized bill is recurring and continuous - not one-off. Every month, billions of ringgit of unused power is paid for with the hard-earned money of Malaysian taxpayers. The money eventually leaves the bank account of the Malaysian government and ends up in the accounts of the crony firms. No wonder, the tycoons who head these firms guys are on the Forbes list of the world's richest! Incidentally, they are called cronies because they are the chosen friends of the ruling elite in UMNO, the party that rules Malaysia. It was this cruel vicious cycle of keeping the poor, poorer and the rich, richer that caused former TNB Chairman Ani Arope to resign years ago. He has been vindicated and no longer fears calling a spade a spade. Recently, he publicly labelled the EPU as the Economic Plundering Unit. Now it becomes clearer why the BN Government needed to increase the electricity tariffs at the rate of 7.12% on June 1, so that the rakyat pays more to the government and the government can continue to pay the cronies the same benefits as before, without having to borrow more money. Not that Najib and friends are averse to borrowing more money. mind you. Far from it. But going from past record, Malaysians can expect the new debt will be channelled to other 'nice', new projects meant to create 'nice', new income streams for the pockets of the cronies and from there to themselves. Meanwhile, Energy minister Peter Chin claimed that 75% of the households will not be affected by the increased tariffs although he failed to mention that the waiver for those who use less than RM20 electricity per month will no longer be applied from 1st Jan 2012 onwards and that food prices will go up tremendously as the food industry is a major user of electricity. | ||||
| Bersih 2.0: All heads must rise to the challenge Posted: 13 Jun 2011 01:23 PM PDT The very government that preaches that it is a fair and just government warns of dire consequences if the rakyat proceed with Bersih 2.0 to express their anchored support for justice and fairness in governance. The Bersih Rally 2.0 is not a political rally. It is about democracy and civil liberties – the very fundamentals that this nation earned its independence from. By J. D. Lovrenciear The announced Bersih Rally 2.0 is already gaining much momentum as well as generating some heat. The President of the Malaysian Bar Council must indeed be commended. A lady of resolute will, her passion for justice is exemplary. Likewise, the newly minted Mat Sabu is a lion at heart. His immediate announcement of pledging 300,000 citizens to the planned peaceful march for justice encapsulates this man's commitment to society and its ethical existence. On the other extreme we have voices crying out against holding this rally that is a signature event of Malaysians' demand for fair and clean elections. Some betray their very voices by making irresponsible statements. Others are giving extremely self-centered reasons why they do not want the rally to proceed. Meanwhile, the very government that preaches that it is a fair and just government warns of dire consequences if the rakyat proceed with Bersih 2.0 to express their anchored support for justice and fairness in governance. The Bersih Rally 2.0 is not a political rally. Far from it, it is also not the 'opposition' camps' revolution. It is about democracy and civil liberties – the very fundamentals that this nation earned its independence from. Hence, heads of every faction of society must also rise to the challenge proactively. Religious heads – be they be Muslims, Christians, Catholics, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs – all of them must express their stand through public and press statements. Heads of religions cannot disassociate themselves from the Bersih Rally 2.0 by maintaining that this has nothing to do with religion. Yes and no. Yes because it is not about the teachings and practices of one's faith. No because it involves basic human justice on earth. It is about ensuring that God's creation is not the victim of mortal man's deceit and sin. Hence the Heads of religion must make their stand announced. Likewise, Presidents and Heads of professional bodies must make an official statement of what and where they stand. They cannot stray away and claim that Bersih 2.0 has nothing to do with their professional institutions. On the contrary, it has everything to do with professionalism and professional conduct. It is about justice. It hinges on ethics. When justice and ethics are compromised, there is zero professionalism. The same too goes for NGOs. You cannot absolve yourself from Bersih 2.0 because you cannot live up to your NGO principles in an environment that is devoid of justice and fairness. So you too need to make a stand on behalf of your members. The bottom-line is this is not about politics or politicking. This is not about opposition or ruling political parties. This Bersih 2.0 is about the fundamental right of live on this planet. It is about humanity. It is about the very conduct of our journey here on earth for a live hereafter. If we do not correct what is wrong before our eyes; if we do not partake in and through peaceful means an agenda for the good of citizens and visitors; if we divorce ourselves from the realities of life surrounding us; if we cannot work together for the betterment of the nation's governance – then all else is lost. And the price we must pay will be high while still journey in life, failing which we will be held accountable in the hereafter. Whether we are on the BN side or the opposition camp; whether we are political or a-political; whether we are professionals or otherwise; young or old; rich or poor – as long as we are Malaysians we owe each other that duty to come together in the best interest of government, opposition and all those who promise and hope for better day tomorrow. That better day and hope is anchored in justice. For the world of tomorrow is going to built not on rising towers and spanking highways alone. Instead the future currency of progress and peace is one that is fashioned after true democracy, civil liberties and ethical principles. The just world has dawned and we must all be a part of that endeavor. And drawing a leaf from Barack Obama: For when we have faced down impossible odds, when we've been told we're not ready or that we shouldn't try or that we can't, this generation of Malaysians has responded with a simple creed that best sums up the spirit of a people – Yes, we can. Yes, we can. And together, we – all Malaysians, will begin the next great chapter in the Malaysian story, with three words that will ring from coast to coast: Yes, we have. And with that we will eventually march into our 13th General Election without suspicion and disputes to witness the emergency of a champion who will be accepted without arguments as our elected government by the people, for the people and with the people. It can be BN again. It can be PR as well. Or it could even be a BN-PR coalition. But it is an honorable battle fought with exemplary justice and fairness. Hence, in a nutshell, every citizen of Malaysia must share in this role for a just and fair election. Not just leaving it to the government of the day. Not just pinning their hope on the opposition alone. Not abstaining with a mindset 'it is none of my business'.
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| NST drops to 73,000, B.Minggu loses 30% (ABC sneak peek) Posted: 13 Jun 2011 01:15 PM PDT Yesterday's post was of NST selling below 90,000 in ABC's report for 2009. Below is ABC's figures for 2010 - a sneak preview. By uppercaise ADVANCE LOOK at some ABC figures for 2010report and graphics by uppercaise • NST sells only 73,000 on the street | ||||
| Ditamas director: No choice but to sell property to Khir Toyo at RM3.5m Posted: 13 Jun 2011 01:14 PM PDT (Bernama) SHAH ALAM: A company director told the High Court here Monday, June 13 that he had to sell two plots of land and a bungalow here at a price of RM3.5 million to former Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo in 2007 for fear of jeopardising his housing projects in Selangor. Ditamas Sdn Bhd (Ditamas) director Shamsuddin Hayroni said he had to do so after taking into considerations his position as a businessman in Selangor and Mohamad Khir's position as the then menteri besar. "Mohamad Khir and I had discussed the price in 2004 and he wanted the property to be sold at RM3.5 million. I personally did not agree because it was too low and I told him that it should be at least between RM5 million to RM5.5 million. | ||||
| Two Singapore women made to strip, do squats by JB immigration Posted: 13 Jun 2011 01:12 PM PDT The Malaysian Insider SINGAPORE, June 14 — Two Singaporean women who drove to Johor Baru for supper were questioned by Malaysian immigration officials, handcuffed, thrown behind bars and made to do squats while naked, the Singapore Straits Times reported today. The two women said they had driven into Johor Baru without getting their passports stamped, through an unmanned immigration lane. Following their punishment, they were allowed to return to Singapore after 48 hours with a warning. "We thought it was a small issue, we didn't think something like that would happen," the Straits Times quoted one of the women, a manager in an insurance company who wanted to be known only as Ms Chang. A Malaysian immigration spokesman in Johor Baru confirmed that two Singaporean women had been detained for an immigration offence. Chang, in her late 30s, had been driven to Johor Baru by her friend, a property agent in her late 20s, who wanted to be known only as Lim, at about 1.30am last Thursday, the Straits Times reported. Lim was driving her new Nissan Latio. It was the first time she had driven to Malaysia, although she had been driven there before by friends, according to the Singapore newspaper. "We just wanted to go for supper, polish my car and explore a bit," she said. "I just bought my car a month ago, so we thought we'd make it an adventure." At the Malaysian immigration side of the Causeway, they drove into a lane that was not manned. 'There wasn't anyone at the station and the green light was on," Lim told the Straits Times. "I pressed the intercom and couldn't hear anything because of the static, so I just continued driving when the barrier opened." Chang told the daily they drove on because they thought that Malaysia's newly introduced biometric system — which has been in the news — would be ahead. The women realised that they had proceeded without getting their passports stamped, and immediately did a U-turn. By 2am, they were back at the checkpoint and explaining their mistake to the officers there. But they said the officers did not buy their story, although they pointed out that their Singapore passports would show that they had just entered Malaysia, the newspaper reported. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/two-singapore-women-made-to-strip-do-squats-by-jb-immigration/ | ||||
| Honorable Prime Minister, perception is not reality for you? Posted: 13 Jun 2011 01:10 PM PDT By J. D. Lovrenciear If you say perception is not reality, are you then suggesting that it is an illusion?
What the Prime Minister certainly misses very grossly is that perception is not plucked from the thin air. Neither is it a blinded vision inflicted by others. Perception is not all about what people just think about an issue. It is a precipitate of experiences stretching over periods of time. It is all about one's experiences about what you say, do, do not say and do not do. In short, the rakyat's perceptions about you and/or BN are a result of your thoughts, words and deeds over time. Further, his and his BN coalition's numerous attempts to re-orientate the public perception that is not favorable to the BN parties, as owed up by the PM himself, appears to hinge on propaganda instead of educating the rakyat. As Everett Martin (1929) points out, education aims at independence of judgment whereas propaganda offers ready-made opinions for the unthinking masses. Of course it is clearly understandable why the PM is taking this option. Educating the masses takes time as it is a slow process involving human development and thinking. The government cannot afford this given the imminent General Elections. So rather than teach or tell people how to think, the only option is to tell people what to think. In short, it is all about 'mass effects'. Now that is not perception management. It is pure propaganda. The symptoms that are cascading like a deluge from the BN quarters clearly affirm that propaganda is the preferred modus operandi. As pointed out by Jay Black (2001): One, we are witnessing an undue reliance on authority figures and spokespersons to affect people's thinking rather than using empirical validation to establish truths and conclusions. Two, is the fixed view of people, institutions and situations into broad, all inclusive categories of friends of BN and enemies of BN that is often held by BN and its leaders. And three, a greater emphasis on conflict rather than on cooperation among people, institutions and situations. The ongoing anti-Bersih 2.0 stances are fine examples here. Rather than take the propaganda highway, the Prime Minster should have been better advised by his hired public relations bandwagon that persuasion would have been a more justifiable route. Why persuasion and not propaganda? As Thomas H. Bivens (2004) explains, "persuasion is not unethical by nature. Instead, it is time-honored, democratic tradition based on guidelines formulated by the Greeks over 2,000 years." But that persuasive communication must be anchored on solid evidence that is transparent and can withstand the test of time. In other words truth, nothing but the truth matters if persuasive communication is to succeed within the perimeters of ethics. The TARES Test, i.e. the five principles of ethical persuasion (Sherry Baker and David L. Martinson; 2001) must be fully subscribed by the PM and his BN. For the benefit of the Honorable PM and his team-mates, here are the five principles: to be truthful at all times; the spokesperson or mouthpiece must be authentic; the persuader must respect the rakyat whom he or she intends to influence; there must be equity in the persuasive appeal; and social responsibility must be exercised for the common good. Hence, perhaps the Honorable instead of lambasting that perception is not reality, he should have humbly borrowed a leaf from Barack Obama who wrote in his "A more perfect Union": I believe that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together – unless we perfect our (political) union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction – towards a better future for (you and me), our children and our grandchildren. And with that, join the rakyat in its Bersih 2.0 rally. Or at the least, give the rakyat your full assurance that you will guarantee their safety.
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| Posted: 13 Jun 2011 01:08 PM PDT To us common people, a promise is a promise. To renege a guarantee made not to censor internet is a big slap to the integrity of the government. By Dr. Hsu For internet users, and those who store or download certain files from file sharing sites, the government decision to block these sites comes as a shock. There are no doubt that certain files stored in these sites are infringing copyright act, but to impose a blanket block of these sites is like using a sledgehammer to kill a fly. Many people store their legitimate files on these sites. Even scientific files are stored and shared. Sometimes, if a person wants to share a file with his uncle or brother or sister or friend overseas, it would be too tedious to send the file via email, if the file is big. For example, yahoo allows a person to send an email with a 20meg limit. To send friends or relatives certain big files more than 20 meg, a person can upload and store the files in these file sharing sites and the intended person/s can then download it and view. Scientific files/medical files are stored for the same reason. A person can post his wedding video on these sites for his classmates all over the world to view it. That is how file sharing sites function. Those who use file sharing sites are not profiting from monetary gains, since most downloads are free. It is like you buy a harry Potter book from the bookstore and after finishing it, you lend it to someone else. It is perfectly legitimate, as long as you don't make any monetary gains from it. You can also start a book club, and invite people to share books that they have bought by keeping these books in the library of the book club. File sharing sites are like book clubs. Read more at: http://hsudarren.wordpress.com/2011/06/14/what-hypocrisy/ |
He added that if Perkasa's Ibrahim Ali (left) was interested in holding any gathering of their own, they can also be allowed to do so by using another route.
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