Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Planned mandatory mosques law may cause polarisation, says Sabah church group
- Support the Indigenous People's Murum Dam Blockade
- Who do you call?
- The al-Bukhary story: how it all began
- Election dilemma among Indian voters
- White elephants of Penang
- Did BN’s Bumiputera policies backfire?
- The al-Bukhary story
- RM1.05 bil suit against S'gor govt set for hearing Jan 11
- SAMM rakam pujian buat kerajaan negeri yang tangguh/halang AES dan SAMM terus ajak rakyat desak ...
- Petronas Carigali discovers more oil reserves in Bertam, says PM
- TKI MALAYSIA: 162 Orang kini terancam hukuman mati
- No Love Lost Between Indonesia and Malaysia
- Selangor orders halt to Batu Caves condo, sets up independent task force
- No, don’t be neutral
- BN members still fighting over SAPP seats
- Why BN will have a minimum swing of 10% voters back to them for the 13 General Election?
- ‘Upko debated ditching BN’
- Why is it so difficult to give up a seat?
- Karpal offers to help stop condo project
- Rafizi was too loud, Nazri tells Parliament
- MACC report over ‘failed’ Kedah project
- Masing: We’ll wallop our opponents
- 'BN has Pakatan's dirty laundry list'
- MB S’gor sedia bertanding dua kerusi
- Kamalanathan wants apology from Ronnie Liu for alleging link to Batu Caves condo project approval
- Asri sedia wacana dengan Ulama Pas tapi…
- How I imagine the trial would proceed
- Masing’s swipe at Taib?
- I did not get RM3m from Chia but the car…’
- Ulama PAS jemput Dr Asri berdialog
- Bekas MP PKR dakwa kerajaan Selangor anti-Hindu
- EC to blame for BN’s loss of Chinese support
- Kayveas: We want seats lost by BN parties
- Let’s talk about the AG’s Report
- ‘RM40m scandal may see BN lose Sabah’
- ‘Hudud is not the issue…’
- BN’s targets PAS, PKR seats in S’gor
- Asia language plan 'central' to Australian reforms: PM
- Voting for an “Islamic state”
- Liow: Change will lead to instability
- Khaled: Do not sell given land
- Genneva: Cooking up allegations
- Revive NFC Export Quality Abattoir, Malaysia’s food security under seige
- Despite Pakatan push, BN expects to win more than 140 seats
- Seat negotiations still on-going in Sabah
- The timber mafia is larger than you suspect
- Lembah Pantai tough for BN due to split Malay vote, Nong Chik says
- Merger of 5 PKNS assets approved by Federal Treasury, says Khalid
- A Democrat indeed
| Planned mandatory mosques law may cause polarisation, says Sabah church group Posted: 30 Oct 2012 12:14 PM PDT
The Putra Mosque is seen shrouded with smog in Putrajaya June 12, 2009. — Reuters pic
The National Fellowship (NECF) Commission on Sabah Affairs (COSA) said that the proposal for such a blanket policy was misguided as there has never been any problem in gaining approval for the building of mosques and Muslim prayer halls in the state, unlike for non-Muslim places of worship that it says have been subjected to unnecessary delays in obtaining approval for their building plans and in land acquisition applications. NECF-COSA chairman Reverend Datuk Jerry Dusing said the current building by-laws are already working and saw no necessity for a change in the status quo "Why put (the building of mosques as) mandatory, as if Malaysia is only (made up of practitioners of) one kind of religion?" he told The Malaysian Insider after the NECF-COSA issued a media statement to highlight the issue. Sabah Assistant Finance Minister Datuk Tawfiq Abu Bakar Titingan had proposed that local authorities enforce the requirement of providing a mosque site for each low- and medium-cost housing project in Sabah to ensure Muslims residents could carry out their religious obligations with ease, state news agency Bernama had reported on September 21. Dusing, who is also president of the Sabah branch of Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB), said church leaders had not been consulted prior to the proposal and only recently found out about it from reading newspaper reports. He said that previously, the state government would seek the views of the different religious groups before making a decision on such a "sensitive matter". He pointed to the 2007 controversy over the construction of a 108-foot high statue of Mazu ― as Taoists in Sabah call the patron deity protecting seafarers ― in mainly Muslim Kudat, a coastal town in the northern tip of Sabah He claimed the Sabah chief minister had discussed the matter with the different religious group leaders before deciding to cancel its approval first granted to the project in 2006. Dusing also said the state Barisan Nasional (BN) government had consulted church leaders when Muslims wanted to build a mosque in Penampang, which had met with objections as the western Sabah town was predominantly Christian. "Rather than making it mandatory, wouldn't it be better to have a discussion first to see the views of all religious groups and go on an approval process? Let those in the local authority decide," he said, adding that NECF-COSA was also concerned that non-Muslim house buyers may eventually end up having to shoulder the added cost to build the mosques passed on to them by developers.
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| Support the Indigenous People's Murum Dam Blockade Posted: 30 Oct 2012 12:10 PM PDT
Dr Kua Kia Soong, SUARAM Adviser The Penans have been blockading against the construction of the 944MW Murum Dam since Sept 26, 2012. More than 1,600 Penans from eight Penan villages (including one Kenyah Badeng longhouse) are affected by the construction of the dam which is now about 70% completed. Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB), contractors and private companies involved in the project have been forced to use ferryboats or tugboats through the Bakun Dam reservoir to transport goods, machines, building materials etc. to the Murum Dam site. This is a new and different factor compared to the campaign against the Bakun dam in previous years. While we had built a campaign against the Bakun dam in the past, there was no action by the indigenous peoples affected on a scale comparable to the Murum dam blockade. The Penan communities affected by the Murum dam have shown a commitment to defend their rights and Malaysians must give them full solidarity and support their struggle in all possible ways. The Murum Penan communities are among the poorest in Malaysia. They have traditionally been hunter-gatherers but shifted to a more settled, agriculture-based way of life approximately 40 years ago. They rely on subsistence-based farming and hunting, fishing and gathering of forest products and the occasional sale of in-season fruit. Their livelihood has been adversely affected by low farm productivity and rapidly declining forest resources because of plantation and dam building projects.
The Bakun Dam Fiasco The Sarawak state government with federal government support, has been carrying out highly irresponsible economic projects to the detriment of the environment, the indigenous peoples' lives and the long-term interest of the Sarawak and Malaysian tax payers. The 2400MW Bakun dam project has already proven to be a major fiasco not only in terms of insufficient demand for its electricity generated but a disaster for the 10,000 indigenous peoples who were displaced from their traditional ancestral land to the slum conditions of the resettlement scheme at Sg. Asap. Those who cherish their heritage and human rights would describe their fate as ETHNOCIDE if they have seen for themselves the conditions at Sg. Asap. The total energy demand in the whole of Sarawak is only 1000MW so the government has been trying to attract the biggest energy guzzlers such as aluminium smelters which happen to be the most toxic as well. Another investment is a coal-fired power station to take up the excess energy. These environmentally polluting industries are then touted as part of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE). In fact, hydro-electric power dams and toxic aluminium smelters are all industries rejected by the developed countries. None of these countries, especially Australia, wants to have toxic industries in their own backyard. But the Sarawak State Government is willing to have these mega projects for rather dubious purposes. The desperate chase for investments to take up the excess Bakun energy AFTER the dam has been built shows a total lack of economic feasibility studies which should have been done before the dam was built. Is it surprising therefore that many SCORE contracts have been given to companies owned by members of Chief Minister Taib's family? As if this Bakun dam fiasco was not enough, the Sarawak state government intends to build 12 mega dams in all which will strip the state of its rainforest and displace even more indigenous communities. The Murum dam is the first of these 12 dams. The dam construction is being supervised by China Three Gorges Corporation and built by Chinese dam builder Sinohydro. After their massive investments in the Three Gorges project, you can be sure these Chinese companies are hungry for investments in other hydropower projects in Sarawak. With such a large development scheme, international best practice calls for a "strategic environmental and social assessment." Such an assessment looks at the overall impact that a large development scheme can have as was done for the proposed "Greater Mekong Sub-region" energy network by the Asian Development Bank. No such strategic economic, environmental and social assessment has been conducted for SCORE. If the Bakun dam project is to be any guide, the Sarawak government's energy demand forecasts appear to be based more on nothing more than wishful thinking rather than detailed feasibility studies. Malaysian taxpayers, be warned that all these mega projects will entail an onerous debt burden on the Sarawak and Malaysian public. You can be sure that there will be electricity tariff hikes after the 13th general elections. There are many energy alternatives for Sarawak beyond large hydroelectric power projects such as small-scale hydropower, solar and other forms of renewable energy, energy efficiency measures, more efficiently run and managed power plants, among others. Above all, such environmentally friendly power projects respects the indigenous peoples' lifestyles while efforts can put into helping them with better transport systems, marketing channels and other forms of development they may require.
Murum dam violates international standards The Murum dam project is in violation of the international standards on indigenous rights as guaranteed in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), of whichMalaysia is a signatory. The Murum dam is nearing completion but the resettlement report is still being withheld. As for the Bakun dam, all studies related to the projects have not been transparent. The affected Penan and Kenyah have stated that they have never been asked for consent as demanded by the UNDRIP. The project developer, Sarawak's state-owned electricity generating company, Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) has not provided indigenous communities with an opportunity to grant or withhold their "free, prior and informed consent" for the project as required by UNDRIP. Even in cases where there was agreement, however, it was neither FREE from coercion; the resettlement plan was not made known to the indigenous peoples PRIOR to the start of the construction, and they were not INFORMED by access to information about the project's impacts. The social and environmental impact assessment (SEIA) for the Murum project is seriously flawed. International standards—including the Equator Principles and the IFC Performance Standards—universally require that the SEIA must be completed during the design phase, before the government approves the project and before construction begins. This was not the case with the Murum Dam Project. The SEIA process did not even begin until after construction on the project was already underway. The Sarawak government has not yet disclosed the Murum Dam Project's SEIA to the public or to the affected communities.
The Indigenous Peoples' Demands Without transparent access to the crucial information at the centre of this project, the affected communities were placed in an unfair situation when the Sarawak government asked them to negotiate a resettlement package. The monthly allowance to be paid after resettlement falls below the poverty level and ends after four years. However, the state government turned down the other demands of the Penan, which included compensation of RM500,000 for each family for the loss of their customary land. Their other demands were 30,000 hectares of land for every village, 25 hectares for every farming family, education for their children, a community development fund and rights to their land that is not submerged by the dam waters. The indigenous communities affected by the Murum Dam project have already issued a memorandum describing how the government could still remedy the situation.
Support the Murum indigenous peoples now! Sign the Murum Appeal at http://www.sarawakreport.org/murum-appeal or atsaveriversnet@gmail.com. You can support their blockade by donating to their cause at these two websites.
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| Posted: 30 Oct 2012 12:08 PM PDT
Erna Mahyuni, The Malaysian Insider "Kami polis. Kami boleh tanya, tahan dan tangkap siapa saja." (We're policemen. We can interrogate, detain and arrest whomever.) All M (she asked I not mention her name) wanted to know was why the two policemen on motorcycles were asking for her ID. It was a rainy night, M was driving. She saw a motorcyclist in her way and honked. He might not have seen her; she just wanted to make sure. She was being careful, she thought. The next thing M knew, two men on motorcycles were flanking her car. One of them berated her for honking at him. She explained why she did so and also pointed out that she had right of way.
She asked if she could call her friend, a senior police officer, for advice. "Panggilah, saya takut apa?" (Call, then, what have I got to be afraid of?) M called her friend. Her friend wanted the policemen's names and numbers. And, suddenly, the "fearless" policemen were too afraid to identify themselves. They lied to M's friend on the phone, saying they only "wanted to help" her. In the end, the policemen went away leaving a very shaken M. M was lucky. Few of us can call up a senior ranked cop for help when being harassed by rogue members of the force. Thing is, we shouldn't even have to deal with it in the first place. There are decent cops. I've met them. But at the same time, we've all heard the stories or encountered "bad cops." Cops who ask for bribes. Cops who steal. Cops who turn a blind eye to crime or pretend to be too busy with paperwork to attend to crime reports. We are afraid of our policemen, for all the wrong reasons. To be honest, they scare me too. I've gone to make a police report and was ignored by the cop on duty because he thought I was a Filipina. It took me brandishing my IC at him for him to take me seriously. Then there were the cops who wanted to solicit bribes from me or make me get in a police car, all because they mistook me for a foreign worker. The cops need to be held accountable for the rogues in their ranks. They need to make it mandatory to show their identification numbers at all times. If a cop refuses to give his name and ID numbers, it shouldn't be a crime for a Malaysian to ignore him. The reality is that there are cops who are bullies. But when a policeman asks you to pull over, don't automatically assume he intends to harass you. Maybe your signal lights died. Your bumper or identification plate fell off. Give the policeman the benefit of the doubt. But when it's clear the "policeman" you're dealing is problematic, here's what you can do: Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/opinion/article/who-do-you-call/
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| The al-Bukhary story: how it all began Posted: 29 Oct 2012 08:50 PM PDT
Tun Datu Haji Mustapha bin Datu Harun was the President of USNO and the third Chief Minister of Sabah. Tan Sri Syed Kechik Syed Mohamed was the Legal Adviser to Tun Datu Mustapha and the Director of Yayasan Sabah, the foundation that was set up as the trustee of the state's timber wealth. Syed Kechik's famous (or infamous) nephew cum son-in-law is Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary, another man of great controversy -- just like his father-in-law, Syed Kechik, and Syed Kechik's 'mentor', Tun Datu Mustapha. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin An embarrassment of business opportunities, political patronage and debts. The Syed Mokhtar al Bukhary story. CT Ali, Free Malaysia Today Syed Mokhtar al Bukhary is like a king? First it was FLOM and now it is SMIK? (Syed Mokhtar is King). What will our king have to say about this pretender to his throne who also happens to be a tycoon – something which our king is not. All this came from that MP from Kinabatangan, Bung Mokhtar Radin. The first question I want to ask of this Sabah Umno leader is why has he got his beady eyes trained on this Syed Mokhtar guy? I am no fan of Syed Mokhtar but why is Bung Mokhtar breaking ranks with Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak in the same way he did with Shahrizat Abdul Jalil – and you know what happened to Shahrizat after that. Or is Bung Mokhtar taking a position to the rear of Najib's unprotected left flank ready to do battle against Najib? Or has Syed Mokhtar done an Abdul Razak Baginda on Bung Mokhtar?
Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad Remember what Razak Baginda did to Altantuya Shaariibuu? He did a runner on her once he was in the money! Did Syed Mokhtar not deliver on what he promised Bung Mokhtar? There may be loyalty amongst thieves but amongst politicians it is a scarce commodity. Today Najib, tomorrow Muhyiddin Yassin. Today one wife tomorrow two. This is the stuff Barisan Nasional MPs are made of… deceit, duplicity, greed, arrogance, large doses of libido and a misplaced self worth. But Bung Mokhtar's life is just a little sandiwara as opposed to the operatic saga that is Syed Mokhtar's. Is Syed Mokhtar too big to fail? I think the adage that when you owe the banks billions, your continued success in business is as much the banks' interest as it is yours rings true with Syed Mokhtar. READ MORE HERE: http://malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/special-reports/52437-the-al-bukhary-story (READ Umno's chief crony HERE) (READ The timber mafia is larger than you suspect HERE) ******************************************
Tun Datu Haji Mustapha bin Datu Harun Tun Datu Haji Mustapha bin Datu Harun was the President of the United Sabah National Organisation (USNO) and the third Chief Minister of Sabah from 12th May 1967 to 1st November 1975. He is considered by some as one of the founding leaders of Sabah and was an important party in the negotiations leading to the formation of Malaysia on 16th September 1963. In the first state election of 1967, USNO won 14 seats against UPKO's 12 and SCA's four. USNO then set up a state coalition government with SCA where combined they controlled 18 of the 30 seats. ******************************************
Tan Sri Syed Kechik Syed Mohamed Tan Sri Syed Kechik Syed Mohamed was the Legal Adviser to Sabah Chief Minister Tun Datu Haji Mustapha bin Datu Harun. On 15th June 1967, Syed Kechik was appointed the Director of Yayasan Sabah, the foundation that was set up as the trustee of the state's timber wealth. That was more or less the beginning of Sabah's 'timber politics' that prevails until today. Syed Kechik's famous (or infamous) nephew cum son-in-law is Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary, another man of great controversy -- just like his father-in-law, Syed Kechik, and Syed Kechik's 'mentor', Tun Datu Haji Mustapha. The rest of the story is self-explanatory. ****************************************** Muhyiddin Visits Tan Sri Syed Kechik's Grave (Bernama) — Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyidin Yassin on Saturday visited the grave of Syed Kechik Foundation chairman, Tan Sri Syed Kechik Syed Mohamed, who died of old age and was buried at the Al-Bukhary Mosque graveyard yesterday. Muhyiddin was accompanied by wife, Puan Sri Norainee Abdul Rahman Seri, and Al-Bukhary Foundation executive chairman Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary and his wife, Puan Sri Sharifah Zarah Al-Bukhary.
Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary Syed Mokhtar, who is the late Syed Kechik's son-in-law, said his father-in-law, who was also his uncle, died at the age of 81 at 3.41pm in his house at Jalan Sultanah here yesterday. He said Syed Kechik served as legal adviser to then Sabah Chief Minister from 1968 until 1975 and was political secretary to then Information and Broadcasting Minister Datuk Senu Abdul Rahman from 1964 to 1965. Syed Kechik left behind a wife, Puan Sri Sofiah Abdullah, three children and 12 grand-children. ****************************************** Feud over Syed Kechik's millions goes to High Court (The Star) - The children of the late Tan Sri Syed Kechik Syed Mohamed Al-Bukhary have gone to court to fight over the RM400mil estate he left behind. The High Court granted an injunction applied by his two daughters – Sharifah Zarah and Sharifah Munira – to prevent their half-brother Syed Gamal from interfering in Syed Kechik Holdings Sdn Bhd's affairs yesterday. Syed Gamal, 45, who is Syed Kechik's only son from his first marriage, is not allowed to intervene in the administration, enter the premises and access the records and accounts of the company.
Syed Gamal, the only male heir to the late Syed Kechik He is also barred from interfering in the duties of the company directors. The sisters, who are directors of the company, were not present but were represented by laywer Datuk Vijay Kumar. This is the second injunction granted by a court in the family saga that started after Syed Kechik's death last year. Syed Gamal had obtained an ex-parte injunction at the Syariah Court on Sept 14 to stop his 44% stake in the company from being sold or liquidated. Justice K. Anantham, who presided over the High Court case in his chambers at the Jalan Duta court complex here, ruled that the Syariah Court had no jurisdiction over the company because it is a corporate entity. Syed Gamal, who was with his cousin Syed Azman Syed Mansor Al-Bukhary, said his lawyers would appeal against the decision. "I will continue with my struggle to pursue my rights according to Faraid law. My rights have been denied almost all my life. This is not a struggle for myself but also for my family," he said when met outside the courtroom. Syed Gamal was represented by his three lawyers – Atan Mustaffa Yussof Ahmad, Az-mi Tan Sri Dr Mohd Rais and Zulkifli B.C. Yong. Syed Kechik died at the age of 81 on April 10 last year. His son-in-law is Al-Bukhary Foundation chairman Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary. ****************************************** Syed Kechik's second wife, daughters lose appeal (Bernama) - The wife and two daughters of the late Tan Sri Syed Kechik Syed Mohamed Al-Bukhary failed in their appeal today to stop his (Syed Kechik's) son from his first marriage to be joint administrator of his RM400 million estate. Justice Datuk Wira Low Hop Bing, leading a three-man Court of Appeal panel, ruled that the High Court had correctly given due regard to Syed Gamal's right to be co-administrator of his father's estate. He said it was the court's view that the acrimony between Syed Gamal and his stepmother Puan Sri Sofiah Moo Abdullah, 67, and his half-sisters Puan Sri Sharifah Zarah, 42, and Sharifah Munira, 44, was not a good ground to exclude Syed Gamal from being co-administrator of his father's estate. Low said allegations made by Sofiah and her daughters that Syed Gamal lacked knowledge of the father's business, that he (Syed Gamal) was a failed businessman in a T-shirt business and the subsequent sale of a Mercedes car by Syed Gamal were not valid grounds to remove his (Syed Gamal's) right to be considered for appointment as co-administrator. "Success and failure in life, business or any other activity is purely a matter of subjective judgment. Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts," he said. The panel, which also comprised Court of Appeal judge Datuk Wira Abu Samah Nordin and High Court judge Datuk Azahar Mohamed, unanimously dismissed the appeal brought by Sofiah and her two daughters and upheld Judicial Commissioner Lee Swee Seng's decision given on July 30 last year that the late Syed Kechik's estate be jointly administered by his wife and three children. "In our view, section 30 of the Probate and Administration Act 1959 provides for the entitlement of all persons who are interested in the estate to be appointed administrators of deceased's estate. "We are unable to identify any error on the part of the Judicial Commissioner in appointing all appellants (Sofiah, Sharifah Zarah and Sharifah Munira) and respondent (Syed Gamal) as co-administrators of the deceased's estate," Low said. The panel ordered Sofiah and her daughters to pay legal costs of RM40,000 to Syed Gamal. Syed Gamal, 46, a cyber-cafe owner, is Syed Kechik's only son from his first marriage to Zainab alias Eshah Abdullah. The feud over the estate began after Syed Kechik died of heart disease on April 10, 2009 at the age of 80 without leaving a will. Syed Kechik was the father-in-law of Al-Bukhary Foundation chairman Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, a billionaire listed as one of the richest people in the country. On September 15, 2009, Sofiah and her daughters petitioned the court for a letter of administration to the estate. On April 14 last year, Syed Gamal filed a caveat to stop his stepmother and half-sisters from being appointed sole administrators of his late father's estate. ******************************************
Kumpulan Syed Kechik Sendirian Berhad Kumpulan Syed Kechik Sendirian Berhad is the flagship corporation of the Kumpulan Syed Kechik Group of Companies with diverse interests in multifarious industries incubated and nurtured by Tan Sri Syed Kechik Bin Syed Mohamed Rahmat Al-Bukhary over the past three decades and more. 1. Nira Sendirian Berhad owns and manages its signature corporate address, the Syed Kechik Foundation Building (picture above). 2. Budiman Sendirian Berhad owns and manages Wisma Budiman. 3. Pasar Borong Development Sendirian Berhad holds vast prime lands situated along busy Jalan Ipoh. It also owns and manages a complete block of dual frontage four storey shop offices comprising thirteen (13) units at Block 28, Jalan 6/3A, Bandar Utara. 4. Castlefield Development Sendirian Berhad owns a choice plot of over two acres of commercial land in Puchong, Selangor. 5. Tenaga Minyak Corporation Sendirian Berhad owns and manages five adjoining premium dual frontage four-storey shop offices at Block 7, Jalan 2/3A, Bandar Utara. 6. Taman Melanti Sendirian Berhad owns fully refurbished units of Double Storey Shop Houses, Double Storey Terrace Houses and Single Storey Terrace Houses in the developed, mature and vibrant neighbourhood of Taman Seri Kluang.
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| Election dilemma among Indian voters Posted: 29 Oct 2012 08:11 PM PDT
"In relation to the job placement in Government, we are now having a 3% of Indians in the government work sector and we will further upgrade to advance the current percentage up to 7%. In terms of privilege, the government has allocated 180 million Ringgit Malaysia for the Indians in terms to consolidate any business", said Komala. The Malaysian Times The Indian community makes up a majority of two million in the current population, and to picture, if Barisan National loses this majority of voters due to their decline in involvement of voting, how would it be possible for the ruling party, to prevail in this election? Comparing the votes posted for BN from year 2004 to 2008, there is a radical drop in the number of votes. In year 2004, studies reveals that the vote count for BN was 90.87 and in year 2008 the total amount of votes dropped to 51.50 even though the percentage of electorates shows a sum of 100.00% electorates participated in the voting. We could assume that social disharmony is an aspect to be taken into account for the decline of Indian voters. Under the umbrella of one Malaysia, we are all supposed to be united regardless of racial, religious or cultural backgrounds. Be it BN or Opposition, they are still serving the country in different ways; nevertheless they still contribute to the same responsibility; to make the country a better place to live instead of fighting over power. The dispute over racial harmony can be visibly noticed when the very day, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, publicly unveiled the 1 Malaysia logo and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said, Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Education, said " UMNO would fight to the last drop of blood to protect Malay rights". Highlighting the statement said above, has this probably affected the mentality of our Indian Community to not vote as they are perception that the government is biased? How can this type of biased statement be announced especially in a 1 Malaysia seminar? Shouldn't the statement be general and not too specific to ensure that the government is not mistaken by the Indians and even Chinese? This may be an explanation to why Indian voters are fading away time to time. COMMENTS To a further study on why Indian voters are declining; interviews were conducted by TMT reporter, in random with the public to observe their views on the decline of Indian voters.
"I personally feel that there is a decline in Indian voters it is probably due to the distribution of wealth to the respective races, not on an equal basis and the Indians are looking for fairness", said Ahamad Azmi Alip, 36, a Bank Executive.
"The Indians is not given adequate chance to fill the government jobs regardless if you are a Malay, then only you may be a part of the government sector, I also think that the current government should dissolve and new government should be established", said, Rajendran, 50, a driver.
"I would say it is all started from the government unfairness, and that can be visibly seen through the education system, whereby there is inequality when it comes to the receiving of scholarships and the entrance into local universities", said, Raaj Kumar, 22, a Software Engineer. In regards to these voices of the Rakyat, TMT reporter then carried out an interview with Datin Paduka Komala Devi, National Wanita MIC Chief, to give out her views based on the voices of the Rakyat. "We are doing our part for the Indians, I also know that many are dissatisfied about the government, but we are also doing our part as a government to serve all with benefits and privileges", said Komala. "We have set up SITF, Special Implementation Taskforce on Indian Community, which was established to ensure that Malaysian Indians are able to access the service, programs and projects of the federal government in a just fair and equitable way, which is wanted by everyone", added, Komala. "In relation to the job placement in Government, we are now having a 3% of Indians in the government work sector and we will further upgrade to advance the current percentage up to 7%". "In terms of privilege, the government has allocated 180 million Ringgit Malaysia for the Indians in terms to consolidate any business", said Komala. "Meanwhile about education, we have increased the amount of intake of students into the matriculation, and the scholarships will be given to those who have reached the standard qualification criteria". However, if they are not qualified for the scholarship, they still receive funds assistance from PTPTN thus they are still able to study, In addition to education fund assistance, MIED also helps those who are in need of financial help for education". Komala also continued further by saying, "We are expecting a percentage of 70-80% of votes from the Indians for BN, because we have taken up so many initiatives for the betterment of the Indians", added Komala. Thus we can conclude that the, Malaysian government must focus on building a strong, impartial executive, legislative and judiciary system, as a result to keep up with the Malaysian society of today. The government must grow up and shed its childish race-based mindset.
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| Posted: 29 Oct 2012 07:17 PM PDT  Wisma Central is an eyesore with its peeling paint and tired look. Many of the lots in the building are vacant. — Pictures by K.E. Ooi By Opalyn Mok, The Malaysian Insider Smack in the middle of George Town stands a tired-looking squat commercial complex with peeling paint and vacant windows that has seen better days. This is Wisma Central, a commercial building that used to be a hive of activities almost 20 years ago when it housed offices of airlines, travel agencies, hairdressers, tailors and also a college. Now, the building looks derelict and abandoned, with only a few businesses still in operation within the building.  Midlands Park used to be a major shopping centre but is now a forlorn, almost forgotten complex with only a few retail shops still remaining while the rest have moved out. Still, despite its choice location and with ample basement parking space too, businesses have either closed down or relocated over the years. In Penang, huge commercial and retail complexes, especially decades-old ones, often have a very low occupancy rate of between 20 per cent and 70 per cent. These are the very complexes that are becoming the white elephants of Penang, with barely struggling businesses occupying a few lots within the buildings while more spanking new complexes are being built elsewhere. A few years ago, a CIMB research report stated that there is a commercial glut in Penang, with the state recording the lowest occupancy rate for office space in the country at 76 per cent and the second lowest for retail space at 70 per cent. Now, the situation has worsened as the occupancy rate for commercial and office complexes in the state continues to dip and more buildings fall victim to neglect and poor management. Some investors saw the potential in some of the complexes and decided to give these buildings a new breath of life and, hopefully, bring back the crowds and economic activities to these places. One of these complexes, Island Plaza, was given a facelift in recent years. This was one of the first upscale malls on the island located in Tanjung Tokong.  The empty hallways of the mostly vacant Plazone in Pulau Tikus. Another one is Penang Plaza, also strategically located in Burmah Road. An investor bought over the building and gave it a new look, far different from its former "old-fashioned" appearance. Occupancy rate may have gone up compared to previous years but it is not attracting droves of shoppers either. In Pulau Tikus, two main complexes that are left to die a slow death are Plazone and Midlands Park as businesses moved out and occupancy drops to an all-time low. At Plazone, occupancy could be less than 20 per cent and its joint management body is at its wit's end trying to figure out a way to bring life back to the ailing complex. The eight-storey tall building now only has a small supermarket on the ground floor as the anchor tenant and a sporadic few businesses within it. "We are now thinking of how we can spruce up this place and make it a choice location for offices and retail lots again," said a management committee member. They have an uphill journey ahead as just a few kilometres down the road the more well-known Midlands Park is also suffering a similar fate. It is not only old commercial buildings that are suffering low occupancy rates and turning into white elephants but a few new ones are also going down the same path.  Even as older retail complexes are suffering from low occupancy rates, new ones are being built. Now, it is being promoted as a food mall with many food and beverage outlets opening there and yet, the occupancy rate is dismal compared to its nearest competitor, First Avenue. These white elephants, however, do not compute to a poor economic situation in the state as investors are taking up pre-war houses within the heritage zone and opening up restaurants, cafés and boutique hotels.
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| Did BN’s Bumiputera policies backfire? Posted: 29 Oct 2012 07:03 PM PDT
Over the years, the National Economic Policy became an affair of the elite, leaving the masses stuck in the mirage of the 'Malay Dream'. Amir Ali, FMT The Barisan Nasional (BN) is having its back against the wall, accused of all sorts of misgivings and of being unfit to continue to rule the nation. But the real question is what has the BN not done for the majority community in the country? And this question leads us to a series of questionable policies that have failed the Malays, contrary to the assertions by Dr Mahathir Mohamad. The former prime minister has insisted time and again that the BN's policies have benefited the Malays, creating wealth for them and helping them to keep their political and economic strength. If that was the case, then why is it that a large majority of Malay citizens are still part of the middle class while the poverty level has also increased among the Malays? Why are there only a handful of really rich Malays (millionaires and billionaires) if the policies promoted by the BN for the past decades had really benefited the Malay-Muslim majority in the country? Why is it that many Malays are struggling to achieve a certain level of economic strength despite the National Economic Policy (NEP) favouring the Malays? The answer to that, according to Mahathir, is that the Malays are lazy and that instead of taking advantage of the facilities offered to them, they converted the "goodies", especially tailor-made for Malays, into cash machines. They sold their rights and businesses to non-Malays and this benefited the non-Malays while it only made those who were granted the goodies temporarily rich. It can be argued that parts of these assertions are true. There were always stories about how some greedy businessmen from the Malay community took advantage of the system only to turn the projects into cash cows. NEP, an 'affair of the elite' There were always stories of how they would sell the tenders, the projects and the contracts to others in order to make the easier money instead of being involved fully in the deals. And there were surely cases where some members of the majority community would siphon off the money rather than invest in the earmarked projects. All these tales have not helped the Malay-Muslim community in the country and it is this lack of tact from some people that has caused the community to be behind schedule of the NEP. The fact is that the authorities formulated policies that were made to benefit the masses but only a few, well-placed people with connections made it to the top. In their march to success, these members of the community failed to distribute the goodies and the benefits they earned to the masses. They probably thought their success were their personal achievements and was not achieved with a helping hand from the state. They also forgot, only too fast, that the financial, structural or logistic aid they received was designed to uplift the entire community. Over the decades the NEP became an affair of the elite, of those who were rising while the masses were stuck in the mirage of the "Malay Dream". The BN and Umno are trying very hard to get the support from the Malay-Muslims in the next general election. But the ruling coalition does not have the same "panacea" that they had before. The reason is that the Malay-Muslim community in general does not believe the NEP helped them or made them rich. No benefits Most of the goodies handed over by the BN during the course of this year have only been in the form of temporary aid and have been limited to a class of people that would probably have voted for the BN anyway. The Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia, too, is not a populist step as it reflected that only those who are really struggling can benefit from this policy. Under the Abdullah Ahmad Badawi regime, there was much hooray about the new-found pro-Muslim policies under the concept of "halal" industries and businesses.
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| Posted: 29 Oct 2012 06:52 PM PDT
An embarrassment of business opportunities, political patronage and debts. The Syed Mokhtar al Bukhary story. CT Ali, FMT Syed Mokhtar al Bukhary is like a king? First it was FLOM and now it is SMIK? (Syed Mokhtar is King).What will our king have to say about this pretender to his throne who also happens to be a tycoon – something which our king is not. All this came from that MP from Kinabatangan, Bung Mokhtar Radin. The first question I want to ask of this Sabah Umno leader is why has he got his beady eyes trained on this Syed Mokhtar guy? I am no fan of Syed Mokhtar but why is Bung Mokhtar breaking ranks with Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak in the same way he did with Shahrizat Abdul Jalil – and you know what happened to Shahrizat after that. Or is Bung Mokhtar taking a position to the rear of Najib's unprotected left flank ready to do battle against Najib? Or has Syed Mokhtar done a Abdul Razak Baginda on Bung Mokhtar? Remember what Razak Baginda did to Altantuya Shaariibuu? He did a runner on her once he was in the money! Did Syed Mokhtar not deliver on what he promised Bung Mokhtar? There may be loyalty amongst thieves but amongst politicians it is a scarce commodity. Today Najib, tomorrow Muhyiddin Yassin. Today one wife tomorrow two. This is the stuff Barisan Nasional MPs are made of… deceit, duplicity, greed, arrogance, large doses of libido and a misplaced self worth. But Bung Mokhtar's life is just a little sandiwara as opposed to the operatic saga that is Syed Mokhtar's. Is Syed Mokhtar too big to fail? I think the adage that when you owe the banks billions, your continued success in business is as much the banks' interest as it is yours rings true with Syed Mokhtar. Colossal debts This is Halim Saad all over again. Shades of Amin Shah creeps into the picture while Tajuddin Ramli smiles at the irony of it all – another bumiputera businessman doing his national service the hard way – raking a debt of RM34.3 billion courtesy of his political masters aka Umno. There are countries in Africa that have gone comatose with debts less than that. This all too familiar comedy of bumiputera businessmen doing business the Umno way is good for a laugh if not for the real tragedy that will befall our nation when they fail. And fail he will. RM34.3 billion buys a lot of coconuts but what does he do with RM34.3 billion worth of coconuts? What do you do with RM34.3 billion worth of debt? And so Syed Mokhtar has a lot of troubled companies in his stable and counting. When does he stop, how does he stop and when will Umno allow their cash cow to stop accumulating debts? When will Umno ever learn? Some very rich Malay now becomes richer as his political patron makes him richer in order for this very rich Malay to pay for his political patronage. Very soon no political solution can be found to resolve the RM34.3 billion debt he has incurred. His ability to manage his political patron it is not matched by his ability to manage his RM34.3 billion debt. Soon the very rich Malay fades to obscurity… preferably somewhere abroad. We have seen this comedy of errors enacted many times before in companies and businessmen linked to Umno. With very rare exception, the Chinese businessman who profited from political patronage goes from strength to strength and at times even from one prime minister to the next one. Not the Malay businessman. He has an embarrassment of business opportunities thrown at him by his political masters. Even more than what he, his family, his relatives and friends can handle – even his driver too. The banks are tripping over each other in offering him more money then there are PAS supporters in Kelantan. And still in the end they all fail. An embarrassment of business opportunities, an embarrassment of loans on offer and an embarrassment of debts – all too familiar a scenario with Malay businessmen who owed their fortunes to political patronage.
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| RM1.05 bil suit against S'gor govt set for hearing Jan 11 Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:44 PM PDT
(Bernama) - The High Court here has set Jan 11 for the hearing of Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor's (Syabas) RM1.05 billion compensation suit against the Selangor government over a water tariff dispute. Initially, Justice Datuk Mary Lim was scheduled to hear the matter today following the Court of Appeal's decision on Oct 8, which allowed the state government's application to set aside the judge's decision in allowing the plaintiff to amend its statement of claim. However, counsel Datuk Harpal Singh Grewal who acted for Syabas, told the court that although the parties were ready to go on with the trial, the plaintiff (Syabas) had already obtained leave to appeal from the Federal Court on Oct 23 to appeal against the Court of Appeal's decision. Harpal also informed the court that the Apex Court had indicated the matter would be heard soon since it was a case of public interest. Justice Lim set Dec 17 for case management of the case for the parties to inform the court on the outcome of the plaintiff's appeal at the Federal Court. The plaintiff in its initial statement of claim had stated that the compensation should be based on RM1.89 per cubic metre, but later sought the High Court's permission to amend the quantum, to either RM1.82 or RM1.80 per cubic metre as stated in the water concession agreement. In the suit filed on Nov 10 last year, Syabas is seeking the Selangor government to pay RM1.05 billion in water tariff adjustment. Syabas claimed that based on the concession agreement, dated Dec 15, 2004, signed by the Malaysian government, the Selangor government and the company, it was given a 30-year concession to buy treated water from water treatment operators and to supply the treated water to the distribution areas in accordance with the terms spelt out in the agreement. Syabas said that through a letter dated March 31, 2008, it sent a document to the Selangor government to support its application to increase the gazetted tariff of RM1.39 per cubic metre to a new agreed tariff of RM1.89 per cubic metre for the third operations period from Jan 1, 2009 to Dec 31, 2011. It claimed that the defendant had failed to inform the company whether it had agreed to increase the gazetted tariff to the agreed tariff. Syabas also claimed that it had sent several letters to the defendant to claim compensation in line with the concession agreement but failed to get any satisfactory reply from the defendant. In the affidavit-in-reply, the Selangor government, through the State Secretary at that time, Datuk Ramli Mahmud, said the suit by Syabas was an abuse of court process, arguing that the water industry was undergoing restructuring as required under the Water Services Industry Act 2006 and the National Water Services Commission Act. At today's proceedings, the Selangor government was represented by Malik Imtiaz Sarwar and Fahda Nur Ahmad Kamar.
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| SAMM rakam pujian buat kerajaan negeri yang tangguh/halang AES dan SAMM terus ajak rakyat desak ... Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:13 PM PDT
AES celaru, ramai bantah khususnya dilokasi mengarut seperti 30km/j Jika ada masalah tidak ada ruang rayuan terpaksa terus hadir ke mahkamah dan rayuan atau masalah diutarakan dalam mahkamah sahaja. Bertambah sibuklah mahkamah negara. Yaser Sheikh Abd Rahman, Penyelaras Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia
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| Petronas Carigali discovers more oil reserves in Bertam, says PM Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:08 PM PDT
(Bernama) - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today announced that Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd and Lundin Oil have jointly discovered additional oil reserves, under a production-sharing contract (PSC), at Block PM 307 of the Bertam oilfield. He said the oil field, located 160 kilometres offshore Peninsula Malaysia, is opposite the state of Pahang at the depth of 76 metres. PM 307 PSC is operated by Lundin Malaysia which holds a 75 per cent interest and Petronas holds the remaining equity. "This is very significant because we never discovered oil in commercial quantity at Penyu Basin and this is a major breakthrough. "Based on the findings of commercial and technical feasibility studies, crude oil production will begin at the oil field in the third quarter of 2014 with a projected output of between 17,500 and 20,000 barrels per day," Najib (picture) told reporters after chairing the Biotechnology Implementation Council meeting here today. The prime minister said with the additional discovery, the Bertam oilfield is estimated to have oil reserves of 64 million barrels. Najib, who also is Finance Minister, said Pahang was expected to receive a special payment of RM100 million a year, once production begins in the third quarter of 2014. "This discovery proved there is oil and gas at the Southern region of the Malay Basin towards the Penyu Basin. "The oilfield is located on the continent shelf which is under the jurisdiction of the Federal government. "This is our policy to distribute oil wealth with five per cent cash payment to Pahang," he added. Meanwhile, Ramlan A Malek, Vice-President, Petronas Nasional Bhd, Exploration & Production Business, Petroleum Management said the commercial and technical feasibility studies were expected to be completed in the second quarter of next year. He also said this was the first oil discovery in the Pahang state. | ||||||||
| TKI MALAYSIA: 162 Orang kini terancam hukuman mati Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:05 PM PDT
(Bisnis Indonesia) - Bukan hanya dua kakak beradik Frans Hiu (22) dan Dharry Frully Hiu (20) TKI yang divonis hukuman mati di Malaysia, bahkan hingga Oktober ini diketahui terdapat 162 warga negara Indonesia yang terancam hukuman mati di negeri Jiran itu. | ||||||||
| No Love Lost Between Indonesia and Malaysia Posted: 29 Oct 2012 05:01 PM PDT
(The Jakarta Globe) - Most analysts trace the deterioration in ties back to the emergence of Prime Minister Mahathir Muhammad in 1981 and subsequently to the 1997-1998 financial crisis which unleashed a flood of illegal Indonesian migrant workers into Malaysia.
Petrol stations in Indonesia owned by Shell, Petronas and Total are having a hard time because they do not have access to the subsidized premium fuel sold at stations supplied by the country's state-run Pertamina Oil Company. Read more at: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/no-love-lost-between-indonesia-and-malaysia/553208 | ||||||||
| Selangor orders halt to Batu Caves condo, sets up independent task force Posted: 29 Oct 2012 04:58 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - Selangor has ordered a temporary halt to the construction of the 29-storey condominium near Batu Caves pending the findings of an independent state-level task force to be set up tomorrow, Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said today. He, however, offered the state's assurance that the matter would be resolved as soon as possible, admitting that the stop-work order would cost the developers financial losses.
The Bandar Tun Razak MP said members of the proposed independent task force will be selected during the Selangor state executive council meeting tomorrow. He said the task force would comprise members without any interest in the issue and will include professionals from the relevant industries such as town planners, lawyers and former judges. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/selangor-orders-halt-to-batu-caves-condo-sets-up-independent-task-force
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| Posted: 29 Oct 2012 04:50 PM PDT
It is rightly said that we get the government we deserve. I say people who do not vote should not gripe about "the wrong people running the country". You had your chance to decide but blew it. No one is to be blamed except … you know who. With all this talk on the next general election, I can't help but recall a conversation I had with a close Indonesian friend way back in 2009. It was one month or so after Indonesia had held its election, or as it is called, pemilu, short for pemilihan umum. This friend, who is also a very experienced journalist, told me that out of the 174 million registered voters then, only 70 million cast their votes. The rest stayed away from polling. Reason? They either were fed-up or simply did not believe in politicians and the many political parties which offered themselves at the polls. Well, that was according to my friend. And these folks who did not vote called themselves "golput", short for "golongan putih" (how Indonesians love to creatively come up with short forms). In English "golput" is the white group -- white being "neutral". Hence they did not take sides. Hence they did not vote. And this friend admitted he too was a "golput". Obviously he did not believe in politicians but I did not ask him why. Neither did I ask him to provide evidence or cite examples of politicians' antics which turned him into a "golput". After all it was just a casual talk between good friends. As most of us know, under the Indonesian political system, general elections are first held to elect 400-odd members of parliament, representing the many political parties of the republic. Then a second election follows suit a few months later to elect the president and vice-president. Election dates are fixed and announced much earlier, unlike in Malaysia. In 2009, for example, the election of the 400 representatives for parliament was held in April with the presidential election in July. My journalist friend from Jakarta told me that presidential elections "are what many or most Indonesians care about". They took these polls very seriously, especially the one in 2009. Political analysts then were expecting a big voter turnout. They were proven right. Put simply, Indonesians want to have a say on who becomes president and vice-president, despite their reservations or misgivings for politicians. Rightly so. To get the right man for the job is a big deal, especially in a big country with a population of more than 200 million. So folks who did not vote in the earlier general election turned up at polling stations to decide who runs the republic. In Malaysia the party with the biggest number of seats in parliament rules the nation and its leader becomes prime minister. That's in simple terms. We do not have a "prime ministerial" election, so to speak. But do we have our own "golput"? There's no denying there are among us who are simply turned off by politicians. But is the dislike for politicians at a level which can make Malaysians not want to vote? Or even refusing to register as voters? Is waiving your right to vote the right thing to do? In the past I've come across folks who did not vote because they were fed-up with politics. They were complaining before elections. And they continued to complain after the elections. I can't tell for sure if they ever regretted for not voting. If they did, they certainly did not say it out loud. Not to me anyway. It is rightly said that we get the government we deserve. I say people who do not vote should not gripe about "the wrong people running the country". You had your chance to decide but blew it. No one is to be blamed except … you know who. However, nowadays all indications are that many would want to exercise their right to vote. People who have not voted before are said to be eager to vote, particularly young Malaysians who have just registered as voters. But before going to the polls, there's only one thing on their minds. In fact, this thing is on the minds of all Malaysians -- the elections must be clean and fair. Enough said lest I be accused of all sorts of things. Back to Indonesia and what my Jakarta friend was telling me when we were having that small chit chat over teh tarik some three years ago. He said Indonesia has election rules that, among others, make it mandatory for presidential candidates to go for a medical test. Failing the test would mean they cannot stand for election. Only the healthy (and fittest?) can contest. And the Indonesian election commission also conducts tests to ensure that candidates have a very high IQ. Not any Hartono, Kartini, Hermanto can offer themselves as candidates. There are lessons to be learnt, don't you agree? Read more at: http://fz.com/content/no-don%E2%80%99t-be-neutral | ||||||||
| BN members still fighting over SAPP seats Posted: 29 Oct 2012 04:48 PM PDT
The Sepanggar parliamentary seat which BN component parties are tussling over will be an easy win as there are 3,000 registered postal voters. Joseph Bingkasan, FMT KOTA KINABALU: Barisan Nasional coalition members are scrambling to claim constituencies won by their former colleague Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) in the last general election. Leaders of Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), United Pasok Mompogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko), Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and BN's backbone Umno have all thrown their hats in the ring for their members to contest the MP seats of Sepanggar, Tawau and the state seats of Likas and Luyang. SAPP, now in the opposition holds the two parliamentary seats through party deputy president Eric Majimbun (Sepanggar) and vice president Chua Soon Bui (Tawau) while Liew Teck Chan and Melanie Chia are the state assembly representatives for Likas and Luyang. All four had won the seats on BN ticket but the party led by former chief minister Yong Teck Lee quit the coalition on Sept 7, 2008. PBS president Deputy Chief Minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan has announced that his party has applied to BN chairman, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, to register the mixed constituency of Sepanggar seat under PBS. Pairin is basing the party's claim ahead of other BN coalition aspirants on the shaky premise that PBS enjoys huge support in the constituency. SAPP proved their contention a fallacy in the Nov 9, 1999 election. The constituency was then known as Gaya. Yong defeated PBS candidate Johnny Goh Chin Lok, now the Inanam assemblyman, 15,315 votes to 11,198 votes. Third candidate Hamzah Abdullah of PAS only managed 729 votes. However, PBS is this time also in a skirmish with Upko head Bernard Dompok, Pairin's archival for the Kadazandusun political crown. Dompok who is the Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister announced the party's claim to the Sepanggar also on the basis of enjoying huge support in the constituency. The last time Upko's strength was tested was in the March, 1999 election where its candidate Christine Van Houten, a former civil servant, was defeated in the state constituency of Inanam. The constituency together with Karambunai is within the Sepanggar parliamentary constituency. BN minnows, PBRS, headed by Joseph Kurup and LDP whose president Liew Vui Kiong is Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department have also established bases in Sepanggar but unlike PBS, Upko and Umno, they are not active in the area. Easier seat for BN Umno, the main party in the the Sabah BN coalition, can be said to have the upper hand in any tussle among coalition members to contest Sepanggar. Its divisional head Jumat Idris, is seen as a close aide of Chief Minister Musa Aman, the Sabah BN chief. Idris is also the BN chairman for the constituency. Incumbent Majimbun is rumoured to be all set to move into state politics by contesting in his home constituency of Inanam. Majimbun, who is SAPP deputy president, however also disclosed that his party would nevertheless field a candidate to defend Sepanggar.
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| Why BN will have a minimum swing of 10% voters back to them for the 13 General Election? Posted: 29 Oct 2012 04:46 PM PDT
In Selangor DAP itself the fraction had split between Tersesa, Ronnie and Teng Chang Khim fractions. PAS national split between the Professional and Ulamak. While in PKR there split between Azmin Ali and Khalid Ibrahim. Even in Penang there a great dispute between Karpal Singh and Ramasamy. While in Perak DAP the Ngeh & Nga vs Kulasegeran fractions. Shen Yee Aun http://www.facebook.com/syaforthenation Why Barisan Nasional will have a minimum swing of 10% voters for the 13 General Election ? - Back in year 2008 Barisan Nasional is basically handicapped in the Cyber Space. But then now a lot of investment and development of new online troopers , online media and bloggers already came into the battle after Mac 2008 to fight politically in the cyber space. - 10 000 Barisan Nasional total Cyber Troopers (quoted by Saifuddin Abdullah). Development of few neutral online media ( Malaysia Today , Free Malaysia Today ) and also a list other pro BN Media portal with the list of at least easily 1000 new bloggers in the cyber space. In addition to that a list of Barisan Nasional leaders, ministers, supporters and members had fully used the social networking like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube to reached out to Malaysian voters is already a clear indication where BN is no longer handicapped in the cyber space this round - Let us just be pessimistic where we just take 1% of the total online market. Even just 1% compared to last round 0%. 2. 1.0% Swing of Pakatan Rakyat Internal Fighting - There nothing abnormal about internal fighting in any political party but then the political reality had reached a point where Pakatan Rakyat internal fighting is way had increases tremendously after Mac 2008. - Is normal for any political party or entity when they came into power where there will be personal dispute regarding the allocation of position, wealth, projects and etc. Whatever given to A then B, C and d will be unhappy and whatever given to B then A, C and D will be very unhappy. Is not easy to please everybody. - In Selangor DAP itself the fraction had split between Tersesa, Ronnie and Teng Chang Khim fractions. PAS national split between the Professional and Ulamak. While in PKR there split between Azmin Ali and Khalid Ibrahim. Even in Penang there a great dispute between Karpal Singh and Ramasamy. While in Perak DAP the Ngeh & Nga vs Kulasegeran fractions. - Let us just be also pessimistic. We just take 1.0% of swing from those unhappy voters and supporters included those who is being sacked, resign or leave any of Pakatan Rakyat political party. 1.0% from Pakatan Rakyat internal fraction. 3. 1.0 % swing do or die battle for Barisan Nasional - In any war or battle the individual or entity that is facing their last political survival and in desperation will do everything it takes to fight the war. - In the olden days Barisan Nasional component party took the general election for granted and very lightly but as we can see this round both Najib ( UMNO ) and Chua Soi Lek ( MCA ) is going all out for an extremely very brutal and aggressive political campaign and battle . - We also have to admit the facts where in the past there a lot of internal sabotage within Barisan Nasional component party. - We just take even MCA for an example where their membership is more than 1 million Malaysian Chinese. - Their previous Mega 10 Mega Dinner manage to create a history in MCA where they hit 6000 – 150000 crowds in all the division or states that they have organized. - Even just another 1.0% swing ( extremely pessimistic ) this round then this factor will contribute another 1.0% of swing voters for BN. 4. 1 % Swing of Tun Mahathir Factor - Not even a single political analyst had written off Tun Mahahtir contribution and influence in Mac 2008 General Election - This round no doubt politically he still do have his own personal agenda but at least he is now back towards BN and UMNO and actively campaigning for UMNO - Although last round he play an extremely crucial role in the last General Election but this round we just be pessimistic to get just another 1% swing of our Malaysian under Tun Mahathir influence and switching back of his support towards Barisan Nasional and UMNO. 5. 1% Swing of Malaysian Malays and Indians Voters - Although many political analyst had predicted that Indian voters has swing back from as low as 20% back then to now as high as 60 – 65% and also the swing of 65-75 % of Malays voters this round - We again be just pessimistic to get another swing of 1% from this race category of voters this rounds 6. 1% of Promises Not Delivered and List of Pakatan Rakyat Scandals and Problems - Is a norm for any political party when they became they government they will usually be in the position to be attacked by the opponent or people. - Since after Mac 2008 Pakatan Rakyat first time in the history had manage to take over 4 states in Malaysia. No doubt that under their administration they are both good and bad development and changes. - Just let say we take those people who just look at their weakness and mistake and also not happy with a list of promises that they fail to deliver , list of scandals that prove that they are no difference from BN and also some who never personally felt there any much changes after Pakatan Rakyat took over. - Let us be pessimistic again. We just take another 1% of category swing of voters from this category. 7. 1% swing of Chinese Voters - BN is currently just having about 20-30% of the Chinese segment of voters supporters - MCA under Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek is way much more strategic , pragmatic , strong , brave , more united and currently running on high spirit , morale and momentum - There also a list of MCA new development funding like 1 MCA Medical Care, Education Loan , Micro Credit and etc that had benefited thousands of people. - MCA will not only retain its 15 parliament seats but it may even see its seats increase to 30 or so if it can talk common sense like what Chua Soi Lek said about hudud. ( Raja Petra ) - Just be pessimistic again where let say there just another even 1% swing of Chinese voters who buy this few factor . Read more at: http://1sya.com/?p=3209 | ||||||||
| Posted: 29 Oct 2012 04:37 PM PDT
Former Upko deputy president Wilfred Bumburing revealed details of secret meetings held with party president Bernard Dompok over Upko's status in BN. Joseph Bingkasan, FMT KOTA KINABALU: Senior leaders of United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) met early this year to discuss pulling out from Barisan Nasional, a former top party leader said today. Wilfred Mojilip Bumburing, the party's former deputy president who resigned recently, disclosed that party leaders discussed the possibility of consenting to the `silent' wishes of the party's grassroots members for Upko to leave the ruling coalition government. Bumburing, who resigned from Upko and as BN head for Tuaran on July 29 and now heads the opposition-friendly Angkatan Perubahan Sabah (APS), said he had met with Upko president Bernard Dompok at least eight times to discuss the matter. The Tuaran MP revealed the secret meetings to clear up allegations by certain BN leaders especially those from Upko that he quit the party because he was not going to be fielded to defend his seat in the coming general elections was not true. "There is no truth in these allegations. In fact prior to July 29, I and a few other Upko leaders officially declared our decision to leave BN," he said. He said Dompok, a Minister in Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's federal cabinet, was well aware of the widespread dissatisfaction in the party over its position as a prop for the Umno-led coalition government. "On at least on three of the (eight) occasions, Bernard (Dompok) insisted I stay put in Upko and personally asked me to stand and defend the Tuaran parliamentary seat for BN," Bumburing said in a statement posted in APS's facebook page. "However, by then I have already made the decision to leave Upko and BN," he pointed out, adding that another allegation making the rounds that he quit because he lost the divisional chairman post in the election of Upko Tuaran divisional committee members was also BN slander. He disclosed that prior to the divisional meeting in 2011, he was told by the nomination committee that he had won the chairman's post uncontested but he rejected the nomination and asked the committee to conduct another nomination exercise. He said he also refused to be nominated as BN candidate for Tuaran constituency. "The whole issue of me and my colleagues in quitting BN is the failure by the BN federal government to resolve the issues of illegal immigrants and the extraordinary population increase in Sabah over the last two decades," he said.
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| Why is it so difficult to give up a seat? Posted: 29 Oct 2012 04:30 PM PDT
As a socialist party, the DAP must be just and fair to all and not favour a handful to contest in two seats as a safety net. Athi Shankar, FMT Two more DAP grassroots leaders here have rallied behind their party supremo Karpal Singh's call for a "one man – one seat" electoral formula. Welcoming the call as "timely and fair" to all party candidates, Pahang vice-chairman J Apalasamy and Taman Gembira branch chairman Ivan Ho Fook Keong also urged all nine party elected representatives who held two seats to heed Karpal's suggestion and publicly declare their choice of seat. The duo could not understand why it has been so difficult for the double-hat wearers to scale back on one seat. Both Apalasamy and Ho said if the elected representatives insisted on contesting double seats in the next polls, it would show that they were selfish and power crazed politicians. They accused the dual seat holders of wanting to monopolise power and enjoy multiple perks at the expense of majority party members. "They must put party interests above their selfish interests. "They should make way for other capable and dynamic party members to contest. "The party should build for the future," they told FMT here today. Penang has the most number of elected representatives who are both MPs and assemblymen. Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is Bagan MP and Air Putih assemblyman, Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy is Batu Kawan MP and Prai assemblyman and the state senior executive councillor and Penang DAP chief Chow Kon Yeow is Tanjung MP and Padang Kota assemblyman. Other DAP double-hatters are Beruas MP and Sitiawan assemblyman Ngeh Koo Ham, Taiping MP and Pantai Remis assemblyman Nga Kor Ming (Perak); Seputeh MP and Kinrara assemblywoman Teresa Kok Suh Sim (Selangor) and Rasah MP and Lobak assemblyman Anthony Loke Siew Fook (Negeri Sembilan). In Sarawak state DAP chairman Wong Ho Leng is Sibu MP and Bukit Assek assemblyman while state party secretary Chong Chieng Jen is Bandar Kuching MP and Kota Sentosa assemblyman. Strong support from grassroots Last Friday, Karpal who has all along proposed for a one man– one seat formula, called on all double-seat holders to declare that they would only contest a seat in the next polls instead of waiting for the party decide for them. Under Karpal's proposal, exemption could be given to the Penang Chief Minister and candidates in Sabah and Sarawak to contest dual seats on a-need-to basis. Karpal's call met stinging criticisms from likes of Chow and Teresa Kok. They described the issue as "an old story" and rebuked Karpal for highlighting it in the media. Supporting Karpal, Apalasamy said it would be an injustice if the party were to favour a handful to contest both federal and state seats as safety nets when majority candidates were going for broke contesting one seat. He also questioned the need to provide the safety nets to certain politicians. "Whats so special about them that they must be given two seats? As a socialist party, the DAP must be just and fair to all," insisted Apalasamy. He rebuked politicians who want dual seats as safety nets of lacking confidence and at the same time denying another winnable candidate a chance to serve the people. When these politicians go for double-headers, he said it showed that they lacked confidence in winning either one or both the seats.
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| Karpal offers to help stop condo project Posted: 29 Oct 2012 04:28 PM PDT
DAP national chairman offers pro bono legal services to the Batu Caves temple committee in its efforts to stop the condo project near the area. K Pragalath, FMT DAP national chairman Karpal Singh has offered to help the Batu Caves temple committee stop the construction of a condo project adjacent to the temple. "In the event the matter is taken to court, I will offer my services pro bono to ensure a successful judicial pronouncement in favour of the temple committee," said Karpal. Last week, the Sri Mahamariamman Devasthanam chairman R Nadarajah raised concerns over the proposed 29-storey project to built adjacent to the temple. The Sri Maha Mariamman Devasthanam manages the running of Sri Subramaniar Swamy temple in Batu Caves which has the tallest Lord Murugan statue in the world. Nadarajah said the matter may be referred to the courts if there was no sign of a permanent stop work order against the developer, Dolomite Properties Sdn Bhd. He also urged the Selangor government to scrap the project. 'Stop the blame game' Karpal said: "The state government cannot afford to ignore the manifestations of protests against the project. "There is no scarcity of land in the land bank to provide an alternative site for the project. In fact there is no reason for the developer not to accept an alternative site," he added. Karpal who is also Jelutong MP, urged BN and Pakatan Rakyat to stop the blame game over which party was responsible for approving the project. Selangor exco Ronnie Liu had blamed the previous BN administration in the Selayang municipal council in approving the project in 2007.
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| Rafizi was too loud, Nazri tells Parliament Posted: 29 Oct 2012 04:25 PM PDT
The de facto law minister explains why the PKR man is in legal trouble over his exposes. K Pragalath, FMT Justice may be blind, but it has ears sharp enough to tell the difference between the squeal of a whistle and the roar of a trumpet. That appeared to be de facto law minister Nazri Aziz's message to Parliament today when he was trying to explain why PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli could not use the Whistle Blowers Act 2010 as a shield against prosecution over his exposes of the NFCorp scandal. Rafizi and former bank employee Johari Mohamad are facing charges under the Banking and Financial Institution Act (Bafia) over their exposure of bank documents related to the accounts held by the National Feedlot Corporation. "They are trumpet blowers, not whistle blowers," Nazri said in response to a question from Khalid Ibrahim (PKR-Bandar Tun Razak). He said the Whistle Blowers Act was not meant to protect law breakers. "You blow the trumpet to the whole world. So what protection do you need? "This act cannot protect those who commit a wrongdoing. It protects whistle blowers. We can't protect him if he breached Bafia." Responding to Bung Mokhtar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan), who asked for a further explanation, Nazri said the Official Secrets Act and Bafia both described the kind of information that could not be divulged to the public.
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| MACC report over ‘failed’ Kedah project Posted: 29 Oct 2012 04:08 PM PDT
Gerakan wants anti-graft body to probe Kedah Corporation Berhad's failed logging and plantation projects in Papua New Guinea. Teoh El Sen, FMT The MACC has been urged to look into possible corruption offences in the failed logging and plantation projects in Papua New Guinea brought about by state-owned Kedah Corporation Berhad. Kedah Gerakan Youth today lodged a report asking the MACC to start investigations into the project which the 2011 Auditor-General's report said brought millions in losses to the state. "We estimate it be about RM14 million, and want the MACC to investigate," Kedah Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang told reporters outside the MACC headquarters here. The AG's report also revealed that a goodwill payment was made to a third party (vendor) for the purpose of "lobbying to minister" for the project. Tan said he was puzzled as to which minister the report was referring to, and why such lobbying was necessary. "There were no feasibility studies, no due diligence done on the company. It does not justify the RM1.21 million paid to this third party vendor," he said. Tan said the worse part was that the Kedah state government was trying to wash its hand of the mater and shift the blame to other parties. "With power comes responsibility and accountability," said Tan, who lodged a police report last week over the same matter. Tan said it was up to the authorities to see if there were criminal elements, including criminal breach of trust (CBT) or corruption, involved in the case. KCB, a subsidiary of Menteri Besar Incorporated, had bought a 70% stake in MAS Incorporated Ltd (a company registered in Papua New Guinea) for RM31.21 million. This was for the development of two areas totalling 114,429 hectares in Papua New Guinea. 'Goodwill payment' The project, however, was terminated by the KCB board of directors on March 1 last year on the grounds that it was not feasible and contained many irregularities. The failed investment, according to the AG's report, caused KCB to incur losses amounting to RM13.49 million. The incurred losses of this 'high risk investment' reached the extent where the company concerned had to take a RM135 million offshore bank loan.
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| Masing: We’ll wallop our opponents Posted: 29 Oct 2012 04:02 PM PDT
(Borneo Post) - We will beat the heck out of them. That's what PRS president Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing said when asked what he had in mind for the Opposition during the impending general election. He said PRS was in battle-ready mode and would go full throttle when Parliament is dissolved. "I am not worried about them (Oppostion), and I am very confident that we will beat the 'heck' out of them," said Masing, who is also Minister of Land Development, yesterday. On the recent endorsement of lawyer Abun Sui by PKR Hulu Rajang to stand in Hulu Rajang in the polls, Masing told The Borneo Post that this was their (PKR) business. "They can decide whoever they want, but we will fight them. We have been fighting our opponents all these years." PKR Hulu Rajang chairman Frankie Bedindang Manjoh was quoted last week after its annual general meeting (AGM) that Abun was the ideal candidate as he had earned his reputation as a staunch defender of NCR land. PRS's parliamentary seats are Sri Aman, Lubok Antu, Julau, Selangau, Kanowit and Hulu Rajang. Besides PKR, Sarawak Workers Party (SWP) is also eyeing seats belonging to PRS. Ever since its formation several months ago, SWP publicly announced that it would challenge PRS in all its six constituencies. During PRS's Supreme Council Meeting last Saturday, Masing said PRS 30 (comprising of members aged 30 and below) would play a significant role in helping the party retain all their six seats. He said the party would basically utilise PRS 30 to touch base with youths. The group would also use the social media such as Facebook and Twitter to gel with youths, he said. | ||||||||
| 'BN has Pakatan's dirty laundry list' Posted: 29 Oct 2012 03:50 PM PDT
(NST) - Barisan Nasional is in possession of every minute detail relating to Pakatan Rakyat's dirty laundry in the form of piled up documents as evidence. "What are they trying to say? We have details right up to their candidacy list for the upcoming 13th general election," BN secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said. Tengku Adnan said that PR had taken the trading of barbs to an immature level. "But we do not blow our horns, we only break the news today (yesterday)." Tengku Adnan attributed the reaction to DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng's move, claiming to have obtained secret documents about BN's election preparations. Tengku Adnan also said that people have to bear in mind that Guan Eng's claim could also be merely a political gimmick as always. "The document they claim to be in possession of is not damaging to BN. It is merely a document regarding the state of readiness in the coalition. However, it was never proven that Guan Eng had truly managed to lay his hands on it. "Nevertheless we need to take precautions. We will identify the leak if there's any and I have written to all 13 BN component party presidents to remind them to treat party-related documents with utmost care and secrecy." Tengku Adnan said this after receiving 5,000 copies of 100 Wira Negara books by Mubarak Malaysia, which will be distributed to delegates at the Umno general assembly next month. The book, on 100 celebrated and distinguished national heroes, is a good reference for youngsters, especially those who were born post independence, said Tengku Mansor. "Sometimes, we forget the uphill battle our predecessors fought for our independence and building Malaysia to be what we are today. "Who we are today and in the future depends on who we were in the past. That's why its important to remember and uphold our history."
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| MB S’gor sedia bertanding dua kerusi Posted: 28 Oct 2012 09:08 PM PDT
Abdul Khalid berkata demikian ketika diminta mengulas mengenai kerusi DUN Ijok yang kini diwakilinya. Fazy Sahir, FMT Menteri Besar Selangor,Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim menyatakan kesediaannya untuk bertanding di kedua-dua kerusi – Parlimen dan Dewan Undangan Negeri – sekiranya dicalonkan oleh parti dalam pilihan raya umum akan datang. "Kalau diserahkan tanggungjawab, saya akan bertanding. Namun semua pengumuman ini dibuat oleh Ketua Umum dan Presiden (PKR). Saya tidak boleh campur," katanya ketika ditemui media selepas hadir di Majlis Hari Raya Aidiladha anjuran Karangkraf hari ini. Abdul Khalid berkata demikian ketika diminta mengulas mengenai kerusi DUN Ijok yang kini diwakilinya. Beliau turut menerima baik cabaran oleh Ketua Umum, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim untuk kekal bertanding di kerusi parlimen- Bandar Tun Razak. Beliau berkata tidak khuatir sekiranya bertanding di dua kawasan memandangkan Pengerusi DAP, Karpal Singh turut mengeluarkan kenyataan bahawa Menteri Besar mahupun Ketua Menteri boleh bertanding di dua kawasan/kerusi. `Saya terima' "Saya terima baik cabaran itu (pertahan kerusi Bandar Tun Razak) dan pernah kata kepada beliau (Anwar). Ini bagi mengurangkan tekanan kepada Anwar kerana terlalu ramai minta untuk jadi calon di Bandar Tun Razak. "Namun saya tidak khuatir kerana DAP termasuk Karpal Singh terima hakikat bahawa Menteri Besar dan Ketua Menteri boleh bertanding di dua kawasan atau kerusi. "Tak jadi masalah kalau kita lakukannya," katanya. Memetik laporan sebuah portal semalam, Anwar mencadangkan Abdul Khalid untuk mempertahankan kerusi Bandar Tun Razak dalam pilihan raya umum akan datang. Manakala pada 26 Oktober lalu, Karpal singh telah mengumumkan bahawa setiap wakil rakyat dari parti itu hanya boleh bertanding di satu kerusi. Namun, untuk individu tertentu seperti Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang, Lim Guan Eng diberi pengecualian. | ||||||||
| Kamalanathan wants apology from Ronnie Liu for alleging link to Batu Caves condo project approval Posted: 28 Oct 2012 08:36 PM PDT
(The Star) - A Barisan Nasional MP has asked Selangor exco member Ronnie Liu to apologise for linking him to approving the 29-storey condominium project near Batu Caves. Calling it "defamation of the first class", P. Kamalanathan (BN - Hulu Selangor) said he will consider taking legal action against Liu if he failed to apologise "as soon as possible". "I was a Selayang municipal councillor from 2004 to 2006. I had no power in 2007 when the project was approved," said the Putera MIC coordinator during a press conference at the Parliament lobby Monday. Kamalanathan claimed that Liu had the intention to tarnish his good name by making his statement. He also questioned why the Pakatan Rakyat-led Selangor government did not do anything to stop the project even though it had been in power since 2008. In a news report, Liu had said the project was approved on Sept 27, 2007, when the state was ruled by Barisan Nasional. He claimed that Kamalanathan and Selangor Gerakan chief A. Kohilan Pillai were Selayang municipal councillors when the project was given the green light. Kamalanathan, via his officers, had lodged a police report to investigate Liu for allegedly slandering him on Oct 24. It was reported that Batu Caves would face the risk of caving in if the condominium project went ahead. Selangor Malaysian Nature Society committee member Lim Teck Wyn said the project would expedite the limestone massif's natural erosion process, causing it to possibly cave in sooner.
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| Asri sedia wacana dengan Ulama Pas tapi… Posted: 28 Oct 2012 08:31 PM PDT
(Sinar Harian) - Bekas Mufti Perlis, Prof Madya Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin bersedia untuk berwacana dengan Dewan Ulama Pas Pusat berhubung isu pimpinan Ayatollah sekiranya pertemuan itu membincangkan isu dibangkitkan secara "matang dan ilmiah." "Jika ada apa-apa wacana ilmiah yang berbincang secara matang, saya sudi untuk pergi. Tetapi, ia perlu dibuat secara perbincangan yang matang," kata beliau kepada Sinar Harian pada Majlis Hari Raya Aidiladha Karangkraf di sini, petang ini.
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| How I imagine the trial would proceed Posted: 28 Oct 2012 07:51 PM PDT
Lawyer: What I am driving at is God's hand is at work here and the church is powerless to prevent God from doing His work. God and not the church or the statue cured your wife just like God and not the church or the statue caused the statue to fall over. Both acts, according to your faith, are what we could call ACTS OF GOD. Can someone else be sued for an act of God? NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin Man Who Lost Leg After Crucifix Fell on Him While Praying Sues Church for US$3mil (Daily Mail) - A cruel twist of fate cost David Jimenez his leg when the crucifix he prayed to every day when his wife was fighting cancer toppled over and crushed him. Jimenez stopped every day to pray to the statue of Jesus on the cross outside Church of St Patrick in Newburgh, New York. When his wife, Delia, recovered from the cancer, the 45-year-old father of two offered to clean the crucifix as an act of faith and a goodwill gesture. However, as he scrubbed the heavy marble object, it fell off its shaky pedestal and landed on his leg, the Mid-Hudson News Network reported. The pizza parlour employee is now suing the church for US$3 million, claiming the priest who gave him permission to work on the unstable statue was negligent. The injury on Memorial Day in 2010 so badly mangled Jimenez's right leg that doctors were forced to amputate it just below the knee. The church told CBS New York that the congregation collected food and US$7,000 in cash donations for Jimenez and his family. However, Jimenez's lawyer, Kevin Kitson, said the insurance company for the diocese had made collecting additional money difficult. As a result of the legal action, the church has removed the crucifix from the Church of St Patrick and moved it to another parish. Kitson said his client, a devout Catholic, still believes it played a role in his wife's recovery. "David attributed the cure to his devotion to that cross," he told CBS New York. Nonetheless, the lawyer maintains that the church was negligent. He said only one screw held the marble statue in place. That gave way when Jimenez scrubbed the statue, causing it to fall over. ********************************************* This is how I imagine the trial would proceed. Lawyer: Mr Jimenez, you say that the church was negligent and that this negligence caused the statue of Jesus on the cross to fall over and crush your leg. Could it not be that you were negligent instead and that it was your negligence that caused the statue to fall over rather than the negligence of the church? Plaintiff: No. I was very careful. I was not negligent. Lawyer: So, in spite of your carefulness, the statue still fell over. Hence it was not your own negligence. Is that correct? Plaintiff: That is correct. Lawyer: You volunteered or offered to clean the statue as an act of faith and a goodwill gesture. Is that correct? Plaintiff: Yes, that is correct. Lawyer: So the church did not ask you or request you to clean the statue. Plaintiff: No, but the church gave me permission to do so knowing that it was dangerous. Lawyer: How do you know that the church was aware that it was dangerous to clean the statue? Did the priest or anyone else from the church tell you it was dangerous? Plaintiff: No. No one told me it was dangerous. But they would have known it was dangerous and they should have told me. Lawyer: How do you know they would have known it was dangerous? Plaintiff: Well…I sort of just know. It's a sort of feeling I have. Lawyer: So, you have no evidence of this. It is just a feeling you have that the church knew it was dangerous and you also have a feeling that they did not tell you that it was dangerous in spite of knowing that it was dangerous? Plaintiff: Well…err…well yes. Lawyer: So, in spite of you being able to have all these feelings, you did not have any feeling that the statue might fall over if you start cleaning it. Plaintiff: Err…no. Lawyer: And you volunteered or offered to clean the statue because you have faith that your prayers in front of the statue helped cure your wife's cancer. Plaintiff: That's right. Lawyer: Are you saying that the statue cured your wife's cancer? Plaintiff: No, not the statue. God cured my wife's cancer because I constantly prayed in front of the statue. It was God's will. Lawyer: So it was God's will that your wife was cured, not the statue's will. Is that correct? Plaintiff: That's right. Lawyer: But the statue fell over when you cleaned it. Plaintiff: That's right. Lawyer: So it was not the statue's will that it fell over but God's will. Plaintiff: Err…I think so…you are confusing me. Lawyer: Mr Jimenez, it's a simple question. Is it God's will or the statue's will that it fell over? Plaintiff: It's God's will. Lawyer: So, it was God and not the statue that cured your wife's cancer and it is God's will and not the statue's will that it fell over and crushed your leg. So why sue the church then? Since God is the cause of both your wife's cancer being cured as well as for the statue falling over would it not be God's doing and therefore you should be suing God instead of the church? Plaintiff: I can't sue God! Lawyer: Why not? Plaintiff: Well, because you just can't, that's why. Lawyer: But the church had no hand in this. In fact, even the statue had no hand in this, as you admit. It was the hand of God that both cured your wife and made the statue fall over. So why sue the church for something that God did? Plaintiff: It just does not work like that. Lawyer: Even if the church had not been negligent but God had willed the statue to fall over could the church have prevented God's will? Plaintiff: I don't understand. Lawyer: Let me put it another way then. Can the church defy God? Plaintiff: Of course not. No one can defy God. Lawyer: So, if God had wanted the statue to fall over then there is nothing the church could have done, is that correct? Plaintiff: What are you driving at? Lawyer: What I am driving at is God's hand is at work here and the church is powerless to prevent God from doing His work. God and not the church or the statue cured your wife just like God and not the church or the statue caused the statue to fall over. Both acts, according to your faith, are what we could call ACTS OF GOD. Can someone else be sued for an act of God? Plaintiff: Err…err…you are confusing me. Lawyer: Your Honour, I ask the court to set aside this suit and award costs to my client as the Plaintiff has admitted that what happened to him was an act of God and not negligence on the part of the church. I have also received instructions that if the Plaintiff would like to sue God I am authorised to represent Him. | ||||||||
| Posted: 28 Oct 2012 06:30 PM PDT
Parti Rakyat Sarawak has declared itself the "true custodian" of Dayaks in Sarawak, putting a spoke perhaps in Taib's divide and rule strategy. Parliamentary election's is not Taib's top priority, but state is. Rumours are rife that he's had a finger in the chaos within SUPP, SPDP and PRS. A divided state coalition allows him to have better control of his 'partners' and an increasingly empowered native community courtesy of the opposition. Free Malaysia Today SIBU: Was Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president James Masing sending out a message to Chief Minister Taib Mahmud with his speech during the party's eight anniversary dinner here last Saturday? Masing's emphasis on PRS being a "truly Dayak party" and that its elected representatives were "all Dayaks" wasn't just a frivolous statement. It was tactical. It comes at a time of the rapid 'Dayak awakening' amongst the rural native communities courtesy of the alternative media, Radio Free Sarawak and a brazen opposition. Fueling this 'awakening' is the floundering Barisan Nasional partners – Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) and Sarawak United Peoples party (SUPP) – who can't seem to get their act together. The only 'water-tight' party appears to be PRS and Taib's PBB which incidentally is facing simmering discontent within its Bumiputera wing led by the allegedly much spineless Alfred Jabu Numpang. The next parliamentary election which must be held by April 2013 will be a challenging one for Sarawak BN's component parties. Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is desperately in need of Sarawak's 31 seats in view of the fluid political situation in Sabah and in the peninsular. In the last parliamentary elections in 2008, it was Sabah and Sarawak's collective 56 seats that helped BN retain Putrajaya. Sabah and Sarawak each lost one seat to the opposition, delivering 54 seats to the federal coalition. But the current scenario is somewhat different. The latest spin from the ground in Sabah is that the Musa Aman-led BN could lose up to 10 if not 12 of the 25 contestable parliamentary seats. In Sarawak the seat sharing ratio stands at PPB (14), SUPP (seven) PRS (six) SPDP (4) As it stands, speculations are rife that BN could lose up to seven seats from amongst SUPP, SPDP and PRS. Taib, on his part, has guaranteed Najib a return on all 14 of PBB's parliamentary seats and there's no reason for the PM to doubt his ability especially after his performance in the last state election. Taib is not too concerned about parliament. PRS truly represents Dayaks Parliamentary election's is not Taib's top priority, but state is. Rumours are rife that he's had a finger in the chaos within SUPP, SPDP and PRS. A divided state coalition allows him to have better control of his 'partners' and an increasingly empowered native community courtesy of the opposition. Masing is said to be a thorn in Taib's side. In the run-up to last year's state election, Masing, unhappy with Taib constantly ignoring his proposals, met directly with Najib and in one instant managed to thwart attempts to allow an ex-PRS incumbent elected representative, Larry Sng, from contesting. On Saturday, stamping PRS' sway over Sarawak's majority Dayak community, Masing said the party was the "custodian" of Dayak interest and that its elected representatives were "duty bound" to protect the race. "For all intents and purposes, PRS is the party which truly represents rural constituencies where most of the Dayaks happen to reside. "Therefore, we do not apologise for who we are and the basis of our political stand and struggles," he said alluding perhaps to the known 'issues' between him and Taib. Masing further warned members to be wary of "attempts" to stir discontent within the party adding that enemies and approaches came in different forms. "There are people who are envious of our strength and will try to de-stabilise us. They maybe individuals or groups. "They will (either) contest against us when the general election is called (or) slyly fight us by pretending to our friends or friends of the group and pull us down. "The other way is to de-stabilise us is by picking on some of our members who exhibit certain weaknesses. This will be a subtle approach and by people who we are familiar with. Thus without realizing it, we will fall into a trap which will eventually break the party's solidarity," said Masing.
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| I did not get RM3m from Chia but the car…’ Posted: 28 Oct 2012 05:12 PM PDT
Nazri Abdul Aziz denies receiving RM3 million from a timber tycoon 'friend' but is unsure if the latter lent his car to his son. Patrick Lee, FMT Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz has denied receiving any money from timber tycoon Michael Chia over a purported RM40 million scandal involving Sabah Umno. He was responding to Malaysia Today blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin (also known as RPK) who claimed that Nazri and his son Mohamad Nedim received RM3 million and a sports car respectively from Chia. "Oh no, it's not true, it's not true. Chia is a friend. I don't know if he lent the car to my son. You have to ask my son," he told FMT in his office this afternoon. Although he did not directly criticise Raja Petra over the claim, Nazri said that he had no problem with this matter being raised. "RPK is a social person. He mixes a lot with people, so he probably gets information from them. Then by (Petra) writing this, it gives me the opportunity to give my side of the story," he said. Nazri also stressed that he had no influence over the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) or the judiciary, adding that if he had, Chia's case would have been dropped. In a Malaysia Today report, Raja Petra claimed that Chia personally came to Parliament to hand RM3 million over to Nazri, after the latter allegedly resolved a matter relating to the RM40 million scandal. He also claimed that Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and Attorney-General Abdul Gani-Patail were similarly involved.
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| Ulama PAS jemput Dr Asri berdialog Posted: 28 Oct 2012 04:58 PM PDT
Dr Asri dijemput oleh Dewan Ulama PAS untuk menyampaikan pandangan dan kritikannya. (The Malaysian Insider) - Bekas Mufti Perlis, Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin dijemput oleh Dewan Ulama PAS untuk menyampaikan pandangan dan kritikannya kepada dewan itu dalam wacana ilmu bersama ahli-ahli Dewan Ulamak. "Saya merujuk kepada kebimbangan Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin bahawa ulama-ulama dalam PAS dibimbangi tidak boleh ditegur apabila memerintah kerajaan pusat nanti dalam satu wacana baru- baru ini," kata setiausahanya, Dr Mohd Khairuddin A. Razali dipetik daripada laman Harakahdaily. Menurut Mohd Khairuddin, Dewan Ulama PAS Pusat perlu menyatakan pandangan balas terhadap kenyataan tersebut oleh kerana kebimbangan Mohd Asri dilontarkan dalam wacana awam yang disiarkan isinya dalam media perdana dan mendapat respons umum. "Dewan Ulama PAS Pusat sentiasa berlapang dada dengan sebarang pandangan, teguran dan kritikan luar terhadap apa jua tindakan yang diputuskan secara jamaei dan pandangan yang dilontarkan oleh Dewan Ulama dengan merujuk kepada al-Quran, al-Hadis, Ijma dan Qiyas di samping pandangan dan ulasan ulamak-ulamak muktabar sepanjang zaman. "Dewan Ulama PAS Pusat berbesar hati menjemput Mohd Asri untuk menyampaikan pandangan dan kritikan beliau terhadap Dewan Ulamak PAS Pusat dalam wacana ilmu bersama ahli-ahli Dewan Ulamak sebagai satu medan perbincangan dan bertukar-tukar pandangan dan tarikh wacana boleh diberikan berdasarkan kelapangan masa Dr Asri," katanya. Dalam wawancara bersama The Malaysian Insider baru-baru ini, bekas Mufti Perlis itu juga meminta PAS agar tidak terlalu bertelagah mengenai jenama Malaysia sama ada Negara Islam atau tidak kerana adalah lebih baik memfokuskan untuk memberi keadilan kepada rakyat berbilang agama.
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| Bekas MP PKR dakwa kerajaan Selangor anti-Hindu Posted: 28 Oct 2012 04:54 PM PDT
Gobalakrishnan berkata kenyataan oleh Ahli dewan undangan negeri Sri Andalas Dr Xavier Jeyakumar mencerminkan sikap sebenar kerajaan negeri yang jelas anti-Hindu. Md Izwan, The Malaysian Insider Ahli parlimen (MP) bebas N. Gobalakrishnan menuduh kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat negeri Selangor sebagai anti-Hindu kerana meluluskan projek pembinaan kondominium Dolomite Park Avenue berhampiran dengan tempat beribadat penganut Hindu di Batu Caves. Dalam sidang media di Parlimen pagi tadi, MP Padang Serai tersebut berkata kenyataan oleh Ahli dewan undangan negeri (Adun) Sri Andalas, Dr Xavier Jeyakumar mencerminkan sikap sebenar kerajaan negeri yang jelas anti-Hindu. "Dr Xavier berkata tempoh hari bahawa kerajaan negeri tidak boleh 'give in' terhadap permintaan pihak kuil yang membantah projek tersebut. "Apakah maksud Xavier untuk berkata begitu? Adakah ini bermaksud yang beliau mementingkan hal-hal lain daripada kepentingan rakyat yang patut didahulukan?," kata Gobalakrishnan. Gobalakrishnan juga mempersoalkan tindakan kerajaan negeri Selangor yang tidak melantik ahli mesyuarat kerajaan negeri (exco) dikalangan mereka yang menganut agama Hindu. "Jika terdapat exco beragama Hindu pastinya projek ini akan dihalang. Sememangnya penasihat ekonomi Selangor, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yang juga ketua umum PKR adalah anti-Hindu," tambah beliau lagi. Sabtu lalu, exco negeri Selangor Ronnie Liu telah mendedahkan mendedahkan dokumen lengkap "Kebenaran Merancang" yang diluluskan pada 30 November 2007 selepas persidangan Mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Pusat Setempat (OSC).
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| EC to blame for BN’s loss of Chinese support Posted: 28 Oct 2012 04:40 PM PDT
Sabah's Chinese-based Liberal Democratic Party wants the ruling national alliance to provide for more Chinese representation in government. Queville To, FMT PENAMPANG: A Sabah-based Barisan Nasional partner is blaming the loss of Chinese support on the Election Commission's (EC) gerrymandering. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said the manipulation of election boundaries by the EC had caused the Chinese community in the state to lose their voice despite their large number. Speaking at a party event on Sunday, its secretary-general-cum-Tanjung Aru division chief Teo Chee Kang said the party hopes the coalition will nominate Chinese candidates especially in those mixed constituencies which have a large Chinese population. He noted that currently out of the 60 state constituencies, only 12 of them are the Chinese constituencies, as the result of gerrymandering by the EC. He cited Lahad Datu, Keningau and Tenom which have a sizeable number of Chinese voters do not have Chinese representatives to look after their interests. "Lahad Datu which has more than 8,000 Chinese voters has been divided by Lahad Datu and Tunku constituencies. Keningau which has more than 7,000 Chinese voters has been split by Liawan and Bingkor constituencies, while Tenom with more than 6,000 Chinese voters is being divided by Kemabong and Melalap constituencies," he said. He claimed that a recent survey conducted by several state BN Chinese component parties throughout the state had revealed that the absence of Chinese representatives in these constituencies has caused great dissatisfaction among the Chinese community there, which had inevitably affected their support for BN. Teo said his party hopes the BN leaderships should pay attention to this when fielding the candidates in the coming general election. "This is important as, if there's a Chinese representative, it would better facilitate the government solving of the various issues affecting the Chinese community in these areas," he said.
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| Kayveas: We want seats lost by BN parties Posted: 28 Oct 2012 04:35 PM PDT
The PPP chief also warns Gerakan and MIC of a backlash if they attempt to sabotage his party's chances as he claims they did in 2008. Humayun Kabir, FMT TAIPING: The People's Progressive Party (PPP) wants to field its winnable candidates in areas that other BN component parties lost in the 2008 general election. Party chief M Kayveas said: "We want to contest in BN areas that were lost to the opposition in the last general election as our chances of winning these seats are bright." Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's said he wants winnable candidates liked by voters and has warned component parties that there was no guarantee they will get the traditional seats. PPP has been assured of a two parliamentary and two state seats but it has proposed another two parliamentary seats and four other state seats for Najib's consideration. Kayveas said this to FMT after a recent visit to his Taiping PPP office but declined to name the seats as he fears possible sabotage by other BN component parties. He claimed that Gerakan and MIC had stabbed him in the back when he stood in the Taiping parliamentary seat in the 2008, causing him to lose the seat to DAP's Nga Kor Ming. Kayveas warned them of a backlash if they again tried to sabotage PPP's chances in the polls as PPP has a membership of 600,000 in the 3,000 its branches nationwide. PPP was badly mauled when it lost both the parliamentary and state seats allocated to it in the last general election. To strengthen its chances in the polls, PPP has launched the 'Mission 510′ voters which requires each branch recruiting 510 people as assured voters for BN. More seats sought Meanwhile, party insiders say that PPP wants the parliamentary seats of Gerik in Perak, Batu or Bandar Tun Razak, both in the Federal Territories. The party is also eyeing the Pasir Bedamar state seat in Perak and Kota Laksamana in Malacca. PPP has appealed to Najib for more seats in Pahang, Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.
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| Let’s talk about the AG’s Report Posted: 28 Oct 2012 04:14 PM PDT
Leakages and wastages are not confined only to BN states; Pakatan state governments are equally guilty of the same charge! By Abdul Rahman Dahlan, FMT But the truth is stranger than fiction – or so I have found out. My attempt to level the playing field by speaking up against the mismanagement of Pakatan states was met with thunderous objection in the august house. No less than five opposition MPs stood up to prevent me from finishing my speech. All is well, for Hansard never lies. When chaos got the better of my words, I decided to pen down my analysis in the spirit of informing the public that life in Pakatan states is not necessarily a bed of roses, too. Kelantan The project was initially set to help the Kelantan poor by promising (for lack of better word) a monthly dividend and salary of RM200 and RM700 respectively. On top of that, the project planned to provide free accommodation and to stimulate the local employment rate. Of course, promises are meant to be broken. All of these promises never materialized. The poor who placed their hopes in this program are now still stuck in status quo. When two projects under the program failed to meet their targets, the Kelantan state government – through Perbadanan Pembangunan Ladang Rakyat Kelantan (PPLRK) – leased out the remaining 17 projects (total land involved is 76,780 acres) to 16 selected companies. But as the AG's report so aptly pointed out, no specific committee had been set up to evaluate the ability or past performance of the 16 companies. Much worse was when apparently, the 16 listed were actually suggested by none other than the CEO of PPLRK himself! Ah, the joys of running you own empire must be intoxicating, I believe. To compound the problem even further, audit analysis of the agreements with the 16 companies showed that the terms were lop-sided and were heavily stacked against the state government's interests. For example, in the 20-year lease period, the companies are set to gain total net profit of RM1.6 billion. However, they would only pay Kelantan state government RM421 million in lease payments. The estimated net profit of the 16 companies is a staggering RM59 million a year for the next 20 years! And who are the stakeholders behind Liziz Standaco Sdn. Bhd.? In yet another land controversy in Kelantan, the AG's report took the state government to task for offering 1,000 acres of land to Liziz Standaco in 2003. This was supposed to be for a 12-year riverbank development and beautification project. In consideration thereof, Liziz Standaco must return to the state government assets amounting to RM389.09 million. But as far as the AG's Report is concerned, the Kelantan state government has only received a paltry sum of RM45.7 million to date. The remaining RM343.4 million is still outstanding at the time this analysis is drafted. Eyebrows were raised in concern when the AG's report also stated that Liziz Standaco had pledged 13.52 acres of the land in question as collateral to secure a RM75 million loan. While it is not immediately clear whether Liziz Standaco had used part of the RM75 million's loan to pay the RM45.7 million to state government, it can in many ways suggest that the company is not in the best financial footing to navigate the project to the shore of success. Kedah Some might argue that KCB's RM1 million scandal is pale in comparison to that of NFC's that involved RM250 million. But I disagree. Wastage, by any other name, is still a wastage – especially so for a small economy like Kedah. If we still insist to go by figures and statistic, the RM1 million involved in this case tantamount to 0.10% of Kedah's 2011 state budget of RM1 billion. Taken in this perspective, we will also find that the 0.10% is at par with NFC's 0.11% wastage vis-Ã -vis RM230 billion of the federal budget. KCB was also frowned upon when it made generous payments on two failed projects. The first involved the payment of RM4.26 million to a company in Papua New Guinea for a palm oil project which subsequently failed. The second involved a payment of RM1.6 million to a consultant company to "arrange" a USD44 million offshore loan earmarked to fund the same Papua New Guinea's investment. Apart from failing to raise the USD44 million loan (which has since put the project in jeopardy), KCB marched ahead to borrow an additional RM3 million from five local companies. What's appalling is that the borrowing had been done without the approval from its own board! Meanwhile the AG's Report has ticked off Perbadanan Menteri Besar Kedah for paying a whopping RM1,500 per unit for repair of loose electrical distribution board in low-cost public housing projects. And rightly so, too! The government approved market price is capped at only RM15.45 per unit. The difference per unit in this case is a staggering RM1,484.55. The Perbadanan Menteri Besar Kedah had also overpaid (by 31 times) for power sockets in its low-cost public housing projects. They actually paid RM1,500 per unit when the government-approved market price is only RM50.18 per unit. Simple arithmetic will show that this constitutes an overpayment of RM1,449.82 per unit. Selangor Since its inception in 2008, 19.4% (60,972) of 313,706 of those who were born in Selangor had applied for the scheme. Out of the 60,972 applications, only 21,918 have been approved. Selangor has allocated RM13.5 million for TAWAS. But out of that amount, about RM4.5 million was meant for operational costs, setting aside only RM8 million for the actual program itself. In education sector, Selangor government had incurred losses of RM39.69 million in 2010, and RM13.56 million through Pendidikan Industri YS Sdn Bhd (PIYSB) – the organ that operates UNISEL. These are only examples of leakages and wastages in Pakatan states. If you read the AG's Report with microscopic view, you would find much more examples of the same nature.
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| ‘RM40m scandal may see BN lose Sabah’ Posted: 28 Oct 2012 04:06 PM PDT
Raja Petra also claims that more are involved in the RM40 million scandal - including the home minister, attorney-general and a Cabinet minister. Leven Woon, FMT Timber scandals in Sabah, particularly the recent one involving a RM40 million "donation", may cost Barisan Nasional the state, claimed Raja Petra Kamarudin today. The editor of the Malaysia Today blog, in his latest posting "The timber mafia is larger than you suspect", also claimed that there were more people involved in the "untold story" of timber commissions scandal and it was not just limited to businessman Michael Chia and Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman. "The likelihood of half the parliamentary seats in Sabah falling to the opposition is not an impossible scenario. And if that happens then the state can fall as well. That is how serious this matter has become," he said. He said that BN could lose at least 10 of the 25 Parliamentary seats in Sabah to the opposition, while three other seats — Kota Belud, Ranau and Papar — would be "close fights and could go either way". The10 seats he mentioned were: Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Tawau, Sipanggar, Penampang, Beaufort, Keningau, Pensiangan, Tuaran and Kota Marudu. "If Pakatan Rakyat is clever and if they know the correct way in playing up this issue, Sabah may fall and they might even win enough parliamentary seats to march into Putrajaya. My concern is that Pakatan will instead fight amongst themselves over seat allocations, which will allow BN to retain Sabah, " he said. Will Musa be replaced? Raja Petra predicted that with the scandal still brewing hot, the current chief minister's position has become unstable and Umno may have to replace Musa as the Sabah Umno chief to appease voters. He said that his website had published articles about the timber scandals involving Musa and others since 2004, but many are still unaware of the extent of the alleged corruption.
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| Posted: 28 Oct 2012 03:59 PM PDT
There is 'little chance' for hudud to be implemented, claim the KL Chinese Assembly Hall and Johor Chamber of Commerce. Leven Woon, FMT While MCA and its political opponents in Pakatan Rakyat engage in yet another round of heated exchange on hudud, several other Chinese groups have made their stand known and raised concerns over the ongoing Islamisation process, particularly of the civil service. The groups were against PAS' proposal to impose hudud once the Islamic party comes into power. And they also noted that the process of Islamisation in Malaysia had begun much earlier. They were also of the opinion that the chance for hudud being implemented was low. KL and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall chief executive officer Tang Ah Chai said the Chinese were generally against hudud because the country was founded on the principles of a secular state. "We were never a religious state. So as a non-Muslim, we cannot accept an Islamic state but only Islam as the official religion," he told FMT. He said that given the current socio-political background, it would be hard for PAS to push forward its hudud agenda. "So rather than spending so much time discussing something which is only a possibility, why don't we look at the Islamisation process in our country which has been there for 30 years?" he asked. Tang said under the leadership of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the country witnessed a wide-ranging Islamisation process that saw more prominence being given to Islamic syariah laws, and Islamic values were infused into the civil service. On the bright side, he said Islamisation also brought in the concept of Islamic banking system. He also noted that there were not many intellectual discussions among the Chinese on the issue of hudud, hence the community only held vague impression that hudud meant arm-chopping. "In-depth discussions were found lacking on topics such as the Islamic judiciary system, the evidence act and under what circumstances would someone's hand be chopped," he said. Issue exploited for political mileage The Johor Chinese Chamber of Commerce president Lim Beh felt that the hudud issue was played up by "certain political parties" to suit their political agendas. "I feel this is an outdated question. If you chant about it in the 70s, maybe the people would get frightened. But now people are just bored of it," he told FMT.
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| BN’s targets PAS, PKR seats in S’gor Posted: 28 Oct 2012 01:26 PM PDT
(Free Malaysia Today) - According to a Selangor assemblyman, DAP seats are "not the battleground" in the coming election. Barisan Nasional is aiming to gun down PAS and PKR in Selangor in the coming general election.
And death is imminent if the Election Commission (EC) does not clean-up the rolls of the almost 110,000 "untraceable" new registered voters, claims state exco Ronnie Liu from DAP. Liu, who is the Pandamaran state assemblyman, said PAS and PKR – two component parties within Pakatan Rakyat – will almost be certain to be wiped-out from the state assembly if the EC fails to clean up the rolls. He said out of the total 610,000 new registered voters, only about 500,000 voters were located by Pakatan representatives who recently carried out a survey in the state to confirm the names and addresses voters provided by the EC. "Even if we take into consideration the error rate in our survey, the 110,000 voters is a very high number. Most of them were registered mainly at the state constituencies won by PAS and PKR with close margin of votes (in the 2008 election)," Liu told FMT. For the record, in the 2008 election, BN only secured 20 seats – 18 seats won by Umno and two more by MCA – out of the 56 seats in the Selangor state legislative assembly. Pakatan – PKR, DAP and PAS – won 15, 13 and eight seats respectively. Liu said it will be almost impossible for Selangor Pakatan leaders to take on BN without "cleaning up" the electoral roll. He said the minimum requirement under the Election Offences Act was for voters to either reside or at least work at their respective constituencies. "But here in Selangor we have more than half million people registered as new voters and this trend was not recorded in other states. "The onus is on the National Registration Department (NRD) to verify all the particulars provided by the applicants who are requesting to update their addresses for the purpose of voting," he added. He said this will ensure that a single address is not being used by 20 to 30 voters. "The EC is just providing lip service whenever we approach them on discrepancies and is not showing any signs that they will act on this issue," lamented Liu. PKR, PAS seats targeted He said state Pakatan leaders will not oppose to dissolving the state assembly any time soon as long EC comes out with a better explanation on the 110,000 "uncounted for voters". "These 110,000 voters are either Umno or MCA members of other states who have been systematically registered here in Selangor with the clear intention to deny Pakatan from ruling the state for second time," he added. Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/10/29/bns-targets-pas-pkr-seats-in-sgor/
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| Asia language plan 'central' to Australian reforms: PM Posted: 28 Oct 2012 01:16 PM PDT
(The Sun Daily) - Australian students would have "priority" access throughout their schooling to Mandarin, Hindi, Indonesian and Japanese languages, with Gillard vowing to link every school with an Asian partner for online classes by 2025.
Every Australian school will be partnered online with one in Asia by 2025 as regional languages become "central" to education reform plans, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Monday. Boosting so-called "Asia literacy" is central to an ambitious plan to rocket Australia into the world's top 10 wealthiest economies in the next 13 years by broadening links with fast-growing China and its neighbours. A policy paper, "Australia in the Asian Century", was unveiled Sunday and contains a number of lofty goals for 2025 focused on education and business with key Asian partners China, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and India. Australian students would have "priority" access throughout their schooling to Mandarin, Hindi, Indonesian and Japanese languages, with Gillard vowing to link every school with an Asian partner for online classes by 2025. "I'm going to put access to Asian languages at the centre of (our) national school improvement plan," she told ABC radio Monday, promising a "far broader and far more systematic" approach to Asian language learning. Gillard said it was essential to send "the right message to our kids about how important it is for their future and the careers that they will choose for them to have Asia language capability and general Asian literacy". The prime minister said Australia's national broadband network (NBN) -- a huge project working to connect 93 percent of homes to superfast Internet by 2017 -- would be key to connecting with Asian classrooms and teachers. "We live in an age of different learning possibilities and choices," she said. "The exchange on the NBN... can truly be two-way, where the language teacher is interacting with every child, and we want those children interacting with kids in a school in Asia." Gillard said she had already seen one such programme in action, with an Australian and South Korean school holding joint online sessions and students continuing their friendship outside of lessons on social media networks. "Kids (are)... actually genuinely getting to know each other and something about each other's lifestyles," she said. "And I think if you can do that then you can help inspire the passion of children." According to the latest population census, conducted last year, 76.8 percent of Australians only speak English at home. Mandarin is the most common language after English, spoken in 1.6 percent of homes, followed by Italian (1.4 percent), Arabic (1.3 percent), Cantonese and Greek (both 1.2 percent). | ||||||||
| Posted: 28 Oct 2012 01:13 PM PDT
More Umno than PAS Members of Parliament (MPs) we interviewed said Malaysia should be an Islamic state. Out of the 24 Umno MPs who responded, 13 said Malaysia should be an Islamic state. In fact, most of the 13 said Malaysia was already an Islamic state. Jacqueline Ann Surin, The Nut Graph ACCORDING to MCA, a vote for DAP equals a vote for PAS equals a vote for an Islamic state and hudud. The Chinese-based political party has over the past weeks resumed its warning to voters that any vote that allows Pakatan Rakyat to occupy Putrajaya in the next general election will inevitably result in Malaysia being turned into an Islamic state because of PAS's ideology. This would be detrimental to Malaysians because there would purportedly be a loss of at least 1.2 million jobs if hudud was implemented, and non-Muslim women who don't cover up apparently deserve to be raped by Muslim men. We can expect that this argument against voting for DAP and/or PR will be ramped up as the general election approaches. What's wrong with MCA's fear-inducing scenario? Is there truth to any of these charges and predictions? And is MCA being completely honest about what the Barisan Nasional (BN) itself, of which it is the second largest component party, has been responsible for? As far as I'm concerned, we already have an "Islamic state" in the making. We are already living in a state with an expansion of religious bureaucracy and controls. And this expansion of religious bureaucracy is abundantly evident in the amount of controls exerted on citizens' rights in Islam's name. There is the prohibition of the use of "Allah" by non-Muslims to the arrest of publishers and book store managers over a translated title that was banned for contravening "teachings of the Al-Quran and Hadith". And let's not forget the ongoing and painful issues of conversion affecting Muslims and non-Muslims, whether adults or children, deceased or alive. And although various kinds of moral policing happened in the past especially in relation to khalwat, women's dressing and prostitution, these have all intensified since the mid-1990s. And citizens of different sexual and gender identities have, over the past years, been villified and threatened with violence, and had their rights denied, all in the name of religion.
These examples should not come as a surprise because there has been an increase in syariah laws in Malaysia, just as there has been a rise in the size, scope and budget allocations for government Islamic authorities. Prior to 1980, only one religious law existed — the Administration of Islamic Law Enactment. Today, there are other syariah laws, including Islamic Family Law, the Syariah Criminal Offences Act, the syariah civil and criminal procedure codes and the Syariah Court Evidence Enactment. Government Islamic authorities have also been given more muscle. In 1970, for example, federal expenditure on Islam focused on two items — the National Mosque, and the annual Quran reading competition. In 2010, the national Islamic budget is estimated to be the third largest budget component of the Prime Minister's Department. Additionally, in the past, what existed was the Majlis Kebangsaan bagi Hal Ehwal Islam (MKI). The MKI still exists and its secretariat eventually grew and morphed into the Department of Islamic Development or Jakim in the 1990s. Today, Jakim has for company several other national Islamic bodies. These bodies include the Jabatan Kehakiman Syariah created in March 1998, the Attorney General's Chambers' syariah section introduced in 2003, and the Jabatan Wakaf, Zakat dan Haji founded in 2004. The AG's Chambers' syariah section was set up, among others, to ensure that civil laws are consistent with Islamic laws, even though we're not a theocracy. Additionally in 2009, a Jabatan Penguatkuasaan dan Pendakwaan Syariah was proposed. Mind you, Islam is a state matter. And this is what makes the evidence above even more compelling. Although religion falls under states' jurisdictions, in all these instances, it is the Umno-led federal government that has clearly invested in expanding Islamic bodies' powers and scope in what may be described as a slow boil. Hence, MCA can charge all it wants that it is PAS that will bring about an Islamic state if voted into power. The evidence shows it was under Umno where there has been a steady inflation in the way Islam is and can be used to control citizens' lives. And if Umno is clearly a culprit, what is MCA doing supporting Umno? Shouldn't MCA and other BN component parties also be held accountable for the state Malaysia is in today since obviously, they did little or nothing to stem Umno's Islamicisation of the government bureaucracy? Umno and PAS: What's the difference? Yes, it is true that PAS's raison d'etre is to set up an Islamic state. And while MCA tries to unconvincingly distinguish the difference between PAS's and Umno's brand of Islam, there are more similarities between the two than MCA is admitting. Read more at: http://www.thenutgraph.com/voting-for-an-islamic-state/ | ||||||||
| Liow: Change will lead to instability Posted: 28 Oct 2012 01:11 PM PDT
(The Star) - This general election will determine if Malaysia will continue using secular laws or be an Islamic nation as propagated by the Opposition, said MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai. He said Malaysia, as a multi-racial country, was developed based on equality and the rights of every citizen. "The country has developed well under the current system. If we change this, it can lead to instability," said Liow, adding that Malaysia could not practise two systems simultaneously. "All of us, including the Muslims, agree that we should respect each other's religious rights," he told reporters after launching Malaysia's Chinese Calligraphy Stone Gallery at the Nirvana Memorial Park here yesterday. Liow was commenting on a statement by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz that Malaysia was never declared a secular state by its past leaders. Last Monday, DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang said the country's first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, had declared that Malaysia was a secular nation with Islam as its official religion. Earlier, Liow, who is also Health Minister, launched the stone gallery which features over 150 calligraphic stele. The stone slabs, carved with ancient writing, recorded historical events and ceremonial recitals across the different Chinese dynasties. Liow said the gallery marked an important milestone in preserving and expanding Chinese culture. NV Multi Asia Group founder and managing director/CEO Datuk Kong Hon Kong said the gallery would serve as a good platform to expose youths to Chinese history. Group chairman Datuk Fu Ah Kiow said the company planned to have calligraphy competitions and talks so the public could appreciate the age-old art form. | ||||||||
| Khaled: Do not sell given land Posted: 28 Oct 2012 01:09 PM PDT
(The Star) - Squatters given land titles should not take advantage of the situation by selling their plots. Pasir Gudang MP Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the squatters should be thankful to the Government for allowing them to own the land that they have been squatting on and should not sell it to a third party even if they are offered high prices. "They were allowed to own the land as most of them are poor and have nowhere else to go. They shouldn't take advantage of the generosity of the Government," he said. He was speaking to reporters after handing out quit rent notices to residents in Kampung Masai Baru here on Saturday. Mohamed Khaled said squatters should instead build proper houses for their families. "Although the land now belongs to them, they should think of all the trouble others have gone through to provide them with the titles," he said. Mohamed Khaled, who is also Higher Education Minister, added that the Government would continue to help former squatters here and address issues that affect them. "So far, the 5A Notices have been issued for residents in three settlements, namely Kampung Pasir Gudang Baru, Kampung Melayu Makmur and Kampung Masai Baru," he said. He added that residents in Kampung Melayu Pandan would also receive the notices soon. "It is, however, quite challenging for us to get the titles for the land sorted out as a large portion of it is not fully owned by the Government," he said. He added that another way to solve the matter would be to offer the former squatters houses worth RM200,000 each in a different location. | ||||||||
| Genneva: Cooking up allegations Posted: 28 Oct 2012 12:59 PM PDT
Shereen Lim The Media, BNM, relevant authorities and some dignitaries do not have the decency to speak or publish the truth despite us having repeatedly highlighted to them many times. They are the prime examples of the kind of pious commentators incapable of reporting the truth. They see themselves as the champion for the government and authorities. We deserve to be respected. We do not deserve the media and others cooking up allegations. The public has the right to know the truth without it being misconstrued. We are totally disgusted with the Media, the BNM and relevant authorities as well as to those who continue to persecute and ridicule us. For nearly a month now, much of the coverage has been filled with contemptuous remarks about Genneva Malaysia and its customers. They seem to rally against Genneva Malaysia that is entirely focused on misconceived, inaccurate and incorrect reports. a) Genneva Malaysia does not offer an Investment Plan to its customers, b) It does not fall under purview of BNM & the statement of bailout is gravely misleading. c) Genneva Malaysia does not promise or guarantee a return d) Genneva Malaysia does not have agents e) Customers acquire direct ownership of physical gold (in other words, we received physical gold).
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| Revive NFC Export Quality Abattoir, Malaysia’s food security under seige Posted: 28 Oct 2012 12:54 PM PDT
This NFCorp feedlot and abattoir is the closest in specification to the requirements of Australia's new export laws. However, its capacity is limited to 30 heads of cattle per shift per day. As such, the EQA remains imperative for the NFC project to be a complete success. Fabiani Azmi Bernama reports that a new Aussie ruling has affected cattle supply for Aidiladha. A stricter export policy under Australia's Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS) has come into effect. Azizan Omar, 48, owner of a livestock farm PB Ramunia in Batu Pahat, Johor, said that only abattoirs that had been audited and approved by the Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) were allowed to slaughter such imported animals. He said the ruling had affected mosques, associations and individuals as they could not obtain the certificate or approval to carry out the slaughter. Blog journo Fabiani Azmi says the deferred NFC Export Quality Abattoir by the government is long overdue by several years. The NFC beef project suspension needs to be lifted. Malaysia must move forward in food security and not allow the opposition and their rhetorics to set it back by 10 years. The debate continues. Defence lawyers for National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFCorp) recently issued a media statement welcoming the Attorney General's remarks, "The investigation did not reveal criminal breaches as far as the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry (MOA) is concerned." The lawyers pointed that the controversy was merely a commercial breach on the part of the ministry when it failed to perform its obligation to build an Export Quality Abattoir (EQA) in accordance with the Implementation Agreement. The EQA formed an integral and critical path for the successful implementation of the NFC beef project. It was pivotal for many of the project's stages including an Entrepreneur Development Programme (EDP) to nurture 310 contract farmers and 186,000 heads of cattle by 2014. The media statement from the legal firm Shafee & Co underscored, "The EQA, vis-a-vis the project, is the fulcrum and the very lifeline to the entire scheme of the project in all its phases."
Why the need for an Export Quality Abattoir? Quality beef comes from a wholesome food chain from 'farm-to-fork'. The best breeds are reared with the best fodder in the best of grasslands, nurtured until they are ready for slaughter at Export Quality Abattoirs. Unlike slaughter houses which are very basic in nature, an EQA encompasses the complete chain of events from slaughter to beef production in world-class hygienic systems before it is delivered to the customer and consumer. This is a mandatory standard by the international hypermarkets and supermarkets operating in Malaysia before the beef can be retailed to local consumers. It is also the preferred standard for quality meats by hotels, restaurants and cafes. Notwithstanding, discerning housewives too demand the cleanest cuts for their dinner tables. In an update, Bernama reported that only abattoirs that had been audited and approved by the Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) were allowed to slaughter such imported animals. A stricter export policy under Australia's Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS) had come into force. It quoted livestock farmer Azizan Omar having said, "I have been informed by livestock sellers that a new export policy of Australia prohibits export to buyers without proper abattoir facilities. Even though I could import the animals from neighbouring countries such as Thailand and Indonesia, they too have their own problems and they give priority to their local buyers." Gombak Agro Farm operator Noor Azzuddin Abdul Aziz said the prices of livestock had also soared by between 40 and 45 per cent due to the short supply. He said a cow previously sold at RM2,500 could cost RM5,000 while the prices of goats ranged from RM600 to RM5,000 according to the size of the animals. Ishak Hassan, manager of the Ishak Hassan Farm in Seremban, said he decided to skip doing the business this year due to the problems in the market. Signs are there in the horizon that our food security is under siege.
NFC Export Quality Abattoir needs to be revived Now that we have a clearer picture of things, will the government revive the EQA? To meet the targeted beef production schedule, the MOA in accordance with an Implementation Agreement, was obligated to build an EQA with a capacity of 350 heads of cattle per shift per day for the NFC beef project. A fully equipped EQA is estimated to cost RM60 million to build and furnish, and two years to complete. There is no EQA of this magnitude, capacity and class in Malaysia today. So it was important that the EQA be built by the MOA to fulfill the colossal production targets set by the government itself for the NFC project – 246,000 heads of cattle by 2015. Presently at the NFC in Gemas, there is only one interim mini abattoir built by NFCorp to meet NFCorp's needs. It is certified with a "Veterinary Health Mark" logo, a symbol of quality awarded to the livestock product processing plant under the Veterinary Inspection and Accreditation Programme, Department of Veterinary Services, Ministry of Agriculture Malaysia. The abattoir is also certified Halal by JAKIM. This NFCorp feedlot and abattoir is the closest in specification to the requirements of Australia's new export laws. However, its capacity is limited to 30 heads of cattle per shift per day. As such, the EQA remains imperative for the NFC project to be a complete success. Most of the quality beef that we consume are imports and come at a price that only diners fork out at fine hotels, restaurants and cafes. The best cuts from butchers at high-end supermarkets are also several notches pricier. Quality beef does come with a price to match. It is no wonder that the beef import business in Malaysia is estimated at a mega RM2 billion annually and controlled by cartels determined to see their businesses undisturbed.
National Meat Policy (Ruminant Sector) 2006 As a result, the Government introduced the National Meat Policy (Ruminant Sector) 2006 to liberate the industry and to ensure Malaysians from all walks of life, can enjoy not only quality meat from the best livestock breeds but at affordable prices. By 2015, it is hoped that Malaysia can see self-sufficiency levels rise to 40 per cent, a 100 per cent increase from current levels. Therefore in 2006, the government mooted the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) as a high impact project. To kick start, 1,500 acres in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan, was leased as a local prairie and production centre to NFCorp for 30 years to grow the beef project business. The EQA completes the 'farm-to-fork' food chain.
Benefits from an export quality abattoir An EQA allows for the preparation, processing and delivery of the best cuts with food safety in accordance with world class standards. The location, design, layout and construction of EQAs and the choice of fixtures, fittings, equipment, and storage facilities are a science in itself. Once the EQA is in place, contract farmers under the Entrepreneur Development Programme (EDP) would also have world-class facilities for their cattle to be prepared in accordance to top-notch standards. Under the EDP, entrepreneurs would comprise individual contract farmers nurturing the best of breeds. Imported at an average 300 kg in weight, the cattle are bred until they are twice their weight at 600 kg before slaughter. In the immediate term, NFCorp was looking at grooming 130 entrepreneurs and by 2015, it was hoped to groom 310 entrepreneurs to participate in this high-impact industry. Some 3,000 farm hands would also be gainfully employed in this scheme.
78,000 Metric Tonnes of Beef Products By 2015, EDP contract farmers are expected to breed and slaughter 186,000 heads of cattle while NFCorp has a target of 60,000 heads of cattle. Cumulatively, this is 246,000 heads of cattle or an equivalent of 78,000 metric tonnes of quality beef products for Malaysians. More importantly, this raises our food security by a further 20 per cent. The EQA is therefore a pivotal structure to ensure the success of the aspirations of the National Meat Policy (Ruminant Sector) 2006. To be leased to NFCorp, the government-built EQA would ensure that beef production numbers could be achieved according to targets set in the Implementation Agreement signed between NFCorp and the Government. It would also see the roll-out of the EDP that prepares 310 contract farmers to go large scale. However, the EQA remains deferred and the NFC project suspended. This would mean that Malaysia's food security is put in a vulnerable position. In the event of natural calamities or war or trade sanctions or stricter export rulings, imports could be disrupted and Malaysians would have no beef at the dinner table. Food security will indeed come under siege. Will Malaysians end up being vegetarians? It is high time that the NFC beef project is revived, the EQA is built, and a high impact industry is re ignited. Hungry stomachs will not vote.
About the Writer Fabiani Azmi is an avid reader of Malaysia Today, intelligent mainstream newspapers and Internet news portals. When not reading, he also enjoys the company of sapiosexuals. It's a highly stimulating discovery for him. Follow Fabiani @fabaz88. | ||||||||
| Despite Pakatan push, BN expects to win more than 140 seats Posted: 28 Oct 2012 09:30 AM PDT
Jahabar Sadiq, The Malaysian Insider The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) expects to win more than the 140 federal seats it took in Election 2008 despite the onslaught and talk by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) that it can capture Putrajaya in the next general election which must be called by the end of April 2013, say government sources. But BN politicians concede that as many as seven parliamentary seats in Sarawak and six in Sabah are vulnerable to PR but maintain that their stronghold on rural areas remain strong. There are 222 parliamentary constituencies and 505 state seats up for grabs in the coming 13th general election. "The worst-case scenario is winning just over 120 seats but we're confident of getting as much as we did in 2008 if not more," a senior BN official told The Malaysian Insider, saying that their calculations do not take into account the impact of another Bantuan Rakyat 1 Malaysia (BR1M) payout next January where households earning less than RM3,000 a month will get a one-off RM500 cash aid. The Malaysian Insider learnt that BN secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor expressed confidence that the ruling coalition will do as well as in 2008 during a recent talk with the Foreign Correspondents Club of Malaysia despite uneasiness over risky seats in the coalition's "fixed deposit" states of Sabah and Sarawak. It is understood that BN is expecting to lose some of the seats held by four Sabah MPs who left the coalition while the urban Chinese sentiment in Sarawak could see those seats going to PR. In Election 2008, the DAP was the sole PR component party to win a federal seat each in Sabah and Sarawak. However, the opposition has questioned BN's confidence as the ruling coalition expects to lose more seats in Sabah and Sarawak in the coming elections than before. "How is BN going to make up for losses in the fixed deposit states?" asked an opposition lawmaker when contacted by The Malaysian Insider. "BN knows it can lose up to six in Sabah and seven in Sarawak but it hopes to make it up elsewhere, especially in the peninsula where sentiment is swinging back to the government," one Umno leader told The Malaysian Insider, saying programmes like BR1M have a positive effect on voters. The BR1M began earlier this year and some RM2 billion was spent for over four million households. The BR1M 2.0 also includes a one-off RM250 for unmarried people between 21 and 30 who earn up to RM2,000. Analysts say the expanded coverage would include most of the 2.2 million first-time voters expected to cast their ballots in the next elections. There are now just over 13 million voters in the country of 28 million people. BN politicians also point out that they are expected to get back support from the Indian community, who number 1.7 million, as the coalition has been fulfilling their requests and also extended more aid to them.
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| Seat negotiations still on-going in Sabah Posted: 28 Oct 2012 09:26 AM PDT
FMT LETTER: From Dr Edwin Bosi, via e-mail I refer to the FMT article, 'DAP's gesture of goodwill to SAPP' published on Oct 27. I would like to point out that only the party chairman, cecretary and publicity secretary are allowed to speak to the press on matters concerning the party. Quoting anyone from the party without revealing their name and position is therefore inappropriate, unjust and unfair to DAP Sabah. We regret that FMT did not seek a clarification or validation on the anonymous news sources with DAP Sabah officially. For DAP Sabah, seat negotiations is still on-going within the Pakatan Rakyat framework. It is an open secret that Kota Kinabalu Parliamentary constituency and the state seat of Sri Tanjung will be contested by DAP. We have through our Pakatan Rakyat seat negotiations, been allocated two other MP seats and six state seats. Some of the state seats are in Kota Kinabalu. Our chairman Jimmy Wong has stated that DAP Sabah is still negotiating with our partners PKR and PAS so that we can contest in at least 10 MP and 20 state seats. I would like to reiterate here that DAP Sabah has never discussed with any party other than PKR and PAS on seats allocation. However, the door of cooperation with local parties is still open. DAP Sabah prefers that all local parties outside PR to emulate APS and PPPS so that the seat negotiations within the framework of Pakatan Rakyat can be resolved and realised the soonest. The writer is DAP Sabah secretary
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| The timber mafia is larger than you suspect Posted: 28 Oct 2012 01:00 AM PDT
Gani and Hishammmuddin told the ICAC that the money actually belongs to Umno and that Michael Chia was only the courier or bagman for Umno. The ICAC told the 'official Malaysian delegation' that they (the ICAC) were going to 'freeze' the money, but for only three years. After the three years 'time bar' (or by 2011), the money would be released and thereafter allowed to leave Hong Kong. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin If you have not yet read Friday's report by Sarawak Report, Million Dollar Bribes Disguised As 'Donations' – UMNO's Ever Changing Stories!, you can do so HERE. Then read the three reports below. Basically, Malaysia Today first exposed this timber 'commission' scandal involving Umno Sabah back in 2004, soon after Malaysia Today was launched. That was eight years ago. However, no one appeared concerned about the matter then. Today, the issue has met with much brouhaha -- as if this is something that has just surfaced very recently rather than something that has been going on for decades since Sabah first became part of Malaysia back in 1963. East Malaysian politics is the politics of timber. Any idiot or dimwit knows this. A Sabah warlord is not a Sabah warlord unless he has at least RM200 million or RM300 million to his name. And that is why Sabah politics is big money. If you want to buy someone worth RM200-RM300 million, the price definitely has got to be huge. RM1 million or RM2 million does not even come close. The Sabah warlords are known to spend RM3 million to RM6 million a night at the casino. So what is RM1 million or RM2 million? RM1 million or RM2 million is pittance. It is not enough for even a few hours at the roulette table. Musa Aman, the Sabah Chief Minister, was already worth RM600 million when he took office, according to his official asset declaration. Today, he is estimated to be worth not less than RM1.5 billion, second only to the Sarawak Chief Minister in wealth -- who also made his pile from timber. And trust me, even those Barisan Nasional turncoats who have joined Pakatan Rakyat recently, or are about to join Pakatan Rakyat soon, are also worth millions. And they, too, made their money the same way. If these are the people Pakatan Rakyat is attracting then it makes no difference whether Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat rules Sabah.
This is how Sabah's dignitaries travel around the State, in pomp and style Anyway, as usual, Malaysia Today does not like to repeat what others are already reporting. Malaysia Today only wants to focus on The Untold Story. That is why we do not talk about the Shahrizat Jalil RM250 million cow scandal. As it is, we are already suffering from over-exposure from that story that is close to giving us indigestion. So let me fill in the blanks regarding this Umno Sabah 'donation' scandal instead and tell you The Untold Story of this episode. Umno Sabah gives out timber concessions to its cronies and warlords at way below market price (or underpriced like hell) and it collects a commission (or kickbacks) on the export of logs, mainly to Japan. The money, however, is paid in Hong Kong. And note that there is no open tender for giving out timber concessions. It is all done on a 'negotiated' basis and awarded to the lowest bidder that offers the highest under-the-table 'commission'.
And this was why Michael Chia -- a man Musa Aman says he does not know but photographs of the two show that they know each other -- was caught in Hong Kong. But what most do not know is that Michael Chia and Musa Aman are not the only ones involved. There are many other people involved as well -- such as a lawyer by the name of Richard Barnes. When this matter first 'exploded' in 2008 (four years after Malaysia Today had revealed the scandal), Attorney-General Gani Patail and Home Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Hussein went to Hong Kong to try to 'settle' the matter with the Chinese authorities (an act known as kowtim in Malaysia). Gani and Hishammmuddin told the ICAC that the money actually belongs to Umno and that Michael Chia was only the courier or bagman for Umno. The ICAC told the 'official Malaysian delegation' that they (the ICAC) were going to 'freeze' the money, but for only three years. After the three years 'time bar' (or by 2011), the money would be released and thereafter allowed to leave Hong Kong. Then we have the Rural and Regional Development Minister, Mohd Shafie Apdal, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's buddy, who was then the Deputy Chief of Umno Sabah. However, he told Najib that he was totally in the dark about what was going on. Yes, that's right, every man and his dog in Sabah knew about this Hong Kong drama except the Deputy Chief of Umno Sabah. The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Nazri Abdul Aziz, who said, "Opposition receives political donations too, not just Sabah Umno", (read that report here), is also involved. Michael Chia met Nazri in Parliament House to hand over RM3 million in cash as the 'fee' for the latter to help the former resolve this matter. And that flashy car that Nazri's son drives (see picture below) actually belongs to Michael Chia.
Further to that, AG Gani Patail and CM Musa Aman's brother, Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, are related by marriage. Anifah's wife is sister to Dr Johan Samad, the Deputy Director of Yayasan Sabah, who is in turn married to Fazar Arif, the sister of AG Gani Patail's wife. Hence what we are seeing here is an all-in-the-family mafia. And where there are no blood ties, money ties make up for it. This scandal, if not properly resolved, may result in Barisan Nasional losing at least 10 of the 25 Parliamentary seats in Sabah. Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Tawau, Sipanggar, Penampang, Beaufort, Keningau, Pensiangan, Tuaran and Kota Marudu can most likely fall to the opposition. Nine of those ten seats are Chinese-Kadazan-Dusun seats, except Beaufort, which is a Malay seat. Three other seats -- Kota Belud, Ranau and Papar -- would also be close fights and could go either way. Hence the likelihood of half the Parliamentary seats in Sabah falling to the opposition is not an impossible scenario. And if that happens then the state can fall as well. That is how serious this matter has become. It seems, according to the financial audit done by Price Waterhouse, about RM3 billion from Yayayan Sabah has mysteriously 'evaporated', mainly timber revenue. So this is no small issue and the voters are terribly upset about the whole thing. If Pakatan Rakyat is clever and if they know the correct way in playing up this issue, Sabah may fall and they might even win enough Parliamentary seats to march into Putrajaya. My concern is that Pakatan Rakyat will instead fight amongst themselves over seat allocations, which will allow Barisan Nasional to retain Sabah. If this state of affairs continues, Umno may have to replace the head of Umno Sabah as soon as the State Assembly is dissolved and general elections are called. The voters will then have to be told that Musa Aman will not continue as Chief Minister if Barisan Nasional retains the state. Then, most likely, only two seats will fall to the opposition -- Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan -- and Barisan Nasional will sail through with enough seats to form the state government and at least 23 Parliamentary seats in Sabah to deny Pakatan Rakyat the federal government. *********************************************
Sabah Umno official: 'We have nothing to hide' (The Star, 17 December 2004) - KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Umno is of the view that everything is in the clear for its new RM35mil, 11-storey headquarters now under construction in the city. "As far as Sabah Umno is concerned, I can assure you that everything is above board," state Umno information chief Datuk Rahim Ismail said, when contacted over a letter that appeared in the website of a local newspaper on Dec 3. A similar letter was posted on an online newspaper on Wednesday. The letter insinuated that something was amiss in the deal for the construction of the Sabah Umno building on a 0.48ha site in Karamunsing. Among the questions raised were why Umno did not use its own 2ha land in Sembulan to construct its headquarters and who was overseeing the construction. The letter purportedly written by someone known as Haniffa, raised various questions on who was the real owner of the new building and if there was any relationship be-tween Sabah Umno and the company developing it. Rahim, who is a member of the building committee, declined to say anything else other than stressing that everything about the project was above board. It is learnt that Sabah Umno would let the matter rest although the party discussed it at a meeting a few days ago. The explanation given was that the building, for which the groundbreaking ceremony was held on May 16 last year, had the blessing of the Umno headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. Umno officials said yesterday that the land was donated by a private company, with the full knowledge of the party leadership. They said they decided not to construct their building on their own 2ha land at Sembulan because the party wanted to keep it as a prime city property. "There is nothing secret about this deal," said a senior Sabah Umno official. The new Sabah Umno headquarters, which is expected to be completed next year, would not only house the party's offices but also banks, shops and a hall with a seating capacity for 2,000 people. *********************************************
HK anti-graft probe widens (Malaysia Today, 8 November 2008) - KOTA KINABALU: Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has widened its investigations to Sabah over a money-laundering case involving millions of ringgit. Three of the officers arrived here on Wednesday seeking information on a Sandakan businessman, a lawyer and a top state politician as well. They left yesterday after securing details and documents on the trio to help them in a probe into a Hong Kong bank account believed to be holding more than RM100mil. The account has been frozen. It is understood that the ICAC has been probing allegations of money laundering in Sabah for more than three years. They had briefly detained the businessman in Hong Kong in mid-August in connection with the money-laundering allegations. He was released on bail pending the completion of the probe. At a press conference yesterday, Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) investigations chief Datuk Mohd Shukri Abdull confirmed that the ICAC had sought its assistance. "We cannot reveal details as it is their investigations," said Shukri, who declined to state the specific nature of the ICAC probe. He said the ACA was not conducting an investigation into the matter but was helping the ICAC under the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act. Shukri was in Sabah to witness the official handing-over of duties from Sabah ACA director Deputy Comm Latifah Md Yatim to the new director, Deputy Comm Jalil Jaaffar. Latifah has been promoted as the new Penang ACA director. *********************************************
Musa denies business links with Michael Chia (Free Malaysia Today, 12 April 2012) - Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman today said corruption allegations made against him by whistleblower website Sarawak Report was an act of defamation and conspiracy by certain quarters with the agenda to topple the Barisan Nasional government. "I deny all these allegations. I wish to put it on record once again that I have no business association whatsoever with an individual named Michael Chia," he said today. Musa said these allegations were trumped up by his political opponents dan desperate individuals who would resort to anything to gain political mileage. "It is unfortunate that there are people out there who will keep using recycled allegations to get to the top when election is near. "The people of Sabah can decide for themselves based on my track record. Not faceless and nameless people who use blogs to serve their political interest," he added. Musa said he would give full cooperation to the authorities if needed but in the meantime his responsibility was to ensure the wellbeing and development of Sabah. He said he did not wish to waste his time entertaining these frivolous allegations, adding that his main priority was to serve the people of Sabah and to administer the state. Caught with money Last week Sarawak Report published leaked Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) documents that revealed Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail allegedly shelving files and refusing to prosecute Musa and his brother Anifah over allegations that the Sabah chief minister had corruptly issued timber licences to his brother worth tens of millions of ringgit. Investigations were prompted after Musa's "agent" Michael Chia was arrested in Hong Kong in 2008 and MACC investigations later unearthed details of the secret timber concessions within the family and Gani's close ties to the Aman family. Chia was detained by the Hong Kong authorities at the Hong Kong International Airport for alleged money trafficking. He was caught trying to smuggle out of Hong Kong some S$16 million (RM40 million). Apparently when he was caught, Chia told the Hong Kong authorities that the money was for Musa. | ||||||||
| Lembah Pantai tough for BN due to split Malay vote, Nong Chik says Posted: 27 Oct 2012 07:41 PM PDT
Md Izwan, The Malaysian Insider The Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition will have a tough time winning back the Lembah Pantai parliamentary seat, Umno's Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin said today while blaming it on attempts by "certain" political parties to divide the Malay-Muslim vote. The Malay-Muslim community forms roughly 60 per cent of Malaysia's population and is split three-ways between the country's biggest Malay party, Umno, Islamist opposition party PAS, and PKR, seen as an urban liberal party. Political parties have sparred over issues such as the implementation of hudud laws — the Islamic penal code — in an attempt to gain support from the Malay community ahead of the 13th general election. "[It] cannot be denied the Umno-BN machinery will face fierce competition in the general election here. But I feel there is a bright chance to win. "[The] barrier (halangan) to [a BN victory] arises from certain parties in the country that try to split the Muslims in the country," Raja Nong Chik said after attending a Hari Raya Aidiladha celebration at Pantai Baru this morning. Raja Nong Chik, who is seen as a likely candidate from Umno for the parliamentary seat, said that preparations have already been made and the party machinery is impatiently waiting for the prime minister's green light. In Election 2008, Umno Wanita chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil failed to defend the Lembah Pantai hot seat, suffering a surprise defeat to Nurul Izzah Anwar, the daughter of Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Nurul Izzah won the seat with 21,728 votes while Shahrizat and an independent candidate received 18,833 votes and 489 votes, respectively. Earlier this month, Shahrizat had openly declared her support for Raja Nong Chik to be the Umno candidate for the Lembah Pantai seat in the coming election. Shahrizat had said that none was more qualified than Raja Nong Chik, who is also an Umno Supreme Council member, saying that he had worked hard in the Lembah Pantai area. "Actually, I've supported Datuk Raja Nong Chik since three years ago but only today I'm declaring it," said the former minister whose family has been linked to the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal.
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| Merger of 5 PKNS assets approved by Federal Treasury, says Khalid Posted: 27 Oct 2012 07:36 PM PDT
(Bernama) - The merger of five assets belonging to the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) into a single group asset transferred to a wholly-owned subsidiary of PKNS had received the approval of the Federal Treasury. Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said thus there was no necessity for him to reply on the issue which was raised by several parties because the PKNS deputy general manager (corporate) Datin Paduka Norazlina Zakaria had already given a reply on the matter. He was commenting on the call by Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar that Abdul Khalid, who is also the PKNS chairman, give a full explanation on the claim that the PKNS board of directors had approved the sale of the five PKNS assets worth RM321mil. Noh said the five assets were Menara PKNS Petaling Jaya worth RM90mil, Shah Alam Convention Centre (RM97mil), Shah Alam PKNS Complex (RM85mil), Bangi PKNS Kompleks (RM42mil) and Wisma Yakin Kuala Lumpur (RM7mil). Noh, who is also the Selangor Barisan Nasional deputy chairman, made the call at a function, here on Sunday.
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| Posted: 27 Oct 2012 06:27 PM PDT
We need New Politics. We need a New Malaysia. We need New Malaysians. We need a Malaysian of Democrats. And this New Politics, New Malaysia, New Malaysians, a Malaysian of Democrats, etc., have to be one that is tolerant of criticism -- even if that criticism is 'God does not exist, religion is bullshit, and those who believe in all this nonsense are enslaving themselves to a doctrine from the Dark Ages'. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin Anwar: 'Kenyataan Soi Lek hina Islam' (Sinar Harian) - Ketua Pembangkang, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim menyifatkan kenyataan dilontar Presiden MCA, Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek tentang hudud satu penghinaan nyata terhadap agama Islam. Dakwa Anwar, tindakan Soi Lek itu amat memalukan dan tidak mampu dipertahankan lagi. Katanya, kenyataan Soi Lek yang dilakukan di hadapan Datuk Seri Najib Razak, juga bermaksud menghina beliau sebagai Perdana Menteri dan tetamu khas konvensyen tersebut. "Saya sifatkan ianya sebagai satu serangan yang biadab dan telah menyinggung perasaan umat Islam," katanya yang dipetik dalam blog miliknya, semalam. Soi Lek sebelum ini mengeluarkan kenyataan bahawa pelaksanaan hukum hudud akan menjejaskan 1.2 juta peluang pekerjaan dalam sektor perkhidmatan dan pelancongan serta boleh mencetuskan keresahan rakyat terhadap Islam. Beliau selepas itu meminta semua anggota parti MCA supaya meningkatkan lagi publisiti dalam usaha menepis dakyah pembangkang. Katanya, lebih parah lagi, kenyataan Soi Lek itu seolah-olah dipersetujui Najib. "Kebisuan Najib tentang perkara ini jelas menunjukkan beliau berada di pihak yang salah," katanya. *********************************************** Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim says that the MCA President, Chua Soi Lek, has insulted Islam. Just for the record, I too have whacked Chua Soi Lek for instigating the Penang Malays in my article We didn't start the fire. And this is what one reader commented: RPK, No matter how much you try to instigate May 13 - Version 2.0, realize that you are wasting your time. The Malays today are far, far different from those in 1969...they are wealthy and drive new-ish fancy cars...do you really think they are going to Mengamuk like the old days? Today's Melayus have lost their balls. So, when I whack the MCA President, I am instigating May 13 Version 2.0. When the Opposition Leader whacks Chua Soi Lek, he is the greatest Malaysian alive -- a true 'Towering' Malay. The chap, Ramesh Chandran, who posted that comment accuses me of instigating May 13 Version 2.0 and yet he closes his comment with: Today's Melayus have lost their balls. Is this not a contradiction? You accuse me of racism and then you throw the Malays a challenge by saying that the Malays have lost their balls. So how do you want the Malays to prove that they still have balls? By taking to the streets and mengamuk? Malaysia Today appears to attract comments from readers with the lowest intelligence and intellectual level. No wonder the thinking readers rather just read and remain quiet. They refuse to comment and be associated with brain-dead Malaysians. Anyway, I would have expected that statement by Anwar Ibrahim to come from people like Ibrahim Ali, Hassan Ali, Zulkifli Nordin, and those of their ilk, but not from someone like Anwar, a so-called Democrat. A Democrat may disagree with what you say but he or she will definitely respect and defend your right to say it. Anwar appears to have lost this ability. You may have a warped opinion, but that does not mean you are not entitled to this warped opinion or that you lose your right to express this warped opinion. After all, probably 80% of the world believes in the existence of God and they profess some form of religion. They will also express their views about their religion. And the other 20% of the world that does not think this is true would consider the 80% as silly and superstitious sub-humans, at least in mentality. But do the 20% stop the 80% from having these beliefs and from expressing these beliefs as much as they may think these are extremely silly beliefs? Why is it only those who believe in God and profess a religion have rights whereas those who do not believe in God and do not profess a religion do not have rights? And when those who do not believe in God and do not profess a religion express their views, they are accused of 'insulting' so-and-so religion. This 'you are insulting my religion' allegation is being carried a bit too far. God is supposed to be kind, forgiving, compassionate, just, fair, and so on. On the other hand, God is extremely intolerant and God has appointed 'agents' to roam around the world to punish those who 'insult' Him. This sounds like a very short-tempered and vindictive God who is even worse than the person you love to hate -- Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. At least even if Dr Mahathir detains you under Operasi Lalang you finally get to go home. Dr Mahathir does not shoot you or bomb your house because you have insulted him, like what your God has commanded you to do. Perkasa, Pekida, Umno, the government, etc., accuse the Christians, DAP, MCA, the non-Muslims, the church etc., of insulting Islam. And they want action taken against these people. Whether these (non-Muslim) people really did insult Islam or this is something these Muslims perceive and is just something in their minds is not important. As long as someone is perceived or imagined to have insulted Islam, those are grounds enough to punish him or her for this 'crime'. We can expect this from the government and the government supporters. We do not expect this from the opposition, in particular those who are projecting a Democrat image, and certainly not from the Leader of the Opposition. We need New Politics. We need a New Malaysia. We need New Malaysians. We need a Malaysian of Democrats. And this New Politics, New Malaysia, New Malaysians, a Malaysian of Democrats, etc., have to be one that is tolerant of criticism -- even if that criticism is 'God does not exist, religion is bullshit, and those who believe in all this nonsense are enslaving themselves to a doctrine from the Dark Ages'. If we are not yet ready for that then Malaysia is NOT yet a nation of Democrats and hence we lose the right to talk about democracy. And certainly the Opposition Leader should lead by example and be the first to demonstrate he is a Democrat and not just another Perkasa, Pekida, Umno, etc., by another name. |
Again, he spouted the "I'm a cop and can arrest anyone" spiel.
"We must act very fast... because we don't want to create an unfair business decision. Delays lose money but we must also make sure that it must comply with all the regulations … that is what we are trying to do," Khalid (picture) told a press conference in Parliament.
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