Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Selangor MCA: Sack Hasan for audio Bible comment
- MCA public forum on hudud on 4 Dec
- Najib: BN continues to be a brand that is accepted
- Dr M says Umno must befriend Perkasa to regain Malay votes
- Dr M says he is still relevant
- Hisham rebuts Dr M, says Umno has improved
- Najib launches social media group to intensify BN's cyber campaign
- NFC scandal: Entire cabinet in the dock
- Najib: 5-6% growth possible for this year
- MCA dares PR states to hold elections with GE-13
- Pro-BN online users our new army, says Najib
- Warnings as sustainable palm oil effort falters
- Peaceful Assembly Act to be tabled this week
- RM250m NFC award without Cabinet approval disturbing, says PKR
- Dr M says Umno weak and damaged
| Selangor MCA: Sack Hasan for audio Bible comment Posted: 19 Nov 2011 08:41 PM PST (The Star) - Selangor MCA has challenged Pakatan Rakyat to fire state executive councillor Datuk Dr Hasan Ali for his statement implying that Christians are using audio Bibles to spread their religion to Muslims. Such accusations could undermine religious harmony, said Selangor MCA secretary Wong Koon Mun. He added that Dr Hasan should be removed from his post for claiming that solar-powered "hand-held audio Bibles" were being used to convert Muslims. "Such remarks promote religious polarisation," he added. Wong also called on Selangor PAS to refer Dr Hasan to the party's disciplinary committee. "The Pakatan Rakyat government should also reprimand Dr Hasan. Or are PAS and its Pakatan Rakyat allies afraid of acting against Dr Hasan?" Wong also chided Selangor PAS commissioner Dr Abdul Rani Osman for dismissing the issue as a "small matter". Dr Hasan told the state assembly on Thursday that the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) had found a solar-powered "hand-held audio Bible" used to spread Christianity among Muslims in the state.
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| MCA public forum on hudud on 4 Dec Posted: 19 Nov 2011 08:33 PM PST (The Star) - MCA think-tank, the Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research (Insap), will be organising a half-day forum on the hudud law. Themed "Hudud and Its Implications on Non-Muslims in Malaysia", the forum on Dec 4 will see party president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek presenting the keynote address as well as the closing remarks. "The forum is aimed at exploring in detail the legal, socio-political and economic implications of hudud in a multi-racial society, and discussing the likely impact of a dual criminal law system in Malaysia. The forum, which will be conducted in English in Wisma MCA, is free and open to all. Those interested can register by sending an e-mail to info.insap@gmail.com or fax a name list to 03-2161 3701. For further enquiries, contact Insap at 03-2161 5621/6201.
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| Najib: BN continues to be a brand that is accepted Posted: 19 Nov 2011 08:28 PM PST (Bernama) - Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Barisan Nasional (BN), as a brand, will continue to receive public acceptance as long as its product and services fulfill the people's requirement. The Prime Minister said the success of the Barisan Nasional Youth Job Fair (BNYJF) at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), here proved that the BN brand continued to be accepted especially among the young generation.
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| Dr M says Umno must befriend Perkasa to regain Malay votes Posted: 19 Nov 2011 08:22 PM PST (The Malaysian Insider) Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said Umno cannot afford to make enemies with Malay rights groups such as Perkasa if it is to regain the crucial Malay vote in a general election expected soon. The former prime minister said in an interview published by Utusan Malaysia today that the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) had suffered landmark losses in Election 2008 because "Malays did not support BN." "If only Chinese support, it will not be enough. In many areas where Chinese are split, Malays will decide who wins," Dr Mahathir was quoted as saying in the newspaper's Sunday edition, Mingguan Malaysia. The former Umno president, who is still highly influential in Umno, said many Malay non-governmental organisations wanted to support the party but were forced to take up issues that were not championed by the senior partner in the ruling coalition. "Umno cannot afford to view Perkasa as the enemy. We cannot afford to have many enemies at this point," Dr Mahathir, who is also Perkasa's patron, said. He also said Umno had a problem attracting Malays as high-calibre members of the community "are not accepted in Umno, so they join PAS." Umno goes into what is likely to be its last general assembly before a general election expected early next year. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is said to need a marked improvement from the last polls to retain his position and only a return of BN's customary two-thirds majority of Parliament can guarantee he remains in office. BN ceded 82 federal seats and five state governments to the opposition in the landmark March 2008 election. |
| Dr M says he is still relevant Posted: 19 Nov 2011 08:22 PM PST (The Malaysian Insider) - Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed has insisted his views are still relevant despite having stepped down as prime minister eight years ago. Saying although many people criticised him as such and called him conservative, the policies introduced during his premiership had benefited many people and its positive effects could still be seen today. "In my blog there are Malays who say that I am old and irrelevant. But I know my views are still relevant because those who say such things, would not be where they are without (government) assistance," the country's longest-serving premier said in an interview published by Mingguan Malaysia today. The Umno-owned newspaper quoted him as saying that those who criticised him actually benefited from pro-Bumiputera polices under the New Economic Policy (NEP) introduced in 1970. Dr Mahathir, a staunch proponent of Malay rights, has been heavily criticised by civil rights groups as well as opposition lawmakers, and has even been labelled as racist. Today, he said Malays did not take away all of the rights of the Chinese under the NEP. "Through the policy, we gave half to the Malays and gave some to the Chinese as well. "But Malays don't dare say that now, that we gave to the Chinese in the past," he added. After stepping down as PM eight years ago, Dr Mahathir had been vociferous in his criticism of the government policies of his handpicked successor, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. He has also sporadically spoken out on some of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's policies.
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| Hisham rebuts Dr M, says Umno has improved Posted: 19 Nov 2011 08:20 PM PST By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein dismissed today Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's claim that Umno has not improved since Election 2008 and was unable to garner Malay support. The former Umno president had said in an interview with Utusan Malaysia that Umno was a pale shadow of its former glory, and that it currently lacked good, credible leaders. But Umno vice president Hishammuddin told reporters "this is not something unique to Umno. I do not deny that this will hamper our process... but we are going through a revision and transformation." He said that it was not unusual for Dr Mahathir to throw out challenges and ideas for the party ahead of a general assembly, and that party members would need to rise to the occasion. Hishammuddin said that today's special presidential briefing by Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak showed that the party was getting ready for the upcoming general election. "This will answer a part of Tun's concerns," the home minister added. Dr Mahathir was quoted by Umno-owned newspaper Utusan Malaysia today as saying "Umno became badly damaged when Tun Abdullah Badawi took over." "Because he prioritised his family and there were so many corruption allegations. And everyone knew about his son-in-law's involvement," he said, referring to Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin. "This damaged Umno has been inherited by Datuk Seri Najib Razak for him to fix. Umno needs time before it can become stronger. "But he (Najib) is busy and does not have enough time," he said. In one of his harshest remarks against his party, Dr Mahathir said the issue of credible leaders affected Umno's divisional level as well as the central leadership. He said that some Umno leaders were only interested in holding on to a particular post within the party, or wanted to contest in the next general election and did not care about strengthening the party.
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| Najib launches social media group to intensify BN's cyber campaign Posted: 19 Nov 2011 08:19 PM PST (The Star) - Barisan Nasional is stepping up its cyber campaign with the launch of 1Malaysia Social Media Volunteers (myVO1CE), a loose group of social media practitioners who will voluntarily explain the Government's policies and defend them online. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who launched myVO1CE Sunday, said with the advent of social media, the time had come for Barisan to relook its methods of disseminating information to the public. "Social media will enable us to engage with the public directly. "Last time, getting information across to the people on the ground meant going to an open field and asking the Information Department to set up a stage and microphones," he said at the 1Malaysia Social Media Convention in Putra World Trade Centre here. At the first ever such convention, Najib also gave the pro-Barisan social media users "official recognition", calling them the new army for the party in the virtual world. "So this is your role as cyber warriors. Our social media army can 'turun padang' (get to the ground), but not by rolling up your sleeves and trouser legs. "Bring out your iPads, iPhones, Blackberries and laptops. These are our weapons as the cyber warriors," he said to applause by the some 2,000 participants. Meanwhile, one of the convention's committee members, Hulu Selangor MP P. Kamalanathan, reminded social media users and bloggers on both sides of the political divide to remain ethical.
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| NFC scandal: Entire cabinet in the dock Posted: 19 Nov 2011 05:42 PM PST NFC supremo should appear before the Parliamentary Accounts Committee to put to rest all questions of impropriety, accountability and integrity. (Lim Kit Siang, Free Malaysia Today) - Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has said that it was up to the public whether they wanted to accept the explanation given for the National Feedlot Corporation's (NFC) "cattle condo" scandal. Saying that the government "already knows the facts", Muhyiddin had this to say after the NFC executive chairman Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail had broken his three-week silence on the "cattle condo" scandal: "We will leave that to the people to decide whether to accept the NFC's explanation or not because the NFC has explained each issue that has surfaced. "For us, the government, we know the truth. We don't buy stories made up by the Opposition." Muhyiddin cannot be more wrong. Malaysians not only want to hear what the NFC has got to say, but also what the government and in particular the ministers directly involved in the RM300 million NFC scandal have got to say. For instance, Muhyiddin was the Agriculture Minister who approved the RM300 million NFC project in 2006. Would Muhyiddin have said in 2006 when approving the NFC project then that it was legally, morally and ethically proper for NFC to use 2%-interest RM250 million soft-loan to buy condos? Questions for ministers They must also answer if they thought this is not criminal breach of trust, and if it is not a gross abuse of powers and public funds.
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| Najib: 5-6% growth possible for this year Posted: 19 Nov 2011 05:24 PM PST (Bernama) - KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia can achieve an economic growth of between five and six per cent this year via systematic government planning, matured policies and effective implementation, says Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. Najib, who is also Umno President, said the three vital factors have been proven and was instrumental in the country's development todate. "We have proven that we can bring progress to the nation. The achievement has been possible because Barisan Nasional (BN) is a party that has been tried and tested and has proven its capability in developing the nation. "The achievements, thus far, are meaningful as we had undertaken thorough planning. In the third quarter, we attained 5.8 per cent (Gross Domestic Growth) and (God willing) possibly five to six per cent (growth) for 2011," the prime minister said when closing the BN Youth Job Fair Grand Finale 2011 here today. Najib, who is also BN chairman, said the third quarter growth was evidence enough to counter the opposition. "Some factions says the 5.8 per cent growth is impossible, the opposition says it is not true but we have proven in the third quarter that we have achieved 5.8 per cent growth," he said. The prime minister, who just returned from the Asean Summit in Bali, Indonesia, said Malaysia was lucky that it was still in the developing country category and was capable of creating jobs for its people. This was better than in the United States, which was in the developed nation category, but could not provide employment while Greece and Italy were in the list of countries experiencing an economic contraction and was facing lots of problems. Najib also said the job fair not only offered employment opportunities for fresh graduates but also for those who wanted to switch jobs and a platform for those looking for financial options to start business. The career carnival, which began in March, offered 85,000 jobs opportunities and 24,000 have been filled, to date. |
| MCA dares PR states to hold elections with GE-13 Posted: 19 Nov 2011 05:19 PM PST By Melissa Chi, The Malaysian Insider MCA dared today Pakatan Rakyat-led states to hold simultaneous elections with the next general elections. MCA Youth Chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong claimed that Pakatan Rakyat is not ready for concurrent elections. "Your desire not to dissolve the state assembly until after parliamentary general elections indicates that you are either ill-prepared to meet BN or independent candidates or (you are) acknowledging the administration of public policy is in a mess and that you have flunked in fulfilling elections pledges. "Thus, you know that you cannot contest in simultaneous elections," he said in a statement. Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim had said the state will most likely not participate in the upcoming general elections if it is called before June next year. He said he did not want to short-change the people as the state had just approved its budget for next year. Khalid denied that the state government's decision was a sign of "insecurity" in its ability to remain in power. Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had also said the government would not dissolve its state assembly should the prime minister decide to call for a snap general election. One reason, Lim said, was the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) has yet to finish its hearings and propose details on how to reform the nation's electoral system. The DAP secretary-general, said that the government has also yet to repeal the Internal Security Act (ISA) as promised in September. Lim also said that Najib's administration should be focused on flood prevention and mitigation towards the end of this year, and not on calling for snap polls. Wee said if the Penang and Selangor state governments are prepared to face BN and independent candidates for the polls, "they do not have to politicise deferring the state elections as a tactic against their opponents". The Ayer Itam MP added that it would be wasting taxpayer's funds and making it inconvenient for logistical preparations if there are separate elections. "To hold a state election separate from the general elections is not only time consuming with logistical preparations for the Election Commission, security personnel and political parties and candidates, but more pressing is that these will cause tax payers' pockets to be lighter when huge public expenses need to be utilised.
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| Pro-BN online users our new army, says Najib Posted: 19 Nov 2011 05:17 PM PST By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider Datuk Seri Najib Razak today voiced his unconditional support towards pro-Barisan Nasional bloggers and social media users, calling them Barisan Nasional's (BN) "new army." The BN chief said that the online world is the new battlefront between the opposition and BN and that many people now visited websites, portals and blogs as a means to access information. "Barisan Nasional recognises you all, social media practitioners. You are our fighters, our new army," Najib said today after launching 1 Malaysia Social Media Convention here. The prime minister said that BN leaders and members need to be able to adapt to changing times by becoming affluent with social media if it wanted to remain relevant. Social media has become increasingly important politically with 11.3 million Malaysians on Facebook in the middle of the year, a figure that continues to grow. Najib told attendees here, mostly pro-BN bloggers that they need to explain to Malaysians online of the government's efforts and successes and also to combat the "lies and half-truths" of the opposition. "This is the role of the online warrior, who will go to the ground online using their blackberries, laptops, Ipads. "If we cannot tackle this new wave, we will be swept away," said Najib. He said that he himself was an active online user and strived to keep abreast with the latest technological innovations. As an example, Najib said that he recorded a live recording of himself during his recent Haj pilgrimage using his Iphone 4 and it was broadcast to the public on national television. "If we cannot defend ourselves against the opposition, by default we will lose," added the PM.
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| Warnings as sustainable palm oil effort falters Posted: 19 Nov 2011 02:29 PM PST By Romen Bose,AFP via FMT
KUALA LUMPUR: Environmentalists have warned that an effort to encourage the sustainable production of palm oil launched several years ago has not kept pace with expanding cultivation driven by rising demand. The edible oil is a key ingredient in soap and everyday foods ranging from peanut butter to sweets but its cultivation is one of the biggest threats to the world's dwindling rainforests. The issue will loom large this week at the annual meeting of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil from Nov 22-24 in key producer Malaysia. "Buyers of sustainable palm oil need to buy more. Retailers, manufacturers must up their purchases. We need to walk the talk and now buy the palm oil we have long demanded," Adam Harrison, agriculture policy specialist with WWF, told AFP. Despite some progress, major users of palm oil are not making enough effort to source and buy sustainably produced oil, while incentives for green production remain inadequate, green groups say. The mixing of global supply chains also hampers efforts to identify sustainably produced oil. Growers produced 5.2 million tonnes of certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) — accounting for about 10 percent of world supply — last year but only about 56 percent of it was purchased. Palm oil represents about 35 percent of the global vegetable oil market and production is expected to double in the next 40 years due to its versatility, relatively high oil yields compared to alternatives, and economic importance to local communities. Environmentalists say the consequences for rainforests in major producers Malaysia and Indonesia — which account for 85 percent of world production — and other producing nations will be dire unless the situation changes. Virgin forests are typically cleared to make way for palm plantations that stretch to the horizon in many parts of Malaysia and Indonesia. The forest loss contributes to climate change and further imperils threatened species like the orangutan while land disputes between local communities and large palm producers seeking to expand cultivation are rising. The palm oil gathering in Kota Kinabalu in Malaysian Borneo comes at a "pivotal moment in time" in efforts to make sustainable production the norm," RSPO Secretary General Darrel Webber said in a statement. Launched in 2004, the RSPO brought together producers, manufacturers and other stakeholders to create global standards for sustainable palm oil. But even Webber acknowledged the need for a "significant increase of market commitment towards the uptake of CSPO." The sustainable label is subject to a range of criteria including refraining from clearing virgin forests. Getting big buyers The key lies in getting big buyers of palm oil on board, said RSPO advisor MR Chandran. Consumer products giant Unilever, McDonald's, Burger King and others have pledged to use only sustainable palm oil by 2015. In addition, under a sustainability programme called GreenPalm, growers are awarded certificates for eco-friendly oil. These can then be purchased by big manufacturers or retailers as proof of their green practices.
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| Peaceful Assembly Act to be tabled this week Posted: 19 Nov 2011 02:20 PM PST By Rahimy Rahim, The Star The Government will table the Peaceful Assembly Act this week as part of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's political reform plans. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said the bill was aimed to regulate peaceful public gathering and has assured that the regulations were enacted in accordance with the Federal Constitution. "We studied several templates of other countries' freedom of assembly laws, including from the United Kingdom, France and Belgium, before we decided to implement it. "This shows that we are serious about reforming and protecting the rights of Malaysians," he told The Star, when contacted Sunday. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak recently motioned to repeal two of the oldest security laws in the country, the Restricted Residence Act and the Banishment Act in Oct. |
| RM250m NFC award without Cabinet approval disturbing, says PKR Posted: 19 Nov 2011 02:12 PM PST By Melissa Chi, The Malaysian Insider PKR questioned today how the government could award a RM250 million project like the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) project without Cabinet approval. PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (picture) told reporters today she was "perturbed by the fact that the Cabinet was not involved in making the decision in the first place (as the Agriculture Minister stated)." "That gives a lot of questions as to how a disbursement of RM250 million of public money is done," she said. Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Datuk Seri Noh Omar denied yesterday that the decision to award the cattle farming project was discussed during Cabinet meetings. He said the issue was only discussed by the Cabinet's High-Impact Projects Committee. PKR had demanded that the Najib administration disclose all Cabinet meeting minutes from 2006 onwards to determine if minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil was directly involved in the decision to award the NFC project to her family. PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli had pointed out Datuk Mohamad Salleh Ismail, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat's husband, had not denied a single allegation and merely offered explanations for the discrepancies in the project. He said the NFC executive chairman had made three major admissions when addressing the issue on Thursday — that his company had no experience in the cattle farming industry prior to the project award; that the RM250 million government loan had not been accompanied by a repayment schedule; and that the company had purchased "not one, but two" luxury condominium units for a whopping RM13.8 million in total. The cattle farming project kicked off in 2008.
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| Dr M says Umno weak and damaged Posted: 19 Nov 2011 02:08 PM PST By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider Umno has not made any effective improvements since Election 2008 general and is unable to garner support from Malays, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed has said ahead of the party's general assembly at the end of the month. The party's longest-serving president was quoted by its newspaper Utusan Malaysia today saying Umno currently lacked good, credible leaders and that it was a pale shadow of its former glory. "Umno became badly damaged when Tun Abdullah Badawi took over. Because he prioritised his family and there were so many corruption allegations. And everyone knew about his son-in-law's involvement," he said, referring to Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin. "This damaged Umno has been inherited by Datuk Seri Najib Razak for him to fix. Umno needs time before it can become stronger. "But he (Najib) is busy and does not have enough time," he added in an interview published in the Malay daily's Sunday edition Mingguan Malaysia. In one of his harshest's remarks against his party, Dr Mahathir said the issue of credible leaders affected Umno's divisional level as well as the central leadership. He said that some Umno leaders were only interested in holding on to a particular post within the party, or wanted to contest in the next general election and did not care about strengthening the party. "Each person is only looking after his own...what's important should not be the individual but the party. If this goes on Umno will lose, Umno will not rule and all of us will not gain anything." The former prime minister remained sceptical about Umno's upcoming assembly, saying that he doubted party leaders would actually use it as a platform to resolve outstanding issues. One of the other problems affecting Umno, he said was its inability to respond to issues and accusations brought by the opposition. "We won narrowly in the 2008 GE, that makes Umno weak. When someone is weak is it easy for other people to attack. "If we can respond it is fine but it becomes a problem when we cannot respond," he said, explaining that for example if there were allegations of cronyism within the government, there should be a detailed explanation to alleviate any doubts on the matter. He said that with a damaged Umno, Malays were already losing power in the country.
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