Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Dr M: I told Petronas to enrich my son
- PAS ready to meet Selangor Sultan to explain Nurul Izzah issue
- Log tale
- Muslims can't leave Islam: Dr Mahathir
- Six NGOs urge France to investigate SUARAM over Scorpene report
- Ex-Perlis mufti backs Nurul Izzah, says ‘no compulsion in Islam’
- Nurul Izzah may face action over Islam remark, says deputy minister
- Where is the oil fund?
- Kohilan, three MIC reps gave nod to Batu Caves project
- Sultan regrets Nurul’s remarks
| Dr M: I told Petronas to enrich my son Posted: 06 Nov 2012 06:40 PM PST
The former premier mocks a reporter who asked an embarrassing question. Syed Jaymal Zahiid, FMT Dr Mahathir Mohamad today mocked a Malaysiakini reporter for questioning him on lucrative multimillion ringgit petroleum contracts involving Petronas and SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd, of which his son Mokhzani is vice-president. The visibly annoyed former prime minister, who is adviser to the national oil company, said he had used his influence with Petronas to ensure that SapuraKencana win the business. "Yes, of course, he is given it because I instructed Petronas," he told the reporter. "You can put that in your paper." "I presided over everything. I told them, 'Please give to my son and not to anybody else'." The reporter's question came during a press conference that followed the presentation of a patron award to Mahathir from the Malaysian Institute of Planners (MIP). The reporter raised the question in defiance of a plea by the event organisers that the media confine the session to town planning and other issues related to the function. The reporter asked if Mahathir thought there was a conflict of interest in the award of two contracts, worth RM836 million in total. Mahathir replied: "That is what I've been doing all the time. Even the time when I was prime minister, everything goes to my children. "But when everything goes to the children of other PMs, you don't want to mention because he is a nice man." Mahathir left shortly afterwards, cutting the press conference short. An event official later told FMT the reporter should have "been more respectful". "We wanted the press conference to be confined to the event," he said. "It's okay that he wanted to ask the question, but he could have framed it in a more tactful way." Reuters reported last week that Allied Marine & Equipment Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned unit of SapuraKencana, was awarded a RM700 million underwater services contract for three and a half years by Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd. Another wholly-owned unit, Kencana HL Sdn Bhd, was awarded a RM135.8 million engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning contract from HESS Exploration and Production Malaysia BV for an integrated gas project in the Kamelia Field in the North Malay Basin. The contracts were announced in two stock exchange filings last Thursday.
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| PAS ready to meet Selangor Sultan to explain Nurul Izzah issue Posted: 06 Nov 2012 06:33 PM PST
Mohd Farhan Darwis, The Malaysian Insider PAS leaders today said they are ready to meet the Selangor Sultan to give an explanation over the allegations that Nurul Izzah Anwar had supported freedom of religion for Malays. Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, a PAS central committee member, did not dismiss the possibility that the king, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah did not receive Nurul Izzah's actual statement. "I am convinced the Sultan did not get Nurul (Izzah)'s actual statement...if not, I myself can meet the Sultan to tell." "I am close enough with the Sultan...I can bring the actual statement to the Sultan," Dr Dzulkefly (picture), who is also the Kuala Selangor MP said during a press conference in Parliament today. Utusan Malaysia carried a report on its front page today, saying that the Selangor of Sultan was shocked with Nurul Izzah's statement in the forum: "Islamic State: Which Version, Whose Responsibility" in Subang Jaya last Saturday. The PAS Dewan Muslimat today also expressed support for Nurul Izzah, stressing that the attacks on the PKR leader was carried out by political foes who had pre-judged her before listening to her explaination. "This issue has been politicised and intentionally magnified (diperbesarkan)," the Kota Raja MP Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud said in the same press conference. Nurul Izzah has since then denied supporting apostasy among the Muslim community, and yesterday said she will take legal action against Umno-owned dailies Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian for allegedly twisting her statement.
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| Posted: 06 Nov 2012 06:03 PM PST
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| Muslims can't leave Islam: Dr Mahathir Posted: 06 Nov 2012 03:39 PM PST
Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad joined Muslim conservatives today in dismissing the view that there is no compulsion in Islam, telling those professing the faith not to get too "carried away by western ideals". "We are Muslims. We do not change our religion," the influential former prime minister told a press conference this afternoon. "Others ... their beliefs perhaps permit them (to convert). We should not be too taken by western thoughts." Dr Mahathir said that such freedom, if allowed, could lead to racially-charged arguments, even among those in the same religion. "If we're free to do this and that, in the end, we start to produce films that ridicule other religions and then we fight among us. "So do not be too carried away by western ideals. A man can marry a man, a woman can marry a woman... and the family is destroyed," he said. Dr Mahathir was asked to wade into the controversy surrounding remarks made by PKR's Lembah Pantai MP, Nurul Izzah Anwar, who recently expressed her support for freedom of religion for all Malaysians, including Malays, in a forum last Saturday. Her remarks drew widespread backlash among conservative Muslim groups and Umno hardliners, who accused the PKR vice president of supporting "apostasy". But Nurul Izzah has denied this and yesterday said she would take legal action against Umno-owned dailies Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian for allegedly twisting her statement. The PKR leader has, however, found support from popular Islamic scholar Datuk Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, who said in an article in Sinar Harian today that there is no compulsion in Islam. "After hearing her explanation, I understand what she meant. The 'no compulsion' is from the aspect of practice in the religion of Islam. "If truly there were compulsion, this country's government would certainly take action against a Muslim individual, for example a Muslim woman who does not wear the tudung (headscarf)," he told the Malay daily. The Univesiti Sains Malaysia (USM) lecturer told the newspaper he had written an article two years ago titled "Iman Tidak Boleh Dipaksa (Faith Cannot be Forced)", and added that the content was "the same" as what Nurul Izzah had stated. "Malays cannot be forced and [they] believe voluntarily. But, through preaching, a person can be brought back to the faith," he was quoted as saying. Race and religion issues are inseparable in Malaysia, where the Malays — who make up 60 per cent of the 28 million population — are constitutionally defined to also be Muslims. The country's supreme law states that Islam is the religion of the federation but also provides for other religions to be practised freely. In Parliament today, a deputy minister Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim said legal action may be taken against Nurul Izzah for purportedly insulting Islam. "There are no such provisions for now, but it can be included under provisions on insulting Islam or causing Islam to be insulted. "Anyone who orally or in written form mocks or causes Islam to be degraded, can be imposed with a penalty of not more than RM3,000 or jail of not more than two years, or both," the deputy minister in charge of Islamic affairs said.
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| Six NGOs urge France to investigate SUARAM over Scorpene report Posted: 06 Nov 2012 03:33 PM PST
(Bernama) - Six non-governmental organisations (NGOs) today urged the French government to conduct an investigation on Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) for wrongly filing a report in 2009 on the purchase of two French-made Scorpene submarines by Malaysia. Young Malaysian Journalists Club (YMJC) president, Dzulkarnain Taib said the NGOs had handed over a joint memorandum to the French Ambassador to Malaysia, Martine Dorance at the embassy, here at 2.30 pm today. Besides YMJC, the memorandum was also signed by Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia, Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia, Malaysia Malay Network, Malaysian Crime Prevention Awareness Board and Malaysian Consumerism Protection Board. He said the memorandum demanded the French government to investigate SUARAM for acting as a bogus non-governmental organisation and had manipulated the French justice system in the Scorpene probe. "SUARAM's false pretension could threaten the long-established relationship between Malaysia and France," he told Bernama here today. Dzulkarnain claimed SUARAM had acted in bad faith to claim itself as a bona fide representative of the Malaysian people and wrongfully used this charade to hoodwink the French courts to be appointed as the plaintiff or parti civile vis-avis the Scorpene issue.
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| Ex-Perlis mufti backs Nurul Izzah, says ‘no compulsion in Islam’ Posted: 06 Nov 2012 03:29 PM PST
(The Malaysian Insider) - There is no compulsion in Islam, popular Islamic scholar Datuk Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin has said in his defence of PKR's Nurul Izzah Anwar who has been under attack from Umno-linked conservative Muslim groups over her recent remark on the subject of faith — a hot button topic in mainly Malay-Muslim Malaysia. The still influential former Perlis mufti was weighing in on the controversy that has erupted following the PKR vice president's statement at a public forum on "Islamic State: Which version, Whose Responsibility?" in Subang Jaya last Saturday, with several religious hawks suggesting that her remarks meant she supported Muslims renouncing Islam and turning "murtad" or apostate. "After hearing her explanation, I understand what she meant. The no compulsion is from the aspect of practice in the religion of Islam. "If truly there were compulsion, this country's government would certainly take action against a Muslim individual, for example a Muslim woman who does not wear the tudung (headscarf)," he told Malay daily Sinar Harian. The Univesiti Sains Malaysia (USM) lecturer told the newspaper he had written an article two years ago titled "Iman Tidak Boleh Dipaksa (Faith Cannot be Forced)", and added that the content was "the same" as what Nurul Izzah had stated. "Malays cannot be forced and [they] believe voluntarily. But, through preaching, a person can be brought back to the faith," he was quoted as saying. Mohd Asri was also reported saying that Nurul Izzah's initial remark could have been misconstrued because it was not explained in detail. He added the first-term federal lawmaker had contacted him to help explain to the public her statement and that he agreed with her remarks that there was no compulsion in Islam. The Lembah Pantai MP, who is expected to defend her parliamentary seat in the coming 13th general election, was reported by state news agency Bernama as saying that no one should be compelled to adopt a particular religion and that this applied to Malays as well. Following the outcry, she has been forced to deny that she was supporting apostasy or encouraging Muslims to renounce Islam. Race and religion issues are inseparable in Malaysia, where the Malays — who make up 60 per cent of the 28 million population — are constitutionally defined to also be Muslims. The country's supreme law states that Islam is the religion of the federation but also provides for other religions to be practised freely.
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| Nurul Izzah may face action over Islam remark, says deputy minister Posted: 06 Nov 2012 03:20 PM PST
Mohd Farhan Darwis, The Malaysian Insider Legal action may be taken against PKR vice president Nurul Izzah Anwar for purportedly insulting Islam, a deputy minister in the prime minister's department told Parliament today. Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim's statement comes following allegations that Nurul Izzah had expressed her support for freedom of religion for all Malaysians, including Malays, in a forum last Saturday. "Lembah Pantai (MP Nurul Izzah) said Malay-Muslims are free to choose their religion. In other words, (they) can exit Islam; that is apostasy...what's the punishment that can be imposed on Lembah Pantai?" Sri Gading MP Datuk Mohamad Aziz had asked her in a supplementary question today. "There are no such provisions for now, but it can be included under provisions on insulting Islam or causing Islam to be insulted," Mashitah said during Question Time today. "Anyone who orally or in written form mocks or causes Islam to be degraded, can be imposed with a penalty of not more than RM3,000 or jail of not more than two years, or both," the deputy minister in charge of Islamic affairs said. Nurul Izzah has denied supporting apostasy and yesterday said she would take legal action against Umno-owned dailies Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian for allegedly twisting her statement.
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| Posted: 06 Nov 2012 11:51 AM PST
How many more financial scandals that have emptied our national coffers can Malaysia afford? By Chua Jui Meng, FMT The RM250 million Cowgate fracas has hardly settled and now we have the RM40 million Sabah Umno crony scandal. If the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) had not been hijacked, low-income Malaysians today would be enjoying affordable beef. We will not be paying about RM27 for a kilogramme of beef now when it was only about RM7 per kg in 2000. The NFC project would have been successful if the RM250 million had been distributed to 1,000 experienced cattle breeders nationwide, with each getting RM250,000 to expand their herd of cattle. What knowledge or credentials do Shahrizat Abdul Jalil's husband and her children have to justify them to be given the project allocation? Now we have Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz's defence of Sabah Umno crony timber tycoon Michael Chia. After defending Chia in Parliament, saying there was nothing wrong with Chia carrying RM40 million in a suitcase for Sabah Umno, we are shocked by his son Nedim's connection with Chia. Nedim was seen driving a more than RM500,000 Hummer registered in the name of Michael Chia. Not only that, pictures of Nedim wearing a Richard Mille Tourbillon (model RM 002 V2) watch worth RM1,072,000 have surfaced in social network Facebook. What is happening to Malaysia and its ruling lawmakers? Scandals that expose their enormous wealth are surfacing regularly while our RM502 billion federal debt continues to climb. How many more financial scandals that have emptied our national coffers can Malaysia afford? Petronas was set up in 1974 and its first CEO Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah recently revealed that there were plans for the establishment of a Tabung Warisan Petrolium (National Petroleum Heritage Fund) for the future of Malaysians when our oil wells run dry. Has there been any such oil fund set up? As far as I know there has never been a disclosure by the government of the existence of such a fund. With the billions or even trillions of ringgit in oil revenue over some four decades, there is absolutely no excuse that is acceptable to Malaysians for this tragic betrayal of the people's trust by our "oil sheikhs … Mahathir, Abdullah and Najib". Norway, where they have oil in the North Sea, the country's oil fund known as Norway Pension Fund stands at US$656 billion or RM2 trillion. And the country has a population of only five million people. UAE-Abu Dhabi Investment Authority's oil-revenue sovereign wealth fund is at US$627 billion or RM1.9 trillion. Almost all oil producing countries have established their own oil funds for their peoples' future but not Malaysia. This is a serious indictment of the present regime. Instead, after 55 years, the corrupt BN government has given us a RM502 billion federal debt that is fast growing. The Petroleum Act 1974 must also be amended to remove the prime minister's absolute powers over Petronas and its finances. Now, no one has the right to question the prime minister's decision. Only the prime minister, not even his deputy, is privy to Petronas' accounts. Living in debt
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| Kohilan, three MIC reps gave nod to Batu Caves project Posted: 06 Nov 2012 10:10 AM PST
(The Sun Daily) - It's official - all 19 members who attended the full board meeting of the Selayang Municipal Council voted in favour of approving the Dolomite Avenue Park project in Batu Caves in 2007. Despite earlier denials and assertions by some councillors that they were neither party nor privy to the approval process, minutes of the meeting held on Nov 29, 2007 - obtained by theSun - show otherwise. Deputy foreign affairs minister Datuk A. Kohilan Pillai, who was a councillor between 1997 and 2008, had voted in favour of the project. So did the three councillors from the MIC – Rajakupal Sinnathamby, Jayakumaran Govindasamy and Rajandran Muniandy. Both Gerakan, of which Kohilan is a member, and the MIC, have recently accused the current Pakatan-led Selangor government of approving the project. On Oct 26, former MIC president and works minister, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, spearheaded a demonstration at the Sri Subramaniar Temple at Batu Caves - which is beside the project site - calling for a stop to the project. Kohilan, who had joined the scores of protesters, has since vehemently denied his involvement in the project's approval, claiming that only a "planning permit" was issued during his tenure. Such a permit is also referred to as a "development order" which allows immediate development. Kohilan has reportedly claimed that the application from Dolomite was basic and did not indicate details. But documents show that the application was submitted with detailed layout and building plans. The minutes also show that approval was given for dual-development - 18 units of three-story shop-lots and two tower blocks – one of 25-storeys and another of 29. In a twist of irony showing that local councils can work efficiently if they want to, council president Datuk Zainal Abidin Azim issued the go-ahead on Nov 30 – just 24 hours after the full board endorsed the approval. The minutes also showed that approval was "subject to conditions" and these included those recommended by the Geosciences and Minerals Department which has since briefed the state government on non-compliance. It is learnt that the department indicated that the developer had failed to comply with some of the conditions set, especially the construction of the Geobrugg that should have been done before the work on the shop lots had begun. Yesterday, theSun reported that the council had also defied objections from the Selangor Department of Environment (DOE) which had expressed its reservations on development which is in close proximity to the limestone hills. |
| Sultan regrets Nurul’s remarks Posted: 06 Nov 2012 10:08 AM PST
(The Star) - The Sultan of Selangor has expressed regret and surprise at a statement by PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar that Malay Muslims are free to choose their faith under the religious freedom factor. Selangor Islamic Affairs Council (Mais) chairman Datuk Mohamad Adzib Mohd Isa said Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah totally rejected any view that Malay Muslims were free to choose another religion and denounce Islam. In a statement here yesterday, Mohamed Adzib said: "As the adviser to the Sultan of Selangor, Mais will assist him to be cautious, sensitive and firm on anyone who challenges the sanctity of Islam, whether in terms of ideology or practice, particularly in Selangor." Nurul Izzah, who is Lembah Pantai MP, was reported as saying at a forum on Saturday that no one should be compelled to adopt a particular religion and this applied to the Malays as well. Following a public outcry over her statement, she denied she was supporting murtad (apostasy) or encouraging Muslims to renounce Islam. She told reporters at the Parliament lobby yesterday that she was ready to meet the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) to explain her remarks. Jais director Datuk Marzuki Husin said the MP's statement was akin to saying all religions are the same. "This is not correct as Islam is not the same as other faiths," he said, stressing that Jais could act against Nurul Izzah if it has information on what she exactly said at the forum. |
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