| Brief for the Prime Minister Posted: 22 Sep 2011 01:39 PM PDT By Thuraisingham ShunA. Preamble The Malaysian Cooperative movement is today, 89 years. It consists of 8500 cooperatives with a membership of over 9 million snowballing to 17 million with family members included.
B. Memorandum sent - 8 memorandum in detail have been forwarded to the Prime Minister
- 1 memorandums has been handed to the Deputy Prime Minister.
- Memorandum had been handed to the former minister with 2 copies referred to YB Ismail Sabri
- 1 memorandum had been forwarded to the Chief Secretary and the Secretary General
- Lately on 28th July, a memorandum had been handed to the Deputy Minister.
C. 8 point originating summons against ANGKASA The salient features are: 1) Taking more than RM1 million in allowances for attending board meetings from 2007-2009.The president was accused of taking RM155,118 in 2008. 2) Failing in their fiduciary responsibilities in a land purchase in Kelana Jaya 3) Approving and spending RM500,000 for a delegates' conference, including allowances in 2009,in violation of by-laws. - Spending RM1.27 million to buy seven Toyota Camry for personal use before Hari Raya last year while only RM400,000 was authorized for the purpose.
- Approving and spending RM500,000 over and above the sanctioned budget of RM1.5 million in 2009 without permission.
- Abusing their powers in suspending three members of the state liaison committee for three years.
- Paying unauthorized allowances to officials of the Malaysians Cooperative Societies Commission and other government officials who attended several board meetings. These payments were viewed as corruption.
- Making false media statements Angkasa had made a profit of RM2 billion for the financial year ending June 30 last year
D. The co-operative commission had acted on 3 of the above matter which favours the plaintif.
E. Misstated accounts of the Cooperative Commision for the year ending 2008 & 2009 has been passaged through parliament ENCLS 3 Salient features: - Billions not accounted
- Fund accounts mismanaged
- Cooperative Commission deemed illegal
F. ANGKASA is an illegal entity. G. SPARK of problems - Suspension of 9 individual members - Report sent to Deputy Minister H. 8 Bumiputra co-operative suspended - Double standards practiced by Minister I. Illegal launch of Co-operative Bank in parliament lobby J. Illegal school Co-operatives
K. Schemers from the Cooperative movement -Dato'Dr.Ali Baharom implicated in a multimillion Ringgit money laundering scheme and organizer of the illegal- ANGKASA Cooperative Bank
-Has now intrued into the palace and religious centres
Conclusion
ANGKASA and the officials of the Co-operative Commission have mislead the Minister in their activities in controversion of the Cooperative Act
______________________________________________________________________
Proposed Solutions
A direction from PM to Angkasa to release the 9 individual suspension.
The co-operative movement which is a people oriented organization should be transferned under the purview of the Prime Minister
A Overall Programmed Evaluation of Management Audit
Appoint an "OPERATIONS DIRECTOR" to conduct the day to day administration of the Co-operative Commission
Appoint an "ADMINISTRATOR" to conduct:
A forensic audit
To conduct the day to day administration of ANGKASA
Food for thought (Confidential)
The role of co-operatives in the election process
The Thai political movement is controlled by the Telecoms Co-operative spearheaded by Thaksin
The Singapore government election is monopolized by the activities of the NTUC-cooperative
The co-operatives in Indonesia play a pivotal role in the election process
The India Co-operative movement plays a pivotal role in the election of the government
………………………………………………
Thuraisingham Shan
Co-operative a Management Consultant
Advisor/Consultant
Cooperative Union of Malaysia
Midlands Co-operative Union
International Cooperative Housing Foundation
International Director –UKHWAH
FOUNDATION for International Co-operative
........................................................................
Dato' Seri Hj Mustapa Kamal bin Maulut
Chairman
Portfolio Koperasi
The National Malay Chambers Commerce Malaysia |
| Mositun spoke too soon about PBS being vindicated Posted: 22 Sep 2011 01:33 PM PDT Mositun and the other leaders in PBS must understand that many PBS members and supporters still believe the PBS shouldn't have rejoined the BN because of bigger issues, not just because of the ISA. Just because the ISA will be repealed doesn't make the members and supporters any happier. By Daniel John Jambun When the Prime Minister announced the government will repeal the Internal Security Act and other important reforms, Datuk Johnny, PBS' Information Chief celebrated, saying it was clear proof that the Barisan Nasional (BN) government is responsive to the people's feelings. He claimed that, "These important reforms vindicate the decision by our President, Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, to rejoin the BN 10 years ago. Today Pairin's faith in the BN to do the right things for the people and nation has been proven correct." But he has spoken too soon. Now, the proposed repeal has boiled up a storm, with Tun Mahathir expressing worry that irresponsible people may abuse the freedom, and a national security expert in Singapore saying it is a dangerous thing to do. But while we are glad that the BN is opening doors to more freedom, we have to realize that there are still many repressive laws out there that are suppressing our freedom and giving Malaysia a bad reputation among the regional and international communities. Such laws include the Official Secrets Act (OSA), the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA), the Multimedia and Communications Act, the Public Order (Preservation) Ordinance. Instead of celebrating too soon, why doesn't Mositun make a call to urge the PM to repeal all these laws as well? Many opposition leaders and NGOs have expressed strong suspicion that the PM's announcement was just a sandiwara, or an act to put old wine into new bottles and to make it even worse by introducing two new laws. There is no guarantee that the new laws will not be as draconian as the ISA. And the proposed repeal will only be done next year which raise the question: Will that be after the general election? If so, Najib is only performing a clever vote-fishing trick. And may I ask: If the new laws are still having ISA-like provisions as demanded by Ibrahim Ali, will Mositun demand that PBS leaves the BN, because the PBS would then be "unvindicated"? Mositun's habit of jumping the gun and apple-polishing for the BN had made him lose his political character and credibility, and may very well be a liability to his own party. Also, Mositun and the other leaders in PBS must understand that many PBS members and supporters still believe the PBS shouldn't have rejoined the BN because of bigger issues, not just because of the ISA. Just because the ISA will be repealed doesn't make the members and supporters any happier. The whole issue about PBS re-joining the BN in 1998 centres on the question of principle and the spirit of the struggle of the Kadazandusuns. If the PBS undertakes an independent survey today I sincerely believe it will confirm the fact that most Kadazandusuns don't think too highly of the Huguan Siou anymore, and that PBS' struggle is more for personal interests than for the people's long term vision. The fact still stands that by joining the BN, PBS had become subservient to Umno, which has a strong effect on the morale of the Kadazandusuns. The unhappiness about PBS is not limited to members and supporters only but among its leaders. There is now the possibility of revolts by leaders in the PBS due to unhappiness over choice of candidates, and Pairin's insistence on contesting in both Keningau and Tambunan again after three decades. Their impatience over the long-standing issue about the illegal immigrants from the Philippines and Indonesia is just about to boil over because they believe the party's top leaders have been kowtowing to Umno for too much and for too long. To them the so-called deadline PBS had given the BN to solve the illegals problem by 2012 is not enough, and seem just a ruse to cool down their impatience. The other prickly issue facing the PBS is the unfair power-sharing formula in the state in which Umno takes more than half and the rest is split between the rest of the components. Because of this, an online portal reports that PBS' divisional chairman for Sook, Bernard Maraat, is a potential rebel to stand as an independent in the coming election. In an effort to convince the people that PBS is really fighting for their interests in the BN, the PBS Secretary General, Datuk Henrynus Amin had also made a statement this week that the PM's announcement to repeal the ISA "showed BN was responding to the grouses of the people and therefore a victory for democracy, human rights and civil liberties." But by saying that he was also admitting that all these years when the ISA was used, it was a defeat for democracy, human rights and civil liberties! So why did the PBS support the BN all those years, knowing it was wrong and humanly immoral? Henrynus also proposed how BN should adopt "winnable policies and winnable political strategies" for the next general election. He should be reminded that for the BN to win the next election, it doesn't have to hire any world-class thinktank to come up with complicated strategic plans or use billions of ringgit to corrupt the voters. All it has to do is to list all the grouses raised by the people and resolve these within the next few months! Henrynus and Mositun need to ask BN if the federal government and UMNO will ever agree to reinstate the original promised rights and autonomy for Sabah and Sarawak, to establish the RCI to look into Project IC, to raise oil royalty to 20 percent or more, to reform many government institutions (such as the police, the judiciary, the MACC, the election commission, the Malay-dominated education system), to wipe out corruption, cronyism and political patronage, to stop the many abuses of power, to stop the suppression of the Christians (by allowing the Bible to be printed in any language in Malaysia), to shut up the mouths of mad Malay nationalists like Ibrahim Ali and to end the seditious speeches about Malay supremacy, to implement true meritocracy, transparency, accountability and openness which are the epitomes of good governance. And there is also the problem of the depressed and down-sliding economy, the high inflation rate and the worrying depletion of our purchasing powers, the brain drain, the cabotage policy, the Malay-centric public service, the border security problem, the high rate of violent crimes, the yo-yo experiments with the education system, the highly contaminated electoral rolls, the non-transparent and very suspicious election process, the lack of independence of the judiciary, and so on and so on. If the BN will listen to the PBS and do all these, ONLY then will PBS be truly vindicated. When this happens, I am certain not just the PBS leaders and members, but the opposition leaders and supporters as well, will join in the celebration with dancing and fireworks! And the opposition will have no more issues to talk about! |
| Undilah video taken off-air over Ku Li speech, opposition figures Posted: 22 Sep 2011 01:31 PM PDT -1hllAhSXLA
Or watch at: http://www.undilah.com/ KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 — A video promoting the right to vote has been taken off the air by local broadcasters despite a push for greater democracy because it contains opposition figures and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah's speech talking about Malaysia having problems. The Malaysian Insider learnt that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) directed local broadcasters this week not to use the public service announcement (PSA) produced by musician Pete Teo just days after its launch on September 16. "MCMC emailed both Astro and Media Prima Bhd about the issue, telling them the video clip should not be aired because Ku Li speaks about the country having problems and also because it features opposition leaders," an industry source told The Malaysian Insider, referring to Tengku Razaleigh by his popular nickname.  Teo said the move not to play the video is fundamentally undemocratic in intention. — Picture by Jack Ooi "Only NTV7 used it but the MCMC email was sent to both organisations which control the majority of television channels in the country," the source added. A government source confirmed that MCMC sent the email to Media Prima, which is linked to Umno and owns the NTV7 channel, and Astro, the direct broadcast satellite pay-television service. "The email about the PSA was sent this week," the source said, adding he was puzzled about the directive as it referred to Tengku Razaleigh, who happens to be the Gua Musang MP for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government. The MCMC is an independent regulator but it reports to Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim, who was incidentally the Kelantan prince's comrade in Semangat 46 before the party was dissolved for the politicians to join Umno Baru, the successor party to the original Umno that was declared illegal in 1988. Apart from Tengku Razaleigh, the 4.38-minute video also features Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong, Deputy Health Minister Datuk Rosnah Abd Rashid Shirlin and opposition figures Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua, Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad and Seri Setia assemblyman Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad. Teo, who produced the independent video as a voluntary project, said the alleged directive was "disturbing" as it went against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's latest announcement to loosen media control and strengthen civil liberties in the country. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/undilah-video-taken-off-air-over-ku-li-speech-opposition-figures/ |
| The answer to Bersih 2.0 is Project IC 2.0 – now I know why we marched (dwi bahasa) Posted: 22 Sep 2011 01:25 PM PDT "The number of people with unknown country of origin allocated to Pakatan administered states is huge and enough to topple the state government." By Lee Wee Tak Translation of key points in the report entitled "Pemuda Pas discovered more than 170,000 suspicious voters", published in Oriental Daily on 22nd September 2011 Terjemahan kenyataan-kenyataan utama dalam laporan akhbar bertajuk "Pemuda Pas menjumpa lebih daripda 170,000 orang pengundi yang mencurigakan" dalam akhbar Oriental Daily bertarikh 22 haribulan September 2011. Pemuda Pas discovered more than 170,000 suspicious voters "Pemuda Pas menjumpa lebih daripda 170,000 orang pengundi yang mencurigakan"
(Putrajaya 21 September) Pemuda Pas urge Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry to check on the inclusion of 170,818 persons with unknown country of origin as voters and citizens in 2nd quarter of 2011 alone. (Putrajaya 21 September) Pemuda Pas menyeru Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara mengadakan Suruhanjaya Diraja untuk menyiasat kejadian seramai 170,818 orang yang negara asal mereka tidak diketahui tetapi boleh diberikan kewarganegaraan Malaysia serta didaftarkan sebagai pengundi hanya dalam suku tahun kedua 2011 sahaja. Pemuda Pas pointed out that they discovered 170,818 voters with kod negara 71 in their IC number in SPR voters roll.
Pemuda Pas mendedahkan bahawa mereka mendapati seramai 170,818 orang pengundi dalam senarai SPR yang memegang kad pengenalan dengan kod negara 71 According to Ketua Pemuda Pas, Nasiruddin, 52% or 97,923 of these persons are allocated to Pakatan Rakyat administered states as the top 5 states with the most such voters are Selangor (29,758), Kuala Lumpur (17,548), Perak (16,680), Kelantan (15,345) and Penang (12,799).
Menurut Ketua Pemuda Pas, Nasiruddin, 52% atau 97,923 orang daripada jumlah tersebut telah diagihkan ke dalam negari-negeri yang ditadbirkan oleh kerajaan negeri Pakatan Rakyat di mana 5 negeri yang memiliki jenis pengundi in yang paling tinggi adalah Selangor (29,758), Kuala Lumpur (17,548), Perak (16,680), Kelantan (15,345) serta Penang (12799). "The number of people with unknown country of origin allocated to Pakatan administered states is huge and enough to topple the state government." "Bilangan orang yang negara asal mereka tidak dapat dikenalpastikan telah diagihkan ke negeri-negeri kawalan Pakatan Rakyat cukup untuk menjatuhkan kerajaan negeri." |
| Enough Talking, Time To Turun Padang To Walk Our Talk Posted: 22 Sep 2011 01:08 PM PDT I have written a long article and a lengthy one to jolt readers into understanding the initiative and be able to contribute and work towards our shared objective to kick out BN and ensure the new government does all that the Rakyat expect them to do. By Socrates What Is Wrong With Malaysia 1. Economic Bankruptcy We have known for a long, long time now, that Malaysia will be bankrupt by 2014 at the latest if we continue to let this present government lead us into serious debt, following in the footsteps of Greece. Greece has the European Union to back it up (at present), who does Malaysia turn to when we go down the same slippery slope?? Nobody.
2. Rampant Corruption & Inflation We know all the corruption cases that go into the billions of Ringgit that happens in Malaysia, with NFA (No Further Action) from the AG, and the perpetrators walking around with impunity. As a direct result from all this corruption, we, the Rakyat, have to suffer rises in prices of all goods and services while the elite enjoy the fruits of their corrupt practices. This is the main reason why our Barang all Naik. A few famous examples are FELDA, Scorpene submarines that cannot submerge, PKFZ, and Malaysia Airlines.
3. Custodial Deaths All the custodial deaths are but the tip of the iceberg that indicate all is not well with our enforcement agencies such as the PDRM and MACC. Indeed, the statistics bear testimony that the way these agencies are run as fiefdoms of the government of the day, and along the lines of enforcers of the Mafia, Triads, and Yakuza, to execute any Rakyat without trial. These enforcement agencies that are supposed to protect the rights of the Rakyat and keep them safe from harm, are the ones behaving as judge, jury, and executioner, all rolled into one. A few famous examples are Kugan (Indian), Teoh Beng Hock (Chinese), Ahmad Sarbaini (Malay) that make this a truly 1Malaysia group. In other words, no one, no matter from which race, is safe, unless you are one of the elite.
4. No Separation Of Powers = Dictatorship The Judiciary is handpicked by the government of the day, from the Chief Justice all the way down, and many are from the same political party as the ruling elite. This leads to massive miscarriages of justice with court decisions heavily favouring the government of the day, and wasting public resources in persecuting the Opposition members over non-existent, imagined wrongdoings. With the majority of MPs sitting in Parliament supporting the ruling party, instead of supporting the Rakyat who voted them in, this means the PM has total control of Parliament, the Government and the Judiciary. If these are not the trappings of a dictatorship, what is?? Where are the checks & balances?? There are none, in Malaysia.
5. Draconian, Oppressive Intimidating Laws dan lain-lain lagi What better way to stifle dissent than to threaten the Rakyat with indefinite detention without trial, with no chance of judicial intervention. Laws such as the ISA, OSA, EO, PPPA, Sedition Act are all used to make the Rakyat to "toe the line" or else .... With the AG practising "selective prosecution" where only people who oppose the government are incarcerated indefinitely with the cell key thrown away, and cases aginst the elite are always labelled "NFA", there are no more civil liberties to talk about in Malaysia any more. Which foreign investor in their right mind would ever want to invest in Malaysia?? Indeed, the enormous brain drain that Malaysia suffers from stems from this as the main reason - a total lack of civil liberties. Nobody who treasures justice, freedom, and equality, would ever want to invest in the Malaysia of today, nor make such a country their home. This list can go on and on and on, but let us examine closely what we have to do to drastically improve the situation, and see how we can implement our plan of action for the survival and betterment of Malaysia, and its Rakyat. We must not act in haste and desperation, or we most likely will end up getting rid of the elitist present day government, and voting in another government that is not much better.
What Needs To Be Done 1. Electoral Reform We need to ensure the maxim "One Person One Vote" and each and every vote is weighted similarly. To this end, we need to force the present day government to implement all the electoral reforms before the 13th General Election so that we know we are playing on a level playing field. To force the government of the day, and the Elections Commission into implementing all the electoral reforms proposed by BERSIH 2.0 before the GE13, it may be necessary for a BERSIH 3.0 to act as a catalyst to enforce this term.
2. Wannabe Government Must Pledge To Implement the Rakyat's Reform Agenda fully within the 5 years term Whilst we desperately want to get rid of the government of the day by voting them out, we must also take great care that the government that we vote in, can and will, do the Rakyat's bidding, and make structural reform their top priority. We most certainly do not want to install a government which is new and untested, and who will utilize all the existing power infrastructure set up by the present ruling elite, to perpetuate its hold on power, whilst oppressing the Rakyat in similar fashion. We, the Rakyat must tell our political representatives what we want for Malaysia before they get our votes. For far too long, the Rakyat of Malaysia have been led by our noses by these politicians who after winning the
elections, promptly lose their way, and lead us into quicksand! No more blank cheques, thank you very much. We must learn from lessons of the past and empower ourselves with the knowledge of what we want for Malaysia, clearly in our hearts and minds, and the politicians must give us what we want or we will give them the boot.
The Rakyat's Reform Agenda consists of 4 parts:- (a) Honouring the 18 point and 20 point agreements for Sarawak and Sabah respectively that was drawn up in 1963 when Malaysia was formed. (b) Replacing the NEP and NEM with the Social Inclusion Agenda that concentrates government help to the marginalized hardcore 40% (of total population in Malaysia) poor that is colour and religion blind, and the only
criteria is that the recipient must be poor. The Commission set up to implement and operate this will report directly to Parliament. (c) Return all organs of State to the Rakyat, the Judiciary, PDRM, MACC, AG, EC, etc. This means placing neutral, passionately professional and objective people to staff these agencies, and work for the Rakyat, and not for the government of the day, as is what is happening now. (d) Repeal all draconian laws and legislation, like the ISA, OSA, EO, UUCA, PPPA, Sedition Act etc. when the new government has its first sitting in Parliament.
3. GE13 - Vote Out BN/ dUMNO, Vote In New Govt. This is when we exercise our constitutional right and patriotic duty to make our votes count. With electoral reforms already in place, and other control mechanisms in place, we must now vote in the govt that has pledged to give us, the Rakyat, what we want.
What We Can Do to Contribute To Ending BN/ dUMNO's Dictatorial Rule 1. Join BERSIH 3.0 as and when necessary to force the EC and the govt to implement all the BERSIH 2.0 electoral reforms. 2. Write to your non-BN political candidate to tell them in no uncertain terms to fully support the Rakyat's Reform Agenda, and get their firm commitment on it. 3. Talk to everyone you know about this plan of action and get them to join you in liberating Malaysia. You may print this out and give copies to your friends, family, relatives and neighbours, and get their firm commitment to do it. 4. Join an NGO that you can believe in and help them work towards the objectives set out in this article. Examples are MCLM, SABM, etc. 5. Get trained as a Polling Agent and Counting Agent and help our non-BN political reps in their constituencies to neutralize unethical behaviour at the polls. 6. Vote out BN in GE13, and install a Rakyat-first government into Putrajaya.
Let's do it !
Socrates.
P.S. It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat - Theodore Roosevelt |
| Selangor's cash reserves hit historic high Posted: 22 Sep 2011 12:40 PM PDT (Harakah Daily) - The Selangor state government has managed to increase its cash reserves by some RM200 million in the first six months of this year, bringing the total to RM1.1 billion. According to Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, the amount is the highest achieved by the state over the past 28 years. Since taking over from Barisan Nasional, Khalid said the state has registered a significant increase in investment amounting to RM35 billion between 2008 and June 2011. "This means the present Selangor state government has not only succeeded in increasing the revenue but also in implementing effective and efficient financial management. "From the onset, I had misgivings in shouldering this responsibility given by the majority of the people in Selangor who wanted change, in the sense that the state's profits can be distributed and enjoyed in a fair manner to the multi-cultural citizens of this state," Khalid told during a royal dinner last night attended by the Agong and Sultan of Selangor, held in conjunction with the First Couple's official visit to the state. Top investment destinationKhalid said the state's citizen-centric economic policy called Merakyatkan Ekonomi Selangor (MES) had carried out various welfare programmes so that people could benefit from the state's development. READ MORE HERE. |
| The hudud hysteria Posted: 22 Sep 2011 12:39 PM PDT By The Malaysian Insider It is a no-brainer why Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad dredged up the issue of PAS's pursuit of hudud law in Kelantan. In sports parlance, this has been the "go to" issue for Barisan Nasional (BN) since it lost control of the state in 1990, whipping up hate and fear among non-Muslims towards the Islamist party and creating anxiety about the green tide and the chopping off hands. In the 1999 elections, he used it to save his government after the Malay vote deserted Umno following the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim a year earlier. Then, the non-Muslims, worried about Malaysia falling into the hands of "religious extremists" and concerned that Umno's poor standing could let PAS in through the backdoor, voted in large numbers for BN. And making PAS the extremists by misrepresenting what hudud is has been Dr Mahathir's favourite tactic, aided by the mainstream media. So with the Chinese not enamoured by the Najib administration and Umno, or particularly impressed with the mediocrity of the MCA leadership, Dr Mahathir went to his favourite topic: PAS and hudud. This move would receive blanket coverage in the Chinese press and is aimed at scaring the Chinese back into supporting the BN. The shortcoming of this strategy these days is that a growing number of Malaysians, especially urban folk, believe that Umno is more radical and extreme than PAS. With the breakdown of the system, the corruption and decaying institutions, just what is there to trumpet about the present system? The idea of tarring PAS as an extremist party worked when BN had a monopoly of the airwaves. It no longer does. Now a significant number of non-Muslims know that people like Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, Dr Dzulkelfy Ahmad, Khalid Samad, Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin, Mohamad Sabu and others are not the ogres painted by the mainstream media. They are reasonable people, Malaysians like you and me. In fact, in the last 24 months their politicians have stood up for Christians and other non-Muslims more than any Umno leader. So demonising them as extremists may not be as successful as in times past. But be assured that the likes of the mainstream media will not be daunted. |
| A-G bad choice to draw up ISA replacement laws, says ex-CID chief Posted: 22 Sep 2011 12:36 PM PDT By Debra Chong, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 – Datuk Seri Najib Razak has picked the wrong man to spearhead his legal transformation programme, a former senior police officer said today. Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim urged the prime minister to rethink his choice of Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail to lead the government group tasked with drawing up two new security laws to replace the soon-to-be repealed Internal Security Act (ISA) and other laws that allow for preventive detention. "Concern arises because PM Najib is still using the services of an Attorney-General whom the government itself has confirmed to be involved in criminal wrongdoing in the name of public justice," the ex-Criminal Investigation Department (CID) chief said today in an open letter. "Is he still qualified and suitable to lead a taskforce to draft vital laws that control freedom of speech and national security?" he asked, referring to the government's top lawyer whom he described as being dishonest and having serious credibility issues. Though the three-page letter was addressed to Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar, Mat Zain reminded Najib that the criminal allegations against Abdul Gani were made publicly in two previous parliamentary sessions — the first in March 2009 and the other just last December. The ex-cop stressed that it was no ordinary group that had mounted the investigations into Abdul Gani but an independent three-man panel, which included the Solicitor-General, and that one of the panellists had concluded the A-G was involved in evidence tampering.
READ MORE HERE.
|
| In with the unknown Posted: 22 Sep 2011 12:33 PM PDT By The EconomistTHE more enthusiastic are calling it a "hibiscus revolution", in honour of both Malaysia's national flower and the Arab awakening. Suddenly, it seems, one of Asia's most politically conservative countries is being convulsed by change and reform. But unlike in the Middle East, it is the government itself that wants to appear to be leading the way. After announcing a slew of economic reforms last year with the aim of modernising the economy, the prime minister, Najib Razak, has turned his attention to Malaysia's archaic laws governing civil rights. In August he promised to reform the system of press censorship. He also set up a parliamentary committee to review the electoral system. By Malaysia's standards, this is pretty wild stuff. But on September 15th Mr Najib trumped it all by promising to repeal many of the country's security laws, including the notoriously draconian Internal Security Act, the ISA. He also promised to relax the media laws and liberalise laws on freedom of assembly. Taken together, the government describes these changes as "the biggest shake-up of the Malaysian system since independence from Britain in 1957". The repeal of the ISA has been widely welcomed. The law was introduced in 1960 to help combat an insurgency by communist rebels, a period known as the "emergency". The ISA's sweeping powers permitted the police to detain suspects indefinitely. But long after the threat from the communists had disappeared, the law was being used by control-minded governments for a very different purpose: to jail opposition politicians, union activists, students and journalists—anyone whom they wanted out of the way. Neighbouring Singapore, which was briefly part of Malaysia in the 1960s, still has its own ISA. So news of the Malaysian repeal has provoked a growing debate among Singaporeans about whether it is time to do the same in the island-state. Other Malaysian laws on the way out include the Banishment Act of 1959, which allows non-citizens to be expelled, and the Emergency Ordinance, introduced in 1969 after race riots. Like the ISA, it allows people to be detained without charge. Elsewhere, the government says newspapers will now need to apply only once for a permit to publish, rather than every year. Supposedly, that reduces the scope for interference in the media. Malaysia's various opposition leaders have welcomed the reforms. Yet like many ordinary folk they remain sceptical about whether the repeals, reviews and reforms of the past weeks really amount to the "shake-up" that Mr Najib claims. The prime minister has earned something of a reputation for grand gestures and promises with little follow-through. The same may happen this time. For at the same time as repealing the ISA and other laws, he has promised to replace them with two new laws. These will also allow the police to "detain suspects for preventive reasons", only with more "judicial oversight" and "limits" on police power. What exactly those limits will be has yet to be explained. Opposition politicians say that the repeal of the ISA may yet turn out to be more symbolic than real if the new laws are almost as harsh as the old ones. Mr Najib has an election to win within the next year. If nothing else the reforms are highly political, carefully calibrated to appeal to the vital middle ground of Malaysian politics. The repeal of old laws should endear him to younger and more liberal voters; the promise to introduce strict new laws should satisfy hardliners within his own ruling United Malays National Organisation, or UMNO. Mr Najib's supporters hope that solidly positioning their man as a progressive reformer, a sort of Malaysian Tony Blair, will also revitalise the prime minister's flagging political fortunes. His poll ratings dropped alarmingly over the summer, following heavy criticism at home and abroad of the government's heavy-handed response to a rally in Kuala Lumpur making calls for electoral reform. Dropping the ISA might well restore his reputation after that public-relations disaster. Yet the thousands of Malaysians who took to the capital's streets on July 9th, only to be met with tear gas and water cannon, will be watching carefully to see the terms of the new legislation before they embrace Mr Najib as one of their own. |
| Unlikely for S'pore, Malaysia to merge: Lee Kuan Yew Posted: 22 Sep 2011 12:30 PM PDT By ChannelNewsAsia
SINGAPORE: Singapore's former minister mentor Lee Kuan Yew said it is unlikely that Singapore and Malaysia will merge in the future. He was speaking at the Singapore Global Dialogue, held at the Shangri-La Hotel, on Thursday evening. The dialogue was attended by some 400 participants from all over world.
Mr Lee was asked by a Malaysian citizen if he foresees both countries coming to a political or economic union in the future, given the growing strength of Indonesia.
Mr Lee said having gone through a failed merger in the 1960s, such a move is not likely.
But he also gave a positive outlook of bilateral relations, noting the efforts of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
These include developing the Iskandar region in southern Johor, which will complement Singapore's own economic growth.
"Najib has brought forth a positive view of bilateral relations and the desire to develop southern Johor, the Iskandar region, using Singapore as a kind of Shenzhen. (This) means a complementary set of forces will be let loose, which will make it unprofitable for either side to be unfriendly," said Mr Lee.
He added: "You want our investments, we want to invest. Having invested, we don't want problems with Malaysia, and Malaysia which wants more investments will not give us problems. So that's a positive development."
Mr Lee also said it is in the country's best interest to spread its wealth, to maintain "national solidarity".
"If you have fast growth, and it's confined only to one section of society, particularly the Chinese, and the Malays are left behind, I think it's not sustainable," said Mr Lee.
"It is in our interest to maintain national solidarity, to ensure there is a spread of the wealth that comes with growth, to the disadvantaged in the population."
The 40-minute dialogue saw wide-ranging questions from the audience.
Among them, what Mr Lee Kuan Yew thought were the key qualities that will keep Singapore going.
Mr Lee said factors such as meritocracy, pragmatism and a clean government have taken Singapore to where it is, and losing sight of any of them will cause the country to lose momentum.
Asked about his thoughts on Singapore's recent general election in May, where the ruling People's Action Party saw its vote share dip, Mr Lee said the "result was bound to happen".
"Our total dominance was not sustainable, a younger generation wants to see competition, they voted in an opposition party... (but) to have a two-party system is another matter. It depends on the performance of the opposition, the response of the government, and the mindset of succeeding younger generations that come with every general election."
When asked on how he hoped to be remembered, Mr Lee said he has no desire to be remembered for any particular reason, but he has a job to do - that is to maintain a fair distribution of growth for the country, and to maintain good relations with neighbours. |
| Wake Up From Narrow, Race-Based Politics Posted: 22 Sep 2011 12:28 PM PDT By Teresa Kok I am very surprised by MCA Youth National Chairman Wee Ka Siong's statement accusing me of misleading and stirring the Indian community, particularly the school board of SJKT Castlefield, against the Chinese community, simply for having helped the school board highlight their school and application problem. (Source: http://www.mca.org.my/en/dap-exco-teresa-kok%E2%80%99s-failure-to-sjkt-castlefield-non-comprehension-of-national-land-code-exposed/) Wee's statement shows that he views every issue from the angle of race and that MCA cannot wake up from Barisan Nasional's narrow, race-based politics. His statement will only make the school board of SJKT Castlefield even more annoyed with MCA and Wee himself. Wee is trying to racialise this issue to cover-up the mishandling of SJKT Castlefield's land application by the Education Ministry. It was the Education Department who advised them to apply for that plot of school reserve land at Wawasan Puchong which they had already approved for SJKC Kheng Chee. I had never advised SJKT Castlefield to apply for that particular school reserve land nor was I ever involved in the application process. I must stress here that the school board members have been meeting with the Education Department to apply for suitable relocation site ever since the school board of SJKT Castlefield learnt that their school land would be encroached upon by 6 LRT pillars. When Wee heard the news of SJKT Castlefield's application, as Deputy Education Minister, he should have met with the schoolboard of SJKT Castlefield and Education Ministry officers concerned to get the whole picture of what had actually transpired. He should not have racialised this issue and attacked me with unfounded accusations. I urge Wee Ka Siong to stop twisting SJKT Castlefield school land issue with racial remarks and untruths. The more he does that, the more he shows that MCA is on the verge of political bankruptcy that he has to stoop so low to play up racial issues. I also urge Wee and MCA leaders to quit spreading the lie that I had ever said that the Selangor State Government has approved 8 pieces of school land for Chinese schools. I have never made such a statement. The Petaling District Chinese Primary School Development Committee has also issued a statement to confirm this. |
| Lynas shares drop on higher losses Posted: 22 Sep 2011 12:22 PM PDT By Greg Roberts, Sydney Morning Herald Australia's largest rare earths miner Lynas Corporation has posted a 33 per cent jump in full year losses following a year blighted by controversy.
Public protests this year prompted an investigation by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) into whether the Lynas rare earth refinery in Malaysia presented radioactive risks. However, Lynas insists that the outlook is bright as it moves from development towards production.
On Friday, the miner reported a net loss for the year ended June 30 of $57.29 million, compared to $43.04 million last year.
The company's shares on Friday had fallen by three cents, or 2.71 per cent, to $1.075 at 1238 AEST.
The loss was flagged on Thursday when it received a query by the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), which noted a sharp slump in Lynas' share price and heavy trading volumes of about 43 million shares.
Lynas blamed the increased loss on higher operating costs at its flagship Mt Weld rare earths mine in Western Australia as production ramps up.
Lynas's operating expenses shot up by 87.5 per cent from $30.65 million to $57.46 million.
It says 11,000 tonnes a year of rare earth oxides will be produced at Mt Weld.
Lynas received a favourable report from the IAEA about the refinery in Kuantan, but has been told to provide a long-term waste management plan.
More than 60 per cent of it has been built.
It is hoped the plant will help curtail China's monopoly of more than 95 per cent of the global supply of rare earths.
During the year, Lynas has struck an agreement with German giant Siemens to produce magnets for use at wind farms, enabling it to provide security of supply for the rare earths they require, with China cutting export quotas.
Japan's Sojitz also took out a $US25 million stake in Lynas to secure supply.
The commodity is booming because of strong global demand for the commodity, which is used in electronics, computers and other high-technology applications.
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| Revolts looming in Sabah BN Posted: 22 Sep 2011 12:15 PM PDT By Luke Rintod, FMT KOTA KINABALU: If the virulent exchanges among Sabah Barisan Nasional component parties are to be taken seriously, then back-stabbing, revolts and open challenges will be a common scene in the coming general election in Sabah. Already at each other's throat is the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Umno leaders close to Chief Minister Musa Aman. Sandakan Umno Youth has stated that it will not support LDP president, VK Liew, if he seeks re-election in Sandakan, a stronghold of Musa. LDP, formerly helmed by Chong Kah Kiat, who, political observers believe, still has a hand in the party, does not have a working relationship with Umno in Kudat. It is Chong's hometown and current LDP secretary-general Teo Chee Kang, the Tanjung Kapur assemblyman, is having a tough time with Umno leaders there who are aligned to Musa. The fallout between LDP and Musa can be traced back to when Musa put a stop to a Chong-inspired project to erect the world's tallest Mazu (a sea goddess) statue in Kudat. Parts of the statue are still laying at its original site in Kudat till this day. LDP-Gerakan war In addition to its quarrel with Musa and Umno, the Chinese-based LDP also has a problem with Gerakan, another peninsula-based BN component party. Gerakan has demanded that it be given the chance to represent BN in the constituencies formerly held by Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), which is now in the opposition in Sabah. LDP in turn wants all the constituencies gained by Gerakan through defections to be returned
to them and has also laid claim to SAPP's seats as the only local Chinese-based party in the state BN. Leaders within the BN circle are also worried about possible revolts in Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Umno's strongest ally in Sabah. "While PBS is very reliable in garnering support from the Kadazandusun-Murut community for BN, this time impatient leaders might be tempted to go against their own party's pick," said a component leader who did not want to be identified. These "impatient" PBS leaders include divisional chairmen and deputy chairmen who are well into their 50s and who have always cried foul over a myriad of domestic issues, including the perennial problem of the large presence of illegal immigrants from the southern Philippines and Indonesia and the lack of power-sharing in an Umno-dominated Sabah. Some have named PBS divisional chairman for Sook, Bernard Maraat, as a potential rebel to stand as an independent in the coming election. Revolts within PBS Maraat, the popular highly-educated Murut, was formerly with Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) but had since joined PBS and was elected its divisional chairman in Sook that has always been allotted to the tiny PBRS, which has been helmed by another long-serving leader Joseph Kurup. In other areas too, especially where the incumbent assemblymen are long-serving and unpopular, some PBS divisional leaders are working to propel themselves as possible candidates within or without BN. Some of these potential candidates think that with the votes being split among BN, SAPP and Pakatan Rakyat, they stand a chance while others claim they would just go for it to prove a point or two. "Many PBS assemblymen are old-timers; some of them have been there for far too long and many good leaders in PBS believe they would never have the chance no matter how popular and capable they are," said a party insider. PBS is helmed by 72-year-old Joseph Pairin Kitingan, a former chief minister who has been Tambunan assemblyman for more than three decades. A few days ago, he announced that he will defend both his current seats in Tambunan and Keningau where he is its long-serving MP in the coming general election. "Pairin might be making a statement to cool down the silent pushing and shoving to replace him in either of the two seats. "There is already a movement in these areas to promote certain leaders if an opportunity arises," said the party insider. Squabbling Upko PBS deputy president, Maximus Ongkili, is said to be likely to move from Kota Marudu to either Tambunan or Keningau in the next election. READ MORE HERE. |
| Political winds force Malaysian democratic reforms Posted: 22 Sep 2011 12:12 PM PDT By ChannelNewsAsia KUALA LUMPUR - Prime Minister Najib Razak's vow to move away from Malaysia's authoritarian past is an acknowledgement of growing public pressure for real democracy that many believe will now become irresistible. Muslim-majority Malaysia has been dominated for five decades by the United Malays National Organisation, which has delivered strong growth and political stability but kept a tight lid on the volatile mix of races and religions.
In recent times though, impatience with UMNO dominance, corruption, and 1970s-era policies that give preferential treatment to ethnic Malays and other indigenous groups, have put the government under pressure as never before.
Najib, who is expected to call snap elections within months, said last week he would replace a dreaded law allowing detention without trial, and other measures seen as tools of UMNO oppression, to achieve a "modern, mature" democracy.
More openness is inevitable, said Karim Raslan, a Malaysian commentator on social and political issues, but the path ahead will be rocky with resistance from an entrenched old guard.
"We are no longer a 'strongman democracy'. However, we're still feeling our way forward. We don't know either how far or how fast we'll be able to open up," he said.
Signs of change are everywhere. A once-insignificant opposition has gained in influence, making major inroads in 2008 national polls, and has designs on power.
The Internet is alive with popular news portals highly critical of the government -- print and broadcast media are UMNO-controlled -- and Facebook and Twitter campaigns have had some success in blocking government moves.
Najib's unusually bold step was aimed at salvaging re-election hopes dented in part by the slow pace of political change and outrage over the crushing of a July rally in the capital Kuala Lumpur calling for election reform.
But the premier gave few details, and far-reaching reform will be fought fiercely by Malay conservatives who have a major influence on the government which has been run by an UMNO-led coalition since independence in 1957.
"You can change all the laws you want but if you don't change the institutions that execute them -- the police and the government structure -- what changes?" said leading analyst Bridget Welsh from Singapore Management University.
Malaysia's court system and police are widely considered in thrall to the UMNO, and losing control over them raises the spectre of impartial agencies probing alleged UMNO wrongdoing.
A powerful security apparatus would also be loathe to loosen broad powers it sees as essential to ensure harmony among a population that includes majority Muslim Malays and Chinese and Indian minorities, and which has seen racial violence in the past.
Any threat to the legally enshrined privileges for "bumiputra" -- or "sons of the soil" -- will be hotly contested.
They hand Malays and other indigenous people advantages in politics and the economy through a range of benefits including university slots, and government jobs and contracts.
But even growing numbers of Malays complain the system is abused by a corrupt elite seeking profit and increased power.
"The forces in power need these things in order to survive. For those at the top, that is their gravy train. It is a predatory system fed by corruption and it is very endemic," said Welsh.
Najib will need to win over powerful hardliners in his party, a tough task given that his predecessor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi faced severe UMNO blowback after he introduced anti-graft reforms.
But the opposition is already calling for further loosening gestures, and failure to deliver substantive change could see Najib and UMNO severely punished by voters, said Ibrahim Suffian, director of the Merdeka Centre, Malaysia's leading polling firm.
"He has opened the bottle and the genie will come out. If he decides to close the bottle or delay, there is going to be a backlash," he said.
But few believe that the winds of change that blew over regimes in the "Arab Spring" uprisings in fellow Muslim countries can be completely blocked here.
"When it does happen, (Najib's reforms) will set in train a whole series of other changes -- a chain reaction that will inevitably make Malaysian society more open and dynamic," said Karim.
"(Malaysia will) be more difficult to manage, but that's the direction we're moving in." |
| Testing the limits of reform Posted: 22 Sep 2011 12:09 PM PDT By Azmi Sharom, The Star Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak indeed has the country buzzing with his promises of sweeping reforms, but any change to these laws will take at least a year – and that's practically an infinity in politics. THERE'S been so much excited quivering during the past week over the Prime Minister's Malaysia Day speech that I sometimes feel like I'm living in a bowl of jelly. This is not the first time a PM has made the Malaysian public as giddy as schoolgirls at a Justin Bieber concert. I am old enough to remember former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's "Clean, Efficient, Trustworthy" promise upon taking power and how people thought that this was the beginning of a new type of government. One that was not "dirty, incompetent and dishonest". Of course, after the numerous financial scandals involving billions, that hope went out the window. Tun Abdullah Badawi's "work with me not for me" statement also captured the public's imagination and his promise for greater civil liberties had hardcore opposition supporters voting BN for the first time. It didn't take too long before tear gas and chemical water cannons washed away the euphoria which greeted the new PM. Now it is Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's turn, and indeed he has got the country buzzing with his promises of sweeping reforms. The Internal Security Act (ISA) is to be abolished, and the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) amended along with a slew of other changes. I do not believe that I am being overly cynical when I say "this is all well and good but I'll believe it when I see it". My concern is two-fold. First, unless and until we actually see the shape that the amended PPPA takes, and until we can closely scrutinise the two new laws which are supposed to be the replacement for the ISA, I think it is premature to think that we are finally rid of these draconian laws. From my understanding, under the proposed amended PPPA, a newspaper can still have its licence taken away by the Government. Is this process going to be easy for the Government and without any recourse to the courts for the paper? If so, then there's not much change, is there? The same goes with the two new security laws that are supposed to replace the ISA. If there is still broad discretion to detain without trial then all we have is old wine in a new bottle. I am unconvinced, for example, that the new laws will only be used for terrorism cases. If the new law is only for terrorists, who is going to define who is a terrorist and who is not? And without a trial, a detention order can still be easily abused – all one needs to do is accuse a person of being a terror threat. My second concern has to do with the sustainability of the idea within Umno. Let's not forget, the system of government we have in Malaysia follows the Westminster model, that is to say we don't vote for our PM directly. The PM is fundamentally the choice of the party with the majority in Parliament, as opposed to the presidential system where the leader of the nation is chosen directly by the people. If this idea to abolish the ISA and to make these sweeping systemic changes is primarily from the Prime Minister, how can we be sure that his party will follow through with it if he is no longer PM? Any change to these laws will take at least a year. A week is a long time in politics, a year is practically an infinity – and anything can happen in such a period. Putting my concerns aside, I hope that something positive will come from these promises and that these laws will be changed, and the changes will be substantial and meaningful. If it does happen, let us not forget that they happened because the people wanted it to happen. No matter what the ruling party claims, if it wasn't for the shock that they had in March 2008, if it wasn't for the constant call for the repeal of these laws from the public and civil society, we wouldn't all be quivering as we are now. |
| IGP: BN may lose power if ISA issue not addressed Posted: 22 Sep 2011 12:05 PM PDT By G Manimaran, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 — Barisan Nasional (BN) may lose the next general election if the ruling coalition does not tackle issues surrounding the Internal Security Act (ISA), says top cop Tan Sri Ismail Omar. The Inspector-General of Police wrote this in a book that was published before Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced plans to repeal the security law last week. In the book titled "1 Malaysia Menjana Negara Sejahtera dan Bahagia Menjelang 2020", Ismail (picture) said the law, introduced in 1960, would continue to be a hotly-debated political issue, increasing support for the opposition. "The government is said to continue using the double-edged sword of the ISA. For the government, it is important to maintain peace and national security but the opposition will continue to gain public sympathy and voter support," he wrote. He said "if the government does not manage this issue well, it will lead to defeat in the next general election." Ismail, who replaced Tan Sri Musa Hassan as police chief in September 2010, said that even though the government had promised to review the ISA when Najib became prime minister in April 2009, many had doubted this pledge. But Najib announced on September 15, the eve of Malaysia Day, that his administration would repeal the ISA and other security laws to give more freedom to the public. The prime minister said the law, which allows for preventive detention, would be replaced by two laws that he promised would be limited to acts of terrorism and would never be used for political reasons. In the chapter titled "Peace and Security Towards Forming a Developed Nation," Ismail wrote that he expected the post-2008 election landscape to continue in the future. READ MORE HERE. |
| Malaysia to launch affirmative plan for minority communities Posted: 22 Sep 2011 11:50 AM PDT By The Times of India KUALA LUMPUR: There is no level playing field for the minorities in Malaysia especially in securing jobs, admissions in educational institutes, but this scenario will change soon, a top ethnic Indian leader has said. "Affirmative programmes are good but if they bypass a particular community, it leads to deprivation and deprivation leads to violence," G Palanivel, President of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), the largest Indian based political party, said noting that these issues were being looked into.
"We are addressing the issues, talking with the prime minister, and these will be corrected. The present government led Prime Minister Najib Razak is coming forward to give level playing field to all," he told a group of Indian journalists visiting Malaysia.
Palanivel, who described MIC as the single largest mother party of India, said the present and future will be different than the past now.
"Now action is inclusive of the minority community over the years we have progressed. He felt that over 70 per cent of the ethnic Indians were doing well and 30 per cent had been deprived adding that even majority Malays and minority ethnic Chinese too fell into this category.
"The present government will correct all forms of deprivation not only for ethnic Indians but for everyone else even the Malays," he added. Malaysia has an affirmative plan for the majority Malays. SOURCE: HERE |
| Malaysia too dangerous, says council Posted: 22 Sep 2011 11:43 AM PDT By NineMsn, Australia The Refugee Council says there may be hope in the future to work with Malaysia on asylum seekers, but now is not the time for an agreement with the Asian nation. The government has introduced legislation to parliament to shore up its deal with Malaysia to transfer 800 boat-arriving asylum seekers for 4000 properly processed refugees. Council chief Paul Power, who visited Malaysia in July, told a Senate inquiry into the agreement in Canberra on Friday that the government had "misdiagnosed the problem" and he had grave concerns for the safety of people sent to Malaysia. "The visit confirmed for me that concerns of refugees for their safety and security are soundly based," Mr Power said. "Refugees in Malaysia are living in deep poverty with no legal status and forced to break the law in order to earn money to feed themselves. "Harassment and violence are part of the refugee community's daily experience and threat of arrest is constant." Mr Power said there had been some improvement in recent years, and he hoped that in the long-term Malaysia would improve its human rights record. "It is now less likely that UN-recognised refugees will get caned than it was two years ago," he said. "...But that is hardly sufficient grounds for suggesting now is the time to send asylum seekers who have transited through Malaysia back there." Mr Power said the solution lay in closer work between countries in the region. He said one of the problems was that 15 out of 19 nations in the region were not parties to the UN refugee convention. "This must change if ever we are to see a change to the current system of refugees and asylum seekers," he said, adding that the region was now seeing a "mad scramble for people seeking to find minimum levels of protection". Commonwealth Ombudsman Allan Asher told the inquiry that while he had been told by the immigration department that Malaysian authorities would only use force as a "very last resort", he was not satisfied about protection for the people sent there. "Our point is such agreements, if they are not scrutinised and if they are not operationalised, should not give us any degree of comfort," Mr Asher said. He said his office - which oversees Australian and offshore refugee programs - had yet to receive the procedure guide to be used by Malaysian officials. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young asked Mr Asher how his office would be able to monitor what happened in Malaysia, when monitoring Australian facilities was hard enough. "Within Australia, with all of the openness and access that we have as immigration ombudsman, we make very frequent visits to Christmas Island and other detention centres," Mr Asher said. "We urge the government, in the implementation of an offshore agreement, that proportionate degrees of supervision be provided there so that we can at least have the assurances that we have for people in Australia." He said asylum seekers were "exceptionally vulnerable individuals". "The procedures need to be much more clearly elaborated and published," he said. Mr Asher said the documents he had seen relating to the agreement did not appear to address protections for unaccompanied minors. "The interests of those individuals must be fully protected," he said. Ombudsman office immigration complaints director Rohan Anderson told the inquiry there were no binding assurances in the Malaysia agreement that asylum seekers would not be returned to their countries of origin. "We are not assured that that would be the case," Mr Anderson said. "This is a case of an agreement that is not legally binding - it is a reflection of the parties' commitments and aspirations." Mr Anderson said the immigration department had not provided his office with any final costings of the Malaysia deal and he had had to source a figure from media reports. "Even though we are the immigration ombudsman ... we have not been given the basic information," he said. Source: Here |
| TG Nik Aziz mahu Hudud, Negara Islam tak peduli DAP! Posted: 22 Sep 2011 04:50 AM PDT MILOSUAM MENTERI Besar Kelantan Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat lebih rela jika DAP mahu keluar daripada Pakatan Rakyat jika tidak bersetuju dengan pendiriannya mahu menegakkan hukum hudud dan menubuhkan negara Islam. Tuan Guru Nik Aziz berkata beliau akan tetap dengan pendiriannya untuk menegakkan hukum hudud dan penubuhan negara Islam walaupun mendapat tentangan hebat daripada rakan sekutunya itu.
"Saya tetap dengan Islam kerana benda (perkara) ini wujud pada tahun 1950-an lagi dan bukannya benda baru. Berdialog beberapa kali berdialog dah," kata beliau.
"Nak jumpa beberapa kali jumpa dah. DAP dah (pernah) keluar sekali dah, pada masa (gabungan pembangkang dalam) Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah (APU), saya kata 'bye-bye' tak apa.
"Sekarang dia (DAP) masuk balik ... itu dia (DAP) punya pasallah (jika DAP mahu keluar)," kata beliau selepas Majlis Himpunan Kursus Kenegaraan 2011 di Pusat Tarbiyah Islamiah Kelantan (Putik) di sini hari ini.
Dipetik Bernama Online, Nik Aziz berkata demikian mengulas kenyataan Pengerusi DAP, Karpal Singh bahawa parti itu tetap menolak penubuhan negara Islam dan pelaksanaan hukum hudud kerana ia bertentangan sama sekali dengan Perlembagaan Persekutuan.
Awal hari ini Ketua Pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim secara peribadi menyokong pelaksanaan hukum hudud, tetapi katanya ia belum dibincangkan oleh Pakatan Rakyat.
Semalam, Nik Aziz menolak pandangan bekas mufti Perlis, Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin bahawa keadaan negara ketika ini tidak kondusif untuk melaksanakan hukum hudud itu.
READ MORE HERE |
| Anwar & Zaid Ibrahim's - chalk & cheese Posted: 22 Sep 2011 04:39 AM PDT KTemoc Konsiders Should I write about Anwar Ibrahim supporting PAS' plan to implement hudud laws? Ought I to question his so-called (and quite frankly, very undeserved) title of Asia's Renaissance Man? Or, perhaps I could write about his complete loss of commonsense when he claimed that rights of non-Muslims (hey, what about Muslims?) will not be affected under a system of law where hands could be irreversible chopped off or people whipped and stoned, especially when we know all too well the quality of our judges? Asia's Renaissance Man supporting hudud? Wakakaka!
Or, maybe I should ask whether the DAP is now squirming with such an ally and touted leader of Pakatan? No, am not asking Tian Chua or Eli Wong because those PR people are utterly hopeless without any spine or independent thoughts, much as I love Eli ;-)
To answer my own questions, alas, no, I won't because Anwar being Anwar is always tap-dancing around any tulips which would make him personally smell sweet – note his classic evasive weaving 4-face Brahma-nic snake oil salesman talk, with a back door open for escape, where he … stressed … that PR had not discussed the matter and this was only a "personal opinion".
What I do know is that dearest invincibly anti-DAP Helen Ang would be dancing too, but in rapt delight at DAP's undoubted discomfort at the 'out from the left field' declaration by its unreliable undermining unconscionable Asia's Renaissance ally wakakaka.
Sorry, Uncle Lim and Lim GE, can't help you guys – go see Karpal Singh who will surely have a word or two to say about Anwar's treacherous pulling of the rug right from under the DAP's feet.
Rather, I prefer to write about Zaid Ibrahim.
But as a refresher, some words first about Zaid that I had written in Pakatan must not avoid the unavoidable as follows: READ MORE HERE |
| Analisis Pakatan Rakyat menuju PRU 13 di Sabah Posted: 22 Sep 2011 04:34 AM PDT 20 perkara yang ditawarkan oleh PR untuk rakyat Sabah dalam PRU ke 13 yang diurakan-urakan bakal berlangsung dalam masa terdekat ini, merupakan antara isu yang sangat genting dan menjadi satu tuntutan kepada PR untuk memberikan yang terbaik kepada rakyat Sabah jika PR berjaya menakluki 'fixed deposit' BN ini. Siti Salasiah Salamun, Harakah Daily Pendahuluan Pada 16 September yang lalu, bersamaan dengan sambutan Hari Malaysia, Konvensyen Pakatan Rakyat Sabah telah berlangsung dengan jayanya di Convention and Event Center, Star City, Kota Kinabalu Sabah. Konvensyen ini dihadiri oleh semua penyokong dan ahli dari Pakatan Rakyat seluruh negeri. Konvensyen yang bermula dari pukul 1.00 petang hingga 5.00 petang itu bertujuan untuk merasmikan Buku Jingga Pakatan Rakyat Negeri Sabah. Lim Kit Siang, Haji Mohamad Sabu dan Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah antara pimpinan Pakatan Rakyat yang turut hadir memberikan ucapan dan sekaligus merasmikan Buku Jingga Pakatan Rakyat. Tawaran PR Tawaran baru Pakatan Rakyat (PR) untuk rakyat Sabah meliputi 20 perkara. Antaranya adalah mengenai agama, menjunjung kedaulatan negeri Sabah, menangani pendatang asing tanpa izin (PATI), pemuliharaan tanah Sabah, Borneonisasi, pengambilalihan Blok L dan M, 20 perkara autonomi Sabah, royalti minyak dan gas, dasar kabotaj, pengawalan cukai hasil negeri Sabah, kajian fungsi FELDA dan FELCRA, Yayasan Orang Asal, pembasmian kemiskinan, perumahan rakyat, peranan Yayasan Sabah dan lain-lain. Penerimaan rakyat Sabah terhadap PR pada masa ini adalah pada tahap yang amat baik. Di sesetengah kawasan, wakil PR sama ada terdiri daripada PAS, DAP atau PKR, dijadikan rujukan utama oleh masyarakat setempat untuk memberitahu masalah dan mendapatkan penyelesaian kepada masalah itu, hal ini menjadi simbolik kepada ketidakcekapan wakil rakyat BN yang ada untuk melaksanakan amanah dan tanggungjawab yang diberikan. Menurut Ketua Penerangan Pas Sabah, Hisamudin Sulaiman yang juga merupakan Yang Dipertua Pas Kawasan Pensiangan, apabila beliau turun mendengar keluhan dan permasalahan masyarakat di kawasannya, di samping mendedahkan penipuan yang dilakukan oleh BN, pada ketika itulah masyarakat sedar bahawa selama ini mereka hanya ditipu dan tidak diambil berat langsung oleh wakil rakyat yang dipilih oleh mereka dalam PRU lalu. Beliau juga mendakwa bahawa penduduk kampung memberikan kepada beliau beberapa pucuk surat yang mengandungi berbagai-bagai permintaan daripada penduduk kampung. Beliau menegaskan kepada penduduk kampung bahawa tugas wakil rakyat yang dipilih dalam pilihanraya bukan hanya untuk memberikan beras sekilo dua ataupun memberikan 'tandas segera', tetapi ia lebih dari itu, iaitu mendengar dan menyelesaikan permasalahan yang wujud. PAS mengukuh di Sabah Di kawasan Sandakan pula, penerimaan masyarakat terhadap PR juga pada tahap yang amat memberangsangkan. Masyarakat di sekitar Batu Sapi sangat teruja apabila mengetahui bahawa Tuan Guru Haji Hadi akan turun ke kawasan mereka, namun harapan mereka untuk bertemu dengan dengan beliau tidak kesampaian apabila beliau tidak dapat hadir atas sebab-sebab tertentu yang tidak dapat dielakkan. Namun kedatangan beliau di tempat lain seperti di Tawau, amat meriah dan disambut dengan baik. 20 perkara yang ditawarkan oleh PR untuk rakyat Sabah dalam PRU ke 13 yang diurakan-urakan bakal berlangsung dalam masa terdekat ini, merupakan antara isu yang sangat genting dan menjadi satu tuntutan kepada PR untuk memberikan yang terbaik kepada rakyat Sabah jika PR berjaya menakluki 'fixed deposit' BN ini. Antara isu yang cukup sinonim dengan rakyat negeri ini, adalah isu Tanah Hak Adat Bumiputera (NCR). Di semua kawasan, terutamanya kawasan pedalaman, seperti di kawasan Pensiangan, kawasan Batu Sapi, dan kawasan Beluran serta di Merotai, penduduk kampung meneroka dan mengusahakan tanah-tanah tersebut untuk dijadikan kawasan petempatan dan pertanian atau penternakan. Apabila tanah-tanah tersebut diusahakan, ia sepatutnya menjadi milik penduduk yang mengusahakannya. Namun, hal yang sebaliknya pula terjadi apabila kerajaan sewenang-wenangnya merampas tanah NCR tersebut. Pampasan yang dijanjikan hanya menjadi 'pemanis mulut' sahaja tanpa ada tindakan susulan. Rakyat dibiarkan turun naik ke mahkamah dan akhirnya kes ditutup. Pembelaan yang sewajarnya dibuat oleh wakil rakyat seperti yang diharapkan oleh penduduk kampung, tidak terjadi. Malahan wakil rakyat pula hilang entah ke mana. Hanya akan muncul apabila ada program nyanyian, kebudayaan dan acara tari menari yang sememangnya sinonim dengan jiwa wakil rakyat BN negeri ini. Tahun ini, PAS Sabah amat tekun dan gigih untuk memastikan Sabah tidak lagi menjadi 'fixed deposite' BN pada PRU akan datang. Pada Mei tahun ini, Konvensyen PAS Sabah yang berlangsung di Sabah Hotel, Sandakan yang bermatlamatkan "merakyatkan PAS di Sabah" telah mengusulkan juga beberapa tindakan lain antaranya untuk menyebarkan isi kandungan Buku Jingga, menarik undi masyarakat bukan Islam, mengenalpasti permasalahan masyarakat setempat, kursus pilihanraya kawasan dan penekanan kualiti ahli. Seminar pendidikan yang diadakan di Kundasang yang turut berlangsung beberapa bulan yang lalu turut menarik perhatian. Resolusi seminar ini antaranya menubuhkan Sekolah Rendah Islam (SRI), menubuhkan Pusat Pendidikan Islam, Pusat Tahfiz, Pondok Fi Zilalil Quran, Madrasah Al Ulumiyyah wa Tarbiah dan sebagainya. Hal ini berikutan insitusi keagamaan yang seperti ini yang kurang di Sabah. Ia merupakan langkah yang sangat bijak untuk mendekatkan rakyat Sabah terhadap ilmu keagamaan yang bersistemkan madrasah, pondok dan SRI. Pada 17 September yang lalu pula, Konvensyen Pas Negeri Sabah telah berlangsung di Yaho Hotel, Kota Kinabalu. Konvensyen pada kali ini turut dimeriahkan dengan kehadiran semua ahli PAS dari seluruh pelusuk negeri ini. Konvensyen yang berlangsung selama sehari ini turut mengupas mengenai Negara Berkebajikan: Tawaran Pas yang telah disampaikan oleh ahli parlimen Pasir Putih Kelantan, Ustaz Muhammad Husin. Menariknya, konvensyen kali ini menggunakan buku MENEGAKKAN PERJUANGAN: Memenangi Pilihanraya Menerusi Persiapan Tarbiyyah yang ditulis oleh Ustaz Datuk Abu Bakar Chik yang turut digunakan ketika Ijtimak Tarbawi DPPP di Rusila Terengganu pada Oktober tahun lalu. Sebanyak tiga kertas kerja telah dibentangkan iaitu 'Menegakkan Perjuangan' yang disampaikan oleh Ustaz Anuar Ali merangkap Timbalan Pesuruhjaya Pas 3, 'Pilihanraya adalah Jihad dan Wasilah Perjuangan' yang disampaikan oleh Ketua Dewan Ulama Pas Sabah, Ustaz Nuruddin Abdullah dan pembentangan ketiga mengenai 'Adakah PAS boleh menang dan memerintah Malaysia' yang disampaikan oleh Ketua Penerangan PAS Sabah, Saudara Hisamudin Sulaiman. Majlis ini diakhiri dengan bacaan doa wehdah oleh Ketua Pemuda PAS Sabah, Saudara Lahirul Latigu. Jaringan PAS dan NGO Konvensyen PAS kali ini juga disertai oleh beberapa wakil NGO yang turut serta bersama-sama memperjuangkan isu setempat, antaranya NGO ini bekerjasama dengan PAS Sabah untuk menangani isu alam sekitar yang melibatkan pembukaan lombong arang batu di Felda UMAS. Hasilnya, mereka berjaya menghentikan pembukaan lombong tersebut. Hal ini secara tidak langsung menampakkan bahawa PAS adalah sebuah parti yang universal, tidak hanya merangkumi hal ehwal keagamaan semata-mata. Di Sabah, pilihanraya Parlimen Batu Sapi yang diadakan tahun lalu adalah cerminan kepada usaha PR di Sabah, khususnya di Sandakan. Walaupun ketika itu wakil dari PKR yang menjadi calon bertanding, namun usaha untuk memenangkan calon ini turut dibantu oleh jentera dari semua parti PR. Hasilnya, lebih 3000 pengundi yang mengundi calon PKR ini. Ia merupakan satu 'hint' awal betapa rakyat Sabah mahukan perubahan yang lebih baik dan wakil rakyat dipilih biarlah menjadi mata dan telinga kepada rakyat di parlimen nanti, bukan hanya melihat dan membiarkan rakyat terseksa. Keberkesanan pendidikan rendah PAS Penerimaan masyarakat terhadap PAS juga turut dilihat melalui peningkatan murid yang berdaftar di PASTI yang ada di seluruh negeri. Hal ini menunjukkan kepercayaan yang tinggi oleh masyarakat agar anak-anak mereka dapat dididik dengan baik dan berkonsepkan Islam. Dakwah Islamiyyah turut dapat disebarkan secara 'bil hikmah' melalui PASTI. Rata-rata ibu bapa pelajar yang menghantar anak-anak ke sekolah PASTI, berpakaian tidak menepati syariat Islam dan disinilah peranan guru ditonjolkan. Beretika pakaian yang sopan dan menutup aurat merupakan tuntutan wajib untuk semua guru PASTI. Pada masa ini juga, PASTI beroperasi di seluruh tempat yang mempunyai kepadatan penduduk yang tinggi dan tidak hanya tertumpu pada sesuatu kawasan sahaja. PASTI ada di bandar-bandar besar, di flat-flat mewah dan ada juga di kawasan perumahan elit. Hal ini menunjukkan bahawa PAS mampu untuk memberikan pendidikan bukan hanya kepada golongan sasaran tertentu sahaja tetapi merangkumi kepada semua golongan. Rintangan seteru politik Namun, kepastian yang nyata adalah pihak BN tidak akan pernah untuk berdiam diri membiarkan Sabah jatuh ke tangan PR. Ternyata pelbagai usaha difokuskan kepada negeri ini untuk memenangkan BN di Sabah pada pilihanraya akan datang. Ketika syawal baru-baru ini pun, Ketua Menteri turun ke semua masjid yang ada untuk menyampaikan sumbangan dan membuat rumah terbuka menjamu rakyat yang dahagakan janji ketika PRU lalu. Pemberian beras dan barang-barang keperluan lain kepada golongan sasaran seperti ibu tunggal atau orang kurang upaya sudah menjadi kelaziman untuk wakil BN apabila turun bertemu masyarakat. Malangnya wakil BN menganggap bahawa itu sudah cukup untuk memadamkan janji-janji yang dibuat ketika PRU lalu. Rakyat Sabah sudah bertahun hidup dalam keadaan yang sama, tidak ada perubahan yang drastik walaupun Sabah merupakan negeri yang kaya pada suatu ketika dahulu. Jalan raya misalnya, hanya dibaiki apabila tiba musim pilihanraya, jambatan di kampung hanya akan dibaiki apabila wakil rakyat BN akan melawat kampung tersebut dan jalan yang berlubang hanya akan ditampal apabila Ketua Menteri melawat kawasan tersebut. Fenomena yang amat menyedihkan. Adakah rakyat yang tinggal di kawasan itu tidak berhak untuk mendapat kemudahan yang baik? Kenapa perlu tunggu 'orang besar' masuk ke kawasan tersebut baru semuanya akan dipulihkan? Saya menyarankan agar Ketua Menteri dan jemaah menterinya berulang alik dari Sandakan ke Kota Kinabalu, atau dari mana sahaja, dengan menaiki kereta melalui jalan raya yang ada. Biar mereka turut merasai betapa sistem perhubungan jalan raya yang ada di negeri ini berada pada tahap yang amat teruk. Di kawasan Sandakan, misalnya di kawasan pedalaman Batu 12, sehingga saat ini penduduk masih belum mendapat bekalan air bersih walhal tempat tersebut mempunyai sekolah dan petempatan. Penduduk di kawasan itu juga perlu menunggu 11 tahun untuk mendapatkan sistem perhubungan jalan raya yang lebih baik. Logik atau tidak rakyat perlu menunggu bertahun lamanya untuk mendapat kemudahan yang lebih baik? Sedangkan BN memerintah Sabah lebih lama daripada tempoh itu. Jika anda berkesempatan ke Sandakan, anda akan melihat sepanjang jalan dari Batu 14 hingga ke Batu 12, jalan raya sedang dalam proses pembesaran. Hal ini rentetan daripada jumlah kenderaan yang semakin bertambah. Satu langkah yang amat baik dan disambut baik oleh semua penduduk namun persoalan yang timbul, kenapa sekarang usaha itu dibuat? Kenapa tidak selepas sahaja kemenangan BN di Sabah pada PRU lalu? Bergerak pula ke kawasan bas ekspres Sandakan, anda akan melihat satu kawasan yang amat daif. Kawasan bas ekspress ini hanya terdiri daripada beberapa pondok tiket bas dan tandas serta beberapa gerai jualan makanan. Dan lebih malang lagi, kawasan bas ekspres ini tidak berbumbung. Namun, jika anda ke Tawau atau Kota Kinabalu, anda akan dapat merasakan bahawa stesen bas ekspres yang ada setaraf dengan stesen bas ekspres di bandar utama negeri-negeri di Semenanjung Malaysia. Cukup lengkap dan gah. Walhal, Ketua Menteri Sabah adalah anak jati Sandakan, namun mengapa Sandakan seakan-akan dianaktirikan, sedangkan Sandakan merupakan bandar terpenting selain Kota Kinabalu dan Tawau. Stesen bas harian yang terletak di tengah-tengah bandar Sandakan turut mengalami nasib yang sama, dianaktirikan daripada pembangunan. Stesen bas ini tidak berbumbung, (kecuali stesen bas Labuk yang merupakan stesen bas swasta) dan ia sangat menyukarkan pengguna apabila hujan. Hal ini bertambah sukar apabila terdapat bas sesuatu kawasan yang adakalanya jauh dari tumpuan orang ramai. Hal ini sudah wujud bertahun lamanya tanpa ada apa-apa tindakan daripada pihak kerajaan negeri. Perkara ini patut dipandang dengan serius kerana kebanyakan penduduk menggunakan bas sebagai pengangkutan utama. Jika hal ini tidak ditangani dengan baik, ia akan membebankan rakyat. Jika alasan sempit dan tidak ada ruang yang diberikan, ia adalah tidak relevan kerana kemudahan ini adalah lebih penting daripada pembinaan kompleks membeli belah (Harbour Mall) yang semakin pesat dibangunkan di pinggir bandar Sandakan. Jika kompleks ini ada tempatnya di bandar ini, kenapa pula tidak boleh diperuntukkan tempat untuk stesen bas harian? Masalah setinggan Isu setinggan juga amat sinonim dengan negeri ini sama ada di Sandakan, Kota Kinabalu dan Tawau. Di Sandakan, kawasan setinggan BDC yang dulunya terletak di Batu 2 dirobohkan tanpa pembelaan yang wajar diberikan kepada penduduk yang terlibat. Kawasan tersebut kononnya akan digunakan untuk mendirikan Hotel Sri Malaysia namun sehingga ke hari ini, lebih dari 5 tahun kawasan setinggan itu dirobohkan, belum pun ada tanda-tanda pembangunan dilakukan. Semuanya hanya untuk menghapuskan kawasan setinggan agar negeri ini dikatakan 'zero setinggan' walhal hakikatnya rakyat merempat dan terpaksa mencari tempat tinggal yang lebih mahal kosnya. Adakah ini langkah yang betul-betul bijak mengurangkan kemiskinan di Sabah? Penduduk masa kini yang tinggal di kawasan setinggan bagaikan telur di hujung tanduk. Bila-bila masa sahaja tempat mereka akan dirobohkan. Ketika berkunjung ke Batu Sapi Ramadhan lalu, rumah penduduk di kawasan Kampung Lupak Meluas juga ingin dirobohkan dan tidak ada seorang pun wakil rakyat yang turun menjadi 'front liner' mempertahankan penduduk. Apabila ditanya kepada pihak berkuasa yang bertanggungjawab merobohkan kawasan tersebut, mereka hanya menyatakan bahawa wakil rakyat mereka yang memberikan arahan. Sudah terang lagi bersuluh bahawa wakil rakyat yang dipilih oleh mereka hanya 'menyayangi' mereka apabila tiba musim pilihanraya sahaja. Isu PATI Kebanjiran PATI di Sabah juga tidak dapat ditangani dengan baik oleh kerajaan Negeri. Tawaran PR untuk PRU akan datang adalah menyempurnakan penubuhan Suruhanjaya DiRaja bagi mencari jalan menyelesaikan kemelut pendatang asing tanpa izin di negeri ini. Pendaftaran PATI sebagai penduduk tetap yang dijalankan oleh kerajaan bulan lalu amat membimbangkan. Penduduk amat takut jika hak yang sepatutnya dimiliki dirampas dan diberikan kepada PATI. Pendaftaran yang dilakukan juga amat merobek hati penduduk, kerana ada antara penduduk tetap negeri ini yang terpaksa berurusan ke Putrajaya semata-mata untuk mendapatkan kad pengenalan penduduk tetap, tetapi kerajaan sewenang-wenangnya memberikan hak tersebut kepada PATI. Rakyat menghabiskan ribuan ringgit dan perlu menanti bertahun-tahun untuk mendapatkan kad pengenalan, PATI pula mendapat kerakyatan hanya dalam masa beberapa jam. Bukan itu sahaja, kebanjiran PATI di Sabah turut menyebabkan kadar jenayah meningkat. Pecah rumah, mencuri, penyeludupan rokok dan sebagainya turut membimbangkan masyarakat tempatan. Pelbagai isu yang boleh dicanang untuk menjatuhkan BN di Sabah, point utamanya adalah menyampaikan kepada masyarakat tentang maklumat dan kebenaran yang sepatutnya mereka ketahui. Meraih kepercayaan penduduk tidak mudah, tapi apabila kita menyampaikan kebenaran insya Allah mereka akan dapat berfikir pilihan yang lebih baik. Jika tempat mereka tidak boleh diakses menggunakan internet, kita perlu turun menyampaikan. Keadaan di Sabah amat berbeza dengan kawasan lain. Di Sabah ada tempat yang perlu untuk menaiki kereta pacuan empat roda, ada tempat yang hanya boleh menggunakan pengangkutan air, dan ada jalan yang tidak berturap, dan tanah merah. Namun semua ini bukan halangan untuk kita membantu menyampaikan kepada masyarakat. Saya amat yakin dan percaya bahawa rakyat di bawah bayu ini mahukan perubahan kerana semuanya sudah muak menderita di bawah pemerintahan BN yang tidak mempedulikan rakyat. Penutup Bahang pilihanraya semakin terasa samada akan diadakan pada tahun ini atau tidak. Pelbagai usaha harus dijalankan oleh semua jentera pilihanraya kawasan. Penculaan, mengenalpasti permasalahan setempat, mendekati golongan sasaran, menarik undi bukan Islam, memantapkan kualiti ahli dan memperbanyakkan program dan aktiviti bersifat luaran, tidak hanya tertumpu aktiviti dalaman sahaja. Jika usaha sudah dibuat sebesar Gunung Kinabalu dan sedalam Lautan China Selatan, namun jika kemenangan masih belum diberikan, bersabarlah kerana Allah SWT beserta dengan orang-orang yang sabar. |
| Law Replacing ISA Must Not Infringe Basic Human Rights - Khairy Posted: 22 Sep 2011 04:33 AM PDT (Bernama) -- The proposed new law to replace the Internal Security Act (ISA) must not infringe basic human rights, said Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin. He said if basic human rights like access to a lawyer and to be tried in an open court were upheld, he was confident that Malaysians would accept the new law.
He also said the new law must be very specific as to who can be detained without trial under it.
"It can not be catch all...it must spell out terrorist related activities, subversive activities that are prejudicial to national security. Otherwise, people will say it is just old wine in a new bottle," he told reporters when met at the "Merdeka Raya" open house of Wanita Umno, Umno Youth and Puteri Umno here Thursday.
The Rembau MP said Umno Youth would also be holding a roadshow to explain the decision by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to scrap the ISA and replace it with a counter-terrorism law.
Najib, when making the announcement on Malaysia Day (Sept 16), said the time had come to replace the decades old ISA, which allows for detention without trial, so that Malaysians' fundamental liberties were protected.
However, he said a new law would be enacted specifically to deal with terrorists and subversives who threatened national security. |
| WIKILEAKS: MALAYSIA'S MOST PROMINENT THINK TANKS Posted: 22 Sep 2011 01:00 AM PDT 
The Minister of Agriculture and UMNO Vice President, Muhyiddin Yassin, called the report 'rubbish' and like other Malay officials refused to address the reports findings and characterized it solely as an attempt to incite racial tension. ASLI, realizing that it would not be able to take on the government, distanced itself from its own report, leading to the resignation of Dr. Lim from the think tank. Notwithstanding the opportunistic political attacks against ASLI, the GOM has not taken any serious action against any think tanks. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin 
1. (C) Summary: Malaysia's most prominent think tanks all have historical ties to and receive substantial funding and material support from the Government of Malaysia. The Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), the Malaysian Institute for Economic Research (MIER), and the Asian Strategic and Leadership Institute (ASLI) represent Malaysia's most prominent think tanks. The Penang state government maintains a think tank that focuses on local policy issues. Although they all comprise well-educated and politically connected academicians and professional researchers, true independence is often lacking. Think tanks often play an active role in developing and advancing domestic policies and agendas, and by providing important input into the annual government budget process. The government's ultimate control of the purse strings and limitations on public discourse concerning issues of race relations, government transparency and religion are the dominant factors in limiting the over all scope of work. This cable responds to RFI in Ref D (C-AL7-00170). End Summary.
2. (SBU) WHAT ARE THE THREE TO FIVE MOST PROMINENT HOME-GROWN THINK TANKS IN MALAYSIA. WHAT ARE THE SOURCES OF FUNDING FOR THESE THINK TANKS? A. (SBU) Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), established in 1983, is reputed to be the first Malaysian think tank and was the brainchild of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Although the initial funding to establish the think tank came from the government, ISIS has evolved into an independent and self-sustaining entity through returns from its investments. The GOM no longer provides direct support for ISIS' operational costs, but the institute continues to benefit from its use of a substantial government-owned office and meeting facility. ISIS continues to receive project-based funding on an ad hoc basis from the government for events and conferences it hosts. ISIS Chairman and CEO, Jawhar Hassan, is closely associated with the current political leadership and is the Chairman of the New Straits Times Press, owned by the dominant United Malays National Organization (UMNO). Jawhar has lamented to Embassy officers that the ISIS faces financial difficulties. ISIS also acts as the Malaysian representative to the Network of East Asian Think tanks (NEAT); a member of the secretariat for the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP); and annually hosts the Asia Pacific Roundtable and East Asia Congress. B. (SBU) Malaysian Institute for Economic Research (MIER) is a non-profit, semi-private think tank established in 1985 devoted to economic, financial and business research. The Institute was first mooted by the Prime Minister's Economic Panel during Mahathir's administration and later promoted by the Council of Malaysian Invisible Trade (COMIT). MIER is also a consultant to national oil company PETRONAS and is located at a premise owned by the company. MIER's income is derived from economic research projects commissioned by clients in both the private and public sectors and from overseas. The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is one of MIER's main clients and the Institute provides capacity building training courses for JICA-sponsored invitees from developing countries such as Laos, East Timor, Burma, and Afghanistan. The Institute's Executive Director is Professor Emeritus Dr. Mohamed Ariff, a prominent economist and economic advisor to several banks and to the government on an ad hoc basis. However, the Institute remains quite independent and has at times crossed swords with the government on various economic policies, while remaining a vital policy resource for PETRONAS. In contrast to ISIS, which maintains a relatively large staff of scholars, MIER has a thin bench both in terms of number and quality. Particularly since the departure of Deputy Director Kevin Chew in fall 2006, MIER has no scholars with public stature other than Dr. Ariff. C. (SBU) Asian Strategic and Leadership Institute (ASLI) was established in 1993 through funding from the Sunway Group of Companies, a private property development company whose Chairman and CEO Dr. Jeffrey Cheah is a close associate of former PM Mahathir. Mirzan Mahathir, the eldest son of the former prime minister, has served as ASLI's president since its inception. Although ASLI portrays itself as an independent think tank, it is located in a government-owned building and gets funding from the government for providing training for civil servants. The think tank's Chief Executive Officer Michael Yeoh is also the Executive Director of the Sedar Institute, a private think tank funded by ruling Barisan Nasional component Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan). Yeoh also serves as a Commissioner on the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM). D. (SBU) The Penang state government maintains its own think tank, the Socioeconomic and Environmental Research Institute (SERI), which provides policy input on local policy issues. As Penang is at the leading edge in terms of economic and social development in Malaysia, the issues SERI tackles sometimes provide a signal of future national developments (e.g., a rising consciousness about the need to address urban environmental issues created by extensive economic development in a confined space). SERI works closely with academics at the University Sains Malaysia (USM) in Penang. Its policy agenda is largely set by the state government, although it has some latitude to pursue independent interests. Executive Director Dr. Yee Lai Wan has been on the job less than a year and has launched a reorganization process. It is not clear as yet what this will mean for the institute. 3. (SBU) WHAT ROLE DO THE THINK TANKS PLAY IN POLICY DEBATES AND POLICY FORMATION? POSSIBLE EXAMPLES OF IMPACT WOULD INCLUDE ITS POLITICAL PATRONS OR CONNECTIONS, THE STATURE OF ITS LEADERSHIP, ITS CONTRIBUTION TO DRAFTING LEGISLATION, THE APPOINTMENT OF ITS STAFF TO GOVERNMENT COMMITTEES, OR THE EXTENT TO WHICH ITS CONFERENCES ARE ATTENDED AND BY WHOM. CONVERSELY, WHAT SERVICES DOES THE GOVERNMENT LOOK TO THINK TANKS TO PROVIDE AND WHEN, IN THE POLICY PROCESS? A. (SBU) The three prominent think tanks, when engaged by the government, make policy recommendations on national and international economic issues; defense, security and foreign policy issues; strategies on nation building and other issues such as on the environment and so forth. The government generally expects the think tanks to provide recommendations during the policy formulation stage. For instance, MIER was involved in formulating the Third Industrial Master Plan (IMP) for the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). According to one official with MIER, MITI was not thrilled with some of the recommendations made by MIER. When the final IMP was presented MIER noticed that some of their recommendations were omitted from the plan. During the Mahathir era, ISIS was given a major project to formulate strategies on nation building and on national unity. In early 2006, ISIS organized workshops and brainstorming sessions between its scholars, other academics and government officials to develop elements of the Ninth Malaysia plan. ISIS scholars continue to provide input to the government on socioeconomic issues, such as immigration policy. B. (SBU) ISIS formulated the "Vision 2020" strategy in 1993 that seeks to transform Malaysia into a developed nation with a united Malaysian race by the year 2020. The government used ISIS' recommendations for its 1995 general election manifesto and the ruling coalition (BN) won one of its largest majorities in Parliament. The "Vision 2020" theme remains a prominent element of the Ninth Malaysia Plan. C. (SBU) With its close ties to government, ASLI often focuses its efforts on government priorities and missions. ASLI provides yearly input into the GOM budget consultation process. For the 2007 budget, ASLI presented a list of twelve recommendations for consideration in developing and implementing national budget priorities which would encourage national development and racial diversity in the work place. ASLI also hosts yearly conferences aimed at advancing national priorities as determined by the Malaysian cabinet. Already in 2007, ASLI has hosted or planned and organized conferences and fora on advancing the developmental goals of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and promoting Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) agendas such as advancing South-South trade. ASLI has adopted PM Abdullah's focus on transparency in government and created focus papers and hosted a variety of luncheons and speakers promoting world ethics and government transparency. 4. (SBU) WHAT ROLE DO THINK TANKS PLAY IN POLICY ADVOCACY AND PROMOTING PUBLIC AWARENESS OF POLICY? POSSIBLE AREAS OF INQUIRY INCLUDE THE THINK TANK'S REPUTATION AMONG THE PUBLIC, THE EXTENT OF ITS MEDIA RECOGNITION OR COVERAGE, THE EXTENT IT NETWORKS WITH NGOS OR OTHER ELEMENTS OF CIVIL SOCIETY, ITS CONTRACTUAL WORK WITH THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, THE NATURE AND SIZE OF ITS MEMBERSHIP, TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES IT OFFERS, OR HOW WELL ITS PUBLICATIONS SELL. A. (SBU) In terms of policy advocacy and promoting public awareness of policies, Malaysia's prominent think tanks only play a role if a particular policy has a major impact on the general populace. For instance, every year the major think tanks conduct seminars and forums prior and after the tabling of the national budget in Parliament. The think tanks discuss issues that they believe the public would want the government to include in the national budget. After the budget is tabled in Parliament, these think tanks focus on the impact of the budget on the people and businesses. Although the prominent think tanks mentioned are highly reputed, they primarily cater to and interact with elites, such as officials, professionals, researchers, and academics. Although they address issues of public concern, they do not focus on public forums. The think tank publications, which are readily available, are also targeted to an academic audience. Think tanks attract press coverage when their events feature a senior government figure or they raise issues of keen public interest. For instance, the press gave wide coverage when MIER Executive Director Prof. Ariff stated at a forum in February that it was an opportune time for the government to call for a snap election as the economy was doing well. The controversy over ASLI's findings on bumiputra (ethnic Malay/indiginous peoples) corporate equity holdings also received wide coverage both in print and electronic media (see refs A and B). B. (SBU) Although, ISIS, ASLI and MIER focus on certain niche groups, there are other politically connected smaller think tanks such as the Social Strategic Foundation (funded by the Malaysian Indian Congress, MIC), Sedar Institute (funded by Gerakan) and Insap (funded by the Malaysian Chinese Association, MCA) that cater to the needs of the their respective political party members. These think tanks tend to focus on micro-issues such as employment, race relations, and education opportunities. They also highlight training and employment opportunities for both party members and the public, especially in the private and public sectors. In some instances, these smaller think tanks cooperate with foreign foundations such as the Konrad Adenaur and Friedrich Naumann Stiftung Foundations from Germany to fund their forums and activities. In one such example, the Gerakan think tank Sedar co-hosted a race relations forum in 2006 with the Konrad Adenaur foundation. C. (SBU) The Malaysian Strategic and Research Center (MSRC) is another local think tank that once shared excellent relations with local civil society groups. As discussed more fully in ref C, MSRC was an influential political and defense based research organization that benefited extensively from its close ties with the Deputy Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak. MSRC's conferences and workshops enjoyed support from many foreign missions, including the United States. However, in late 2006 after MSRC's Executive Director Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda was charged with abetting the murder of a Mongolian national, the think tank quickly faded from importance and influence. No other think tanks have yet emerged with such extensive connections to civil society and international influence. D. (SBU) SERI does not have a direct influence on the federal level, but some of its ideas are picked up and broadcast by others. For example, SERI work on waste disposal has influenced NGOs in other parts of Malaysia, who in turn have sought to influence federal and other state government policies on waste disposal. 5. (SBU) WHAT EXTENT OF AUTONOMY DO THINK TANKS HAVE FROM THE GOVERNMENT? AREAS TO EXPLORE INCLUDE THE REVOLVING DOOR PHENOMENON, SOURCES OF FUNDING, OR THE EXTENT OF POLICY CONGRUENCE. EXAMPLES OF WHEN THINK TANKS HAVE CRITICIZED POLICY WOULD BE PARTICULARLY HELPFUL. (SBU) Generally speaking, Malaysia's think tanks enjoy a wide degree of autonomy but remain driven by their sources of funding. Think tanks may find themselves confined by the racial and social biases that focus and compartmentalize many elements of Malaysian society. For instance, the think tanks were asked for input in the formulation of Malaysia's Five Years development plans the latest being the 9th Malaysian Plan (2006 - 2010). ASLI's input included a report on "Corporate Equity Distribution: Past Trends and Future Policy", part of a larger report prepared for submission to the government. ASLI's Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS), headed by Dr Lim Teck Ghee, had invited a multi-ethnic group of academics to review urgent issues, including the alleviation of poverty, the reformation of the civil service and tertiary institutions, and the plight of the nation's highly marginalized communities, in particular the Orang Asli. Although there was a wide array of recommendations in the ASLI's report, the government focused only on the section on corporate ownership of bumiputras, which ASLI estimated to be 45%, far higher than the government's figure of 18%. The GOM's lower estimate justified the continued existence of the New Economic Policy, an affirmative action policy in favor of the majority bumiputra community. In response, the government dismissed the report outright. The Minister of Agriculture and UMNO Vice President, Muhyiddin Yassin, called the report 'rubbish' and like other Malay officials refused to address the reports findings and characterized it solely as an attempt to incite racial tension. ASLI, realizing that it would not be able to take on the government, distanced itself from its own report, leading to the resignation of Dr. Lim from the think tank. (See ref A and B for a complete discussion on GOM reactions to the ASLI report). Notwithstanding the opportunistic political attacks against ASLI, the GOM has not taken any serious action against any think tanks. 6. (SBU) WHAT ARE THE PROCEDURES FOR REGISTERING A THINK TANK? WHAT LAWS APPLY TO THINK TANK ACTIVITIES? WHAT RECOURSE DOES A GOVERNMENT AND/OR MILITARY HAVE TO ADDRESS ERRANT BEHAVIOR BY THINK TANKS? (SBU) Under Malaysian law, think tanks can register either under the Societies Act or the Company Act. In practice, nearly all think tanks opt for the Company Act, as there are fewer restrictions compared to the Societies Act, particularly in the area of fund raising. Entities generally avoid registration under the Societies Act where the Registrar of Societies has stronger enforcement powers to limit topics of discussion and discourse. Although the Government has not yet taken action against any think tank, the Registrar of Companies could be used as a punishing agent against errant organizations by auditing the financial records or by challenging the required registrations, taxes and disclosure requirements of registered companies. Perhaps more immediate to the company's continued existence, the government could cancel contracts for training and consultancy work or, as in the case of ASLI, simply reject the findings or recommendations from the "errant" organization. 7. (C/NF) WHAT TOOLS DOES THE GOVERNMENT HAVE TO EMPLOY TO MONITOR OR LIMIT THINK TANK ACTIVITIES? HOW DOES THE NATURE OF THE POLITICAL SYSTEM AFFECT A THINK TANK'S FREEDOM TO MANEUVER? EXAMPLES OF WHEN THINK TANKS WENT AWRY OF THE GOVERNMENT WOULD BE PARTICULARLY USEFUL. (C/NF) The government's most effective tool is the power of the purse. Of the three major think tanks discussed, none are sufficiently self sustaining that they could survive without government assistance or contracts. Notwithstanding this limitation, the think tanks are generally staffed with highly educated, forward thinking professionals. The best of them can and do take public stands in opposition to government policy (e.g., Dr. Ariff called for freeing the ringgit from its peg to the dollar for several years prior to Bank Negara's decision to liberalize its currency policy). The government recognizes the value of independent thinkers, and while political change is sometimes glacially slow in Malaysia, prominent think tanks play an active role in advancing new ideas and research. However, Malaysian think tanks, like many other facets of Malaysian society, seem to be limited by government-enforced restraints on open discussions regarding race relations, religion, and government transparency. Three of the nation's lingering social issues remain off the table for public discussion, even among think tanks. ASLI's venture into the discussion of bumiputra equity (see para 5 above), though a minor part of their overall report, epitomized the acceptable limits of research and reporting. LAFLEUR (March 2007) |
| Invitation to the MCLM forums on Rakyat Reform Agenda (RARA) Posted: 22 Sep 2011 01:00 AM PDT The Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement will be officially launching a series of forums nationwide on the 'Rakyat Reform Agenda' beginning from Monday 19th September 2011 in Kuala Lumpur at the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) from 7pm - 11pm. It is MCLM's fervent hope that in order for Malaysia to be the great inclusive nation envisioned by our founding fathers, we must return to basic principles. How will we achieve this? The answer - Through the Rakyat Reform Agenda (RARA), which is a four-point plan to: 1. Honour the agreements made in 1963 between the Federation of Malaya and Sabah and Sarawak prior to the formation of the Federation of Malaysia 2. Restore the national institutions to the Rakyat – the judiciary, Election Commission, police force, Attorney-General, etc. 3. Restore the liberties guaranteed to the Rakyat under the Federal Constitution by repealing the ISA, OSA, PPPA, UUCA and Sedition Act 4. Adopt the Social Inclusion Agenda, designed to raise the living standards of all marginalised persons in Malaysia. Apart from Kuala Lumpur, the MCLM RARA forums will also be held in Kota Kinabalu (27th Sep), Sandakan (29th Sep), Kuching (1st Oct), Penang (24th Oct), Ipoh (25th Oct) culminating in Johor Baru (27th Oct). Details on the time and exact venues at these locations will be provided in due course. We would appreciate if you can send your journalist to cover the KL event. MCLM Secretariat For further information, please contact the MCLM Secretariat at Tel: 03-79827101/79712244 or Fax: 03-79829097 or Email: admin@mclm.org.uk |
| Malaysian Scorpene Submarine Corruption Case Legal Briefing Posted: 22 Sep 2011 01:00 AM PDT 
The Solicitors International Human Right's Group (SIHRG) and Malaysian Human Rights NGO (SUARAM) will be hosting a briefing and fund raising event in relation to the French Scorpene submarine deal in which French giant shipbuilder DCNS is alleged to have paid millions of Euros in kickbacks to top Malaysian officials. Joseph Breham, a renowned French lawyer from Sherpa, a non-profit organisation dealing with human rights legal issues and Cynthia Gabriel from Suaram will provide up-to-date briefings followed by an open dialogue session. William Bourdon, a colleague of Mr Breham, who is also part of the French legal team, was unfortunately deported by Malaysian authorities in July this year en route to speak at fund raising events in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. Please join us for what is bound to be an interesting and engaging evening. Date : Friday 30th Sept 2011 Venue : Lecture theatre BPP Law School, 68-70 Red Lion Street, London WC1R 4NY Time : Registration : 6pm Briefing and Dialogue Panel : 6.30pm-8.00pm A nasi lemak supper will be on sale at the venue. All proceeds will go towards the legal fund. Admission is free but donations towards the legal case are welcome. Please register at http://malaysianscorpenesubmarinecorruptioncaselegalbrief.eventbrite.com/ For further details pertaining to the case please see below: http://malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/guest-columnists/39450-malaysian-submarines-the-trail-of-retrocommissions-is-becoming-clearer Briefing on the Scorpene Submarine Case Chronology: 5 June 2002: Malaysian Government signed an agreement with French DCNS and Spainish Navantia for the procurement of two (2) Scorpene class submarines. The procurement contract was through direct negotiation with the manufacturing companies, said to be with the service of Perimekar Sdn Bhd. According to the Government explanation, the contract was divided into two parts: a. Cost of two Scorpene submarines together with the package that covers Integrated Logistic Support and training amounted to Euro 969.15m (however on 14 May 2008, Najib told the Parliament that this part cost Euro 999.15) b. Payment to Perimekar Sdn Bhd in the name of "coordination services" for a period of six years, the sum was Euro 114.96m It is widely believed that payment for the second package was in reality the commission for Najib/Rosmah through Razak Baginda as the owner of Perimekar. With the exchange rate at the time, the cost was equivalent to: 1) Payment for submarine cost between: RM 2.14b (Euro=RM3.2 in 2002) – RM 5.43b (Euro=RM5.6 in 2008) (nowEuro=RM4.7) 2) Commission: probably about RM 540m (exchange rate at the time of payment) 26 July 2006: Royal Malaysian Navy announced these vessels will be named after the first and second prime ministers. The first hull will be named KD Tunku Abdul Rahman and the second hull KD Tun Razak. 24 Oct 2007: The first vessel, KD Tunku Abdul Rahman was launched by then Defence Minister Najib on at the DCNS dockyard, Cherbourg, France. (According to Sharribuu, Altantuya was in France with Najib during the launch) 3 Sept 2009: The first Scorpene submarine KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, arrived at a Port Klang naval base after a 54-day voyage from France. The second of the series, KD Tun Razak, is scheduled for delivery in late 2009. However it only arrived in mid 2010. 10 Feb 2009: It was reported that KD Tunku Abdul Rahman could not dive due to technical faults. The Navy sources admitted that the defect had prevented it from diving for three months. However the Government claimed that the problem was fixed in early February and it was allowed to undergo tropical water trial since then. As a result, builder DCNS SA extended the warranty for the submarine, which was supposed to expire on 25 January 2010, until May 2010 so the submarine could complete its trials as the first step to obtaining its Initial Operational Capability (IOC). 25 May 2010: KD Tunku Abdul Rahman warranty expired. 2 July 2010: KD Tun Razak, the second Scorpene submarine, arrived at the Lumut RMN Base. It was more than 6 months behind schedule. 7 July 2010: Marhalim Abas of the Malay Mail again reported that Malaysian submarine crews had remained on dry land since the first arrival due to continuous problems of KD Tunku Abdul Rahman; the crews risked to lose their submarine rating for unable to participate any trial dive. Both submarines are now parked at Sabah Sepanggar Naval base, to date neither of them had undergone the necessary tropical water trial dive. What is the actual cost of the Scorpene submarines? Agreement signed with DCNS/Navantia costed Malaysian taxpayer Euro 1.08b (with Euro 114.96m commission for Perimekar). Nonetheless, we later found out that the price did not include many items. What are the missing items that need additional payments? 1. Maintenance services: Malaysian Government had awarded a joint venture Boustead-DCN Bhd (BDCN) as the services provider for the submarine maintenance. Until today the cost had not been finalized. Nonetheless, in June 2009 Boustead Heavy Industries in a statement to Bursa Malaysia informed that the government had expressed an intent to award a contract worth RM600 million to its joint-venture unit for in-service support for submarines.
March 2010: Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi clarified that for the first year maintenance would cost about RM270m and the annual maintenance cost will be capped at RM600m per year. 2. LIMA 2009: Defence Minister announced additional contract worth Euro37.5m (about RM150m) for the supply of Support and Test Equipment (S&TE) for Scorpene submarines. 3. Weapon not included: on 22 June 2010 Defence Minister answered parliament question revealed that the Government has paid Euro219.265m (about RM890m) for 40 units Exocet SM39 missile and 30 units Black Shark torpedo, to be delivered by 2013. 4. Infrastructure for submarine base in Sabah (not yet constructed)? 5. Training for crews, support staff etc. No price yet. Grand total (rough estimate): Hardware: two Scorpene class submarines RM 5,430m Commission: in the form of services by Perimekar RM 540m Package for simulation and training, S&TE RM 150m Weapons: 40 Exocet missiles and 30 Black Sharp torpedo RM 890m Total: RM 6.98b Maintenance service (under negotiation) RM 270m (first year)/ RM600m (max) Money spent to date RM 7.3b If we add RM600m maintenance RM 7.58b (for 3 years) Uncertain for repair cost to overcome defect RM ??? |
| Ahmad Sarbaini's widow fights back Posted: 22 Sep 2011 01:00 AM PDT 
How did Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed die? According to the official story, he died while trying to escape through a third floor pantry window. But Ahmad Sarbaini went to the MACC office on his own accord, so the official story goes. He was not under arrest or was being interrogated, so the official story goes. So why does he need to escape then? He can just walk out of there if he wants to. Next week, the Coroner is going to deliver the verdict on how Ahmad Sarbaini died. But his widow is not about to accept the official story of how her husband died. She is fighting back, as the documents below show. 
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| Wind of freedom blows to SE Asia Posted: 21 Sep 2011 10:30 PM PDT Indonesia, for one, has a big problem with its commitment to uphold religious freedom, as highlighted by the U.S. State Department in its recent report that in some instances Indonesia failed to protect persons from religious discrimination and abuse. But it is to Malaysia that our attention now turns, and perhaps Kuala Lumpur could even provide leadership, as the nation prepares itself for a general election in 2012. China Morning Post he wind of freedom is blowing towards Southeast Asia. Wherever it comes from, perhaps from the Arab Spring, it is refreshing that Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak announced his plan to replace the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) and to ease long-held restrictions on the media. Two months earlier, Singapore held an election that gave rare space for free political expression and one that saw the opposition party making limited but nevertheless significant gains. Freedom is contagious, but in this part of the world, it may be not contagious enough. It needs an additional force, to bring about real and meaningful freedom of speech, assembly and religion for the people of Southeast Asia. This push must preferably come from within rather than blown by external factors. The people, students and the political elite, in the region must take advantage of the current breeze by seizing the initiatives. It may be a little while before the winds of freedom blow this way again. Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines are among Southeast Asian states that have embraced freedom in the true sense of the word when they ended autocratic rule in the 1980s and 1990s. These three countries have since either backtracked or stagnated on their commitment to freedom. Indonesia, for one, has a big problem with its commitment to uphold religious freedom, as highlighted by the U.S. State Department in its recent report that in some instances Indonesia failed to protect persons from religious discrimination and abuse. But it is to Malaysia that our attention now turns, and perhaps Kuala Lumpur could even provide leadership, as the nation prepares itself for a general election in 2012. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib's plan for more freedom may not necessarily materialize in parliament still largely controlled by conservative forces but history has also shown that once unleashed, the winds of freedom will be difficult to withstand. Countries that are moving up the economic ladder will sooner or later have to deal with the question of freedom. Education and greater prosperity create a whole new generation of people more critical of their governments, especially on questions of freedom, justice and governance. Malaysia and Singapore are now at that phase of development. The bigger question is whether their political leaders are ready to deal with the consequences of change. Any change, and one as significant as ushering freedom is a huge change, carries risks and uncertainty. We wish Prime Minister Najib and the Malaysian people good luck and success in this exciting and somewhat dangerous journey. |
| Stupit Malayans Posted: 21 Sep 2011 08:14 PM PDT By DUMNO Ha ha... Election coming oredi. We DUMNO non-non's will win again. You see, ah... We can give out a few ringgit here and there, and everyone will kowtow to us. Kiss our hand-lah, jilat our buntut-lah, and so on. We build a few mosques here and there, and people worship us. We control Allah. We really do !! We send the PM's husband to Vatican only so dat the Popiah wont invade Malaya like the Portugis. We scared kena attack ah! Popiah pray means we all hapis mampus liau! Opposition stupit. They dun control anything. They say only that they want to be honest. See-lah, Lim Guan Eng cant even manage a car park in Penang. How can anyone build a Kanchil-sahaja multi-storey car park? Kandang Basikal oso better, and cheaper. Buatan bamboo cukup-lah. And can charge $50million some more. At least DUMNO people got enough brains to make hamsup video of opposition leaders, and elect porn-stars to become presidents. Laidet, it keeps the people happy mah. They can watch hamsup videos of Politicians mah. Wait... Mat Sabo's hamsup video will come out very soon, and then you can buy from pirated DVD shop in pasar malam. Koot or not? Who say we dun love Malayans? What opposition do? Scream and shout only about honesty. Honesty do what? NOTHING !! You think Penang so great izzit? Pearl of the Orient izzit? We still got Putrajaya. And guess what? Putrajaya CONTROLS Penang !! Putrajaya dun give Penang looi, LGE can "chiak sai". HAH!! I oso can speaking Cheena. I got Cheena informants mah. They oso want to cari makan mah! Anyway, with 100% of Putrajaya voters working for us, you think anyone there got balls to vote for opposition ah? We make sure than 90% of all gomen employees dun make enough money to even qualify to pay tax, so dat they must resort to korupsi. You think gomen workers want to sell kachang puteh at roadside meh? Why you think DUMNO must keep Malayans poor and stupit? So dat they have no time to lawan us lorrrr... Why I say Malayan ah? Because Malaya was never Colonized mahhhhhh. Never Colonized means where got Malaysia? TAR was only our poster-boy-lor. And actually ah, Tugu Kebangsaan should be demolished. Why ah? Because it is UNTRUE, and unIslamic. Islam says CANNOT make human statues. So, Tugu Kebangsaan must be destroyed !! Esok I go ask uncle C4 to bring his bombs. On the same note, we will tell Muslims to give us all their unIslamic money. Yes. All RINGGIT is unIslamic. Why ah? Coz got picture of Agong on it lor. Islam says we cannot have pictures of humans mah. Actually, we will also go to central market tomorrow and arrest all those artist buggers. They have to cari duit somewhere else. Be polisman lah ! Can easily cari duit extorting money from all the stupit Cheena. The stupit Cheena scream and shout about Honesty, but still pay korupsi money to Polis werd. If Polis no space, the painters can oso work in MACC. As long as they can wear a uniform, they can be MACC. All those "anti-korupsi" badges is only for show, and oso to make some looi for the badge-making company, which belongs to me mahhhh. ** cough cough ** Skool ah? What is skool? We should start to shut down skools because it will make people cRever. If Malayans become cRever, then DUMNO Hapis !! No one can be cReverester than DUMNO. And that is why we HATE those who go to non-gomen skool. cRever Cheena we HATE!! cRever Melayu we HATE!! cRever India we HATE!! cRever Dan-Lain-Lain oso we HATE!! Unnersten or not? We NOT Prejudice !! WE HATE YOU ALL cRever people !!! STOP making yourselves cRever can or not !!! It makes us all look damn STUPIT !! Go watch some more Astro lah. Give you 32thousand channels for what? You pay to make yourself stupider ! Cepat cepat Go ! Go !! But, then again, we know that you will eRect us back into ofis once again, and again, and again, until lepas Jesus Christ come back and go away oso you will eRect DUMNO as Gomen. See you next eRection. Now dun disturb me. Go away while I go shop for another US$24million ring, or bangle, or maybe watch some more hamsup Video of Mat Sabo...... |
| Hudud cracks in Pakatan Posted: 21 Sep 2011 08:11 PM PDT By K Pragalath, FMT PETALING JAYA: Cracks are beginning to appear in Pakatan Rakyat over the Islamic law issue, with opposition supremo Anwar Ibrahim backing its implementation in the PAS-run state of Kelantan but DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang shooting it down. Political pundits noted that Barisan Nasional was bound to exploit this issue, especially with the general election being around the corner. The controversy surrounding the Islamic law could be used to spook fear in the opposition-leaning Chinese electorate. In a Twitter posting this evening, Lim said his party's stand on Hudud law and the Islamic state concept was consistent. "It is not suitable for Malaysia and it is not part of Pakatan's common policies," he noted. DAP had always been a fierce opponent of PAS' theocratic ambitions, and the party pulled out of a loose opposition coalition named Barisan Alternatif in 2001 over this issue. Lim also said that any such change required the agreement of all three Pakatan component parties – PAS, DAP and PKR.
READ MORE HERE.
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| Muhyiddin: Umno backs hudud law too Posted: 21 Sep 2011 08:08 PM PDT By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider PUTRAJAYA, Sept 22 — Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said today that Umno supported hudud laws in principle as they are part and parcel of Islam but stressed that Malaysia was not ready for such laws to be enacted. The deputy prime minister and Umno deputy president said there was a need to spread information about hudud laws so that the people understood what they meant before the ruling party could even think of implementing them. "This has been our stance from long ago," he told reporters here after chairing a Cabinet committee meeting on pricing and supply. "Morever, in the context of a multi-racial and multi-religious society, we should spread that knowledge widely before we can reach a stage where we think it's time but I don't believe we're there yet." Muhyiddin explained that Muslims could not reject "the reality" that hudud laws were an integral part of their faith but stressed that the party disagreed with opposition parties PAS and PKR that now was the time to introduce hudud. "The issue here is not the laws (hukum), it is a question of the implementation of hudud," he said. "Please bear in mind that this is the most important aspect in which, as far as we're concerned, Umno differs from Pakatan Rakyat (PR)." He added that if Kelantan Mentri Besar and PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat felt it was time to introduce hudud laws in Kelantan, it was up to him to do so. Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today backed the introduction of hudud in the east coast state, which he assured would not infringe on non-Muslims' rights. "For now, in general, in principle, I believe this can be implemented. Looking at the specific areas, and there is clear guarantee that there is administration of justice.
READ MORE HERE. |
| AG withdraws application for revision in Teoh Beng Hock's inquest Posted: 21 Sep 2011 08:06 PM PDT (The Star) - SHAH ALAM: The Attorney-General's Chambers has withdrawn an application for a revision of the open verdict in the Teoh Beng Hock's inquest. DPP Manoj Kurup made the application when the matter came up for case management. He said the revision application was filed prior to the setting up of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Teoh's death. "Now that the commission has delivered its findings, there was no need for a revision (of the inquest)," he said. Senior Assistant Registrar Khairul Nizam Abu Bakar then struck off the application. On July 21, the RCI released a 124-page report that said Teoh was driven to commit suicide after the aggressive, relentless, oppressive and unscrupulous interrogation of three MACC officers. Teoh's family lawyer Gobind Singh Deo, however, told reporters that the revision application still stands as they had filed a written submission during the last mention date and had brought the matter to the court's notice. The court fixed Oct 6 for case management to decide the status of this application. Teoh was found dead outside Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam, where the MACC's headquarters is located, a day after he was interrogatedovernight on July 16, 2009. After a long inquest, coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas returned an open verdicton Jan 5, ruling Teohs death was neither a suicide nor a homicide. |
| Some call it divine intervention Posted: 21 Sep 2011 07:29 PM PDT 
Sigh…poor Gani Patail. Nothing seems to be going his way. He is supposed to be God where even Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is supposed to be scared of him. But everything he tries seem to have failed. Could there be an even greater God than Gani Patail who is intervening and thwarting all the AG's plans and plots? NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin Attorney-General Gani Patail is very short-tempered nowadays. Nothing seems to be going his way. Every plan and plot he hatches blows up in his face in the end. What Gani Patail does not seem to understand is: man proposes, God disposes. He can plan and plot all he wants, but, as the Quran says, God is the greatest plotter of all. And the more Gani Patail thinks he is God, the more his plans and plots will get thwarted. Gani Patail's dilemma started back in 2009 when he discovered that I was no longer in Malaysia. He tried to track me down and found out that I was in the UK (mainly because I was not in hiding but made many public appearances). However, he tried to hide this fact from me and announced that they know I was in Australia. Actually, this was a red herring. They knew I was in the UK but they did not want me to know that they know. But I knew that they knew. This was because they met up with the British authorities to discuss the possibility of extraditing me back to Malaysia. They told the British authorities that I was facing four charges, one for sedition and three for criminal defamation. What Gani Patail did not know is that the British authorities contacted my lawyers to get more details about my cases. It seems they wanted to send a report to the Home Office in case the Malaysian government files an application to extradite me. The British authorities reminded Gani Patail that there is no extradition treaty between the UK and Malaysia. Therefore, they can't just pick me up and send me back to Malaysia. Malaysia would have to go to a UK court to apply to extradite me. This means a sort of trial would be held where Malaysia would have to convince the UK court of my guilt. Now this would be a problem for Malaysia. Gani Patail would not be able to manipulate the British judiciary like he does in Malaysia. The evidence would have to be very strong for them to convince the UK court that I am guilty and therefore should be sent back to Malaysia. An even bigger problem would be the dual criminality law. The crime I am alleged to have committed must also be a crime in the UK. For example, sodomy is not a crime in the UK (gay marriages are legal in the UK). So, in that type of situation, you cannot extradite someone charged with sodomy in Malaysia. This all happened back in 2009, mind you. While Gani Patail was figuring out what to do, on 1st January 2010, the UK Government suddenly repealed the sedition and criminal defamation laws. That means sedition and criminal defamation were no longer crimes in the UK. And that also means that since the dual criminality rule would apply, Malaysia could no longer extradite me. I am sure the UK government did not repeal the sedition and criminal defamation laws just for my sake. Was it a mere coincidence then? Or is this what we can call divine intervention? Anyway, that ended any possibility of the Malaysian government applying to extradite me back to Malaysia. They then tried to get my son instead -- in the hope that I will make a deal to save my son. They arrested my son and beat him up to get him to confess to four criminal charges. He, however, pleaded not guilty and fought the charges. I then announced that I am 'disowning' my son and that he is entirely on his own. He would have to sort out his own problems and I would not intervene. That surprised them. They thought I would surely try to make a deal instead of 'abandoning' my son. In wars there is such a thing called 'collateral damage' and my son would have to be that collateral damage. Finally, the court ruled that there was no case against my son and he was acquitted without his defense being called on all four charges. This made Gani Patail hopping mad and he now wants to appeal the court's decision and try to get my son back into court. The problem with this, though, is that they first have to find my son and serve the papers on him. But they don't know where to find him. So they sent the letters to my old house address where no one is living any longer. Officially, therefore, nothing has been served on my son yet. (You can read the scanned copies of the letters below). In the meantime, my son is moving around town a free man while they try to track him down and drag him back to court. And the beautiful thing is, my son is not even in hiding. Yet they can't find him. Is this divine intervention, yet again? Kuala Lumpur is not that big. And still they can't find my son? Aiyoh! Apalah ni? Yes, nothing seems to be working in Gani Patail's favour and he can't figure out why. He knows that I have moles in Bukit Aman and the A-G Chambers -- people who are feeding me information so that I am always one step ahead of the government. But after two years of trying, he still can't figure out who they are. And this is really making him mad as hell. Now I have moles in the Customs Department as well -- the result of what the MACC did to Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed. Who do you think leaked the documents regarding Rosmah Mansor's USD24 million diamond ring? This was the Customs officers' revenge for what they did to Ahmad Sarbaini. Incidentally, next week, the Coroner is going to deliver the verdict on how Ahmad Sarbaini died. And they are at a dilemma as to what to rule. In Kugan's case, it was death due to water in the lungs. Okay, he died because of water in the lungs. That is like saying he died because he stopped breathing. Everyone knows you stop breathing when you die. The question is: why did you stop breathing? What they did not explain is: how did the water get into Kugan's lungs in the first place? Well, have you ever heard of water boarding? The Japanese used this in WWII. They pump water into your stomach and once your belly is bloated they jump up and down on your belly. The Americans too use this method on suspected Al Qaeda terrorists. It is a very effective way to make you confess to crimes you did not commit. And that is what they did to Kugan -- which was why he died due to water in the lungs. Then Teoh Beng Hock died at the hands of the MACC and they ruled that he committed suicide. And before the Beng Hock storm could blow over, another man died, also at the hands of the MACC. This time it was Ahmad Sarbaini. Now, how did Ahmad Sarbaini die? According to the official story, he died while trying to escape through a third floor pantry window. But Ahmad Sarbaini went to the MACC office on his own accord, so the official story goes. He was not under arrest or was being interrogated, so the official story goes. So why does he need to escape then? He can just walk out of there if he wants to. That is what does not make sense and which is troubling Gani Patail. Shafee Abdullah, the lawyer acting on behalf of the MACC, says that Malaysia Today's story that Ahmad Sarbaini was forced to stand on the window ledge and that was how he fell to his death is a lie. He insists that Ahmad Sarbaini died while trying to escape through the third-floor pantry window. Okay lah! The official story and ruling by the Coroner is that Kugan died due to water in his lungs, Beng Hock committed suicide, and Ahmad Sabraini died while trying to escape. That is the official story. But the Court of Public Opinion rejects all three findings. The Court of Public Opinion insists that all three were murdered. And this is what they will remember when they go to the polls come the next election. The government knows that this will have a serious impact on the government. And Gani Patail's job is to do damage control. However, he has failed to do that. And that was why Shafee Abdullah was brought in -- to sort out the mess that Gani Patail can't seem to handle. In fact, Gani Patail has many other problems as well. He went for the ex-CCID Director, Ramli Yusuff. Ramli Yusuff was charged for all sorts of things. Then the court acquitted him without his defense being called, like what happened to my son. In fact, the Sabah court even said that the ex-IGP, Musa Hassan, lied. That was a double whammy for the Gani-Musa team. Then, coincidentally, or maybe through divine intervention, Ramli Yusuff was appointed the Deputy Chairman of Ho Hup. And, lo and behold, Ho Hup's auditors discovered that the previous Chairman had bribed Gani Patail. Now that is what I not only call divine intervention but poetic justice. Talk about bad karma. So Ramli Yusuff now has Gani Patail's balls in his hands. And he is squeezing them so hard that Gani Patail can't breathe properly. Gani Patail is still trying to get Ramli Yusuff though. He is also trying to get Ramli Yusuff's lawyer, Rosli Dahlan, as well. However, just like what happened to Ramli Yusuff, Rosli Dahlan was also acquitted of the charges they brought against him. Not satisfied with that, Gani Patail asked his boys to appeal the court's decision. But his boys realised that, just like in the case of Ramli Yusuff, they had no case against Rosli Dahlan. So they did nothing. Unknown to Gani Patail, the time allowed to file an appeal had expired. When he found out that the deadline had come and gone, and the appeal against Rosli Dahlan's acquittal had not been filed yet, he flipped. Gani Patail has now written to the court to apply for an extension of time to file the appeal against Rosli Dahlan's acquittal. By right, the date to file the appeal has expired. But Gani Patail is trying to bypass the rules so that he can still file the appeal even though the date has expired. Sigh…poor Gani Patail. Nothing seems to be going his way. He is supposed to be God where even Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is supposed to be scared of him. But everything he tries seem to have failed. Could there be an even greater God than Gani Patail who is intervening and thwarting all the AG's plans and plots? Anyway, in the meantime, they will have to find my son to serve the papers on him so that they can, again, drag him to court and 'punish him for the sins of the father'. Good luck. That is my son's problem and for him to handle. But if he is the son of the father that I think he is, then Gani Patail is going to have his hands full in trying to get him -- just like he can't seem to get me, Ramli Yusuff or Rosli Dahlan. This is what life is all about -- making your enemies run around in circles and defeating them every step of the way while we shout: Yeh! Yeh! Kita menang! 
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| 7 Reasons Why Khazanah Should NOT Undertake the Share Swap Between MAS and AirAsia Posted: 21 Sep 2011 05:52 PM PDT The timing of the share swap could not have happened at a worst time as it will largely benefit AIRASIA shareholders even without their own effort and Khazanah has given away a large portion of their net worth in MAS for free. By troubleshooters2011 1.MAS MANAGEMENT HAS INITIATED THE RIGHT STRATEGIES AND IMPLEMENTATION TO TURNAROUND THE COMPANY AND THEREFORE DO NOT NEED THE TIE-UP WITH AIRASIA A quick analysis on the current state of MAS indicates that they are on the right track. The three key cost factors that need attention are fuel, maintenance and manpower cost. With regards to fuel cost, MAS has taken some steps to reduce the unpredictability of the movement of fuel price. With a bit of tweaking they will get it within control as you cannot totally eliminate uncertainties linked to fuel pricing. On maintenance cost, the fleet renewal program will start to alleviate the impact of maintenance on the operating profits while shifting the cost towards the interest expense while creating a healthier balance sheet. If at all the national carrier is guilty, it is that the fleet renewal program should have been carried out earlier, say 2007 when MAS would have been able to hive off depleting assets at a higher value and not incurred high maintenance costs which would have increased y-o-y that has negative impact on the operating profits. The reduction of manpower cost or the rightsizing of this cost can be properly planned through natural attrition and redefinition of job scopes that need key union and association buy in for success. This has always been done as a top down approach but in all fairness, engagement at the shop floor needs to be intensified as it is the personnel at this level that will impact the bottom line in terms of efficiency, productivity and effective implementation.
2. BASED ON THE EFFORTS OF PAST MANAGEMENT, MAS SHOULD REAP THE BENEFITS IN AROUND 2013, THE SHARE SWAP AND INPUT OF AIRASIA AT THIS JUNCTURE ARE SEEN TO BE OPPORTUNISTIC WITH A LARGE DOSE OF VESTED INTERESTS AT PLAY. The timing of the share swap could not have happened at a worst time as it will largely benefit AIRASIA shareholders even without their own effort and Khazanah has given away a large portion of their net worth in MAS for free. This is blatant mismanagement at Khazanah and a thorough investigation should be launched to
see whether there is any personal/vested interest that has come into play on the decision making for a strategic national asset.
3. MAS SHOULD FOREVER REMAIN IN THE CONTROL OF GOVERNMENT'S HANDS AND SHOULD BE PRIVATISED INSTEAD OF BEING FORCED TO CO-EXIST WITH PRIVATE ENTITIES MAS is a source of pride for the nation. It started getting into trouble when vested interest came into picture and started to encroach on its balance sheet and profitable entities. While the aviation business model has changed dramatically over the decades and previous laurels of achievement may not be replicated due to the changing times, the aviation space is a critical playing field for the nation. Every country assists its aviation companies in one form or another, so we should not be fooled to think that it's a level playing field out there. What is required is a dynamic BUSINESS Model for MAS to prosper further. One initiative that could be explored is to privatize it and fix it rather than the share swap that will work on a model of cannibalisation shrouded under the so-called comprehensive collaboration.
4. MAS AND AIRASIA RUN ON COMPLETELY DIFFERENT BUSINESS MODEL MAS is a Malaysian company with global reach and serves not only a commercial agenda but a national agenda in terms of promoting Malaysia as a tourism destination, to facilitate trade between countries under a G to G environment and also to facilitate outreach to new destination for strategic and commercial
purposes. AIRASIA is a commercial entrepreneur driven Malaysian Multi National Company (MNC) having partnering arrangements in each of its chosen point to point country of destination and hub. Both derive their sources of income from different business approaches and with different objectives in mind. The objectives are not aligned and to align them would result in a different shift in strategy that could have a NEGATIVE impact on both companies' performance, more so for MAS than AIRASIA.
5. COLLABORATION FOR COMMON BENEFIT IS POSSIBLE WITHOUT CROSS SHAREHOLDING IN THE TWO COMPANIES Collaboration between the two companies is definitely a plus but need not be at the expense of each other and encroaching on each other's brand identity. What is currently prevailing between the two entities is a healthy competition and it keeps each entity on edge to ensure that they remain relevant aviation entities. But collaboration such as in the oil and gas space between PETRONAS and EXXON for example for the Tapis fields, SHELL and PETRONAS in the Gumusut-Kakap fields, MURPHY and PETRONAS in the Kikeh fields and a more dramatic win-win partnering arrangement between giants SHELL and EXXON in the Brent oil fields in the North Sea of Northern UK demonstrates the joint collaboration between two competing entities can be achieved without sacrificing each entity's identity and business objectives. SHELL and EXXON compete in other acreages in other countries around the world. What is needed is sincere partnering for common benefit.
6. KHAZANAH SHOULD LOOK AT ITS SHAREHIOLDING IN MAS AS A STRATEGIC NATIONAL INTEREST STAKE WHILE INVESTMENT IN AIRASIA AS PURELY A RETURN ON INVESTMENT STAKE The move by Khazanah to invest in AIRASIA should be looked at purely as a commercial investment as it is investing in a company that is majority foreign owned if aggregated. Khazanah should look at AIRASIA for returns on investment and not as a strategic stake. AIRASIA is a company purely running on commercial adrenalin with an iconic entrepreneur. Khazanah has little say in AIRASIA and can easily be outvoted in the event parties invested in AIRASIA work in concert. Its stake in MAS is crucial as it helps control its own skies while operating a free skies environment. Air travel has become commoditized and should the country be outplayed in the aviation space, we could see colonialisation of our airspace and others gaining more benefit flying over Malaysian airspace.
7. RISK PROFILE TO THE AVIATION INDUSTRY HAS INCREASED EXPONENTIALLY AS KHAZANAH HAS BEEN DRAWN IN TO SUPPORT BOTH ENTITIES IN THE EVENT OF ECONOMIC AND AVIATION DOWNTURN By having cross shareholding, should anything untoward happens to the industry, Khazanah will have to help 2 entities as it would not make sense for AIRASIA to insist on the share swap if it did not provide them financial 'cloud cover'. If Khazanah had kept AIRASIA shareholding as a ROI stock, the investment could be unlocked on reaching a specific return. As the shareholding in AIRASIA is only 10%, Khazanah is neither here nor there in terms of being able to influence policy; therefore it makes no sense to undertake a share swap where the vendors of AIRASIA have significant say in MAS but not vice versa.
Thank you. Any rebuttals and cross examination by Khazanah, Tune Air or any interested parties are most welcome.
Our email address: troubleshooters2011@gmail.com |
| Who will lead in Putrajaya post the 13th GE, and who will give us the reforms we demand? Posted: 21 Sep 2011 05:12 PM PDT THE PEOPLE'S PARLIAMENT Less than 6 months as Prime Minister, Pak Lah was able to persuade me to do what Mahathir could not in 22 years in the office of PM. Yes, Pak Lah's promises of a slew of reforms persuaded me to vote for the first time for BN in the 2004 GE. Until then, I had always voted for the opposition. Looking at the huge mandate he got, it would seem that I was not the only one taken in by his promised reform agenda. Maybe it was his seemingly squeeky clean image that persuaded so many of us that this man might just deliver on his promises of reforms. Today, Pak Lah concedes that his reform agenda fell by the wayside due to resistance to the same from within his own party and his own government colleagues. "Perhaps when I was in office I should have been more forceful about it considering the resistance I was facing," , Malaysiakini reports Pak Lah as saying. Pak Lah was also quoted in an earlier Malaysiakini report as saying that Najib, too, might face the same resistance from within to his proposed repeal of the ISA. My take, though, on why Pak Lah failed to deliver on his reform promises is that, post the 2004 GE, he was preoccupied with consolidating his position in the party in the hope that he could lead the charge into the next GE and return for a second term as PM. Delivering all his pre-election promises would make him popular with the rakyat generally, but would earn him the ire and thee wrath of the UMNO warlords, most notably, Dr M himself. It was common knowledge then that Pak Lah was facing a revolt from within the party, led by Dr M. In the end, Pak Lah opted to renege on his pre-election promises to us so as to keep the peace with the UMNO warlords. Today, Najib faces the same dilemma as his predecessor. And like his predecessor, Najib does not have it in him to go against the UMNO warlords. I will not hold my breath waiting for the repeal of the ISA to become a reality during his watch. Firstly, it might simply not happen. Secondly, it remains to be seen how draconian the proposed anti-terrorism laws that are intended to take the place of the ISA will be. Finally, and, for me, most importantly, is that Najib, unlike Pak Lah, came into office weighed down with a litany of scandals. READ MORE HERE |
| IGP: We will probe Anwar over false report on sex tape issue Posted: 21 Sep 2011 05:09 PM PDT (The Star) - PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be investigated for lodging a false police report in connection with the sex tape featuring a man resembling him. Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar yesterday said an investigation paper would be opened soon following a police report lodged by Puteri Umno recently, after police investigations revealed that the sex video which allegedly implicated the Opposition leader was 99.9% authentic. Police had sent the video to an independent company in South Korea and the United States of America to verify its authenticity. In the report, Puteri Umno stated that since the video had been authenticated, it meant that Anwar had lied when he lodged a police report stating that it was not him in the sex video. "We will open an investigation paper on Anwar soon on the matter," he said yesterday. Anwar had lodged a police report on April 28 over the emergence of a video clip showing a man who resembled him, having sex with a woman. The video clip was shown to a group of media representatives at Carcosa Seri Negara on March 21. In an unrelated matter, Ismail dismissed an accusation made by PAS deputy president Mohamed Sabu's son that the police may have masterminded the arson attempt on their double-storey link house in Section 19, Shah Alam on Tuesday at about 12.40am. "The police have been accused of all kinds of things and this is just another one," he said dismissively. |
| Anwar backs hudud in Kelantan Posted: 21 Sep 2011 05:05 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today threw his weight behind Kelantan's longstanding plans to implement hudud, saying that the laws proposed by the PAS government protected the rights of non-Muslims. The Pakatan Rakyat (PR) de facto leader stressed however that PR had not discussed the matter and this was only a "personal opinion". "For now, in general, in principle, I believe this can be implemented. Looking at the specific areas, and there is clear guarantee that there is administration of justice. "It does not in any way infringe on the rights of non-Muslims," Anwar told reporters outside the Jalan Duta courthouse here. He explained that Kelantan's hudud law plans were "specific" and it covered two important aspects — a fair administration according to Islamic law and ensuring that the rights of non-Muslims are protected. "It is a specific area that affects Muslims and does not impeach rights of non-Muslims. The proceeding makes sure that administration of justice is guaranteed," he said. Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat has challenged Datuk Seri Najib Razak to withdraw any objections the federal government still had over Kelantan's longstanding plans to implement hudud. He dismissed as laughable suggestions that Kelantan could now go ahead to implement hudud in the state now that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was no longer the prime minister. Dr Mahathir, the former prime minister, had previously written to the Kelantan mentri besar to inform him that the state did not have a right to implement hudud, which prescribes stoning, whipping and amputation as punishment for criminal offences. But in remarks released through his Facebook page today, Nik Aziz pointed out that the letter from Dr Mahathir remained valid. Anwar also challenged Najib to state his stand on the matter. READ MORE HERE |
| DNA expert: ‘Extremely rare’ to find sperm in rectum after 113 hours Posted: 21 Sep 2011 05:01 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - An Australian DNA expert in the Sodomy II trial today disputed medical findings that sperm could still be retrieved from a person's rectum 113 hours after anal sex. Dr Brian McDonald said during Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial that it was "extremely rare" that healthy DNA profiles could still be found from a person's anal region after such a long time. "In 99.9 per cent (of the cases), you cannot find sperm at all after such long hours. These are the rarest entries reported in (the literature). "However, this (sodomy) case is the only one (that I know of) in the world where the sperm can be captured after 56 hours and given to the chemist two days later, where you can still find a good DNA sample," he testified in court today. "In my experience for the last 20 years, it would give poor results," the defence expert witness said. Prosecution lawyers have charged that based on a medical article presented in court, semen can be retrieved from a person's rectum between four and 113 hours after anal intercourse. The 1997 article, titled "Sexual assault and semen persistence", was written by G.M. Willott and J.E. Allard. The prosecution had previously in the trial cited a separate case where sperm heads were discovered up to 65 hours after sex, shower and defecation. Doctors from Hospital Kuala Lumpur, who examined complainant Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan two days after the alleged sodomy, have said they managed to obtain DNA specimens from the complainant's rectum despite a lapse of 56 hours, which has been a key issue disputed by Anwar's defence team. READ MORE HERE |
| RM218m suit against BN struck out Posted: 21 Sep 2011 04:53 PM PDT  (The Malaysian Insider) - The High Court today struck out a RM218 million suit against the Barisan Nasional (BN) brought by a company which claimed it had supplied the BN election material. Elegant Advisory Sdn Bhd was also ordered to pay RM1,500 in costs to the BN. Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun, who represented the BN, told reporters that Justice Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof made the judgment in chambers. The judge held that the plaintiff had abused the court process by filing two other suits in connection with the same items and products, according to Bernama Online. Elegant Advisory filed the suit on February 17 this year after an earlier action it filed in 2009 was rejected when Umno succeeded in setting it aside on grounds that the plaintiff did not abide by the Contracts Act 1950. Bernama Online said Elegant Advisory had, in its writ of summons, claimed to have supplied election material, transportation as well as publications, and provided BN with various election paraphernalia during the 11th general election in 2004. The company had also claimed that it sent an invoice for RM218,013,475 to the defendants, and said they had failed to pay up. |
| Siapa karut, Mat Sabu ke Zainal Kling? Posted: 21 Sep 2011 04:07 PM PDT Mat Sabu kata, penulisan sejarah saja yang tidak betul. Dia tidak kata sejarah yang melibatkan British itu tidak betul. Maka menganjurkan supaya sejarah bertulis itu dibetulkan. Prof. Kling tak suruh sejarah itu ditulis semula tetapi padanya sejarah yang difaham oleh semua orang itu adalah tidak betul. Subky Latif, Harakah Daily MAT Sabu menyarankan supaya sejarah ditulis semula disebabkan oleh sejarah kemerdekaan tidak ditulis dengan betul. Maka sekalian penyokong kerajaan mengira Mat Sabu mengarut.
Dalam reaksinya atas kontroversi Mat Sabu itu, Prof. Zainal Kling, jika di barat dipanggil Prof. Kling saja berpendapat Tanah Melayu tidak pernah dijajah British. Pro Mat Sabu pula mengiranya karut juga.
Saranan Prof. Kling disukai oleh Tun Dr. Mahathir. Prof. Khoo Kay Kim rasanya tertarik dengan saranan itu. Prof. Ramlah Adam pula tidak menyanggahnya.
Kesemua mereka tidak suka dengan saranan Mat Sabu; tidak tertarik supaya sejarah itu ditulis semula. Tetapi sedarkah kita saranan Zainal Kling itu telah membantu menguatkan saranan Mat Sabu supaya sejarah negara kita ditulis semula.
Saranan Zainal Kling bercanggah dengan isi sejarah yang sudah ditulis. Semua buku sejarah yang diguna di sekolah rendah, menengah dan universiti mengatakan Tanah Melayu pernah dijajah.
Semua orang baik jadi ahli politik pro kerajaan dan pembangkang, yang tidak terlibat dengan politik, buta huruf dan berpelajaran, sebelum dan selepas 31 Ogos 1957 merasakan Inggeris pernah menjajah negara mereka.
Bagi ketua sekalian profesor itu sejarah yang diketahui oleh semua orang adalah tidak betul.
Mat Sabu kata, penulisan sejarah saja yang tidak betul. Dia tidak kata sejarah yang melibatkan British itu tidak betul. Maka menganjurkan supaya sejarah bertulis itu dibetulkan. Prof. Kling tak suruh sejarah itu ditulis semula tetapi padanya sejarah yang difaham oleh semua orang itu adalah tidak betul.
Persoalannya adakah hendak dibiarkan ia tidak betul dan adakah hendak diajar juga yang dikatakan tidak betul itu kepada murid-murid dan orang ramai?
Ini telah menjadikan semua orang bercelaru dan keliru tentang sejarah yang diketahui itu dan sejarah yang ada itu juga bercelaru dan mengelirukan.
Justeru itu saranan Mat Sabu supaya ditulis semula sejarah sudah payah ditolak.
Jika sejarah itu tidak ditulis semula, orang sudah tidak tahu apakah sejarah yang diajar itu boleh dipakai atau tidak, sedang di bawah dasar yang ditentukan oleh menteri pelajaran sekarang Tan Sri Muhyidin Yasin, sejarah adalah mata pelajaran teras yang wajib lulus.
Adakah hendak ajar yang Mat Sabu kata tidak tepat dan Zainal Kling kata tidak betul?
Kesimpulannya buku sejarah itu kena buat yang baru. Nilai semula mana yang betul dan mana yang diselewengkan.
Antara yang kena jelaskan macam mana sebelum merdeka dulu Semenajung Tanah Melayu boleh ditukar menjadi Malaya. Sebelum datang ke Tanah Melayu, semua peta dunia menamakan negara kita ini Semenanjung Tanah Melayu. Buku sejarah dunia pun mengenalinya Semenanjung Tanah Melayu.
Selepas British datang ia ditukar menjadi Malaya. Buku sejarah dunia dan peta dunia pun memanggilnya Malaya. Universiti yang pertama ditubuhkan sebelum merdeka dulu dinamakan Universiti Malaya atau Univercity of Malaya. Hingga sekarang nama itu dikekalkan.
Siapa yang menamakannya Malaya? Inggeriskah atau Raja-Raja.
Jika Inggeris datang untuk berkhidmat kepada para Sultan, mengapa orang Inggeris tidak guna bahasa yang dipakai oleh Sultan dan yang digunakan oleh orang Melayu? Mengapa digunakan dalam pentadbiran dan urusan rasmi dalam bahasa Inggeris iaitu bahasa yang tidak difahami oleh rakyat dan tidak juga diketahui oleh para Sultan?
Bila sekolah diadakan, sekolah Melayu ada setakat darjah enam saja, tetapi sekolah Inggeris sampai darjah sembilan. Kalau Inggeris itu datang untuk berkhidmat saja bagaimana mereka ada kuasa menukarkan sesetengah sultan.
Sebelum Inggeris datang ke Perak, Perak sudah ada sultan. Bila ia datang ia boleh tukar sultan itu dengan Sultan Abdullah. Bila ada masalah dengan Sultan Abdullah dibuangnya Sultan Abdullah ke pulau di tengah laut dekat Afrika dan digantinya sultan baru.
Bila Inggeris datang semula selepas Jepun kalah, ditukarnya Sultan Selangor dengan yang baru dan Sultan Terengganu pun digantikannya dengan yang lain.
Kalau sekadar hendak menolong sultan, masakan sampai boleh menukar sultan.
Tentang bahasa pula, hingga hari ini Bahasa Melayu belum boleh menggantikan bahasa Inggeris gara-gara adanya kuasa Inggeris sebelum merdeka dulu.
Apa hendak kita tentang sejarah seperti itu?
Dan kalau yang dijajah Inggeris itu sekadar Melaka, Pulau Pinang dan Singapura, mengapa perjuangan kemerdekaan itu dituntut oleh orang Perak, Kedah, Selangor, Kelantan, Johor, Pahang, Terengganu, Negeri Sembilan dan Perlis.
Tuntut merdeka untuk Pulau Pinang dan Melaka sajalah! Sepatutnya kemerdekaan pada 31 Ogos 1957 itu tidak diisytiharkan di Kuala Lumpur. Proklamirkan di Melaka dan di Pulau Pinang saja, tidak perlu libatkan negei lain di Semenanjung.
Zainal Kling tentu setuju. Kalau dia tidak setuju, dialah yang karut. Bukan Mat Sabu. |
| ‘Govt can’t use force to interpret history’ Posted: 21 Sep 2011 04:00 PM PDT Oslo-based Armed For the Quill says the charge against Mat Sabu violates the rights to freedom of thought. (Free Malaysia Today) - An international NGO promoting freedom of speech, Armed For the Quill (AFTQ), has jumped on the bandwagon in telling the government off for charging PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu in court with criminal defamation. 
Stalin also changed history to make himself the hero of the revolution and to reduce Trotsky to a minor role "The government cannot force its interpretation about any historical event on anybody. "This is because such action is denying the people freedom of thought and expression," AFTQ's Southeast Asian regional head and Malaysian representative, Shaharul Anwar Shafie, said in a press statement yesterday. The Oslo-based NGO sees the charge against the PAS leader as an attempt to deny the right of speech and expression on matters that have room for interpretation and dispute. Popularly known as Mat Sabu, he was charged at the Butterworth Sessions Court yesterday with allegedly defaming several police personnel and their families, who defended themselves during a Communist attack led by Mat Indera on the Bukit Kepong police station, Muar, Johor, on Feb 23, 1950. Mat Sabu is alleged to have committed the offence during a public speech at Tasek Gelugor, Penang, between 10pm and 12 midnight on Aug 21. Mat Sabu was charged under Section 500 of the Penal Code with criminal defamation but pleaded not guilty and posted a RM15,000 bail. Shaharul said that debates and historical facts must be welcomed because history evolves based on new study modes, information and observation. He also said the issue, if handled properly, would be beneficial to the government as it would earn brownie points. "If the government can show some level of great wisdom and seriousness in dealing with democratic reforms, the Malaysian government will continue to be held in high esteem by its citizens." READ MORE HERE |
| ‘If GE is in November, BN will win’ Posted: 21 Sep 2011 03:58 PM PDT A report by the PM's Department states that the ruling coalition will be saved by Sabah and Sarawak. But a tough battle is expected across the sea. (Free Malaysia Today) - Barisan Nasional looks set to retain control of the federal government in the next general election (GE) if it is held in November, with Sabah and Sarawak once again being the saviours, according to a survey. And after Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's announcement last Thursday that the Internal Security Act (ISA) would be abolished, the chances seem brighter. However, a source said the survey conducted by the Prime Minister's Department revealed that it would only be a simple majority with about 140 seats. He added that BN would face a tough fight in the Peninsula, but the ruling coalition was expected to clinch 54 of the 56 parliamentary seats up for grabs in Sabah and Sarawak. "The only concern now is DAP; the Chinese in East Malaysia are still supportive of the party," he said. Based on the report, the source, who is a senior officer with the PM's Deparment, said that DAP would take two seats for certain in Sarawak – Kuching and Stampin. As for DAP's strong performance in the recently-concluded Sarawak state election, the source said that the general election would be different. "We must understand that state elections are different. One of the major factors why DAP won 13 seats in the state election is that the party top guns from the Peninsula were campaigning there. "But this won't happen during general elections," he added. Furthermore, he said DAP was suffering from internal problems in Sarawak, and the party did not command the support of the indigenous people. On the chances of other other Pakatan Rakyat parties, PKR and PAS, the source claimed that it would be a miracle if the two win even a single seat in Sarawak. "In Sabah, it will be a total wipeout for the opposition," he stressed. "BN will retain Sabah with a 100% win." He said that the Kota Kinabalu constituency incumbent Dr Hiew King Cheu, who is also Sabah DAP committee chairperson, was also not certain of retaining his seat. "DAP's hope of capturing at least two seats, Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan, is also bleak," he added. READ MORE HERE |
| The MAS-AA deal once again-1 Posted: 21 Sep 2011 03:39 PM PDT 
SAKMONGKOL AK47 Will the ending of this secretive corporate deal be like this? - Air Asia buys over MAS? No, not even that- its finally give Tony what he has always wanted - own a piece of our national airline. That will make him a Prime Minister in the airline industry. Sometime in the future, the Khazanah people together with CIMB I suppose will lend Tony's Tune Air a lot of money to mop up the entire shares in Air Asia. Then Air Asia will be injected into a listed vehicle like MAS freeing Tune Air from debt. Tony's share via Air Asia which will then be injected into MAS will be converted into substantial shareholding in our national carrier. Maybe from 20% to 40 pct. So let's go back to retrace our steps. Khazanah and Tony and CIMB takes us through the motion making magic before the public eye. They are allowing Tony and company take up 20% of MAS shares under the pretext that Tony and that accountant Meranun can do their magic for MAS. Stupid MAS's capitalization is at RM 5 billion while Air Asia stands at RM 11 billion. So how can MAS with a shotgun compete with Air Asia which has a rocket launcher? Air Asia is fully loaded firing live ammunition while MAS fires blanks. Air Asia made more than RM 1 billion profit in 2010 while MAS incurred nightmarish losses despite Jala being there followed by Dato Tengku Azmil. Air Asia has more planes than MAS and MAS owns or leases boneshakers and call itself the airline with the golden service and touch. What a joke and this joke has been allowed to be uttered for too long by incompetent people at MAS and Khazanah. Then with so many factors assisting Tony and Kamarudin, Mas does indeed make profit. Some bright people at Khazanah will advise the PM to suggest since Mr. TF is already the single largest shareholder of MAS wand he has made profit why not merge Air Asia with MAS? How? Assist Tony to make Air Asia private and then allow him to inject the new entity into MAS. Give cheap loan to Tune Air to mop up the entire shares of Air Asia and then allow it to be injected into MAS. Tune Air the original owners of Air Asia will be freed from debt and the entire debt is now absorbed into the merged entity of a new MAS. The MAS owners will be Tony and company and Khazanah. Certainly and naturally, that will create synergies (read profits for some people) and hear this, gets protection from the Malaysian government. It's a long bullshitting exercise but one necessary to lead astray so many pesky bloggers. Some of them buyable but others are not I am trying to find the one thing that is repulsive about the MAS-AA deal. Why is this attempt by Khazanah in trying to mend MAS our national pride, appears to be a leaving a bitter after taste? What's so distasteful about it? My one reservation about this deal is that it shows Khazanah as trustee to the nation's wealth and therefore enforcer about how our assets are being managed isn't trying hard or serious enough to keep it national and strategic. Diluting the nation's share in MAS can also diminish what potential advantages the country can leverage by having a national airline. Every country has one that it leverages on to give it comparative advantages. The share swap with Tony Fernandes is effectively paying protection money. Give Tony shares in MAS in return of a pledge by Tony that he will not use Air Asia to compete with MAS. It's a payout to Tony in return for TF's promise not to work hard. It's also the old game of carving out the monopoly board among business rivals. Better to cooperate rather than bludgeon each other. So will MAS make profit after this after it secures a promise from Tony to not disturb it? The people at MAS appear to blame some unprofitable costs center (such as Firefly) for its losses. And it believes that removing this will turn MAS profitable plus having Tony and whoever else on board will allow MAS to benefit from their skills. It's more like better to keep friends close and enemies closer. I go to a friend's burial not to pay my respects but to make sure he's dead. So keep Tony on board to ensure he's not up to mischief which MAS people and by backward linkage, Khazanah people are incapable of dealing with. READ MORE HERE |
| Rangsangan Kerjaya Siswazah Selangor Posted: 21 Sep 2011 03:24 PM PDT 
Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor Berhad menjemput semua siswazah dan graduan dari negeri Selangor yang masih mencari pekerjaan untuk menyertai program Rangsangan Kerjaya Siswazah Selangor (RKSS) yang dianjurkan di bawah agenda CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Perangsang Selangor. Antara pengisian Program RKSS ini adalah penyediaan kursus-kursus latihan secara PERCUMA seperti berikut:-
1. Sijil Program Pembangunan Kemahiran Siswazah (13 hari)
2. Sijil Pembangunan Usahawan Muda (23 hari)
3. Sijil Perbankan dan Kewangan Islam (13 hari)
4. Sijil Kemahiran Teknikal dan Bukan Teknikal (11 kursus) (5-10 hari)
Untuk mendapat penerangan lanjut dan mendaftar, sila hadir ke Majlis Pelancaran, Penerangan dan Pendaftaran pada 30 September 2011 di Auditorium Dewan Jubli Perak, Bangunan Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah, Shah Alam, Selangor. Majlis akan dirasmikan oleh YAB Dato' Menteri Besar Selangor.
Maklumat lanjut sila layari: www.kps.com.my/csr-events/latest
RANGSANGAN KERJAYA SISWAZAH SELANGOR |
| One Step Forward, Two Steps Back Posted: 21 Sep 2011 02:35 PM PDT By Teresa Kok Once again, the Barisan Nasional Government has returned to its old trick of employing the courts to intimidate, oppress and imprison their political opponents, as seen in the case of PAS Deputy President Mohamad Sabu (Mat Sabu) who was charged with criminal defamation for allegedly having slandered police officers killed during the colonial-era communist insurgency this morning. If convicted, Mat Sabu faces up to two years in prison and a fine. Should that occur, he could be barred from contesting and campaigning in the next General Election. How convenient for Barisan Nasional. Is this BN's tactic to avoid having to face Mat Sabu in the next general election since his trial is scheduled for December 2011? It was only last Thursday when Prime Minister Najib Razak announced his supposed political reforms with platitudes like "no individual will be arrested merely on the point of political ideology" and "a more open Malaysia with a dynamic democracy." Barely a week has passed and he's already charged Mat Sabu over his opinion of historical events. So much for recognising freedom of expression. A truly open and dynamic Prime Minister would acknowledge that differences of opinion over the interpretation of history should not be argued in a court of law but resolved through dialogue and debate in an academic setting. Furthermore, Mat Sabu did not defame anyone, nor did he raise any racial or religious issue unlike the incendiary, racist and hate-driven statements and outright lies which have been repeatedly spewed by the likes of Utusan Malaysia and Perkasa. The Government has never taken any action against Utusan Malaysia and Perkasa, allowing them to continue to sow the seeds of fear and hatred with impunity. It is clear that the Government is practicing selective prosecution by taking Mat Sabu to court. I also condemn the Molotov cocktail attack upon Mat Sabu's home yesterday which follows an acid attack threat he received via SMS previously. These threats upon him and his family are criminal and deserve to be charged in court. I repeat my call to Polis DiRaja Malaysia to investigate this case, bring the criminals to justice and provide the necessary protection for him and his family. I urge Barisan Nasional leaders to issue public statements to condemn outright the threats upon Mat Sabu as a show of their stand against the use of violence. |
| Aussie expert: It’s a historic case Posted: 21 Sep 2011 02:21 PM PDT By Teoh El Sen, FMT KUALA LUMPUR: Anwar Ibrahim's Sodomy II trial has made history by being the first case in the world where DNA samples have been identified in an anus after 56 hours following an alleged sodomy. Australian DNA specialist Dr Brian Leslie McDonald, the fourth defence witness, said that the case was "very unique" as it was the longest time recorded of DNA being retrieved from a victim. "It's not normal or usual according to literature of 40 years. There is only one single case, our case, of 56 hours (and it) is the longest ever of DNA ever been identified," he said during re-examination by defence lawyer Ramkarpal Singh. McDonald was commenting on an article from a medical journal the prosecution produced on Tuesday which claimed that sperm cells could be extracted from a rectum even up to 113 hours after sex. The expert pointed out that even the particular article and another which said sperm could last and be found 65 hours after anal sex was not talking about DNA. "None of the cases referred to me is about DNA. Those studies were simply about the identification of semen. "In our (Anwar's) case, there's a 99.99% chance that it (obtaining sperm or DNA) won't occur," he added.
MORE TO COME HERE. |
| Najib announces rural change scheme, RM50m grant Posted: 21 Sep 2011 02:08 PM PDT By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider PUTRAJAYA, Sept 22 — The government will soon launch the Rural Transformation Programme (RTP) to spur economic development in rural areas, starting with a multi-million ringgit distribution centre in Gopeng, Perak. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the Rural Transformation Centre (RTC) will help small-scale rural entrepreneurs forge better links with the market in order to boost demand for their products. "It will be used as an agro-food and agro-business supply centre that will connect suppliers with consumers," he told some 2,000 entrepreneurs and their families here. Najib also announced an early allocation of RM50 million to some 10,000 rural businesses under the Usahawan Kecil Dinamik (Dynamic Small Entrepreneurs) programme that will be administered by Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara). He added that there were other RTP programmes in the pipeline but said he would only announce them at the upcoming Budget 2012 next month. Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal later told reporters that, in addition to helping entrepreneurs reach a wider market, the RTC will also be a one-stop centre for business financing and training. "We have provided kiosks kitted out by the Rural Development Ministry with all the information entrepreneurs need," he said. READ MORE HERE. |
| Nik Aziz dares Najib to back hudud law Posted: 21 Sep 2011 01:52 PM PDT By G Manimaran, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 — Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat dismissed as laughable suggestions that Kelantan could now go ahead to implement hudud law in the state now that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was no longer the prime minister. Instead, he challenged Datuk Seri Najib Razak to withdraw any objections the federal government still had over Kelantan's longstanding plans to implement hudud. Dr Mahathir, the former prime minister, had previously written to the Kelantan mentri besar to inform him that the state did not have a right to implement hudud, which prescribes stoning, whipping and amputation as punishment for criminal offences. But in remarks released through his Facebook page today, Nik Aziz (picture) pointed out that the letter from Dr Mahathir remained valid. "I have not heard of any policy whereby letters sent by a prime minister expires after that prime minister resigns. "Do all matters expire and need to be renewed when there is a change of prime minister? Tun Mahathir's challenge is funny indeed," he said. Dr Mahathir quit as PM in 2003. Dr Mahathir challenged Nik Aziz yesterday to implement hudud because he was no longer prime minister. The former PM's remarks appear aimed at highlighting an issue that will almost certainly spark intense debate and rouse opposition from non-Muslims. Since 2008 PAS and its Pakatan Rakyat allies, the DAP and PKR, have won over non-Muslim support, largely due to unhappiness with graft in government as well as policies seen as discriminatory to them. The MCA, MIC and Gerakan, the three major non-Muslim Barisan Nasional (BN) parties, have been struggling to win back voters after losing record numbers of seats in the 2008 general election. READ MORE HERE. |
| WIKILEAKS: FURTHER MALAYSIA RESPONSE TO TANCHON COMMERCIAL BANK ACCOUNTS Posted: 21 Sep 2011 01:00 AM PDT Both the FIU and Maybank would like to see on the evidence supporting the alleged link between Tanchon and Maybank so that Bank Negara can confirm whether such a relationship exists. They also requested information on the process for correcting USG records of suspicious transactions. If Bank Negara confirms that there is no relationship between Maybank and Tanchon, they would like to ask that this allegation be expunged from the record. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin
1. (C) Econoff met with Koid Swee Lian, Director of Bank Negara's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and FIU official Rahman Abu Bakar June 2 at their request to discuss the alleged relationship between Tanchon Commercial Bank and Malayan Banking Berhad's (aka Maybank) Singapore branch (Ref A). The FIU also invited Shamsul Bahrin Baharuddin, Maybank's Head of Compliance Risk Management and Abdul Alim Mahmood, Senior Relationship Manager for the Americas, who presented Econoff with a letter detailing their internal investigation and categorically denying any relationship between Tanchon and Maybank Singapore or Maybank Malaysia. Both the FIU and Maybank officials reiterated their earlier requests for more information regarding the alleged relationship so that they may investigate deeper. They also expressed concern that this issue is remains open even though they requested information substantiating the allegation over a month ago. Specifically, they do not want this allegation to come out publicly nor do they wish to be surprised should the U.S. government be contemplating such an action. As they have found no ties between Maybank and Tanchon, FIU once again requested that the U.S. government expunge this allegation from the record. 2. (C) Both the FIU and Maybank remain very concerned about this case. Maybank explained to Econoff that it had not found any relationship between Maybank's Singapore branch and Tanchon. They also explained Maybank's policy regarding correspondent banks. (Note: the talking points per Ref B referred to Tanchon's "correspondent relationship with Malaysian Banking Berhad Singapore Branch." End Note.) Maybank explained that its corporate regulations require any branch entering into a correspondent relationship to seek Maybank headquarters approval. There is no record of the Singapore branch ever making such a request nor has Maybank found any record of a relationship between Tanchon and the Singapore branch. 3. (C) Action Requested: Post reiterates the request made in Ref A. Both the FIU and Maybank would like to see on the evidence supporting the alleged link between Tanchon and Maybank so that Bank Negara can confirm whether such a relationship exists. They also requested information on the process for correcting USG records of suspicious transactions. If Bank Negara confirms that there is no relationship between Maybank and Tanchon, they would like to ask that this allegation be expunged from the record. In view of our close working relationship with the FIU, and the importance of this relationship for our counterterrorism finance cooperation with Malaysia, post once again requests Washington guidance for responding to this request. LAFLEUR (June 2006) |
| Fantasizing Hang Li Po Posted: 20 Sep 2011 10:22 PM PDT By dUMNO Of COURSE !!! I am DUMNO !! I AM sexist !! but it seems time and again, Malaysians keeps voting us back into power, so that we can sap your money, and make off with all the wealth of this country. See you next elections !!! Haiya... you stupit Chinese simply think that Hang Li Po was this Darling drop-dead gorgeous Babe from Cheena. She maybe she looked like the one below? What if this was Hang Li Po? 
People like to romanticise what all these Princes and Princesses looked like, and what if this was Hang Li Po's Son?
And his brother looked like this? 
Don't laugh. What if the Sultan of Malacca found this to be attractive? Why does everyone think of all Prince's and Princesses as having sexy bodies like the one below?  None of Malaysia's Sultans do, and the closest is the one which got away was her - Manohara: 
How come no Sultan got a hold of Miss Indonesia? 
Tak laku? Maybe, because people from the past used to love fat women. Look at all the Renaissance paintings. They had mostly fat women in it. In fact, the Masai Tribe rates women according to size, so a skinny one like Miss Indonesia was rather useless, and is rated as 5 cows. But BIG MOMMA Hang Li Po above would have been worth 40 cows !!
Sexist?
Of COURSE !!! I am DUMNO !! I AM sexist !! but it seems time and again, Malaysians keeps voting us back into power, so that we can sap your money, and make off with all the wealth of this country. See you next elections !!! |
| Blogger Umno gelar Muhyiddin 'anak paria' Posted: 20 Sep 2011 08:18 PM PDT 
Muhyiddin digelar sebagai anak paria, penyamun besar dan perosak Umno. Lebih hodoh lagi, Zaharin yang juga Setiausaha Umno Bahagian Bandar Tun Razak mendakwa beliau ada maklumat bahawa Muhyiddin terbabit hendak menjatuhkan Perdana Menteri, Dato' Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak. Mohd Rashidi Hassan, HARAKAH DAILY "DI BAWAH pentadbiran Muhyiddin Yassin, Umno Wilayah (Persekutuan) sudah jadi macam parti mak bapak dia..Dia buat apa dia suka..Kerana dia penyamun besar yang berselindung atas nama nasionalisme Melayu dan Islam..Maka dilantiknya jawatan kanan Umno bahagian bdr tun razak semuanya banduan politik wang."
"Muhyiddin Yassin itu anak paria," tulis Setiausaha Umno Bahagian Bandar Tun Razak, Zaharin Mohd Yasin yang juga bloger Sang Kelembai dalam laman Facebook (FB) beliau.
Beliau menulis lagi, "16 September 2011 bermula konspirasi hendak menjatuhkan PM Najib oleh Muhyiddin Yassin, dgn perlantikan setiausaha dan bendahari bekas banduan politik wang dan seorang yd diadukan melanggar perlembagaan Umno, maka dengan sendiri Parlimen Bandar Tun Razak yg dinamakan sempena bapa PM Najib dgn mudah akan dimenang oleh pembangkang. Maka Muhyiddin Yasin akan minta PM Najib letak jawatan saperti yg pernah dia lakukan kpd Abdullah Hj Ahmad."
Apa yang ditulis Zaharin menunjukkan politiking dalam Umno memang hebat. Sentiasa panas dan bergolak. Selalunya kemelut dalaman Umno tidak diketahui rakyat kerana ia dapat disembunyikan oleh media tali barut Umno. Bila dibongkarkan satu-persatu mereka kata, ianya hanya ibarat 'ribut dalam secawan kopi.'
Ribut dalam Umno kali ini memang hebat dan tidak dapat dibendung. Ia diluahkan dan didedahkan secara terbuka oleh bloger-bloger dan facebookers Umno. Laman sosial FB menjadi tempat mereka melepaskan geram terhadap seteru politik dalam Umno.
Zaharin begitu berani mengambil risiko menghentam dan mengecam Timbalan Presiden Umno yang juga Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Muhyiddin digelar sebagai anak paria, penyamun besar dan perosak Umno. Lebih hodoh lagi, Zaharin yang juga Setiausaha Umno Bahagian Bandar Tun Razak mendakwa beliau ada maklumat bahawa Muhyiddin terbabit hendak menjatuhkan Perdana Menteri, Dato' Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak.
Dalam tulisannya di laman FB, Zaharin berkata, beliau akan mendedahkan hal tersebut tidak lama lagi.
Zaharin melepaskan geramnya kepada Muhyiddin dipercayai kerana terdapat usaha TPM selaku Pengerusi Umno untuk meletakkan 'orangnya' menggantikan beliau sebagai Setiausaha Umno Bahagian.
Malah dalam laman FBnya, Zaharin terus menyerang Muhyiddin kerana melantik orang-orang bermasalah dan yang jelas terbabit dalam politik wang seperti Dato' Mokhtar Samad dan Amil Salleh di bahagian tersebut.
Menulis mengenai Zaharin bukan bermakna menyokong beliau. Sebab Zaharin memang jenis out-spoken. Dalam posting beliau selalu menyerang PAS dan Pakatan Rakyat. Timbalan Presiden PAS, Mohamad Sabu dan Ketua Umum KeADILan, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim sering menjadi 'ulam' beliau.
Saya ketepikan soal serangan Zaharin terhadap Pakatan Rakyat buat seketika. Yang penting sekarang bukan soal Zaharin sebagai penulis dalam blog atau FB. Beliau ada jawatan. Selaku Setiausaha Umno Bahagian dan Setiausaha BN Bahagian, kuasanya agar besar dan berpengaruh. Beliau juga terbabit sebagai AJK Umno Wilayah Persekutuan.
Oleh kerana itu serangan dan kecaman beliau terhadap TPM memang ada weight yang tersendiri. Sebab apa seorang yang berjawatan sanggup menyerang Timbalan Presiden Umno yang juga Pengerusi Umno negeri? Kata-kata yang dihamburkan pula bukannya kritikan biasa.
Gelaran 'anak paria' terhadap Muhyiddin yang berbangsa Melayu dan beragama Islam adalah sedahsyat-dahsyat gelaran. Jika ada kalangan orang India pun tidak setuju jika ungkapan paria digunakan kepada mereka walaupun ia ada dalam kamus mereka, inikan pula orang Melayu-Islam menerima geralan sedemikian.
'Anak paria' yang dikatakan Zaharin bukan sekadar paria, dia adalah penyamun besar, pembela golongan rasuah dan bermasalah dalam Umno. Lebih dahsyat lagi 'anak paria' itu dituduh merancang hendak menjatuhkan PM kesayangan Zaharin.
Sudah tentu serangan Zaharin terhadap Muhyiddin tidak dapat diterima juak-juak Muhyiddin. Melalui blog Cucu Tok Selampit mereka menyerang Zaharin dan menggesa Umno memecatnya.
Zaharin kata blog tersebut sebagai politikus yang tidak bermaruah. Zaharin dituduh menyerang bekas PM, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi dan kemudian mencium tangan Abdullah selepas mendapat habuan yang dikehendaki. Gambar Zaharin memeluk dan mencium tangan Abdullah juga disiarkan mereka.
Bloger Umno yang marah dengan Zaharin mendakwa beliau menjalankan politik 'peras ugut'. Zaharin didakwa memeras ugut ahli politik (termasuk TPM), kemudian mereka diminta 'menghulurkan habuan' jika serangan terhadap mereka hendak dihentikan.
Bloger Umno yang tidak puashati dengan kecaman Zaharin terhadap Muhyiddin, terus menyerang beliau dan mendakwa Zaharin mempunyai kelaku yang amat buruk. Kata mereka Zaharin tidak layak menjadi ahli Umno kerana banyak komen-komennya merosakkan Umno.
Membaca komen-komen yang diposting mereka naik tergelak dibuatnya. Macamlah mereka yang duduk dalam Umno suci macam Malaikat Jibril.
Saya tidak perlu cenderung untuk membela sesiapa dalam Umno dalam perbalahan ini. Mereka hendak tuduh, hendak kata apa pun kepada seteru mereka, itu urusan mereka. Hanya mereka sahaja yang tahu dan faham perangai orang-orang Umno.
Yang jelas, tujuan saya mengutarakan isu ini, lebih kepada untuk menyedarkan rakyat dan mendedahkan kepada rakyat, bahawa Umno itu memang hodoh dan teruk. Perbalahan dalaman mereka memang teruk dna tidak mampu dibaiki lagi.
Persoalan yang harus dijawab oleh Umno hari ini bukan soal siapa Zaharin, atau apa buruk baik kelakunya. Yang tidak boleh dinafikan orang Umno ialah, didakwa wujudnya satu usaha yang didalangi Timbalan Presiden Umno untuk menjatuhkan Presiden Umno. Itu isu yang sebenarnya.
Yang menuduh atau membangkitkan isu ini bukan orang PAS. Bukan juga orang Pakatan Rakyat. Yang menuduh Muhyiddin hendak menjatuhkan Najib adalah dari kalangan Umno sendiri. Apa yang dibuat Muhyiddin, siapa penyokongnya dan bagaimana cara beliau hendak jatuhkan Najib, kita tunggu pendedahan dari orang Umno seterusnya.
Cuma yang hendak kita katakan kepada orang-orang Umno-BN, kami dari Pakatan Rakyat, sama ada yang meneraju negara itu Najib atau Muhyiddin, tidak penting bagi kami. Asalkan sahaja nama mereka Umno-BN, kami bertekad akan tumbangkan mereka pada PRU yang akan datang. Insya Allah. |
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