Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Penang to go ahead with mosque polls
- MB's aide responds to Sabu, denies PAS leaders jostling for titles
- Nazri: No action against PSD officials over scholarships distribution
- Hisham: No action against Ibrahim Ali for ‘jihad’ call
- ‘Divide and rule making BN obsolete’
- Perkasa to counter Bersih rally
- ‘BN will lose its ‘fixed deposit”
- Hadi on the difference of 'our' welfare state and BN's
- PBS leader ticks off ‘arrogant’ Rais
- Utusan continues attack against Bersih rally
- Malaysia trails in religious freedom and other rights, says new survey
| Penang to go ahead with mosque polls Posted: 12 Jun 2011 11:48 PM PDT
(Bernama) - The Penang government will not budge from its decision to carry out the election of mosque officials as it is accordance with the laws, said its Religious Affairs, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Abdul Malik Abul Kassim. He said the proposed election adhered to Section 104(a)(b) of the State of Penang Enactment 2004 and 4(1) Congregation Committee and Mosque Officials Requirements (Penang). "The new procedure introduced by the Penang Islamic Religious Council is an improvement of existing regulatory procedures adopted by the previous state government," he told reporters Monday. Commenting on calls for the state government to get the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong before holding the mosque polls, Abdul Malik, said the new procedure accorded congregators the right to nominate candidates through mosque committees to the council before getting the consent of the king. Abdul Malik said the mosque congregation committees would decide whether the congregators were eligible to vote and the state government would set up the congregators' database after the election. After nomination was closed last Tuesday, 193 out of 200 mosques had sent the nomination lists, he said, adding that this showed the proposed election had received an overwhelming response from congregators. Meanwhile, Penang Umno Liaison Committee chairman Datuk Zainal Abidin Osman said the state Umno had sent an appeal letter to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong through Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, to oppose the move. "I hope the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as the head of Islam will prevent the mosque polls from taking place as it could divide the Muslims," said Zainal.
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| MB's aide responds to Sabu, denies PAS leaders jostling for titles Posted: 12 Jun 2011 09:57 PM PDT
(Harakah Daily) - True to his prediction that he would be "scolded" for giving an unflattering appraisal of PAS, deputy president Mohamad Sabu today found himself being criticised over his complaint that the Islamic party had been slow in implementing reforms as well as what he described as a penchant among its leaders to "chase" official titles. Responding to Mat Sabu's earlier interview to online portal Malaysiakini, Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, political secretary to Kedah Menteri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak, denied such a culture among PAS leaders. "I do not see such a thinking or the results of such 'wrong views' existing among PAS leaders in Kedah, indeed there is no such jostling for titles or wealth, what more requests among state representatives or Exco for land."Conferring Datukship for instance is the sole prerogative of the Sultan, no Exco or state representative from had ever filled up forms asking for titles for themselves," he wrote in a lengthy reply published by the portal. Earlier, in an exclusive interview with the portal, Mat Sabu lamented that PAS state governments in Kedah and Kelantan had been too slow adapting radical political change to achieve good governance and respect for human rights, and urged leaders to emulate some of the policies by the DAP-led state government in Penang. "(PAS) is now in power in Kedah and in Kelantan, but change has been slow moving and not enough," said Sabu, who also took a swipe at some PAS leaders who he said displayed a weakness for official titles, and said they risked returning to a "feudal system". 'No datukship chase' Saying he was responsible for managing nominations of award recipients by the Menteri Besar's office for the palace's consideration, Sanusi said recipients were selected based after a strict filtering process. "In the period of the three years, I have not seen any clear trend of PAS leaders showing any deep interest for Datukship which required Mohamad (Sabu)'s chiding," added Sanusi. While Mat Sabu's criticisms had drawn praise from Johor PAS Youth, which urged party members to be more brave and "innovative" in pointing out any mistakes by party leadership, Sanusi however suggested that Mat Sabu would not have been elected had he given the interview prior to the recently held party polls.
ROYAL OR FEUDAL? ... Mat Sabu says jostling for royal awards is a revival of feudal culture Sanusi however admitted that some grassroots party members had been dissatisfied that many of the recipients still included UMNO and BN leaders. Likewise, Sanusi said Penang had a shortage of land and as such, Penang could not offer an example in land administration matters.
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| Nazri: No action against PSD officials over scholarships distribution Posted: 12 Jun 2011 05:03 PM PDT
(The Star) - There will be no action taken against any Public Service Department (PSD) official over the distribution of scholarships among top scorers in SPM examinations said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz. "This is because there is no conclusive evidence of abuse of power by these officers. The selection was conducted transparently in accordance with the Cabinet's decision on Jan 14, 2009," he told the Dewan Rakyat Monday. Nazri told this to Nancy Shukri (BN-Batang Saadong) and thirteen other MPs who wanted to know why were there still problems in awarding scholarships and places in universities for top students who had scored more than 9As in the SPM examination. Nazri told the Dewan Rakyat the Government had decided not to release the list of PSD scholars and their results to maintain confidentiality. "It is not the government's policy to disclose such information and releasing it would not ensure that the problems would be solved," he said. He noted that the Government had agreed to reduce the numbers of scholarships for overseas programme from 1,750 in 2010 to 1,500 this year. "To get candidates with wholesome personality, the government chooses students to pursue studies overseas, not just based on their academic results, but considering also their family socio-economic background, curriculum and interviews result," he explained. He said the scholarship was also given based on four categories; 20% based on academic achievement, 60% based on racial composition, 10% allocated for the Bumiputera's in Sabah and Sarawak and 10% for the socially disadvantaged. Nazri said there was still a lot of confusion over the distribution of JPA scholarships for overseas programs although the government had repeatedly explained the criteria on how to get them. "One major factor for students failing to get scholarships is because there is an increase in the numbers of top students while the numbers of scholarships remain limited," he said. According to Malaysian Examination Board, Nazri said, there were 363 students who achieved good results in the SPM examination last year and, out of the total, 282 students managed to get JPA scholarships to pursue their studies locally and overseas. "This year, JPA will offer 1,500 scholarships to study overseas while 2,500 will get sponsorship to study locally," he said. He added that the government had allocated RM1.44bil to sponsor JPA students this year with RM0.36bil to be spent on students to study locally and RM1.08bil allocated to students to study abroad.
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| Hisham: No action against Ibrahim Ali for ‘jihad’ call Posted: 12 Jun 2011 04:58 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - The government will not take any action against Datuk Ibrahim Ali for threatening Christians nationwide with a holy war against any move to usurp Islam with a Christian state. "Action will only be taken if investigations find that the said act really contravened the country's laws," Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said in a written reply to Lim Lip Eng (Segambut-DAP) in the Dewan Rakyat today. Lim had asked the Home Ministry to state whether it was a punishable offence for a person to declare "jihad" in the name of race and religion. "I would advise that all parties be careful in making an accusation when its validity has yet to be verified," said Hishammuddin. The Perkasa president's threat to Christians was based on Utusan Malaysia's recent allegation that church leaders were in a plot with the DAP to turn Malaysia into a Christian state and install a Christian prime minister. Christian leaders and DAP members have denied the reports which have sparked protests but the Home Ministry has only slapped Utusan Malaysia with a warning letter for publishing the unsubstantiated report.
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| ‘Divide and rule making BN obsolete’ Posted: 12 Jun 2011 04:35 PM PDT
The BN has been practising this policy for decades but now it is working against them, says a Gerakan leader. (Free Malaysia Today) - Over the years the Barisan Nasional's (BN) only political model was divide and rule. But that model is now making the BN an obsolete party. Said former Gerakan Youth vice-chief S Paranjothy: "BN is obsolete now and its outmoded political strategy of divide and rule along racial lines is no longer marketable to the Malaysian voters who have woken up to a new era of thinking after the 2008 political tsunami." "Most Malaysians are sickened by the perpetual harping on racial politics by all the BN component parties and they have had enough of this. "The over-used old record of racial politics by the BN for the past 50 years has now been shattered by the awakening of voters who want political change," he said. Paranjothy said in the past the leaders were more dedicated and committed to the principled political agenda of giving equal rights and benefits to all Malaysians. "The economic imbalance is widening between the rich and the poor, as the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer as BN is more concerned with the personal interests of its cronies rather than the welfare of the people," he said. He also accused the BN politicians of taking the voters for a ride at every election with empty promises and not giving proper attention to the needs and demands of the voters after being duly elected. "The majority of the (BN) politicians only fill their elected posts to safeguard their own personal political agendas and tend to be self-centred and neglect the interests of their voters," he alleged.
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| Perkasa to counter Bersih rally Posted: 12 Jun 2011 04:16 PM PDT
Perkasa and Konsensus Bebas slam the July 9 Bersih 2.0 demonstrations, calling it a waste of time. (Free Malaysia Today) - Perkasa has threatened to counter the July 9 Bersih 2.0 demonstration with a protest of its own. Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali promised the event's organisers – Bersih and PAS – that he would "fight to the end" if people were to mass on the streets on July 9. "If they go ahead with this demonstration, Perkasa has made a decision, and as its president, I will fight to the end. That means on that day, there will be a confrontation," he said. "I don't know how many they will gather, but Perkasa also has many members, and other NGO are coming, so we'll be there," added the Pasir Mas MP. Ibrahim said that large-scale demonstrations such as Bersih's would cause widespread chaos, and cited the unrest in the Middle East as an example. "I cannot imagine that if there is a big crowd, certain element will come in, throwing the stone, burn the car, and with injuries like what is happening in Tunisia," he said. The July 9 "Walk for Democracy" Kuala Lumpur protest will be attended by several civil societies, including a few opposition parties. Bersih and its coalition partners have six demands in mind, including an end to the misuse of government machinery and funds during elections. With an expected attendance of more than 100,000, the march is expected to the biggest of its kind since the group's 2007 demonstrations. Protestor number predictions, however, did not faze the Malay rights supremacist, who said that most Malaysians would not buy into Bersih's demands. "Malaysia has 27 million people. Let's say that Bersih wants to bring 300,000, so 27 million minus 300,000, we will have 26 million. So you don't worry about the figures," he said. Ibrahim also added that Perkasa will hold a roundtable discussion with at least 30 other Malay-based NGOs on Bersih's planned demonstrations tomorrow.
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| ‘BN will lose its ‘fixed deposit” Posted: 12 Jun 2011 03:38 PM PDT
'Pakatan Rakyat Plus SAPP' will be able to smash BN hegemony in the 13th general election, says Sabah opposition leader Yong Teck Lee A former Sabah chief minister has predicted that Barisan Nasional (BN) will no longer be able to call the state its 'fixed deposit' after the 13th general election. Yong Teck Lee said the growing dissatisfaction over the direction of the economy as well as policies affecting Sabah and Sarawak would have an effect on the general election. He said the opposition is also banking on a revolt by consumers in the two states over prices of goods remaining much higher compared to Peninsular Malaysia despite years of platitudes by the BN government each time the subject comes up. "Prices of goods keep escalating over the years but the people's salary in Sabah remains stagnant as compared to other states in the country," said Yong, who is now president of opposition Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP). He said the ordinary people had taken note that "the ruling Barisan Nasional leaders are busy engaging in a cold war to protect their own selfish interest, rather than that of the people." Yong sees the current trend of dissatisfaction among the lower and middle income group in the state translating into votes for SAPP and the opposition. He said people are starting to realise that the BN-led government has failed to make good use of the enormous profits earned from oil and gas exports to keep the prices of goods down. "The BN government could have used the revenues received from Petronas to keep the prices of goods low, in Sabah especially, but it failed to do so," said Yong who was speaking at the Parents' Night organised by SAPP on Saturday. Petronas recently announced a profit of close to RM100 billion of which RM57 billion was given to the government in dividends and taxes while oil-producing Sabah, Sarawak, Terengganu and Kelantan received a total of only RM4 billion as their 5% share in oil royalties. Consumers are also angry that the price of sugar has been steadily rising since Felda took over the sugar monopoly in the country from Robert Kuok's Perlis Pelantations which had never raised the price for the commodity. "What's even more puzzling and dismaying is the fact that Felda is a government agency that is supposed to look after the people's interest and welfare, instead of focusing on making profit alone," said Yong.
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| Hadi on the difference of 'our' welfare state and BN's Posted: 12 Jun 2011 03:09 PM PDT
(Harakah Daily) - Announcing appointments for several top posts in PAS after the new line-up's first meeting yesterday, PAS president Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang called on Malaysians to vote for Pakatan Rakyat in achieving the goal of a true welfare state as espoused by PAS and its PR partners. "In order to know the meaning of a true welfare state, vote for us in the next general election. Give us five years, we can show what we can do," Hadi said during a press conference at party headquarters.Dismissing the government's claim that the current government was also based on 'welfare state', Hadi said the people under PR's governance would benefit in terms of better quality of life. Ever since the Islamic party endorsed the goal of a 'benevolent state', or welfare state as outlined by Hadi in his presidential address at the recent Muktamar, UMNO leaders have been pouring scorn on the concept, among others by saying that PAS had reneged on its Islamic state goal. PAS however said the concept of a welfare state was already Islamic and based on the Qur'anic call for a 'benevolent state'. The adaptation of the welfare state, which received intense support from PKR and DAP, is seen crucial, coming as it was at a time when the government comes under fire over a spate of price hikes, as well as its controversial funding of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) while denying subsidies for household users. Hadi however rapped UMNO leaders, saying they were illiterate when it comes to Islamic politics. 'Far cry from UMNO's welfare state' Hadi said a welfare state which takes guidance from the Qur'an and Prophetic traditions would be a far cry from the so-called welfare state as espoused by UMNO.
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| PBS leader ticks off ‘arrogant’ Rais Posted: 12 Jun 2011 03:07 PM PDT
By Luke Rintod, FMT KOTA KINABALU: When the opposition accuses Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders of arrogance, it is expected. But when a fellow BN leader starts doing the same, it means something is really wrong. Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) deputy president Dr Yee Moh Chai is the latest to describe a federal leader as "arrogant" and "out of touch" with the people. He singled out Information, Communications, Arts and Culture Minister Rais Yatim for ignoring Sabahans and the state BN government leaders despite their pleas for assitance. Yee's main gripe is Rais' lethargic attitude in addressing the low-penetration Internet broadband rate in Sabah despite a year having passed since he pledged to achieve a minimum 30% penetration by 2010. Yee, the state Resource Development and Information Technology Minister, who was recently appointed a deputy chief minister, is irked by Rais' promises at various meetings to address the problem but has failed to act on them. Speaking to reporters here, Yee, in an unprecedented attack, lashed out at Rais for breaking his pledge. "Rais knows about this but he pretended not to (listen)… we have been telling him about it. "During the meeting, he (Rais) said okay but after that nothing was done," Yee said, adding that the way Rais works "is tantamount to being arrogant". Yee said while the national broadband penetration rate was 50% (in 2010), Sabah's remained the lowest in Malaysia. Some say it hovers at 15% which is why the ministry set a target of 30% by end of last year. Yee, who has been keeping a low-profile since PBS rejoined BN in 2002, now wants Rais to acknowledge his failure. "I have flown to Kuala Lumpur to discuss with Rais on ways to improve broadband service in Sabah. "He should instruct his men to work on how to improve the ICT services in Sabah and not simply shed his responsibility," said Yee. Angry users Broadband mobile users in Sabah have been complaining that Rais' ministry has allowed service providers to cut cheaper broadband service packages from five days to two days, thus limiting access to the Internet to poorer subscribers.
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| Utusan continues attack against Bersih rally Posted: 12 Jun 2011 02:56 PM PDT
By Melissa Chi, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, June 13 — Utusan Malaysia continued to campaign against the Bersih 2.0 demonstration fixed for July 9, citing unrest and urging the government to prevent the demonstration from taking place. "We understand there are efforts to inflame the people's hatred against the leaders of the government through measures such as demonstrations like in Arab countries today. They want unrest to prevail and if any unwanted incident happens, they will blame the government. It is better if the government prevents it before it happens," according to an editorial published today. The Malay daily had also called on Malaysians not just to boycott next month's Bersih rally, but also to gather against the movement that calls for free and fair elections, calling the gathering "dirty". The paper also told Malaysians "who love peace and reject hypocrisy" to gather on the streets of Kuala Lumpur on July 9 "with banners of the opposition leader's scandals" in reference to sodomy and sex video allegations against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. "Organisers of the rally are aware of the chaos that could be triggered when there is a clash between supporters and opponents of the street demonstrations. "Using the excuse that the demonstration is to fight for a clean and fair election... is not enough," it said. The editorial also said that other Malaysians should have the right to get on with their daily lives without being disrupted by the demonstrators. "Taxi drivers, bus companies, businesses and workers around the capital city had said that they are uneasy about the demonstration. "We disagree with the term 'the people's peaceful assembly' used as the theme because there is not one illegal assembly organised by the NGOs and opposition parties that have been peaceful. So don't use the people's name to allow actions that can negatively affect them," it said. "The organisers have to remember that marching in big groups will not solve any problems, instead it will cause trouble and create unrest in the country.
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| Malaysia trails in religious freedom and other rights, says new survey Posted: 12 Jun 2011 02:50 PM PDT By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, June 13 — Malaysia lags behind the rest of the world in protecting freedom of religion, expression and other basic rights, managing only to place 59th out of 66 countries surveyed by the World Justice Project (WJP) for its Rule of Law Index 2011. Low scores for freedom of religion, expression, assembly and privacy also meant that Malaysia placed second to last in its income group, which includes other upper-middle-income countries like Russia, Brazil, Mexico and Iran. The report noted, however, that Malaysia ranked first among 19 income peers in terms of security, on par with countries such as France and Belgium, despite the prevalence of police abuse. Malaysia scored higher for absence of crime, strong labour rights, and lack of civil conflict — which the survey said was "effectively limited" — almost matching or exceeding the average score for other East Asia and Pacific countries. "As with many other countries in the region, Malaysia presents a contrasting view," WJP said in a statement today. "In comparison with upper-middle-income group standards, the government is reasonably accountable, although corruption, political interference, and impunity still exist." Other areas of concern highlighted by the report include corruption in the judicial branch and the low proportion of government officials cautioned for misconduct. |
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