Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Malaysia orders 7 floating facilities to leave port of Pasir Gudang
- Dr Ahmad Zahid: Barisan will win big in general election
- MACC slammed for 'dancing to UMNO's tune'
- Evidence shows Sarbaini’s death was accidental, not suicidal, pathologist tells Coroner
- Kua: France will unlock Scorpene truth
- PSM’s EO6 to be charged tomorrow
- Mindef says RM 493.3m additional budget necessary to ‘maintain’ Scorpene subs
- Malaysians studying overseas can register as postal voters, says EC chairman
- Dissent no longer allowed in Umno, says Abdul Kadir
| Malaysia orders 7 floating facilities to leave port of Pasir Gudang Posted: 02 Aug 2011 06:20 AM PDT (Reuters) – Malaysia's government has ordered seven floating storage facilities with a capacity to hold about 1.9 million tonnes of crude or fuel oil anchored off the southeastern port of Pasir Gudang to leave by the end of this month, industry sources said on Monday. When contacted, a senior Malaysian government source confirmed the directive, but declined to give details or the reasons for the move. ''Yes, I can confirm that the directive has been issued, and it was decided last month,'' he said. These players must find alternative homes for their vessels either at nearby Tanjong Pelepas -- also a floating storage hub, Indonesia's Karimun island, or in international waters. Some could destock their inventories and exit the floating storage market, due to higher costs at the alternative locations, the industry sources said. ''There might be some short-term impact in the market if the destocking volumes are high, but it's too early to tell now,'' a fuel oil trader said. The reasons for the move are unclear but industry sources said it could be because Malaysian authorities want to improve access to several existing and planned oil terminals around Pasir Gudang, including the new proposed Petronas refinery. ''They have been talking about wanting to do some dredging works at the water-channel for a while , as the draft is quite shallow, and it can't even take a fully-laden aframax,'' a Singapore-based storage operator said. ''Right now, there are two shore terminals in the area, but more are coming up, including the site of Petronas' proposed refinery. But the new projects won't be ready for at least four years, so I don't understand why they are doing it now.'' Currently, there are two land terminals in the area -- Cosco Feoto's 200,000-cubic metre (cu m) facility in Pasir Gudang and the 500,000-cu m plant in Tanjong Langsat, occupied solely by Trafigura. Another new terminal, with a capacity of 1.3 million cu m, is being built further east in Pengerang, where the proposed 300,000 barrels-per-day Petronas refinery is also to be located. The Pasir Gudang area has been used by floating storages for the past 8-9 years at least, with the Malaysian government issuing licences to operators, such as Hong Kong-listed Titan Petrochemicals. Demand for the floating facilities has grown tremendously, with the Malaysian government opening up the south-western port of Tanjong Pelepas for the same purpose later.
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| Dr Ahmad Zahid: Barisan will win big in general election Posted: 01 Aug 2011 06:56 PM PDT
(The Star) - Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has dismissed the findings of a recent polls dry run which showed Barisan Nasional losing the Negri Sembilan and Perak state governments to the Opposition. He said Barisan would in fact win a bigger majority due to stronger support, not only from the Malays but from the other races as well. "This will be proven at the next general election," he told reporters at Mindef here, Tuesday. Dr Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Defence Minister, was responding to an online news portal report on Monday. He was confident Umno would perform better than it did at the 2008 general election "because voters have seen that Pakatan Rakyat is not a viable alternative". "Voters who voted for the Opposition at the 12th general election thought they will have a better government," said Zahid. "Now they realise it's actually not true."
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| MACC slammed for 'dancing to UMNO's tune' Posted: 01 Aug 2011 04:06 PM PDT  (Harakah Daily) - Kelantan has slammed the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission for being UMNO's spokesman, over a statement on the recent conclusion by the Commission that the state government was free of corruption. Yesterday, it was reported that MACC's Kelantan branch announced the PAS-led government to be free of corruption. L-R: Sutinah and Nasaruddin of MACC
'Cheap publicity'
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| Evidence shows Sarbaini’s death was accidental, not suicidal, pathologist tells Coroner Posted: 01 Aug 2011 03:52 PM PDT By Lisa Goh, The Star KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor Customs assistant director Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed was found to have died because of severe head injuries and positional asphyxia, a forensic pathologist told the Coroner's court on Tuesday. Associate Prof Dr Faridah Mohd Noor, who is attached to the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC), said that based on a post-mortem she carried out on Ahmad Sarbaini on April 6, this year, he was found to have a total of 42 external and internal injuries. "The pattern of injuries are consistent with a fall from height. "His death was caused by severe head injuries and positional asphyxia due to fall from height," she said when questioned by deputy public prosecutor Hanim Mohd Rashid Tuesday. She explained that "positional asphyxia" happened because Ahmad Sarbaini could not breathe because there was too much blood around his mouth and nose area after he fell. He was found face down in a pool of blood. She added that he had fallen on his out-stretched left arm (in an attempt to break his fall), which showed that he was still alive during the fall. Dr Faridah placed his time of death between 7am and 11am on April 6. She said that when she examined his body after she arrived at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) building on Jln Cochrane, she found his body still warm, but rigor mortis (stiffening of the joints and muscles of a body after death) had set in. She told the court that the post-mortem also found Ahmad Sarbaini had fractured both his arms and legs, and he had lacerations, abrasions and cuts on his face. The right side of his chin, as well as his skull, was fractured. She also said that based on the pattern of injuries, and circumstantial evidence, she found his death to be accidental, not suicidal or homicidal. However, when questioned by lawyer Awtar Singh, who is representing Ahmad Sarbaini's family, she said she could not conclude that his death was "accidental". "I can't say. That is for the court to decide. "But my findings were based on the fact that he did not have hesitation marks on his body (wound marks caused by persons who are suicidal), or defence wounds (wound marks caused by a person trying to fight off an attacker)," she said. Awtar: But it is possible he was thrown out? Dr Faridah: Possible, but it would not have been easy. There would surely be signs of struggle between the deceased and the attacker. Ahmad Sarbaini, 56, who was attached to the Port Klang Customs office, was found dead on the first floor of the MACC building on April 6. He was reported to have gone to the commission's office to meet the investigating officer assigned to corruption cases involving 62 customs officers. Hearing before Coroner Aizatul Akmal Maharani continues Wednesday.
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| Kua: France will unlock Scorpene truth Posted: 01 Aug 2011 03:48 PM PDT
PETALING JAYA: When Kua Kia Soong says he has been concerned about arms spending in Malaysia for "a long time" he means for about four decades. The years spent in keen observation of the government's defence spending culminated in 1994 when he blew the whistle on the "Arms-for-Aid scandal. The fiasco revolved around the funding of the Pergau hydroelectric dam which was linked to RM5 billion in arms sales to British overseas aid in the form of Aid and Trade Provision (ATP) funding. Kua, who was Petaling Jaya MP for DAP at the time, was disgusted that while the British media pounced on the scandal, its Malaysian counterparts chose to turn a blind eye. He has since then traded his parlimentarian seat for that of Suaram director but the swap has done nothing to abate his vigilance of the government's arms spending. It has instead propelled him into the heart of the country's most high profile arms deal – the purchase of two Scorpene submarines from France. The deal is mired in controversy with allegations of kickbacks and linked to the murder of Mongolian national, Altantuya Shaariibuu. "The Scorpene French provider, DCNS, is well-known to have given commissions in the Karachi case and also in its sale of frigates to Taiwan," Kua, 60, explained to FMT. (The Karachi car bomb in May 2002 was reported to be related to a case of retro-commissions and kickbacks involving the Pakistani state and French politicians for an arms deal.) Suaram's suspicions arose as it studied the scandals involving DCNS and it began enquiring about the possibility of pursuing the commissions involved in the Scorpene deal. "We discovered that (French human rights lawyer) William Bourdon was pursuing the cases in the French judicial system so we got in touch with him," Kua said. "Bourdon responded positively as he had been shadowing the Karachi and Taiwan cases which were linked to DCNS". Suaram applied through its French lawyers as a civil party for a judicial review in the French court in November 2009 to investigate the submarine deal. In April 2010, the French courts accepted the request to investigate Suaram's claim of corruption. The French investigative judge who will hear the case will be picked next month. Bourdon however was given the boot back to Paris by the Malaysian government during his visit here last month after he spoke at a Scorpene fundraising dinner in Penang. His deportation was decried by various quarters as an attempt by the government to muzzle the truth. Here are excerpts from the interview with Kua:
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| PSM’s EO6 to be charged tomorrow Posted: 01 Aug 2011 03:44 PM PDT By K Pragalath, FMT PETALING JAYA: Recently released six Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) leaders are expected to face fresh charges at the Butterworth Sessions Court tomorrow. While it is unclear what the charges would be, party leaders speculate that the case to be preferred against the six would be related to the July 9 Bersih 2.0 rally and for allegedly being involved in subversive activities. "I believe that they would be charged for Bersih related charges – over their alleged association with an illegal association under the Societies Act and for leafleting Bersih agenda," PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan told FMT. The six – Sungai Siput MP Dr D Michael Jeyakumar, PSM deputy chairman M Sarasvathy, central committee members Choo Chon Kai and , M Sukumaran, youth chief R Saratbabu and Sungai Siput branch secretary A Letchumanan – were released from the Emergency Ordinance last Friday after being detained for 28 days. They were arrested in Kepala Batas on June 26 while embarking on a PSM campaign with 24 other PSM members. The authorities later accused them of waging war against the King. They were then released and re-arrested on July 2 under the Emergency Ordinance which allowed the police to detain suspects for up to 60 days without trial. It was later revealed that they were detained for allegedly being "movers" for the July 9 rally organised by Bersih 2.0.
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| Mindef says RM 493.3m additional budget necessary to ‘maintain’ Scorpene subs Posted: 01 Aug 2011 03:40 PM PDT By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal The Defence Ministry received an additional RM493.3 million allocations this year, and said today the amount was needed to maintain the country's two Scorpene submarines. The additional amount raises the ministry's total budget to whopping total of RM11 billion. "The main purpose is to maintain our Scorpene submarines as that expense was not included in the budget," The Star quoted Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (picture) as saying. The purchase of Malaysia's RM7 billion Scorpene submarines has been a subject of wide controversy, after authorities deported a French lawyer who has been pursuing judicial investigations into the matter in the French courts, the day after he spoke on the issue in Penang. Pakatan Rakyat (PR) MPs have accused the Najib administration of wanting to keep the facts hidden in the purchase of the submarines from French defence firm DCNS and up to RM16 billion in defence deals over the past three years. The purchase of two submarines from French defence company DCNS in 2002 was made when Datuk Seri Najib Razak was still defence minister and a company run by Abdul Razak Baginda, said to be a close aide of the then-deputy prime minister, was reported to have received commissions of over RM500 million from the deal. Human rights groups and opposition parties here also linked the episode to the 2006 murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu.
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| Malaysians studying overseas can register as postal voters, says EC chairman Posted: 01 Aug 2011 10:38 AM PDT By Rashvinjeet S Bedi, The Star PETALING JAYA: Malaysian students overseas need only to inform the Election Commission (EC) that they are out of the country so that they can vote. EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yusof said the students could register themselves as postal voters. "As long as they are above 21 and are studying overseas full-time, they can vote. However, they need to inform us that they are going overseas," he said yesterday. Abdul Aziz said students who turned 21 while overseas could register as voters with the embassies in the respective countries they are in. The embassies would send the ballot papers to the addresses provided by the students. The students could then return their postal votes to the embassies, who would subsequently submit them to the EC, he added. Besides students, under the Elections (Registration of Electors) Regulations 2002, those who could vote while residing abroad included members of the armed forces and public servants. Spouses of the three aforementioned categories are also eligible to vote. To a question, Abdul Aziz said he did not have details about the number of overseas postal voters but said they were "negligible". He also said many postal ballots arrived at the EC headquarters several days after a general election. "Currently, postal votes can only be counted if they reached the polling centres by 5pm on polling day," he added. He said that in Singapore, postal votes were valid for up to two weeks after the polling date. "However, they announce the results on polling day as the number of postal votes are insignificant," he added. Abdul Aziz said the EC was looking into the possibility of allowing other Malaysians overseas to vote as well, but admitted that logistical problems affecting postal voting needed to be looked into. |
| Dissent no longer allowed in Umno, says Abdul Kadir Posted: 01 Aug 2011 10:21 AM PDT By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir laments Umno's present disdain for dissent and open debate, charging it as a "regression" from the eras of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj and Tun Abdul Razak.
The former Umno minister and supreme council member told The Malaysian Insider he was "worried" about the Malay party's current political culture, saying it starkly contrasted with the Najib administration's push for transparency and openness. "Unfortunately things have changed a lot within Umno since the times of the late Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein Onn. Back then there was a lot of freedom to voice out our opinions, a lot of room for dissent and open debate.. "But now you don't have that kind of environment," Abdul Kadir told The Malaysian Insider, citing the current circumstances has pushed him to join Angkatan Amanah Merdeka (Amanah) where he can voice out issues that could not within his own party. The former tourism minister cited the backlash to Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah's stand on the Bersih 2.0 rally, where the deputy higher education minister disagreed with the way the government had handled the July 9 event. "It was just a comment, it did not mean he was going against his party or the government, but now there are calls within Umno for him (Saifuddin) to be sacked. "This never happened in the past," added Abdul Kadir. He also compared the present Umno leadership to the past ones, and used the case of former Umno Youth Chief and Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Harun Idris to illustrate his point. "Most of us in Umno Youth did not agree when Datuk Harun was charged with corruption. We became witnesses against the government back then. We went against our own government to campaign for Datuk Harun around the country...but no action was taken against us, even though there was a difference of opinion. "It did not mean we were going against BN or the government, it was just a difference of opinion," said Abduk Kadir. Between 1975 to 1977, the late Harun was found guilty on various charges of corruption and was sentenced to six years' jail. In 1981, Harun was pardoned by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on advice of the then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed, after serving three years of his sentence.
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