| Jais, cops raid church over multi-racial dinner Posted: 03 Aug 2011 11:05 AM PDT 
By Boo Su-Lyn, The Malaysian Insider PETALING JAYA, Aug 4 — The police and Selangor religious authorities raided a multi-racial dinner at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) here last night over an unspecified complaint. DUMC senior pastor Dr Daniel Ho said about 30 police officers and enforcement officers from the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) entered the church without a warrant at 10pm. Ho explained that an NGO called Harapan Komuniti had organised an annual thanksgiving dinner at the church, which saw an attendance of between 100 and 120 guests of all races. "This is a dinner for people to come in the 1 Malaysia spirit," Ho told The Malaysian Insider late last night. "They were mainly Christians... there were about 15 or so Malays," he said. On its website, Harapan Komuniti describes itself as a non-profit organisation that provides disaster relief and helps single mothers, children and AIDS patients regardless of race. Ho said the authorities did not arrest anyone, but seized the function's programme sheets and questioned the dinner organisers and guests. "(They came in) on the pretext of a complaint and said somebody made a complaint," said the pastor. He pointed out, however, that the authorities did not explain what the complaint was. Last night's raid in the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state came after Malaysia sealed formal ties with the Vatican last month, seen as a high point in religious relations where Muslims are the majority. READ MORE HERE. |
| The Season of Blundering Buffoons Posted: 02 Aug 2011 11:14 PM PDT 
By Masterwordsmith
While some might think the dust is settling after the release of the EO6, a storm could be brewing instead. Following the gross mishandling of the Bersih 2.0 rally and post-Bersih events, BN has been scurrying to execute damage control but to no avail. Why? Legal or Illegal?
To declare Bersih 2.0 as an illegal organization is a big mistake because it is not an organization but a coalition of 62 organizations which are LEGALLY registered.
There is no necessity for a coalition to be registered. All they did was to come together to pursue certain electoral reforms for a stronger and more democratic system. For that matter, Pakatan Rakyat is also not registered but is it considered illegal since it is a coalition of 3 legally registered parties?
If there are defects in any system such as the judiciary, the police or the bureaucracy, responsible citizens have to push for changes. Is anything wrong with that?
Bear in mind that the King met with Bersih 2.0 Chairperson S.Ambiga and not Ibrahim Ali.
What does that tell us?
Besides, the IGP also said that Bersih 2.0 could have the rally at the Shah Alam Stadium. Even then, the Bernama statement has contradictions. Details HERE.
So why and when did it become illegal? Simple - when they perceived that the organizers had defied them. When threatened, logic and reason fizzle into thin air and then the seeds of fear would be sown.
Blundering Buffoons
To that end, 30 PSM leaders and members were arrested for allegedly being in possession of 600 photocopies of Bersih pamphlets and subversive documents. Six were held for 28 days without trial under the draconian Emergency Ordinance 1969 and were released last Friday. However, the 30 face charges under the Societies Act pertaining to the Bersih 2.0 pamphlets and the Internal Security Act for the subversive documents.
Ironically, Malaysia sits on the UN Human Rights Council and still practises the ISA and the Emergency Ordinance. What a farce!
As a result of the many blunders made in the pre and post Bersih period, the international media went to town as they highlighted the manner in which the authorities handled the rally. The season of blunders continued when the PM announced that the Government is committed to electoral reforms and ensuring that parliamentary democracy is forever maintained. READ MORE HERE. |
| The Bumiputera race torpedoed the Putrajaya race Posted: 02 Aug 2011 10:46 PM PDT 
Many sceptics, especially from Umno, pooh-poohed Anwar's '16 September' announcement. Many, even from the opposition, were puzzled as to why Anwar made such as announcement even if it were true. Would it not have been better to keep silent and make a surprise move instead of tipping off the other side and allow them to block the move? NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin I have written many things in the past, some of which have been regarded as mere speculation because of the absence of tangible evidence. As usual, all we need to do is to wait for the evidence to surface by itself. And with the latest Wikileaks revelation published today, what was said back then begins to make sense today. Regarding Anwar Ibrahim's 'failure' to make good his '16 September' promise, I emphasised that he could not get enough Bumiputera or Malay Members of Parliament to cross over. This would of course mean MPs from Umno. Note: In West Malaysia, the Umno MPs would be Malay-Muslims while in East Malaysia, they would not necessary be Malay-Muslims because non-Muslim 'natives' are also regarded as Bumiputeras over there. Many sceptics, especially from Umno, pooh-poohed Anwar's '16 September' announcement. Many, even from the opposition, were puzzled as to why Anwar made such as announcement even if it were true. Would it not have been better to keep silent and make a surprise move instead of tipping off the other side and allow them to block the move? They thought that Anwar was bluffing. It was a sort of poker play to get the other side to panic. Then, if it didn't happen, he could always blame the other side for blocking the move. At worse they will say Anwar made a mistake by announcing it too prematurely, thereby allowing the other side to block the move. The sceptics thought he was bluffing and the believers thought he was not bluffing but erred by announcing it too early. Actually, Anwar did have the numbers -- the 30 Barisan Nasional MPs he needed to form the federal government. But there was a problem in getting them to make the first move. Everyone wanted the others to make the first move and if it is proven Anwar had the numbers, and it appeared like the federal government was going to fall, then they would follow. In short, no one wanted to be the first in case Anwar fell short of the 30 he promised and needed. If they made the first move and then Anwar failed, they would be left in the open to get killed. It is like in an army charging the enemy through an open field. When you shout "charge!" and only a few respond you will get massacred. Everyone has to charge at the same time. So you play safe and watch who charges first. Only when everyone charges do you join the charge from the safety of the rear. So those Barisan MPs from East Malaysia were waiting to see who from West Malaysia were going to jump and the Barisan MPs from West Malaysia were waiting to see who from East Malaysia were going to jump. In the end no one jumped because all were waiting for the others to jump first. They should have done it like in the movie 'Titanic' when Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet made their deal -- 'you jump, I jump'. In the end both did not jump anyway right until the time the ship sank. If only Anwar could have arranged for all 30 to jump at the same time rather than 'you jump first and I will follow' then 16 September would have happened. No one wanted to be the first. All wanted to be in the 'I will follow once enough people jump' group. That was the first obstacle Anwar faced. The second obstacle was the racial composition because once the 30 Barisan MPs jumped, and added to the 82 already in Pakatan, the racial composition would be in favour of non-Malays or non-Muslims. In other words, the non-Malays-non-Muslims would outnumber the Malays-Muslims. This was acceptable to PAS and DAP. Yes, even PAS had no problems if the new Pakatan federal government was a non-Malay-non-Muslim majority government and the Malays-Muslims were reduced to a minority. It was Anwar who feared that this may raise allegations that the Malays-Muslims have 'lost' political power to the non-Malays-non-Muslims. In short, Anwar had cold feet. He wanted to make sure that the Malays-Muslims in the new government would remain the majority and not be reduced to a minority. Unless these 30 were Umno Malay-Muslim MPs, this was impossible. So Anwar needed Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (Ku Li) to join the gang so that more Umno Malay-Muslims would cross over. Then the new Pakatan federal government would be a Malay-Muslim majority government. Ku Li, however, would only agree to join the gang if he could become the new Prime Minister. That was virtually impossible as Anwar also wanted to become Prime Minister. However, Ku Li was prepared to hold the post of Prime Minister for just one term and then hand it over to Anwar. Ironically, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (Pak Lah) also agreed along similar lines when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad handed him the baton. However, once Pak Lah became Prime Minister, he liked the job too much to hand it over after just one term. So Dr Mahathir had to kick him out in the end to get him to leave. So, what was revealed in the Wikileaks cable today is very true. September 16 could have happened but it did not because of the factors discussed earlier. The question that remains is why did Anwar announce it too early when the loose ends had yet to be tied up? Well, Anwar needed to give the 30 Barisan MPs confidence and assure them that it was going to happen. So he made that announcement in the hope that now they would feel confident enough to jump. But Barisan MPs are not the bravest people alive. They were prepared to support the winner. They were prepared to jump, to cross over. But they would only do it if Anwar could kick out Barisan and take over the federal government. This was a Catch 22 situation. The 30 Barisan MPs would join Pakatan if Pakatan could form the new federal government. But Anwar needed them to cross over first before BEFORE he could kick out Barisan and form a new Pakatan federal government. Consequently, nothing happened. Even then, if they had all agreed to jump together, Anwar still needed to make sure that most of them were from Umno rather than from the non-Malay based parties. And that was another problem. Umno people don't come cheap. You need to pay a lot of money to buy them over. And 30 MPs from Umno would have cost Anwar hundreds of millions of Ringgit. Where would the money come from? He would have needed to get his hands on the RM500,000 submarine commission to be able to buy the 30 Umno MPs. And there was no way Razak Baginda was going to hand over the submarine commission to Anwar to enable him to buy the 30 Umno MPs. And that was the saga of 16 September, the take-over of the federal government that never came to pass. It was a good plan but one with too many loose ends that required too much money. And Wikileaks today confirmed this. |
| Anwar confirms met Ku Li, denies bid to coax defection Posted: 02 Aug 2011 08:39 PM PDT 
(The Malaysian Insider) - Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim admitted meeting Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah "before" and "after" his failed September 16, 2008 takeover bid, but he denied enticing the Kelantan prince to defect to Pakatan Rakyat (PR). The PR de facto leader refuted today a Wikileaks' leaked US diplomatic cable which said that he (Anwar) had continued to claim Putrajaya through crossovers by seeking Tengku Razaleigh's support. Anwar told The Malaysian Insider that his meeting with the Gua Musang MP was no secret, and that it was merely to discuss "political issues." "There was a meeting, it is public knowledge, I met him (Tengku Razaleigh) before and after September 16. "(But) we met because he wanted to be informed about issues, political issues," Anwar said, and repeatedly stressed that there was no discussion about any form of crossovers. "No, not like that. Not in that form," Anwar added. The leaked cable said that Anwar's efforts were "inconclusive" as the Kelantan prince was said to be eyeing the prime minister's spot personally. In the cable, US ambassador James R. Keith told his government that the opposition leader had only altered his tone but not his goal nor his tactics, and had even stayed in contact with then prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi through Khairy Jamaluddin before Datuk Seri Najib Razak took over in 2009. PKR party leaders Chua Tian Chang (Tian Chua) and R. Sivarasa purportedly confirmed this when met by "polcouns", or political counsellors, separately in November 3 and 5, believed to be in 2008, but added that their leader had relaxed his pace to a "lower key approach" after his failed September 16 plan. But Anwar also denied today that he contacted Abdullah through Khairy. "No, what the report (leaked cable) says is not right. There is no basis," he told The Malaysian Insider. The Rembau MP himself has refuted the leaked cable's report, and said that he has "never met Anwar" secure the opposition's support for Abdullah's reform legacy before the prime minister stepped down from office in 2009. The leaked US cable also said that Anwar had lost significant political momentum after the debacle but PKR planned to recoup its losses by finding ways to weaken the new administration, to be helmed by Najib in April 2009, with scandals like the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu and the Eurocopter aircraft purchase. READ MORE HERE |
| PKR denies tactic to smear Najib Posted: 02 Aug 2011 06:34 PM PDT  By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider Former PKR vice president Sivarasa Rasiah has denied that the opposition had planned a smear campaign against Datuk Seri Najib Razak after an attempt to secure federal government through defections on September 16, 2008 had failed. The Subang MP told the Malaysian Insider today that such a strategy was never part of Pakatan Rakyat's (PR) plans as stated in a leaked United States diplomatic cable. "Whatever information we brought up was already made public. There was no such deliberate strategy to scandalise Najib," he said this afternoon. Sivarasa, who is now a member of the party's political bureau, was said to have told US political officers that Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim remained determined to take over federal government through defections before Najib took over the reins in April 2009 from then prime minister Tun Abdullah Badawi. US ambassador to Malaysia James Keith had written to his government that along with current vice president Chua Tian Chang, Sivarasa had said that Anwar was "focused on preempting Najib's takeover if possible, because they believe Najib would invoke authoritarian measures to scuttle the Opposition before the next national elections." "In the months ahead, PKR would look for opportunities to weaken support for Najib and the government... using new information linking Najib to scandals, like the Altantuya case and the Eurocopter purchase," the cable stated. But Sivarasa insisted that "after September 16, there was no longer any attempt to take over by defections. It ended there." The opposition pact has persistently linked Najib to the gruesome 2006 murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shariibuu, the mistress of Abdul Razak Baginda, said to be a close aide of the prime minister. The case was also linked to the RM7 billion purchase of two Scorpene submarines from a French defence firm when Najib was still defence minister in 2002, a deal that is still being investigated by French courts for an alleged RM500 million kickback to Abdul Razak's Perimekar Sdn Bhd. READ MORE HERE |
| Pathologist says Sarbaini slipped and fell Posted: 02 Aug 2011 06:26 PM PDT  By Melissa Chi, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 — The lead forensic pathologist in the death of Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed told the inquest today that the Customs officer had slipped and fell to his death at the offices of the national graftbusters. Ahmad Sarbaini, the Selangor Customs assistant director, is believed to have fallen from the third floor pantry of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office in Jalan Cochrane here on April 6 and landed on the badminton court on the first floor. Professor Dr Shahrom Abd Wahid, 54, is the lead forensic pathologist for the case and a forensic pathology lecturer at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. He told the court he was involved in the overall supervision of the autopsy and crime scene investigations. "The re-enactment by the stuntman showed it was probable for the deceased person to have fallen backward when his right foot slipped from the window lower ledge and the left foot reactively kicked the edge of the ledge," he said in the post-mortem report, citing a diagonal white paint mark on Ahmad Sarbaini's left shoe sole. He then told lawyer for Ahmad Sarbaini's family, Awtar Singh, that the deceased had kicked his left foot against ledge as a defence mechanism when he went off balance. Shahrom had performed the second autopsy on Ahmad Sarbaini on April 7, 24 hours after the first one. He explained that the second autopsy was done "to allow detection of any bruises which may become clearer in appearance after 24 hours of death". Based on the evidence found, the autopsy and the re-enactment, Shahrom ruled out the possibility of homicide, suicide, and natural death. "The image visualisation showed that the deceased person landed on his right knees then left knee, almost simultaneously, followed by the right elbow, left wrist, forehead and facial part of the head," he told the court. Shahrom said that severe head injury and skull fractures as well as positional asphyxia may have caused the rapid death of the deceased. He explained positional asphyxia as a condition where there was a lack of oxygen intake due to nose and mouth obstructed by fluid blood. Shahrom said he found no suspicious marks, scratches or injuries on the limbs, body and head, other than those due to the fall. READ MORE HERE. |
| John Malott sahkan dakwaan pembangkang dapat sokongan asing Posted: 02 Aug 2011 06:09 PM PDT 
Oleh Siasah Daily Bekas duta Amerika Syarikat ke Malaysia, John R Malott memudahkan usaha penentang Pakatan Rakyat untuk mengaitkan gabungan parti pembangkang itu dengan sokongan asing, ekoran kenyataan-kenyataannya tanpa henti menunjukkan sokongan kepada pembangkang. Malott yang menjawat jawatan duta AS pada 1996 hingga 1998 bertindak luar biasa dengan memberi tumpuan khusus kepada ketua pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim dan Malaysia lebih 10 tahun selepas dia melepaskan jawatan itu.
Usaha Malott itu mungkin sesuatu yang biasa dalam komuniti dasar luar AS di Washington DC, yang terdiri daripada pelbagai pertubuhan termasuk National Endowment for Democracy, NED yang banyak diperkatakan secara sangat negatif di blog-blog propemerintah pada masa ini.
Kenyataan-kenyataan Malott juga mungkin boleh membantu meningatkan sokongan kumpulan tertentu, seperti kelompok liberal untuk memberi sokongan kepada pembangkang, tetapi memberi peluang mudah untuk kelompok konservatif termasuk kumpulan seperti Perkasa untuk mengaitkan PR dengan agenda asing.
Pada 1998, kenyataan Naib Presiden AS Al Gore menyokong gerakan reformasi telah mencetuskan reaksi yang sama, mengaitkan gerakan menentang pemerintah dengan agenda asing. Malott kini dilihat mengulangi hal yang sama, tetapi dengan lebih tidak berhati-hati.
Malott mengambil setiap peluang untuk melemparkan kritikan terhadap pemerintah, mengulas pelbagai isu termasuk perhimpunan Bersih yang diadakan 9 Julai lalu, di mana-mana ruang yang diperolehi seperti akhbar internet dan akhbar-akhbar di Barat.
Pada masa ini, dengan blog dan kumpulan pendesak konservatif yang lantang bersuara mengulas isu campur tangan asing, tindakan Malott itu dilihat tidak bijak dalam menekan kerajaan Malaysia.
Penentang pembangkang dibekalkan dengan bukti baharu sokongan asing kepada pembangkang melalui kenyataan-kenyataan Malott, yang tidak dibaca oleh sebahagian besar audiens kumpulan konservatif. Gerakan liberal di Malaysia telah sedia dapat dikaitkan dengan bantuan asing, seperti daripada pertubuhan di bawah NED, Open Society Foundations dan pelbagai pertubuhan lain. Kaitan ini terus menjadi bahan kritikan dan manipulasi media baharu proparti pemerintah.
Open Society yang dimiliki dermawan aktivis politik George Soros memberi bantuan kewangan kepada pelbagai media di seluruh dunia, termasuk yang berhaluan kiri, dan berperanan dalam aktivisme demokrasi di seluruh dunia, terutama republik bekas Soviet yang menyaksikan perubahan dalam kebangkitan yang digelar "revolusi warna."
Malott kini manjadi salah satu elemen yang semakin menyukarkan usaha perubahan di Malaysia, ekoran rasa curiga yang tercetus disebabkan kecamannya terhadap pemerintah Malaysia yang dilihat mampu meningkatkan sokongan kepada pembangkang.
Bekas duta AS itu tidak perlu bersuara lagi. Biarlah perubahan di Malaysia ini diusahakan oleh rakyat negara ini tanpa gangguan orang seperti Malott. |
| Muslim NGO to lodge report against Chong Posted: 02 Aug 2011 06:02 PM PDT 
By The Daily Express Kota Kinabalu: Yayasan Islam Sabah said it will be lodging a police report against Dr Chong Eng Leong for "repeatedly instigating matters on racial and religious issues." "The issue of citizenship is a very serious matter, especially when it purportedly aims the Malays and Muslims. The reportedly 70,000 people given citizenship and issued with Malaysian identity cards are Muslim and Malay stocks," said its Chairman, Tan Sri Harris Salleh. In a statement, Monday, Harris said the claim made by Dr Chong was based on taking names from the Electoral Rolls. Unfortunately, Dr Chong only picked the Malay and Muslim names, he said, adding that it was unfair and inciting racial and religious hatred. "Surely the issue of fake or false ICs not only happens to the Malay and Muslims, but also to other races. The proof is that during the late registration exercises out of the 25,000 who were then registered at Tenom and Keningau, overwhelmingly were non-Malays and non-Muslims. "Dr Chong does not see it fit to investigate this racial and religious imbalance?" he asked. Harris said the evidence given by Dr Chong publicly and in the court were mere statements. "The court did not confirm that these were phantom voters, nor any decision confirms these phantom voters were non-citizens. The hearing was all about election petition and not about identity cards. "Therefore, as long as anyone having valid Identity Cards, it is legally valid. There is no question as to whether you are a Malay or Muslim," he said. Yayasan Islam Sabah received many complaints about people going around in the Malay and Muslim settlements in KK asking for evidence that they were newcomers and given identity cards, he said. READ MORE HERE. |
| Ex-Umno MPs want Najib out Posted: 02 Aug 2011 05:55 PM PDT 
By Muda Mohd Noor, FMT
PETALING JAYA: Speculation has been rife that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's position in Umno is under threat. Party insiders have long claimed that the daggers are out, alleging that while in public, support is expressed for the president, behind closed doors his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin with the blessings of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is making his move. The prime minister's grip on power slipped further following the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9 while the controversies surrounding his wife Rosmah Mansor are also taking a toll. Now, an organisation representing former Umno members of Parliament has voiced its lack of confidence in Najib's leadership and wants him to step down. The organisation called Penawar is headed by former Cabinet minister Aziz Shamsuddin, who was Mahathir's political secretary from 1981 to 2002. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Penawar member said the organisation decided in a meeting last week that it is time for Najib to relinquish his post. "It is up to Najib. If he loves the country and the Malays, he should resign as soon as possible. "If he is not a selfish person, then he must quit," the former MP told FMT, adding that the meeting was attended by ex-ministers from the Mahathir era. According to him, Penawar, which represents some 50 ex-MPs, is dissatisfied with Najib's leadership due to several reasons. When pressed, he declined to elaborate on the reasons, stating that these are common knowledge. Contacted later, Aziz, who is Penawar's chairman, declined to comment on the matter but disclosed that the organisation will be holding another meeting tomorrow. Muhyiddin's brother also present? Najib took over the reins in April 2009 and immediately portrayed himself as a moderate leader under his 1Malaysia concept aimed at luring back Chinese and Indian votes. READ MORE HERE |
| CNBC Dumps FBC Media ! Exclusive Posted: 02 Aug 2011 05:50 PM PDT 
By Sarawak Report The global news broadcaster CNBC has axed its flagship business show World Business, following an exclusive expose earlier this week by Sarawak Report.[see previous story] We revealed how BN politicians, including the Prime Minister Najib Razak, Abdullah Badawi and Taib Mahmud have been paying the production company, the UK-based FBC Media, millions of ringgit of taxpayers' money to buy them positive publicity on the show. Allowing slots to be purchased in this way, deceiving millions of viewers who thought they were watching impartial programming, is a serious breach of broadcasting laws, for which broadcasters such as CNBC's parent company, the American broadcasting giant NBC, would be held ultimately responsible. Last night the company's acting chief executive, Charlotte Westgate, made this statement to Sarawak Report confirming the decision to withdraw the show: "In light of serious questions raised last week, CNBC immediately initiated an examination of FBC and its business practices and has withdrawn the programme 'World Business' indefinitely."
Further questions to answer The BBC, who also carry programmes by FBC Media have yet to respond to our enquiries, however it is believed they too have launched an immediate enquiry into the activities of FBC Media. CNN has also carried a number of suspect shows made by FBC, including a number of interviews with Najib by the company's President John Defterios. Meanwhile, there remain many questions that the broadcasters still need to answer. According to broadcasting laws it is the broadcast company that is held ultimately responsible by the licencing authorities for the content of their programmes, so how could they have allowed the corruption of one of their top shows by Malaysia's BN politicians to carry on for so long? Our key questions are these: READ MORE HERE. |
| Khairy says not Pak Lah’s envoy to Anwar Posted: 02 Aug 2011 05:32 PM PDT 
(The Malaysian Insider) - Khairy Jamaluddin has denied that he met with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to secure the opposition's support for Tun Abdullah Badawi's reform legacy before the prime minister stepped down from office in 2009. The Rembau MP told The Malaysian Insider that he "never met Anwar" on behalf of his father-in-law as stated in a leaked United State diplomatic cable. "Abdullah wanted bi-partisan support for the bills. It was important for him and Umno that they were passed," the Umno Youth chief said. The Malaysia Today news portal published the leaked US cable that cited then PKR vice president Sivarasa Rasiah and his successor Chua Tian Chang as saying that Khairy "approached Anwar regarding support for judicial reform measures... as part of Abdullah's parting legacy." Khairy also denied that the reform package, including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act, the Judicial Appointments Commission Act and the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission Act, were political strategies to head off a move to replace Abdullah as prime minister. "I remember Abdullah asked Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz to brief all MPs including the opposition on the bills," Khairy said, but insisted that he played no role as an intermediary between Abdullah and PKR de facto leader Anwar. In the cable, US ambassador to Malaysia James R. Keith told his government that Abdullah had kept in touch with Anwar through Khairy before handing over the reins to Datuk Seri Najib Razak in 2009. PKR party leaders Chua and Sivarasa purportedly confirmed this when met by "polcouns", or political counsellors, separately in November 3 and 5, 2008. Keith also wrote that Umno veteran leader Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah had speculated that Khairy acted as a go-between as there "existed grounds for PM Abdullah and Anwar Ibrahim to work together." READ MORE HERE |
| Anwar approached Ku Li after Sept 16 flop, says leaked cable Posted: 02 Aug 2011 05:00 PM PDT 
(The Malaysian Insider) - The spectacular failure of his September 16, 2008 takeover bid did not deter Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim from continuing attempts to claim Putrajaya through crossovers, as he sought to entice Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah even after the public flop, a leaked US diplomatic cable has said. The cable added that Anwar's efforts were "inconclusive" as the Kelantan prince was said to be eyeing the prime minister's spot personally. In the cable, US ambassador James R. Keith told his government that the opposition leader had only altered his tone but not his goal nor his tactics, and had even stayed in contact with then prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi through Khairy Jamaluddin before Datuk Seri Najib Razak took over in 2009. PKR party leaders Chua Tian Chang (Tian Chua) and R. Sivarasa purportedly confirmed this when met by "polcouns", or political counsellors, separately in November 3 and 5, believed to be in 2008, but added that their leader had relaxed his pace to a "lower key approach" after his failed September 16 plan. "The prime minister's circle — through Khairy — has approached Anwar regarding support for judicial reform measures that would be presented in Parliament soon as part of Abdullah's parting legacy, according to Sivarasa and Tian Chua. "The opposition, however, was unlikely to support these measures because they did not represent meaningful changes," said the cable, leaked by whistleblower site WikiLeaks through the Malaysia Today news portal today. Keith also said that Anwar had lost significant political momentum after the debacle but PKR planned to recoup its losses by finding ways to weaken the new administration, to be helmed by Najib in April 2009, with scandals like the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu and the Eurocopter aircraft purchase. "The time horizon has shifted from December to March 2009, in line with the shift in the Umno party elections, at which time Najib is set to become Umno president uncontested," Keith said. He added that without sufficient ethnic Malay support, Anwar had banked his hopes on attracting Umno crossovers through approaching "losers" in the transition between Abdullah and Najib, namely Tengku Razaleigh or "Ku Li", who was at the time the sole challenger to Najib's impending Umno presidency. READ MORE HERE |
| Musa keeps Rosmah happy and Shafie out Posted: 02 Aug 2011 04:53 PM PDT  (FMT) - LAHAD DATU: Musa Aman has ultimate control over the state's economy, security and soil. He is Chief Minister, Finance Minister and Sabah Umno chairman. It is a concentration of power, without oversight and unprecedented, in a state government. It was unheard of prior to the Umno-led Barisan Nasional' s takeover of the state administration. It also explains Musa's controlling reach in the extraction and export of logs from Sabah's forests. Timber was once Sabah's goldmine. According to timber industry insiders, there are no other "real" players anymore. There's only Musa and his proxies. According to these insiders, in the past there were timber producers like North Borneo Timber, Wallace Bay and Teck Heng Loong. In 1966 Yayasan Sabah came along and became one of the players. But eventually under Musa's guidance, Yayasan Sabah forced most of the major producers to fold up. On the buyers' end, among the big players were Sumitomo, Ataka, C. Itoh and Marubeni. "But the good old days are long since over. "The multiple companies and businessmen involved in the trade in the 70s and 80s are now all gone. "There's only one man controlling it all through proxies," said an industry insider. Lumberjack Musa
Speaking to FMT over dinner here recently, former chief minister Yong Teck Lee concurred with the views of the timber industry insiders. "There is no other timber man in Sabah… only Musa. "He knows the industry well… from top to bottom. From logging to export. He started off in the industry years ago and made his money from transporting logs to the ships. "That was when Sabah's economy depended on log exports. I still remember 'Lumber Night' when all the big shots in the timber industry from around the world turned up for a dinner at a hotel. "It was hosted by the timber industry here. But now, no more," said Yong, who himself knows the logging and timber industry very well. He is also aware of the current state of the timber industry in Sabah and the dearth of logs. Over the past eight months, dozens of sawmills have been forced to shut down and hundreds of workers laid off. But the exports of round logs continue and the extraction of the hard and soft wood found in Sabah's jungle goes on unabated keeping Musa and Umno happy. Not Sabah logs It is widely known here that the best timber is feverishly being extracted from forest reserves including the famed Danum Valley and Maliau Basin where Sabah's last remaining virgin forests stands. Demand for logs from Sabah is booming and logging has seen an up-tick following the tsunami in Japan in March as well as China and South Korea. The demand has been such that industry sources say the state authorities cannot justify the amount exported out of Sabah. Export manifests often state that shipments are from Papua New Guinea. But in reality these logs are coming from Kalimantan in neighbouring Indonesia, said a timber industry source. The Sabah government has said it expects annual revenue from timber production to be less than RM100 million a year over the next 20 years. Extraction from natural forests is said to be about 200,000 cubic metres annually but timber industry sources are sceptical about these figures. According to these insiders, the actual figures are double and the amount of earnings are undeclared. In October last year, Musa told participants of an international business conference that over three decades of logging had "inevitably resulted in the reduction of productive capacity of forests". He admitted that "such dependence coupled with past practices that were not environment-friendly, illegal logging and forest fires, resulted in the degradation of our forests". READ MORE HERE. |
| Kontraktor Melayu kecam MCA Pulau Pinang Posted: 02 Aug 2011 04:22 PM PDT 
MCA begitu jahil sekali kerana tidak faham istilah tender terbuka yang membenarkan semua kontraktor tanpa mengira kaum dan agama bersaing untuk projek kerajaan negeri. (Free Malaysia Today) - Persatuan Kontraktor Melayu Pulau Pinang (PKMPP) mengecam MCA kerana memainkan sentimen perkauman kerana kebanyakan projek di bawah sistem tender terbuka kerajaan negeri Pakatan Rakyat negeri itu diberi kepada kontraktor Bumiputera. Pemangku Yang Di Pertua PKMPP, Dato Izham Merican berkata Ketua Wanita MCA Pulau Pinang Tan Cheng Liang bersikap rasis apabila melabelkan Ketua Menteri Lim Guan Eng sebagai anti-Cina berhubung sistem tender terbuka. "Nampaknya MCA begitu jahil sekali kerana tidak faham istilah tender terbuka yang membenarkan semua kontraktor tanpa mengira kaum dan agama bersaing untuk projek kerajaan negeri. "Ini termasuk yang melebihi harga RM200,000.00 dan memilih yang paling baik dari segi harga dan kualiti," katanya dalam satu kenyataan media semalam. Beliau menyoal, dengan hanya mempertikaikan pemberian kontrak kepada Melayu, adakah MCA bersifat perkauman dengan memandang rendah keupayaan kontraktor Melayu yang dianggap tidak setaraf atau sebaik dengan kontraktor lain?
Hina kontraktor Melayu Ujar beliau, "PKMPP menolak dengan sekeras-kerasnya sentimen perkauman MCA yang menghina kontraktor Melayu dengan persepsi negatif ini. "MCA harus ingat bahawa dalam semua kaum ada golongan yang baik dan ada yang tidak sebegitu baik, begitu juga di kalangan masyarakat Cina sendiri. Izham menerangkan dalam sistem tender terbuka pemberian kontrak di bawah kerajaan negeri Pulau Pinang dilakukan secara adil dan tidak mengenepikan kaum lain. "Saya sebagai Timbalan Yang Di Pertua dan Pemangku Yang Di Pertua telah berjumpa dengan Ketua Menteri supaya membantu warga kontraktor Bumiputera di Pulau Pinang dan ini disambut baik oleh Ketua Menteri. "Ini membuktikan sikap profesional beliau kerana tidak mencampur aduk hal politik dan tidak memilih kaum untuk membantu dan selalu bercakap berdasarkan fakta dan ini amatlah disanjungi. "Malah ahli-ahli persatuan saya amat menghargai pendekatan Ketua Menteri yang tidak mewajibkan sebarang kontrak kerajaan mesti mendapat kebenaran Ketua Bahagian parti seperti yang dibuat sebelum ini," katanya. Tegas beliau, "saya hendak mengingatkan bahawa isu penawaran kepada kaum Bumiputera tidak harus dipolitikkan dan atau dijadikan isu perkauman. "Sebagai sebuah Pertubuhan NGO yang mempunyai ahli-ahli dari berbagai-bagai parti walau pun kebanyakannya terdiri daripada ahli parti Umno, perjuangan kami hari ini adalah menentukan warga kontraktor terbela," tambahnya. Katanya lagi, "hari ini banyak kontraktor yang gulung tikar dan keadaan yang dialami di dalam industri pembinaan tidak lagi seperti suatu ketika dahulu dan kami merayu kepada Kerajaan Pusat supaya dapat membantu menangani masalah ini. "Kami ucapkan terima kasih kepada Kerajaan Pusat dan Ketua Menteri yang telah pun berusaha dan telah mengatasi masalah-masalah yang dikemukakan oleh pihak persatuan. READ MORE HERE |
| ‘Ku Li unlikely to join opposition’ Posted: 02 Aug 2011 04:18 PM PDT 
Political analysts say the idea has some merit but there are too many obstacles and considerations to be taken into account for it to materialise. (Free Malaysia Today) - Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah's stature is respected by both the Malays and the non-Malays but for him to take over as the opposition leader is most unlikely. Political analysts while admitting that Tengku Razaleigh (Ku Li ) is the one man who has the credibility and respect to weld the opposition parties together, say it may however never materialise. This speculation was started a few days ago by Independent MP Zahrain Mohamed Hashim of Bayan Baru. He told Utusan Malaysia that the Pakatan leadership met Ku Li to convince him to head the opposition coalition for fear that Anwar Ibrahim may be jailed for sodomy. "To even think of that… it's not there yet. It is highly speculative at the moment but many things have to be in the right place. "There have been rumours about Ku Li leaving Umno for a few years now but that has never taken place and he has stayed on. It will require something really dramatic for him to want to leave," said Ooi Kee Beng, co-ordinator of Malaysia study programme at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. "Pakatan will also need to allow Ku Li to assume that position. There are so many other factors like Ku Li's age for one," he added of the politician who is in his seventies. "We must also remember that for this to materialise, Anwar needs to be out of the 'race' legally," he said. However, Ooi added that Ku Li's name is being bandied about as the Gua Musang MP was a Malay leader who was broadly acceptable by Malays and the non-Malays. "PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang still requires a lot support. Ku Li can fill in the gap. He is someone of stature and moral standing and respected by Malaysians. He also has a record of being a competent statesman," he said. Crazy idea Prof James Chin of Monash University said that the idea is "crazy" but admitted that Ku Li is one of the few politicians in the political scene capable of holding the opposition together. "There are very few politicians in the Malaysian political landscape that can bring together DAP, PAS and PKR. Ku Li is one of the the few," he said. "He can be brought in to hold Pakatan together if Anwar is jailed. But I think all of this is just in anticipation of the election and thus people are pushing for this crazy idea," he added. Chin also shared Ooi's sentiment saying that Ku Li's political skills are "not questionable" but stressed that the switch is unlikely. READ MORE HERE |
| ‘Wan Azizah should stay as Sabah PKR chief’ Posted: 02 Aug 2011 03:58 PM PDT 
Eighteen of the 26 PKR divisons in the state are all for retaining Wan Azizah as the party's PKR chief. (Free Malaysia Today) - Eighteen of the 26 PKR divisions in Sabah and Labuan want party president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to continue to head the state chapter, at least until the next general election is over. It comes in the wake of a claim on Sunday that 18 division chiefs reportedly want one of them to be drafted in immediately as the state chief. Wan Azizah assumed the post in January this year and had initially been widely expected to step down three months later. The newly-discovered level of support for Wan Azizah within Sabah PKR was confirmed by a party veteran who requested anonymity. "Fifteen of the 18 division chiefs signed a resolution last Friday in Kota Kinabalu, pledging full support for Wan Azizah as interim Sabah chief," revealed the party veteran. "That's why the secret ballot on Wan Azizah's position, proposed last Friday by a division chief, became a non-issue,"he said. The veteran leader was clarifying a statement last Sunday by a key PKR insider in Sabah that "party chief Wan Azizah did not allow a secret ballot to be taken on her position as head of the state chapter". According to the key insider linked to the 18 division chiefs cited last Sunday, there's consensus among them to hold a secret ballot soon on whether their party president should continue to head the state chapter. Meanwhile, the 15 divisions behind Wan Azizah, according to the party veteran, are Tenom, Kimanis, Beluran, Kudat, Beaufort, Sepanggar, Keningau, Kinabatangan, Kota Kinabalu, Papar, Semporna, Labuan, Pensiangan, Penampang and Kalabakan. Presidential camp In addition, it's being claimed that three division chiefs who did not sign the Friday resolution and are aligned to two other camps in Sabah PKR, have since reportedly indicated to the presidential camp that they will support Wan Azizah's leadership of Sabah. It was reliably learnt early today that Kota Marudu, one of the three divisions, has since text messaged Wan Azizah to pledge its support. The president's people, according to the veteran leader, are keeping their fingers crossed while waiting for the other two division leaders to go public with their stand on Wan Azizah's leadership role in Sabah. The nearness of the forthcoming polls and the need to maintain party unity are reportedly among the rationale for the "unflinching" support of the 18 division leaders for the president. The third reason appears to be that no division leader in Sabah aspiring for the state chief's post can muster more than five or six divisions behind him. One exception, it's conceded, was former PKR vice-president Jeffrey Kitingan who was able to call on support from 18 division chiefs including a core group of 14 divisions who never abandoned him. "From this it can be seen that last Fridays's meeting in KK has overtaken the competing claims by two factions in Sabah PKR that they have the support of the majority of the divisions in the state chapter," said the veteran leader. According to the leader, the support for the rebel factions in the local chapter is at five and six divisions respectively. The divisions in the group of five rebel chiefs, said the veteran leader, include Kota Belud, Batu Sapi, Kota Marudu (since defected to Azizah), Tuaran and Ranau. Rebel factions The divisions in the group of six rebels, it appears, include Silam, Putatan, Libaran, Tawau, Sipitang and Sandakan. Touching on the autonomy issue raised by the key insider last Sunday, the party veteran said that it was a non-issue considering that "the claimants were silent when Jeffrey was beating the drums of war on autonomy". "Now, they – the two rebel factions – appear to have done an about-turn and are both suddenly trying to hijack the autonomy issue for their own self-serving ends," said the party veteran. "However, we welcome their change of heart, if genuine, and fully support them on the issue of autonomy." Wan Azizah, said the party veteran, has no issues with Sabah and Sarawak having autonomy under a Pakatan Rakyat government or the local chapters of PKR being independent/autonomous. Asked to elaborate on this statement, the party veteran pointed out that "the party headquarters was still wrestling with the issue of credibility on the autonomy for Sabah and Sarawak". He added that "perhaps the national leadership should be given the benefit of the doubt on the autonomy issue and some more time to demonstrate their credibility". PKR vice-president Fuziah Salleh has also become another issue among rebel factions in Sabah PKR, said the party veteran. READ MORE HERE |
| Illegal Media Campaign Posted: 02 Aug 2011 02:42 PM PDT 
Kerajaan Persekutuan dan Sarawak Mesti Menjelaskan Perlantikan Syarikat Britain untuk menjalankan Kempen Media Haram Sarawak Report telah mendedahkan bahawa Kerajaan Persekutuan dan Sarawak telah melantik sebuah firma penerbitan TV dan komunikasi strategik Britain, FBC Media untuk menjalankan kempen media secara haram bagi mempromosikan dasar-dasar mereka. Blog tersebut mendedahkan bahawa FBC Media dibayar sebanyak RM15 juta setahun oleh Kerajaan Sarawak. Ini berikutan pendedahan YB Saifuddin Nasution, Setiausaha Agung KEADILAN di Parlimen bahawa Kerajaan Persekutuan menerusi Pejabat Perdana Menteri telah membayar sebanyak RM57.68 juta kepada FBC Media antara tahun 2008 dan 2009 sementara RM42 muta lagi dibayar untuk "Public Affairs and Government Services and Strategic Communication, Public Relations and Press Outreach" mengikut bajet tambahan terkini. Dokumen-dokumen Kerajaan Amerika Syarikat turut mendedahkan bahawa FBC Media membayar APCO sebanyak AS$70,000 sepanjang dua tahun lepas untuk melobi Kerajaan Amerika Syarikat bagi pihak Kerajaan Malaysia. Peranan bercanggah FBC Media sebagai penerbit TV dan firma komunikasi strategic menimbulkan persoalan memandangkan mereka menerima bayaran daripada Kerajaan Persekutuan dan Sarawak untuk menerbitkan program TV yang berat sebelah dan ditayangkan syarikat penyiaran antarabangsa seperti CNBC, CNN dan BBC. Kerajaan Persekutuan dan Sarawak juga mesti menjelaskan mengapa mereka telah memilih taktik terdesak membelanjakan jutaan ringgit wang pembayar cukai untuk terbabit di dalam kempen media secara haram. NIK NAZMI NIK AHMAD Communications Director Parti Keadilan Rakyat Laporan Sarawak Report boleh diakses di sini: http://www.sarawakreport.org/2011/08/taib-paid-out-5-million-to-attack-sarawak-report-international-expose/ Federal and Sarawak Government Must Come Clean on Hiring of British Company to engage in Illegal Media Campaign Sarawak Report has revealed that the Federal and Sarawak governments has engaged a British based TV production and strategic communications firm, FBC Media to engage in an illegal media campaign to promote their policies. The blog reveals that FBC Media is being paid RM15 million a year by the Sarawak Government. This follows the revelation by YB Saifuddin Nasution, the Secretary General of KEADILAN in Parliament that the Federal Government through the Prime Minister's Office paid RM57.68 million to FBC Media in 2008 and 2009 while a further RM42 million was paid for "Public Affairs and Government Services and Strategic Communication, Public Relations and Press Outreach" according to the latest supplementary budget. United States' government documents also reveal that FBC Media paid APCO US$70,000 over the past two years to lobby the US Government on behalf of the Malaysian Government. Questions should be raised on FBC Media's conflicting role as a TV producer and strategic communications firm, as the latter involves receiving payments from the Federal and Sarawak governments for the former to produce sympathetic and biased TV programs that are placed in international broadcasters such as CNBC, CNN and BBC. Furthermore, the Federal and Sarawak governments must come clean on why it has resorted to such desperate tactics by spending millions of ringgit of taxpayers' money to engage in an illegal media campaign. NIK NAZMI NIK AHMAD Communications Director Parti Keadilan Rakyat |
| How the BN Has Debased Commissions of Inquiry Posted: 02 Aug 2011 02:38 PM PDT  By Dr Kua Kia Soong, Director of SUARAM The presumptuous conclusion by the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) that Teoh Beng Hock (TBH) committed suicide even though the experts had not concluded so should be an occasion for Malaysians to ponder the debasement of Commissions of Inquiries set up by the BN / Alliance government all these years. 1. No Public Consultation over Composition of the RCI During the recent phone hacking scandal by the News of the World in Britain, the Prime Minister David Cameron was forced to immediately set up a commission of inquiry. He did this first of all by consulting the leader of the opposition, Ed Miliband and they then discussed the composition of the commission. The moment the scandal had been exposed by The Guardian, the expectations of the people regarding the composition of the commission were widely discussed in the British media. David Cameron could not ignore this or the commission of inquiry would have been denounced at the outset. Thus, the first condition for the composition of any RCI must be BROAD PUBLIC CONSULTATION. The BN has time and again ignored this requirement whenever it appoints commissions in this country and this includes SUHAKAM commissioners as well as other commissions. To ensure the composition of RCIs is credible, certain procedures must be in place to ensure the commissioners' INDEPENDENCE, IMPARTIALITY and COMPETENCE. These conditions can only hold if the government consults the Parliamentary Opposition and respected members of civil society. Membership of the RCI must include representation by appropriate groups to ensure plurality and fairness. The RCI could be headed by a judge but the members do not necessarily have to be entirely made up of judges. The Teoh Beng Hock RCI was a rushed job by the BN government due to public pressure and only after dragging its feet for so long after Beng Hock's death. Competence would include expertise in human rights and humanitarian law. On this point, former High Court and Court of Appeal judge Datuk N. H. Chan has commented that the Teoh Beng Hock commission had no business forming such an opinion as none of the experts it called upon gave the opinion that Teoh committed suicide. He pointed out that this went against Section 45 of the Evidence Act 1950, which states that when a court has formed an opinion on a point of science, the opinions of experts are relevant facts. "Without any relevant fact, that is to say, without an opinion from an expert, a court is unable to form an opinion upon... the scientific point that Teoh Beng Hock took his own life. In this case, none of the experts gave the opinion that Teoh took his own life," (The Malaysian Insider, 1 Aug 2011) 2. Ignoring Recommendations by RCIs The BN (including its predecessor Alliance) government has also debased RCIs by ignoring their salient recommendations. This is an affront to the people and a total waste of public funds. The Athi Nayappan RCI on Local Government had recommended the reintroduction of elected local government during the sixties but the BN government has chosen to ignore this important recommendation to restore Malaysian democracy to what it was at Independence. What sort of transformation is the Najib talking about when we have regressed compared to our democratic institutions at Independence? The RCI on the Police in 2005 had a most important recommendation which has direct bearing on Teoh Beng Hock's death, namely, the setting up of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Committee (IPCMC). Up until today, the BN government has been dragging its feet on this. Independent Police Complaints Committee Now, if the IPCMC had existed prior to TBH's death, it could have stepped in and investigated his death from the moment his body was found. The MACC and the police would have been obliged to step aside for the IPCMC to complete its full investigation and bring the culprits to justice. The longer the BN government puts off the establishment of the IPCMC, the more it must be responsible for other deaths and torture under the police or enforcement agencies' custody. The British IPCMC covers not only the police but also enforcement agencies including the customs and Inland Revenue. And as we know too well, torture under detention without trial continues under BN rule and that is all the more reason for an IPCMC. The government must also ratify the Convention against Torture. This will ensure international scrutiny to stop torture inMalaysia. 3. Justice for Teoh Beng Hock While we dispute the conclusion by the RCI that TBH committed suicide, it is very clear from the report that the MACC officers had harassed him to a point that was unacceptable. Therefore, the government must bear responsibility for allowing such a culture to pertain in its enforcement agency, the MACC. Consequently, the government must compensate adequately the family of Teoh Beng Hock for the loss of someone so dear to them. This does not detract from the fact that the culprits responsible for TBH's death have still to be brought to justice. |
| The Dirtiest GE Posted: 02 Aug 2011 02:34 PM PDT By Tony Pua Based on the evidence of rampant cheating on the electoral rolls, the 13th General Election will be the dirtiest election in Malaysia's history. The rumours have been swirling intensely for the past few months that the Barisan Nasional (BN) is registering foreign workers and permanent residents as voters for the coming general election. Various parties have given eye-witness accounts of vans from the National Registration Departments (NRD) heading to remote areas to conduct discreet registration exercises. In May 2011, PKR Ampang Member of Parliament, Zubaidah Kamaruddin had also surfaced a letter allegedly written by UMNO Hulu Selangor to the Home Minister to grant citizenship to a list of 2,000 foreign workers with the pretext that they will vote for BN in the upcoming elections. However, it was the reports in Malaysiakini yesterday providing hard-evidence that foreign permanent residents have been granted voting rights in Malaysia. What was perhaps more shocking was that within a matter of 4 hours, the status of the dubious new voters were immediately changed from permanent residents to citizens of this country in the NRD database. Essentially, these foreigners first secured their permanent residency, then became a voter and subsequently granted their citizenship. The above cases prove beyond doubt that there is an unholy conspiracy between BN, the Election Commission as well as the NRD to cheat their way to victory in the next general election. Alarm bells are raised over the integrity of our national security systems because of the flagrant abuse of the process and the ease at which our citizen data get manipulated. They also prove that the biometric system proposed by the Election Commission to "prevent phantom voters" is a complete non-starter. If even our NRD system can be tampered with so blatantly, there is no credible assurance that the government can provide that the biometric system proposal worth hundreds of millions of ringgit will be clean, transparent and secure. The action of the above parties follows the Prime Minister's rallying cry in Selangor in May 2011 for BN to "win at all costs". While the results of 2008 took BN by surprise, they are now leaving nothing to chance and would use all tricks in the book to maintain their strangle hold on power as well as to recapture the states lost to Pakatan Rakyat. It is also not the first that BN has awarded of citizenship to foreigners in a massive scale. They have previously done the same in Sabah with the covert "Project IC" which is also known as "Project M" where "M" denotes Mahathir. The project has cemented UMNO's stranglehold on power and reduced the political power of the Kadazan, Dusun and Murut communities in Sabah. The outcome today in Sabah was a population explosion where naturalised "foreigners" outnumber locals in the state. BN will use its control over the media and security apparatus to intimidate Malaysians to vote BN as seen most recently during the Bersih rally, and money will not be an object to buy votes as shown in the Sarawak state elections. And if intimidation and the buying of votes do not assure them of success, BN would blatantly cheat its way to victory. Malaysians who are united in seeking free and fair elections will need to work doubly hard to negate the electoral malpractices committed by BN. And Malaysians seeking to achieve change in the next general election will have to work triply hard to convince those who are still in doubt over the need for change to overcome the uneven playing field in favour of BN. Tony Pua |
| PSM 6 charged for subversion Posted: 02 Aug 2011 02:29 PM PDT  (The Malaysian Insider) - The six Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members who were released from their Emergency Ordinance (EO) detention last Friday were charged today for possession of subversive documents. The six, including Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Devaraj Jeyakumar, claimed trial to the charges under Section 43 and 48(1) of the Societies Act as well as Section 29(1) of the Internal Security Act. Butterworth Sessions Court judge Kamal Hisham Mohd Tajuddin set bail at RM8,000 each, and fixed hearing for October 10. The charge was also read to another 24 PSM supporters who were also arrested on June 25 in the run-up to the July 9 Bersih rally for attempting to revive communism and "waging war against the Agong." Although the two dozen were later released, the six were rearrested under the EO on July 2 before being released on the second day of Dr Jeyakumar's hunger strike against his detention without trial. The 30 people facing the two charges under the Societies Act could end up being jailed for a total of eight years and/or a combined fine of RM10,000 if convicted. READ MORE HERE. |
| Guan Eng: ‘Not anti-Chinese or Malay, only anti-graft’ Posted: 02 Aug 2011 01:29 PM PDT  (The Malaysian Insider) - Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng questioned today how he could be both anti-Chinese and anti-Malay as alleged by MCA and Umno, pointing out instead that he was only anti-corruption instead. "Before this, they (Umno) claimed that I was anti-Malay and had sidelined them (the Malays), now they (MCA) said that I am anti-Chinese for not giving contracts to the Chinese. "What is their actual basis to attack me?" he said at a DAP talk here last night. In the past two weeks, Penang MCA has repeatedly accused the DAP-led state government of being anti-Chinese for awarding only two contracts in the past three years to Chinese contractors. In its latest salvo yesterday, the state MCA said the Penang government's decision to award only 0.2 per cent of the 968 projects tendered since the opposition party took power in 2008 suggested that Lim thought the Chinese community "incompetent". Before this latest attack, the Penang administration under Lim has regularly been accused by Umno, MCA's senior partner in the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, of being racist for allegedly discriminating against the Malay community. "I am neither anti-Chinese nor Malay, I am only anti-corruption," said Lim last night. Yesterday, the Malay Contractors Association of Malaysia's (PKMM) Penang branch defended the state's open tender system as fair and warned Penang MCA to stop politicising contracts awarded to Bumiputeras there. Acting Penang PKMM chief Datuk Izham Merican condemned what he said was Penang MCA's "ignorance" for failing to understand that open tenders allowed the state government to select the best and most competitively priced contractors, regardless of race. READ MORE HERE. |
| Melayu bodoh! Posted: 30 Jul 2011 01:50 AM PDT No…no cheong hei article this time. Very short one, for once. Street demos DO NOT undermine the country's economy. Corruption does. Get it? Corruption! Corruption undermines the country's economy. Not street demos. Street demos kick out the munafiq and fasiq leaders who are destroying the country. NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin UITM Lecturer: Street Demos Can Undermine Country's Economy
(Bernama) - In the aftermath of the July 9 street demonstrations in the federal capital by an illegal organisation called Bersih 2.0 and groups aligned to it among them opposition parties, many individuals are perturbed by the potentially damaging impact of the protest on the country's economy.
University Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Dungun campus political science lecturer Che Hamdan Mohd Razali acknowledged that the protesters' demands centred around freedom of speech and electoral reforms but noted that they they had not been able to substantiate their allegations but instead hurled condemnations at the government.
At a time when the government was trying its utmost to raise the living standard of the people and make Malaysia a high income nation by 2020 via the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), National Key Result Areas (NKRA) and Tenth Malaysia Plan (10MP), such aggression was a setback, he opined.
"The government is still banking on foreign investment to spur our economic growth. There is only nine more years until 2020 left. That's not a long period.
"It is therefore crucial that a peaceful and conducive situation prevails in the country so that investors will not hesitate to come," he said.
He said political and economic stability was important in ensuring peace. If there was a crisis in politics, it would jeopardise the economy, and vice-versa.
"Both are interlinked and critical as a basic element in the growth and development of the country," he stressed.
Meanwhile, Mohamad Ariffin, a medical officer in the private sector, concurred that foreign investors would shy away from the country especially if the foreign media played up incidents which were just "a storm in a teacup".
He feared medical tourism which the country was trying to promote would be affected as well.
"Potential patients from other countries would think twice about coming here for treatment if they believe we are a troubled country," he said.
Another academician, Abd Ghapa Harun, Senior Lecturer at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's History, Political and Strategy Research Centre surmised that peace and harmony in the country could be sustained if the government readily responded to the issues that were being relentlessly harped on.
"For example, issues about corruption or the election - the government must respond to them immediately.
"Peace is not merely a demonstration-free situation. In a wider context, it is taking further measures to avoid confrontations including through dialogues and discussions before issues are blown out of proportion," he said.
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| A taste of your own medicine Posted: 29 Jul 2011 06:50 PM PDT So you see, you decided the rules, not we. And the rule is - you are guilty until proven innocent. We too have alleged that you are guilty of all sorts of things, murder included. Now prove your innocence. And if you fail to prove your innocence then most Malaysians who will be voting in the next general election are going to say you are guilty because you failed to prove your innocence -- as how the system works in Malaysia. NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin The Umno Bloggers are bitching, moaning, groaning, grumbling and complaining. They accuse me of lying (fitnah) and spinning (propaganda). They call me 'The King of Spin' and they say that Malaysia Today is the biggest spin-doctor for Pakatan Rakyat. And these Ummo Blogs target not only me but also my wife and children for character assassination. Well, first of all, I am honoured that the Umno Bloggers regard me Enemy Number One. It is not easy to become Enemy Number One. A lot of hard work needs to be put into becoming number one. After all, there are millions of Blogs out there in cyber-world competing for number one. Secondly, Malaysia Today is not 'the biggest spin-doctor for Pakatan Rakyat'. If Malaysia Today serves Pakatan Rakyat then how come there are many within Pakatan Rakyat who are angry with me and hate me? In fact, I know people from Pakatan Rakyat who even allege that I work for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. Thirdly, I am pleased that BOTH Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat are pissed with me big time. It is not easy to get both sides of the political divide to hate you. Getting one side to hate you and the other side to love you is easy. Anyone can do that. But to get BOTH sides to hate you is a task not many Malaysians can achieve. Fourthly, and the most important point of all, what you are getting is merely a taste of your own medicine. You see, in Malaysia, you are guilty until and unless proven innocent. That is how the government, Barisan Nasional and Umno play the game. They declare you guilty and then you need to prove your innocence. So what I am applying is merely the rules as laid down by those who walk in the corridors of power. Take the Internal Security Act (or Emergency Ordinance) as an example. You are detained under the ISA or EO based on 'the belief that you are a threat to national security and public order'. In other words, there is no evidence. If there were evidence then you would be arrested and charged in court. However, since it is only a 'belief' and there is no evidence, they detain you without trial under one of these emergency laws -- the ISA or EO. 'Belief' translates to the absence of evidence. That is why religion is a belief -- because of the absence of evidence. If there were evidence then it would be a science and not a belief. And you believe based on faith. When they can't produce the evidence they will tell you that the belief is based on faith. So you believe that I am a threat to national security and public order and then detain me without trial under the ISA or EO. Just because you believe that I am a threat to national security and public order, you regard it as fact. If I were to tell a Muslim that I believe that Jesus Christ died and rose after three days and went to heaven, would a Muslim believe me? Why not? This is my belief so why can't a Muslim accept this as fact and not dispute my belief? If you can believe that I am a threat to national security and public order, and if your belief is regarded as fact, then my belief about Jesus Christ should also be treated as fact and not be disputed. When it suits them, a belief becomes fact, and when it does not, a belief becomes a lie. That is how these people think. During your first 60 days of detention without trial, your interrogators will tell you what they believe you have done -- or plan to do (in the event you have not done it yet but are planning to do so). You then have to convince them that this is wrong and that you never did such a thing or plan to do what they allege you are planning to do. In short, you are guilty until and unless you can convince the government of your innocence. If you fail to convince the government of your innocence then you are further detained for an indefinite period of time. Only if you can convince the government of your innocence are you free to go home. This is how it works. Anwar Ibrahim is guilty of all sorts of sexual misconduct. Now he needs to prove that he is innocent. The six members of PSM (EO6) were also guilty of being Communists. Now they have to prove they are innocent. I was treated as guilty of the 'crime' of slandering Islam, Prophet Muhammad, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Khairy Jamaluddin, Najib Tun Razak, Rosmah Mansor, the IGP, the AG, PDRM, MACC, Barisan Nasional, Umno, and every man and his dog in Malaysia. I then had to prove my innocence in two trials and two detentions without trial. (Plus there are more than 20 new police reports made against me since 2009 -- which the government is waiting to use against me if I ever happen to go back to Malaysia). So you see how it works? You are guilty. Then you need to prove your innocence. You may say I was at least brought to court and was allowed to prove my innocence in court. But that is just the thing. That is not how it is supposed to work. I do not need to prove my innocence. The government needs to prove my guilt. But under what I was charged, 'the truth of the matter is not material to the charge'. This simply means even if I told the truth I would still be pronounced guilty and would be sent to jail. So what are these Umno people screaming about? They ask me to come back to Malaysia and prove my innocence. Has the Malaysian education system deteriorated that badly? Why so bodoh? First, I need not prove anything -- the government needs to prove my guilt. Second, even if I can prove my innocence I still go to jail under those charges I face. Okay, the Ummno Bloggers are upset that we are 'lying' about Rosmah. Are we lying? No! We are merely pronouncing Rosmah guilty and now she must prove her innocence. This is how it works in Malaysia. You mean Rosmah does not have a collection of many colours of Birkin bags that cost USD120,000 each? Her collection of Birkin bags alone costs millions of Ringgit. Now, we got the pictures of her Birkin bags from the mainstream newspapers. These are Umno-owned and/or government-controlled newspapers. We did not doctor those pictures. We just lifted them from newspapers that the government says would never lie. We say that Rosmah swindled the taxpayers' money to splurge on millions of Ringgit worth of handbags. Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! Now prove your innocence. So Rosmah did not buy these Birkin bags? So Rosmah did not swindle the taxpayers' money? So it was Danny Tan of Berjaya who bought all these many handbags as presents for Rosmah? Well, tell us. Prove your innocence. And until you can prove your innocence you are guilty. And the same goes for all those other issues as well -- the RM24 million diamond ring included. You are guilty, guilty, guilty! Now prove your innocence. Denying it is not enough. Prove you did not buy that ring and that Jho Low was the one who bought it for you. This is how it works in Malaysia. Most people believe that Najib and/or Rosmah are directly or indirectly involved in the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu. So Najib and/or Rosmah are guilty. Now they need to prove their innocence. But they refuse to prove their innocence. Why? P.I. Balasubramaniam has made some serious allegations in his Statutory Declaration. He even alleged that he was forced to sign a second SD to contradict his first SD and he has further alleged that Najib's brother and Rosmah's 'toyboy', Deepak Jaikishan, were the ones who forced him to sign the second SD. So Najib and Rosmah are guilty, guilty, guilty! But why does the government refuse to conduct an investigation into this allegation and prove that Bala was lying? Why ignore the allegation and continue to allow people to think that Najib and Rosmah are guilty? So you see, you decided the rules, not we. And the rule is - you are guilty until proven innocent. We too have alleged that you are guilty of all sorts of things, murder included. Now prove your innocence. And if you fail to prove your innocence, then most Malaysians who will be voting in the next general election are going to say you are guilty because you failed to prove your innocence -- as how the system works in Malaysia . Do you remember how Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was brought down? He was brought down on the basis that he and his son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin -- in collaboration with the boys in 'Tingkat 4' and Kalimullah -- were guilty of all sorts of things. On that basis Pak Lah was attacked and kicked out. Did Najib, Rosmah, Umno or any of the Umno Bloggers protest this? Pak Lah was pronounced guilty and when he could not prove his innocence he was punished. Even Dr Mahathir said Pak Lah and Khairy were guilty in his talks all over Malaysia. In fact, the Umno Bloggers were the ones most enthusiastic and overzealous in attacking Pak Lah. The Umno Bloggers were more vicious towards Pak Lah than even the opposition Bloggers. So, when it came to Pak Lah, the Umno Bloggers took the lead in attacking Pak Lah and pronounced him guilty, guilty, guilty. And when Pak Lah could not prove his innocence he was ousted and replaced with Najib. Come on lah! Stop bitching, moaning, groaning, grumbling and complaining! If you can't stand the bruises then don't start a fight. Stand clear. When you fight you have to get hurt. Umno Bloggers are like school kids. When they lose a fight they go crying to the teacher to complain. We have accepted your rules of guilty until proven innocent. That is what you use against us. But when we prove better at this game than you, you start crying like babies. Umno people are losers. They want to blindfold us and tie our hands before they fight us. And when we hit back and hurt them they cry. And they got the gall to say that I don't have balls because I don't dare come back to Malaysia to prove my innocence. Brader. This is not about me having to prove my innocence. This is about ABU ('anything but Umno' or 'asal bukan Umno'). This is about kicking Umno out come the next general election. Anything but Umno! So let the game begin! Prove your innocence, and until and unless you can, then you are guilty. This is our message to the voters and we will make the voters understand that the next GE is about ABU -- anything but Umno or asal bukan Umno. |
| Now do you know what I mean? (UPDATED with Chinese Translation) Posted: 28 Jul 2011 05:58 PM PDT So which is it then? Is the DAP-led government of Penang neglecting the Malays or neglecting the Chinese? Can Umno and MCA please agree on this? Can we also hear whether MIC agrees with HINDRAF that it is actually the Indian Hindus who are the ones being neglected or does MIC want to contradict HINDRAF and declare that the Indian Hindus are being well looked after and are very happy, thank you very much? NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin Malaysia's Penang Wanita MCA: Why no DID projects given to Chinese (The Star/ANN) - Malaysia's Penang Wanita MCA wants to know why not a single state Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) project was given to Chinese contractors. Its chairman Tan Cheng Liang said she believed the Chinese contractors had submitted tender applications for the projects. "Has the state deemed their applications incomplete." "I am aghast and unable to comprehend why isn't a single contract awarded to a Chinese contractor," said Tan in response to Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's statement on July 27, that contractors in all five districts for the DID projects were Malays, bumiputras and Indian Muslims of which women accounted for 20%. Tan said since the DAP took over the state, not a single Chinese contractor in the five districts were given projects. "The DAP-led state government should not simply award contracts to bumiputras to make themselves look fair." "They should ensure that the contractors are capable of guaranteeing a successful completion of the projects and there will not be problems later," she said. Tan said there was proof that despite the support from the Chinese for Lim and DAP, the interest of the Chinese had been threatened after DAP came into power. "They realise that they cannot rely on the Chinese forever but I hope the curry favour among other races is not done at the expense of the Chinese," she said. ********************************* MCA is alleging that the DAP-led government of Penang is sidelining the Chinese and is favouring the Malays, Bumiputeras and Indian Muslims. MCA, in case some of you still don't know, is the second largest coalition partner in Barisan Nasional and is the original member of the Alliance Party that negotiated with the British for Merdeka for Malaya. Penang Wanita MCA chairman Tan Cheng Liang was referring to a statement Lim Guan Eng was said to have made two days ago that the DID contractors in all five districts in Penang are Malays, Bumiputeras and Indian Muslims, with women accounting for 20%. Umno, on the other hand, has claimed that since the new government took over in Penang in March 2008, the Malays have been sidelined and the 'racist' DAP-led Penang government just focuses on the Chinese. Now, while the 'husband' alleges that the Penang government neglects the Malays, the 'wife', on the other hand, alleges that the Penang government neglects the Chinese. Clearly this 'couple' no longer sees eye-to-eye on the issue of whether it is the Malays or the Chinese who are being neglected. MIC, the 'second wife', is in the meantime still foggy and blur (as usual) and is trying to figure out what stupid thing to say (as usual). MIC can't jump onto the bandwagon and allege that the Penang government is also neglecting the Indian Hindus. This is exactly what HINDRAF is claiming. So, if MIC claims the same thing, then HINDRAF can turn around and say, "Ah hah! Did we not say so? Even MIC agrees with what we say. That means HINDRAF was right all along. The Indian Hindus are being neglected." Anyway, this is what the people in Barisan Nasional are saying. Now, if someone from Pakatan Rakyat said something like this do you know what the opposition supporters would say? They would say MCA has been bought. MCA is a Trojan horse. MCA is trying to sabotage Barisan Nasional. MCA is secretly and maliciously trying to help the opposition by contradicting Umno. That is the advantage of being in Barisan Nasional. They allow you freedom to speak without calling you a traitor. But whether you still have freedom after you speak is another matter. Maybe not! But you do have freedom to speak in spite of not having freedom after you speak. So which is it then? Is the DAP-led government of Penang neglecting the Malays or neglecting the Chinese? Can Umno and MCA please agree on this? And can we also hear whether MIC agrees with HINDRAF that it is actually the Indian Hindus who are the ones being neglected or does MIC want to contradict HINDRAF and declare that the Indian Hindus are being well looked after and are very happy, thank you very much? Politicians! Now do you know why we need to guard against politicians? They will take pains to make sure that after almost 54 years of Merdeka we still focus on issues concerning Malays, Chinese and Indians and not look at things in the context of Malaysians. Translated into Chinese at: http://ccliew.blogspot.com/2011/07/blog-post_7022.html |
| WIKILEAKS: OPPOSITION JOURNALIST DETAINED UNDER THE INTERNAL SECURITY ACT Posted: 28 Jul 2011 01:00 AM PDT 
This is the second time Raja Petra has been detained under the ISA. The government of then Prime Minister Mahathir detained Raja Petra under the ISA in April 2001 for his involvement in former DPM Anwar Ibrahim initiated "reformasi" movement. He was held for 53 days before being unconditionally released, reportedly due to pressure from the King, the late Sultan of Selangor who was Raja Petra's uncle. The current Sultan of Selangor is his cousin. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin 
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 000806 SIPDIS FOR EAP/MTS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/12/2018 TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, MY SUBJECT: OPPOSITION JOURNALIST DETAINED UNDER THE INTERNAL SECURITY ACT REF: KUALA LUMPUR 787 Classified By: Political Section Chief Mark D. Clark, reason 1.4 (b and d). 1. (C) Summary: Malaysian police on September 12 arrested controversial blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin under the Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows for detention without trial. Raja Petra's arrest came days after Prime Minister Abdullah threatened to use the ISA to clamp down on those allegedly stoking racial and religious tensions. The arrest stands as a warning to the growing Internet media, but also sends a signal to the political Opposition, which has vowed to topple Abdullah's coalition later this month, that the UMNO-led government could take stern measures to defend itself. End Summary. 2. (SBU) Malaysian police detained Raja Petra Kamarudin, prominent blogger and editor of the controversial website "Malaysia Today", under the Internal Security Act (ISA) on September 12. The ISA allows for detention without trial. This is the first time the Act has been implemented for blogging. Raja Petra's detention came days after Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi told reporters that the government would use the ISA on those who stoke racial and religious tensions, following inter-racial feuding in this coalition and mounting challenges to Abdullah's authority and political position (Septel). 3. (U) Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar, who approved Raja Petra's ISA detention order, told reporters that the blogger was detained under Section 73(1) of the ISA because he was deemed a threat to security, peace, and public order. The Minister explained that Raja Petra's detention came in the wake of various statements published by him in his blog "Malaysia Today," the latest being a commentary which allegedly ridiculed Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. Syed Hamid stated, "We have called and advised him many times following the publishing of his statements but he has continued to write, so much so that they (the statements) could pose a threat (to security and public order)." The Minister added that under Section 73(1) of the Act, Raja Petra would be detained for 60 days and the police will do an assessment during the period. Syed Hamid added "if they feel he should be held more than 60 days, the police will then refer to me". Traditionally the minister will accept the recommendations made by the police and sign the order under Section 8(1) of the Act, which allows the person to be detained for renewable two-year periods. 4. (U) This is the second time Raja Petra has been detained under the ISA. The government of then Prime Minister Mahathir detained Raja Petra under the ISA in April 2001 for his involvement in former DPM Anwar Ibrahim initiated "reformasi" movement. He was held for 53 days before being unconditionally released, reportedly due to pressure from the King, the late Sultan of Selangor who was Raja Petra's uncle. The current Sultan of Selangor is his cousin. 5. (U) Raja Petra's arrest came a day after the Cabinet ordered the Multimedia and Communications Commission (MCMC) to re-instate access to all blocked websites, including Raja Petra's "Malaysia Today" website (which was blocked on August 27). Energy, Water and Communications Minister Shaziman Abu Mansor stated on September 12 that the Cabinet ordered the move because there were other "harsher" laws in the country, including the ISA, to "control the irresponsible dissemination of information over the Internet and to bring those irresponsible websites and blogs to book." 6. (C) Comment: Malaysia's on-line news sources and blogs have blossomed over recent years as an alternative to the government dominated mainstream media. This trend has only increased after the March 8 elections, in which Abdullah and his UMNO party suffered a major setback. Raja Petra is considered the most outspoken and controversial Internet journalist, and is often a proponent of opposition views. Aside from his ISA arrest, Raja Petra faces sedition charges for articles implicating Deputy Prime Minister Najib in an ongoing high profile murder case. Raja Petra's arrest is another sign of insecurity on the part of Abdullah and the UMNO party. The government's use of ISA sends a strong warning to other opposition bloggers to curb their activities. This arrest may intimidate some activists, but it also could result in a backlash by the independent media and bloggers, and increase public disaffection with Abdullah's leadership. 7. (C) As PM Abdullah and his UMNO party become increasingly concerned over threats to bring down their government through the crossover of 30 more BN members of Parliament, Raja Petra's arrest also will be interpreted here as a warning to the political opposition and its leader Anwar Ibrahim. Opposition officials consistently have expressed concern that the government could invoke ISA if they advance too far. While not determinate given the fluid political situation and UMNO's disarray, today's arrest of Raja Petra lends support to the view that the UMNO-led government will take stern measures to defend itself. End Comment. 8. (U) The Embassy offers the following draft "if asked" press guidance. Q: WHAT IS THE U.S. REACTION TO THE ARREST TODAY (SEPTEMBER 12) OF BLOGGER RAJA PETRA KAMARDUDIN UNDER MALAYSIA'S INTERNAL SECURITY ACT (ISA)? A: We understand from press accounts that Malaysian police detained Raja Petra, who is associated with the "Malaysia Today" website, under an article of the Internal Security Act covering threats to "security, peace, and public order". We cannot comment further on the specific grounds for the Malaysian government's actions. We are aware that Raja Petra also faces legal complaints and charges of sedition related to information posted on the website. The United States firmly believes that freedom of the press and freedom of speech are fundamental components of a vibrant democracy. Freedom of expression is a basic right embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The peaceful expression of political views is a cornerstone of democratic rights and practice, as is the impartial application of the rule of law. (IF ASKED SPECIFICALLY ON MALAYSIA'S USE OF THE INTERNAL SECURITY ACT) A: As a matter of principle, we hope that countries refrain from using national security laws to curtail the peaceful expression of political views and media freedom. KEITH |
| Tan Kay Hock under the spotlight, again Posted: 27 Jul 2011 08:51 PM PDT Tan Kay Hock has trained his guns on Quek Leng Chan, Low Keng Huat, Syed Mokhtar al Bukhary, Francis Yeoh, Lim Kok Thay, Chua Ma Yew, Vincent Tan, Danny Tan, Ta Kim Yan, Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, and even the Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. He is determined that all these people get sent to pasture so that he remains the last man standing. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin Three weeks ago, there was a report concerning Tan Kay Hock's company, George Kent, getting the RM1.5 billion Ampang-Line Light Railway Transit (LRT) project. He did not say he has already got the project but that he is confident of getting it. Two days ago, the Minister of Transport announced the RM7 billion 197-kilometre Gemas-JB electrified double-tracking project (EDTP). This project has not been officially awarded to anyone yet but it appears like 'the market' already knows who may be getting it. You can read both reports below. According to the Minister, the Gemas-JB stretch is already in the final stage of design. He declined to comment whether the project, which is only due to be tendered out towards the end of this year, would be open to 'foreign parties'. Nevertheless, Tan Kay Hock, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's golf buddy, is already telling everyone that his company is going to get the job, most likely in joint venture with China Harbour Engineering Co Ltd (CHEC). CHEC is the company that is building Penang's Second Bridge in joint venture with UEM Builders Bhd, an Umno company. The bridge costs RM3 billion, up RM2 billion from the original budget of RM1 billion. (I wonder whose pocket this additional RM2 billion is going into). Many feathers are being ruffled, not because Tan Kay Hock is getting all the multi-billion projects, but because of his bragging. He is shooting his mouth off to all and sundry about his relationship with the Prime Minister. And he is bragging about how he is sabotaging all his competitors, the other tycoons. Tan Kay Hock has trained his guns on Quek Leng Chan, Low Keng Huat, Syed Mokhtar al Bukhary, Francis Yeoh, Lim Kok Thay, Chua Ma Yew, Vincent Tan, Danny Tan, Ta Kim Yan, Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, and even the Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. He is determined that all these people get sent to pasture so that he remains the last man standing. These people can accept competition. It is, after all, part of business. But what they can't accept is when you 'throw sand into their rice bowl', as what the Chinese would say. And this is what Tan Kay Hock is doing. And because of that he has made many very powerful enemies. And since they know Tan Kay Hock gets away with murder only because of his relationship with Najib, they will have to hurt Najib to get back at Tan Kay Hock. Najib already has many enemies of his own. Those enemies alone are a handful. The last thing that Najib needs are more enemies, which Tan Kay Hock is making and who will now become Najib's enemies as well. But this is good for Muhyiddin. Now, Tan Kay Hock's enemies will become Muhyddin's friends. And with them all backing Muhyiddin, and with billions at their disposal, Muhyiddin would be well poised to challenge Najib for the Umno Presidency. Sometimes this is how fate works. An enemy of my enemy becomes my friend. And a friend of my enemy becomes my enemy. So we have Najib-Tan Kay Hock versus Muhyiddin and all the rest. And Muhyiddin and all the rest make a more formidable force to take on the Prime Minister. Najib has to be careful with the friends he chooses. When your friend has too many enemies these become your enemies as well. And Tan Kay Hock will help us prove this theory. Mere speculation, you might say? Well, remember a couple of years ago Malaysia Today published Statutory Declarations signed by six police officers who alleged that the ex-IGP, Musa Hassan, had links with the Chinese underworld and that he was behind the drugs, prostitution, loan shark and gambling syndicate? The six police officers were subsequently charged for 'lying', just like I was when I signed my Statutory Declaration in April 2008. And, today, the court acquitted these six police officers. This would mean what they signed in their SDs was true and not a lie. So, did Malaysia Today lie when we said that the IGP is a crook? Six police officers said the same thing and the court agreed with them. Yes, what is 'speculation' today is proven true later. And what may be considered 'rumour' becomes fact some time down the road. So let us see whether this 'speculation' and 'rumour' about Tan Kay Hock becomes fact once his company wins the RM7 billion Gemas-JB double-tracking project -- which has not even been tendered out yet but which Tan Kay Hock is already telling everyone is his. ***************************************** Gemas-Johor Baharu double-tracking project to be tendered out by year-end, says Minister (Bernama, 26th July 2011) -- The tender for the 197-kilometre Gemas-Johor Baharu electrified double tracking project (EDTP) will be done before year-end, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said today. The stretch is already in the final stage of design, he said, but declined to state if the tender would be open to foreign parties. "The Ipoh-Padang Besar and Seremban-Gemas lines are 70 and 90 per cent complete respectively," he added, after officiating a forum on "Powering the Rails in Malaysia," here. The Gemas-Johor Baharu sector is the final package for the EDTP. It was previously stated that the Gemas-Johor Baharu line is worth RM7 billion because it does not only comprise the building of a double-tracking system but also a transport hub with a capacity to rival the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) in Singapore. Kong said the rail sector is poised to emerge as a catalyst in the rapidly changing landscape of Malaysia's public transportation system once all the projects comes to a conclusion. He said the EDTP in the northern section is slated for completion at end-2013 and the line to Johor by 2016. Asked if the Komuter Service would be extended from Batu Caves to Selayang, he said the government is considering the possibility. "There has been a request from the public for the extension. At the moment we are still looking at the possibility. There will be a long term need for it and the extension is seen as the most viable," he added. **************************************** George Kent bullish about LRT job bid (Business Times, 7th July 2011) - George Kent (Malaysia) Bhd, an engineering group, is confident of winning the Ampang-Line Light Railway Transit (LRT)'s extension mega infrastructure project worth RM1.5 billion. The chances of getting the project is very good, its Chairman, Tan Sri Tan Kay Hock told reporters after the company's annual general meeting today. He said the company's bid for the project was strengthened by George Kent's previous experience of handling government contracts and its achievements. "We are about to hand over the RM97.75 million Kuala Lipis Hospital in Pahang to the Ministry of Health, and I guess this is one of the very few hospitals delivered on time. George Kent only tenders for projects that we think we can do, thus, we don't see any negative points for not winning the tender," he said. Prasarana Bhd is expected to announce the winner of the Ampang LRT extension project by September this year. Tan also said the company, which also produces water meters and the casing for the meters, has embarked on a RM50 million plan to upgrade its manufacturing facilities in Puchong, Selangor to accommodate higher sales in the meter and Original Equipment Manufacturing businesses. He said the present plant was already producing at a maximum capacity. With the expansion, George Kent aims to double its production capacity to two million completed meters and two million pieces of non-meter brass parts per annum. George Kent's pre-tax profit for the first quarter ended Apr 30, 2011 jumped to RM4.8 million from RM3.9 million in the same quarter last year. Its revenue, however, slipped to RM30.7 million from RM32.5 million previously. Tan said the demand for meters from Hong Kong, Macau, Middle East, Puerto Rico and Colombia remained strong. "The company has also penetrated Vietnam and Laos, where we expect good returns," he said, adding that the company expects to sustain its growth as the year progresses. |
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
