Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Lajim offers assistance to graftbusters
- Teen summoned for frolicking in park upset and embarrassed
- Don’t confuse the people, ex-IGP tells cops
- We were only chatting, says two men in car
- Non-Muslims not targeted by Kelantan government, says PAS
- Paper trails show Musa-Chia link
- MP slams daily over 'khalwat manipulation'
- Lynas hits another bump in Malaysia
| Lajim offers assistance to graftbusters Posted: 10 Dec 2012 07:30 PM PST
(The Sun Daily) - Beaufort MP Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin has declared his willingness to assist any investigations into corruption allegations involving awarding of timber licenses to "well connected" individuals in Sabah. "I believe (that) my knowledge, experience and insider information on the workings of Umno and government at the state and federal level can assist the investigation," said Lajim in a statutory declaration made at the Kota Kinabalu High Court on Monday. Lajim, a former Umno Supreme Council member, had left the party in July to be a PR-friendly independent MP and was later stripped of his position as deputy housing and local government minister. A copy of the statutory declaration was also uploaded onto PKR's strategic director Rafizi Ramli's official website. "Timber has long been been a lucrative source of financing for politicians and government officials in Sabah. "From my own experience as Sabah deputy chief minister, I have had suspicions that timber licenses were granted to personalities close to top government officials and politicians in the state," he said. Explaining further, Lajim said this allows individuals involved to sell timber at below market-value and receive the difference in the form of kick-backs, credited into various accounts overseas, and eventually transferred back to benefit local politicians and officials. Lajim's declaration forms a part of new "evidences" which will be submitted by Rafizi and a delegation from his National Oversights and Whistleblower centre, to Hong Kong's anti-corruption authorities, urging them to reopen investigations into alleged ties between timber trader Michael Chia and Sabah chief minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman. Musa's alleged ties with Chia was first exposed by whistle-blower site Sarawak Report in April, after the latter was caught trying to leave the Hong Kong International Airport with RM40 million in Singapore currency. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Nazri Abdul Aziz had told Parliament in October that "no elements of corruption" was found against Musa after anti-graft authorities in both countries have ceased their probe into the case. It was then reported that Chia had allegedly told the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) that the RM40 million belonged to Musa, but Nazri subsequently said the money was only a "contribution" to Sabah Umno. In response, Lajim sworn that throughout his term as member of Umno Sabah liaison committee, he was never aware of any discussions to solicit the RM40 million "donation" or any declaration that the sum was received.
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| Teen summoned for frolicking in park upset and embarrassed Posted: 10 Dec 2012 03:49 PM PST
(The Star) - The 17-year-old teenager, who was issued a summons for allegedly giving his girlfriend a "piggy-back ride" at a public park, is upset and embarrassed following the incident. The teenager, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he had a tough time explaining to his mother that he was innocent and that he and his 15-year-old girlfriend did nothing indecent. The teenager was given the summons for allegedly "piggy-backing" his girlfriend while jogging at Taman Tunku Anis at about 5.30pm on Oct 20. "The incident was traumatic for me and my girlfriend because although I am not an expert in council by-laws, I think what I did was merely having fun with my girlfriend. It was far from an offence. "We were just fooling around in broad daylight like any other teenager but the officer who approached us said it was improper for us to act like that in public. "He continued giving us a lecture on morality and when I thought that we would be let off with a warning, he issued us with the summons," he said yesterday adding that he was now in Kuala Lumpur after completing his SPM examinations. Summonses had also been issued to two non-Muslim men were for allegedly embracing each other when they were found in a car parked near the Sultan Ismail Petra Airport at midnight on Oct 31. Both have denied the allegations. The action against the four led to an outcry by various groups which likened it to imposing the Syariah law of close proximity or "khalwat" on non-Muslims. The teenager also claimed he had argued with the officer as it was unfair to penalise someone when a verbal warning would suffice. "When I got home that day, I showed the summons to my mother. "She was very upset at first but when she saw the nature of the offence written in the summons, she believed that I had done nothing wrong. "My mother thinks I should not have been issued with the summons and that is why she has brought up the matter with lawyers to ask their opinion on the matter," he added. He said the news about the incident spread and many assumed that he was involved in "hanky-panky business" with his girlfriend. "All my friends wanted to know what happened in the park. But when I told them that my girlfriend was merely on my back, they did not believe me and after seeing the summons, my friends will now think twice about hanging out with their girlfriends anywhere. "They are now afraid to even go to the park with their girlfriends," she added. He said he had been under some stress during the SPM examinations because of the incident. "But I believe I did okay because my conscience is clear and my family is with me," he said.
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| Don’t confuse the people, ex-IGP tells cops Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:49 PM PST
(The Star) - Police have been urged to divulge the "true" crime statistics instead of merely highlighting the reduction in street crime. Former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said "creating a false reality" would only confuse the public, resulting in decreased confidence in the police. "The police should show the complete statistics. It is not logical for crime to be down when cases are being reported everyday," he said. "The statistics are all on street crime but what about serious crime such as house break-ins, robberies and vehicle thefts? "I am not saying that the police are trying to manipulate facts but at least be transparent with such statistics," he said at a press conference organised by the Malaysian Crime Watch Task Force (MyWatch) at a hotel here yesterday. Musa also urged the police to strategically deploy personnel in crime hotspots to increase their effectiveness. "What is the use of patrols when crimes are still occurring?" He added that "quality was more important" as there was no point in having numerous patrols if these were not effective. "I love the police force," Musa said. "I want to see it improve for the safety and benefit of the people." On allegations by a businessman that he, as well as MyWatch, had been bankrolled by the underworld, Musa said: "If he has a grudge against me, then just focus on me. Don't involve this NGO." Musa said he would give the businessman three days to apologise or he, together with MyWatch, would take legal action.
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| We were only chatting, says two men in car Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:45 PM PST
No loitering: The area around Kota Baru airport where the two men were summoned. (The Star) - The two men in Kota Baru who were issued summonses for indecent behaviour insist they were only chatting inside a car. The men claimed a Kota Baru Municipal Council officer had demanded money from them so the matter could be resolved, reported Sin Chew Daily.  Dubious document: The summons issued to the two men. One of the men's relatives claimed at a press conference that the officer had asked RM500 for "settlement" before reducing it to RM200. The relative, who declined to be named, alleged that the officer only decided to issue them with summonses when the two men, aged 27 and 43, refused to pay him. It was earlier reported the council had issued summonses to the two non-Muslim men for allegedly embracing each other in a car parked near the Sultan Ismail Petra Airport at midnight on Oct 31. The duo claimed they were watching planes land in the night when they were approached. The relative said the two men would not pay the fine even if it was reduced to 10sen. He hoped the council would investigate the matter for corruption and abuse of power. The other summonses were issued to a 17-year-old teenager for allegedly giving a piggy-back ride to his 15 year-old girlfriend while jogging at Taman Tunku Anis at about 5.30pm on Oct 20. PAS Supporters Congress has produced copies of the summons and claimed the officer involved had no power to issue it. Congress adviser Jeff Lee Weng Chun said the officer was an administrative assistant who had abused his power.
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| Non-Muslims not targeted by Kelantan government, says PAS Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:35 PM PST
Ida Lim, The Malaysian Insider PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali today disagreed that non-Muslims are targeted by the PAS-led Kelantan state government in its enforcement of local council laws, saying that they "don't have to fear". Last weekend, The Star had reported that Kelantan enforcement officers had fined four non-Muslims for khalwat (close proximity), a crime under syariah law applicable only to Muslims; but PAS had quickly pointed out the summonses were for indecent behaviour, an offence under local council laws that is enforceable on all. Mustafa (picture) was asked if non-Muslims would feel targeted by the Kelantan state government even when it is enforcing local council laws and not Islamic laws. He disagreed, pointing out that such local council laws are enforceable on both non-Muslims and Muslims, while Muslims could also be liable under Islamic laws. "This is all MCA's political agenda," he said at a press conference at the PAS headquarters here. He said that the indecent behaviour fines, which were issued in October, were being used by the MCA to gain political mileage and attack the Chinese-based party's political foe DAP ahead of the 13th general election. "So this thing, MCA just wants to make a political score against DAP. "For us, this matter that was mentioned incorrectly by The Star, by MCA has created a perception that's not correct, created confusion; MCA made a statement that's not accurate," he said. He said that allegations of the Kelantan enforcement officers soliciting bribes of RM500 from two of the non-Muslims to "settle" the indecent behaviour fines were not true, saying that reports to the relevant authorities should be made if the claims are true. "(That's) not correct, we checked. If true, take legal action. If true, make complaints to police, report to police...We also don't want if this officer is not right." Recently, non-Muslim hairdressers in Kelantan were reported to have also been slapped with fines for having customers of the opposite gender, breaching a local council by-law that bars women hairstylists from working on men and vice-versa — sparking a storm over the position of Islamic laws. In the run-up to the 13th general election, the BN coalition has increasingly tried to discourage non-Muslim voters from voting for Pakatan Rakyat by saying that PAS would implement the Islamic penal code, hudud, and create an Islamic state.
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| Paper trails show Musa-Chia link Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:16 PM PST
Rafizi says his team will meet again with the ICAC tomorrow to hand over documented proofs. Syed Jaymal Zahiid, FMT PKR said today it has paper trails showing alleged corrupt money transfers between Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman and several timber concessionaires including businessman Michael Chia. Its director of strategy, Rafizi Ramli, revealed the documents to the press today showing fund transfers between 2005 and 2008 from supposed logging firms to overseas accounts linked to Chia. Rafizi will lead a second team to meet with Hong Kong's graft-busters tomorrow. The documents included copies of telegraphic transfer credit receipts indicating payment of hundreds of thousands of US dollars to Chia's HSBC account in Singapore, which the PKR whistleblower said would likely be payments from timber kickbacks. The money transfers were described as "deposit for concession". Rafizi pointed out that Sabah timber laws expressly state that any matter related to logging activity was the sole jurisdiction of the state government, led by its chief minister. "These transaction slips all show the transfer of money to Chia's accounts from these firms linked to Sabah timber concessions, apart from further transfers made to purchase luxury items for Chia's wife or cars, or transfers to Musa's son," he said. Fall-out partners? The papers were said to have been provided by Chia's own partners in Hong Kong due to a possible fall-out, he added. "These are documents that only they would have access to as they are from these British Virgin Island (BIV) offshore accounts. We cannot access them on our own. "I trust that they are genuine and this is what we will surrender to the ICAC tomorrow," he said at the party's headquarters here. He claimed the partners are ready to testify and meet with the island state's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) should it open another probe on Musa and Chia. Recently, the government claimed Musa had been cleared of any wrongdoing by the ICAC after it found insufficient evidence to link him to the RM40 million "donation" money to Sabah Umno.
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| MP slams daily over 'khalwat manipulation' Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:29 PM PST
(fz.com) - Liew claimed that The Star was exploiting a situation where not many of its mostly non-Muslim readers could distinguish between hudud (Islamic criminal law), Islamic family laws, khalwat (close proximity) and municipal council's indecent behaviour rule. DAP MP Liew Chin Tong today accused The Star newspaper of allowing itself to be used as a "cheap tool for a political party pursuing its racialist agenda". "The Star's further exploitation of the Kelantan summons for indecent behaviour issue on its front-page today entitled "Khalwat issue heats up" is a clear proof that a very desperate Barisan Nasional will do anything to manipulate facts and concoct stories," Liew said in a statement. "Of the three pages of reporting under six different headings in The Star today, only the part involving PAS Supporters Congress advisor Jeff Lee Weng Chun was new. "The rest were regurgitation of earlier news reports, even after PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali categorically denied that there were any khalwat cases involved," he added in his statement titled "When the election is around the corner, MCA-owned The Star is no better than Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia." Liew claimed that The Star was exploiting a situation where not many of its mostly non-Muslim readers could distinguish between hudud (Islamic criminal law), Islamic family laws, khalwat (close proximity) and municipal council's indecent behaviour rule. "By lumping all together, The Star wants to paint a picture to its mostly non-Muslim readers that PAS is an extremist party in the hope of frightening non-Muslim supporters of PAS and Pakatan Rakyat. "It's a shameful, immoral and devious act of The Star to allow itself, a daily mainstream newspaper, to become a cheap tool for a political party pursuing its racialist agenda," he said.
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| Lynas hits another bump in Malaysia Posted: 10 Dec 2012 12:49 PM PST
(The Age) - Lynas has been forced into its fourth trading halt in a month after the Malaysian government called on the Australian rare earths miner to export all its waste generated by the plant.
The miner requested the halt ahead of an announcement by the company following comments by four Malaysian government ministers released yesterday demanding that Lynas remove all the residue or face having its temporary licence revoked.
"Should Lynas fail to comply with this condition, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) is empowered under section 22 of the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984 (Act 304), to suspend or revoke the TOL and order Lynas to cease operations," the statement released by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said, the New Straits Times newspaper reported.
"The government will not compromise the health and safety of the people and the environment, in dealing with the issue of Lynas." Advertisement
Shares in Lynas's closest rival, the US-based Molycorp, surged 20 per cent in New York in reaction to the news – the biggest one-day jump since it listed.
The statement followed local reports that Lynas's Malaysian managing director, Mashal Ahmad, had said the waste products from the Kuantan plant could not be exported because of international laws, the Times stated.
But Lynas said yesterday in Malaysia the reports were inaccurate and that it would convert the residue into a commercially safe product called Synthetic Aggregate, which would then be exported to other countries.
The Australian company has faced political and legal troubles in Malaysia over the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP). Lynas started production at the controversial plant in late November.
A Lynas spokesman declined to provide further comment ahead of the company's announcement.
Lynas has shot to prominence as Australia's challenge to China's monopoly on global production of rare earths, a group of metallic elements of strategic importance due to its vital role in the manufacture of rechargeable batteries, wind turbines and tablets.
Shares in Lynas have plunged more than 60 per cent since February as a result of the extended delays and uncertainty surrounding the project. Lynas shares last traded at 60.5 cents.
Before the latest setback, there were signs the company had turned a corner after what the company said were decisive court victories over Malaysian activists.
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