Selasa, 11 Disember 2012

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The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 15)

Posted: 10 Dec 2012 04:27 PM PST

It was agreed that Anwar would meet up with Bakar Daud and Rashid Ngah and that I would arrange to bring them down to Kuala Lumpur for that meeting. I would also speak to Awang Jabar (who was very critical of Anwar) and get him to 'turn'. As for Zubir Embong and Rahman Bakar, they would send Hamzah Zainuddin (the present Deputy Minister for Plantation Industries and Commodities) to personally handle them.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Once Tok Guru Abdul Hadi Awang became a 'permanent fixture' of Masjid Mujahidin in Damansara Utama, the mosque began to expand rapidly. The old wooden structure was no longer big enough to accommodate the much-enlarged congregation. An expansion programme was now in order.

But the land that the mosque sat on did not belong to the mosque. It belonged to the Fire Department and was merely 'on loan' to the mosque. And one of the terms of the 'loan', other than they would have to return the land to the Fire Department if they asked for it, was that the structure built on the land must be 'temporary', which means wooden.

So they first had to apply for that land. Only then could they submit the architect's plans to build a permanent or concrete structure. And, quite surprisingly, the government approved the application and gave the Fire Department an alternative piece of land in Taman Tun Dr Ismail to build their new fire station.

Other than approve the land, the government even offered to give the mosque some funds. The mosque committee, however, rejected the government offer. They wanted funding to be totally from the public. They did not want one Sen to be from the government. Even if they did take any government money the funds would only be used to build the detached toilets.

Umno was not too happy with the whole thing, though. And during the Umno meeting that was chaired by Dr Ibrahim Saad, Anwar Ibrahim's Political Secretary, they urged the Selangor Religious Department to demolish the wooden mosque and deny them permission to build a new concrete mosque.

The Selangor Religious Department summoned the mosque committee for a meeting, as they had been instructed to do, but the officer just winked and told them to proceed with the construction of the new mosque. The Selangor Religious Department was on the side of the mosque -- or rather they were pro-Ustaz Hadi Awang people.

One day, in the mid-1980s, and a couple of years after PAS (meaning Hadi Awang) had been 'exported' to Kuala Lumpur, Anwar Ibrahim, then the Education Minister, visited Kuala Terengganu. I was jogging along the road in front of the Sultan's Palace when this very official looking car horned and someone inside waved at me. I did not know then that it was Anwar Ibrahim.

The following day the Director of the Terengganu branch of the National Archives (Arkib Negara), Zainol Abdul Rahman, an ABIM activist, dropped into my office. It seems he was also in the car the day before when Anwar told his driver to horn me. Zainol said that Anwar told him to get in touch with me to get my help to campaign in Terengganu.

But why should I want to help Umno campaign in Terengganu? My alliance was with PAS, not Umno. No, not campaign for Umno. Campaign for Anwar. But why does Anwar not join PAS? Then we can campaign for him. Well, because if Anwar joins PAS he can never become Prime Minister. To become Prime Minister he needs to be in Umno and to rise up the ranks within Umno.

I went down to meet Anwar in his office in Kuala Lumpur. "What the hell are you doing in Terengganu?" Anwar asked me. "I cannot penetrate even a single bahagian (division) in Terengganu. Why aren't you people doing your work? Help me penetrate Terengganu."

"Terengganu has only eight bahagian," I told Anwar. "How many do you want to penetrate?"

"Even if you can give me just one I am happy."

"I will give you four," I replied. "Kuala Terengganu, Marang, Dungun and Hulu Terengganu. Is that enough? Four out of eight, that's half of Terengganu."

Anwar smile. Maybe he thought I was being sarcastic.

"But there will be a price to pay. Are you prepared to pay that price?"

"Speak to Pak Wan," Anwar replied.

Pak Wan, or Datuk Dr Wan Ismail, is Anwar's father-in-law, Dr Wan Azizah's father.

I met up with Pak Wan and briefed him on my plans. We need to seek out Menteri Besar Wan Mokhtar Ahmad's enemies and personalities who are ketua bahagian (division heads) or warlords in their own right. Three such people would be Bakar Daud of Kuala Terengganu, Awang Jabar of Dungun and Rashid Ngah of Hulu Terengganu.

Then we need to seek out ambitious youth leaders who are in a hurry to go up the ladder. Two such people would be Zubir Embong of Kuala Terengganu and Rahman Bakar of Marang.

The youth leaders must not, however, 'disturb' the old guards or warlords. Hence the old guards would contest state seats while the young chicos would contest parliament seats. And they must be promised 'positions' if they throw their lot behind Anwar.

Pak Wan brought me to meet Syed Ibrahim Syed Mohamed (READ ABOUT HIS MYSTERIOUS DEATH HERE) and Ahmad Sebi Bakar, the CEO of TV3 (READ MORE HERE).

It was agreed that Anwar would meet up with Bakar Daud and Rashid Ngah and that I would arrange to bring them down to Kuala Lumpur for that meeting. I would also speak to Awang Jabar (who was very critical of Anwar) and get him to 'turn'. As for Zubir Embong and Rahman Bakar, they would send Hamzah Zainuddin (the present Deputy Minister for Plantation Industries and Commodities) to personally handle them.

It was also agreed that Hamzah and I would fly to Terengganu with RM250,000 in cash to hand to our 'kuda' (horses). Hamzah would come out with half that amount, RM125,000, and I would have to fork out the other half. Hamzah, my wife Marina, and I then flew to Kuala Terengganu with two bags of cash. We met up with our 'kuda' and handed them the money.

It was further agreed that Zubir Embong and Rahman Bakar would be given parliamentary seats to contest. Anwar would make sure of this. Zubir would contest the Kuala Terengganu seat while Rahman the Marang seat. I was not too happy with this, though, because that would mean we would have to defeat my Tok Guru, Hadi Awang, if we wanted Rahman Bakar to win.

But Anwar was adamant. "Make sure Zubir Embong and Rahman Bakar win," Anwar instructed. "Do whatever needs to be done." It was common knowledge that Hadi Awang and Anwar Ibrahim hated each other. Hence to Anwar this was also personal.

I sat down with Pak Wan and Ahmad Sebi to sort out our 'Dirty Tricks Department'. It is not going to be easy for Zubir and Rahman to win the Kuala Terengganu and Marang seats respectively unless we 'played dirty'. And we would have to be real dirty to defeat Hadi Awang, the 'Giant of Marang'.

They told me the game plan and I did not like it. As much as Anwar wanted Zubir and Rahman to win, Hadi Awang was my Tok Guru. They could not expect me to sabotage my own Tok Guru. I begged to be exempted from all involvement in their game plan. I had reached the limit as to what I would do for Anwar and betraying my own Tok Guru was beyond the limit I was prepared to go -- especially the dirty tricks they were going to employ.

I met up with Mustafa Ali to inform him about what was going on. I also told him what the game plan was and how they were going to do a dirty on PAS. I asked him what he would like me to do about it.

Mustafa Ali told me to 'stay in Anwar's camp'. "Infiltrate their group and report back to me daily what they are up to," Mustafa Ali said. "You can serve us better as our spy in Anwar's camp." I did just that. I also handed PAS a bag of cash to 'redeem my sins'. That was the best I could do under the circumstances although the amount was not that large.

Zubir Embong and Rahman Bakar both won the 1986 general election. And that earned Rahman Bakar the title of 'Giant Killer' -- he had defeated Hadi Awang.

Anwar appointed Zubir Embong the Chairman of Bank Simpanan Nasional, a Director of Pewaja Steel Sdn Bhd and a Director of TNB Berhad. Rahman Bakar was appointed the Chairman of Lembaga Kemajuan Ikan Malaysia (LKIM) from 1987-1990 and the Deputy Chairman of Mara from 1990-1995.

I felt real bad about my role in defeating Hadi Awang in 1986. In the 1990 general election, I refused to help them. Once was enough. Anwar bumped into me in Kampong Kerinchi in Lembah Pantai during the 1990 general election campaign and scolded me.

"What are you doing here?" he asked me. "You are supposed to be in Terengganu helping Zubir Embong and Rahman Bakar." My wife, Marina, was pissed big time -- mainly because Anwar scolded me in public in front of so many people.

"That bastard is never going to become the Prime Minister," Marina said. "You just watch. Record that in your diary. He is going to fall. Record that in your diary."

In the 1990 general election, both Zubir Embong and Rahman Bakar were defeated. And Anwar blamed me for it. The report that was sent to Anwar was that I had sabotaged Zubir and Rahman out of spite. In the meeting in Anwar's house, they whacked me. I, of course, had my spy there so I received a full report as to who said what about me.

Thus ended my relationship with Anwar, at least for the next eight years until 1998 when he was produced in court with that now very famous black eye.

Oh, I later caught up with one of those who were in that meeting in Anwar's house and who had whacked me and had said all sorts of nasty things about me. This incident was in the Kuala Terengganu airport, which was crowded with people.

I grabbed the chap by the throat and dragged him outside the airport. All those Datuks, which included the State Secretary, State Financial Officer, etc., were stunned and just watched. Even the airport security just stood there to watch.

"I was told you said all sorts of nasty things about me in that meeting in Anwar's house," I told him. He practically went down on his knees to beg me not to beat him up. I had in an earlier incident chased three Umno Youth chaps so by then my reputation as someone who will not hesitate to whack the daylights out of you if you cross me was already well-known.

Marina gave me a dirty look so I released the chap. I then warned him that the next time he badmouths me in any meeting in Anwar's house 'tiada maaf bagi mu'. Later on, during an Umno Youth Terengganu meeting chaired by Wan Mokhtar, Umno Youth was told that Raja Petra must be kicked out of Terengganu.

Around three years later, I did just that -- I left Terengganu for good. And imagine my satisfaction 15 years later in 2009 when I returned to Kuala Terengganu to campaign for PAS during the by-election and we managed to wrest that seat from Umno. A month after that, I left Malaysia to 'migrate' to Manchester.


The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 1)

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 2) 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 3) 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 4) 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 5) 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 6) 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 7) 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 8) 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 9) 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 10) 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 11)  

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 12) 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 13) 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 14) 

 

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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It’s PAS that BN fears the most

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 11:50 AM PST

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/pas-bn440-300x191.jpg 

Those Chinese who are thinking of booting out BN by only voting for PKR and DAP but leaving out PAS are stupid.

Selena Tay, FMT 

By strongly attacking PAS during the recent Umno general assembly, it shows that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is afraid of the power of PAS.

It is now obvious that the 13th general election will not be held in December. One whole year the silly guessing game went on and on and in the end came to nothing.

In regard to the polls date, PAS Bukit Gantang MP Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin is of the view that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has still not decided yet.

"Parliament automatically dissolves on April 28 next year and after that, two months extension of time is given. This will bring us to June 28. The 13th general election may very well be held on June 28 if Najib thinks that he will lose," said Nizar sarcastically.

PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali guessed that the polls will be held after the Chinese Lunar New Year, either on Feb 24 or March 2 as it will be difficult for the Chinese working in Singapore to obtain leave as their leave was utilised for the Chinese New Year.

Be that as it may, Najib's silly polls date guessing game has now backfired on him as the latest revelations by Musa Hassan and Deepak Jaikishan have put him in a tight spot.

Of course, he does not have to answer them but their revelations have served to delay the polls date further and now it has fallen into the abyss of uncertainty.

Barisan Nasional's economic experts must not think that the polls delay will have no effect whatsoever on the local investment climate. Those who think that it has no impact on the foreign direct investment (FDI) are surely living on planet Pluto.

Who wants to invest in a climate of uncertainty? It is bad enough that the global investment climate is not that healthy either.

Weak commander

If BN wins the 13th general election, you can bet your bottom dollar that this silly game will again be played before the 14th general election.

The prime minister is thinking of his own political survival only. He is a weak commander. How so? Simply because he refuses to debate with Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.

In Chinese culture, we want to see the martial arts skills of a one-to-one fight. And that is why MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek dares to debate with Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng. Chua wants to show off his kungfu skills.

As for Najib, how can he command the army if he lacks the courage to debate?

This is like a battle scenario. If the commander is afraid, then the war generals and the soldiers will lose confidence because they can always sense the fear of the commander.

At the height and in the heat of the battle, the commander is indecisive in giving orders. He may shout to his troops to go forward but he himself is firmly ensconced way at the back. What will the soldiers do then? Simple – they will just abandon the battle.

Of course, in the present political scenario, BN can still win due to the dirty voter rolls and the re-delineation of parliamentary and state seat boundaries.

The power of PAS

By strongly attacking PAS during the recent Umno general assembly, it shows that Najib is afraid of the power of PAS.

When it comes to mobilising people for rallies, for example the Bersih rallies, PKR and DAP need to rely on PAS.

Those Chinese who are thinking of booting out BN by only voting for PKR and DAP but leaving out PAS are stupid.

Without the power of PAS, BN cannot be toppled. This is because it is mainly PAS which is going head-to-head against Umno. And therefore now the PAS state government in Kelantan is being sabotaged in order to give bullets to MCA to woo the Chinese voters.

Thus in the seats where Malays are the majority, the non-Malays must vote for PAS. That can be the swing factor.

Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2012/12/12/its-pas-that-bn-fears-the-most/ 

Playing race, religion card could backfire

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 11:45 AM PST

http://fz.com/sites/default/files/styles/mainbanner_645x435/public/Malay%201_1.jpgThere are more pressing demands for Malay voters. 

(fz.com) - "Economic issues are more important to me. As for the status of bumiputeras and religion, it's all in the constitution and it is unlikely to change whoever comes to power"
 
Playing the race and religion card to win Malay support may not prove to be the winning hand in the lead up to the next general election, political observers say. This is mostly to do with the more pressing demands of Malay voters and how non-Malay voters could react to politicising race and religion.
 
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Prof Datuk Mohammad Agus Yusoff said religion and race issues are not currently at the forefront of Malay voters' minds.
 
"Urban voters are feeling the pinch in terms of cost of living and job opportunities. Religion and racial issues don't concern them much.
 
"These issues may work for some rural Malay voters but it is certainly not their main thing anymore," said Agus, who is an associate professor in political science.
 
But this certainly does not mean that issues of race and religion will be conspicuously absent from the campaign.
 
Over the years, Malaysia's political scene has been studded with highly charged racial and religious issues. 
 
These include public discussions over bumiputera special rights, issues surrounding conversions into Islam, apostasy and whether non-Muslims can use the word Allah to describe god. Matters involving faith and race still do matter to some voters. 
 
Two Malay voters who spoke to fz.com for this story illustrate the diversity in voter demands and underscores how voter behaviour is influenced by the complex intertwine of ethnicity, class, location, age and socio-economic background.
 
Mismilimi Sairan is your quintessential rural Malay voter. She is a mother of nine who raised her family in an oil palm settlement set up under the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) in Johor. Mismilimi is probably used to voting for the incumbent since she hails from Johor, the traditional stronghold of Umno.
 
Asked what her main considerations at the ballot box are, the 59-year old answers: "I don't know. I never had any criteria for candidates so when I vote, I just vote".
 
But when prodded on possible issue choices – bread and butter issues, governance, religion – Mismilimi quickly says that religious issues are important to her.
 
Contrast Mismilimi's voting preference with that of Khairil Rizal Ahmad, a 27-year-old first time voter who lives in Kuala Lumpur.
 
Khairil Rizal said he is more concerned with economic issues and what policies a candidate will support. Khairil Rizal also said he prefers to evaluate a candidate's merit instead of voting based on a candidate's party.
 
"Economic issues are more important to me. As for the status of bumiputeras and religion, it's all in the constitution and it is unlikely to change whoever comes to power," he added.
 
Non-Malay voters watching
 
Political analyst Ooi Kee Beng maintains that race and religious factors may turn out to be less important as Malaysia's landscape moves toward a battle between Malays of different political persuasions. Malay voters, especially the urban and semi-urban voters, are said to be split as they have been courted by Umno, PAS and PKR.  
 
In this scenario, invoking race and religion could inadvertently spook the non-Malay and non-Muslim voters.
 
"Hudud and all those religious issues are making some Chinese voters a bit nervous of course. But people do remember that it wasn't PAS that started the Islamisation of the entire country. 
 
"So trying to win points on race and religion may backfire," said Ooi, the deputy director of the Singapore-based Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
 
It is interesting to note that in recent months the issue of hudud law and PAS's governance of Kelantan have been played up instead by the non-Malay component parties of Barisan Nasional (BN). 
 
BN component parties like MCA and Gerakan used issues such as hudud law implementation and Islamic state as a way to discredit DAP for aligning itself with PAS under the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) banner.
 
In crafting his key messages, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been careful to balance the delicate issue of bumiputera rights and his message of inclusivity under the 1Malaysia concept. In fact, it was Perkasa, a non-governmental organisation fronted by independent Member of Parliament Datuk Ibrahim Ali, that was the loudest voice championing bumiputerarights after the 2008 general election.
 
Scrutinising the policies put forth by both BN and PR, it appears that the main battleground will be fought on issues of bread and butter and governance. 
 

 

Karpal calls on Hadi to announce PAS' stand on gender segregation issue

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 11:44 AM PST

http://starstorage.blob.core.windows.net/archives/2012/12/12/nation/karpal-singh-dap-pas-hudud.jpg

(Bernama) - DAP chairman Karpal Singh has called on PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang to publicly make the party's stand on the by-law on gender segregation issue, and not to leave the matter to the Kelantan exco.

Karpal, who is Bukit Gelugor Member of Parliament, said the silence by the Kelantan exco to review the by-law on gender segregation that forbids non-Muslim women to cut hair of non-Muslim men, and vice versa in salons in Kota Baru did not speak well of a responsible government.

"PAS leaders should realise that silence is not the way out and it only aggravates the position. The by-law should be outlawed without further ado," he said in a statement here Tuesday.

Karpal said the justification on enforcement of the gender segregation made by the Kota Baru Municipal Council was publicly announced by the State Local Government, Cultural and Tourism Committee chairman Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan on Nov 24.

"To him (Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan) the ruling was a non-issue and he said the by-law was introduced in 1991 in line with the PAS state government's slogan 'Growing with Islam' that applied to both Muslims and non-Muslims, and in 1999, stricter conditions were imposed by the council," he added.

However, Karpal said the justification certainly evoked fear on the part of non-Muslims that attempts were being made to apply Islamic law to them, which would ultimately mean the introduction of hudud to non-Muslims.

He said the vehement public justification by Takiyuddin of the by-law was obviously the cause of the silence on the part of the Kelantan state exco to review it.

"The last that the DAP would want to do would be not to scuttle efforts by the opposition pact in its quest to capture Putrajaya in the coming election," Karpal said.

"However, that the objective cannot, and must not, mean sacrificing principle at the altar of political expediency. The DAP is committed to opposition to any attempts to extend Islamic law to non-Muslims, whether directly or indirectly," he added.

He said PAS must respond quickly on the issue, in view of the upcoming polls. 

 

JP Morgan: Better for Barisan to stay in power

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 11:43 AM PST

http://starstorage.blob.core.windows.net/archives/2012/12/12/nation/JP-Morgan-Mak-n10.jpg 

(The Star) - The equities market and economic outlook in 2013 will be positive if the Barisan Nasional continued to remain in power, says investment bank JP Morgan.

JP Morgan Securities (M) Sdn Bhd executive director of equity research Mak Hoy Kit (pic) opines that there would be "some risk" if the Opposition were to take over the Government.

He said the Barisan's Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), government infrastructure programmes and rail-related projects would kick off if the political status quo remains.

"We are now Neutral' on Malaysia because of the general election overhang. Investors will be worried if the Opposition wins. When there is uncertainty, investors typically act negatively," he said yesterday.

JP Morgan is also positive on the construction sector, and sees this as a domestic growth opportunity with some RM160bil worth of rail projects up for grabs next year.

On the oil and gas sector, with Petronas committing to some RM300bil capital expenditure over the next five years, Mak is expecting to see more contract wins and an increase in earnings of the local oil and gas players.

Mak sees the ETP creating some 452,066 jobs by 2020, per capita income growing to US$15,000 (RM45,000) from US$6,700 (RM20,000) in 2009.

It was recently reported that Eastspring Investments Bhd Chief Investment Officer (Equities) Yvonne Tan Hong Yean cautioned that foreign funds might opt to stay out of Malaysia if there was a change in government.

 

The Curse of Marina Lee Abdullah?

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 01:54 AM PST

KTEMOC KONSIDERS

I came across this info in RPK's The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 15):

But Anwar was adamant. "Make sure Zubir Embong and Rahman Bakar win," Anwar instructed. "Do whatever needs to be done." It was common knowledge that Hadi Awang and Anwar Ibrahim hated each other. Hence to Anwar this was also personal.

RPK

According to RPK who helped his MCKK matey Anwar Ibrahim* in the 1986 general election campaign in Terengganu, Rahman Bakar was selected to contest against Pak Haji Hadi Awang in Marang in 1986, and the UMNO man won, satisfying I suppose, Anwar's personal animosity against the PAS leader.

* Anwar was then the powerful UMNO Minister of Education, a ministerial appointment mandatory for ascending to the PM post.

I wonder whether the animosity between Anwar and Pak Haji had (or should it be grammatically 'has') to do with the known history of Anwar Ibrahim being (once) groomed to be the leader of PAS. Yes, kid you not!

Hadi Awang

Thus Dr M wasn't the only one who had an eye on the ABIM firebrand and his silvery-tongued manmanlai.

Naturally his highly vocal (is there any other way to describe Anwar, wakakaka) ABIM leadership and credentials brought him to the notice of PAS' (late) president Dato' Ustaz Hajji Fadzil bin Muhammad Noor, a known moderate, who was soimpressed by the younger man that the Ustaz wanted him to be his successor as President of PAS.

Just imagine that if Anwar had not joined UMNO,  today the PAS President would be Ustaz Anwar Ibrahim and not Pak Haji Hadi Awang. What a thought!

'cuse me while I have a tot or two of Scotch (naturally Johnny Walker Double Black) wakakaka.

But in that head-hunting episode, it was Dr Mahathir who won against PAS (Ustaz Fadzil Noor) for the affection of Anwar, a man then known for his ABIM anti-establishment (meaning anti-UMNO) crusade.

Dr Mahathir

I wonder whether Anwar had left ABIM for UMNO in a flash ... ZOoooooommm ... to join parachute into the most powerful political organization in Malaysia?

Probably from his change of allegiance to UMNO, many people including and especially his former mates in ABIM (except those who followed him into UMNO wakakaka) knew Anwar loves political power more than the political cause he was espousing as ABIM's Chief.

Of course he claimed he would reform UMNO from within.

During his 16 years in UMNO he shot across the political landscape of power, lighting it up in meteorite fashion to become the very powerful DPM, and the publicly known heir-anointed to Dr Mahathir to become the Prime Minister of Malaysia, an appointment he wouldn't have (theoretically) achieved, as RPK wrote, if he had become only the PAS president after Ustaz Fadzil Noor.

Anwar Ibrahim

And in those 16 years in UMNO, as DPM and at times acting PM, did he exhibit any inclinations, even a mere subatomic iota, of reforms, or even voice same, as he had promised when he leapt from ABIM into UMNO?

Nay, nary a squeak nor a peep!

And when he was booted out from UMNO, he made that 16-year record of non-achievement as an UMNO minister even worse by blaming everyone else except himself, and only bleating reformasi when he was no longer in a position of power. 

Anwar even dared claim to have been helpless to make changes while in government.

Former Bar president Zainur Zakaria sneered at Anwar's pathetic excuse - read Zainur Zakaria Zapped AAB & Anwar Ibrahim for more.

Zainur Zakaria

Anyway, from my personal observations it's more than political power per se that Anwar loves - oh, he loves that, there's no doubt. But apart from power per se and the associated considerable trappings for a DPM, I think he enjoys public adulation, and if not public adulation then at least supporters' adulation more. 

Eager hands raided the ossuary for me to be laid

As stepping stones for the progress of a demigod

On Ardha-Matanga, 4 tasks & seven white trunks

Saluting Brahma, walking to Amarawati by a lake

(extracts from my poem Murdering Altantuyaa Shaariibuu Again)

Altantuyaa Shaariibuu

Yes, according to the gospel by kaytee wakakaka, Anwar has a weakness for admiration, adulation and adoration from people, but I believe, more than would be considered normal. To his ears, thunderous applause (wakakaka) must be sheer delightful music.

He made it ... oh well ... almost.

They say, what goes up must come down again (unless of course, in going up 'whatever' has achieved escape velocity - well, let's see what happened and will happen).

It's possible that a Western educated person, especially in the classics, would make a comparison between Anwar Ibrahim and Achilles on many aspects, and though I agree, would argue only up to a certain point.

Both shot up like blazing stars, both were stop in their tracks at near the pinnacle of their glories, though in this, Achilles knew his fate, for he had personally chosen, when asked by the gods, to blaze up in glory but die young instead of becoming an average king to die at a ripe old age.

I believe Anwar also shares another commonality with Achilles - he has an Achilles heel and I posted on this in July 2008 in a piece titled The Achilles heel of Anwar Ibrahim. The part I want to extract for your perusal pertains to his Achilles heel:

READ MORE HERE

 

Karpal minta Hadi buat kenyataan pendirian PAS mengenai pengasingan gender

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 01:38 AM PST

(Bernama) -  Pengerusi DAP Karpal Singh meminta Presiden PAS Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang menyatakan secara terbuka pendirian PAS mengenai isu pengasingan gender, dan bukannya menyerahkan perkara itu kepada exco Kelantan.

Karpal, yang merupakan anggota Parlimen Bukit Gelugor berkata sikap berdiam diri exco Kelantan dalam mengkaji semula peraturan mengenai pengasingan gender yang melarang wanita bukan Islam memotong rambut lelaki bukan Islam, dan sebaliknya di salon di Kota Baharu tidak menunjukkan kerajaan yang bertanggungjawab.

"Pemimpin-pemimpin PAS perlu sedar bahawa sikap membisu bukan jalan penyelesaian dan ia hanya memburukkan keadaan. Peraturan itu perlu dihapuskan dengan segera," katanya dalam kenyataan di sini hari ini.

Karpal berkata kenyataan mengenai penguatkuasaan pengasingan gender oleh Majlis Perbandaran Kota Baharu dibuat oleh Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Kerajaan Tempatan, Pelancongan dan Kebudayaan negeri Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan.

"Bagi beliau (Takiyuddin) peraturan itu bukan satu isu dan beliau berkata undang-undang itu dikuatkuasa sejak 1991 selaras dengan slogan kerajaan PAS Kelantan 'Membangun Bersama Islam' yang merangkumi orang Islam dan bukan Islam, dan pada 1999 syarat yang lebih ketat dikenakan oleh Majlis," katanya.

Karpal berkata kenyataan itu pastinya menimbulkan kebimbangan di kalangan bukan Islam bahawa cubaan sedang dibuat untuk melaksanakan undang-undang Islam terhadap bukan Islam yang akhirnya bermakna pengenalan hudud kepada bukan Islam.

"Rasional dalam melaksanakan undang-undang itu kepada bukan Islam ialah, seperti diakui Takiyuddin, sejajar dengan slogan membangun bersama Islam yang bermakna melibatkan pengenalan nilai-nilai Islam terhadap bukan Islam," katanya. Beliau berkata PAS perlu mengambil tindakan segera mengenai isu itu memandangkan pilihan raya umum semakin hampir.

 

DAP’s Lims sweat over dissenters

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 01:27 AM PST

Those familiar with the inner workings of DAP know too well that public displays of dissent against the party leadership have proven fatal to careers in DAP for some of the brightest young talents, such as current Wangsa Maju independent member of parliament Wee Choo Keong.

Shahrum Sayuthi, NST

All eyes will be trained on DAP this weekend as delegates, some severely critical of the party for failing to live up to its "democratic" name by twice delaying party polls, head into its congress in Penang to vote on who will lead the charge into the 13th general election.

The cynics are not too optimistic that there would be anything new.

It's hard to blame them as past experiences point to the central executive committee (CEC) line-up to be likely dominated by personalities aligned to party adviser Lim Kit Siang and his son, secretary-general Guan Eng.

That the party had chosen to settle the issue of leadership so close to the general election seems to suggest an initiative to endorse the current batch of party leaders.

  It could very well be a means to snuff out any hints that the party suffers from a paralysis of democratic leadership due to the  dominance of a few individuals, particularly the Lims.

  Those familiar with the inner workings of DAP know too well that public displays of dissent against the party leadership have proven fatal to careers in DAP for some of the brightest young talents, such as current Wangsa Maju independent member of parliament Wee Choo Keong.

  Wee was expelled from the party in 1998 following clashes with Lim Kit Siang and his lieutenants.

  The status quo, however, may be broken this time.   

  Tongues are wagging that the results of the party's just-concluded women and youth wings' elections on Sunday intimate a shift of attitude at the grassroots level.

  Several candidates, considered by observers as proxies of top party leaders, including Guan Eng, had suffered losses to those who were aligned to "rebels" known for working more independently outside the CEC.

  Enroute to capturing the Youth Wing's top post, Bahau member of parliament Teo Kok Seong defeated Canning assemblyman Wong Kah Woh.

  Teo was backed by Negri Sembilan DAP chief Anthony Loke, who was the outgoing youth chief, while Wong was strongly lobbied by the powerful Perak DAP cousins, Ngeh Koo Ham and Nga Kor Ming, who are known to be close allies of Guan Eng.

  Teo's victory not only strengthens Loke's position in Negri Sembilan, where DAP is hoping to put up a strong showing in the general election, but also paves the way for the Rasah MP to win a seat in the CEC at the party's polls.

  Guan Eng's stature suffered a serious   beating at the Youth Wing's polls when his political secretary, Ng Wei Aik, who is Komtar assemblyman, lost the important secretary post to Tan Hong Pin, the Johor youth chief.

  Tan is "the right hand man" of Johor DAP chief Dr Boo Cheng Hau, who is well-known for his independent stance and, unsurprisingly, not at all close to Guan Eng and his circle of supporters.

  The Johor opposition leader, highly popular among members, had been locked in a public internal battle against a group of party leaders in the state known to be backed by Guan Eng's faction.

  With his protege winning such an important post in the youth wing by beating Guan Eng's man, Dr Boo is expected to not only retain his CEC post, but probably even climb further up in the party's hierarchy, thus offering a serious alternative for the party's future leadership.

  Attempts to confine changes to within the circle of the Lim family's proxies also appeared to meet with resistance when even the highly prominent Teresa Kok lost to incumbent women's wing chief Chong Eng, who is  Bukit Mertajam MP.

 Kok, despite the strong backing of the party's top echelon and her impressive credentials as the party's national organising secretary, Seputeh MP and Kinrara assemblyman, failed to impress the women delegates who preferred the older Chong at the party's first-ever women's wing's elections.

  Against this backdrop of simmering dissent against the party leadership's status quo, some surprises are likely this weekend.

  Former party vice-chairman Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim is convinced that the results of the DAP youth and women's wings' polls justify the existence of differences of views within the party, especially on where members' loyalty should be placed.

  "It also shows that party members have their own views of the Lim family's domination of the party and the way it is being treated like a family property."

  Tunku Aziz, who was pressured to quit the party for his dissenting views on the Bersih 3.0 rally earlier this year, insists that there is "a lot of unhappiness" in the party.

  Nonetheless, he cautions that the dissenting faction in DAP still faces an uphill task to initiate changes within the party, despite their expected strong showing at the party polls.

  "The Lim family and their supporters will definitely fight back and, as proven in the past, DAP members with  differing views will have to suffer for it."

 

Lajim offers assistance to graftbusters

Posted: 10 Dec 2012 07:30 PM PST

(The Sun Daily) - Beaufort MP Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin has declared his willingness to assist any investigations into corruption allegations involving awarding of timber licenses to "well connected" individuals in Sabah.

"I believe (that) my knowledge, experience and insider information on the workings of Umno and government at the state and federal level can assist the investigation," said Lajim in a statutory declaration made at the Kota Kinabalu High Court on Monday.

Lajim, a former Umno Supreme Council member, had left the party in July to be a PR-friendly independent MP and was later stripped of his position as deputy housing and local government minister.

A copy of the statutory declaration was also uploaded onto PKR's strategic director Rafizi Ramli's official website.

"Timber has long been been a lucrative source of financing for politicians and government officials in Sabah.

"From my own experience as Sabah deputy chief minister, I have had suspicions that timber licenses were granted to personalities close to top government officials and politicians in the state," he said.

Explaining further, Lajim said this allows individuals involved to sell timber at below market-value and receive the difference in the form of kick-backs, credited into various accounts overseas, and eventually transferred back to benefit local politicians and officials.

Lajim's declaration forms a part of new "evidences" which will be submitted by Rafizi and a delegation from his National Oversights and Whistleblower centre, to Hong Kong's anti-corruption authorities, urging them to reopen investigations into alleged ties between timber trader Michael Chia and Sabah chief minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman.

Musa's alleged ties with Chia was first exposed by whistle-blower site Sarawak Report in April, after the latter was caught trying to leave the Hong Kong International Airport with RM40 million in Singapore currency.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Nazri Abdul Aziz had told Parliament in October that "no elements of corruption" was found against Musa after anti-graft authorities in both countries have ceased their probe into the case.

It was then reported that Chia had allegedly told the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) that the RM40 million belonged to Musa, but Nazri subsequently said the money was only a "contribution" to Sabah Umno.

In response, Lajim sworn that throughout his term as member of Umno Sabah liaison committee, he was never aware of any discussions to solicit the RM40 million "donation" or any declaration that the sum was received.

 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 15)

Posted: 10 Dec 2012 04:27 PM PST

It was agreed that Anwar would meet up with Bakar Daud and Rashid Ngah and that I would arrange to bring them down to Kuala Lumpur for that meeting. I would also speak to Awang Jabar (who was very critical of Anwar) and get him to 'turn'. As for Zubir Embong and Rahman Bakar, they would send Hamzah Zainuddin (the present Deputy Minister for Plantation Industries and Commodities) to personally handle them.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Once Tok Guru Abdul Hadi Awang became a 'permanent fixture' of Masjid Mujahidin in Damansara Utama, the mosque began to expand rapidly. The old wooden structure was no longer big enough to accommodate the much-enlarged congregation. An expansion programme was now in order.

But the land that the mosque sat on did not belong to the mosque. It belonged to the Fire Department and was merely 'on loan' to the mosque. And one of the terms of the 'loan', other than they would have to return the land to the Fire Department if they asked for it, was that the structure built on the land must be 'temporary', which means wooden.

So they first had to apply for that land. Only then could they submit the architect's plans to build a permanent or concrete structure. And, quite surprisingly, the government approved the application and gave the Fire Department an alternative piece of land in Taman Tun Dr Ismail to build their new fire station.

Other than approve the land, the government even offered to give the mosque some funds. The mosque committee, however, rejected the government offer. They wanted funding to be totally from the public. They did not want one Sen to be from the government. Even if they did take any government money the funds would only be used to build the detached toilets.

Umno was not too happy with the whole thing, though. And during the Umno meeting that was chaired by Dr Ibrahim Saad, Anwar Ibrahim's Political Secretary, they urged the Selangor Religious Department to demolish the wooden mosque and deny them permission to build a new concrete mosque.

The Selangor Religious Department summoned the mosque committee for a meeting, as they had been instructed to do, but the officer just winked and told them to proceed with the construction of the new mosque. The Selangor Religious Department was on the side of the mosque -- or rather they were pro-Ustaz Hadi Awang people.

One day, in the mid-1980s, and a couple of years after PAS (meaning Hadi Awang) had been 'exported' to Kuala Lumpur, Anwar Ibrahim, then the Education Minister, visited Kuala Terengganu. I was jogging along the road in front of the Sultan's Palace when this very official looking car horned and someone inside waved at me. I did not know then that it was Anwar Ibrahim.

The following day the Director of the Terengganu branch of the National Archives (Arkib Negara), Zainol Abdul Rahman, an ABIM activist, dropped into my office. It seems he was also in the car the day before when Anwar told his driver to horn me. Zainol said that Anwar told him to get in touch with me to get my help to campaign in Terengganu.

But why should I want to help Umno campaign in Terengganu? My alliance was with PAS, not Umno. No, not campaign for Umno. Campaign for Anwar. But why does Anwar not join PAS? Then we can campaign for him. Well, because if Anwar joins PAS he can never become Prime Minister. To become Prime Minister he needs to be in Umno and to rise up the ranks within Umno.

I went down to meet Anwar in his office in Kuala Lumpur. "What the hell are you doing in Terengganu?" Anwar asked me. "I cannot penetrate even a single bahagian (division) in Terengganu. Why aren't you people doing your work? Help me penetrate Terengganu."

"Terengganu has only eight bahagian," I told Anwar. "How many do you want to penetrate?"

"Even if you can give me just one I am happy."

"I will give you four," I replied. "Kuala Terengganu, Marang, Dungun and Hulu Terengganu. Is that enough? Four out of eight, that's half of Terengganu."

Anwar smile. Maybe he thought I was being sarcastic.

"But there will be a price to pay. Are you prepared to pay that price?"

"Speak to Pak Wan," Anwar replied.

Pak Wan, or Datuk Dr Wan Ismail, is Anwar's father-in-law, Dr Wan Azizah's father.

I met up with Pak Wan and briefed him on my plans. We need to seek out Menteri Besar Wan Mokhtar Ahmad's enemies and personalities who are ketua bahagian (division heads) or warlords in their own right. Three such people would be Bakar Daud of Kuala Terengganu, Awang Jabar of Dungun and Rashid Ngah of Hulu Terengganu.

Then we need to seek out ambitious youth leaders who are in a hurry to go up the ladder. Two such people would be Zubir Embong of Kuala Terengganu and Rahman Bakar of Marang.

The youth leaders must not, however, 'disturb' the old guards or warlords. Hence the old guards would contest state seats while the young chicos would contest parliament seats. And they must be promised 'positions' if they throw their lot behind Anwar.

Pak Wan brought me to meet Syed Ibrahim Syed Mohamed (READ ABOUT HIS MYSTERIOUS DEATH HERE) and Ahmad Sebi Bakar, the CEO of TV3 (READ MORE HERE).

It was agreed that Anwar would meet up with Bakar Daud and Rashid Ngah and that I would arrange to bring them down to Kuala Lumpur for that meeting. I would also speak to Awang Jabar (who was very critical of Anwar) and get him to 'turn'. As for Zubir Embong and Rahman Bakar, they would send Hamzah Zainuddin (the present Deputy Minister for Plantation Industries and Commodities) to personally handle them.

It was also agreed that Hamzah and I would fly to Terengganu with RM250,000 in cash to hand to our 'kuda' (horses). Hamzah would come out with half that amount, RM125,000, and I would have to fork out the other half. Hamzah, my wife Marina, and I then flew to Kuala Terengganu with two bags of cash. We met up with our 'kuda' and handed them the money.

It was further agreed that Zubir Embong and Rahman Bakar would be given parliamentary seats to contest. Anwar would make sure of this. Zubir would contest the Kuala Terengganu seat while Rahman the Marang seat. I was not too happy with this, though, because that would mean we would have to defeat my Tok Guru, Hadi Awang, if we wanted Rahman Bakar to win.

But Anwar was adamant. "Make sure Zubir Embong and Rahman Bakar win," Anwar instructed. "Do whatever needs to be done." It was common knowledge that Hadi Awang and Anwar Ibrahim hated each other. Hence to Anwar this was also personal.

I sat down with Pak Wan and Ahmad Sebi to sort out our 'Dirty Tricks Department'. It is not going to be easy for Zubir and Rahman to win the Kuala Terengganu and Marang seats respectively unless we 'played dirty'. And we would have to be real dirty to defeat Hadi Awang, the 'Giant of Marang'.

They told me the game plan and I did not like it. As much as Anwar wanted Zubir and Rahman to win, Hadi Awang was my Tok Guru. They could not expect me to sabotage my own Tok Guru. I begged to be exempted from all involvement in their game plan. I had reached the limit as to what I would do for Anwar and betraying my own Tok Guru was beyond the limit I was prepared to go -- especially the dirty tricks they were going to employ.

I met up with Mustafa Ali to inform him about what was going on. I also told him what the game plan was and how they were going to do a dirty on PAS. I asked him what he would like me to do about it.

Mustafa Ali told me to 'stay in Anwar's camp'. "Infiltrate their group and report back to me daily what they are up to," Mustafa Ali said. "You can serve us better as our spy in Anwar's camp." I did just that. I also handed PAS a bag of cash to 'redeem my sins'. That was the best I could do under the circumstances although the amount was not that large.

Zubir Embong and Rahman Bakar both won the 1986 general election. And that earned Rahman Bakar the title of 'Giant Killer' -- he had defeated Hadi Awang.

Anwar appointed Zubir Embong the Chairman of Bank Simpanan Nasional, a Director of Pewaja Steel Sdn Bhd and a Director of TNB Berhad. Rahman Bakar was appointed the Chairman of Lembaga Kemajuan Ikan Malaysia (LKIM) from 1987-1990 and the Deputy Chairman of Mara from 1990-1995.

I felt real bad about my role in defeating Hadi Awang in 1986. In the 1990 general election, I refused to help them. Once was enough. Anwar bumped into me in Kampong Kerinchi in Lembah Pantai during the 1990 general election campaign and scolded me.

"What are you doing here?" he asked me. "You are supposed to be in Terengganu helping Zubir Embong and Rahman Bakar." My wife, Marina, was pissed big time -- mainly because Anwar scolded me in public in front of so many people.

"That bastard is never going to become the Prime Minister," Marina said. "You just watch. Record that in your diary. He is going to fall. Record that in your diary."

In the 1990 general election, both Zubir Embong and Rahman Bakar were defeated. And Anwar blamed me for it. The report that was sent to Anwar was that I had sabotaged Zubir and Rahman out of spite. In the meeting in Anwar's house, they whacked me. I, of course, had my spy there so I received a full report as to who said what about me.

Thus ended my relationship with Anwar, at least for the next eight years until 1998 when he was produced in court with that now very famous black eye.

Oh, I later caught up with one of those who were in that meeting in Anwar's house and who had whacked me and had said all sorts of nasty things about me. This incident was in the Kuala Terengganu airport, which was crowded with people.

I grabbed the chap by the throat and dragged him outside the airport. All those Datuks, which included the State Secretary, State Financial Officer, etc., were stunned and just watched. Even the airport security just stood there to watch.

"I was told you said all sorts of nasty things about me in that meeting in Anwar's house," I told him. He practically went down on his knees to beg me not to beat him up. I had in an earlier incident chased three Umno Youth chaps so by then my reputation as someone who will not hesitate to whack the daylights out of you if you cross me was already well-known.

Marina gave me a dirty look so I released the chap. I then warned him that the next time he badmouths me in any meeting in Anwar's house 'tiada maaf bagi mu'. Later on, during an Umno Youth Terengganu meeting chaired by Wan Mokhtar, Umno Youth was told that Raja Petra must be kicked out of Terengganu.

Around three years later, I did just that -- I left Terengganu for good. And imagine my satisfaction 15 years later in 2009 when I returned to Kuala Terengganu to campaign for PAS during the by-election and we managed to wrest that seat from Umno. A month after that, I left Malaysia to 'migrate' to Manchester.


The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 1)

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 2) 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 3) 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 4) 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 5) 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 6) 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 7) 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 8) 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 9) 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 10) 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 11)  

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 12) 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 13) 

The journey in life is never a straight line (PART 14) 

 

Teen summoned for frolicking in park upset and embarrassed

Posted: 10 Dec 2012 03:49 PM PST

(The Star) - The 17-year-old teenager, who was issued a summons for allegedly giving his girlfriend a "piggy-back ride" at a public park, is upset and embarrassed following the incident.

The teenager, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he had a tough time explaining to his mother that he was innocent and that he and his 15-year-old girlfriend did nothing indecent.

The teenager was given the summons for allegedly "piggy-backing" his girlfriend while jogging at Taman Tunku Anis at about 5.30pm on Oct 20.

"The incident was traumatic for me and my girlfriend because although I am not an expert in council by-laws, I think what I did was merely having fun with my girlfriend. It was far from an offence.

"We were just fooling around in broad daylight like any other teenager but the officer who approached us said it was improper for us to act like that in public.

"He continued giving us a lecture on morality and when I thought that we would be let off with a warning, he issued us with the summons," he said yesterday adding that he was now in Kuala Lumpur after completing his SPM examinations.

Summonses had also been issued to two non-Muslim men were for allegedly embracing each other when they were found in a car parked near the Sultan Ismail Petra Airport at midnight on Oct 31. Both have denied the allegations.

The action against the four led to an outcry by various groups which likened it to imposing the Syariah law of close proximity or "khalwat" on non-Muslims.

The teenager also claimed he had argued with the officer as it was unfair to penalise someone when a verbal warning would suffice.

"When I got home that day, I showed the summons to my mother.

"She was very upset at first but when she saw the nature of the offence written in the summons, she believed that I had done nothing wrong.

"My mother thinks I should not have been issued with the summons and that is why she has brought up the matter with lawyers to ask their opinion on the matter," he added.

He said the news about the incident spread and many assumed that he was involved in "hanky-panky business" with his girlfriend.

"All my friends wanted to know what happened in the park. But when I told them that my girlfriend was merely on my back, they did not believe me and after seeing the summons, my friends will now think twice about hanging out with their girlfriends anywhere.

"They are now afraid to even go to the park with their girlfriends," she added.

He said he had been under some stress during the SPM examinations because of the incident.

"But I believe I did okay because my conscience is clear and my family is with me," he said.

 

Rolling out a dirty carpet

Posted: 10 Dec 2012 03:40 PM PST

A carpet trader has reignited a firestorm with his promise to reveal more dirt about the behind-the-scene dealings surrounding the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Free Malaysia Today

Call it tragedy, comedy or tragicomedy, the Deepak drama has been unfolding on the national stage to the entertainment or horror of the audience. Here is a cast of characters that makes interesting reading for their role – direct or indirect – in a story that refuses to fade from national memory. It is a dark tale of murder, intrigue, conspiracy, threats, money – all the baser instincts that drive humans to commit deeds most foul.

There is carpet trader Deepak Jaikishan, the bit player, who, seemingly stricken by conscience, dusted off the cover on Altantuya Shaariibuu and revealed his role in this sordid affair. According to his own admission, he was the one who persuaded private investigator P Balasubramaniam to retract his first statutory declaration about the murdered Mongolian national. He claimed he did it "on the behest of a female friend" and to protect the "interests of Najib Tun Razak". His confession whipped up a storm and threw the spotlight again on the scene of infamy.

Balasubramaniam had made a second declaration which reversed the first one, which meant letting Najib off the hook. Najib, then the deputy prime minister, even swore on the Quran at a mosque that he did not know the Mongolian woman and had nothing to do with her murder. His political career emerged unscathed from the storm swirling around him and he went on to become the most powerful man in the country.

A statutory declaration is a legal document and is similar to a statement made under oath. What is written in the document is as good as speaking the truth. Balasubramaniam's first declaration contained the most explosive revelation. In it, he implicated Najib in the murder of Altantuya, a tragic figure in the play. Deepak's admission of his involvement reopens the case because it implies that Najib is not innocent.

The link to the murder meant that Najib knew the victim. Najib was the defence minister at the time when Malaysia was negotiating to purchase two French submarines. Altantuya, who was said to be working as a French translator, came onto the stage to allegedly help the Malaysian government buy the submarines worth some RM3.4 billion. She was reportedly playing the role of a broker with the French company for Abdul Razak Baginda, the political analyst, and Najib's close friend.

Deep suspicion

The Mongolian woman was supposed to pocket a hefty RM540 million in commission. She returned to Malaysia to allegedly hound Abdul Razak – her lover – for payment. Balasubramanaim was then hired by Abdul Razak to keep tabs on Altantuya's movements when she was in Kuala Lumpur. But she met a horrible death – blown to smithereens in a jungle clearing in Shah Alam. Who murdered her? This is what Deepak wants to know – and this is also what the whole country wants to know.

Although two former policemen, once the bodyguards of Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, were found guilty of the heinous crime and were sentenced to death, the verdict did nothing to erase the deep suspicion surrounding the circumstances of Altantuya's death. What possible motive could have driven the two cops, who never knew Altantuya in all their born days, to snuff out her life in such a cruel manner? Abdul Razak, who was charged with abetting them, was let off without his defence being called but the nagging question remains: was there a conspiracy to cover up the blood stain?

READ MORE HERE

 

The PAS factor in DAP polls

Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:59 PM PST

With the party's national election looming, DAP leaders are increasingly under pressure to stop being in denial mode over PAS' policies and start speaking out against their Pakatan coalition partner's Islamist agenda.

"One thing is for sure. Whoever has been consistently against speaking up against Islamisation is going to get the our vote and whoever has been a consistently an apologist for PAS is going to get the door," said a veteran DAP delegate.

Baradan Kuppusamy, The Star

INCREASINGLY, PAS' excesses are having a harmful effect on the DAP whose leaders find themselves under heavy pressure to account for them.

PAS' recent actions against non-Muslim couples for sitting in cars, walking in the park or having their hair cut by the opposite sex are some of the excesses that call the lie on DAP claims that PAS is moderate and liberal.

DAP leaders have moved from an outright denial of PAS' excesses to lately claiming that overzealous officials in Kelantan are "sabotaging" Pakatan Rakyat with their summons' action and gender segregation.

By extension they are saying that PAS itself is alright, but it is the officials who are spoiling the party's chances and hampering the coalition's march to Putrajaya.

This comes at a bad time for the DAP, which finished elections for its Wanita section and Youth wing with focus shifting to the national election for 20 seats in the central executive council (CEC) next week.

As the enlarged party hits the home run for the national election, chairman Karpal Singh, who is contesting, is figuring large for his strong opposition to PAS' policies.

His opposition to hudud laws, criticism to gender segregation and summonses issue to non-Muslim couples have made Karpal a popular figure in the elections although state warlords are opposed to his "one-man one-seat" rule.

Other DAP leaders have started to speak up against PAS, warning that these matters are better resolved quickly or the party risks jeopardising its ties with Pakatan.

Some DAP leaders might be engaged in "electioneering" by voicing opposition to PAS' policies and at the same time upholding the rights of mainly Chinese delegates.

Many contesting veteran leaders are unsure of how the votes will go in the party that has nearly trebled its base since 2008.

But there are larger issues at stake in the sudden spate of DAP leaders speaking up against PAS' policies besides elections.

They are genuinely exasperated with PAS for its sudden turnaround from advocating liberal policies to a return to harsh hudud laws at its recent Muktamar.

PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat also dropped a bombshell by coming out strongly for hudud.

That statement threw water over many DAP leaders, who secretly hoped for PAS to at least keep its liberal stand until the general election.

With pressure mounting from non-Muslims, who are genuinely concerned over various PAS' policies, DAP leaders are under severe pressure.

Party elections have made matters worse with delegates watching which leader would be for political expediency and who would be defending non-Muslim rights.

DAP leaders are also opposed to the Nov 30 destruction of a Hindu shrine in Sungei Pelek where all of DAP's town councillors in the municipality have absolved themselves of any involvement, privately putting the blame on a PAS person for ordering the destruction.

The shrine issue is deeply felt among DAP Indian members, who form about 20% of the delegates, and they are beginning to speak out against PAS for endorsing it, especially after MIC took up the issue.

"One thing is for sure. Whoever has been consistently against speaking up against Islamisation is going to get the our vote and whoever has been a consistently an apologist for PAS is going to get the door," said a veteran DAP delegate.

Gone are the days when the DAP leaders went around mouthing Islamic verses and the DAP rank and file applaud it, he added.

"Today, delegates are all for cooperation with PAS but they want DAP leaders to speak out against its Islamist policies.

"They want our leaders to tame PAS and keep non-Muslim rights intact," said the Perak delegate.

In this respect Karpal's consistent opposition to PAS' policies has the DAP delegates' respect and admiration.

"We are all for cooperation with PAS but PAS must know its limits in a multi-racial society," said a Negri Sembilan delegate.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng broke his long silence and urged PAS to immediately resolve the summons issue to "avoid jeopardising ties with Pakatan Rakyat".

Another longtime PAS apologist - Rasah MP Anthony Loke - has also caught on, urging PAS not to damage its "moderate" reputation.

These DAP leaders fail to realise that a religious party like PAS has no concept of moderation or liberalism.

PAS takes its rules from established religious edicts and if there is dispute, and there are many, they have a Ulama Council to rule.

DAP leaders are finally learning that sleeping with a religious party for political expediency comes with a heavy price – you cannot control what PAS is going to say or do next and there comes a time when you cannot keep on apologising any longer.

In this respect Karpal, who is alone among DAP leaders for his principled stand and consistent opposition to hudud and PAS' religious edicts, is rightly admired by the party delegates.

 

Insider — but not so correct — info

Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:53 PM PST

A sensational new website called 'DAP Insider' has emerged overnight as the campaign for the DAP election gathers momentum ahead of the national congress this weekend.

But even without the website popping up at this time, it is widely known by now that Kok and Pua, who are the Selangor chairman and deputy chairman, respectively, have ganged up to make sure that former Selangor strongman Ronnie Liu does not make it into the 20-seat CEC or central executive committee.

Joceline Tan, The Star

THE undercurrents in the DAP election are bubbling to the surface and a new website has emerged that has its guns turned on certain personalities in the party.

Titled "DAP Insider – Be The First To Know" (dapinsider.com), the week-old website is a sensational collection of articles about who is trying to finish who off in the party election in Penang this Saturday as well as spilling secrets about the internal DAP politics in Selangor.

To date, the No. 1 target of the English language website seems to be Selangor chairman Teresa Kok.

Kok, who holds a string of positions in the party and government, is seen as the most powerful woman in DAP. Unfortunately, that also makes her the object of much jealousy and envy.

The secondary target seems to be PJ Utara MP Tony Pua who is being portrayed as the puppet-master pulling the strings behind Kok.

The website portrays Kok and Pua as a Machiavellian pair trying to eliminate people who are not in their camp.

It is all very entertaining although it is best read with a pinch of salt.

But even without the website popping up at this time, it is widely known by now that Kok and Pua, who are the Selangor chairman and deputy chairman, respectively, have ganged up to make sure that former Selangor strongman Ronnie Liu does not make it into the 20-seat CEC or central executive committee.

These two powerful figures see Liu as a black sheep and a liability to the party.

Sources said that if they succeed, it would give the leadership a basis to drop Liu in the general election.

However, some say this type of campaigning may backfire because some delegates get turned off by negative canvassing.

"It is okay to campaign for support for yourself. Go ahead, tell everybody why you deserve to be in but when you run down the other person, it can blow up in your face," said a Selangor DAP figure.

Liu, who is also a state exco member, is fighting for his survival. He was in Perak and Johor last week, meeting with delegates to persuade them to support him.

He needs to win a CEC seat to stay in the reckoning as an election candidate and he is lobbying to move from his state seat in Pandamaran to the Serdang parliamentary seat.

Kok also wants to get rid of Dat­uk Teng Chang Khim who is the Sel­an­gor vice-chairman and State Leg­is­lative Assembly Speaker. How­ever, according to the website, Teng is seen as a voice of conscience in the party and is harder to take on.

But Kok will go for him next if she succeeds in eliminating Liu.

Another amusing posting in the website is titled "Skyfall – Karpal's Last Stand". Unfortunately, Karpal is no James Bond and according to the posting, this may be Karpal's last stand because he is up against some very powerful forces in the party.

However, the website was wrong about the Dapsy contest last Sun­day.

It had predicted that Perak's Wong Kah Woh would win the Dapsy chairmanship but the winner was Negri Sembilan's Teo Kok Seong.

The contest, which had been dubbed the "North versus the South", saw the South beating the daylights out of the North.

Every single name on Teo's cai dan or menu was voted in.

It was a delicious victory for Teo and his mentor, the outgoing Dapsy chief Anthony Loke.

It also speaks volumes of Loke's organisational skills and his growing clout in the party.

"The campaign was intense but it was conducted in a healthy manner. I think Dapsy has shown the way forward," said Loke.

Wong took his defeat like a gentleman and both the winner and loser even hugged each other.

However, the other big casualty, Ng Wei Aik, looked shell-shocked after losing to a relative unknown Tan Hong Pin for the Dapsy secretary's post.

Ng probably did not imagine that he would lose because he enjoys an exceptionally high-profile as the political secretary to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

The irony here was that Tan used to work for Johor DAP chairman Dr Boo Cheng Hau who has a history of disagreements with Lim.

Ng's loss had less to do with his boss than with his own controversial personality.

Ng, who is also Komtar assemblyman and Penang DAP secretary, is hard-working and gets things done.

Unfortunately, he tends to be over-zealous and often puts his foot in his mouth. He was the early favourite to win because he had raised his profile by lobbying to be made the Speaker at a number of the party's state conventions.

He should regard this as a wake-up call because his defeat suggests that the younger delegates are quite discerning and are not bowled over by those with high-level connections.

It also lends credence to Internet gossip that the Little Napoleons on Komtar's 28th floor are not well liked by people inside and outside the party.

There were 46 candidates vying for 15 committee posts in Dapsy and several big names ended up in the bottom 10.

Among them were Miri MP Ling Sie Kiong, Subang assemblyman Hannah Yeoh, Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lau Weng San and Meradong assemblyman Ting Tze Fui.

The Dapsy election outcome has raised questions over whether there might be more surprises in store at the CEC election.

About 700 or 28% of the 2,500 delegates scheduled to vote at the CEC election this weekend are first-time and younger delegates and party leaders are wondering what sort of impact they will bring.

 

Don’t confuse the people, ex-IGP tells cops

Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:49 PM PST

(The Star) - Police have been urged to divulge the "true" crime statistics instead of merely highlighting the reduction in street crime.

Former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said "creating a false reality" would only confuse the public, resulting in decreased confidence in the police.

"The police should show the complete statistics. It is not logical for crime to be down when cases are being reported everyday," he said.

"The statistics are all on street crime but what about serious crime such as house break-ins, robberies and vehicle thefts?

"I am not saying that the police are trying to manipulate facts but at least be transparent with such statistics," he said at a press conference organised by the Malaysian Crime Watch Task Force (MyWatch) at a hotel here yesterday.

Musa also urged the police to strategically deploy personnel in crime hotspots to increase their effectiveness.

"What is the use of patrols when crimes are still occurring?"

He added that "quality was more important" as there was no point in having numerous patrols if these were not effective.

"I love the police force," Musa said. "I want to see it improve for the safety and benefit of the people."

On allegations by a businessman that he, as well as MyWatch, had been bankrolled by the underworld, Musa said: "If he has a grudge against me, then just focus on me. Don't involve this NGO."

Musa said he would give the businessman three days to apologise or he, together with MyWatch, would take legal action.

 

We were only chatting, says two men in car

Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:45 PM PST

No loitering: The area around Kota Baru airport where the two men were summoned.

(The Star) - The two men in Kota Baru who were issued summonses for indecent behaviour insist they were only chatting inside a car.

The men claimed a Kota Baru Municipal Council officer had demanded money from them so the matter could be resolved, reported Sin Chew Daily.

Dubious document: The summons issued to the two men. Dubious document: The summons issued to the two men.

One of the men's relatives claimed at a press conference that the officer had asked RM500 for "settlement" before reducing it to RM200.

The relative, who declined to be named, alleged that the officer only decided to issue them with summonses when the two men, aged 27 and 43, refused to pay him.

It was earlier reported the council had issued summonses to the two non-Muslim men for allegedly embracing each other in a car parked near the Sultan Ismail Petra Airport at midnight on Oct 31.

The duo claimed they were watching planes land in the night when they were approached.

The relative said the two men would not pay the fine even if it was reduced to 10sen.

He hoped the council would investigate the matter for corruption and abuse of power.

The other summonses were issued to a 17-year-old teenager for allegedly giving a piggy-back ride to his 15 year-old girlfriend while jogging at Taman Tunku Anis at about 5.30pm on Oct 20.

PAS Supporters Congress has produced copies of the summons and claimed the officer involved had no power to issue it.

Congress adviser Jeff Lee Weng Chun said the officer was an administrative assistant who had abused his power.

 

Non-Muslims not targeted by Kelantan government, says PAS

Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:35 PM PST

Ida Lim, The Malaysian Insider

PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali today disagreed that non-Muslims are targeted by the PAS-led Kelantan state government in its enforcement of local council laws, saying that they "don't have to fear".

Last weekend, The Star had reported that Kelantan enforcement officers had fined four non-Muslims for khalwat (close proximity), a crime under syariah law applicable only to Muslims; but PAS had quickly pointed out the summonses were for indecent behaviour, an offence under local council laws that is enforceable on all.

Mustafa (picture) was asked if non-Muslims would feel targeted by the Kelantan state government even when it is enforcing local council laws and not Islamic laws.

He disagreed, pointing out that such local council laws are enforceable on both non-Muslims and Muslims, while Muslims could also be liable under Islamic laws.

"This is all MCA's political agenda," he said at a press conference at the PAS headquarters here.

He said that the indecent behaviour fines, which were issued in October, were being used by the MCA to gain political mileage and attack the Chinese-based party's political foe DAP ahead of the 13th general election.

"So this thing, MCA just wants to make a political score against DAP.

"For us, this matter that was mentioned incorrectly by The Star, by MCA has created a perception that's not correct, created confusion; MCA made a statement that's not accurate," he said.

He said that allegations of the Kelantan enforcement officers soliciting bribes of RM500 from two of the non-Muslims to "settle" the indecent behaviour fines were not true, saying that reports to the relevant authorities should be made if the claims are true.

"(That's) not correct, we checked. If true, take legal action. If true, make complaints to police, report to police...We also don't want if this officer is not right."

Recently, non-Muslim hairdressers in Kelantan were reported to have also been slapped with fines for having customers of the opposite gender, breaching a local council by-law that bars women hairstylists from working on men and vice-versa — sparking a storm over the position of Islamic laws.

In the run-up to the 13th general election, the BN coalition has increasingly tried to discourage non-Muslim voters from voting for Pakatan Rakyat by saying that PAS would implement the Islamic penal code, hudud, and create an Islamic state.

READ MORE HERE

 

Voters must decide on ‘frogs’

Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:24 PM PST

Are the voters willing to tolerate politicians and public personalities who defect? Asks an Umno man.

Hawkeye, FMT

Voters must decide in the general election if they are willing to tolerate politicians and public personalities who defected from either side of the political fray, said an Umno leader.

In Malaysian politics, there is a long line of those who can be classified as "katak" (frog).

It starts with Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, who joined forces with Umno's arch rivals just days after suffering a fallout with the Umno leadership, said state Umno liaison committee deputy chairman Musa Sheikh Fadzir.

He said such leaders have selfish aims and survived politically based on public empathy and Malaysia's inclination to often support the underdog.
"They made their names and earned a fortune through the goodwill of Umno or the federal government. After losing positions or a degree of wealth, they became angry," Musa said in an interview.

He said they vented their frustration on Umno or Barisan Nasional and when they were no longer entertained, they defect to the other side.

Nothing which they have done or plan to do has the interest of the people at heart.

It is just all about their own selfish aims and an undying thirst for power until they become consummate political animals, he said.

Rubbishing the opposition's contention about mooting an anti-party hopping law, he said PAS was pinching any personality willing to join them even if they could be tainted with issues.

Outright betrayal

Musa said those who defect to either side politically should look at the common villagers who stayed loyal to Umno or BN, despite remaining poor or continue to struggle in life.

"That is the measure of loyalty. We should have such attitude ingrained in the hearts and minds of every politician before they began on this endeavour of service to the community," he added.

He said the most effective way to overcome defections, which is an outright betrayal, is for the voters to reject such persons.

Musa was responding to reports that the former long-serving Penang Malay Chamber of Commerce president Abdul Rahman Maidin has handed over a membership form to join PAS.

Abdul Rahman made the pledge to PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang last month in a brief ceremony in Johor.

The Penang-born businessman is considered a heavyweight in the corporate circles, having once helmed the government-linked company-Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB).

Musa also took a dig at his elder brother Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir, an ex-senior Umno leader and former Cabinet minister, who has been seen at various PAS gatherings.

It is believed that Abdul Kadir is trying to warm up to the Islamist party but so far, there is nothing formal about him joining them.

READ MORE HERE

 

Give credit where it’s due

Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:19 PM PST

When Anwar was finance minister, Dr Mahathir was the prime minister. So, should not Mahathir be credited for the good economic performance instead of Anwar?

By Raja Petra Kamarudin, FMT

FMT columnist Selena Tay recently wrote an article called 'Political blockbuster: Dragon vs Dinosaur'.

In that article, she compared Malaysia's economic growth during the time when Anwar Ibrahim was the finance minister from 1992 to 1997 to the time when Najib Tun Razak is prime minister from 2009 to 2011.

Basically, what the columnist says is that Malaysia performed better when Anwar was the finance minister compared to when Najib is prime minister.

Note, and I repeat, the analysis that Selena did compares Anwar as finance minister to Najib as prime minister.

Now, when Anwar was finance minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was the prime minister. So, should not Mahathir be credited for the good performance instead of Anwar?

Okay, let us assume that Mahathir had no hand in this. Let us assume that it was the finance minister, Anwar , who should be credited for this good performance.

However, during that same period, 1992 to 1994, Malaysia also lost RM30 billion 'playing' the Forex market.

So, who is to be blamed for this?

Since the good economic performance of the country during the period when Anwar was the finance minister must be credited to Anwar, should not Anwar, therefore, also take the blame for whatever bad that happened?

In this case, no!

The RM30 billion Forex losses are Mahathir's fault. Mahathir was the prime minister so he must take all the blame — just like Najib, the present prime minister, must take all the blame for whatever happens to Malaysia today.

Who, therefore, is at fault here?

Najib is both finance minister and prime minister. When something bad happens to Malaysia we blame Najib. But do we blame him because he is the prime minister or because he is the finance minister?

READ MORE HERE

 

Paper trails show Musa-Chia link

Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:16 PM PST

Rafizi says his team will meet again with the ICAC tomorrow to hand over documented proofs.

Syed Jaymal Zahiid, FMT

PKR said today it has paper trails showing alleged corrupt money transfers between Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman and several timber concessionaires including businessman Michael Chia.

Its director of strategy, Rafizi Ramli, revealed the documents to the press today showing fund transfers between 2005 and 2008 from supposed logging firms to overseas accounts linked to Chia.

Rafizi will lead a second team to meet with Hong Kong's graft-busters tomorrow.

The documents included copies of telegraphic transfer credit receipts indicating payment of hundreds of thousands of US dollars to Chia's HSBC account in Singapore, which the PKR whistleblower said would likely be payments from timber kickbacks.

The money transfers were described as "deposit for concession".

Rafizi pointed out that Sabah timber laws expressly state that any matter related to logging activity was the sole jurisdiction of the state government, led by its chief minister.

"These transaction slips all show the transfer of money to Chia's accounts from these firms linked to Sabah timber concessions, apart from further transfers made to purchase luxury items for Chia's wife or cars, or transfers to Musa's son," he said.

Fall-out partners?

The papers were said to have been provided by Chia's own partners in Hong Kong due to a possible fall-out, he added.

"These are documents that only they would have access to as they are from these British Virgin Island (BIV) offshore accounts. We cannot access them on our own.

"I trust that they are genuine and this is what we will surrender to the ICAC tomorrow," he said at the party's headquarters here.

He claimed the partners are ready to testify and meet with the island state's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) should it open another probe on Musa and Chia.

Recently, the government claimed Musa had been cleared of any wrongdoing by the ICAC after it found insufficient evidence to link him to the RM40 million "donation" money to Sabah Umno.

READ MORE HERE

 

Getting entangled in ‘if PR wins’ scenarios

Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:33 PM PST

http://fz.com/sites/default/files/styles/mainbanner_645x435/public/UmnoBN_1.jpg

Umno has been giving the impression that if BN loses, the rakyat will suffer tremendously. 

In past general elections, there was never a "if the opposition wins" notion. In recent months, however, including at the recent party general assembly, Umno has been giving the impression that if BN loses, the rakyat will suffer tremendously, in a bid to convince the voters – old and young, the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans, Kadazans and others.
 
Azam Aris (fz.com)
 
AS a journalist, your friends and contacts think you are always in the know about many things – politics included. When will the 13th general election be held? Will there be a change in government? There are two questions I am frequently asked these days.
 
Compared with a year ago, the first question is obviously much easier to answer as the window for the general election to be held is getting narrower by the day. March – after the Chinese New Year holidays – is now the favourite month.
 
Will there be a change in government? This is a tricky one. While I have my preference, I would put it this way: Since independence in 1957, this is the first general election the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition is contesting where the feeling – among some in its ranks – is that it could really lose.
 
This is also the first time some within the opposition, in the form of the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition, believe they could really form a new federal government.
 
Umno, after having been on the defensive earlier, issued a stern warning to the opposition during last month's general assembly that it is as "united and strong" as ever and ready to continue ruling the nation. And the party faithful are not only talking about winning but also getting back BN's two-thirds mandate in Parliament that it lost in the 2008 election. 
 
While this may reflect the self-confidence of the delegates and party members, it is the big "if PR wins" catchphrase – followed by various negative scenarios painted by past and present leaders – that makes many voters think Umno is a party that is not certain of a BN victory.
 
In past general elections, there was never a "if the opposition wins" notion. In recent months, however, including at the recent party general assembly, Umno has been giving the impression that if BN loses, the rakyat will suffer tremendously, in a bid to convince the voters – old and young, the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans, Kadazans and others.
 
The other scenarios it paints if PR were to win are: the country will become bankrupt, there will be racial riots like in May 1969 and the Malays will lose power and become beggars in their own country. Umno also warns that Islam will be marginalised, the nation will lose its sovereignty as it will be pawned to foreign powers, the stock market will plummet and foreign direct investment will slow down.
 
To some political observers, resorting to fear tactics and political scaremongering are an indication that it is not a confident Umno that is entering the ring. Such tactics have been part and parcel of election campaigns in the past, but never so blatantly. 
 
Will the country go bankrupt? Rhetoric aside, this is unlikely if PR or BN can manage the nation's finances and resources well and keep debt under control. In fact, the notion that "Malaysia could go bankrupt" came from the government itself. It was Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala who issued a warning that the country risked going bust by 2019 if it did not cut subsidies and rein in borrowings.
 
Will there be racial riots like those in May 1969? Why should they happen when no responsible Malaysian wants them to happen? Aren't politicians responsible for raising such a possibility? To most voters today – those born after 1969 as well as the older generation – it was an unfortunate event in our history, a lesson learnt, and one that needs to be avoided.
 
When asked by an audience at a forum organised by a Malay daily on the possibility of another May 13 should PR win the polls – as alleged by certain quarters in Umno – former inspector-general of police Tan Sri Musa Hassan ruled it out. 
 
According to him, the factors that contributed to the 1969 racial riots, such as communism, no longer exist. Communism is dead and buried in this country, but try telling that to the politicians who still propagate the idea that the communists are out to destroy the nation and that some of them can be found within the opposition.
 
Will the Malays lose power? Umno might, but the Malays and bumiputeras – the largest community in the country – will still be well represented by PAS, PKR, the bumiputera parties of Sabah and Sarawak and Umno itself in Parliament – where the seat of democracy lies. They can still work together to pursue the common interests of the community, notably those that are protected by the Constitution.
 
How about the Malays becoming beggars in their own country? I am still trying to figure this one out because how could that happen when Malays remain the dominant force in the political equation? 
 
As for the risk that Islam will be marginalised – by whom? How could that happen, given the position the religion holds in the Constitution, Muslims making up the majority of the population and having the highest birth rate, as well as the mutual respect we have for each other's religions?
 
So if most of Umno's "if PR wins" scenarios are unlikely to happen, why harp on them to the extent of overshadowing the good points the party raises in the political campaign? Why give the opposition a chance to say Umno is not a changed party and will never be, contrary to what its president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is portraying? 
 

 

MP slams daily over 'khalwat manipulation'

Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:29 PM PST

(fz.com) - Liew claimed that The Star was exploiting a situation where not many of its mostly non-Muslim readers could distinguish between hudud (Islamic criminal law), Islamic family laws, khalwat (close proximity) and municipal council's indecent behaviour rule.

DAP MP Liew Chin Tong today accused The Star newspaper of allowing itself to be used as a "cheap tool for a political party pursuing its racialist agenda".
 
"The Star's further exploitation of the Kelantan summons for indecent behaviour issue on its front-page today entitled "Khalwat issue heats up" is a clear proof that a very desperate Barisan Nasional will do anything to manipulate facts and concoct stories," Liew said in a statement.
 
"Of the three pages of reporting under six different headings in The Star today, only the part involving PAS Supporters Congress advisor Jeff Lee Weng Chun was new.
 
"The rest were regurgitation of earlier news reports, even after PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali categorically denied that there were any khalwat cases involved," he added in his statement titled "When the election is around the corner, MCA-owned The Star is no better than Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia."
 
Liew claimed that The Star was exploiting a situation where not many of its mostly non-Muslim readers could distinguish between hudud (Islamic criminal law), Islamic family laws, khalwat (close proximity) and municipal council's indecent behaviour rule.
 
"By lumping all together, The Star wants to paint a picture to its mostly non-Muslim readers that PAS is an extremist party in the hope of frightening non-Muslim supporters of PAS and Pakatan Rakyat.
 
"It's a shameful, immoral and devious act of  The Star to allow itself, a daily mainstream newspaper, to become a cheap tool for a political party pursuing its racialist agenda," he said.
 

 

Who is Capt. Joseph Lakai?

Posted: 10 Dec 2012 01:02 PM PST

Hakim Joe 

On the 7th of December 2012, a Captain Joseph Lakai published an article titled "1976 plane crash: The unanswered questions" on FMT News (http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2012/12/07/1976-place-crash-the-unanswered-questions/). This article was picked up by Malaysia Today and published on the same day (http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/special-reports/53185-1976-plane-crash-the-unanswered-questions).

On the FMT article, the online news portal stated that the article is a testament of "A test pilot offers a peak into why the fatal 1976 plane crash which killed Sabah chief minister Fuad Stephens and several state cabinet members is seen as a conspiracy by locals." (Note the incorrect spelling of the word "peak").

Is this the same Joseph Wilfred Lakai who is the Vice Chairman of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP)?

On the 11th of August 2012, Malaysia Today published an article titled "13,215 days ago" (http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/guest-columnists/51063-13215-days-ago).

Please read both articles before making any comments. However, do take special note of the uncanny similarities between the two articles (word for word). Additionally do count the days between the exact date of the crash (6th June 1976) and the publication dates.

Number of days between 6th June 1976 and 11 August 2012 is 13,215 days.

Number of days between 6th June 1976 and 7 December 2012 is 13,333 days.

Both articles stated 13,215 days.

Is Capt. Joseph Lakai using the pseudonym "Hakim Joe"? (As in Joe is the short form of Joseph). I can assure you that Hakim Joe is definitely not Capt. Joseph Lakai.

Now you can comment all you like.

(St Low [MTadmin] - agrees with Hakim Joe and have taken Captain Joseph Lakai's name out of the article on MT and replaced it with Hakim Joe.)

 

Lynas hits another bump in Malaysia

Posted: 10 Dec 2012 12:49 PM PST

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/images/uploads/2011/august/32/lynas0218.jpg

(The Age) - Lynas has been forced into its fourth trading halt in a month after the Malaysian government called on the Australian rare earths miner to export all its waste generated by the plant.

 

The miner requested the halt ahead of an announcement by the company following comments by four Malaysian government ministers released yesterday demanding that Lynas remove all the residue or face having its temporary licence revoked.

 

"Should Lynas fail to comply with this condition, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) is empowered under section 22 of the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984 (Act 304), to suspend or revoke the TOL and order Lynas to cease operations," the statement released by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said, the New Straits Times newspaper reported.

 

"The government will not compromise the health and safety of the people and the environment, in dealing with the issue of Lynas."

 

Shares in Lynas's closest rival, the US-based Molycorp, surged 20 per cent in New York in reaction to the news – the biggest one-day jump since it listed.

 

The statement followed local reports that Lynas's Malaysian managing director, Mashal Ahmad, had said the waste products from the Kuantan plant could not be exported because of international laws, the Times stated.

 

But Lynas said yesterday in Malaysia the reports were inaccurate and that it would convert the residue into a commercially safe product called Synthetic Aggregate, which would then be exported to other countries.

 

The Australian company has faced political and legal troubles in Malaysia over the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP). Lynas started production at the controversial plant in late November.

 

A Lynas spokesman declined to provide further comment ahead of the company's announcement.

 

Lynas has shot to prominence as Australia's challenge to China's monopoly on global production of rare earths, a group of metallic elements of strategic importance due to its vital role in the manufacture of rechargeable batteries, wind turbines and tablets.

 

Shares in Lynas have plunged more than 60 per cent since February as a result of the extended delays and uncertainty surrounding the project. Lynas shares

last traded at 60.5 cents.

 

Before the latest setback, there were signs the company had turned a corner after what the company said were decisive court victories over Malaysian activists.

 

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/business/lynas-hits-another-bump-in-malaysia-20121211-2b6zq.html#ixzz2EiRH7920

 

The semblance of change

Posted: 10 Dec 2012 12:43 PM PST

If we do see a change of government come the next general election, what happens the day after? Do we suddenly become race blind and see each other just as Malaysians? Do we accept that traffic fine and not try to bribe that police officer? And, do we take a taxi home and not get behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated?

Adam Netto 

Recently, while planning a night out with a German friend of mine, the topic of drink driving in Malaysia, specifically in Kuala Lumpur, came up. As I tried my best to answer the various questions leveled at me like, "Don't you have strict laws prohibiting this?" or "Are taxis really expensive in Malaysia?" It dawned on me. The answer is simple. We are selfish.

Basically, we want the comfort of driving to the bar/club, we want to drink and be merry like everyone else and once the night is over, we want to drive home regardless of the danger we pose to other motorists.

And that, in my opinion, is the problem with most Malaysians today. We scream for change but we are not prepared to do so ourselves. We blame the present government for the racial nature of our politics today but we still inquire about the race of a criminal as if that played a role in his/her crime. We blame the present government over the rampant corruption in everyday life but still offer the police officer a bribe instead of taking the fine. We dislike the system where contracts, scholarships etc. are not always awarded based on merit but have no problems using our very own contacts to further personal interests.

If we do see a change of government come the next general election, what happens the day after? Do we suddenly become race blind and see each other just as Malaysians? Do we accept that traffic fine and not try to bribe that police officer? And, do we take a taxi home and not get behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated? Maybe it is time we stop screaming and heed the words of Mahatma Gandhi, who said, "Be the change we want to see in the world".

 

Penang Lang must defend Penang at all cost

Posted: 10 Dec 2012 12:39 PM PST

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSXvYf30YQl0aSlHOs95lWZ9xGNpVYzMqcHzB2cnTt1FPLpOA374SM-i7Wc 

Your PM is blackmailing and using his 'legal' bribery 'I help you, you help me' bribing his way to recapture Penang. Penangnites must not fall into this dangerous trap. 

Malaysia For All

Your Prime Minster has proven beyond doubt that he is a very weak and incapable leader. His daily speeches, a multitude of plea, threat, admission, omission and deceptive promises that allowed one to see how a man looks like when the fear of losing power is imminent. 

His latest trip to Penang on the 8th December 2012 was to galvanize support to retake Penang in the next General Election with more ambiguous speeches and deceptive promises. 

Every Malaysian must ask this question "Who is paying for all the extravagant expenses of your PM playing Santa Claus Merry going round the country"? 

What kind of leadership is he trying to prove, a leadership for all Malaysians or just to those who like and support his Umno coalition BN? 

He made a call to Penangnites to ensure a BN victory only then will they get to have (mind you, only pledges) 20,000 affordable homes and monorail. Is he a real joker PM or what? Can I put three questions to him. 

What has Umno/BN done during their 50 years of taking power in Penang when these affordable homes and monorail were much needed back as early as the late 90's? 

Is your PM trying to say that there will be no help from the Federal government if Penang is still under Pakatan Rakayat? 

If that is the case, can Penangnites insist that they will not pay their taxes directly to Federal government but instead to the State government? 

 

Read more at: http://www.ousel.blogspot.com/2012/12/penang-lang-must-defend-penang-at-all_10.html 

Musa Hassan tells Robert Phang: apologize, or I’ll sue you

Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:49 AM PST

(Malaysian Digest) - Malaysian Crime Watch Group (MyWatch) today demanded an apology from Tan Sri Robert Phang for alleging that the NGO was linked to criminal syndicates.

MyWatch patron, Tan Sri Musa Hassan has given Phang three days to do so before legal action is taken against him.

"It is a malicious statement.. MyWatch is only being linked to criminal syndicates because I am here (in MyWatch).

"If he has a vendetta against me, so be it. But leave the NGO out of it.

"I give him three days to apologize before we begin talks with lawyers and initiate legal proceedings against him," he told a Press conference at the Hilton Hotel today.

Musa, who is former Inspector General of Police, also claimed that when he was the IGP from 2006 to 2010, Phang had met with him regularly to offer himself as an advisor.

Phang had questioned why he wasn't selected as an advisor when he had previously served as advisor to the former IGP, Tun Hanif Omar. "I told him I didn't need an advisor, I can think for myself. That is why I wasn't too close to him," he said.

Phang meanwhile, when contacted, said he does not wish to respond yet for fear that the media may have misinterpreted Musa. He instead asked for Musa to issue a press release, only after which he would respond to Musa's statement.

In another development, Musa declined to offer any comment regarding a statement by former Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Ramli Yusuff, who had claimed that Musa had abused his power during his tenure as IGP.

In response, Musa questioned how Ramli had amassed his "wealth" and questioned who had ordered him to use the police platform to badmouth him.

"I would like to say something too. I want to know who is behind him until he is given a platform within the police force to slam me. "I think Ramli needs to answer to the public how he attained his wealth and riches while still in the police force," he said.

Musa had previously been accused of having dealings with Pakatan Rakyat after he had made several exposes pertaining to Home Ministry interference in police matters when he was IGP.

Musa however, had admitted that Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, during his time as Deputy Prime Minister, had tried to instruct Musa to reveal the investigation report on the book, '50 Reasons Why Anwar Ibrahim Cannot Be Prime Minister."

 

‘Black knight’ Musa vs ‘White knight’ Ramli

Posted: 10 Dec 2012 02:33 AM PST

The former IGP took a swipe at his critics for portraying him as the bad cop out to destroy the PDRM.

Teoh El Sen, FMT

Former Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan today lashed out at his critics, especially his former colleagues Ramli Yusuff and Mat Zain Ibrahim, suggesting that they have strong backing from powerful figures.

"I think this Ramli, he has strong influence with IGP [Ismail Omar] and the police," he told a press conference here.

"From the outside, it seems like he's the white knight, saviour of PDRM [Royal Malaysian Police]… while I'm the black knight who is destroying PDRM… the picture has been painted as such," he said when asked about Ramli's unending crusade against him.

Musa, the patron of the new anti-crime NGO MyWatch, said that he suspects that Ramli has the backing of certain powerful figures that he did not name.

"I just want to know who is behind him… who has given him this platform to attack me," he said.

Musa maintained that he had no links with underworld figures, a claim that Ramli, retired Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID) director, has repeated, and instead asked the latter himself to answer to the public.

"He should answer to the public… how he owns so much riches and wealth when he was still in service. Even I don't have so much…"

Musa said despite the courts clearing Ramli of failing to declare some RM27 million worth of assets, for him, it was still an unresolved question.

How could a police officer only holding the post of CCID director amass such money? he asked.

Asked if he was implying Ramli was linked to "undesirable individuals", Musa said: "It is hard for me to answer. Because those who have wealth of that nature will have some links somewhere."

He also denied former KL CID chief Mat Zain's claim that he (Musa) had fabricated evidence, relating to three reports on the injuries Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim received while in police custody in 1998.

Mat Zain had said: "I state, yet again, that I am willing to declare under oath in any judicial proceeding or before any judge that there was indeed an agreement between [Attorney-General Abdul] Gani [Pattail] and Musa to use Dr Abdul Rahman [Yusof] to fabricate the three so-called special reports on the injuries Anwar received while in police custody in 1998."

Musa said he has no knowledge about any such reports, declaring that he has no power to order any doctor to do anything.

"He [Mat Zain] is the one who investigated the case. He should have the reports," he said.

He said Mat Zain, along with Ramli, was trying to discredit him.

"They are plainly trying to stop me from speaking out. These people are back in operation. They have to say something. They know I can't stand this kind of things, so this is a preemptive strike by them," Musa said.

"Let me ask them now: who are the real kingpins? Why have there been no actions [taken]?"

READ MORE HERE

 

Musa reveals more, implicates businessman

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 05:46 PM PST

The ex-IGP claims that former MACC advisor Robert Phang was involved in a communication devices deal for the police which did not meet specifications.

Teoh El Sen, FMT

Several senior policemen were transferred out of the Bukit Aman Logistics Department (Communications Division) and put in "cold storage" for refusing to approve a technically unsound project involving walkie talkies worth almost RM1 billion.

It is learnt that the project was mooted towards the end of 2008 and involved the replacement of more than 30,000 new walkie-talkies for beat policemen, stations and vehicles nationwide, including Sabah and Sarawak.

However, problems arose a year or two after the project, which was a direct negotiation contract, took off as the implementation of the devices were allegedly not according to specifications.

One of the problems was the apparent lack of coverage or "black spots" in certain areas around the country such as in certain buildings, and in one case very little coverage along the East-West highway despite being promised otherwise.

The other issues, which "deviated from the agreed specificaitons", include a recording system which sometimes records when nobody speaks and vice versa; and also incidents where the walkie talkie transmits by itself.

However, despite the flaws, sources said that those within the Home Ministry and top ranking policemen were constantly pressuring a team of technical experts to sign the acceptance of the equipment before the issues were smoothed out.

"[Former inspector-general of police] Musa Hassan did not agree to a project that was not done properly but they used KDN [Home Ministry] to force the technical team to do whatever the company wanted. They were under tremendous pressure," said a source with direct knowledge of the deal.

"By mid 2010, when the first phase was being put out in the Klang Valley, we already noticed that all these problems were surfacing, but they were swept under the carpet.

"They realised that if they signed the project, we will go to jail. So better transfer," added the source.

Investigate Ismail

Speaking to FMT on this, Musa said when he was still IGP, he kept a close watch on the project to ensure that the equipment was what the police needed. However, he claimed, other parties' interests crept in after he left.

Musa said that prominent businessman and former MACC advisor Robert Phang was a consultant for the project and acted as a go-between the police and the provider, a multinational telecommunications company.

"Because he was close with the police. So at that time, I believe that there were some government officers in the ministry who was involved in the company.

"Since it was approved by the government, I had to carry it out. But I made sure that the technical team that overseeing the project does not compromise to ensure that it is up to specifications and to ensure that this communication can be used throughout Malaysia without any hiccups.

"So after I left… I was not quite happy because it was still not up to specifications. I was informed that it would not work well and that is why the technical team refused to sign the commission so that money can be paid," he told FMT.

However, Musa alleged that even Phang threatened the team. "The team received a call from him saying that if you don't sign it, you will be transferred out."

True enough, he added, at least three officers ranked DSP, Supt and SAC were then given letters of transfers out of the department.

"So the team refused to sign, and they were called by the IGP. The present IGP [Ismail Omar] asked them to commission it… because they need the government to pay the money… I don't know how many million. So they got transferred and now it actually went through.

"Officers who have the capability and technical expertise in communication are being put in cold storage by this businessman. That's how good his connections are. He is very close to the IGP now… very friendly with the home minister," said Musa.

Musa said that he wanted the authorities to investigate Ismail for possibly abusing his powers and Phang for allegedly abetting the former.

READ MORE HERE

 

Act fast against ‘Little Napoleons’, DAPSY tells PAS

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 05:40 PM PST

Ida Lim, The Malaysian Insider

Kelantan's strict law enforcement on non-Muslims are worrying Pakatan Rakyat (PR) fans, the DAP's Anthony Loke said today and urged his Islamist Pakatan Rakyat (PR) partner to probe the delicate issue swiftly before support slides ahead of elections.

The MCA is using the PAS-led state government's alleged crackdown on misbehaving non-Muslims as election fodder against the federal opposition pact, the DAP Socialist Youth's (DAPSY) outgoing chief.

"Those are the issues that rightly or wrongly will affect confidence of non-Muslims towards Pakatan Rakyat, in particular towards PAS," Loke, the outgoing chief for the DAP told a news cconference today. 

"It will be fully utilised by MCA to attack the DAP and Pakatan Rakyat so their agenda is to frighten off non-Muslims to rethink their support for Pakatan Rakyat." 

"We sincerely hope and call upon PAS leadership to give serious attention to these issues and must be dealt with immediately." 

When asked whether these issues will erode voters' confidence, he stressed that action should be taken immediately. 

"There are some serious concerns. I wouldn't say it eroded the support but I would think there are serious repercussions if those issues are not dealt with. 

He said the party's top leadership have assured that Islamic rules do not apply to non-Muslims, but did not discount the possibility of sabotage in the Kelantan local councils. 

"But I think at the implementation level, the local government level, we cannot rule out that there may be some sabotage happening within local council... Do not let all these little Napoleons derail our agenda." 

Yesterday, The Star reported that Kelantan enforcement officers had fined two non Muslim couples for khalwat, a crime under syariah law, but PAS had quickly pointed out the summonses were for indecent behaviour. 

Recently, non-Muslim hairdressers in Kelantan were reported to have also been slapped with fines for having customers of the opposite gender, breaching a local council by-law that bars women hairstylists from working on men and vice-versa — sparking a storm over the position of Islamic laws. 

But Loke today said that some of these issues could be solved "amicably". 

"For example, the hair salon issue, we have conveyed to PAS our suggestion that they have to review by-laws, there should not be segregation in hair salons." 

He said that DAP has suggested to PAS that special sections be set up in hair salons for Muslim women, which were done in some salons in Seremban. 

The Rasah MP said this would create a win-win situation, where both hair salon owners and the sensitivities of Muslims women will be taken care of. 

Loke said these issues have been used to distract voters from "real issues" such as corruption, environmental issues like the Lynas rare-earth plant, and good governance. 

As the 13th general election draws near, the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition has increasingly tried to scare non-Muslim voters from voting for PR by saying that PAS would implement the Islamic penal code, hudud, and create an Islamic state. Malaysia practises a dual-track court system but Syariah laws can only be enforced on Muslims; non-Muslims are exempt.

 

The Star just as racial as Utusan, says DAP MP

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 05:36 PM PST

(The Malaysian Insider) - A DAP lawmaker accused MCA-owned daily The Star today of exploiting the strict enforcement of Islamic law on non-Muslims in PAS-led Kelantan to stoke racial sentiments in a bid to serve its political masters ahead of key national polls.

Calling it a "shameful, immoral and devious act", Bukit Bendera MP Liew Chin Tong lashed out at the English-language daily for what he termed relentless and lop-sided coverage of the ongoing storm over the enforcement of Islamic law on non-Muslims in the state, after local council officers reportedly cracked down on non-Muslims for allegedly violating local by-laws regulating decency.

"The Star is looking down at its readers, just like the racially-charged Utusan Malaysia, exploiting a situation where not many of its mostly non-Muslim readers could distinguish between hudud (Islamic criminal law), Islamic family laws, khalwat (close proximity) and municipal council's indecent behaviour rule," he said in a statement.

The prominent coverage of the issue in The Star showed it was subservient to its partisan owner and was bent on conveying to its mostly non-Muslim readers that "PAS is as an extremist party" and aimed at scaring off non-Muslim support for Islamist PAS and the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pact.

"That is a well-known MCA's tactics and strategies to win election for its political master Datuk Seri Najib Razak," Liew said.

The 35-year-old warned PR parties that the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) parties and the media they controlled were looking to exploit weaknesses within the pact, echoing his DAP colleague, Anthony Loke's warning yesterday that the MCA is using hudud as election fodder to scare off non-Muslim voters.

He called on all PR state governments to "beware of Little Napoleons in our respective states and local governments attempting to plant the seed of doubt among the people to discredit Pakatan Rakyat as a credible national alternative".

"It is now well known that the next election will very much be decided by whether non-Malay swing voters were prepared to vote for PAS and whether Malay-Muslim swing voters were prepared to support DAP in the context of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition," Liew said.

The opposition lawmaker urged PR to work together and not lose sight of its national goal, which he said can only be won if the majority of four million middle ground voters continue to back the pact.

"Let us return to Middle Malaysia," he added.

The Star reported last week that Kelantan enforcement officers had fined two non-Muslim couples for khalwat, a crime under syariah law, but PAS had quickly pointed out the summonses were for indecent behaviour.

Recently, non-Muslim hairdressers in Kelantan were reported to have also been slapped with fines for having customers of the opposite gender, breaching a local council by-law that bars women hairstylists from working on men and vice-versa — sparking a storm over the position of Islamic laws.

In the run-up to the 13th general election, the BN coalition has increasingly tried to discourage non-Muslim voters from voting for PR by saying that PAS would implement the Islamic penal code, hudud, and create an Islamic state.

While non-Muslims are exempt from Syariah laws, Malaysia's dual-track court system has resulted in overlapping gray areas that have impinged on their constitutional rights.

 

Umno smiles as PAS grapples with moral policing issue

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 04:12 PM PST

The stability of support for Kelantan PAS is under threat.

Hawkeye, FMT

KOTA BARU: Recent indications of PAS' indecisiveness in handling the issue of moral policing has boosted Umno's confidence in improving its electoral performance in Kelantan.

It is learnt that PAS supporters are deeply divided over the issue. One side feels that PAS should defend the application of syariah-inspired by-laws on non-Muslims. The other side calls for a reprimand, if not punishment, of local authorities for their excess of zeal at the expense of support from non-Muslim voters.

The issue's potential to threaten the stability of support for Kelantan PAS is best summed up by businessman Hussein Ahmad, who operates a string of kopitiam outlets here.

Alluding to the claim by Kelantanese that their state is the cradle of Malay culture, he said: "The cradle is rocking too hard, and the baby is wailing."

He believes PAS' indecisiveness over the issue of moral policing is inevitable given the factionalism within the state administration that has been apparent to some political observers for some time.

He believes too that this is all brought about by the twin factors of Menteri Besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat's declining health and his deputy Ahmad Yakcob's lack of talent for administration.

Political sources have said that PAS' top leaders want Nik Aziz to remain as Menteri Besar despite his offer to resign. They see him as an indispensable asset for political support because he commands deep respect across the political and racial spectrums.

They want him to continue leading Kelantan while they work out a succession plan, which is a difficult task given the factionalism in PAS, at least at the state level.

This is all good news, of course, to Umno, which has recently been waxing optimistic about its electoral chances in Kelantan.

Umno currently occupies only six of the 45 seats in the Kelantan legislature. Umno Kelantan treasurer Hanafi Mamat says his party is now confident of winning 25 seats in the coming election and that Barisan Nasional may even be able to deny Pakatan Rakyat its two-third majority in the state.

Economic changes

"We're not over-confident, though," he told FMT, but he added that young voters in the state were increasingly showing they wanted changes, especially in the economic sphere.

"The young generation is keen to know about job creation, economic management and the way forward.

"The issue of corruption may not be a big issue here as the people here are a pious lot and would not cave-in to such sinful acts.

"The new support for Umno may not be enough to enable BN to take the state from PAS, but is significant compared to 2008."

READ MORE HERE

 

Ezam urges Karpal to retract sodomy statements

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 04:05 PM PST

(NST) - DAP chairman Karpal Singh has been urged to retract his statements made in Parliament in 1997, in which he claimed to have proof that de facto opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had committed sodomy.

Senator Ezam Mohd Nor said Karpal should apply to Parliament to have the statements struck from the Hansard if he was serious about appointing Anwar as a possible candidate for prime minister.

"Karpal should know that the Malay Muslim community in Malaysia would never lift an alleged sodomite or sodomy addict to the post of prime minister," Ezam said in a statement yesterday.

"He should take back his statements and apologise to the Muslim community."

Anwar was acquitted of sodomy charges in January.


 

MB slammed by Pakatan MPs over 'non-handling' of altar issue

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 03:56 PM PST

(NST) - Two Pakatan Rakyat MPs have hit out at the Selangor government over its handling of the demolition of a Hindu altar by the Sepang Municipal Council.

The person facing the brunt of their anger was none other than Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, who was chided for his hands-off approach in handling the issue.

Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo said it was unbecoming of Abdul Khalid to keep quiet despite the severity of the situation and wide condemnation from both sides of the political divide.

"Silence in situations like this by the menteri besar is, to my mind, clearly unacceptable," Gobind, who is also DAP national legal bureau secretary, was quoted as saying by a news portal yesterday.

Gobind demanded to know how the Sepang Municipal Council managed to demolish the shrine despite being aware of the state government's position on the matter.

"Why did they do it? Abdul Khalid should show he is serious and act against those who disobey," he said, adding that the menteri besar must put a stop to such acts and respond promptly in dealing with such cases.

Gobind said it was about time Abdul Khalid met with all the local council chiefs and officials from the land office and demanded that they follow orders.

Kapar MP S. Manikavasagam also took the Selangor government to task for their flip-flop stance over the issue of temple demolition.

He said it had become clear that Pakatan elected representatives were not keeping to their promise that places of worship in Pakatan-led states would not be touched.

"They claimed to champion the issue but have done little in terms of action."

 

It’s all in the family for DAP’s top rung

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 03:35 PM PST

(The Star) - It will be a family affair among some of the 68 candidates vying for the 20 central executive committee (CEC) seats at the 16th DAP National Congress in Penang next week.

National chairman Karpal Singh is in the list, along with sons Gobind Singh Deo, the Puchong MP, and Jagdeep Singh Deo, the state assemblyman for Datuk Keramat.

Party secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is in the race, together with his father, DAP adviser and Ipoh Timur MP Lim Kit Siang.

Perak's top strongmen, state chief Ngeh Koo Ham and his cousin, Perak DAP secretary Nga Kor Ming, are also in the contest.

Ngeh is Beruas MP and Sitiawan assemblyman while Nga is Taiping MP and Pantai Remis assemblyman.

If all of them win, they would make up close to a third of the DAP's national office bearers.

Aside from that, the candidate line-up will see 69% of the contenders being either an MP or assemblyman, or both.

Newly-appointed senator Ariffin SM Omar and Lt-Col Roseli Abdul Ghani, the latter tipped as DAP's choice for the Mentri Besar's post if Pakatan Rakyat takes over Negri Sembilan, are among the newcomers joining in the fray.

All the incumbent office bearers, with the exception of Senawang assemblyman P. Gunasekaren who had spoken in support of the Internal Security Act, are contesting in the party elections which will be held together with the congress on Dec 15 and 16.

Party organising secretary Teresa Kok, who is also the congress organising chairman, confirmed that Gun-asekaren was not contesting.

Of the 103 initial nominees, 35 later pulled out, Kok said yesterday.

"Aside from the 20 elected CEC members, 10 others will be appointed later to sit in the committee," she said.

Besides Kok, who is the Seputeh MP, well-known names contesting the CEC seats include Bukit Mertajam MP Chong Eng, Tanjung MP Chow Kon Yeow, PJ Utara MP Tony Pua, Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai, Kepong MP Dr Tan Seng Giaw, Rasah MP Anthony Loke, Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran and Penang Deputy Chief Minister Prof P. Ramasamy.

 

Atheists around world reported suffer persecution, discrimination

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 03:24 PM PST

(Reuters) - Atheists and other religious sceptics suffer persecution or discrimination in many parts of the world and in at least seven nations can be executed if their beliefs become known, according to a report issued today.

The study, from the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), showed that "unbelievers" in Islamic countries face the most severe — sometimes brutal — treatment at the hands of the state and adherents of the official religion.

But it also points to policies in some European countries and the United States that favour the religious and their organisations, and treat atheists and humanists as outsiders.

The report, "Freedom of Thought 2012", said "there are laws that deny atheists' right to exist, curtail their freedom of belief and expression, revoke their right to citizenship, restrict their right to marry".

Other laws "obstruct their access to public education, prohibit them from holding public office, prevent them from working for the state, criminalise their criticism of religion, and execute them for leaving the religion of their parents".

The report was welcomed by Heiner Bielefeldt, United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, who said in a brief introduction there was little awareness that atheists were covered by global human rights agreements.

The IHEU — that links over 120 humanist, atheist and secular organisations in more than 40 countries — said it was issuing the report to mark the UN's Human Rights Day today.

According to its survey of some 60 countries, the seven where expression of atheist views or defection from the official religion can bring capital punishment are Afghanistan, Iran, Maldives, Mauritania, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.

The 70-page report lists no recent cases of actual execution for "atheism" — but researchers say the offence is often subsumed into other charges.

In a range of other countries — such as Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Kuwait and Jordan — publication of atheist or humanist views on religion are totally banned or strictly limited under laws prohibiting "blasphemy".

In many of these countries, and others such as Malaysia, citizens have to register as adherents of a small number officially-recognised religions — which normally include no more than Christianity and Judaism as well as Islam.

Atheists and humanists are thereby forced to lie to obtain their official documents without which it is impossible to go to university, receive medical treatment, travel abroad or drive.

In Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin and North America, countries that identified themselves as secular gave privileges to or favoured Christian churches in providing education and other public services, the IHEU said.

In Greece and Russia, the Orthodox Church is fiercely protected from criticism and is given pride of place on state occasions, while in Britain bishops of the Church of England have automatic seats in the upper house of parliament.

While freedom of religion and speech was protected in the United States, the report said, a social and political climate prevailed "in that atheists and the non-religious are made to feel like lesser Americans, or non-Americans".

In at least seven US states, constitutional provisions were in place that barred atheists from public office, and one state, Arkansas, had a law that barred an atheist from testifying as a witness at a trial, the report said.

 

Which way will the Malays vote? - Part 1

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 02:56 PM PST

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Prof Datuk Mohammad Agus Yusoff breaks down Malay voters into three main groups:  rural Malays; young Malays and urban and semi-urban voters. Agus, an associate professor in political science, estimates that at least 65% of Malay rural voters including Felda settlers support BN but there is a split amongst young and urban Malay voters, at 55% for the opposition and 45% for BN.

Chua Sue-Ann, fz.com

Any political party with aspirations to helm the federal government knows that the Malays are a crucial power base.
 
After all, the Malays form the largest ethnic group in the country, making up over 60% of the population, and are the largest voter group at over 55% of the electorate.
 
Nevertheless, as Malaysia counts down to the next general election – which has to be held before middle of 2013 - there is no certainty as to how Malays would vote.
 
This uncertainty has set the stage for both Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to battle for Malay support.
 
Umno spearheads BN's charge when it comes to winning Malay votes. Over at the PR side, the Malay majority seats are mostly shared between PAS and PKR, the latter being a multi-racial party.
 
DAP, one of the three parties in PR, too is hoping to field more Malay candidates to shed its label of being a Chinese-dominated party.
 
Political analyst Ooi Kee Beng believes the next GE will see a Malay versus Malay battle with non-Malays playing supportive roles on both sides of the fence.
 
Ooi, who is the deputy director of the Singapore-based Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, said it is difficult to pin down where Malay votes lay.
 
"The Malay versus Malay scenario is here to stay. Broadly speaking, the Indians appear to slightly favour PR and the majority of the Chinese are definitely supporting PR," said Ooi.
 
It is telling that many political pundits are hesitant to predict where the majority of Malay voters stand.
 
Faced with that question, observers tend to preface their remarks by reminding that Malay voters are far from homogenous.
 
"The days of putting blanket perceptions of ethnic groups are long over," says one political observer.
 
Who are Malay voters?
 
Malay voters can be categorised by various factors including location, age, gender, socioeconomic background and perceived political affiliation.
 
The civil servant voter group, dominated by Malays, as well as the Felda settlers are said to throw their support behind BN.
 
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Prof Datuk Mohammad Agus Yusoff breaks down Malay voters into three main groups:  rural Malays; young Malays and urban and semi-urban voters.
 
Agus, an associate professor in political science, estimates that at least 65% of Malay rural voters including Felda settlers support BN but there is a split amongst young and urban Malay voters, at 55% for the opposition and 45% for BN.
 
"Rural voters believe that Umno can bring development and stability. This is what they have always known. But younger voters and urban voters are more independent and exposed to alternative information sources.
 
"They think that with Malaysia's vast resources we should be enjoying better than this," said Agus. Agus however disagrees that the next general election will come down purely to a battle between Malays.
 
"Malays are fighting each other. If there is a split between Malay votes, the Chinese votes come in. This time, the majority of Chinese don't support the government. Umno cannot rely on Malay votes alone.
 
"The Malays are very polarised. It isn't just about race, it is also about class. So the recipe (to win voters) has to be different and you have to serve different menus to different groups," said Agus.
 
Opposition works on Malay support
 
Buoyed by the unexpected results of the 2008 general election, PR is preparing itself for a better showing in the next election.
 
The opposition knows that winning over Malay support is an important part of their battle plan but this is no easy task.
 
As it now stands, BN has 138 of the 222 parliamentary seats while the PR has 74 (six of PR's MPs left to become independent representatives, though one - Bayan Baru MP Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohamed Hashim, who was elected on the PKR ticket before turning independent, has since rejoined Umno). There remaining seats are PSM (1), KITA (1) and SAPP (2). The Titiwangsa seat is empty following the death of PKR MP Dr Lo'Lo' Ghazali on July 17, 2011.
 
BN lost its two-thirds majority and five states after anti-incumbent voting by non-Malays and a 5% swing by Malay voters toward the opposition.
 
Universiti Malaya lecturer Prof Edmund Terence Gomez, in an analysis published after the 2008 general election, argues that Malay support for BN began to fall as early as 1990.
 
According to Gomez, BN continued to lose Malay support after the reformasi period following Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sacking as deputy prime minister although support in all Malay-majority seats rose in 2004 after Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's departure.
 
In 2008, BN's support in most Malay-majority seats fell as large segment of non-Malay voters swung to the opposition, Gomez said.
 
PKR chief strategist Rafizi Ramli acknowledges that rural Malays is still a challenging group to breach but this does not mean PR, particularly PAS and PKR have no presence in the Malay heartland.
 
According to Rafizi, PR's strategy is to focus more on voters in semi-urban and urban areas particularly the first time voters, a move which the opposition hopes will also help with their rural strategy.
 
"Most of them will go back to the kampung to vote and bring different perspectives back to their families.
 
"They are the best vote canvassers for us, more effective than party machinery on either side," said Rafizi who estimates an additional 3% to 4% rural support for the opposition should this strategy work.
 
According to Rafizi, PR is focusing on bread and butter issues, and not race or religion, to attract urban and working class Malay youth voters.
 
Demographics change fuel new dynamics
 
After the 2008 election results, BN leaders are aware of the changing voter sentiments led by young voters and the middle class who are increasingly shying away from race-based politics.
 
At the recent Umno general assembly, Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak warned against over-dependence on the party's traditional rural Malay powerbase and on repeating the mistakes that lead to BN's poor showing at the last general election.
 
 "Umno and BN cannot afford to feel relieved and take it easy, hoping for the people's support based on the nostalgia over past deeds or what the party and government has done so far," Najib told party delegates.
 
This is due to Malaysia's "demographic reality" that has changed radically, the prime minister said.
 
Najib pointed out that the next election will have 20% of voters, or about 2.9 million voters of various ages, casting their ballots as new or first time voters.
 
Half of Malaysia's 29 million people are under the age of 25 while 80% are under the age of 45.
 
Additionally, 70% of the population lives in urban areas even though rural seats still form a significant proportion of constituencies.
 
Over the long term, the party who can accurately read the pulse of the young and urban voters will have an upper hand over its competitor.
 
Part 2: Focusing on bread and butter issues

 

Non-Muslims should be allowed to be indecent, says minister

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 02:47 PM PST

(The Star) - Foreign tourists to Malaysia are worried over the recent action taken against non-Muslims for alleged indecent behaviour in Kelantan.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said tourists, especially those from China and Taiwan, had voiced their concern to the ministry over the matter.

"Such policy of issuing summonses on 'khalwat' should not be implemented on non-Muslims."

"Furthermore, what did they do wrong as they were together at the plane spotting area near Sultan Ismail Petra Airport, which is an open public area," Dr Ng said after taking part in the Cuti-Cuti 1Malaysia (CC1M) Sunday bike ride event here yesterday.

Dr Ng said as a Kelantanese, she used to gather with friends and families at the spotting area near the airport in Pengkalan Chepa previously and there was no action taken on them for doing so.

She said the place was not a closed or covered area and it was by the roadside, where everybody could see what was going on at the spot.

Two men on a plane-spotting outing near the Sultan Ismail Petra Airport and a teenage couple in Tengku Anis Park were issued with summonses in October and last month respectively.

Dr Ng said the cases proved that the Islamic rules imposed by PAS were now affecting non-Muslims.

Earlier, on the Sunday Ride in Raub programme, Dr Ng said cycling activities should be self-sustainable by individuals or organisations by now.

She said the programmes had successfully achieved their targets of fostering relationship, economic activities generating, attracting tourists as well as promoting green and clean tourism.

Dr Ng said more states, including Sarawak and Sabah, had adapted the programme as selling points in the tourism industry and was seeing good economic returns.

She said other state tourism operators, too, had to play an active role in promoting the cycling programme further as it had the potential to be successful.

 

Ex-IGP’s influence was bad news for Umno

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 02:34 PM PST

The home minister had to interfere to stop the then IGP Musa Hassan from promoting and transferring his men who would continue working with criminal elements, claims Raja Petra.

(FMT) - Former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan, before his retirement, had allegedly promoted and transferred the "right" police officers who will continue to work hand-in-hand with the triads, claimed popular blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin today.

However, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein had interfered in this exercise, and this has caused a lot of problems for the Chinese underworld and crime syndicates.

"And that is why Musa recently gave his interviews – alleging interference by the politicians in the running of the police force. It is true that the minister blocked Musa's every move," said Raja Petra in his latest blog posting in Malaysia Today.

Raja Petra said that Hishammuddin had decided to act as he feared that a continuation of Musa's influence in the police force would have had a backlash on Umno in the coming general election.

"They know that the voters are unhappy with the police force and that may cost Umno a lot of votes.

"Hence if the minister does not rein in the police, then there is a danger that Umno could lose a sizeable number of votes," said Raja Petra.

In recent weeks, Musa had claimed that during his tenure as the IGP from 2006 to 2010, there had been political interference and inflitration of criminal elements in the police force.

He said that he had raised these issues through the "proper channels" to the prime minister and home minister, but to no effect.

He had also lashed out at his successor Ismail Omar, claiming that he was a weak police chief.

Musa's detractors, however, had responded by saying that it was Musa who had allowed the triads to take control of the police force, of his alleged corrupt practices, and of his underhand tactics to "fix people up", including his former boss Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID) chief Ramli Yusuff.

Adding to the list of Musa's detractors, Raja Petra claimed that the former top cop has many grievances against the government, the present IGP Ismail and Hishammuddin.

Musa's role in Bersih violence?

Raja Petra said Musa's bitternes was due to the government's rejection of his request for a further extension as the police chief.

"He then asked to be made the Malaysian High Commissioner to Brunei and that too was rejected. Instead, he was given just a teaching job, which, to him, is a great insult when other retired IGPs before him were given 'good' posts," he said.

The blogger also claimed that many suspected Musa's role in the manner police acted violently against Bersih 3.0 rally-goers on April 28 this year.

READ MORE HERE

 

Musa: Good, honest men victimised

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 02:30 PM PST

Ex-IGP speaks out against transfers, saying that crime syndicates are now operating freely with 'blessings from the top'.

Teoh El Sen, FMT

Good, honest, hardworking police officers are being transferred from their divisions for doing their work with integrity, claimed former Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan.

Musa suggested that these moves are now allowing more and more criminal syndicates to operate freely with "blessings from somebody on top" and also involved politicians at the highest levels.

Musa gave several examples of such transfers, and spoke out against the nationwide enbloc transfer of D7 officers in early 2011.

"After I left, there was an enbloc transfer of D7 officers, right? Not everybody is bad in the D7, why must you change the whole team?" he asked.

On rumours that the transfers were part of a exercise to facilitate syndicates changing hands, Musa said that was not the case, but said it was "because these officers are taking action, because they know a lot of things."

"…. they were afraid that they couldn't direct these people from D7," he said, without explaining who "they" were.

Musa admitted that many of these people given transfers were those he had promoted at one point, but denied that they were part of his 'camp'.

"I promoted people because of their capabilities and have done a good job…they were transferred out and not given any ranks.

"[During the D7 redeployment], the whole country, all the IPK contingents  headquarters, some were transferred to the field force."

"See… they were all good officers, when they were under me they arrested quite a number from the syndicates, but now there are no arrests anymore.

Musa said D7 is the division tasked with cracking down on vice, gambling, loansharks, prostitution and also to investigate syndicated crime.

"So they have all the intelligence about them, especially the bosses. These are the ones [D7 officers] who actually go after the [crime syndicate] top [guns].

'Politicians involved in transfers'

FMT: Why such transfers under [current IGP] Ismail Omar's time?

Musa: To make it easier for them to operate-lah, because when I was the IGP, most of them went away, they left the country.

When you say "they" you are referring to?

Musa: The syndicate bosses.

So are you then saying the current IGP is openly allowing syndicates to operate?

READ MORE HERE

 

Indians must make their votes count

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 02:17 PM PST

The Indians have to rid themselves of their 'mental marginalisation' and stop looking for immediate favours.

Toffee Rozario, FMT

The Indian community in Malaysia is being led by some Tamils who are only in it to pursue their own selfish interests, and in the process betray the entire Indian community.

The real Malaysian Indian professionals prefer to remain miles away from the grasp of these politicians in order to keep their image and name free from blemish.

Also to note is that many Indians who are not Tamils are lumped into this group and similarly branded. This explains why the prominent Sikhs, Malayalees and Telugus prefer to stay away.

Indians in this country need the leadership that will take them to the level where they can use their votes as Malaysians rather than Indians, and that their votes in toto will swing towards parties which will ensure them a fair share of the pie.

This voting pattern could swing from right to left and to the right again depending on what is gained or not.

Indians must keep small issues small and the big picture has to be taken into account.

Indians need to regain their pride, they need to be recognised as one of the biggest partners in nation building and not merely as indented labour, not much better than slaves.

They need to realise that they are not the only community that is marginalised.

If one takes a close look at the native population of this country, the Orang Asli seems to be in worse shape than the Malaysian Indians.

It is not only the Indians who are marginalised. There are the Senoi, Jakun, Negrito, Dayak, Iban, Kadazan and all the other real natives of this country. They are far more marginalised than the Indians.

In professional circles among the doctors, engineers, lawyers and in other professions, the Indians when compared to, in ratio of population, may seem even better off than the other major races, so why is it there is a great number that is marginalised?

The answer lies in the selfish few, who claim to represent Indian interest, but in this pursuit actually enrich themselves just like the Umno top brass.

The Indians have to rid themselves of this mental marginalisation, they have to stop looking for immediate favours, they have to look at the long term and elect leaders who will do this for them.

The formation of more political parties will only make the community worse.

Indian must stop wallowing

Many of the Indian brains, like the brains of the other communities, have left the country for greener pastures. The less fortunate are left to fend for themselves and most often at their own expense and to their own peril.

These "less fortunate" support people – the so-called Indian political parties – who thrive on this support to serve their own purpose.

At the rate Indian political parties are being formed, it is only matter of time before there are more Indian political parties than there are Indians in this country.

READ MORE HERE

 

James Arthur wins X Factor final

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 02:11 PM PST

(BBC) - James Arthur has won the X Factor final, beating Jahmene Douglas to win a recording contract.

Arthur, 24, said: "I don't believe it... I've just got to say thank you to the people who voted for me."

He sang a rendition of Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On on Sunday's show, as well as his choice of winner's single, Shontelle's Impossible.

Douglas, 21, said it was "a blessing to share the stage with such a talent" and advised him to "use it wisely".

Arthur hails from Saltburn by the Sea on the north east coast of England, just south of Redcar.

He has been gigging in his local area for the last few years.

He writes his own songs, raps and plays guitar.

Arthur only auditioned for this year's show at the last minute after his friend told him he had nothing to lose.

Judge Nicole Scherzinger, who mentored both Arthur and Douglas, described Arthur as "a fighter".

"He wanted this, he willed this to happen. He deserves this so much.

"And Jahmene - I'm so proud of both my boys."

Arthur's single can be downloaded from the internet and is available in shops from Wednesday, an X Factor spokesman said.

All profits from sales of the single will go to the charity Together for Short Lives, which supports children with life-threatening and life-limiting conditions.

Arthur said in a statement after the show: "I am absolutely overwhelmed to have won The X Factor. I am lost for words.

"I love the song and am so glad that proceeds of the single will be going to such a great cause."

James Arthur
Arthur only decided to audition at the last minute

Earlier this week, Scherzinger told the BBC's Newsbeat website she plans to work with both her acts when they bring out their own music.

The former Pussycat Doll said Douglas and Arthur had helped make this year's competition.

"They've been a huge blessing," she told Newsbeat.

"I think it brings so much more credibility and integrity to the show."

It was the first time that a judge had mentored both acts to make it to the final, with fellow judge Louis Walsh telling Scherzinger: "You've been the best mentor ever on the X Factor. You've got two acts in the final and you've worked so hard."

For the first time in the X Factor's nine-year history, the live finals were staged outside London.

The two final shows - the first of which aired on Saturday night - were held at Manchester Central.

Chris Maloney, mentored by Gary Barlow, bowed out at the end of Saturday's show.

Famous faces in the audience on Sunday included Manchester United and Manchester City players following United's 3-2 victory over their neighbours in Sunday's derby match.

United's Rio Ferdinand spoke briefly to host Dermot O'Leary after suffering a cut eye as he appeared to be struck by an object thrown during the celebrations at the end of the match.

One Direction, Rihanna and Emeli Sande performed on Sunday night.

The X-Factor has struggled in the ratings this year, often being beaten by its BBC One rival Strictly Come Dancing.

 

Each folly by Anwar has its costs

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 11:24 AM PST

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Perhaps he thinks that the end justifies the means. That we will overlook anything he does if that is what he thinks is needed for Pakatan to win the election and for him to be prime minister. 

CT Ali (Free Malaysia Today)  

The rakyat will not take it kindly the ridiculous charade of Deepak and Musa to plead their case for their own gains with Anwar's help.

Is Anwar Ibrahim a symbol of the newly emerging political correctness that we aspire to or is he a relic of its past, unable or unwilling to unchain himself from its dubious attractions and distractions?

Is he a courageous leader who has endured much personal and public pain and odious persecution by a vengeful Umno in order to pursue the courage of his convictions or is he merely at the unfortunate end of Dr Mahathir Mohamad's ire for having the temerity to challenge Mahathir's position as numero uno in Umno?

Is Anwar an accidental symbol of the people's mounting frustration with a corrupt and arrogant Barisan Nasional government or was he actually the very spark that ignited that tidal wave of change that resulted in BN's heavy defeat in the last general election?

I have watched with fascination (and at times with incredulous astonishment) at Anwar's attempts to ride the dragon of change that is now stalking this Umno-led Barisan Nasional, which has failed to see what our people would do, could do and did do at the 12th general election.

Anwar himself did not think it possible to become what he did become after the 12th general election – the leader of an effective opposition and the leader of a party that won the most seats in Parliament among the fledgling opposition coalition of Pakatan Rakyat.

The results of the 12th general election gave Anwar a legitimate claim to political relevance within Malaysia.

Alas for Anwar and for us, what political capital and reservoir of goodwill from the Malaysian public that he, PKR and Pakatan had gained from the success of the 12th general election had not been used wisely.

From the false euphoria of an impossibly ill-conceived announced takeover of Putrajaya, through a series of increasingly questionable decision-makings that smack too openly of political opportunism and self-interest, Anwar has lurched from one political disaster to another.

Each folly by Anwar had its costs. And slowly but surely PKR and then Pakatan lost traction in its attempt to take what happened at the 12th general election onto to the next level where Pakatan could have formed the government after the 13th general election.

So far we have accommodated his follies, overlooked his personal misdemeanours, ignored his crass stupidity in thinking that we did not know what was happening in Selangor, chuckled at his flights of fancies (taking over Putrajaya) and forgave him his errors – all in the name of Pakatan and mindful of what he has undergone at the hands of a revengeful Mahathir.

Perhaps Anwar mistook our lack of a cracking of the whip when we should, as being a licence for him to carry on with his questionable activities – personal or otherwise.

Perhaps he thinks that the end justifies the means. That we will overlook anything he does if that is what he thinks is needed for Pakatan to win the election and for him to be prime minister.

I think Anwar is sadly mistaken.

Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2012/12/10/each-folly-by-anwar-has-its-costs/ 

 

EC officers have democratic right to join political parties, says chief

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 11:17 AM PST

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(The Malaysian Insider) - Election Commission (EC) officers are within their democratic right to join political parties but they must not be partisan in carrying out their duties, says its chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof.

The EC chairman disclosed this when responding to accusations by PAS that a senior EC officer in Sabah was holding a key post in the Kinabatangan Umno Youth chapter. The EC's impartiality has been continuously questioned by the opposition and activists over the past years.

"There is nothing wring for any EC officer to join political parties. It doesn't matter if they are in PAS, PKR or Umno.

"It is their democratic right," he told The Malaysian Insiderwhen contacted over the issue.

But Abdul Aziz said that EC officials should not side with any parties or abuse their powers when carrying out their duties.

He also stressed that the EC welcomed reports from Pakatan Rakyat (PR) if the commission officials abused their powers, saying the opposition parties should lodge complaints and provide proof of wrongdoing.

"If there is proof to show the officer is in the wrong, please submit the proof. If possible, give the name, position and pictures.

"We will investigate without favour no matter who the officer is," Abdul Aziz said.

The former top civil servant agreed that EC officials who are in political parties should not mix their duties with political ideology, saying it went against the work ethics of those in government service.

The EC chairman pointed out there were no regulations or laws that prevent government officials from joining political parties, except that those active in politics must apply for permission from the Public Service Department (PSD).

Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/ec-officers-have-democratic-right-to-join-political-parties-says-chief/ 

 

Absolutely no reason for protracted stateless Indian issue

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 11:10 AM PST

Chua Jui Meng
 
THE plight of some 300,000 stateless Indians is more than enough a reason for you to change the federal government. This problem should have been resolved long ago and therefore the Indian community in Malaysia cannot continue to trust the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government.

These stateless Indians have either lived here for decades or were born in this country.

They can also communicate fluently in Bahasa Malaysia. Why must their application for citizenship be rejected or their files left in the cupboard to collect dust?
 
In contrast, why were 600,000 Muslims from Indonesia and the Philippines in Sabah given citizenship and bumiputra status to vote in Malaysia? The majority of the Filipinos cannot even speak Bahasa Malaysia.
 
Clearly, the Umno-led BN's ulterior motive and bad intentions for the people and country were to topple the then PBS state government and then use the foreigners as its fixed deposit voters.
 
And, Anwar has promised to grant citizenship to all the stateless Indians in Malaysia.
 
Come next 13th General Election, the Indians must join us and give Pakatan Rakyat (PR) their ballots to fight BN… Lawan Tetap Lawan (Fight, we must fight).

There is absolutely no reason for Indians born in Malaysia and those who have stayed here for decades to remain stateless. To quote (Parliamentary Opposition Leader) Anwar Ibrahim, we are all Malaysian brothers and sisters, irrespective of race.
 
Anwar has also reiterated that a PR government will take care of the interest of all Malaysians and that is why PKR is leading a march to Putrajaya on Wednesday (Dec 12, 2012) to protest and to demand that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak grants the citizenship in the name of justice.
 
I also urge the Indian community to consider our proposed long-term people-centric fiscal policies in PR's Buku Jingga (Orange Book) and alternative Budget 2013 when going to the next national polls.
 
Take whatever sweeteners that the BN is giving you now even though it is a measly RM500, but when it comes to casting your ballots, think of the long-term benefits PR is offering.
 
PR's slew of such benefits include monthly welfare aid for the poor raised from RM300 to RM550, free education for all Malaysian children all the way to university and RM2,000 annual aid for elderly couples.
 
In addition, RM1,000 annual allowance will be given to low-income families for every child aged 12 and below to enable mothers to send their children to day care centres.
 
This will help free mothers who need to go to work for additional income.
 
PR also wants to make cars more affordable to the people by reducing excise duty by 20% every year, the setting up of a national trust fund for the welfare of women in the country akin to the Employees Provident Fund and the scrapping of road tolls.

Deepavali or Diwali is celebrated by Hindus annually to mark the triumph of Good over Evil … and in Malaysia today, you know the evil is BN. 

 

Indian community will be rewarded for being a ‘fixed deposit’

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 11:07 AM PST

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(The Star) - Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak admits that the Indian community, while being a long-time "fixed deposit" for the Barisan Nasional in the country's general elections, had not been given the "interest rates" due to them.

"They had been our fixed deposit' all this while but we have not been paying high interest ... maybe our interest rates were not good enough," said the Prime Minister, who is also the Barisan chief.

"However, in the last four years, the Barisan has been paying them higher interest rates," he said in his keynote address when opening the 66th MIC general assembly at the Putra World Trade Centre here yesterday.

"It is the feeling of being sidelined among the Indians that led to a dip in their support for the Barisan at the last polls.

"There were, among the community, those who wanted to see changes in the Barisan. They wanted it to be more attentive to the rights and aspiration of the Indians.

"It is not to say they wanted the Opposition less or that they love the Opposition, but they wanted a Barisan government that cares for the Indians and all Malaysians," he added.

Najib said the expenditure of RM540mil for Tamil primary schools since 2009 was an example of the Government's commitment towards the betterment of the community, adding the Government would consider upgrading the MIC-run Tafe College to university status.

The Prime Minister was confident that the changes being made by the Barisan would be accepted by the Indians, based on the nambikei spirit and the trust they had put in the party to defend their future.

Telling them to be cautious before casting their votes at the next general election, Najib said there could be chaos and uncertainties for the community and the nation if they voted for the Opposition.

He also described the allegations by the Opposition that some 300,000 Indians in the country were stateless as a lie to dupe the community.

"Based on records, only about 9,000 had so far come forward to apply for citizenship and related documents.

"So far, 4,500 citizenship applications have been settled with 2,000 more in the process," he said, adding that 7,000 MyKad and birth certificates had been issued to the applicants.

 

'Khalwat' issue: Case could be tip of the iceberg

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 11:06 AM PST

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Indecent charge: The summons which the Kota Baru Municipal Council enforcement officers issued to non-Muslims recently. 

(The Star) - PETALING JAYA: The case of the four non-Muslims who were hauled up for "khalwat" in Kota Baru, Kelantan, could just be the tip of an iceberg, says PAS Supporters Congress head Hu Pang Chaw.

"There could be more of such cases in which the rights of non-Muslims have been violated, but not revealed," he said.

"The couples involved were non-Muslims. And, the enforcement officers were subjective in issuing the summonses from an Islamic stand. This is not fair," he was quoted as saying by China Press.

Citing an example on the overzealous enforcement, Hu, a former councillor, said a billboard advertisement by an electrical appliance shop was taken down for containing "indecent images".

"It was a picture of a woman covering a man's eyes from behind," he said. "No action was taken against the shop but the billboard was taken down anyway."

Throughout the 22 years of PAS rule in Kelantan, Hu said the Islamic policies implemented by the party had affected and inconvenienced non-Muslims.

He pointed out that Chinese support for PAS would be affected if the state government failed to resolve such issues.

"As party supporters, we are only giving opinions as we know better what the non-Muslims want," he said.

Asked on Friday about certain PAS leaders' overzealousness in implementing Islamic policies, Hu said he was disheartened by their actions.

"Some have overstepped what's allowed in terms of religion to defend the party struggle. They have not been looking into what the non-Muslims want," he added.

Sin Chew Daily quoted a relative saying that there were several cars parked in the area where the two men were issued with the summonses. There were other families and couples there.

He said the duo denied any wrongdoing and they would not pay the fine.

Meanwhile, Kelantan Chinese Assembly Hall president Oie Poh Choon has called on the Kota Baru Municipal Council to show evidence that the two men caught in a car near the airport were acting indecently.

"Even if they were, an advice would have been sufficient," Oei said.

"But if the council wants to fine them, they had better produce evidence."

He also urged the council to monitor its "problematic" enforcement officers.

Kelantan Gerakan Vice-Youth chief Ong Khang Woon concurred, saying that evidence was crucial and the two could ignore the fine.

"While the law is all black and white, the problem lies with such enforcement officers," he said.

 

TI-M president: Malaysians have no conviction to fight corruption

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 10:53 AM PST

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(The Star) - Malaysians rather pay their way out of trouble despite knowing corruption is wrong.

Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) president Datuk Paul Low said Malaysians were aware of corruption but had no conviction to fight it.

"I believe as much as they are aware (of corruption), when faced with a situation, they will probably pay their way out of trouble because to a certain extent, corruption has become a way of life," he said after launching a walk against corruption at Taman Tasik Perdana yesterday.

In citing a 2010 Global Corruption Barometer survey conducted by TI-M, Low said that it found one in 10 Malaysians had paid a bribe.

However, he believed the actual number could be higher at two or three to 10.

He said another survey conducted with businessmen found one out of two have lost contracts or sales due to non-payment of bribes.

"We are afraid if nothing is done to tackle corruption, it can be endemic and institutionalised," he said.

He said Malaysians should change their attitude by being firm and say no when someone solicited bribes.

He said all stakeholders had to fight against corruption and uphold integrity, with society playing the role of a watchdog.

"We don't pay, we don't bribe. If someone ask for a bribe or extort from us, we have to inform the MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission)," he said.

He paid tribute to the Government's seriousness in tackling graft, saying that Malaysia was likely the only country in the world to use the transparency index as part of its Key Performance Index (KPI).

He said the Government had also passed the Whistleblowing Protection Act, uploaded names of those charged with corruption on MACC's website and set up a whistleblowing hotline.

"Additionally, 14 courts to handle corruption cases are being established as well as getting companies to sign the Corporate Integrity Pledge to uphold anti-corruption principles.

"It shows we are prepared to tackle corruption head-on," he said.

 

Najib’s Farcical Presidential Speech

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 12:55 AM PST

M. BARKI MUSA

That Prime Minister Najib Razak is oratorically-challenged is patently obvious, and a severe understatement.  The pathetic part is that Najib is determined to delude himself that he is otherwise.  His presidential speech at the recently-concluded UMNO General Assembly was only the latest example.

He confuses ponderousness with deliberateness, equates yelling as emphasizing, and thinks that furrowing his forehead as being in profound thought.  In the hands of a gifted actor, those could be great comedic acts.  Alas, Najib is also far from being that.

I learned early in high school at Kuala Pilah that if I did not know what to do with my hands when delivering a speech, to keep them in my pockets or behind my back.  Do not gesticulate wildly as that would only distract the audience.  Worse, I risked looking like a monkey on speed.  Najib apparently did not learn that at his expensive British school.

As an aside from the personal hygiene perspective, I hoped they sanitized the microphone thoroughly after he spoke; there was an awful amount of spit splattered on it during his delivery.

Najib should take comfort in the fact that there are many effective leaders who are neither charismatic nor great orators. Germany's Angela Merkel readily comes to mind.  Najib should also be reminded that the converse is even truer.  Leaders with great oratorical gifts and generously endowed charisma can often be among the most corrupt and inept.  Sukarno mesmerized Indonesians with his mercurial personality and spellbound speeches, but that country remained a basket case economically and in many other ways during his presidency.

Had Najib delivered his address in his usual persona, without the put-on gravitas or pretensions of grandeur, he could have finished his nearly hour-long speech in half the time.  Then he and his audience would not have missed their Maghrib prayers.  Besides, there was nothing in Najib's speech that was so urgent or important to justify that.  As self-professed champions and defenders of Islam, Najib and his fellow UMNO members do not need to be reminded of the importance of prayer.  He and UMNO might need it for the coming election!

Or perhaps those UMNO folks believed in the canard that their party is God's choice, and thus dispensed from having to pray.

With all the daunting challenges facing Malays, Najib could come up with only two piddling policy prescriptions:  One, increasing Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia's (AIM) loan amount to RM100K from RM50K; and two, reviewing the country's bankruptcy laws.  This from the leader of a party that purports to champion the Malay cause!

In announcing the loan increase, Najib looked approvingly to Wanita members, and they in turn responded in kind.  Meaning, they were the intended beneficiaries.  I have no problem giving those ladies who are hairdressers or trained pre-school teachers loans so they could start their own beauty salons or kindergartens, but simply by virtue of their being Wanita members would be folly.  Besides, if all you have is some vague idea of starting basket weaving, you do not need such outlandish amounts.

AIM is Malaysia's government-sponsored version of "micro-credit."  Muhammad Yunus, its pioneer, would be flabbergasted to know that a loan of RM100K is considered "micro."  This is yet another example of Najib adopting an otherwise brilliant idea from elsewhere and then screwing it up in the implementation.  AIM's generous program has degenerated into another massive and lucrative UMNO patronage machinery.

As for reviewing the bankruptcy laws, I would have been reassured had Najib made it part of an overall scheme to encourage economic entrepreneurialism and business risk-taking especially among Malays.  Alas, none of that!  It was prompted simply to rescue the many UMNO leaders who are bankrupt purportedly from guaranteeing loans of their members in return for their support.  With the proposed changes, those local leaders would be spared from bankruptcy, and then they could be their party's next "winnable" candidates!  Having not learned their lesson, they would then mortgage the country's future.

What is obvious here is that Najib and the entire UMNO leadership are bereft of ideas.  They are intellectually bankrupt.  The brilliant political cartoonist Zunar captures well this degeneration of UMNO leaders with his latest cartoon, "Evolusi UMNO."

The only remedy for the intellectual bankruptcy of our current leaders is to have an entirely new leadership.

Fully aware what Mahathir did to Abdullah Badawi, Najib heaped profuse praise on the still powerful Mahathir.  It was sucking up performance par excellence!  Najib singled out Mahathir's commitment of loyalty to leaders, which he (Mahathir) apparently forgot when Abdullah Badawi was in charge.

According to Najib, Mahathir had impressed upon UMNO members the importance of loyalty to leaders, presumably in contrast to fidelity to principles.  Najib readily or more accurately, desperately hung on to that!  These UMNO leaders are nothing but opportunistic characters, modern-day Hang Tuahs.

In his speech Najib was like a little kid desperately seeking approval and relishing praises from grown-ups.  Apart from gushingly citing Mahathir's approbation, Najib reminded his audience of IMF's Christine Legard's praise for Malaysia's "gravity-defying" economic performance.  Najib needs to be reminded that the IMF, World Bank, and other "respected" international bodies were running out of superlatives to describe the country's economic stewardship right up to the day before the 1997 Asian economic contagion.

READ MORE HERE

 

About cops and robbers

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 12:00 AM PST

 

Musa Hassan has many grievances against the government, the present IGP, as well as the Minister. First of all, Musa had requested an extension of service but it was rejected. He then asked to be made the Malaysian High Commissioner to Brunei and that too was rejected. Instead, he was given just a teaching job, which to him is a great insult when other retired IGPs before him were given 'good' posts.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

This was what an anonymous website published more than five years ago in 2007:

This Deputy Minister is the most powerful Deputy Minister because firstly he works under a very busy minister so all power has to be delegated to him. Secondly, he has got the prerogative of executive power to order a person to be detained without trail or to be released on his own fancy.

Here are three classic cases we can see how YB Dato Johari Bin Baharum, the Deputy Minister of Internal Security, had abuse his power and breach the trust from his boss, i.e., the Prime Minister. His abuse of power must be seen as interfering in police investigations and to a larger extent had also jeopardised the police effort in maintaining peace as well as law and order in the country. The abuse of power by YB Dato Johari must tantamount to corrupt practice and must be stopped immediately.

The Anti-Corruption Agency should be called upon to investigate both the money transactions and also abuse of power that amounting to corrupt practice.

Kong Cho Heng

Kong Cho Heng, also known as Panjang from Setiawan, Perak, was arrested in December 2006 under Sec 3(1) Emergency Ordinance. Panjang is the leader of a Chinese Secret Society. He leads a gang collecting protection money from businessmen in Setiawan.

His gang members often use threats, criminal intimidation, as well as force and violence to achieve their objective. They are responsible for several cases of assault and causing severe injuries in Setiawan.

Panjang is the younger brother of YB Dato' Kong Cho Ha, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology. Sources said police applied to detain Panjang under Sec 4(1) Emergency Ordinance was rejected in the mid-January 2007 and he was ordered by YB Dato Johari Bin Baharum to be released immediately with no further reasons.

Chin Shui On

Chin Shui On, also known as Robin or Tian Wong from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, was arrested in December 2006 under Sec 3(1) Emergency Ordinance. Robin is involved in organising illegal gambling and book keeping in the district of Penampang and Kota Kinabalu.

Robin is the leader of a gangster group and often uses threats and violence to retain control over his illegal business empire. Sources said police applied to detain him under Sec 4(1) Emergency Ordinance but unfortunately it was rejected in Mid-January 2007 and he was ordered released with immediate effect. It was believed that a CEO of a private medical centre in Kota Kinabalu had made a payment of RM3 million to Dato Johari Bin Baharum for his unconditional release.

Moo Sai Chin

Moo Sai Chin, a.k.a. Ah Yau from Cemor, Perak, was arrested in October 2006 under Sec 3(1) Emergency Ordinance. Ah Yau is a well-known leader of a secret society in the state of Perak.

His gangsters often use force and violence to gain control of territories.

Ah Yau also runs the vice business by using threats and force against foreign women working in massage parlours known as Big Sister Massage Parlour, Jalan Kampar, Ipoh, Perak. Sources said that police applied to detain Ah Yau under Sec 4(1) Emergency Ordinance but failed. He was later ordered detained under restricted residence in Tampin Negeri Sembilan for 1 year under Sec 7B(1) Emergency Ordinance.

Subsequently, in the mid-January 2007, the restricted residence order was cancelled by YB Dato Johari Bin Baharum, the Deputy Minister of Internal Security, and Ah Yau was ordered released immediately. Sources and close associates of Ah Yau confirmed that he 'settled' with YB Dato Johari Bin Baharom for a sum not less than RM2.5 million.

***********************************************

Many of you have probably forgotten that particular episode of more than five years ago or maybe you had not been reading Malaysia Today yet at that time. That expose above, published in a one-page anonymous website, got the Deputy Minister, Datuk Johari Baharum, into a whole load of trouble.

Johari was actually summoned to the Anti-Corruption Agency office and was interrogated at great length like a common criminal. Luckily he was not 'mysteriously' found dead on the ground floor of the ACA office like some other unfortunate victims.

Finally, ACA investigations proved that Johari was innocent of all allegations.

Investigations were then conducted as to the person behind that anonymous website and the trail eventually led to the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Christopher Wan Sooi Kee. Christopher Wan actually confessed that he had set up that website at the behest of the IGP, Musa Hassan.

Christopher Wan was just carrying out the IGP's orders to fix up the Deputy Minister on allegations of corruption. About a year later, Christopher Wan was sent into retirement, as reported by government mouthpiece, Bernama, "after 38 illustrious years in the force".

The file regarding the allegation of 'under-the-table' payment of RM5.5 million to release the three underworld bosses was finally closed. The person who ordered the release of the three underworld bosses and who benefited from the RM5.5 million was not the Deputy Minister, Johari Baharum, but the IGP himself, Musa Hassan.

Surprisingly, however, no action was taken against Musa. The then Prime Minister, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, saw fit to not rock the boat lest some of his own shit hits the fan, which Musa promised would happen if anything were to happen to him.

Musa Hassan has always been the 'Mister Fix It' of the police force. Back in 1998, Musa was the one who informed Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that Anwar Ibrahim had punched himself. Hence Anwar's black eye was self-inflicted.

Dr Mahathir confidently announced this to the world, which was later, of course, proven to be a lie. Musa, at that time, was serving under Datuk Ramli Yusuff.

To redeem himself, Musa engineered the tilam (mattress) incident. In this drama, the mattress that Anwar was alleged to have used to have sex was paraded in and out of court every day for all and sundry to see.

Eventually, however, the mattress was rejected as evidence. Fortunately for Musa, though, Ramli testified at the Royal Commission of Inquiry and fingered the then IGP, Rahim Noor, as the person who had beaten up Anwar (hence it was not self-inflicted). That resulted in Ramli being sent into 'cold storage' and Musa going up to become the IGP.

But there was a clear and present danger that Ramli was going to make a comeback after his stint in cold storage. That would make Ramli a threat to Musa. For that reason Musa had to fix Ramli up as well. And that was when the allegations of corruption against Ramli first surfaced -- which the court later threw out and actually called the allegations nonsense and the IGP a liar.

Judge Supang Lian in Kota Kinabalu called Musa an incredible witness (another way of calling him a Liar) in these words:

"This involves an assessment of the credibility of the witness called by the prosecution. His evidence is unreliable and is to be disregarded and whatever he says in court lends to his discredit. I am in total agreement with the case for the defence that this lack of support of the evidence of PW75 (IGP Musa Hassan) on this point lends to his discredit. In this regard I should mention that PW75 in his evidence gave an interpretation that is contrariwise to the testimonies of PW17, PW19, PW57 and PW73. I found however that the evidence of PW75 on this to be unreliable and to be disregarded."

Musa Hassan has many grievances against the government, the present IGP, as well as the Minister. First of all, Musa had requested an extension of service but it was rejected. He then asked to be made the Malaysian High Commissioner to Brunei and that too was rejected. Instead, he was given just a teaching job, which to him is a great insult when other retired IGPs before him were given 'good' posts.

Before he retired, Musa made sure that he promoted and transferred the 'right' police officers, those who can kautim with the underworld and the crime syndicate. The Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, however, as Musa alleges, 'interfered' in this exercise. And this 'interference' by the Minister is causing a lot of problems for the Chinese underworld and crime syndicate.

And that is why Musa recently gave his interview -- alleging interference by the politicians in the running of the police force. It is true that the Minister blocked Musa's every move. But that is only because by allowing Musa to do what he wanted would have had a backlash on Umno.

They know that the voters are unhappy with the police force and that may cost Umno a lot of votes. Hence if the Minister does not rein in the police then there is a danger that Umno could lose a sizeable number of votes.

The fact that the recent Bersih 3.0 rally turned out the way it did is evidence that the top does not know what the bottom is doing. The Prime Minister gave very clear instructions that there must not be any police violence at all costs and this instruction was made clear to the IGP.

However, as we all know, the reverse happened. And many suspect that Musa's hand is at play here. Musa wants to undermine the present IGP, Ismail Omar, and to prove to the government that they made a great mistake in not extending his (Musa's) service. And what happened during the Bersih 3.0 rally is proof of this -- or so Musa wants us to believe.

According to Musa, Ismail Omar is not capable and just can't do his job. And the only way the government can solve this would be to retire the IGP and replace him with someone else -- someone who is aligned to Musa and who will not 'disturb' the Chinese underground and crime syndicate.

Musa Hassan is toxic of the first degree. And for the opposition to flirt with him is quite puzzling. Is the opposition that desperate that it needs to court people like Musa? Surely amongst the 28 million or so Malaysians there are many others of better calibre whom the opposition can work with.

READ MORE HERE: Musa Hassan: The Janus-Faced Lying Fraudster

***********************************************

(Malaysiakini, April 2012) - It is learnt that Musa's former aide de camp, ASP Noor Azizul Rahim Taharim, had brought this troubling matter to the attention of then minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad and deputy internal security minister Johari Baharum.

Another informant told Malaysiakini that Tengku Goh, whose real name is Goh Cheng Poh, had met Musa at his hotel room in Johor Baru sometime in 2005 or 2006, and this was confirmed by Noor Azizul.

Musa was accused to have promoted officers who were loyal to him as well as those who tacitly support his close cooperation with the alleged underworld figures. The line of succession was allegedly orchestrated to ensure Musa could continue his tenure as the country's police chief. Musa held the post for four years, from 2006 to 2010.

He was reported to have been upset when his term was not extended further, and at one time describing his potential successor, Ismail Omar, as not ready to occupy his seat.

Ramli told Malaysiakini yesterday that Musa's aide Noor Azizul had informed him about his boss' alleged underworld links. "ASP Noor Azizul Rahim told me about this, and this confirmed my suspicion of Musa that he together with the AG was out to fix me. This was to ensure I would be eliminated from the police hierarchy," he said.

"All my fears and suspicions have been proven true by the flimsy charges laid against me. Musa even went to the extent of appearing as the 75th witness in my Sabah case. In the end, Musa was regarded an untruthful witness when he tried to contradict the evidence of all the other police witnesses," he said.

Ramli also recalled how Noor Azizul had met several senior police officers, including Musa's deputy Mohd Najib Abdul Aziz and two members of the Police Force Commission, for help but to no avail. Following this, the frustrated Noor Azizul, who was Musa's personal aide from 2005 to 2007, made a statutory declaration on the matter sometime in 2009, said Ramli.

A copy of Noor Azizul's SD was published in blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin's Malaysia Today website four years ago. In his SD, Noor Azizul said he was aware of the sworn declarations of several police officers and police informants and their actions in revealing Musa's links with Tengku Goh and Tan.

"Based on my personal knowledge and involvement as the ADC (aide de camp) to the IGP, I can confirm the statements made by these deponents concerning Musa are true and do correctly reflect the events as described by them..."

"I have personal knowledge and involvement in that I was asked as ADC to compile and coordinate such posting orders based on the drafts and proposals made by Tan. A copy of the draft was subsequently implemented as police posting orders," he said in his statutory declaration.

Noor Azizul said the transfers were justified as part of a campaign to root out corruption in the force. It included entrapment to make the affected officers appear guilty of wrongdoing.

"This gave the impression that Musa was eradicating corruption and abuses within the force whereas it was the farthest from the truth. The credibility of these officers would be demolished to such an extent that whatever information they had gathered about the IGP would be discredited. These officers would suffer hardships, like being transferred away from their family and home base," he said.

"Some of the other agonies inflicted on them were being by-passed for promotions, subjected to disciplinary action minus due process; subordinates with unproven records promoted over them and victimised officers serving as visible warnings of the consequences of defying the 'established' order."

The former ADC said the 'mencantas' (trimming the opposition) campaign had led to low moral in the force, resulting in the crime rate soaring during Musa's time.

"Not long after that the AG ordered Tengku Goh's release. Many in PDRM (Royal Malaysian Police) became demoralised seeing how a criminal was released by resorting to legal niceties whereas our own brother officers were dragged to court," he lamented.

"I hope the minister and the government give me protection for this disclosure as it is made with the hope of improving the force in expectation of a new leadership era under Ismail Omar (the present IGP)," he said in his SD.

Former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission panel member Robert Phang, when contacted by Malaysiakini, confirmed that Noor Azizul had approached him when he was Musa's aide de camp, and together they met a former IGP, seeking his help on the matter.

READ MORE HERE: Underworld determined police transfers and promotions

 

Political WTF 3 - OK to leap but why not look beforehand

Posted: 08 Dec 2012 04:29 PM PST

KTEMOC KONSIDERS

I would have loved to use the idiom 'out of the blue' to describe the recent antics of former IGP Musa Hassan in his public criticisms of his old boss, Home Affairs Minister Hishamuddin, for allegedly interfering directly in police operational matters and other police issues – mind you, not that I disbelieve his principal allegations against his old boss, wakakaka.

Musa Hassan

But given the ringgit-driven politics of our much battered nation, I have to admit (perhaps even boast a wee bit, please allow me that) that I have expected/anticipated such late belakang-pusing (volte-face) entries into our political arena, in the persons of Musa Hassan and Deepak Jaikisian … and perhaps even more.

No sirree, we can't depend on Balasubramaniam Perumal alone or even the poor over-exploited soul of Altantuyaa Shaariibuu to invigorate interests in the non-PKR dark side of Malaysian politics. There must be an innovative rafter of fresh sensational exposés to capture and hold voters' interests.

Balasubramaniam Perumal

But I must confess I've been influenced by the grapevine info that Anwar Ibrahim has a new and very rich financial backer. There's nothing wrong with having financial backers, which is a normal practice in American, Australian and western politics, except over there, contributors of sums above, say, $ x must be known and recorded/reported, though in the USA, this regulation has been cleverly circumvented by breaking a large contribution into many many contributions of less than $ x.

The Jews are far more clever, contributing to both sides of politics … just in case, you know ... making them always winners regardless who wins and rules. 

To be fair, many American Jews are left leaning liberals so please don't assume they're all Zionists. Perhaps the only chink in their left wing liberal politics is that, as Jews inheriting horrendous memories of the Holocaust, they are obligated in more than one way, to ensure at least the survival of Israel as a state.

But such is their political acumen and influence in Western democracies, through a combination of generous financial contributions and exploitation of Western guilt over the Holocaust, that an example of their intrinsic political power has recently manifested itself in Australia, in the state of New South Wales (NSW), which is now ruled by the right-wing Coalition under the leadership of Barry O'Farrell.

The NSW Board of Studies and Department of Education has accepted the Jewish Board of Deputies's recommendation to make the study of the Holocaust a compulsory subject in Years 9 and 10 in NSW secondary schools. Previously the NSW Labor government had refused to make the subject compulsory, though it was available as a study option - see Sydney Morning Herald's Study of Holocaust mandated for schools.

Nazi concentration camp inmates, Jews and non-Jews

Vic Alhadeff of the Jewish Board of Deputies stated that ''The Holocaust is a warning to every generation about the potential for evil, especially as a consequence of racial hatred, and about the inherent evil of totalitarian regimes. It teaches us that every generation owes it to itself and to future generations to cherish and, if necessary, fight to defend the sanctity of life, dignity and freedom.''

I cannot but whole-heartedly agree with the opposition NSW Greens Party MP John Kaye who said that (since the study objective is to warn younger generations of Australians about the potential for evil arising from the consequence of racial hatred) while the Holocaust is rightly an essential part of the state syllabus, it should be taught in the context of the other 20th-century genocides.

Khmer Rouge victims

Indeed, kaytee has in mind studies of genocides and/or atrocities like the ones in Rwanda, Khmer under the Pol Pot Khmer Rouge regime, the massacre in Nanjing (Nanking) by the Japanese military during WWII, Sabra & Shatila and Deir Yassin in Palestine, Gaza during the Israeli Ops Cast Lead, My Lai in Vietnam, Wounded Knee and Indian Reservations in the USA as ugly examples of brutal colonialism, the US-British sanction of Iraq leading to infant malnutrition and deaths by the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi infants and children, etc.

Japanese decapitating Nanjing victim and baby

genocide at Nanjing alone took between 500,000 to 900,000 lives

whichever source for those figures, the victims there were of considerable numbers 

Focusing solely on the Holocaust effectively confers monopoly of victim-hood to the Jews and indirectly teflonises Israeli atrocities automatically as defensive measures when the truth could well be otherwise, obviously something the Zionists and pro Israel lobbies want.

Anyway, back to financial contributions in Malaysian politics – as mentioned there's nothing incorrect about this, as even DAP strives for this but through election fund raising dinners and donation drives where supporters and well-wishers donate relatively small and accountable sums.

Only big political movers (UMNO) or those the financial contributors see as potential big political movers (wakakaka) receive humongous (and in most cases, unaccountable) sums, which enable the big political movers the latitude to 'strategize' and 'campaign' for voters' support, or even without voters' support, wakakaka.

For example, it's no secret that there were talks (at RPK's Malaysia-Today) about the 916 coup d'état requiring at least RM 300 million to bring about that aspired change of government, an amazing strategy that had required its Great Conceptualizer to think totally outside the box .... specifically the ballot box, wakakaka.

We were informed that it didn't eventuate for the same reprehensible ringgit reason, that the RM 300 million was deemed as, insanely as this may sound, not enough … because the other side had (still has) deeper pockets to counter-offer far bigger sums to the potential political defectors.

Well, wow, WTF, one would be totally gob-smacked f* and kau kau too, when one is informed that RM 300 million is NOTmoi, but I'm just not used to such Fort Knox sums being considered as not enough. enough? Pardon

Mind, we've gathered too from the grapevine that a Madame reputed to be the Whore of Babylonpang was paid a humongous RM 25 million to metamorphose into Madame Butterfly so as to flutter over to another rose, wakakaka, so perhaps on second thoughts, indeed, what would be a mere RM 300 million for 30 MPs?

Whore of Babylon

This leads us to one of the most despised persons in Malaysia, Musa Hassan the former IGP, who has recently and almost on a daily basis, self-canonized himself into some kind of law & order Saint Ralph Nader, in turn leading us to undergo a range of emotions … outrage at what we saw as his brazen hypocrisy, wakakaka at the ridiculousness of an oxymoron-ic reformasi ex-IGP, and finally deep suspicions as to the likely person behind Musa Hassan's pseudo-crusade of righteous criticisms against ministerial political interference in police operational process.

People such as blogger Ahmad Lufti Othman leapt at the opportunity to call for serious investigations into Musa Hassan's accusations. In his post Musa Hassan dan aksi Bollywood he wrote:

READ MORE HERE

 

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