Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Hishammuddin receives two live bullets, death threat
- Poser over sperm survival: 36 or 65 hours?
- ‘Pray Anwar does not become PM’
- Putrajaya doles out RM1.4b to the underprivileged
- Contract in Malaysia helps Petrofac outshine forecasts
- Fuel cost burdens airlines
- Petronas, Partners Plan $5 Billion Malaysia Gas Investment to Boost Supply
- 4 jailed for gang-rape of Malaysian student
- Vell Paari’s Aussie firm crisis
- From POLITICO - Justin Smith steps down from FBC Media board
- Beng Hock’s family challenges RCI suicide verdict
- PAS ready to face lawsuit over 'UMNO hand' in church affair
- Bumi quota may bloat MRT project cost, say experts
- Anwar is like a Renaissance man who likes ‘naked men’, says Utusan
| Hishammuddin receives two live bullets, death threat Posted: 24 Aug 2011 04:10 AM PDT
The home minister says the items were in an envelope posted to his office in Putrajaya. (Bernama) - Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein today received two live bullets with a threatening note in an envelope posted to his office in Putrajaya. The envelope, which was received at 2pm, also contained a booklet in which the handwritten note was slipped in. Met by reporters after attending a breaking of fast at the Al-Ikhlasiyah mosque di Pantai Dalam here, Hishammuddin, however, declined to say what were the contents of the note. "I can confirm that I received two live bullets together with a threatening note today. This is the first time I have experienced such a thing. "The envelope was received by an aide of mine and he has since lodged a police report," he said. Hishammuddin, however, said it would not dampen his spirit to continue discharging his duties as entrusted to him. "I view this as something serious. However, it will not deter me from carrying out my duties as entrusted to me by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. "This might be the work of some frustrated people, probably because they are not happy with the work we (home ministry) are doing. But I am unfazed by this threat," he added.
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| Poser over sperm survival: 36 or 65 hours? Posted: 23 Aug 2011 07:42 PM PDT
By Teoh El Sen, FMT KUALA LUMPUR: An Australian forensic expert agrees today that sperm cells can be discovered inside a person's body up to 65 hours after sexual intercourse when testifying in the Anwar Ibrahim's Sodomy II trial. Dr David Lawrence Noel Wells concurred with lead prosecutor Solicitor-General II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden when the latter pointed to a United Kingdom study published in the "Forensic Science International" journal in 1982. This contradicted Well's testimony yesterday which stated that sperm could only survive up to 36 hours. However, Wells, the head of forensic medicine at the Victoria Institute of Medicine, quickly cautioned that he, as well as most of those experts in his field, would put "reservations" on that finding as it was the only published case for over 30 years. "This particular 1982 paper is often quoted and it is quite depressing that in 30 years there's only one case. I would like to hear of one other case. The question is, how much weight should we put on this? Should we base all of our forensic findings on a single untested case?" asked Wells. Mohd Yusof also referred to an article in "Clinical Forensic Medicine" by WDS Mclay. The paper said research showed sperm may be identified and rectal swabs taken up to three days after anal intercourse even when defecation has occurred. The article also suggested that samples could be obtained even if an individual has showered. However, Wells stuck to his previous stand. "From my experience, to get an extraction after more than 20 to 36 hours is very rare. I have never heard of such a case. The single case was in 1982. The question is how much weight do you put on that case," said the expert in the field of sexual assault cases. Wells: It is exceedingly rare to get any results beyond 20 to 36 hours. Mohd Yusof: Then why do you think doctors suggest that swabs can be taken from the anus after three days up to 65 hours? This sample can even be taken when the victim has showered. Wells: The article you are quoting from also refers to the single 1982 case. Mohd Yusof: But can you say it's not possible. Wells: No I can't say. Doctor stumped Wells added that "in medicine, you sometimes have to be realistic. Why don't we collect toxicological samples from patients who consumed something two to three months ago? There's a reason for it". "I would not base a scientific premise on a single case; with some confidence I can say (in Anwar's case) that already we have a sample that is not dried and not frozen and kept at room temperature; the possibility is very small that you can extract a foreign DNA," said Wells. Wells added that there have been numerous attempts to test for sperm specimens 36 hours later, with "zero" results.
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| ‘Pray Anwar does not become PM’ Posted: 23 Aug 2011 07:35 PM PDT By Stephanie Sta Maria, FMT PETALING JAYA: Oposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's recent conduct in the High Court has so incensed Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali that the latter has put out a call for Malaysians to pray for the fomer's political demise. Anwar had delivered a hour-long statement from the dock on Monday denying that he had sodomised his aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, in 2008. His decision to make his statement from the dock meant that he could not be cross-examined. But numerous quarters questioned this move with his detractors surmising that his avoidance of cross-examination was reflective of his guilt. Ibrahim joined the criticism by branding this scenario as "truly insane". "Saiful took an oath sat in the witness stand and was questioned by Anwar's defence team. Anwar didn't take an oath, sat in the dock and delivered a speech about (fomer Russian dictator) Joseph Stalin, (former South African president) Nelson Mandela and conspiracy… all of which could not be cross-examined," he said. In his statement, Anwar had quoted the words of Mandela in his speech made from the dock during the Rivonia trial of 1963. His reference to Stalin was used to explain that Saiful was made to play helpless victim because the public would no longer believe the 1998 method of employing Stalin-like confessions.
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| Putrajaya doles out RM1.4b to the underprivileged Posted: 23 Aug 2011 07:28 PM PDT By Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider PUTRAJAYA, Aug 24 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced today a RM1.4 billion welfare allocation to around 500,000 underprivileged recipients including senior citizens, the disabled and widows of army and police personnel. The allocation, to be disbursed monthly under the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry's newly-launched initiative called Program Kebajikan Rakyat 1 Malaysia (KAR1SMA), was increased by RM200 million from last year's RM1.2 billion for 424,000 identified recipients. Najib (picture) said the increase in aid to the needy is in line with one of the main pillars of his administration's philosophy which is to uphold social justice. "The underprivileged represent a large group and without intervention, they will remain a marginalised and we would have failed to uphold social justice. "Today, now that we have changed the direction and focus of the government through the Government Transformation Programme (GTP), we have identified that a large part of our community consist of the marginalised and they need help so they can become independent... not always depending on the government but independent," he said during his speech at the launch. Najib added that despite the global economic crisis, Malaysia still remains in the position to not only offer but increase financial aid to the underprivileged. "In some countries, they have had to slash their pensioner funds and cut back on welfare aid. "So I hope now that those receiving aid will be inspired with new hope, skills and spirit, enabling them to contribute to their futures and that of the country," he said.
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| Contract in Malaysia helps Petrofac outshine forecasts Posted: 23 Aug 2011 07:10 PM PDT By Yorkshire Post OIL services firm Petrofac has posted a forecast-beating first-half profit, after receiving a boost from its business in Malaysia. The company said it was confident that demand from national oil firms would continue to fuel future growth. Petrofac, which designs and builds oil and gas infrastructure and also invests alongside oil firms in oil fields, posted net profit of $246.3m for the first six months of the year, a 6.6 per cent rise on the previous year. This compared to a consensus forecast of $238m from a company-supplied poll of eight analysts. Profits in the FTSE 100 company's offshore engineering and operations business soared by more than 700 per cent reflecting strong activity levels in Malaysia, where it has a contract to develop oil and gas facilities for the country's state oil firm Petronas. The company said it was on track to double its 2010 earnings by 2015, a goal it announced in June. The company believes a recent contract win in Mexico validated its strategy of building up the part of its business which invests in oil fields to help national oil companies develop their reserves. "We are increasingly seeing resource holders who don't want to give up the title to reserves but do need expertise to help improve or develop their resources," chief financial officer Keith Roberts said. "Whether it's Malaysia, Petrom in Romania, now Mexico. This is a long-term systemic trend," he said, adding that the company also saw future opportunities for that part of the business in Iraq and Turkmenistan. "These positive results follow the potentially transformational production enhancement contract awards in Mexico... which will go some way toward delivering the group earnings growth target," said Evolution analyst Keith Morris. He added that Petrofac looks undervalued after recent poor share price performance. Shares in the company have fallen almost 20 per cent over the last month, broadly in line with recent sell-offs across the oil and gas sector. Petrofac also said it was on course to meet market forecasts for the full-year and it expected to deliver like-for-like net profit growth of at least 15 per cent in 2011. Numis analyst Sanjeev Bahl said he believed the company could beat that target given the first-half results |
| Posted: 23 Aug 2011 06:52 PM PDT By Joy Lee, The Edge KUALA LUMPUR: High fuel cost continues to weigh on airlines as low-cost carrier AirAsia Bhd saw its 2QFY11 net profit shrink 48% year-on-year (y-o-y) while national carrier Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS) languished in the red. AirAsia posted net profit of RM104.3 million for 2QFY11 ended June 30, from RM198.9 million in the previous corresponding quarter. Revenue, however, rose 15% to RM1.1 billion from RM933.4 million previously, supported by a 15% growth in passenger volume. |
| Petronas, Partners Plan $5 Billion Malaysia Gas Investment to Boost Supply Posted: 23 Aug 2011 06:47 PM PDT By Barry Porter, Bloomberg Petroleum Nasional Bhd., Malaysia's state oil and gas company, plans to invest 15 billion ringgit ($5 billion) with partners to develop natural gas fields off the country's eastern coast in a move to help replenish the Southeast Asian nation's shrinking energy reserves. The so-called North Malay Basin project aims to extract gas with high carbon dioxide content from nine discovered fields to help meet rising demand on Peninsular Malaysia, according to a statement today from Petronas, as the company is known. A 200 kilometer-pipeline (124 miles) will be laid to transport the fuel to Kerteh, in Terengganu state, it said. "The development of the North Malay basin project follows recently introduced incentives by the government, particularly for the development of marginal fields," Petronas said. "The gradual revision of gas prices to domestic customers, as recently announced by the government, also makes the project more economically feasible for industry players." The state utility has traditionally sold gas at a discount to power distributor Tenaga Nasional Bhd. (TNB) to help keep business and consumer costs low in Malaysia. On May 30, the government allowed it to reduce that subsidy, acknowledging that this had limited Petronas's ability to reinvest and pay dividends. 'Minimal' Investment"These subsidized gas prices have resulted in minimal investments in the exploration of gas projects by oil and gas players, constraining growth in supply capacity," Petronas said in today's statement. "In recent years, demand for gas has increased by more than 30 percent, buoyed by the introduction of regulated prices in 1997 that has lagged concomitant increases in market prices." The nation's crude and natural gas production has fallen for two straight years, declining to the equivalent of 1.63 million barrels of oil a day in the year ended March 31 from 1.66 million a day a year earlier, according to Petronas's annual report. It didn't name its production-sharing partners for the North Malay Basin project. The gas fields are located within Blocks PM301 and PM302 in the Bergading contract area, about 300 kilometers off the country's peninsula, it said. The investment will be undertaken on an "accelerated" basis, with the first delivery of 100 million cubic feet of gas per day expected by early 2013, rising to 250 million by 2015, according to the e-mailed statement. |
| 4 jailed for gang-rape of Malaysian student Posted: 23 Aug 2011 04:09 PM PDT (New Straits Times) - Four wealthy Russians cheered a gang rape like "professional footballers celebrating the scoring of a goal", a judge said today as he jailed them for a total of 36 years.
(Clockwise, from top left) Oleg Ivanov, 23, Norayr Davtyan, 22, Armen Simonyan, 19, and Gregory Melnikov, 23, denied raping the teenager but were unanimously convicted yesterday after an eight-week trial. Oleg Ivanov and Gregory Andreev Melnikov, both 23, Norayr Davtyan, 22, and Armen Simonyan, 19, filmed the sickening attack on an 18-year old Malaysian fellow student at their £30,000 (RM147,000)-a-year boarding school using an iPhone. Ringleader Davtyan was jailed for 10 years, Melnikov for nine years and Ivanov and Simonyan for eight years apiece at Woolwich Crown Court yesterday. In the course of the "disgusting" attack they egged each other on by saying: "You're not going to marry her." Judge Peter Murphy said: "The iPhone footage shows what can only be described as a callous disregard for the victim as a human being and indeed as anything other than an object of their own pleasure. "(The victim) in my judgment certainly is heard to utter the word 'no' on a number of occasions. Whatever the case of her condition, it is clear as I think it must have been to the defendants that she was in no position to decide whether to consent or not to consent, or to resist what was going on. No one who has seen that footage can leave this trial without feeling complete disgust towards it."
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| Vell Paari’s Aussie firm crisis Posted: 23 Aug 2011 03:53 PM PDT
Claims of misappropriation of funds, missing files, non-payment of salaries (The Malay Mail) - An internal financial crackdown of MIC central working committee member S. Vell Paari's Western Australia-based 4WD auto company is underway following allegations of misappropriation of millions of ringgit, missing accounting files and "stolen" intellectual property manuals. Three Australian authorities, in the meantime, are investigating his company for non-payment of staff salaries, unpaid superannuation — a retirement and pensions programme — and alleged violation of investment procedures. Vell Paari told The Malay Mail international audit firm KPMG was conducting forensic examination on the finances of OKA Motor Co., the trading name of Reymer Pty Ltd, that Vell Paari controls. The audit is also to protect the company's intellectual property in the form of manuals to manufacture all-terrain trucks and tour buses. The manuals, valued at RM80 million, were discovered missing recently, he said. Vell Paari said millions in company funds have also been siphoned out of Australia into a private account in Europe. In the case of the manuals, he said, sabotage was suspected. "The manuals that were stored in a computer server are currently being rebuilt." On the missing accounting files, he said except for those over the past two years, files from previous years had gone missing. The son of former MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu was speaking to The Malay Mail on claims his auto company had collapsed. "The company has not collapsed. Matters have come to a standstill until we have cleared this mess," he declared. He said: "Majority of the employees have now been paid their salaries except for those whose claims have to be verified by the auditors. "Payments to certain creditors are also disputable and I suspect their accounts are shady. We are putting everything in order and are co-operating with the authorities to get to the root of the problems." He said the irregularities came to light in an internal investigation into complaints of nonpayment of staff salaries over the past two-and-a-half-months. Vell Paari said an email sent to him by an employee raising concerns over non-payment of salaries triggered the internal action. "I suspected irregularities as we had money from sales of allterrain vehicles while the company was still focused on research and development on a new range of vehicles. "It was then we discovered millions have been siphoned out of Australia into a private account." He claimed OKA chief financial officer Tom Ksserkas had owned up to the auditors that he had misappropriated company funds. The chief executive officer, Arthur Gold, resigned soon after the forensics audit was commissioned, he added. He accused both men for the current state of affairs. "I was not responsible for the unpaid wages. "I might be company chairman and have other ventures in Australia but I don't get involved in daily operations as I spend most of my time in Kuala Lumpur. Further, I don't have a working visa there." Vell Paari said he expected a full report from the auditors soon after which he would make police reports against those responsible. In the meantime, he said, operations at the plant in Bibra Lake have ground to a halt to facilitate investigations. At least 20 workers have been retrenched. He said he was liaising with Fair Work Ombudsman that is looking into allegations of unpaid salaries. "I am aware the workers had also lodged a claim with the Australian Taxation office for unpaid superannuation. "A complaint has also been filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and I am in touch with the authorities." Vell Paari said moves were in progress to relocate the manufacturing plant to Malaysia. He said he has hired a new COO, an Indian national with expertise in armoured and non-armoured vehicles for Indonesian military, to head the operations in Malaysia from October.
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| From POLITICO - Justin Smith steps down from FBC Media board Posted: 23 Aug 2011 03:39 PM PDT
Ben Smith and I report on the main site how The Atlantic has become the latest media company to get tangled in the scandal surrounding FBC Media, a British company on whose board Atlantic Media Co. President Justin Smith sat until the bad press moved him to resign.
"I have directed a full review of The Atlantic's dealings with him, and the responsibility at The Atlantic for any problems it might uncover will be mine. It is my job to safeguard at all costs The Atlantic's reputation for editorial integrity."
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| Beng Hock’s family challenges RCI suicide verdict Posted: 23 Aug 2011 02:13 PM PDT
By Boo Su-Lyn, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 — Teoh Beng Hock's family applied for a judicial review against the royal commission of inquiry's (RCI) conclusion that the political aide committed suicide in 2009. The application was made at the High Court today. The family's lawyer Gobind Singh Deo pointed out that there was no testimony on what happened to Teoh, between 3.30am and 7am on July 16, 2009, the crucial hours before he was eventually found dead outside the then Selangor Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office in Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam. "If you do not know for sure what happened, how can you come to these findings?" asked Gobind at a press conference after filing the application for leave today. The RCI, which was chaired by sitting Federal Court judge Tan Sri James Foong, found that Teoh was driven to suicide after relentless questioning by anti-graft officers. The five-man panel wrapped up its report on June 15 after having heard testimony from 70 witnesses in its bid to unravel the mysterious circumstances behind Teoh's death. Former Court of Appeal judge Datuk N.H. Chan has called the three judges on the five-man panel "three blind mice" for concluding that Teoh killed himself despite lacking expert opinion. A copy of the judicial review provided to the press today quoted the RCI as saying in its report: "We believe something had happened between 3.30am (after Teoh Beng Hock's statement was recorded) and 7.00am (the earliest estimate of his time of death) on July 16, 2009, that drove Teoh Beng Hock to suicide." Teoh's family said it was obvious that the RCI did not know what had happened to Teoh at that time before the former aide to Selangor executive councillor, Ean Yong Hian Wah, plunged nine floors to his death. Gobind also questioned the lack of action against three MACC officers whom the RCI said had pressured Teoh into committing suicide.
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| PAS ready to face lawsuit over 'UMNO hand' in church affair Posted: 23 Aug 2011 01:07 PM PDT (Harakah Daily) - PAS president Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang has given his backing to secretary general Mustafa Ali over the latter's claim that UMNO had a hand in the controversy surrounding the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) and the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC). The claim has infuriated Selangor UMNO, who threatened to file a RM10 million suit against Mustafa if he refused to apologise. Mustafa however twice rejected the demand for apology, saying he had ample proof to be presented in court.
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| Bumi quota may bloat MRT project cost, say experts Posted: 23 Aug 2011 11:41 AM PDT By Boo Su-Lyn, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 — A 30 per cent Bumiputera quota for the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) construction packages may swell the cost of the multi-billion ringgit rail project, say experts. RAM Holdings chief economist Dr Yeah Kim Leng said some small Bumiputera contractors may not be able to leverage on economy of scale in terms of equipment and resources. "The smaller ones don't have that scale economy. Costs will be higher," Yeah told The Malaysian Insider. He said six out of the 16 packages for elevated civil works and stations, as well as the Kajang depot work package, were reserved for Bumiputeras. Twenty-eight firms including heavyweights such as Sunway Bhd, IJM Bhd and MRCB have been shortlisted for the construction of the first phase of the MRT project. Political analyst James Chin pointed out that the Bumiputera quota would increase costs due to a smaller pool of competitors. "The Bumiputera portion will be confined to Bumiputeras only. If you know that the competition is for Bumiputeras only, they'll increase prices because they (the government) cannot buy from anyone else," Chin told The Malaysian Insider.
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| Anwar is like a Renaissance man who likes ‘naked men’, says Utusan Posted: 23 Aug 2011 11:25 AM PDT
By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 — Utusan Malaysia mocked Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today and likened him to Renaissance era artists such as Michaelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci who "like fully naked men and handsome young boys." Its assistant chief editor Datuk Zaini Hassan wrote in the Umno-owned newspaper that the opposition leader's "32-page statement was as usual, complete with quotes from the Quran, former South African President Nelson Mandela, Shakespeare and many others," in reference to Anwar's unsworn testimony from the dock during his sodomy trial on Monday."Anwar wants to be known as The Renaissance Man of the new millennium. He has even written a book called The Asian Renaissance," Zaini wrote in his Cuit column today. He stated in the Malay daily that Michaelangelo and Leonardo "like fully naked men and handsome young boys" and asked readers to look up their works, such as the statue of David and the sketch of the Vitruvian Man — both naked depictions — on online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Anwar is currently fighting a sodomy charge levelled against him by his former aide Mohamed Saiful Bukhari Azlan who was 22 when the alleged incident happened in 2008. The former deputy prime minister said in a nearly two-hour testimony from the dock on Monday that this second sodomy charge was a "conspiracy by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak" and denied ever having sex with Saiful. PKR later said that its de facto leader's decision to enter an unsworn statement in his defence was an act of protest against "the legal and political establishment's" trumped-up charges, following in the footsteps of Mandela, who also took the same course of action when charged with treason in 1963. But Zaini mocked the Permatang Pauh MP, writing that "Anwar using Mandela's words? Does he want to be known as the Malayan Mandela?" "He wants his speech to be in high language, with jargon and philosophy, making reporters dizzy... unlike his former boss Dr Mahathir who would use simple language, whether Malay or English," he wrote in the Malay daily.
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