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97 cows for me and 3 cows for you Posted: 02 Oct 2012 08:08 PM PDT Hence trade and commerce is very crucial to Islam. And the distribution of wealth (zakat) is one of the tenets of Islam alongside praying, fasting and performing the pilgrimage (Haj). And in Islam it is mandatory that every year you pay 2.5-3.0% of your wealth as zakat. This zakat is then distributed to the needy, poor, orphans, people too old or too sick to work, travellers, people in debt, etc. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin This was an e-mail sent by a friend in the UK to another friend in the UK. Both are Malaysians although I have not revealed their names. I thought it would be interesting to read the exchange. Obviously you need some proper understanding of what is meant by socialism. Give me a call to meet up for a sensible discussion. Hopefully you will then realise the trash you are circulating has nothing to do with socialism. Brown's "socialism" was a continuation of Reagan/Thatcher free market for the greedy to take all they could take in an unregulated market. Free market is not about rewarding those who worked hard. Free market is about giving the descendants of land and cattle thieves (the lords and ladies of the manor) and the generations of the slimy greedy bloodsuckers the freedom to accumulate more wealth by using their existing wealth, power and connection to screw the majority of the population.  I am saddened that a nice and intelligent guy like you is circulating trash on behalf of those bloodsuckers who wish to divert attention from their despicable greed that caused the economic and financial disaster we are all facing today. I am currently in Malaysia, best wishes. Basically, my two friends above were debating the workings of 'western' socialism. Let me join the fray (or throw the cat amongst the pigeons) and add 'Islamic' socialism to the discussion. Muslims would normally argue that Islam is not a religion but a way of life (adeen). However, not every Muslim practices what they preach. Hence we tend to find a lot of hypocrisy amongst Muslims -- as we also find amongst the other religions that preach love but invade other countries since the last 1,000 years and have never stopped doing so until today. If you were to study Islam in depth, you will find that Islam is a combination of socialism and capitalism. For example, Islam teaches you that doing business is better and more virtuous than working for someone. Prophet Muhammad was a businessman, as was his first wife who owned the business that the Prophet was managing. And so on. Now, as much as most Muslims would never want to admit this (and will whack me for saying it), the first 'Holy War' was actually a war concerning trade. This first 'war' at Badr (a village south of Medina on the road to Mekah) was a caravan raid and was meant to cripple Mekah's position as the centre of trade for the Arabian Peninsular. At that time, Mekah was the centre of commerce and this resulted in it also being the centre of religion, or vice versa. People from all over did their pilgrimage to Mekah and at the same time engaged in trade. If Medina wanted to replace Mekah as the new centre, it would have to first cripple Mekah's trade supremacy. And to achieve this the Prophet attacked the trade caravans on route to Mekah. Before the war of Badr, many caravan raids were conducted and the biggest 'battle' was supposed to be the one passing through Badr. Hence while the Islamists would insist that the first 'holy' war of Badr was about religion, I will insist that it was about trade, although it can be indirectly regarded as about religion since whichever became the centre of trade invariably would also become the centre of religion. In short, trade and religion went hand-in-glove and to be the centre of one you must be the centre of the other. Let me put it another way. The Prophet's forces attacked the trade caravans not to convert these 'pagans' to Islam but to disrupt the trade routes and cripple Mekah's supremacy as the trade centre of the Peninsular. Mekah, in turn, sent an army to Badr not because the Prophet was propagating Islam but because he was disturbing Mekah's trade. The fact that one force was Muslim and the other 'pagan' was incidental. That is my interpretation of the events and is based on history and not theology. And the Islamists for sure will not agree with my interpretation of events -- but that is their problem, not mine. Hence trade and commerce is very crucial to Islam. And the distribution of wealth (zakat) is one of the tenets of Islam alongside praying, fasting and performing the pilgrimage (Haj). And in Islam it is mandatory that every year you pay 2.5-3.0% of your wealth as zakat. This zakat is then distributed to the needy, poor, orphans, people too old or too sick to work, travellers, people in debt, etc. In short, you are encouraged to do business rather than work for someone so that you can become wealthy and so that once you are wealthy you can take care of those less fortunate than you. So, as I said, Islam is a combination of capitalism and socialism. Islam wants you to create wealth so that you can share this wealth. Now tell me, how many Muslims will understand this or will agree with this? Of course, the manner in how you make your money and how much profit you make is also an issue. But let's not go into that or else this piece is going to turn into a thesis. The long and short of it would be no one starves or sleeps on the streets under Islam's capitalist-socialist system. But the reality is, there is more poverty in Muslim countries than in non-Muslim countries plus more exploitation, discrimination, injustice and so on. So, the system may be good but the people living under that system do not comply and deviate from what should be. And that is why I always say that changing the system (or the government) is of no use unless the people themselves are prepared to reform. In theory, the Islamic capitalist-socialist system is superb. In practice, Muslim countries suck. It is not about the system or the government. It is about the mentality of the people. In Malaysia, when we scream about reforms, we normally talk about changing the system or the government. But if it is merely old wine in a new bottle nothing good is going to come out of it. Islam's capitalist-socialist system is already good enough. It is better than even some western concepts. But show me one superb Muslim country. And show me one Muslim country that changed its government and became a Shangri-La. Most times the new government was as bad or worse than the old government. Hence the best system in the world would be like throwing pearls to swine if the people are not capable and resist change.   Read more here: http://www.hidaya.org/zakat-calculator?gclid=CLXv5_HE5LICFaTHtAodKToA0g

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• Dismantle our apartheid education system
• MB S’gor: Pendirian Azmin, bukan Pakatan
• Anwar jemput peguam Scorpene beri taklimat di Parlimen
• PKR's grand strategy?
• 97 cows for me and 3 cows for you
• Squabbling in Penang PKR may get worse
• PKR MP promoting MIC leader?
• Pakatan to hold demo on poll reforms
• Suaram: subpoena finally served on Scorpene witness
• ‘Only RM10 paid to settle Talam debts’
• PAS mahu PKR elak buat kenyataan peribadi
• Azmin: Khalid to get minister’s job if Pakatan takes Putrajaya
• Record-setting wedding of Ali Rustam’s son paid for by sponsors
• Hisham says would appeal court decision on news portal’s print permit
• No quick fix for East Malaysia
• Jawapan Pakatan Rakyat kepada Chua Tee Yong
• Siapa Azmin untuk tentukan jawatan Khalid
• CAT got your tongue, Mansor?
• Sabah BN struggling to regain initiative
• Polls in December?
• Fitnah dan berniat jahat, kata presiden Gaps
• Could Malaysia's ruling coalition be swept from power?
• In Malaysia, Court Backs Right to Print a Newspaper
• Malaysia slips in Internet freedom; same ranking as Libya
• Secret Malaysian resettlement plan for dam-affected natives exposed
• Malaysia tak perlu pergerakan hak wanita
• Worker of 1Malaysia
• Five awarded RM4.06mil over unlawful detention under ISA
• Stop pretending that everything is going well
• There’s a ‘DAP ghost’ in Penang PKR
• Azmin: Kabinet bayangan pandangan peribadi Shuhaimi
• Who is lying – Chin or Wong?
• This is how it works
• Nazri: Large number of foreigners in Sabah not a threat
• Ex-wife claims Bekir has RM700mil in 111 accounts
• 'Soros must explain Suaram involvement'
• UK factory production lower as orders slump
• Britain's economy slows as firms' hiring, investment plans ease
• Suhakam mahu kerajaan iktiraf Suaram
• Subsidies important for vulnerable groups
• Only Anwar can fail himself
• Votes in the moneybag
• Malaysia’s Coming Election: Beyond Communalism?
• Traditional Medicine Act 2012: Has the government lost its marbles?
• Don’t be complacent, Lim warns Pakatan
• "Oops, My Bad," says Chegubard on 1Malaysia exercise book article
• PKR sees CAT as ‘storm in a teacup’
• ‘Friendship’ turned nightmare for Musa
• Secularism is the way to go
• Portal accused of misusing art

Dismantle our apartheid education system Posted: 03 Oct 2012 04:30 AM PDT Malaysia needs not only a new educational direction, detouring from the road of further "apartheid-isation of education" it is happily traversing but also a new breed of cosmopolitanistic-thinking educational policymakers and practitioners. A REPUBLIC OF VIRTUE Dr Azly Rahman In an attempt to engineer what seems to be a successful system of failure in a hyper-modernising state that prides itself in the slogan of "human capital" and "education for all", Malaysians seem to live with these oxymorons. In the words of George Orwell in his prophetic novel of a dystopic society of Oceania in the classic work called 1984, this means "doublespeak", in which contradictions abound in the inner-workings of the conveyor belt called education While the world continue to talk about the teaching of tolerance, global education, preparing students to become world-wise citizens, the cultivating of cosmopolitanism in human consciousness, the Malaysian public education system is still taking pride in its system of apartheid and the sustaining of educational ideology, practice, and reproduction of separateness and unequalness. Either ignored or plainly blindsided by her educational policymakers, multiculturalism and the infusion of the practices of multicultural education is absent, even though it is clear that politics and education cannot be taken as separate disciplines in order to understand the nature and future of national development. Malaysia's survival as a nation depends primarily on the re-crafting of an education system philosophically, systemically, and pedagogically sound enough to bridge the gaps between the socio-economic and cultural deficiencies brought about by the legacy of Mahathirism; one based on the use of race ideology to sustain control and to design hegemony of the Malay-Muslim race. Education as the only means for personal, social, cultural, and even spiritual and ecumenical progress can only be achieved if one goes back to the its philosophical foundations and re-look at the conception of human nature itself. In Malaysia, a legacy of British colonial policy and its tool of social reproduction, i.e. schooling, has paved the way for Malaysia's neo-colonialist strategy of a hidden system of apartheid, to ensure that the races are still separated in an unequal way. Issues and institutions in such a scenario reflect the ideology of dominance - of one race over others or the rest - blinding educationalists and policy-makers to see beyond race and religion in making sure that the "gentle profession" and "humanistic enterprise" called education is driven fundamentally by the almost ideologically-bankrupt United Malays National Organisation's (Umno's) idea of education and nation-building. Pre-schools, primary schools, secondary schools and even universities take the nature of "racial educational exclusivity". Shinning examples of this apartheid-isation of education are any all-racial schools, Mara Junior Science Colleges, and the Universiti Teknologi Mara system - all these in addition to the already apartheid-ised Malaysian Civil Service, albeit de facto in nature, whose existence is shackled by the ideology of an endangered ruling class of Malay-dominated politicians, in all its ignorance of the meaning of education, claimed superior knowledge to what that enterprise solely means. New breed of educational policymakers needed Malaysia needs not only a new educational direction, detouring from the road of further "apartheid-isation of education" it is happily traversing but also a new breed of cosmopolitanistic-thinking educational policymakers and practitioners. Beyond these, Malaysia needs most logically a regime change in toto - to allow a new political will to an educational hope for the nation; anything short of these, will bring Malaysia to a pariah or a failed state educationally and economically in an increasingly predatorily globalised state. What then must Malaysians do? Some time ago in a forum on multiculturalism and the future of Malaysian education I was asked this question: Being a multicultural society that Malaysia is, how should our education system be designed? Or, should it be designed at all? My answer was this: Education is a deliberate attempt to construct human beings that will participate in society as productive citizens. The question whether our education system should be designed or not is quite irrelevant when education, schooling, training, indoctrination, and the spectrum of ways by which the child is "schooled" are all based on intentional design. Schooling is the most contested terrain in any society; it is a battlefield or a conveyor belt for the creation of human beings. We go back one step before the question of design. In a multicultural society, who should be entrusted to design schooling - politicians or philosophers of education trained in the study of political economy and anthropology and alternative historicising? Are those designing our schooling system equipped with the varieties of philosophical perspectives in education? - Essentialism, Progressivism, Romanticism, Cultural Rejuvenation, Social Reconstructionism, Spiritual Capitalism, Technicism or even Cultural Revolution - these philosophies calls for a different perspective of what a human being is and how to draw out the potentials in each and every human being, hence the Latin word "educare", from which education comes from, meaning "drawing out..." 'Educated through schooling' But what is multiculturalism? Broader than what many of us here have conceived it connotes "many cultures" , "many worldviews" "multiple perspectives" "multiple ways of knowing" - and to bring human beings from a variety of cultures of ability and disability to enable them to reach their fullest potential - the children of all races, physically, emotionally, technologically, emotionally challenged, the culturally deficient, and many more - all these to be brought into the process of being "educated through schooling" so that each may learn and prosper and grow as critical, creative, ethical human beings who will use their knowledge and power to transform others and not to plunder and oppress. We need to embark upon a long-term project of radical education transformation based on Radical Multiculturalism as philosophy. Can we see the emergence of truly multicultural educational institutions when our policy-makers are more interested in maintaining a system of apartheid in virtually all aspects of nation-building and especially in education? What then must Malaysians do to provide a future safe enough for their children not to experience another May 13, 1969 when all hell broke loose - because of miseducation? ********************************** DR AZLY RAHMAN, who was born in Singapore and grew up in Johor Baru, holds a Columbia University (New York) doctorate in International Education Development and Master's degrees in the fields of Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies and Communication. He has taught more than 40 courses in six different departments and has written more than 300 analyses on Malaysia. His teaching experience spans Malaysia and the United States, over a wide range of subjects from elementary to graduate education. He currently resides in the United States. https://www.facebook.com/#!/azly.rahman http://azlyrahman-illuminations.blogspot.com/

MB S’gor: Pendirian Azmin, bukan Pakatan Posted: 03 Oct 2012 04:08 AM PDT Bagaimanapun, Khalid memandang kenyataan Azmin itu dari sudut positif kerana beliau dilihat boleh bekerja di peringkat Persekutuan maupun Negeri. Fazy Sahir, FMT Kenyataan Timbalan Presiden PKR Mohamed Azmin Ali bahawa Menteri Besar Selangor Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim akan ditukar ke kerajaan Persekutuan sekiranya Pakatan Rakyat memenangi pilihan raya umum ke 13 (PRU13) bukan pendirian Pakatan. Bagaimanapun, Khalid memandang kenyataan Azmin itu dari sudut positif kerana beliau dilihat boleh bekerja di peringkat Persekutuan maupun Negeri. "Saya baca kenyataan (Azmin) dari sudut positif dan nampaknya saya boleh bekerja dalam kerajaan Persekutuan dan Negeri," katanya kepada pemberita selepas mempengerusikan mesyuarat mingguan exco di sini hari ini. Tegas Khalid, "keputusan mengenai siapa akan bertanding dalam pilihan raya, siapa akan jadi (MB), hanya akan diumumkan sekiranya perlu. Tapi kebiasaannya komen ini bukan dari Pakatan Rakyat sebagai satu kumpulan. Beliau berkata demikian bagi mengulas kenyataan Azmin yang dilaporkan akhbar Sinar Harian bahawa kemungkinan beliau akan ditukar ke pentadbiran Persekutuan jika Pakatan menang PRU13. Sementara itu, menyentuh mengenai desakan segelintir pembeli rumah agar kerajaan negeri mengambil alih hutang mereka seperti dilakukan ke atas Talam Corporation Berhad, beliau berkata terdapat beberapa usaha untuk membantu. Menurutnya, kerajaan negeri meminta Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor (PKNS) memberi senarai nama pembeli rumah yang miskin untuk dibantu. "Kita bukan ambil alih hutang mereka tetapi jika fakir miskin kerajaan negeri ada beberapa usaha untuk tolong mereka ringankan masalah," katanya.

Anwar jemput peguam Scorpene beri taklimat di Parlimen Posted: 02 Oct 2012 08:43 PM PDT Taklimat itu bagi membolehkan ahli parlimen BN dan Pakatan Rakyat mendengar penjelasan mengenai dokumen hasil siasatan polis Perancis.  Jamilah Kamarudin, FMT Ketua Pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim menjemput peguam Perancis datang ke Malaysia untuk memberi taklimat kepada Ahli Parlimen berhubung kes pembelian dua kapal selam Scorpene yang sedang berjalan di mahkamah Perancis. Naib Presiden PKR R Sivarasa berkata, taklimat itu bagi membolehkan ahli parlimen Barisan Nasional (BN) dan Pakatan Rakyat mendengar penjelasan mengenai dokumen hasil siasatan polis Perancis kepada badan kehakiman negara itu. Surat jemputan yang ditujukan kepada peguam mewakili Suaram yang mengendalikan kes Scorpene di Perancis, William Bourdon dan Joseph Breham, menjemput mereka supaya datang dalam tempoh sehingga Parlimen tamat bersidang pada 22 November depan. Turut dijemput peguam mewakili syarikat pertahanan Perancis yang terlibat dalam penjualan Scorpene iaitu Direction des Construction Navales Services (DCNS), Olivier Metzner hadir memberi taklimat. "Rakyat Malaysia nak dengar tentang skandal bayaran 114 juta Euro kepada Syarikat Perimekar Sdn Bhd yang dimiliki Abdul Razak Baginda bagi tujuan 'logistical support for training'. "Tapi semua orang tahu Perimekar tidak layak dan tiada pengalaman langsung tentang kapal selam tapi diberikan kontrak bernilai lebih RM500 juta," katanya dalam sidang media di Parlimen di sini hari ini. Ahli Parlimen Subang itu berkata, taklimat itu juga membolehkan ahli parlimen mendengar kes mantan pengarah kewangan syarikat DCNS membuat tuntutan pemotongan cukai sebanyak 32 juta Euro atas alasan duit itu digunakan sebagai bayaran rasuah kepada pegawai. Anwar kini di Paris Sementara itu, Ahli Parlimen Batu Tian Chua berkata Anwar yang berlepas sejak malam semalam bagi menerima satu anugerah khas kini sudah pun berada di Paris dan akan bertemu serta menyerahkan surat jemputan itu kepada dua peguam Perancis terbabit. "Harap mereka terima dan boleh tetapkan tarikh…jika semuanya berjalan lancar Ahli Parlimen BN dan Pakatan dijemput hadir mendengar taklimat," katanya. Tian Chua berkata, taklimat itu perlu dijadikan satu peluang kepada semua mendapat gambaran jelas sekali gus dapat membetulkan persepsi rakyat mengenai skandal pembelian kapal selam yang turut dikaitkan dengan pemimpin tertinggi negara. "Kalau ada sasuatu yang tak betul kerajaan Malaysia wajar ambil tindakan susulan," katanya. Berbeza dengan sistem perundangan Malaysia yang mengikuti undang-undang British, Sivarasa berkata badan kehakiman Perancis mempunyai agensi penguatkuasa tersendiri untuk menyiasat sesuatu kes tanpa perlu bergantung kepada hasil siasatan daripada pihak polis.

PKR's grand strategy? Posted: 02 Oct 2012 08:37 PM PDT KTEMOC KONSIDERS The Malaysian Insider - Azmin: Khalid to get minister's job if Pakatan takes Putrajaya Blue-eyed Boy is making his move, or at least indicating his grand strategy - c'mon, I wanna hear some thunderous applause lah, wakakaka.  Many suspect Azmin Ali wants to be MB Selangor. I have to say I have my doubts in this regard, not that he doesn't (he actually does), but he can't be MB Selangor if he wants to be near the PM spot, starting perhaps with the Home Ministry, no doubt to control the Police and its dreaded SB, wakakaka. Yes, we may assume that our dearest Blue-eyed Boy wants to be in the federal cabinet of a Pakatan federal government and to head a very powerful ministry, Home Affairs, before he becomes the PM (as he may be fantasizing, wakakaka). Thus he has to make some sacrifices, to wit, forego the position of MB of Selangor, because Article 43 of the Malaysian Constitution won't allow him to be both, ie. MB Selangor and PM Home Minister. And how do I know he wants to take over Hishamuddin's place? Read on, wakakaka. That's right, ADUNs who are also MP cannot have it both ways, that is, by continuing to be ADUNs and at the same time, federal ministers or deputy ministers. They have to choose between being a federal minister (or deputy minister) or an ADUN. Obviously, senior party leaders who want to be MBs or CMs or State Exco members have to be ADUNs in the first place. And if they are federal ministers  they won't be allowed to hold on to their ADUN positions, and consequently no MB or CM hat to wear. Thus, as I mentioned previously, if Lim Guan Eng wants to continue being CM of Penang, and most Penangites want him to, then he can't be a federal minister, full stop! But of course he can be ADUN/CM of Penang as well as an ordinary federal MP in which case he can serve in both State and Federal Parliaments. But in participating as both a state and also a federal representative, he cannot be a federal minister. Thus if Lim GE wants to be a federal minister, he can kiss goodbye to his CM job and Ayer Putih ADUN position ... ... which I suspect is a situation 'someone' wakakaka is hoping and hinting/pushing for. According to sweetie Selena Tay  in her Free Malaysia Today article titled Pakatan's 'shadow cabinet' list, a so-called (non-existent*) 'shadow minister' could/might have 'hinted' to Sweetie that under a new Pakatan federal government, the proposed Foreign Minister(s) would probably be Kamarudin Jaffar (PAS) or Lim Guan Eng (DAP) or Elizabeth Wong (PKR), with a couple (of the trio) becoming deputies. * ta'ada shadow cabinet maka mana ada shadow minister - real bayang adalah wakakaka  It's a joke of a suggestion, and you may guess where or who that so-called self-appointed 'shadow minister' had been. For a start, none of the trio proposed has shown any specific inclination towards foreign affairs, though of course there's no denying they can play the role. Secondly, Eli Wong is more into environmental affairs and therefore should be provided a ministerial position in the appropriate sector, Environment. Kamaruddin Jaafar, OTOH, is a very close buddy of The Great One - you know, MCKK, UMNO (wakakaka), ISA-ed together, then left UMNO in 1999 (not sure whether he left voluntarily or was ejected out like Anwar?), had in his UMNO days stuck really close to Anwar when the latter was the DPM, and was said to have been assigned by Anwar to some business roles, the lot! While Anwar's devotees prepared a party (KeADILan, then PKR) as a platform to fight for his release from prison, Kamaruddin joined PAS in (I think) 1999 and stood successfully as a PAS MP in Tumpat in 1999, 2004 and 2008. I believe he was the UMNO MP in that same constituency. Since then, he had a meteoric rise in PAS and even became the Party's Sec-Gen in 2004. READ MORE HERE

97 cows for me and 3 cows for you Posted: 02 Oct 2012 08:08 PM PDT Hence trade and commerce is very crucial to Islam. And the distribution of wealth (zakat) is one of the tenets of Islam alongside praying, fasting and performing the pilgrimage (Haj). And in Islam it is mandatory that every year you pay 2.5-3.0% of your wealth as zakat. This zakat is then distributed to the needy, poor, orphans, people too old or too sick to work, travellers, people in debt, etc. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin This was an e-mail sent by a friend in the UK to another friend in the UK. Both are Malaysians although I have not revealed their names. I thought it would be interesting to read the exchange. Obviously you need some proper understanding of what is meant by socialism. Give me a call to meet up for a sensible discussion. Hopefully you will then realise the trash you are circulating has nothing to do with socialism. Brown's "socialism" was a continuation of Reagan/Thatcher free market for the greedy to take all they could take in an unregulated market. Free market is not about rewarding those who worked hard. Free market is about giving the descendants of land and cattle thieves (the lords and ladies of the manor) and the generations of the slimy greedy bloodsuckers the freedom to accumulate more wealth by using their existing wealth, power and connection to screw the majority of the population.  I am saddened that a nice and intelligent guy like you is circulating trash on behalf of those bloodsuckers who wish to divert attention from their despicable greed that caused the economic and financial disaster we are all facing today. I am currently in Malaysia, best wishes. Basically, my two friends above were debating the workings of 'western' socialism. Let me join the fray (or throw the cat amongst the pigeons) and add 'Islamic' socialism to the discussion. Muslims would normally argue that Islam is not a religion but a way of life (adeen). However, not every Muslim practices what they preach. Hence we tend to find a lot of hypocrisy amongst Muslims -- as we also find amongst the other religions that preach love but invade other countries since the last 1,000 years and have never stopped doing so until today. If you were to study Islam in depth, you will find that Islam is a combination of socialism and capitalism. For example, Islam teaches you that doing business is better and more virtuous than working for someone. Prophet Muhammad was a businessman, as was his first wife who owned the business that the Prophet was managing. And so on. Now, as much as most Muslims would never want to admit this (and will whack me for saying it), the first 'Holy War' was actually a war concerning trade. This first 'war' at Badr (a village south of Medina on the road to Mekah) was a caravan raid and was meant to cripple Mekah's position as the centre of trade for the Arabian Peninsular. At that time, Mekah was the centre of commerce and this resulted in it also being the centre of religion, or vice versa. People from all over did their pilgrimage to Mekah and at the same time engaged in trade. If Medina wanted to replace Mekah as the new centre, it would have to first cripple Mekah's trade supremacy. And to achieve this the Prophet attacked the trade caravans on route to Mekah. Before the war of Badr, many caravan raids were conducted and the biggest 'battle' was supposed to be the one passing through Badr. Hence while the Islamists would insist that the first 'holy' war of Badr was about religion, I will insist that it was about trade, although it can be indirectly regarded as about religion since whichever became the centre of trade invariably would also become the centre of religion. In short, trade and religion went hand-in-glove and to be the centre of one you must be the centre of the other. Let me put it another way. The Prophet's forces attacked the trade caravans not to convert these 'pagans' to Islam but to disrupt the trade routes and cripple Mekah's supremacy as the trade centre of the Peninsular. Mekah, in turn, sent an army to Badr not because the Prophet was propagating Islam but because he was disturbing Mekah's trade. The fact that one force was Muslim and the other 'pagan' was incidental. That is my interpretation of the events and is based on history and not theology. And the Islamists for sure will not agree with my interpretation of events -- but that is their problem, not mine. Hence trade and commerce is very crucial to Islam. And the distribution of wealth (zakat) is one of the tenets of Islam alongside praying, fasting and performing the pilgrimage (Haj). And in Islam it is mandatory that every year you pay 2.5-3.0% of your wealth as zakat. This zakat is then distributed to the needy, poor, orphans, people too old or too sick to work, travellers, people in debt, etc. In short, you are encouraged to do business rather than work for someone so that you can become wealthy and so that once you are wealthy you can take care of those less fortunate than you. So, as I said, Islam is a combination of capitalism and socialism. Islam wants you to create wealth so that you can share this wealth. Now tell me, how many Muslims will understand this or will agree with this? Of course, the manner in how you make your money and how much profit you make is also an issue. But let's not go into that or else this piece is going to turn into a thesis. The long and short of it would be no one starves or sleeps on the streets under Islam's capitalist-socialist system. But the reality is, there is more poverty in Muslim countries than in non-Muslim countries plus more exploitation, discrimination, injustice and so on. So, the system may be good but the people living under that system do not comply and deviate from what should be. And that is why I always say that changing the system (or the government) is of no use unless the people themselves are prepared to reform. In theory, the Islamic capitalist-socialist system is superb. In practice, Muslim countries suck. It is not about the system or the government. It is about the mentality of the people. In Malaysia, when we scream about reforms, we normally talk about changing the system or the government. But if it is merely old wine in a new bottle nothing good is going to come out of it. Islam's capitalist-socialist system is already good enough. It is better than even some western concepts. But show me one superb Muslim country. And show me one Muslim country that changed its government and became a Shangri-La. Most times the new government was as bad or worse than the old government. Hence the best system in the world would be like throwing pearls to swine if the people are not capable and resist change.   Read more here: http://www.hidaya.org/zakat-calculator?gclid=CLXv5_HE5LICFaTHtAodKToA0g

Squabbling in Penang PKR may get worse Posted: 02 Oct 2012 05:44 PM PDT LEAKED RECORDING: Two leaders at meeting named in report (NST) - SQUABBLING among Parti Keadilan Rakyat leaders in Penang could take a turn for the worse following a report that named two of them as the alleged perpetrators behind a damaging audio recording of a party meeting. Both leaders, however, refused to be drawn into the controversy involving the recording, in which Penang Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Mansor Othman is heard condemning Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng as a "cocky, arrogant tokong (deity)". Batu Maung assemblyman Datuk Abdul Malik Abul Kassim refused to comment on the report posted in the "pisau.net" social political blog, which linked him to one of the factions purportedly involved in exposing Mansor with the intention to kill the state PKR chairman's political career. Malik, who is also state Religious Affairs and Domestic Trade and Consumerism Committee chairman, declined to deny or confirm the report. "I have no comment," the state PKR deputy chairman said yesterday. The other PKR leader named in the report, Pantai Jerejak assemblyman Sim Tze Tzin, one of seven party leaders present during the meeting chaired by Mansor, described it as "absolute nonsense". The blog, which quoted state PKR sources, also alleged that the conversation had been recorded by Penang Island Municipal Council councillor Felix Ooi Keat Hin, who purportedly belonged to another faction within the party. When contacted, Ooi, who is also Bukit Bendera division deputy chief, categorically denied the allegation. "The state party is initiating an investigation, so I will not say anything further for now." Apart from Mansor, Sim and Ooi, the other four PKR leaders who attended the meeting were: state PKR deputy chief and Batu Kawan division chief Law Choo Kiang; Raymond Ong, who was candidate for the Bayan Baru parliamentary seat in 2004; Tanjung Youth chief Ng Chek Siang; Batu Uban branch chief Cheah Peng Guan; and, Mansor's assistant John Ooi. In the leaked recording, Mansor was also heard saying that the DAP was planning to kill off PKR in the next general election. Mansor had initially denied making the remarks but last Monday, the audio recording was aired on TV3.

PKR MP promoting MIC leader? Posted: 02 Oct 2012 05:05 PM PDT BN leader accuses incumbent S Manickavasagam of promoting MIC CWC memebr A Sakthivel for the Kapar seat.  G Vinod, FMT PKR's Kapar MP S Manickavasagam is working in cahoots with MIC central working committte member A Sakthivel, promoting the latter for his parliamentary seat, claimed a Barisan Nasional man. The senior BN leader, claiming anonymity, said this was proven when incumbent Manickavasagam promoted Sakthivel at a function on Monday at the Hoe Tian Keong Temple. "Manickavasagam said that he would like to see Sakthivel contesting for the Kapar seat in a speech at the function attended by about 1,600 people, and they all heard it," claimed the leader. Disappointed, the BN leader accused Sakthivel of using Manickavasagam to promote his own political agenda. "Manickavasagam was promoting Sakthivel because both are friends, but the latter must understand that seats allocation for the general election is decided by the BN leadership. "I don't know how Pakatan Rakyat works, but in BN we must abide by party decisions. People may get confused by Manickavasagam's announcement," said the leader. I was being sarcastic, says Manicka Manickavasagam, however, dismissed the BN leader's accusation, saying he was just being sarcastic with his remark. He said that many aspirants for the seat came to the function, including Kapar MIC division chief P Ganesan and Pemandu committee member D Ravindran. "These people just showed up. Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Deputy Minister Chua Tee Yong and Kapar MCA division chairman Song Kee Chai also attended the function. "All I said was that Ganesan and Sakthivel should pray hard so that their party leadership will choose either one of them to contest in Kapar. I was being sarcastic," said Manickavasagam. He also said that most of his speech on the day was about Pakatan's leadership in the state and its achievements. Meanwhile, Sakthivel also dismissed the BN leader's accusation, saying Manickavasagam was not promoting him for Kapar. "He didn't mean it that way. He was merely addressing the people there. As for me, I just had my meal and left the function soon after," he said.

Pakatan to hold demo on poll reforms Posted: 02 Oct 2012 05:02 PM PDT Its top leadership said the decision was made following the government's failure to meet growing calls for electoral reforms. Syed Jaymal Zahiid, FMT Pakatan Rakyat today announced its plan to hold a mass gathering on Nov 3 following the government's failure to meet demands for poll reforms, mainly the calls to clean up the electoral roll and media fairness. PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu told reporters in Parliament building here that Pakatan is expecting a crowd as big as 500,000 while the venue chosen for the event is the Bukit Jalil National Stadium. "The government has yet to meet the eight core demands made by Bersih, especially on the need to clean up the electoral roll and media fairness. "Because Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had suggested that if we want to hold any gatherings we should do it at Bukit Jalil, so we have decided to choose that place to hold our gathering," he said. Bersih and opposition leaders have repeatedly accused the Election Commission (EC) of deliberate inaction over allegations of discrepancies in the voters' roll, calling it a conspiracy to help the present government restore its two-thirds mandate in the upcoming polls. EC officials denied the allegations, saying its move to adopt the recommendations made by the parliamentary select committee (PSC) on polls reforms proved it was sincere in ensuring a clean and fair election. The PSC was set up by Najib after several protests held by Bersih and backed by the opposition threatened to shake his government, but he maintained that elections in Malaysia had always been fair. A national threat Pakatan states like Selangor claimed 500,000 foreigners had been placed in the state and registered as voters and the EC has so far failed to respond to the allegation, prompting the state government to delay holding polls should the general election be held this year. Just recently a Sabah daily published a report on the admission by a foreigner that he had purchased a Malaysian identity card for only RM1,000 and he was also a registered voter. Opposition election monitoring group Jingga 13 said today this strengthens allegations of bias against the EC and there is a continuous joint effort between the EC and the BN to ensure the ruling coalition retain power. "This is a very serious case. It is a national threat and swift action must be taken," Fariz Musa, the group's chief coordinator, told the same press conference. PKR vice-president Tian Chua said the rally was not only to voice opposition demands but the "aspirations" of all Malaysians who want clean and fair elections. The gathering will be themed "People's Uprising" and Pakatan said it will adopt yellow as the event's main colour. Yellow was also the official colour of the Bersih movement.

Suaram: subpoena finally served on Scorpene witness Posted: 02 Oct 2012 04:45 PM PDT (Malaysian Digest) - Suaram revealed that a subpoena has finally been served on one of the witnesses proposed by the human rights group to assist in the French judicial probe on alleged corruption in Malaysia's purchase of two Scorpene submarines from French naval defence company DCNS. "The inquiry is progressing and we've been allowed to tell you that the first subpoena has reached the first witness. "But I can't tell you who the witness is or when the subpoena was given for now, we have to follow the court proceedings and can only quote the court notes," Suaram secretariat member Cynthia Gabriel told a forum in Petaling Jaya last night. Suaram had in June said that its French lawyers were in the process of serving a subpoena on Jasbir Singh Chahl, allegedly a point-man in the purchase of the Scorpene submarine. However, Jasbir had then denied receiving any subpoena. Asked after the forum if the delivered subpoena this time was served on Jasbir, Cynthia merely smiled but declined to reveal the witness' identity. However, Cynthia confirmed that the subpoena was served on one of the seven witnesses which it had proposed to the French courts probing the Scorpene deal. The other six proposed witnesses were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, private investigator P Balasubramaniam, Najib's confidante Abdul Razak Baginda and the latter's spouse and father - Mazlinda Makhzan and Abdul Malim Baginda. Earlier at the 'Who is in the spotlight? Suaram or Scorpene' forum, Cynthia said the authorities had tried to paint Suaram as a multi-million dollar organisation that was capable of destabilising the government. "This is untrue. The budget of Suaram on a yearly basis is only about RM450,000. That is nothing much at all. It is only enough to pay for eight staff and run five to six campaigns a year," she said. Cynthia added that this amount was only enough to provide the staff of the NGO with a modest salary of about RM2,500 per month as opposed to five times the amount they could earn in the corporate world. Another speaker at the forum, Tenaganita executive director Irene Fernandez said the Companies Commission Malaysia's (CCM) harassment of Suaram was exactly what happened to Tenaganita - which, like Suaram, is registered as a company - when it exposed deaths of migrant workers in an immigration detention camp in 1996. "We also exposed the corruption in the whole recruiting and placement of migrant workers but the whole thing was diverted to arresting me for allegedly publishing false information. "During that period, then Registrar of Companies (now CCM) raided our office three times and charged us for not logging two EPF (Employees Provident Fund) receipts into our cash book. The judge was however fed up with the case and had it thrown out," she related. This modus operandi in the past, like now, she said, was to portray that Tenaganita was supposedly providing false financial information and having improper accounts. Fernandez (left) explained that some NGOs have opted to register as a company because unlike a society, the home minister cannot arbitrarily dissolve the organisation. Furthermore, the government was also very restrictive in the registration of societies, she said. The other speakers at the forum were Bersih co-chairperson Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan and constitutional lawyer Tommy Thomas. Cynthia and Suaram founding member R Sivarasa, who is now Subang parliamentarian, are both expected to give their statement to the Registrar of Societies (ROS) later today after the regulator roped in the police to compel the duo's cooperation under the Criminal Procedure Code. Suaram advisor Kua Kia Soong is also among those called but will only give his statement at a later date as he is overseas. When approached after the forum, Suaram's lawyer Lim Cheng Bock said the ROS is looking into Suaram's activites between 1989 to 2001 when it was then registered as a business under the name Suara Komunikasi before it became a company under the name Suara Inisiatif Sdn Bhd. "We stressed that Suaram is not and was not doing anything wrong. The transition from a business to a company was only for expansion and better accountability. "Unlike a business, you need external audit and proper accounts for a company," he said. Previously, ROS had attempted to "inspect" Suaram's office but was turned away as the NGO insisted it is registered as a company and ROS has no jurisdiction over it. ROS joined the fray after the CCM on Sept 18 declared it was charging Suaram for "confusing accounts" in two days but the Attorney-General's Chambers sent its investigation papers back to the commission. It said the papers were "incomplete".

‘Only RM10 paid to settle Talam debts’ Posted: 02 Oct 2012 04:33 PM PDT Chua Tee Yong cites 2009 documents regarding Talam's debts to Unisel and PNSB. Patrick Lee, FMT Two Selangor state-owned companies, according to the MCA, only received RM10 each from the Talam debt settlement exercise, despite being owed millions of ringgit. Pointing to 2009 documents, MCA Young Professionals Bureau Chua Tee Yong said that both Universiti Selangor (Unisel) and Permodalan Negeri Selangor Bhd (PNSB) were given these amounts. This, he alleged, was despite Unisel being owed RM248 million and PNSB RM28 million. "Assignment of Debt Agreement" documents dated Nov 3, 2009 read: "Now therefore this agreement witnesses… the sum of RM10 now paid by the assignee to the assignor." With this, Chua claimed that Unisel's financial condition had worsened, and that PNSB was made to service a RM230 million loan with an RM86 million interest. Asked if he knew of the current payment status to these two companies, he said: "You have to ask the Selangor government." The Labis MP also came up with new figures to the Talam matter, in a claim that the Selangor government over-valuated the Talam land. He said that assets acquired through the debt settlement came up to RM676 million. Also, he included the total interest cost borne by PNSB (RM86 million) and a discount given to Talam by the state government (RM36 million). Altogether, he estimated the cost of the Talam deal to be RM798 million. In July, Chua started on several exposé against the Selangor government, claiming that the administration had used RM1 billion to bail out Talam Corporation Bhd. He claimed that Selangor had done so via a RM392 million supplementary budget passed in the State's Legislative Assembly in 2009. Chua added that the state bought an additional RM676 million worth of assets from Talam. Both Pakatan and the state vehemently denied these claims, and have since appointed independent audit firms to check the Talam matter in a show of transparency.

PAS mahu PKR elak buat kenyataan peribadi Posted: 02 Oct 2012 04:27 PM PDT (Sinar Harian) - Pas memberikan ingatan kepada rakan-rakannya dalam Pakatan Rakyat (PR) agar jangan membuat kenyataan peribadi yang boleh dianggap pendirian bersama perikatan tersebut. Setiausaha Agungnya, Datuk Mustafa Ali berkata, kenyataan bersifat pribadi perlu dielakkan supaya tidak menimbulkan kekeliruan di kalangan rakyat. Beliau merujuk kepada dua kenyataan pemimpin PKR sebelum ini yang bagi beliau tidak pernah dibincangkan di kalangan pimpinan tertinggi PR. "Kenyataan pertama yang dibuat oleh Ketua Penerangan PKR Selangor sebelum ini, Shuhaimi Shafiei yang berkata, 20 pemimpin PKR akan menyertai Kabinet. "Yang kedua hari ini, Timbalan Presiden PKR, Azmin Ali dilaporkan media sebagai berkata, seolah-olah Selangor akan mendapat MB baru. "Ini juga tidak pernah kita bincangkan dan bakal memberikan implikasi negatif," kata Mustafa dipetik Harakahdaily hari ini. Beliau yang kelihatan kesal dengan kenyataan seumpama itu kerana ia bakal memberi implikasi negatif kepada rakan-rakan dalam Pakatan kerana semua keputusan sebegini perlu dibuat bersama. Azmin dipetik Sinar Harian berkata, Selangor mungkin kehilangan Menteri Besar, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim sekiranya PR berjaya menawan Putrajaya dalam Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 (PRU13). Keputusan berkenaan, kemungkinan besar dibuat oleh gabungan DAP, Pas dan PKR atas kewibawaan dan kepakaran yang ditunjukkan Abdul Khalid menjadi ketua pentadbir negeri selama sepenggal ini. Azmin berkata, keupayaan dan kejayaan beliau memimpin Selangor sehingga menyumbang 23 peratus Keluaran Dalam Negara Kasar (KDNK) juga antara faktor yang menjadi pertimbangan mereka. Katanya, perbincangan peringkat PR ada ke arah itu, bagaimanapun masih belum diputuskan.

Azmin: Khalid to get minister’s job if Pakatan takes Putrajaya Posted: 02 Oct 2012 04:06 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim is likely to be made a Cabinet minister if Pakatan Rakyat (PR) wins the general election, PKR deputy president Azmin Ali has said. He told Malay daily Sinar Harian that this would mean Khalid would vacate the Selangor mentri besar's position even if PR retains the state in the next general election. Azmin's remarks are likely to trigger speculation about whether he is eyeing a tilt at becoming Selangor MB, but he did not comment about his own plans. Azmin, who is Gombak MP, was reported saying that Khalid's corporate expertise would be better utilised at the federal level, rather than being limited to just one state, should PR take Putrajaya. Key to the suggestion to promote Khalid was the former corporate captain's success in leading Selangor, which saw the industrialised state contribute 23 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), Azmin told the Malay daily. "The decision about the possibility is made by combining the various expertise and capabilities to ensure the country's administration runs smoothly," Azmin, who is both a federal and state lawmaker, told Sinar Harian. But he said PR had yet to make a decision on the idea. "Nobody can predict his position today until the results of GE13 are announced," he was quoted as saying. Khalid is seen to be a political novice but a seasoned corporate leader. He was a member of the National Productivity Council and has broad experience in the corporate industry; he was chief executive of the state-run investment fund Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) from 1979 to 194 and was also CEO of plantations giant now known as Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad from 1995 to 2003. He had joined PKR and ran in Election 2008 where he took the Ijok state seat, beating Umno's Satuk Moamed Sayuti Said by a majority of 1,920 votes. The victory catapulted him into the pole position of Malaysia's wealthiest state. Khalid is also Bandar Tun Razak MP.

Record-setting wedding of Ali Rustam’s son paid for by sponsors Posted: 02 Oct 2012 04:02 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam's office was forced to reveal yesterday that many of the caterers and other businesses sponsored the lavish wedding dinner of the Malacca chief minister's son that drew over 130,000 guests during the weekend. The wedding has come under intense public scrutiny after national news agency Bernama reported on Sunday that 26-year-old Mohd Ridhwan's marriage to Nur Azieha Mohd Ali, also 26, lasted eight hours, with the number of guests earning a place in the Malaysia Book of Records. An official with the Malaysia Book of Records was also present to present a certificate to the chief minister. Mohd Ali's special secretary Datuk MS Mahadevan was reported by The Star today as saying much of the wedding's cost was paid for through sponsors. But he did not reveal the total cost. Mohd Ali also did not say how much the wedding cost him, but dismissed suggestions that the wedding attended by more than 130,000 people was a lavish affair. "No one was forced to attend the event, including state government employees," said Mahadevan yesterday. "This is the first wedding ceremony for the chief minister's family and every Malaccan wanted to take part. Even estate workers wearing slippers stood in line to shake hands with the bride and bridegroom. "Not a single sen was paid to these volunteers." Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers have questioned how the wedding was funded, and the revelation of sponsors will spark more questions about the appropriateness of accepting money from businesses to pay for the wedding. PR lawmakers said that even at RM10 a head, the wedding banquet would cost RM1.3 million for food and beverages alone, far more than the long-serving chief minister's salary. DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang used his Twitter account to speculate further on the cost of the wedding, saying the banquet appeared to cost RM100 a person or potentially RM13 million just for the food. But Malacca Umno executive secretary Datuk Akbar Ali responded to the DAP leaders' tweets by saying they should not assume the wedding banquet was similar to a Chinese wedding dinner. "Awak ingat ini jamuan makan malam 9 jenis seperti masyarakat Cina dengan sup sirip ikan yu. Ini cara kamu wujudkan fitnah. Ini orang yang sakit (You think this is like a nine-course Chinese dinner with shark's fin soup. This is how you create lies. This is someone sick.)" Akbar wrote on his Twitter account.)"

Hisham says would appeal court decision on news portal’s print permit Posted: 02 Oct 2012 03:55 PM PDT Ida Lim, The Malaysian Insider The home minister today said he would "like to see" an appeal of the High Court's decision allowing a news portal to seek a review of the ministry's rejection of its newspaper permit application. On Monday, the High Court here quashed the Home Ministry's decision to reject a newspaper permit application by Mkini Dotcom Sdn Bhd, the owner of news portal Malaysiakini. "Definitely, KDN (Home Ministry) will engage with the Attorney-General and, on a personal basis of course, I would like to see the matter appealed," said Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein. "But, at the end of the day, it is not for me to decide, and if there is any info that the AG requires from KDN I believe that we are working quite closely..." When asked about the basis for the Home Ministry's denial of a print permit for the news portal company, he said: "I don't know, I was not around at that time." READ MORE HERE

No quick fix for East Malaysia Posted: 02 Oct 2012 03:50 PM PDT Erna Mahyuni, The Malaysian Insider "All you East Malaysians need to do is vote out BN!" I hear that time and time again from various people in Peninsular Malaysia and it's getting frankly tiresome. I apologise to Sarawakians in advance for having to explain things on your behalf, but I have lived in your state so am not totally clueless. Unlike the many who think that all that is needed is a Braveheart-like uprising where the united peoples of Sabah and Sarawak rise up against tyranny and all that jazz. It's not that simple. And that's my biggest beef with opposition rhetoric. It oversimplifies things, forgetting context and ignoring the complexities of East Malaysia. One challenge both Sabah and Sarawak have is geography. We're far removed from West Malaysia, quite literally, and in some ways it has worked out for the best but has also made integration tricky. There are far too many assumptions on each side about the other and "getting to know" each other requires a two- to three-hour flight. Sarawak is a huge state and its terrain makes traversing it prohibitively expensive. The Penans and other interior-dwelling folk have it worse; they are forced to trek hours to the nearest transport stop to get to the nearest city. They do not have ready access to the things we city dwellers take for granted: piped water, electronic and physical media, hospitals and decent schools. Even on the outskirts of Kota Kinabalu, the state capital of Sabah, there are schools that are little more than glorified shacks with crowded classrooms and malnourished children. Don't get me started on the West Malaysian teachers who refuse their postings to Sabah and Sarawak or clamour to be sent home as soon as possible. Racial tolerance is more pronounced here. Yet, the reality is that despite the "peace" between the various races in East Malaysia, it isn't easy to get them on the same page politically. Sabah, for instance, has various splinter parties that are also quite clearly delineated by race. SUPP is predominantly Chinese, PBS is mostly Sabah Bumiputera with a few Chinese people, the Muslim Bumiputeras once mostly congregated in USNO, but the BN-friendly now are in Umno. It's not much different in Sarawak. The various communities may get along better but dig down and their politics is the same old selfish Malaysian politics. It's never about what's best for the state or the country; it's about what's best for their own communities. Let the Penans rot in the jungles so long as my community gets first pick of lucrative contracts. That is the reality of the Malaysian mindset; the preoccupation with what's best for your own kind to the detriment of everyone else. Malaysians don't seem to believe in "win-win." It's "I take everything and everyone else can go die-lah." Which explains our love for monopolies. PKR's already shot itself in the foot by refusing to co-operate with local parties in Sabah and Sarawak. How am I, as a native from Sabah, supposed to place trust in a party that made Azmin Ali Sabah PKR chief? How am I supposed to believe that Anwar Ibrahim and his cohort won't do the same thing and just hand out division chief titles to people from the peninsula as "rewards" to the faithful once the state is won? What Pakatan Rakyat should be doing is forming alliances with local opposition parties. Instead, it intends to compete against them. Of course, BN will probably end up winning because of split votes. Don't get me started on people harping on about how Sarawakians should all unite and toss its current chief minister out. Here's news for you: The reason he's still in power is because the people who have benefitted from his position like him where he is. Ponder that for a moment. It took Bruno Manser to come in and unite the various Penan tribes. It will take more than a well-meaning Swiss to unite the various factions in the two states. Sadly the people trying to play catalyst are not altruistic crusaders but those with an eye on Putrajaya. By the way, because I have to keep reminding you, Sabah did vote against BN. But BN "convinced" PBS MPs to jump ship in the biggest "frog" incident in Malaysian history. Back in the day, Anwar Ibrahim was proud to be seen as "delivering" the state back to BN. It's not that simple; it was never that simple; it will never be that simple. So word of advice to Pakatan: When three words can sum up your campaign ("BN is bad!"), you need to do a lot better.

Jawapan Pakatan Rakyat kepada Chua Tee Yong Posted: 02 Oct 2012 03:44 PM PDT Kami merujuk kepada kenyataan akhbar yang dibuat oleh Dato' Chua Tee Yong yang menuduh angka-angka di dalam Belanjawan Pakatan Rakyat 2013 adalah tidak tepat berdasarkan perkiraan ringkas beliau seperti berikut: 1.            Bentuk kenaikan gaji hasil dari dasar-dasar Pakatan Rakyat adalah kenaikan gaji guru sebanyak RM2.4 bilion (hasil dari pelaksanaan Elaun Khas Perguruan sebanyak RM500 setiap bulan bagi setiap orang guru), kenaikan gaji kakitangan awam sebanyak RM2 bilion (hasil dari pelaksanaan gaji minima RM1,100 di sektor awam dan pelarasan gaji kepada semua kakitangan) dan kenaikan gaji anggota polis sebanyak RM754 juta (hasil dari cadangan untuk membekukan pengambilan baru anggota polis sehingga tahun 2015). 2.      Mengikut perkiraan beliau, jumlah kesemua kenaikan gaji ini sebanyak RM5.1 bilion tidak selari dengan angka di dalam Belanjawan Pakatan Rakyat 2013 yang menunjukkan pertambahan gaji sebanyak hanya sebanyak RM4 bilion. Berdasarkan perkiraan mudah itu, beliau menuduh Belanjawan Pakatan Rakyat mengandungi angka-angka yang menipu dan hasil dari penyelidikan yang kucar-kacir. Jawatankuasa Dasar dan Manifesto Pakatan Rakyat yang dipertanggungjawabkan untuk menyediakan dokumen-dokumen rasmi termasuklah Belanjawan Pakatan Rakyat 2013 ada mengambil kira semua perkara ini dalam menentukan angka-angka yang digunapakai. Seharusnya Dato' Chua Tee Yong membaca sepenuhnya keseluruhan dokumen Belanjawan Pakatan Rakyat 2013 yang menerangkan pendekatan Pakatan Rakyat untuk menggunakan jumlah anggota polis sedia ada bagi memenuhi tuntutan melindungi keselamatan awam tanpa perlu menambah tenaga kerja melalui pengambilan baru. Ini berbeza dengan pendekatan Barisan Nasional yang ingin meningkatkan pengambilan baru sehingga mencecah 30% menjelang 2015, yang sudah tentu akan meningkatkan tanggungan gaji. Cadangan Pakatan Rakyat adalah dengan memfokuskan anggota polis sedia ada kepada kerja-kerja membanteras jenayah dengan menukar anggota Cawangan Khas ke Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah. Penjimatan dari langkah ini (kerana tiada pengambilan baru menjelang 2015) bolehlah digunakan untuk menaikkan gaji anggota polis. Maka, ia satu proses yang akan berjalan dalam satu tempoh, bukannya kenaikan gaji serentak kerana proses penukaran anggota Cawangan Khas melibatkan latihan dan lain-lain. Sebab itu di mukasurat 8 Belanjawan Pakatan Rakyat 2013 ada menyebut bahawa Pakatan Rakyat mengunjurkan kenaikan gaji 15% sekiranya proses ini berjalan. Oleh kerana ia melibatkan satu proses, maka ia juga melibatkan kenaikan berperingkat dalam satu tempoh masa kerana kenaikan gaji itu perlu dibiayai dari penjimatan kerana tiada pengambilan baru dalam tempoh 3 tahun. Kesan kewangan bagi tahun 2013 dianggarkan satu pertiga dari jumlah kenaikan gaji RM754 juta bagi kesemua kakitangan, iaitu sekitar RM250 juta. Jawatankuasa Dasar dan Manifesto Pakatan Rakyat memutuskan bahawa kenaikan ini boleh dibiayai dengan menyemak semula perbelanjaan untuk "Faedah-faedah Kewangan Yang Lain" (Kod Akaun: 15000) yang telah mencecah RM1.04 bilion dalam tahun 2013. Kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat akan meneliti bentuk-bentuk faedah bukan gaji untuk mengelakkan pembaziran, dengan memastikan hanya faedah bukan gaji kepada kakitangan awam disediakan pada kos yang berpatutan. Ini penting bagi memastikan Kod Akaun 15000 ("Faedah-faedah Kewangan Yang Lain") tidak melibatkan peruntukan bagi perbelanjaan yang boros. Kami yakin penjimatan dari semakan terhadap perbelanjaan faedah bukan gaji boleh menampung kesan kewangan bagi tahun 2013 yang dianggarkan RM250 juta itu. Mengambil kira pertimbangan ini, kenaikan peruntukan gaji kakitangan kerajaan hanyalah RM4 bilion seperti yang terkandung di dalam Belanjawan Pakatan Rakyat 2013. Kami mengucapkan tahniah kepada Dato' Chua Tee Yong kerana mengambil sedikit masa untuk meneliti angka-angka yang dibentangkan di dalam Belanjawan Pakatan Rakyat 2013. Namun, beliau lebih berhati-hati apabila ingin berhujah menggunakan angka kerana reputasi beliau sebelum ini pun terjejas teruk apabila angka-angka yang digunakan sering bertukar-tukar. Bagi pihak Jawatankuasa Dasar & Manifesto Pakatan Rakyat YB Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad Ahli Parlimen Kuala Selangor/AJK PAS Pusat Rafizi Ramli Pengarah Strategi Keadilan Dr Ong Kian Ming Strategis Pilihanraya DAP

Siapa Azmin untuk tentukan jawatan Khalid Posted: 02 Oct 2012 03:39 PM PDT Setiausaha Politik Menteri Besar Selangor Faekah Husin menegaskan bahawa pelantikan Menteri Besar ialah bidang kuasa mutlak Sultan Selangor. K Pragalath, FMT Setiausaha Politik Menteri Besar Selangor Faekah Husin menyoal bidang kuasa Azmin Ali dalam pelantikan Menteri Besar Selangor. "Siapa Azmin untuk membuat kesimpulan begitu? Saya tidak tahu dari mana dia dapat aspirasi begitu?" kata Faekah. Beliau mengulas laporan akhbar Sinar Harian yang melaporkan Azmin sebagai berkata,  Selangor bakal kehilangan Menteri Besar, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim sekiranya Pakatan Rakyat berjaya menawan Putrajaya dalam pilihan raya umum ke-13 (PRU13). Mengikut laporan itu, Khalid akan diberi jawatan menteri. Menurut Azmin yang juga ialah Timbalan Presiden PKR kewibawaan dan kepakaran yang ditunjukkan Abdul Khalid menjadi ketua pentadbir negeri selama sepenggal ini. Selain itu keupayaan dan kejayaan Khalid memimpin Selangor sehingga menyumbang 23 peratus Keluaran Dalam Negara Kasar (KDNK) juga antara faktor yang menjadi pertimbangan mereka, kata Azmin yang juga adalah Ahli Parlimen Gombak dan Adun Bukit Antarabangsa. Sejak Pakatan mengambil alih pentadbiran Selangor, Azmin pernah disebut-sebut layak menjadi Menteri Besar. Kuasa sultan Kenyataan baru Azmin ini boleh mencetuskan perdebatan baru di antara  kumpulan penyokong Azmin dan Khalid seperti yang berlaku sebelum ini. Faekah menambah bahawa kenyataan Azmin merupakan pandangan peribadi beliau tanpa merujuk kepada kepimpinan tertinggi Pakatan Rakyat. "Saya dapat komen bahawa kepimpinan tertinggi Pakatan Rakyat bahawa siapa jadi Menteri Besar, Perdana Menteri dan Menteri tidak dibincangkan," kata Faekah. Beliau turut menegaskan bahawa kuasa melantik Menteri Besar terletak di tangan Sultan Selangor. "Menurut undang-undang tubuh negeri, sultan mempunyai kuasa mutlak dalam pelantikan Menteri Besar Selangor "Walaupun Pakatan mempunyai calon (setelah menang pilihan raya umum), kena rujuk sultan," kata Faekah.

CAT got your tongue, Mansor? Posted: 02 Oct 2012 03:34 PM PDT The deputy chief minister (I) should clear the air if he thinks he has been framed over the 'cocky, arrogant, tokong' controversy. Five months ago, PKR state chief and Deputy Chief Minister I Mansor Othman let the "CAT" out of the bag but now denies ever having done so, that is, uttering the words "cocky, arrogant, tokong" (CAT) in reference to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. Jeswan Kaur, FMT No one should be ashamed to admit they are wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that they are wiser today than they were yesterday. – Alexander Pope Five months ago, PKR state chief and Deputy Chief Minister I Mansor Othman let the "CAT" out of the bag but now denies ever having done so, that is, uttering the words "cocky, arrogant, tokong" (CAT) in reference to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. Mansor apparently made the "CAT" remark on Lim who is also DAP secretary-general during a private meeting between him and some PKR local members in May. Details of the meeting were leaked and published in verbatim in a blog "Gelagat Anwar" in June. But then Mansor is not the first to define Lim as "CAT"; similar remarks were in the past made by former PKR local leaders like independent MPs Zahrain Md Hashim of Bayan Baru and Tan Tee Beng of Nibong Tebal. However, in Mansor's case, his on-off denial in having said those words to Lim has put the former in an uncomfortable position in the eyes of Penangites, particularly supporters of Pakatan Rakyat. In what has become an embarrassing episode for Mansor, the "CAT" fiasco has, as feared by DAP national chairman Karpal Singh, been capitalised by ruling Barisan Nasional to gain political sympathy from the rakyat. Hoping to halt further damage to the Pakatan image, Karpal wants Mansor to clear the air on the "cocky, arrogant, tokong" controversy. Karpal believes Pakatan can resolve the issue amicably as it involves two individuals and is not between two parties. The question here is, what is taking Pakatan so long to douse the "CAT" fire which is being kept alive by BN sycophants like Perkasa, which keeps raising doubts in the minds of the people on Pakatan's capability to manage the country should it secure victory in the coming 13th general election. While Pakatan decides how best to end the "CAT" controversy, Umno crony – Media Prima-owned TV3 – decided to do the dirty work for the government when it aired on its 8pm Buletin Utama more than once the audio recording of the details of the meeting. Berani buat berani tanggung There is a Malay saying that goes "berani buat berani tanggung" (if you dare do it, then dare face the music) and now it is left to Mansor to do the decent thing – own up to the fact that he did call Lim a "CAT". In any case, the rift between Lim and Mansor cannot be disguised. Mansor should have known better than to make such remarks although uttered during a closed-door discussion involving Mansor and some PKR local members. To laugh off the "CAT" issue that has been taken to "greater heights" by Pakatan's nemesis Umno is not going to help Mansor save both his face and his political career. If the utterance "cocky, arrogance and tokong" were made to vilify Lim, then it is a lesson learned the painful way by Mansor. Mansor is not the first politician in the country's history to have maligned his superior nor will he be the last to do so. There was Mukhriz Mahathir, now the International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister, and the son of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who had openly called for then prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to step down. Then Umno Youth chief, Hishammuddin Hussein, refused to take any action against Mukhriz, dismissing the remark as a personal opinion. Mahathir himself had chided his successor Abdullah for being "stupid" and in May 2008, the former announced he was qutting Umno as he had lost confidence in Abdullah's leadership and would rejoin the party only when Abdullah stepped down as prime minister and Umno president. Such show of gutter politics has always been there and it is another matter that no one had the guts to confront Mahathir over such an act. Where "CAT" goes, if indeed Lim is cocky and arrogant, then there is a place and time to raise the issue instead of indulging in petty gossip as Mansor has done, a move which has led many to question Mansor's capability as deputy chief minister. To now chicken out of the "CAT" issue and dump blame on his detractors is not going to work wonders for Mansor. On the contrary, it is having the courage to say "yes, I did" that will save Mansor's day. Rotten apples best discarded Perhaps the "CAT" blunder is a blessing in disguise for it has given rise to the need to discard the rotten apples in Pakatan's fold. It seems that Zahrain and Tan were not the only rotten apples in the DAP-controlled Penang; there are more with Mansor being one of them. READ MORE HERE

Sabah BN struggling to regain initiative Posted: 02 Oct 2012 03:29 PM PDT As an opposition candidate, defector Wilfred Bumburing will have the support of two former Tuaran MPs to woo voters making him a formidable candidate.  Joseph Bingkasan, FMT KOTA KINABALU: If there was one thing that MP Wilfred Bumburing did for the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition when he defected to the opposition in July, it was to force the disparate  BN branch in Tuaran to unite. With the opposition in the state, seen by the BN as their 'fixed deposit', gaining ground,  the parliamentary constituency of Tuaran has always been shaky as could be seen by the surge in support for the opposition in the last election. There has always been a fear within the ruling coalition that the defection of top Sabah BN leaders to the opposition would have a domino effect around the state. The exit in quick succession from the BN by MPs from Tuaran (Bumburing) and Beaufort (Lajim Ukin) as well as a Senator (Maijol Mahap) and a host of senior political leaders once aligned to Sabah Umno has caused the once mighty coalition to pause. In Tuaran, the initial shock and constant quarelling resulting from the departure of former Upko deputy president Bumburing who is also its BN chairman, seems to ended for the moment. Bumburing had cited disillusionment with the BN's inability to resolve the longstanding question of how hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants had been registered as voters and were now determining the future of the state as among his reasons for leaving. Several senior leaders of Upko joined him in forming a new party, Angkatan Perubahan Sabah (APS), to work with the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition in the coming election. According to sources, Pakatan leader Anwar Ibrahim has given Bumburing an assurance that he would have a say on the candidates to contest in constituencies where the Kadazandusuns are the majority. Bumburing, who won the Tuaran MP seat in the 2008 election, is expected to defend his seat against the potential BN candidate, his former colleague Wilfred Tangau, the Upko secretary general who made way for him in the 2008 election. Tuaran comprises the state seats of Kiulu and Tamparuli now held by PBS and Sulaman by Umno. 'Formidable' Bumburing Once considered a BN stronghold, it is now a toss up. Tangau won the seat in the 2004 election when he polled 17,722 votes against PKR's Ansari Abdullah who garnered 8,555 votes. The BN saw its winning margin drop significantly in 2008 when Bumburing polled 17,645 votes to Ansari's 11,023 votes. Independent Ajin Hazin Gagah managed 879 votes. READ MORE HERE

Polls in December? Posted: 02 Oct 2012 03:27 PM PDT This is because Najib's trump card is the budget goodies and if the polls are held this year, the voters will be tempted to vote for BN in order to obtain the goodies next year. Selena Tay, FMT Now that the Budget 2013 has already been tabled, political analysts are again speculating on the date of the 13th general election. Many are of the view that the polls will be held only after February. But this columnist thinks it can still be held this year, the latest by Dec 15 (after the Umno general assembly which ends on Dec 1). This is because Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's trump card is the budget goodies and if the polls are held this year, the voters will be tempted to vote for Barisan Nasional in order to obtain the goodies next year. After the goodies are distributed, he will have no more weapon or trump card. Therefore to maximise the effect of the feel-good factor, he holds on to the goodies now to be used as a carrot. According to the old folks of the Chinese community, perhaps the devil has gotten hold of the polls date and that is why it is difficult for everyone in BN to get it back. So much for the devil and the date. With regard to the budget presentation last week, what was uncalled for was Najib's attack on Pakatan Rakyat which lasted close to 20 minutes. That was really in bad taste and very unbecoming of someone who aspires to be a great statesman. And he has the gumption to talk about moderation! Commenting on this, PAS Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad opined that "Najib must be having his mind preoccupied with Pakatan 24/7 and that must be the reason why he could not resist taking a swipe at Pakatan during the budget presentation". Auditor-General's Report However, what is also just as important as the budget is the Auditor-General's Report which, according to parliamentary procedure, should be tabled on the same day as the budget itself. Instead this vital report is late again as was last year. The Pakatan MPs need to see the Auditor-General's Report so that they can evaluate the government's spending habits. If a certain ministry has overspent, then it is pointless to allocate another vast sum to this particular ministry again. A point to note is that the incumbent BN federal government has been running a budget deficit since 1998 and is in the habit of requesting for a Supplementary Budget. This means that additional allocation is requested as the budget's allocation is insufficient to meet the demands of the ministries. The whole thing shows that the government is not spending in a prudent manner. Although it is good to dole out goodies to the rakyat, what the government is doing is akin to giving painkillers to the sick person and not curing the disease. In short, it is not solving the problem. It is only implementing a stop-gap measure to relieve the pain. Back to the Auditor-General's Report. Without this report, Pakatan MPs will find it difficult to debate the budget in an effective manner because they are in the dark on whether the government has spent last year's allocation prudently and wisely as comparisons need to be made between the budget and the Audit-General's Report. A good example is the National Feedlot Corporation project wherein RM250 million was allocated but the results were measly. This matter was revealed in the Audit-General's Report. Of course, there are many other examples of procurements or purchases made at jacked-up prices and cost overruns in this and that. Meanwhile, the national debt has increased to RM502 billion. Plus off-the-record contingent liabilities, the sum will definitely be much higher but with increased spending, the national debt percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could still be below 55%! A miracle indeed! READ MORE HERE

Fitnah dan berniat jahat, kata presiden Gaps Posted: 02 Oct 2012 03:25 PM PDT Hamidzun Khairuddin menyifatkan dakwaan tersebut sebagai usaha terancang bagi melemahkan NGO yang diketuainya. Fazy Sahir, FMT Pemimpin sebuah badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) yang didakwa pecah amanah melibatkan wang RM200,000 dalam urusan pindah milik pembeli rumah tampil menjelaskan segala dakwaan yang mengaitkan dirinya itu. Presiden Gagasan Anti Penyelewengan Selangor (Gaps), Hamidzun Khairuddin menyifatkan dakwaan tersebut sebagai usaha terancang bagi melemahkan NGO yang diketuainya untuk terus membongkar perlakuan rasuah dan penyelewengan di negeri ini. Sambil menegaskan dakwaan itu sebagai fitnah, Hamidzun berkata ia berniat jahat dan dirancang untuk mempertikaikan kredibiliti beliau sebagai presiden Gaps. Kedua-dua kes yang didakwa melibatkan Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor (PKNS) telah diselesaikan dengan baik dengan mengikut terma-terma dan amalan biasa perundangan oleh firma guaman saya. "Maka tidak timbul persoalan salah guna kuasa dan pecah amanah," katanya melalui satu kenyataan kepada FMT hari ini. Beliau kesal dengan pendedahan maklumat korporat seperti surat itu dibocorkan oleh pihak tertentu untuk menakut-nakutkannya dan menambah, tindakan undang-undang turut dikaji terhadap mereka yang cuba menjatuhkan kredibiliti beliau. Sabtu lalu, FMT melaporkan mengenai seorang pemimpin NGO yang lantang dan sering membongkarkan isu penyelewengan di Selangor didakwa telah melakukan pecah amanah bernilai RM200,000 pada tahun 2010. Dakwaan itu membabitkan bayaran wang stakeholder kepada PKNS serta kegagalan beliau menyempurnakan urusan pindah milik pembeli rumah yang sepatutnya diselesaikan pada tahun 2009.

Could Malaysia's ruling coalition be swept from power? Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:53 PM PDT (Value Walk) - Even if BN should retain its majority and Prime Minister Najib continues to enjoy high approval ratings, there is a high risk that he will be pushed from office anyway. Since its independence in 1957, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) has ruled over Malaysia uninterrupted. UMNO has controlled Malaysia through a coalition, first called the Alliance, and later expanded and renamed Barisan Nasional (BN). In the recent 2008 elections BN lost its absolute majority, marking the first time the ruling coalition has lost its absolute majority since 1969, the year of the Race Riots. BN could now find itself losing its majority position entirely in the up-coming elections. UMNO and BN have traditionally controlled the political scene in Malaysia. UMNO relies on the "Malay" vote from the Malay community, which makes up approximately 50 percent of the population. The Chinese, who are by far the wealthiest demographic in Malaysia, make up 25 percent of the population, and Indians make up an additional 7 percent. Other Bumiputras, or "sons of the land" make up most of the rest of the population. The date for the election has not been set, but must be held by June 27, 2013. Many observers believed that elections would be held this past summer, with tell-tale signs, including increased investments in public projects and reduced toll charges. Often, as elections approach BN will push for the increased provision of social services. Trains start to run more frequently, subsidies and cash payments will be handed out, and numerous other policies will be instituted, which critics charge as "vote buying." So far, the election date has not been announced but must be approaching soon. In recent years Malaysia has seen mass protests and heightened demands for political reform. The Bersih movement, or "coalition for clean & fair elections" has attracted a large following in Malaysia. The movement has staged several rallies in recent years. In April 2007, the first Berish rally attracted some 30,000 people, and is credited with having a major impact on the 2008 elections that saw BN lose its absolute majority for the first time in decades. In July 2011 the Bersih 2.0 movement was launched and staged another rally, attracting between 10,000 to 20,000 protesters, though many more were kept out of the Kuala Lumpur city center due to government clamp downs. Bersish 3.0 in, April 2012, saw renewed strength and effort from protesters, with approximately 100,000 people protesting for reform. Meanwhile, Barisan Nasional is increasingly losing the trust of the Malay community, which it has relied on to stay in power. Traditionally, BN and especially UMNO has relied on the rural Malay vote, which through gerrymandering has a disproportionately large representation in parliament. Now educated and urban Malays are starting to turn to the opposition. At the same time, UMNO is losing some rural votes in some areas to the Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS), an Islamist political party. BN has never fared as well in cities, or among the middle class. With Malaysia's population rapidly urbanizing and becoming better educated, BN's traditional base of power is shrinking. Unless the party can adapt to changing times and modernize its policies, it may someday find itself representing a "minority" segment of society. The domestic scene can be described as complicated, at best. Malaysia has posted strong growth since its independence, with national development projects being fueled by petro-dollars. The country also enjoys a strong manufacturing sector, though many of the workers in this sector are foreign. The nation has had a harder time competing in high-value industries, and its education system remains subpar. In order to keep unemployment low, the government has traditionally "mopped" up unemployed graduates, especially Malays. As a result, government payrolls have expanded to some 1.4 million people, in a nation of only 30 million. With petro-dollars running out (Malaysia is projected to run out of oil as soon as 2030), the government will not be able to afford  expanding payrolls forever. Certainly Malaysia has launched attempts at reforms. Prime Minister Najib has launched a "1Malaysia" campaign to try to rectify the tensions between the three major races. The Prime Minister has also launched the New Economic Model (NEM), which will increase emphasis on creating high-skilled middle class jobs and ensuring that Malaysia does not fall in the Middle Income trap. Read more at: http://www.valuewalk.com/2012/10/could-malaysia-ruling-coalition-be-swept-from-power/

In Malaysia, Court Backs Right to Print a Newspaper Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:49 PM PDT (The New York Times) - KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Obtaining permission to publish a newspaper in Malaysia, where the print media are dominated by government-linked publications, is likely to become easier after a court ruled that the right to freedom of expression includes the right to publish and is a fundamental liberty, a lawyer said on Tuesday. A Malaysian court ruled on Monday that the government should not have rejected an application for a print publishing license by Malaysiakini, a popular independent news Web site, said Shanmuga Kanesalingam, a lawyer who represented Malaysiakini. Under Malaysian law, a newspaper must obtain a permit from the government before it can publish. Free-speech advocates hailed the decision as a victory. "Recognition that the right to publish a newspaper is a fundamental right is very, very significant," Mr. Shanmuga said. "It's the first time we've had this said by a judge." Masjaliza Hamzah, executive officer of the Center for Independent Journalism in Kuala Lumpur, described the decision as "a very progressive judgment for freedom of expression, for freedom of the press in Malaysia." "It's very significant," she said, because few new permits for print newspapers have been granted in recent years. "The permits that have been given out are mostly for small-scale publications, but not for the kind of publication that could garner a national audience, which Malaysiakini could," Ms. Masjaliza said. The government has not yet decided whether to appeal the decision, said Noor Hisham bin Ismail, a senior federal counsel involved in the case. It has a month to file. Although the Internet has remained relatively free in Malaysia, most large newspapers are either owned by the government or linked to it. Mr. Shanmuga said the court had ruled that the home minister, who grants publishing permits, must reconsider Malaysiakini's application in accordance with the law. He said the ruling would make it more difficult for the government to refuse an application for a printing license, because it requires officials to show that the proposed publication would be a threat to public order or to national security, or would be immoral. Read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/03/world/asia/malaysian-court-rules-that-publishing-a-newspaper-is-a-basic-right.html?_r=0

Malaysia slips in Internet freedom; same ranking as Libya Posted: 02 Oct 2012 12:35 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - The report cited the recent amendments to the Evidence Act 1950, namely Section 114A of the law, which holds the computer or equipment owner liable for seditious content as a very troubling development. Malaysia's Internet freedom has worsened this year as seen in the latest global survey of 47 countries, putting it on the same level as Libya after Putrajaya introduced new laws seen to curb electronic media use. Internet freedom for Southeast Asia's third-biggest economy was judged to be only "partly free", after it scored 43 out of 100 points — the same as Libya — dropping two notches in the Freedom on the Net 2012: A Global Assessment of Internet and Digital Media report released last week by Freedom House, a US research organisation advocating democracy, political freedom and human rights. The annual study evaluates each country based on barriers to access, limits on content, and violations of user rights, and traces trends from January 2011 to May 2012. The lower the numerical score, the better the ranking. Each country is marked on a score from 0 (the most free) to 100 (the least free), which serves as the basis for an Internet freedom status designation of Free (0-30 points), Partly Free (31-60 points), or Not Free (61-100 points). Malaysia took the 23rd spot, trailing behind the Philippines, South Korea, India and Indonesia among the Asian countries surveyed. But Malaysia came out ahead of Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Pakistan, Vietnam, Myanmar and China. Singapore was not included in Freedom House's global study. The top five spots in descending order were occupied by Estonia, the United States, Germany, Australia and Hungary, which scored fewer than 20 points out of 100. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/malaysia-slips-in-internet-freedom-same-ranking-as-libya

Secret Malaysian resettlement plan for dam-affected natives exposed Posted: 02 Oct 2012 11:15 AM PDT The affected communities have only received information about the conditions of their resettlement through the report leaked to ­the whistle-blower website Sarawak Report. The withholding of the Resettlement Report goes against all international standards on transparency.  Bruno Manser Fonds Leaked Resettlement Action Plan for natives to be displaced by Murum dam reveals the Sarawak government's neglect of basic rights and fair compensation (MURUM, SARAWAK, MALAYSIA) A report by the Malaysian state government of Sarawak about the resettlement of over 1,500 natives has been leaked just a few months before the planned resettlement due to a mega-dam. The impoundment of the 944 MW Murum dam is meant to start in early 2013 and will flood almost 250km2 of forest and cause the displacement of six Penan and one Kenyah native communities. Violation of basic rights It verges on hypocrisy that the leaked Murum Resettlement Action Plan claims that "the main documents" concerning the construction of the dam and the resettlement are "to be made available to the public", although this has obviously not been done so far. The affected communities have only received information about the conditions of their resettlement through the report leaked to ­the whistle-blower website Sarawak Report. The withholding of the Resettlement Report goes against all international standards on transparency. The report reveals that the compensation offered to the affected communities is anything but fair and will impoverish them: the monthly allowance to be paid after resettlement falls below the poverty level and ends after four years. Their new farmland is already covered with oil palms owned by large companies, and there is hardly any forest left to sustain the people's traditional livelihood based on products from the wild. In addition, the affected Penan and Kenyah state that they have never been asked for their free, prior and informed consent as demanded by international standards, such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. After receiving the Resettlement Plan, the seven affected communities immediately put up a blockade on the access road to the dam on Wednesday last week. Over 200 people have since been effectively blocking the supply of materials to the dam construction works. They are willing to keep up the blockade until the Norwegian CEO of Sarawak Energy, the agency in charge of the implementation of Murum dam, and the government authorities agree to their demands concerning involuntary resettlement and compensation. Norwegian Torstein Dale Sjøtveit, CEO of Sarawak Energy, has been asked to meet the affected communities at the blockade site to discuss their concerns, as he is one of the main persons responsible for the current twelve-dam complex in Sarawak – of which the Murum dam is only the first one to be built. Another foreign key supporter is Hydro Tasmania, which seconded staff to Sarawak Energy and completed various feasibility studies. Andrew Pattle, who was Project Manager for the Murum dam up until 2011 and is now Senior Project Manager for two other proposed dams, and Nick Wright, Vice President at Sarawak Energy, are just two of the Australian staff members seconded to the project. Without this knowledge transfer from Hydro Tasmania to Sarawak Energy, the realization of the planned dams would not be possible. Tutoring on rights for government officials The local SAVE Rivers Network, a group that is spearheading the struggle against the plans to build at least 12 dams in Sarawak's interior, has today offered tutoring lessons on indigenous rights to high-level government leaders. The obvious lack of compliance with international standards and national laws by the Sarawak government is prompting them to teach the government about indigenous rights as guaranteed in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and national law. Peter Kallang, chairman of SAVE Rivers, said today: "It is unfortunate that many high-level government leaders do not understand the international UN declaration that Malaysia has signed. We would therefore like an opportunity to explain to them the rights of indigenous peoples under the laws of this country." The Bruno Manser Fund wholeheartedly supports this highly necessary tutoring on indigenous rights for the government and, in addition, is demanding the immediate release of all studies conducted on any of the currently-planned dams. All the international actors involved in Sarawak's dam endeavour, including Torstein Dale Sjøtveit and Hydro Tasmania, should stop supporting the ongoing violation of international standards and cease their collaboration with Sarawak Energy.

Malaysia tak perlu pergerakan hak wanita Posted: 02 Oct 2012 11:07 AM PDT Trend penurunan ini konsisten sejak 2010. Pada tahun 2010, Kementerian diberi peruntukan sebanyak RM2.4 bilion, kemudian pada tahun 2011, ia jatuh ke RM2 bilion, kemudian jatuh lagi pada tahun 2012 ke RM1.9 bilion dan sekarang untuk 2013 ia terus menurun ke RM1.8 bilion.    Young Syefura Othman, Penyelaras Segmentasi Wanita Muda Kebangsaan Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia Segmentasi Wanita Muda (SAMM Wanita Muda) merasa kesal dan kecewa dengan kenyataan angkuh dan sombong Perdana Menteri Malaysia dalam Sambutan Hari Wanita 2012 hari ini di Sunway Pyramid. Dalam laporan satu media internet (klik sini untuk baca lanjut) menyebut Najib menyatakan Malaysia tidak memerlukan sama sekali pergerakan hak wanita dalam negara ini. Beliau selaku Menteri Wanita dalam Majlis anjuran Kementerianya telah menghina perjuangan aktivis - aktivis hak wanita dalam negara ini. Majlis Sambutan Hari Wanita anjuran Kementeriannya (Kementerian Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat) ini seharusnya diadakan atas semangat menghargai perjuangan dan sumbangan wanita kepada negara, namun oleh kerana inilah kali pertama negara dan rasanya di dunia Menteri Wanita lelaki maka dengan jelas Menteri Wanita ini tidak menghormati sensitiviti dan melakukan penghinaan terhadap perjuangan wanita dalam majlis tersebut. Najib jelas tidak memahami peranan menteri wanita dan tidak langsung ada gender sensitiviti kerana bukan sahaja menghina perjuangan aktivis wanita sebagai tidak perlu tetapi dalam ucapanya menyatakan pula lelaki sebagai spesis terancam di negara ini kerana 'kecemerlangan' wanita. SAMM menuntut Najib berundur sahaja sebagai menteri di kementerian Pembangunan Wanita, keluarga dan masyarakat kerana jelas dia sendiri tidak faham peranannya sebaliknya hanya makan gaji buta selaku menteri di kementeri tersebut. Jika benar apa yang dikatakan Najib menjadi polisi kerajaan Bn yang tidak perlukan perjuangan pembelaan wanita maka seharusnya bubarkan sahaja terus kementerian Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat itu. Maka tidak hairanlah dalam belanjawan tahun ini walaupun pada keseluruhannya meningkat 8%, tetapi peruntukkan Kementerian Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat mengalami penurunan sebanyak 6%, dengan pengurangan sebanyak RM115 juta.  Trend penurunan ini konsisten sejak 2010. Pada tahun 2010, Kementerian diberi peruntukan sebanyak RM2.4 bilion, kemudian pada tahun 2011, ia jatuh ke RM2 bilion, kemudian jatuh lagi pada tahun 2012 ke RM1.9 bilion dan sekarang untuk 2013 ia terus menurun ke RM1.8 bilion.  Dalam ucapan belanjawan 2013, PM Najib cuma menonjolkan kononya belanjawannya prihatin wanita dengan peruntukan sebanyak RM50 juta untuk latihan Wanita untuk menjadi pengarah syarikat, latihan usahawanan (entrepreneurial training), latihan "online marketing" dan ujian mamogram. Inilah hasilnya apabila menteri Wanita adalah seorang lelaki. Jelas sekali Najib tidak faham langsung apa sebenarnya keperluan dan aspirasi Wanita dan masih melihat isu wanita dengan cara seksis. Pemahaman beliau mengenai isu-isu Wanita seolah-olah terhad kepada "bagaimana untuk membuat Wanita lebih menjadi seorang ahli perniagaan" dan peperiksaan payudara. Dalam kesempatan ini juga SAMM Wanita Muda menyambut baik dan mengajak rakyat melihat tawaran belanjawan alternatif negara yang dibentangkan oleh Pakatan Rakyat yang mengandungi tawaran Caruman Wanita Nasional dan Skim Elaun Penjagaan. Caruman Wanita Nasional adalah satu skim jaringan keselamatan sosial bagi Wanita suri rumah. Ideanya adalah seperti berikut; sekiranya suami meninggal dunia, menjadi kurang upaya atau menceraikan isteri, suri rumah akan mempunyai simpanan wang untuk menangani sebarang kemunkginan yang boleh terjadi. Kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat bercadang untuk memberikan caruman sebanyak RM600 setahun kepada setiap suri rumah, dan akan memastikan dan menggalakkan suami menyumbang sejumlah wang sebanyak RM120 ke RM1,200 setahun kepada caruman yang sama.    Sasaran skim ini adalah untuk memastikan seorang suri rumah mempunyai sekurang-kurangnya simpanan sebanyak RM30, 000 ketika usia 50 tahun. Kami menjangkakan terdapat 5 juta suri rumah yang bakal menyertai skim ini dan ianya akan menelan belanja kira-kira RM3 bilion setahun. Walaupun skim ini adalah berdasarkan kepada prinsip kebajikan, sasaran ekonominya adalah untuk menggalakkan simpanan peribadi. Skim ini adalah merupakan salah satu program kita untuk meningkatkan pendapatan isi rumah (disposable income). Skim Elaun Penjagaan Anak diperkenalkan untuk menolong wanita miskin yang bekerja dimana pendapatan isi rumah yang kurang daripada RM1, 000 sebulan. Bagi setiap kanak-kanak di bawah umur 12 tahun, kita akan menyediakan dana jagaan kanak-kanak sokongan sebanyak RM1, 000 setahun. Sokongan ini berhasrat membantu ibu yang bekerja untuk membayar yuran pengasuh menjaga anaknya ketika ibu sedang berkerja.Skim ini dilihat usaha bersungguh untuk membebaskan serta memperkasa wanita untuk bekerja sendiri dan menyumbang secara serius kepada negara.

Worker of 1Malaysia Posted: 02 Oct 2012 10:52 AM PDT So a call centre employee from Philipines is more in favour than say a brain surgeon from UK where they get to bypass all Malaysian immigration and labour regulations. Disgrunted Malaysian Employeee C/O CSC Open letter to S. Subramaniam, Human Resource Minister Dear Minister, I am a citizen of Malaysia who pays my taxes and to date still paying my PTPTN loan for my education that I received locally. I recently joined CSC (a MNC based in Malaysia) as a Level 1 Technical Helpdesk. I work the night shift mostly just to qualify for the RM500 which is the night shift allowance. Recently I was made to work on a 12 hour shift without even giving me the choice of accepting the 12 hour shift pattern. When I asked, I was told that the company had the right to place their employees in any shift they like as long as it does not cross the 48 hours work hours a week. Is this true? Don't the employees have a say in the number of work hours they choose to work for, as long as it is within the law? When I first started work I was told by my employers that for the first 3 months of my service, my leaves earned will be frozen as I am still in probation. During the recent Raya holidays in August, I was still in training but I was not allowed to enjoy that holiday. CSC had made it mandatory for all muslims or non-muslims to come in even though we are not part of the operations (taking calls) yet. I did not complain and endured it. But when I got my salary I was shocked. The job agency with whom I had signed the employment contract has their own method of calculating wages paid on Public Holidays. When I enquired, I was told employees earning more than RM 2000 is not entitled to OT claims. When signing of the contract I was told that my salary would be pro rated by the day and the OT will be calculated based on that, but instead a flat rate of RM 15 per hour is calculated for hours worked on a Public Holiday. Another job agency with whom my colleagues are attached to has another formula of calculation all together. RM 15 per hours from midnight to 6.00am and RM 13 per hour before midnight. So if someone is to work the night shift hours before midnight is multiplied by RM13, hours worked after midnight is multiplied by RM15. Having said that, I kept at building my career without kicking a fuss about my salary. Next, I was asked to work by forgoing the short breaks I am entitled to. At one point I even got my meal break after 6 hours of work non-stop taking calls from arrogant and rude Americans. But when I come in for work 2 minutes late I get a "coach-log" (three of it warrants a warning letter). But "minutes" taken up after my work hours because I get stuck on a long call with a customer is not counted. The management is allowed to bend and break the rules but as employees we are not even given any leeway. We are supposed to keep customers happy and keep the calls short and take more calls. Unrealistic demands are made on us employees and no encouragement or proper guidance is provided for us employees to get the job done efficiently.The 1st level management that is made up of operation managers, subject matter experts and team leads are not professional, unhelpful and arrogant. They don't give a rat's ass about the employees but the employees are supposed to care if there are many calls in the queue or SLAs are dropping. We only get our salary after our timesheet is approved by some foreigner who goes by the name Brad Neave, who has complete disregard for the laws of our country. If he does not approve the timesheet within a given time, we don't get paid. The agency that handles our payroll does not bother with getting the timesheet done. Apparently it is our responsibility to get the operations manager to approve our timesheets. So what is the job of the HR/payroll department then? During my training period, the trainer was very prejudicial. I was not allowed to ask any questions. If I did the trainer would ridicule me in front of my colleagues. The trainer's idea of training was to make sure no one asks any questions. If anyone is to ask a question it will be answered with another question eg. "What do you think?", "Don't you still get it?", "How can you still ask me this?" etc. Fed up with being treated this way, I approached the operations manager, Brad (foreigner) only to be made more like a fool. He tells me that it's not right for me to come to him and I should have sorted things out with the trainer (whom I am having a problem with in the first place). Last but not least, CSC is hiring foreigners by the droves for level 1 helpdesk positions when here in Malaysia we have so many unemployed Malaysians who are graduates. These foreigners who come here to work are no IT experts that can't be found here in Malaysia. These foreigners are call centre staff from abroad. These foreigners are brought over with a social visit pass (tourist visa). Apparently, it's "converted" to a valid Malaysian work permit after they get here. How is that possible? I have relatives from abroad from countries like Australia, UK and South Africa who are professionals like doctors, engineers and specialized consultants. Even they had to have a calling visa before they are even engaged in any employment. So a call centre employee from Philipines is more in favour than say a brain surgeon from UK where they get to bypass all Malaysian immigration and labour regulations. We even have a Philipino team lead in CSC here but not even one Malaysian woman as a team lead. So CSC is running some boy's club in CSC. Foreigners who come here enjoy the benefits of our country and hospitality whereas we Malaysians are treated worse than factory production operators, where like in school we have to even ask permission to take a piss. Ministers and higher officials in the loop, please excuse my language in my mail as I am very disgruntled and angry with what has come to the plight of Malaysians working with foreign companies that come here for cheap but quality labour. They preach democracy and equality in their land and other countries at war, but they have not changed from their colonial mentality. We locals are coloured dogs for them still, the only differences are the suits we wear these days and we no longer live on trees. I am not able to reveal my identity as I know I will be victimized by the management, after all I am only a level 1 helpdesk and a Malaysian citizen not some fancy foreigner who does not know their work. But it does not matter who I am, there are thousands of fellow Malaysians like me who are in the same boat and are suffering in silence, to protect our ricebowl.

Five awarded RM4.06mil over unlawful detention under ISA Posted: 01 Oct 2012 11:18 PM PDT The 'Reformasi 6' who spent two years in Kamunting (The Star) - Five people, including Batu MP Tian Chua, have been awarded more than RM4.06mil in damages over their unlawful detention under the Internal Security Act in 2001. High Court judge Lau Bee Lan ruled on Tuesday that the detention of Tian Chua, Selangor PAS information chief Saari Sungib, activists Hishammudin Rais and Badaruddin Ismail and PKR supreme council member Badrulamin Bahron under Section 73 of the Internal Security Act 1960 was unlawful. The five had sued former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Norian Mai and two others for unlawful detention under the ISA and for defamation. (The award covers RM15,000 a day for the total number of days that they had been detained). Justice Lau also awarded Tian Chua, Hishammudin, Saari and Badrulamin RM60,000 in general damages and RM40,000 in aggravated damages in total based on grounds that the words uttered by Norian during a press conference in April, 2001 in relation to the detention was defamatory. She ruled that the detention was not based on the safety of the country but more towards political considerations.

Stop pretending that everything is going well Posted: 01 Oct 2012 06:06 PM PDT Regardless of whether it is the BN or the Pakatan Rakyat, there is a surge in the Operating Expenditure. However, no one tells the people how to improve productivity and open up new revenue resources to offset the increased expenditures. Lim Sue Goan, Sin Chew Daily The Budget has been pan-politicised and the confronting coalitions are busy in wars of words, blurring the vision of the country's economic future. The last 14 paragraphs of Prime Minister cum Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's Budget speech had dignified the BN and belittled the Pakatan Rakyat. Members of the confronting coalitions picked up their respective Budget and booed at each other after Najib finished his speech. Najib has continued to attack the alternative coalition over the past two days and said, "You do Bersih 2.0, we do BR1M 2.0. You storm the barricades, overturn police cars, we help the rakyat." He also said that the Buku Jingga is not worth the paper it is written on. Pakatan Rakyat leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim fought back and teased the BN when debating on the Budget in the Dewan Rakyat on October 1, while DAP Parliamentary Leader Lim Kit Siang challenged Najib to debate with Anwar. When politicians think only about politics, they will no longer pay attention to more important issues. At this very moment, Terengganu Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin urged the people to drop their subsidy mentality to form a hard working and competitive society, instead of just expecting for assistance. Indeed, both the BN's Budget and the Pakatan Rakyat's alternative budget have failed to get rid of subsidies. And they are actually the pot calling the kettle black. They ridicule each other as being populist but have failed to realise that they are actually making the same mistake. Take the BN's Budget as an example, the Operating Expenditure has increased to RM201.9 billion, accounting for 80% of the total expenditure, and among them, 20.8% is allocated for subsidies. The government's subsidies have amounted to RM42 billion this year, exceeding the estimated amount by 27%, or RM9 billion. The total subsidy in 2007 was only RM10 billion, which means that political confrontation has increased subsidies by four times. Subsidies could anesthetise the people's nerves and when subsidies are forced to be terminated, the people might not be able to stand stably. In addition, the emoluments for civil servants have also been increased from RM52 billion in 2012 to RM58.6 billion next year, accounting for 29% of the total Operating Expenditure. Since the government has shelved the Exit Policy to deal with problematic, indisciplined and underperforming civil servants, the number of civil servants has kept increasing, so does the emolument expenditure. The Pakatan Rakyat's alternative budget also advocates pay rise for civil servants, such as increasing the salaries of police officers by 15%, providing a special allowance of RM500 for teachers and increasing the salaries of civil servants. The additional emolument expenditure is RM4.4 billion. However, it requires an additional RM5.1 billion based on the calculation of MCA President Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek. Regardless of whether it is the BN or the Pakatan Rakyat, there is a surge in the Operating Expenditure. However, no one tells the people how to improve productivity and open up new revenue resources to offset the increased expenditures. It seems impossible to remove the subsidy system, while the administrative team has been continuously expanding. It is afraid that the debt might touch the national debt ceiling of 55%. The national debt has increased from last year's RM456.1 billion to the current RM502.4 billion, In other words, each person is averagely bearing RM18,000 of debt. The government should tell the people how many oil resources are left and how long could they support our expenses. When would the country become a net oil importer and would it be in 2017, as predicted by the International Energy Agency? The government should make public the national accounts to clearly show the people the country's financial situation, instead of keep pretending that everything is going well, telling the people that there is no big deal and distributing money. If the financial direction and management are not changed today, I am afraid that Malaysians might one day walk on streets to protest against financial austerity. Such a scenario is horrible!

There’s a ‘DAP ghost’ in Penang PKR Posted: 01 Oct 2012 05:47 PM PDT This so-called 'ghost', claims a former PKR leader, has been feeding Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng with the details of PKR meetings in the state.  Athi Shankar, FMT GEORGE TOWN: Internal leakage on details of Penang PKR meetings to outsiders, especially DAP, is not something new. "It has been happening since a year ago," alleged former Kedah PKR secretary Zamil Ibrahim. He claimed that the PKR state leadership was aware of it and suspected a local party leader close to DAP to be the culprit behind the sabotage work. Zamil said the politician had often been described by party insiders as a "DAP ghost in PKR mask." Based on internal information, he said DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng would receive all information, including confidential details, from the suspect on goings-on in PKR meetings. He said Lim, who is also the Penang chief minister, would be informed by this "ghost" within five minutes after a meeting ended. "The leakage in Penang PKR is rampant and dangerous. It's not only an act of sabotage but an act of betrayal," Zamil told FMT. He was commenting on the public leaking of details of an internal casual meeting between the state PKR chief and Deputy Chief Minister I Mansor Othman with seven local Chinese members. Details of the meeting were published in verbatim in June postings of a blog called "Gelagat Anwar" while its audio recording was aired by TV3 on Sept 24. According to the leaked details, Mansor had, during the meeting, apparently described Lim as "cocky, arrogant and tokong", which was now been popularly termed as the "CAT" by critics. The CAT leak had now put Mansor in a politically awkward position as PKR conducts its internal investigation to nab the culprit. The seven who met Mansor in the closed-door discussion were state PKR deputy chief Law Choo Kiang, Bukit Bendera division deputy chief Felix Ooi Keat Hin, Bayan Baru vice chairman Tan Seng Keat, 2004 candidate for Bayan Baru federal and Batu Uban state seats – Raymond Ong Ting Cheow, Tanjung Youth chief Ng Chek Siang; Bayan Baru member Cheah Peng Guan and Mansor's special assistant John Ooh Sin Hwa. It is learnt that all seven members had so far denied being involved in the sabotage act. READ MORE HERE

Azmin: Kabinet bayangan pandangan peribadi Shuhaimi Posted: 01 Oct 2012 05:38 PM PDT Senada dengan Naib Pengerusi DAP Dr Tan Seng Giaw semalam, Azmin berkata hal itu tidak pernah dibangkitkan sama sekali dalam mesyuarat pemimpin tertinggi Pakatan Rakyat mahu  Jamilah Kamarudin, FMT Timbalan Presiden PKR Azmin Ali menyifatkan dakwaan Ketua Penerangan PKR Selangor Shuhaimi Shafiei bahawa 20 pemimpin parti akan menerajui jemaah menteri hanya sebagai pandangan peribadi semata-mata. Senada dengan Timbalan Pengerusi DAP Dr Tan Seng Giaw semalam, Azmin berkata hal itu tidak pernah dibangkitkan sama sekali dalam mesyuarat pemimpin tertinggi Pakatan Rakyat. "Saya tidak tahu menahu mengenai perkara itu. Saya tidak pernah tengok senarai tersebut. Saya pun tidak tahu menteri apa yang saya jawat. Itu hanya pandangan peribadi Shuhaimi sahaja," katanya ketika ditemui pemberita di Parlimen hari ini. Sementara itu, Ahli Parlimen Balik Pulau Yusmadi Yusoff menyifatkan dakwaan Ahli Dewan Undangan (Adun) Sri Muda itu satu kenyataan tak rasmi PKR dan sengaja disabotaj. Beliau yang juga Ahli Majlis Pimpinan Pusat PKR turut menafikan sekeras-kerasnya kewujudan kabinet bayangan, sebaliknya satu Jawatankuasa Pakatan yang ditubuhkan sejak 2008 bagi menangani isu-isu nasional. `Tiada kabinet' "Setahu saya tiada kabinet, yang ada satu jawatankuasa Pakatan. Saya baru pulang daripada rapat pimpinan Nasional PKR di Shah Alam minggu lalu dan isu ini tiada langsung pernah dibangkitkan. Sementara itu, Setiausaha Agung DAP Lim Guan Eng berkata perebutan jawatan dalam kabinet tidak perlu dijadikan isu sebaliknya dasar yang akan dilaksanakan Pakatan sekiranya mentadbir Putrajaya. "Kita tak berminat tentang personaliti sebaliknya dasar. "Kalau Najib nak cabar Pakatan tentang kabinet bayangan kenapa BN tak wujudkan sendiri di empat negeri yang ditadbir Pakatan? BN kena konsisten dalam hal ini. Isu kabinet bayangan bangkit selepas Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak pada Ahad lalu mencabar Ketua Pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim menubuhkannya sebelum berangan-angan menubuhkan kerajaan sebenar dengan memenangi pilihan raya Umum ke-13 (PRU13).

Who is lying – Chin or Wong? Posted: 01 Oct 2012 05:35 PM PDT If ROS had declared the SUPP presidential election in December 2011 valid, why didn't Peter Chin show it to Wong Soon Koh? (FMT) - KUCHING: The most prominent issue that has surfaced from the weekend meeting of Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) is an alleged letter issued by Registrar of Society (ROS) on March 26. Following the meeting of the contentious central working committee (CWC), SUPP president Peter Chin said the party had received a letter declaring the controversial triennial delegates convention (TDC) and its presidential elections in December 2011 as valid. He claimed the letter, dated March 26, was addressed to the party's secretary-general and had also indicated that the CWC was a valid entity. But Chin's claims have sparked doubts over his sincerity in wanting to consolidate SUPP at state level. A looming general election appears to have little bearing on Chin, who is seen as out to drown his former rival for the president's post, Wong Soon Koh. Wong, who is backed by by Chief Minister Taib Mahmud, is also the former party's deputy secretary-general. A party insider from Wong's Sibu branch questioned Chin's silence over the March 26 letter and over issues between his faction and Wong's. Wong, who is Bawang Assan assemblyman, had lodged the report with ROS last year over the branch-level election irregularities. "This [letter] is a big issue. If there was a letter dated March 26, why didn't Chin show it to us before? Why was Chin silent all this while? "Isn't it to his benefit to tell everyone of ROS' decision and move towards uniting the factions?" asked the insider, referring to the deeply divided party facing political extinction. According to the insider, ROS had sent both Chin and Wong a letter dated April 3 notifying them that investigation into the party's alleged election irregularities was still ongoing. It was this letter which Wong and his team of six assemblymen had been adhering to. The letter also instructed SUPP to only carry out ordinary businesses, thus making last Saturday's CWC meeting called to discuss two motions – disciplinary action against Wong and calls for the party to pull out of BN – questionable. Said Bengoh assemblyman Dr Jerip Susil, who is also in Wong's 'camp: "If indeed the secretary-general of SUPP had received a letter from ROS, stating the TDC is valid, we should be notified without further delay." He said as far Wong and the other elected representatives were concerned, the issue was simply the "validity of the TDC". "We love the party and our concern is that the party be administered with transparency, fairness, and a sense of justice…" he said in a statement.

This is how it works Posted: 01 Oct 2012 05:13 PM PDT Now, if you want to whack Islam I have no problem with that. Just send me an e-mail with your details and I will register you to comment in Malaysia Today. Once you are registered your comment will automatically get published without needing to wait for the moderator to approve it. If you refuse to register then what more can I say? That would be your fault, would it not? NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin A number of readers have posted comments accusing me of being a hypocrite for not practicing what I preach. They allege that while I propagate freedom of expression, I do not walk the talk, I block or delete their comments. They further allege that I am denying them their right to post comments in Malaysia Today and hence am not respecting their freedom of expression. This, therefore, makes me a hypocrite. A couple of readers also posted comments wanting to know why I blocked or deleted their comments whenever they bash Islam. If some readers can bash Christianity, they say, why can't they also post comments bashing Islam? First of all, those whose comments get posted without 'censorship' are those readers who have registered to comment. So, whenever they post a comment, their comment automatically gets published, even if it is seditious, inflammatory, malicious, racist, etc. Those who are not registered will have to wait for the moderator to view that comment before it gets published. In such a situation the comment may or may not get published. So this is a problem normally faced by those not registered to comment. Those registered to comment would seldom face a problem of blocked or deleted comments unless under very 'severe' situations. Another point to note would be when so many readers repeat the comments of others. For example, one reader (or two or three readers) already posted a racist comment about Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's Mamak or Indian birth and this comment (or two or three comments) gets published. Then another ten or 20 readers post similar comments whacking Dr Mahathir's Indian or Mamak birth. Do we need 20 comments all similarly referring to Dr Mahathir's Mamak or Indian birth? I think the first (or two or three) readers have already made his/her point -- and that point is Dr Mahathir is evil because his father was Indian. If his father had been Chinese or Malay then he would not be so evil. Hence anyone who has an Indian father is an evil person. However, two or three comments regarding Dr Mahathir's Indian father should be enough, don't you think so? Why do we need to read comments from 20 people saying the same thing? I think most, if not all Malaysians already know the story of Dr Mahathir's father, grandfather, great-grandfather, etc. It is already common knowledge. But not many know the story of Dr Mahathir's mother. Now, if someone wants to post a comment regarding Dr Mahathir's mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, etc., that would probably be something interesting since no one talks about that. Hence if you have something new to say by all means post your comment. But if you just want to repeat what 500 people before you have already said then maybe we need not publish your comment. It would be most boring to read 500 comments regarding something we all already know -- Dr Mahathir's father's race. Hence, also, if your comment does not get published it could be because your comment is so boring. I mean, you might not find it boring even though 500 other people have already said what you are saying before you said it. You may even get an orgasm with your comment. But then this could just be because you are a boring person. Boring people normally regard what they say as extremely exciting although others may find them boring.  Malays call this 'shiok sendiri'. It is like mental masturbation. They get turned on by the sound of their own voice and they think that others also get a hard on just because they do. Hence they get very upset when we find their comment too low standard and not worthy of publishing. They cannot accept the fact that their comment is not good enough for publishing. But I suppose that is the problem with shiok sendiri readers. Now, if you want to whack Islam I have no problem with that. Just send me an e-mail with your details and I will register you to comment in Malaysia Today. Once you are registered your comment will automatically get published without needing to wait for the moderator to approve it. If you refuse to register then what more can I say? That would be your fault, would it not? I can't understand why these people who want to whack Islam refuse to register to comment. It is not like they have to pay anything to register. Registration is free. Just e-mail me your details and you will get registered with no hassle whatsoever. It is so simple to do and yet they do not do it. It is really mind-boggling. So, for those readers who complain that they want to whack Islam and their comments do not get published, send me an e-mail with your details now and I promise you I will immediately register you. I will also not block or delete your comments -- they will automatically get published. Can you do that? Another point I want to discuss is regarding rights and privileges. Many readers confuse privileges with rights. They think that they have rights in Malaysia Today. Actually you do not have any rights in Malaysia Today. You see Malaysia Today is not a democracy. No one appointed me or elected me to head Malaysia Today. I set up Malaysia Today and appointed myself. So I call the shots, not you. Hence I decide what happens in Malaysia Today and I can even make up the rules and change them as we go along. Of course, you do not have to like this or agree to this. And if you don't like it you can set up your own Blog with your own rules. Then you decide what happens since it is your own Blog and set up with your own effort and money. This works just like your passport. A passport is not a right. It is a privilege. The passport does not belong to you. It belongs to the government and the government can take it away if you abuse the privilege. Your passport does not determine your citizenship. You can be a citizen of the country without owning a passport. Hence don't start screaming about your right to post comments in Malaysia Today. You have no rights whatsoever. You are merely a guest and as a guest I will allow you certain privileges. And I can also take away these privileges or deny you any privileges. And I do not need any reason to do that. Maybe I don't like your smell or your hairstyle or I think your skin is too dark or your eyes too shifty or whatever. I need no reason and I need not tell you my reason. That is how it works. I trust you now understand how it works. In short, you have privileges while I have rights. You have the privilege to post comments in Malaysia Today and I have the right to decide whether your comment gets published or not. You have the privilege to register to comment in Malaysia Today and I have the right to refuse your registration or delete your registration later if I don't like what you say. Is that now clear? And if it is not, then get a friend to help translate this into Bahasa Malaysia, Tamil or Mandarin.

Nazri: Large number of foreigners in Sabah not a threat Posted: 01 Oct 2012 03:41 PM PDT (The Star) - The presence of 889,770 legal and illegal foreigners in Sabah is not a threat to the country or the state's security and order, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz. He said that while national population growth was 2.5% annually, the growth in Sabah was higher. "The population growth rate is higher in Sabah compared to Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia for several reasons, including the presence of illegal immigrants from neighbouring countries," he said in response to a question by Datuk Seri Wilfred Mojilip Bumburing (Tuaran) on whether the presence of 800,000 foreigners in Sabah posed a threat to national safety and security. He said the relevant authorities, including police, immigration, national registration and the Chief Minister's department was constantly monitoring the situation. On June 1, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced the setting up of the RCI to investigate the long-standing problems related to illegal immigrants in Sabah, as the government was committed to resolving the issue. Sabah reportedly has more than half a million illegal immigrants, mostly Filipinos and Indonesians. Due to the influx of immigrants since the late 1960s, the state recorded a 410% population growth in 40 years from 648,000 in 1970 to 3,309,700 in 2010.

Ex-wife claims Bekir has RM700mil in 111 accounts Posted: 01 Oct 2012 02:51 PM PDT (The Star) - The Syariah High Court here heard on Tuesday that Datuk Seri Mahmud Abu Bekir, a Group Deputy Chairman of Cahaya Mata Sarawak (CMS), has 111 accounts totalling more than RM700mil. His ex-wife Shahnaz A. Majid, 48, testified that the accounts were located in several banks overseas, which includes United States of America, Europe and the Carribean. Shahnaz, who is the sister of jazz singer Datuk Sheila Majid, is claiming 50% of all assets owned by Mahmud Abu Bekir such as luxury cars, houses in various locations, land in Sarawak and shares. She said Mahmud Abu Bekir, 49, the son of Sarawak chief minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, had the capability to also pay her RM100mil in gifts to enable her to start her life afresh. The couple were married on Jan 9, 1992 and divorced on May 11 last year. Shahnaz was testifying in a trial for her application to get RM300mil in matrimonial property and RM100mil in gifts (mutaah) as a divorce settlement.

'Soros must explain Suaram involvement' Posted: 01 Oct 2012 02:35 PM PDT (NST) - A former Parti Keadilan Rakyat leader Ng Lum Yoong said yesterday currency speculator George Soros should shed some light on allegations that he financed Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) to "attack" the French defence industry. "Soros should explain to Malaysians and to the French why he had used Suaram to attack the French defence industry," he said in a statement. New York-based Open Society Institute, which was founded by Soros, had allegedly paid human rights watchdog Suaram RM774,000 (between 2008 and last year). "Why did Soros make use of illegal entities such as Suaram to hire two French lawyers, William Bourdon and Joseph Breham to fight the case?" Ng said Soros should have hired the litigators himself. "Soros should have paid the lawyers directly from America since the French are competing with the Americans for defence contracts all over the world." Ng, who was one of the founder members of PKR, also said that it was unfair for Soros to interfere with the Malaysian government's decision to purchase two French-made Scorpene submarines. "Since Soros is involved, it's no wonder why Suaram and Pakatan Rakyat strongly oppose the purchase the subs."

UK factory production lower as orders slump Posted: 01 Oct 2012 02:05 PM PDT (Reuter) - Activity in the British manufacturing sector shrank more than expected in September as export orders fell and costs soared, a survey showed, raising the risk that the economy will falter after rebounding in the past few months. The CIPS/Markit Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector fell to 48.4 from an upwardly revised 49.6 in August, dipping further below the 50 mark which separates growth from contraction. The latest signs of renewed weakness in manufacturing will support the view that the recovery is fragile and that the Bank of England will extend its quantitative easing asset purchases once the current round is completed in November. Manufacturers cut production for the third month in a row, with all major sectors seeing a contraction. "Overseas sales continue to be hit by the ongoing deterioration in global economic growth, with the eurozone the UK's largest export market at the epicentre of the weakness," said Markit chief economist Chris Williamson. "In this global economic environment, manufacturers look certain to struggle and the sector is unlikely to act as a driver of economic growth," he added. Manufacturing production jumped 3.2% in July, posting the sharpest monthly rise in 10 years.

Britain's economy slows as firms' hiring, investment plans ease Posted: 01 Oct 2012 01:58 PM PDT (Reuters) - Britain's economy has lost momentum over the past few months, with firms scaling back investment and hiring plans, business lobby BCC said on Tuesday, in another sign that a meaningful economic recovery remains elusive. The quarterly survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) also showed that domestic and export demand slowed as the government's austerity drive and the euro zone debt crisis weighed. "Economic growth is weak and businesses are less confident and less likely to invest than they were at the beginning of the year," BCC Director General John Longworth said in a statement. The BCC stuck to its long-held view that the economy has avoided recession, contradicting data from the Office for National Statistics, because the 7,593 firms surveyed continued to report growth rather than contraction in output. "While the official assessment that the UK was in technical recession for three consecutive quarters is still too gloomy in our view, it is clear that the economy has been stagnant for too long," BCC chief economist David Kern said. The BCC now predicts growth of 0.5 percent in the third quarter. Most economists reckon official data will show that Britain posted some economic growth in the third quarter, rebounding after an extra national holiday in the previous quarter and helped by sales of tickets for the London Olympics and Paralympics. But a vigorous return to health is seen as unlikely despite the Bank of England's efforts to boost the economy with a total of 375 billion pounds worth of asset purchases. The BCC's survey provided little reason for optimism. Manufacturers and service firms reported slower sales growth and falling orders in Britain, the BCC said. Export demand and orders growth also weakened. "Fewer firms are looking to invest in training and plant and machinery, and confidence in future turnover and profit has fallen to levels last seen at the end of 2011," the BCC said. Manufacturers as well as services firms also cut back their hiring plans. The labour market has been one of the few bright spots in Britain and employment has risen over the past 12 months despite the weak economy.

Suhakam mahu kerajaan iktiraf Suaram Posted: 01 Oct 2012 01:44 PM PDT Nomy Nozwir, The Malaysian Insider Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia (Suhakam) berkata, kerajaan mesti menghormati dan mengiktiraf Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) dalam melakukan kerja-kerja hak asasi manusia. Menurut pengerusinya, Tan Sri Hasmy Agam, Suhakam telah mengikuti secara teliti isu berkaitan Suaram dan dalam hal ini mengalu-alukan jaminan yang dibuat oleh Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, untuk meningkatkan pembaharuan yang lebih demokratik sebagai respons kepada pertumbuhan tuntutan kebebasan sivil yang semakin bertambah. "Walau bagaimanapun, Suhakam merasa amat bimbang dengan cara bagaimana penyiasatan dijalankan, publisiti dibuat dan dilaporkan mengenai urusan dan akaun Suaram.  "Suhakam menggesa semua pihak yang terlibat dalam penyiasatan ini supaya bertindak bukan sahaja menurut undang-undang dan peraturan tetapi selaras dengan semangat dan niat jaminan perdana menteri," katanya dalam kenyataan media yang dikirim ke The Malaysian Insider hari ini. Menurut Suhakam, kebebasan bersuara dan kebebasan berpersatuan adalah pokok kepada hak asasi manusia, yang dijamin di bawah Perlembagaan Persekutuan dan diperuntukkan dalam Perisytiharan Hak Asasi Manusia Sejagat. "Pejuang hak asasi manusia harus dibenarkan untuk berfungsi secara bebas, beroperasi di persekitaran yang berupaya dan selamat, dan mempunyai kebebasan untuk menentukan undang-undang, struktur dan aktiviti mereka. "Suhakam menyeru kerajaan agar terus mendukung dan mempromosi hak asasi manusia melalui perkongsian positif dengan pelbagai pihak berkepentingan, termasuk perniagaan dan masyarakat sivil yang akan menyumbang ke arah memastikan tadbir urus demokrasi yang kukuh di negara ini. "Ini adalah penting dan amat selaras dengan hasrat yang disuarakan perdana menteri untuk menggerakkan negara ke hadapan ke arah menjadi sebuah negara demokrasi yang berfungsi sepenuhnya yang memerlukan dasar-dasar dan amalan hak asasi manusia domestik yang mematuhi sepenuhnya prinsip-prinsip dan norma-norma yang diterima secara universal.  "Ini akan menggambarkan Malaysia dengan baik sebagai anggota Majlis Hak Asasi Manusia Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu dan menyumbang secara positif untuk meningkatkan imej antarabangsa sebagai negara yang menghormati hak asasi manusia," katanya lagi. Bulan lalu, pejabat utama Suaram diserbu pegawai Pendaftar Pertubuhan (RoS) dan juga pegawai polis bagi menyerahkan borang pendaftaran pertubuhan kepada badan bukan kerajaan itu yang kini sedang disiasat kerana dikatakan menerima dana asing daripada pertubuhan yang milik George Soros, Open Society Foundation (OSF). Kesemua enam pegawai, termasuk dua pegawai polis itu, bagaimanapun gagal memasuki premis Suaram kerana mereka tidak membawa sebarang dokumen dan notis untuk menjalankan siasatan terhadap premis tersebut. Cubaan serbuan itu dikaitkan dengan dakwaan Suaram menerima dana asing dan pertubuhan ini dikatakan mempunyai "akaun yang meragukan". Badan hak asasi manusia itu dikatakan menerima serangan kerana terlibat dalam siasatan dari Perancis berkenaan dakwaan penyelewengan wang  berbillion ringgit untuk pembelian dua buah kapal selam Scorpene.

Subsidies important for vulnerable groups Posted: 01 Oct 2012 01:34 PM PDT Local thinktanks Refsa and Ideas have misplaced their focus on critiquing subsidies in the 2013 Budget. We already have one of the highest levels of income inequality in the region. In pushing for a free market system without due attention to the structural defects of our political economy, proponents of a neo-liberal ideology run the risk of throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Lim Teck Ghee In their joint statement recently released on Sept 28, Ideas (Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs) and not-for-profit research institute Refsa (Research for Social Advancement) drew attention to the "shocking federal government subsidy bill for 2012" which according to them is now expected to hit RM42 billion, a massive RM9 billion or 27% above the RM33 billion originally forecast for the year. While it is true that subsidies have quadrupled in the past five years, and some of it is wasteful and not efficiently targeted at the most needy or priority sectors, the Refsa-Ideas contention of the debilitating effects of subsidies on our economic health needs to be challenged. Yes, blanket subsidies for cheap petrol and sugar do result in a degree of excessive and wasteful consumption. However the extent is debatable, and even if considerable, is not a sufficiently compelling reason for their immediate removal. The other argument that such subsidies "discourage investments in improving productivity and efficiency" and "benefit upper class Malaysians who consume much more than their poorer cousins" also needs dissecting. There is little empirical research to back up what has become an increasingly popular line of argument. For it to be useful or credible, echoing of popular opinion is not sufficient. The Refsa and Ideas team need to substantiate their position with hard data and rigorous analysis on these so-called negative effects. It is necessary to remind the Refsa-Ideas team that subsidies have an important role to play in providing a safety net for vulnerable groups. They help bring down the cost of living as well as enable access to health, education, transport and other necessities. They are a necessary burden in a highly skewed capitalist economy such as Malaysia's where the lower classes of labour do not get the fair remuneration that they are entitled to or deserve. We already have one of the highest levels of income inequality in the region. In pushing for a free market system without due attention to the structural defects of our political economy, proponents of a neo-liberal ideology run the risk of throwing out the baby with the bathwater. In their final argument Refsa-Ideas state that "restructuring subsidies is the low-hanging fruit that will help restore fiscal balance and improve our dwindling national competitiveness." In fact, subsidies and price controls to help poor households comprise a small proportion of the total government operating budget. The largest part of the budget is spent on salaries (to civil servants); pensions to retired civil servants and supplies and services – the last bloated by "excessive and wasteful" procurement and projects whose costs are inflated by rent-seeking and patronage charges. There is a credible counter argument that the ballooning deficit and growing mountain of debt in the country is mainly due to government spending on itself, rather than spending on the rest of the country or on the poor. The Refsa and Ideas team would be doing the country a greater service if they shift their focus onto this lower hanging fruit, especially the allocations provided to the political ministries which have been overrun with staff whose main function seems to be to look after the political and economic interests of the ruling party and its supporters rather than provide services to the public. Dr Lim Teck Ghee is the director of the Centre for Policy Initiatives.

Only Anwar can fail himself Posted: 01 Oct 2012 01:29 PM PDT Umno is not only in a battle for its political survival but is now in a battle within itself between faction for Najib and those for Muhyiddin. For Anwar, the time for greatness is nigh. Anwar is now locked in mortal political combat with Umno. Najib Tun Razak is irrelevant to the final outcome of this battle. Najib is the dead man walking. At best, Najib can say that he was once prime minister of Malaysia. CT Ali, FMT Sixteen years at the highest level of government followed by six years at its lowest in solitary confinement, and he is still a work in progress. Today at 65, when Anwar Ibrahim talks of politics that transcends race and religion, of politics that champions the democratic process, of a government that respects the rule of law and accepts a multi-cultural society, of freedom of religion, of a government devoid of vested interest and corruption – when he talks of all this and more – we not only listen but we hear what he is saying. But what are Anwar's convictions? Why is Anwar able to transcend partisan politics? How has he been able to make PAS understand that the Islamic state it passionately espouses cannot be a part of Pakatan Rakyat common agenda but it can still be PAS'? And yet for Anwar, an Islamic state is not a choice he can consider in the context of an international environment. For him, there must be moderation in Islam. The Islam that Umno talks about where people are detained without trial, denied their basic rights, the media managed and manipulated to serve the vested interest of their political masters and where corruption is rampant is not the Islam that Anwar aspires to. Anwar is for reform and transparency. He is for freedom and civil liberties. He understands that the civic, social and cultural attitudes of our society have changed… and changed radically. The issues that concern the Malays – language, education, the economy and Islam – concern him, too, but he knows that race-based politics is not the way to go. Anwar knows that race-based politics is the easy way to go. His times in university politics, Abim and Umno can attest to that. He chose PKR, a multi-racial entity, because it is the more difficult option and the right option for Malaysia's future. His task now is to see Pakatan evolved into a credible government. So what does liberty and liberalism entails in the concept that Anwar aspires to? Anwar wants the Malays to be less intolerant of those who are not of the Islamic faith. The Malay understanding of Islam must not be so superficial. There must be moderation in Islam. Allah does not need to be defended. The Malays must deal with the realities of living in a multi-cultural and multi-racial society without resorting to the crutch of Ketuanan Melayu or Islam. Let not Islam come into politics. Let Islam not be used for political gain. Let no one say that Islam is unjust. Battle within Umno Time has transcended Umno. There is too much moral hypocrisy in Umno. Umno ignores, nay it condones corruption. The rakyat are no longer complacent, they are disillusioned. The rakyat no longer trusts Umno and the commitment it makes. Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Razak meant for the ISA to be used against militant communism. Today after the excesses of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, we know that the ISA is used by Umno and its leaders for their own vested interests. So for the rakyat, political commitment is no longer enough – there must be put into place due process to ensure that the ISA and any other policy and issues are not abused for political gain. Government policies must no longer be negative or punitive in nature. Anwar wants this too. Our country is in a flux. Our values are changing, our aspirations for personal freedom to express ourselves on issues that matter to us are more defined and we seek a way out of the present impasse imposed upon us by the Barisan Nasional government. Is Anwar the way out of this impasse? For Anwar, the time for greatness is nigh. Anwar is now locked in mortal political combat with Umno. Najib Tun Razak is irrelevant to the final outcome of this battle. Najib is the dead man walking. At best, Najib can say that he was once prime minister of Malaysia. But what a prime minister! He failed himself in all respects except one – just as Kepala Batas was the recipient of much physical development during Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's time as prime minister, Pekan became the recipient of same during Najib's time – at our costs. Everything else that he did while prime minister – from his inability to move from under the shadow of the domineering Rosmah Mansor, the kow-towing to Mahathir by having Mahathir's son in his Cabinet, his use of money politics (Perak and the Sibu incident among the best documented) – belies the pedigree that he had come from. How could the eldest son of Tun Razak proved to be so totally inept at everything that he did? We could all see that every policy that Najib sought to implement was an election policy. His concern was the relentless persecution of his political nemesis rather than to do the business of government. Najib was all bluster with no substance. All talk with no action. The Umno that Najib is president of is not only in a battle for its political survival but is now in a battle within itself, between faction for Najib and those for his deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin. Najib has been adept at constructing his own political descent. Now the much older Muhyiddin feels the time has come to hasten that descent less his own opportunity for political greatness passes. And so Muhyiddin plots the political demise of Najib just as he plotted the political demise of Abdullah who counted Muhyiddin among those who he thought he could depend upon when his back is against a wall. READ MORE HERE

Votes in the moneybag Posted: 01 Oct 2012 01:26 PM PDT Budget 2013 is a sweetener to secure another deal from the people but it may not be enough to save the skin of the prime minister. Budget 2013 promises a better quality of life in this resplendent city. All are cared for: the young, the old, the sick, the fishermen, the farmers, the jobless graduates, the homeless, the civil servants and many more – in return for their votes. Billions will be pouring in to finance the programmes although no one knows how and where the money will come from. Free Malaysia Today Was it an election budget? The government says no, but all the goodies dished out unerringly indicate the way is paved for the prime minister to ring the bell and call for election. He dangles many carrots and wants the people to buy them with their votes. The budget is the only story left to tell the people that there is a happy ending if the same government is returned to power. All the promises will be fulfilled only when the mandate is safely in the pocket of the prime minister. The most powerful man in the country hopes the people will forget all the old chapters on corruption and abuse of power. He wants a new beginning and a new licence – to continue his old ways. Money can be a potent weapon to manipulate public opinion, especially when times are hard. A government will look good when it throws money to the poor. A leader becomes a hero when he satisfies the material needs of the impoverished masses. He becomes a deity when the downtrodden adores him for his boundless generosity. With all the wealth of the country at his disposal, the prime minister can do no wrong. Money is on tap and can be used at any time. It is most useful when election is around the corner and when the prime minister is in danger of losing his pants. Billions will be spent to develop the country in the relentless quest for a high-income status. Indeed, 2020 is the vision set for us to become a developed nation. By then, the promised land will rise and all will live in splendid circumstances. The only flaw in this story line is that the rich will become richer and the poor poorer. All the mega projects are for the enrichment of companies and individuals linked to the political establishment. The majority of the citizens will stay stuck in the quagmire of rural and urban poverty. The push for a modern state will leave many people dispossessed and dislocated. They do not matter in the grand scheme of things. They will be ruthlessly driven out to make way for the playthings of conglomerates supported by the unscrupulous politicians. New soaring skylines will emerge as Malaysia races to be on par with the technologically advanced economies. The only people who will marvel at the new "shiny city on the hill" are the corrupt, the depraved, the rapacious. The others who live on the fringes can only seethe with frustration. Political ambitions Budget 2013 promises a better quality of life in this resplendent city. All are cared for: the young, the old, the sick, the fishermen, the farmers, the jobless graduates, the homeless, the civil servants and many more – in return for their votes. Billions will be pouring in to finance the programmes although no one knows how and where the money will come from, given the unpromising domestic economic trends and the depressing global business scene. Prudent spending or fiscal responsibility is not our strength. Millions in public funds have gone down the drain over the years unaccounted for. Still, there is not a care in the world about the misuse of taxpayers' money. READ MORE HERE

Malaysia’s Coming Election: Beyond Communalism? Posted: 01 Oct 2012 11:53 AM PDT Both sides are furiously making calculations about tactics to win seats, tailoring their message to the communities concerned. The two eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak could be kingmakers, because they control 25 per cent of the available seats. International Crisis Group Malaysia's thirteenth general election, which Prime Minister Najib Razak will have to call by April 2013, could be a watershed in communal relations. More than ever before, there is a chance, albeit a very small one, that opposition parties running on issues of transparency, economic equity and social justice could defeat the world's longest continually-elected political coalition, the National Front (Barisan Nasional), that has based its support on a social compact among the country's Malay, Chinese and Indian communities. That compact, granting Malays preferential status in exchange for security and economic growth, has grown increasingly stale as the growing middle class demands more of its leaders. Both ruling party and opposition are using images of the Arab Spring – the former to warn of chaos if it is not returned to power, the latter to warn of popular unrest unless political change comes faster. Social and demographic change, coupled with effective opposition leadership and the rise of a broad-based movement for electoral reform, are likely to make this election at the very least a close contest. The ruling coalition, composed of the dominant United Malays Nationalist Organisation (UMNO); the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA); and the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), as well as several smaller parties, faces the People's Alliance (Pakatan Rakyat), composed of the People's Justice Party (Partai Keadilan Rakyat, PKR), led by former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim; the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (Partai Islam Se-Malaysia, PAS). More than ever before, the swing vote may be the Malay middle ground: urban professionals, students and "netizens" – internet users – who have benefited from constitutionally-protected preferential status for Malays but who are tired of cronyism and corruption and are chafing under the tight controls on civil liberties. The deck is stacked against the opposition for many reasons, not least because of an electoral system based on questionable voting rolls and carefully gerrymandered, single-representative constituencies where victory requires only a plurality (first past the post). Demands for a more level playing field gave rise in 2007 to a broad-based civil society movement, the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections, known as Bersih (Clean), that has held four mass street rallies drawing tens of thousands of participants: in November 2007; July 2011; April 2012 and August 2012. The first three were broken up by police with hundreds of arrests. In the third, violence on the part of a few participants led to harsh police counter-actions and allegations of brutality. Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, now retired but leading UMNO's ultra-conservatives from the sidelines, has been warning Malaysians to expect more violence in the streets if the opposition loses. The big issues are the economy, corruption and political reform. Bread-and-butter topics matter most to the electorate, and Barisan's vast resources enable it to dole out economic favours to strategic constituencies in the lead-up to the election. The opposition is getting plenty of mileage out of corruption scandals involving top UMNO officials, although UMNO is fighting back with legal challenges and defamation suits. Political reform is seen by both sides as a political winner. Prime Minister Najib has rolled back or reworked some of the draconian legislation – most notably the colonial-era Internal Security Act (ISA) – that Mahathir used to curb dissent during his 22 years in power, but the opposition denounces it as too little, too late. Two huge issues are largely off the official agendas of both coalitions but dominate them in many ways. One is the preferred treatment for Malays in virtually all spheres of public life and whether opening political space and promoting social justice would diminish that status. The ultra-conservatives within UMNO are determined to protect Malay rights at all costs. The other is the question of Islamic law and religious tolerance. Under Mahathir, Malaysia embarked on a program of Islamisation of the government and bureaucracy, culminating in his declaration of an Islamic state in 2001. PAS, once known for a hardline Islamist agenda, is now led by pragmatists who are willing to put contentious issues like Islamic criminal justice on hold, at least temporarily, in the interests of trying to defeat Barisan. But neither side is above trying to scare non-Malay communities, particularly the Chinese, by predicting greater intolerance if the other wins. Within the opposition coalition, relations between PAS and the Chinese-dominated DAP remain fragile. Both sides are furiously making calculations about tactics to win seats, tailoring their message to the communities concerned. The two eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak could be kingmakers, because they control 25 per cent of the available seats. Ultimately the question Malaysians will have to answer on election day is which of the two choices will be better able to accommodate political change, while protecting minorities against the hardline forces that more openness can produce. Read at: http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/asia/south-east-asia/malaysia/235-malaysias-coming-election-beyond-communalism.aspx

Traditional Medicine Act 2012: Has the government lost its marbles? Posted: 01 Oct 2012 11:49 AM PDT What does the tabling of this Act reveal about our government? First of all, it shows that they have extremely poor planning capacities — could they not have formulated a less ambitious and less intrusive piece of legislation. Another feature this Act reveals is the over-riding desire to CONTROL. Jeyakumar Devaraj, The Malaysian Insider Sigmund Freud in his heyday would put his patients on the couch and invite them to relax and recount their dreams. This technique was, in Freud's hands, a window into their subconsciousness — a peek into the passions and unconscious motives that determined these patients' actions. We do not have such access to the dreams — or should it be nightmares? — of our venerable BN leaders. But we have an equally useful window to peek into at their collective subconsciousness — the strange laws that they sometimes bring to Parliament! On September 24, we in Parliament witnessed the tabling of a law to regulate traditional medical practitioners. There is nothing wrong with the intention to keep track of and provide some regulation to traditional medical practitioners. But the law being proposed makes a quantum leap from a regime of almost no supervision to one where there is excessive supervision! Section 3 of the new Act defines traditional medicine as any "form of health related practice designed to prevent, treat or manage illness or preserve the mental and physical well-being of an individual". The Act then goes on to say that all those practising traditional medicine have to be registered under the Council being set up under this Act. This Council has the power to register, provisionally register (section 22), prescribe training or apprenticeship requirements (section 5e) and issue practising certificates (section 5g). What takes the cake is section 25 that states that any person who practises any form of traditional medicine without first obtaining a practising certificate from the Council "commits an offence liable to a fine of not more than RM30,000 and/or imprisonment for up to two years"! I managed to intervene when the Umno member for Ledang was extolling the benefits of this Act and commending the government for its far-sightedness. Don't you think, I asked him, that this Act puts a terribly onerous burden on the director-general of Health, who is designated as the chairman of the Council that gives out practising certificates to the traditional practitioners? If he gives a particular traditional practitioner a practising certificate, it gives the impression that the Ministry of Health recognises and endorses that modality of treatment. If, on the other hand, the director-general turns down the request for a licence to practise, that practitioner cannot practise legally and is open to all sorts of penalties — surely he will be unhappy with the director-general. Isn't this a terrible burden to place upon a civil servant, I asked. The Honourable Member for Ledang seemed a little taken aback. I think the minister will answer that, he responded. Then, seeing the smiles on our side of the chamber, he went on to say defensively that we have to make a start somewhere and that the smaller issues can be sorted out as we go. But that is the issue isn't it — ideally, we should start at the beginning. We should first start monitoring and then registering the traditional practitioners in a non-compulsive manner, and only later certify those modalities that the ministry is confident about endorsing. Here we are plunging into the deep end by seeking to regulate all traditional medicine modalities from the word go! I intervened again when Tian Chua was speaking — sometimes it is easier to do so than to get the Speaker to recognise one's intention to speak. Wouldn't it be better, I asked, for the ministry to make registration voluntary at this stage. Some of those registered, who the Council is confident about, can be officially certified. The practitioner could then display the ministry certification in his place of practice. And the government could tell the people that they should be careful when the traditional practitioner does not display a Health Ministry certification. Then, looking directly at the health minister, I said don't bite off more than you can chew. The ministry does not have the expertise to evaluate the numerous different branches of traditional practice that can be found in our multiracial society. Why don't you take things step by step instead of taking on so much upon yourself? Our health minister has extremely good PR — he will listen, seemingly intently and then will nod and write something on his notepad. That's what he did again on September 24. My experience is that nothing much results after all the intensive listening and note-taking. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/traditional-medicine-act-2012-has-the-government-lost-its-marbles-jeyakumar-devaraj/

Don’t be complacent, Lim warns Pakatan Posted: 01 Oct 2012 01:46 AM PDT The chief minister says he will ask all Pakatan parties to submit reports on preparations for the general election. Athi Shankar, FMT Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has cautioned Pakatan Rakyat to view seriously Umno's boast of 3-3-3-1 winning formula for Barisan Nasional to recapture Penang. Lim, the DAP secretary-general, is concerned that Umno confidence could be boosted by complacency among Pakatan Rakyat leaders and members. Observers have speculated that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak would call for general election next year. But Lim, the state Pakatan chairman, is not taking things for granted. He will ask all Pakatan parties – DAP, PKR and PAS – to submit their respective full report soon on their election preparation. "Umno may be correct as Penang Pakatan's machinery is not in full election mode. Pakatan must view Umno's confidence seriously," Lim said in a statement here today. Yesterday, Umno vice-president and Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi expressed confidence on the 3-3-3-1 winning formula. in which Umno would win three seats more while retaining its current 11 state seats in Penang. MCA and Gerakan will win three seats each while MIC will win one seat to bring BN's total to 21, enough to knock Pakatan off its perch and recapture the state government by a one-seat majority in the 40-seat State Legislative Assembly. Lim said Umno's confidence could arise because the Election Commission (EC) is its obedient tool and it also controls the mainstream media to spread lies against Pakatan. He said the manipulation of EC to serve BN's political interests was well-recorded, with top EC officials being exposed as Umno members. He also took the mainstream media to task for carrying out sustained personal attacks against Pakatan leaders based on racism, and outright lies of corruption and sexual misconduct. "Even my own family members including my under-aged son have not been spared from such vicious lies," said Lim, the Bagan MP and Air Putih assemblyman. He said Umno is talking about regaining ground among Chinese, Indian and Malay voters because there is now a blackout of Pakatan leaders in all the mainstream media. For instance, he said some newspapers have refused to publish details of his house tenancy agreement when he revealed it recently in the interests of transparency. He also said the newspapers did not publish Pakatan's requests to BN leaders to reveal their tenancy or purchases of luxury homes. "The blackout will be total come election time," Lim said.

"Oops, My Bad," says Chegubard on 1Malaysia exercise book article Posted: 30 Sep 2012 05:47 PM PDT (Malaysian Digest) - Parti Keadilan Rakyat's Rembau division chief Badrul Hisham Shahrin has admitted that he made a mistake in lambasting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak over the alleged distribution of 1Malaysia school exercise books bearing the PM's image on its cover. Badrul Hisham, better known as Chegubard, yesterday issued a statement on his blog (chegubard.blogspot.com) explaining his error. He said he has since withdrawn the comments he made concerning an article published in the Keadilan Daily website on Sept 24, in which it was claimed that the '1Malaysia exercise books' were being distributed in schools. In his blog, Chegubard said he took full responsibility for the comment. He said the statement was made in his own personal capacity, and was not representative if any party or organization he is involved with. "As a people's activist, I have always been taught to stand up for the truth. But when you've realize that you have committed a wrong, don't be afraid to admit you're wrong and assume responsibility," he said. The apology, he said, was made was after he had discovered the facts behind the existence of the exercise book via a report made by Malaysian Digest on Friday. Malaysian Digest's report had clarified that the exercise book was part of an independent art project. "After realizing the truth, I withdraw the statement I previously made for the news portal (Keadilan Daily). I confess to the mistakes I've made as a people's activist and I value the creative effort the artists have made for the art project," he wrote. Referring to the Keadilan Daily report, Chegubard said he had received a call from a reporter who sought his comments regarding school exercise books with Najib's face on the cover, the images of which had gone viral especially on Facebook. The Keadilan Daily report had claimed that the exercise books were being widely distributed in schools. In the article, which was subsequently taken down from the Keadilan Daily website on Sept 25, Chegubard had compared Barisan Nasional and Umno's move to that of former Egyptian prime minister Hosni Mubarak, whom he claimed had circulated his pictures across Egypt before he was overthrown by his people. Chegubard was further quoted as saying that Umno BN's effort would prove fruitless as school students are not old enough to vote in the general election. Apart from Chegubard, Keadilan Daily had also highlighted remarks from PKR central leadership committee member Fariz Musa, who had claimed that Najib's attempt in manipulating school and students showed how desperate the BN regime was. In an interview with Malaysian Digest, the creators of the exercise book had stepped forward to explain their side of the story. June Low, 27, and her partner, graphic artist Adila Abdul Malik, 25, were infuriated when they learnt that the exercise book, meant for an art event, had been spun into political propaganda. The 'Art for Grabs' event was held from Sept 22 to Sept 23 at the Annex Gallery at Central Market, where Low and Adila had set up a booth called 'Gerai 1Malaysia' and displayed a range of comedic art merchandise to suit the theme. The theme of the event was 'Janji Ditutupi', a play of words on the government's recent Merdeka Day theme, Janji Ditepati. Low has demanded an apology for the article and retraction from Keadilan Daily. Low has also asked Keadilan Daily to apologize not only to them, but also to the public for its misleading report, which she had labelled as "irresponsible journalism".

PKR sees CAT as ‘storm in a teacup’ Posted: 30 Sep 2012 05:43 PM PDT Penang PKR information chief says the affair won't affect Pakatan's preparations for election. Hawkeye, FMT GEORGE TOWN: Penang PKR has shrugged off the exposure of its chairman Mansor Othman criticising Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, saying it would not affect Pakatan Rakyat's preparation for the 13th general election. "It's a storm in a teacup," said Penang PKR communications bureau head Sim Tze Tzin in reference to a leaked recording of Mansor allegedly describing Lim as arrogant. He said both his party and Lim's DAP regarded the leakage as a weak attempt to create a rift within Pakatan. However, a local Gerakan leader sees Sim's remarks as an attempt to cover up Lim's unpopularity. Mohan Apparoo, who leads Gerakan's Batu Kawan division, said Lim had been criticised as arrogant even by local DAP grassroots leaders. "To enliven this further," he added, "I was told that some of the DAP leaders on the (Penang) mainland will now be supporting Barisan Nasional because they are fed up with Lim's attitude." The media now refers to the controversy as CAT, abbreviating "cocky, arrogant and tokong" —words that Mansor apparently used to describe Lim during a meeting he had with some local PKR members. Details of the private meeting, including an audio recording, were posted in the "Gelagat Anwar" blog in June. Last Monday, TV3 aired the recording at prime time. Penang PKR has since announced that it was investigating the affair. Sim declined to say whether the culprit behind the leak had been identified or whether PKR would act against him or her, but he remarked that it "would be naive" to speculate that Mansor's political future was doomed as a result of it. "The remarks were made in a coffeeshop setting," he said. "The conversation was informal and there was loose talk. Some quirky remarks were made. They cannot be taken to heart."

‘Friendship’ turned nightmare for Musa Posted: 30 Sep 2012 05:37 PM PDT Chief Minister Musa Aman's bogeyman case has become a nightmare for his officers in the CM's office. (FMT) - KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Chief Minister's office is keenly watching an ongoing court case involving a businessman whom Chief Minister Musa Aman has previously claimed he did not know. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) case against one Michael Chia Tien Foh has got Musa's office sufficiently hot and bothered that it has even "advised" the mainstream media to avoid mention of the case, sources said. Most have taken the advice to heart and there is little news in the mainstream media that the MACC case against the businessman was winding its way through the courts until one newspaper unexpectedly published a court decision that Musa's bogeyman must face trial. Musa has been haunted by the controversial businessman since 2008 when the latter was arrested in Hong Kong as he was about to exit the country with a bag stuffed with cash amounting to some S$16 million. In the subsequent investigations, Chia reportedly told the Hong Kong's Independent Commission on Anti-Corruption (ICAC) that the money was not his and actually belonged to Musa. Musa, who also heads Umno in resource-rich Sabah, is still the subject of ongoing concurrent investigations in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Switzerland involving a Swiss UBS bank account under his name that allegedly has $100 million. The Swiss prosecutor has stated that the government would freeze the account if the Malaysian government requested they do so. Recently, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak revealed that investigation reports on the Musa's cases were with the Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail. But the opposition has grabbed hold of the scandal and refuses to let go, alleging that the trail of alleged illegal dealings leads right to Najib's office. Chia ordered to enter defence PKR vice-president, Tian Chua, has claimed that leaked MACC investigation papers disclosed that Musa told investigators that the $100 million under his name in the UBS account was not his but Umno's and as such directly implicates Najib. Now that the controversial Sabah businessman has been ordered to enter his defence on a charge of attempting to cheat another local businessman over the right to log and extract commercial timber at the Kalabakan Forest Reserve, Musa is furtively watching the case. On Aug 24, Sandakan High Court judge Supang Lian set aside the acquittal of Chia by the Sessions Court and set Sept 12 for the mention of Chia's case at the Sessions Court. Supang, in allowing the prosecution's appeal against Chia on Aug 24, however, dismissed the prosecution's appeal against the acquittal of another businessman Lo Man Heng jointly charged with Chia, ruling that the link between Lo and the offence had not been established. Both Chia and Lo, who were charged under Section 420 of Penal Code, had been acquitted by the Sessions Court on Sept 23 last year without their defence being called. READ MORE HERE

Secularism is the way to go Posted: 30 Sep 2012 05:17 PM PDT Yes, as Anwar said, and as I have also been saying for many years, Malaysia can't make it just with electoral reforms. We need political and government reforms as well. And this is why I joined LibDem in the UK. While the others were talking merely about electoral reforms, LibDem was talking about political and government reforms. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin Anwar touts Turkey as model for economic, political reforms (The Malaysian Insider) - Like Turkey, Malaysia can regain its economic lustre within a short period only through comprehensive political and government reform, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today in debating Budget 2013. The opposition leader blamed Malaysia's blunted competitive edge on the Barisan Nasional (BN) government's failure to redress the lopsided economic policies awarded to "cronies and rich parties with interests", leading to a protracted Budget deficit for the last 15 years. "Turkey's success under Reccip Tayeb Erdogan, for example, gives us confidence that economic policy and governance that is based on social justice, transparency, trust and recognising the potential talent of its people can boost the country's economic prosperity within a short period." "That is why Pakatan Rakyat has from early on stressed that change and economic improvements cannot happen without political and government reform," he said in his Budget speech. Using Turkey as an example, the former finance minister said in the 10 years since Erdogan became its prime minister, the latter had managed to transform the secular Muslim country's economy that had contracted in 2002 to become a "new economic miracle". Turkey's gross domestic product (GDP) had tripled in nine years, he said, from US$233 billion (RM722 billion) in 2002 to US$773 billion last year. Its projected economic growth for this year is estimated to be more than 11 per cent, based on the first-quarter figures, which Anwar said topped China's and every other developed country worldwide. He pointed out too that Turkey's economy had grown an average of between seven and nine per cent a year during Erdogan's administration and, more notably, the country would have offset its €1 billion (RM4 billion) sovereign debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by next April, the shortest-ever repayment considering the amount owed. The Permatang Pauh MP said Malaysia was now facing the risk of being left further behind by other Asian countries that used to lag behind it in the 1970s and 1980s, like South Korea, which had succeeded in forging ahead with measures to combat corruption and level the economic playing field to raise the competitive edge for business entrepreneurs. But he believed that Malaysia, which had a higher economic potential due to its oil reserves, still stood a strong chance of surging ahead by overhauling the existing economic structure. "Barisan Nasional's failure to end the Budget deficit for 15 consecutive years while Malaysia has oil reserves shows there is a structural economic problem that it has neglected and allowed to spread like a cancerous tumour, for resolving the economic imbalance means touching cronies and the rich parties with interests," he said. ******************************************** Turkey's political system is based on a separation of powers. Executive power is exercised by the Council of Ministers while legislative power is vested in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Its current constitution was adopted on 7th November 1982 after the Turkish constitutional referendum. The function of head of state is performed by the president who is elected every five years on the principle of universal suffrage according to the current constitution. The president does not have to be a member of parliament but he/she must be over 40 years old and hold a bachelor's degree. Executive power rests with the president, the prime minister and the Council of Ministers. The ministers do not have to be members of Parliament. The prime minister is appointed by the President and approved through a vote of confidence in the Parliament. Legislative power is invested in the 550-seat Grand National Assembly of Turkey representing 81 provinces. The members are elected for a four-year term by mitigated proportional representation with an election threshold of 10%. To be represented in Parliament, a party must win at least 10% of the national vote in a national parliamentary election. Independent candidates may run, and to be elected, they must only win 10% of the vote in the province from which they are running. Turkey has a legal system that has been wholly integrated with the continental European system. For example the Turkish civil law system has been modified by incorporating elements of the Swiss Civil Code, the Code of Obligations and the German Commercial Code. The administrative law bears similarities with the French Counterpart and the penal code with the Italian Counterpart. ******************************************** When Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim talks like this I will certainly support what he says. These are the type of things I like him to say. This not only gives Anwar a more statesmanlike image but what he says is in line with my own thoughts. And, just like most Pakatan Rakyat supporters, I will agree with someone who says things that I agree with and will whack all those who say things that I do not agree with. In fact, that is not just the Pakatan Rakyat way but also the Malaysian way -- you have the right to say anything as long as I agree with what you say. Above is a bit of background into the Turkish system. Turkey used to be called 'The Sick Man of Europe'. Today it can actually be called one of the most progressive Muslim countries in the world. Even Anwar would agree with this. However, Islamists and fundamentalist Muslims would disagree with this prognosis. They would consider Turkey a bad example of what a Muslim country should be like. For that matter, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the man whom the west calls 'The Father of Modern Turkey', would be called an apostate and a traitor to Islam by the fundamentalist. I once prayed in the Rusila mosque in Terengganu and the PAS President, Tok Guru Abdul Hadi Awang, actually whacked Mustafa Kemal Atatürk to kingdom come. Hence I know for a fact that the PAS President (and most fundamentalist Muslims) does not regard Mustafa Kemal Atatürk highly. He would consider Mustafa Kemal Atatürk as someone whose head should be separated from his neck. In Turkey, everyone is entitled to freedom of worship, religion, conscience and belief. In other words, apostasy does not exist in Turkey. That can never be accepted in a 'proper' Muslim country. On that one score alone Turkey can never be accepted as a Muslim country. Hence, how can we classify Turkey as the perfect example of a Muslim country (at least be western interpretations) when by Eastern interpretations it cannot qualify as a Muslim country? Anwar is singing Turkey's praises and is telling us that if Malaysia can be like Turkey then Malaysia's economy will become just like Turkey's. And in singing Turkey's praises he lists down Turkey's virtues. I can buy that. I agree that if Malaysia became like Turkey then we can expect to see our economy improve, just like Turkey. But to become like Turkey we will need, as Anwar said, political and government reforms -- to quote what Anwar said. Again, I can buy that. In fact, Anwar took the words right out of my mouth. And this is what I have been saying for many years. And this is what I said when Anwar and I met up in London two years ago. And this is what I said when we launched the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM). And this is also what I said in my TV3 interview in April 2011 and my NST interview on 1st January 2012. Yes, as Anwar said, and as I have also been saying for many years, Malaysia can't make it just with electoral reforms. We need political and government reforms as well. And this is why I joined LibDem in the UK. While the others were talking merely about electoral reforms, LibDem was talking about political and government reforms. So what do I now say? Do I say 'I told you so'? Do I say 'now Anwar Ibrahim is singing the same song as I have been singing for so long'? Or do I say 'how far is Pakatan Rakyat prepared to go to see political and government reforms'? So we want to become just like Turkey -- a successful country, in particular in terms of governance and the economy. But are we prepared to do things just like Turkey? Maybe I should pose this question another way: will the Islamists and fundamentalists agree to Malaysia becoming like Turkey? In short: we cannot be slightly pregnant. Either we are or we are not. That is the bottom line. And does Anwar realise that to become just like Turkey we need a lot of reforms -- not just cosmetic changes but a major structural change? That, I fear, is what most Malaysians are not ready to accept. And that is why I have been screaming at both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat. They talk about setting up home but they shy away from marriage. So are you saying we need to live in sin? Either we go all the way or we are neither here nor there. And this is what we plan for Malaysia -- a lot of cosmetics to give the impression of external beauty but rotten to the core internally? And don't try to tell me that once we kick out Barisan Nasional all this is going to change. The problem is not Umno. The problem is the Muslims. The Muslims are not prepared to embrace secularism in favour of Islam, like what the Turks have done. That is the core issue here. Hence no change of government is going to help if Muslims resist a change of mindset.

Portal accused of misusing art Posted: 30 Sep 2012 03:46 PM PDT (The Star) - The creators of an art project that featured merchandise with designs offering a tongue-in-cheek look at Malaysia do not find it funny that their work has been exploited by a news portal for political mileage. They accused Keadilan Daily of misleading the people and want the website to issue a public apology to the merchandise creators as well as to the public. The website had, on Sept 24, published an article in which it alleged a school exercise book with the caricature of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was being distributed in schools. The article, quoting Rembau PKR chief Badrul Hisham Shaharin better known as Chegubard criticised the move and likened it to former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak displaying his image before his downfall. The article has since been removed from the site. Refuting claims in the article, June Low, 27, said she and graphic artist Adila Abdul Malik, 25, had come up with the idea of a Malaysia-themed artwork and merchandise for the Art for Grabs event at the Annexe Gallery in Central Market on Sept 22. The theme of the event was Janji Ditutupi, a play on the Government's Merdeka Day theme Janji Ditepati. "We displayed a range of comedic art merchandise. "Items included a school exercise book, with the cover bearing a likeness to the PM and the 1Malaysia logo," she told news portal Malaysian Digest yesterday. Low said their intention was to amuse and share a laugh with others and those who visited the event were aware of the attempt at light-hearted humour in the current affairs of Malaysia. Low said she was shocked that a photo of the book cover on her Twitter account was used by Keadilan Daily in an article. She said: "To twist the truth to this extent without fact-checking is disgusting. "It is simply irresponsible journalism." Keadilan Daily could not be contacted for comment.

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