Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Police will be calling up Saiful Bukhari's father to give statement: IGP
- Anwar rebukes Pakatan members for fighting over seats
- Kiram orders troops to stay, no surrender
- Twitter attack against Nga-Ngeh cousins
- Sultan disputes casualty report
- Police arrest 79 as incursion death toll hits 61
- Saiful’s father sought me out over plot claim, PKR’s Johari says
- Kuala Lumpur launches media drive to discredit Kirams
- A 'smooth' transition, says Anwar
| Police will be calling up Saiful Bukhari's father to give statement: IGP Posted: 08 Mar 2013 09:06 PM PST
(Bernama) - Police will be calling up Azlan Mohd Lazim to record a statement from him pertaining to a press conference he held here yesterday, said Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar. Azlan, the father of Saiful Bukhari who had accused Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of having sodomised him (Saiful Bukhari), at the press conference had alleged that his son was part of a conspiracy hatched by someone in the Prime Minister's Department to destroy Anwar's political career. Anwar was subsequently charged in court with committing sodomy on Saiful Bukhari but was given a discharge not amounting to acquittal at the end of the defence's case. The prosecution has filed an appeal. Khalid was speaking to reporters after launching a crime prevention campaign Kuchai Lama here. Also present were Royal Malaysia Police National Key Result Areas (NKRA) chairman Datuk Wira Ayub Yaakob, Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Mohmad Salleh and Kuala Lumpur CID chief, Datuk Ku Chin Wah. On another matter, Khalid said to date, police had received 205 reports against Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president Tian Chua for allegedly accusing Umno to be behind the intrusion by Sulu terrorists in Lahad Datu. He added that Johor police had opened investigation papers on the matter and that the case was being investigated under Section 499 of the Penal Code (Defamation). |
| Anwar rebukes Pakatan members for fighting over seats Posted: 08 Mar 2013 06:39 PM PST
Opalyn Mok, TMI Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim issued a stern reprimand today to Pakatan Rakyat (PR) members for publicly tussling over seats and issuing "threats" to their party comrades when their demands are not met. "This is shallow minded and not looking at the big picture," the opposition leader said in his speech at the Penang PR state convention in Komtar here. He said grassroots members could ask for seats, even demand for seats, but it was wrong for them to issue threats to get seats. "Don't sacrifice PR's principles just because of this tussling for seats in one or two areas," the PKR de facto leader said. He said so far all this public dissent was among the grassroots members while the top leadership of PKR, the DAP and PAS did not have any problems. Anwar said his relationship with PAS was like among good friends with the same goal of strengthening Islam in the country. "As for DAP, Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng are like my family," he said. The former deputy prime minister said PR may not be perfect and it had its weaknesses. "We can only appeal to God to help us improve," he said. The state convention saw about 200 delegates from the three parties attending the half-day event.
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| Kiram orders troops to stay, no surrender Posted: 08 Mar 2013 05:07 PM PST
The Sultans' daughter says the sultan's followers won't leave Sabah despite attacks by Malaysian security forces. (Agencies) - MANILA: The daughter of self-proclaimed Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III on Saturday said the followers of the sultan are standing firm on their decision not to surrender even after the foreign affairs department said that laying down their arms is the only way left to prevent further bloodshed in Sabah. Speaking with radio dzMM, Princess Jaycel said the group of Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram still won't leave Sabah despite the attacks being launched against them by Malaysian security forces. "Fior the Raja Muda and his people that this is honor above life, " she said. " They want to live there peacefully," she added. Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez on Friday said Raja Muda's group is left with no other choice but to lay down their arms after the call for ceasefire was rejected by the Malaysian government. Malaysian police had said the Filipinos were not showing any sign of surrendering, thus the operation against them will continue. Hernandez said Malaysian forces are determined to "destroy militants" in Lahad Datu town. Hernandez said, however, that the DFA has yet to confirm these incidents and the total number of fatalities in Sabah. Malaysian troops said they shot and killed 32 followers of the sultan during the latest assault, bringing the total dead to 60, including 52 militants. Eight Malaysian policemen were killed in skirmishes last weekend. However, citing information from Raja Muda, the spokesman of Kiram III said 10 royal army soldiers have so far died since armed clashes began last week. Abraham Idjirani claimed no more royal army soldiers died in the succeeding attacks. He said 235 royal army soldiers have all been accounted for, with 10 fatalities, 10 arrested and 4 injured.
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| Twitter attack against Nga-Ngeh cousins Posted: 08 Mar 2013 04:46 PM PST
DAP's Kulasegaran in his Twitter messages claimed Perak DAP chairman Ngeh Koo Ham and secretary Nga Kor Ming are sidelining him, the Indian community and continuing with corrupt practices. K Pragalath, FMT National DAP vice-president M Kulasegaran has resorted to micro-blogging site, Twitter, to vent his anger against Perak DAP chief Ngeh Koo Ham and state secretary Nga Kor Ming over allegations of him being sidelined, corrupt practices and the belittling of the Indian community. The Twitter messages appear to indicate the worsening factional problems within Perak DAP. "I joined DAP with clear conviction. Don't test M. Kula. "Keep your house in order. @ngehkooham @ngakorming. I am least worried about you and your antics. "Some party leaders are so oblivious. Bro, Perak politics will explode if I start speaking. Matter of time only …..," Kulasegaran, who is also Ipoh Barat MP, wrote on Twitter last night. Kulasegaran leads one faction and the Nga-Ngeh cousins lead another faction. Ngeh is Beruas MP and Sitiawan state assemblyman whereas Nga is Taiping MP and Pantai Remis state assemblyman. Both the factions are aligned to DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng. In this series of Twitter messages, Kulasegaran also claimed to be sidelined in a March 8 anniversary ceramah session that was led by Ngeh and Nga in his constituency. The ceramah session was held in conjunction with the historic win of the opposition alliance which took over five states and denied the ruling coalition its traditional two- thirds majority during the 12th general election five years ago. The ceramah session was also attended by DAP national legal bureau chairman, Gobind Singh Deo. Gobind is also Puchong MP and the son of national DAP chairman, Karpal Singh. "People ask me if I am speaking in Ipoh today in my consitutency Ipoh Barat. What do I need to say? Factional!" Kula wrote in a message addressed to Gobind. "I am not concerned. I always stood by principles. But have I outlive my usefulness? In conjunction with the March 8 anniversary, he also pointed out at the corrupt practice within the DAP which he referred to as the "tailor gate". "We made history five years ago today. Many have changed for the better but some some are involved in businesses like 'tailor gate'. Can avoid?"
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| Sultan disputes casualty report Posted: 08 Mar 2013 04:35 PM PST
The Sultan says his followers have only suffered 10 casualties and the other may have been innocent Malaysian civilians. (Agencies) - MANILA: The Sulu Sultanate on Friday disputed casualty figures released by Malaysian security forces, saying its "royal army" in Sabah had suffered only 10 fatalities, with 10 others captured and four injured. "The royal security forces only clashed with Malaysian police commandos once and that happened on March 1. That's why we call it the 'March 1 Massacre,'" the sultanate's spokesman Abraham Idjirani said in an interview with radio station dzMM. Idjirani based his figures on reports from the brother of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, Agbimuddin Kiram, who led the sultanate's 235-member force that took over a remote village in Lahad Datu town in Sabah Feb. 9. Idjirani said the 10 Sulu fighters died during the firefight on March 1, but after the clash Malaysian security forces claimed the violence spread the following day to the town of Semporna and 18 others, purportedly Filipino gunmen, were killed. In the latest assault on Wednesday, Malaysia said they killed 32 followers of the sultan, bringing the total fatalities to 60, including 52 militants. Eight Malaysian policemen were killed in skirmishes last weekend. The Manila Standardreports Idjirani as saying that Agbimudding dismissed the Malaysian reports as propaganda, and said some of the deaths might have been innocent Malaysian civilians. He said the sultanate did not suffer additional fatalities because they became extra careful after the March 1 assault. The Foreign Affairs Department, meanwhile, asked Kuala Lumpur for access to the 10 followers of the sultan who had been captured last week in Sabah, to ensure their humane treatment. Department spokesman Raul Hernandez said the request was in line with the Vienna Convention on consular relations. Malaysian security forces launched the offensive to evict Kiram's supporters who entered Sabah's coastal town of Lahad Datu by boat to assert the sultanate's claim on the territory. Kiram, whose ancestors once owned several islands in Mindanao and Northern Borneo, purportedly sent his followers to Sabah to reclaim their homeland. Kiram has declared a unilateral ceasefire but said his men will remain in defensive mode. Malaysia rejected the temporary truce and demanded unconditional surrender of the Filipinos. Hernandez said the Philippine government will continue to explore all avenues to reach a peaceful solution to the crisis and avoid further loss of lives.
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| Police arrest 79 as incursion death toll hits 61 Posted: 08 Mar 2013 04:32 PM PST
IGP Ismail Omar said operations to "flush out" the intruders were continuing, with one militant shot dead this morning. (AFP) - LAHAT DATU: Malaysian police said Saturday they had arrested 79 people in Sabah as skirmishes to end a month-long incursion by armed Filipino Islamists left one more dead. The death of a suspected militant in a shootout Saturday raised the toll to 61 as Malaysian authorities pursued scores of Filipino gunmen who landed in Sabah last month to resurrect long-dormant land claims. Federal police chief Ismail Omar said operations to "flush out" the intruders were continuing, with one militant shot dead as he sought to escape a security cordon around two villages and overgrown plantation and swamp land. "Up to now the police have arrested 79 suspects whom we believe have some links with the intrusion," he said without specifying where the suspects were seized or giving more details on them. Ismail said Friday that police had arrested more than 50 men and women outside the battle zone under a security law. They were being investigated for "committing terrorist acts", the New Straits Times reported. Malaysia has vowed to end the incursion, its worst security crisis in years, and rejected a ceasefire call made by the leader of the fighters, who are followers of a self-proclaimed Philippine sultan. The sultan's officials say about 235 people took part in the mission to reassert a historical claim over Sabah, just a short boat ride from the southern Philippines. Since they landed on February 12, the main group of militants had been holed up in a sleepy farming village until two deadly shootouts with security forces a week ago triggered a military assault that scattered them. However, reports of other gunmen elsewhere along the coast have sparked fears of a wider infiltration by fighters and the possibility of sympathisers already in Malaysia helping them. Malaysian authorities say eight policemen and 53 militants have been killed in the crisis, stirred up by Jamalul Kiram III, the self-proclaimed heir to the former southern Philippine sultanate of Sulu. The incident has left the Southeast Asian neighbours in a prickly situation with elections in both countries to be held within months.
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| Saiful’s father sought me out over plot claim, PKR’s Johari says Posted: 08 Mar 2013 11:35 AM PST
(The Malaysian Insider) - PKR's Datuk Johari Abdul (pic above) has claimed that Saiful Bukhari Azlan's father was the one who sought him out to help reveal that his son's sodomy complaint against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was allegedly a "political conspiracy".
The Sungai Petani MP organised a press conference for Azlan Mohd Lazim (pic above) yesterday who claimed his son's claims as a plot by a special officer in the Prime Minister's Department but Saiful later refuted the claims. "Greetings, Saiful's father (was the one who) approached me. "He's the one who ask us to reveal all this, it can't be that his father is so stupid until he can be influenced," Johar told The Malaysian Insider when contacted after Saiful denied the conspiracy. The federal lawmaker said Saiful's denial was an insult to his father.
Saiful appeared to suggest that Anwar was behind his father's remarks on the second sodomy charge, warning the opposition leader not to use Azlan to twist the situation to achieve his goals. Saiful did not offer any proof to back up his accusation, but only pointed to Johari's presence at the press conference where his father had spoken earlier and apologised to Anwar and his family for the suffering they had experienced. But Azlan had earlier said that his statements in the press conference were done on a "voluntary basis". Saiful denied that his sodomy complaint against Anwar — the PKR de facto leader who he had previously worked with — was a political conspiracy and expressed surprise at his father's claim. Saiful replied "No" when asked if a special officer in the Prime Minister's Department was involved in planning the alleged conspiracy, as claimed by his father Azlan. Saiful denied that he had a misunderstanding with his father and denied that his father had financial problems. Azlan had said his sudden defence of Anwar, five years after the latter was charged in court, came after years of compiling information on the case, both during the sodomy trial and from details provided to him by informers. The 60-year-old man said the truth was finally clear to him. Azlan also called on all Malaysians not to believe what he described as "slander" against Anwar, urging more to rally behind the opposition leader. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/saifuls-father-sought-me-over-plot-claim-pkrs-johari-says/
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| Kuala Lumpur launches media drive to discredit Kirams Posted: 08 Mar 2013 11:14 AM PST
(Philippine Inquirer) - After labeling Agbimuddin Kiram's forces in Sabah terrorists, the Malaysian government has launched a campaign to discredit the brother of the Sulu group's leader, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, along with an effort to link them with the Malaysian opposition. In a report published this week, the state-owned news agency Berita National Malaysia (Bernama) accused Jamalul of "masquerading as the sultan of Sulu" and saying he "cannot lay claim to the defunct title." Bernama has always acted at the behest of the government, and is seen in Malaysia as the window to what the Barisan Nasional (ruling national coalition) thinks. Ariff Sabri, a former leader of the United Malays National Organization (Umno)—the leading party under the BN, once described Bernama as a "psywar" machine for Umno and its allies and accused it of issuing "half-baked" reports to discredit opposition figures. "So don't try to pull the wool over our eyes," Ariff, who has since joined the opposition, said when Bernama tried to play down the opposition's victory in at least five states in the 2008 elections. Family insider In trying to discredit Jamalul, the Bernama report posted on Thursday quoted an alleged Kiram family insider—whom it described as having deep knowledge of the sultanate—as saying it was "wrong for him to [claim that he is] the heir [of] the last sultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram II, who died in 1936." "Jamalul Kiram III was never a legitimate descendant of the nine rightful heirs of Jamalul Kiram II [who were named] in the 1939 'Macaskie Judgment' [as] eligible to receive cession payments, following the ceding of Sabah, then known as North Borneo, to the British North Borneo Co. (BNBC)," Bernama quoted the unnamed source as saying. Bernama, however, also quoted the source as saying that Jamalul is a member of the Sulu royalty. Sulu heirs But a copy of the official court document the Inquirer has obtained shows that Jamalul's father, Datu Punjungan Kiram, is one of the nine heirs to the sultanate. The others are Datu Esmail Kiram, Dayang Dayang Piandao Kiram, Dayang Dayang Sitti Rada Kiram, Princess Tarhata Kiram, Princess Sakinur-In Kiram, Dayang Dayang Putli Jahara Kiram, Dayang Dayang Sitti Mariam Kiram and Mora Napsa. The leading political coalition in Malaysia also appears to have started a crackdown on the opposition. Utusan Malaysia, a progovernment newspaper, published a report on Wednesday that tried to justify the claims of politicians identified with the Umno that Agbimuddin's intrusion into Sabah was the handiwork of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. Prime Minister Najib Razak said Anwar and opposition leaders were being investigated in connection with reports that they had met with members of the Sulu royalty prior to the Feb. 9 "homecoming" of Agbimuddin and a group of armed followers of the Sulu sultanate. Filipino security for Anwar In a story posted on its online edition, Utusan tried to establish Anwar's strong links with Filipinos by quoting his former secretary, Mohammad Rahimi Osman, as saying his former boss had Filipino security. Utusan said Rahimi identified the four Filipino aides of Anwar as Daniel Cruz, Noel del Rosario, Alfred Sese and Bong Oteyza. The four, according to Rahimi, have been working for Anwar since 2008. "They are members of a specially trained commando team and possess a wealth of expertise," Rahimi was quoted as saying. Utusan also published an article that criticized Anwar for threatening to sue the newspaper for earlier reports about his supposed links to Agbimuddin's group and the Sabah intrusion. Similar story in PDI It quoted former People's Justice Party chief Mahful Wahid Anwar as saying Anwar should not single out Utusan because even the foreign media—referring to the Philippine Daily Inquirer—also carried a similar story. Utusan also published a story on the challenge posted by Perkasa Indigenous Organization Malaysia (Perkasa) information chief Ruslan Kassim to Anwar "to sue Philippine President Benigno Aquino" for linking the opposition to the Sabah claim of the Kiram family. Umno leader Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said Anwar's wife should answer the allegations because her husband did not want to explain his alleged involvement in the Sabah crisis. "I am not accusing, but I want to ask. Why [is he] silent and [does] not answer the allegations made by the media?" Utusan quoted Shahrizat as saying. Read more at: http://m.inquirer.net/globalnation/?id=67913
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| A 'smooth' transition, says Anwar Posted: 08 Mar 2013 10:29 AM PST
(Malaysian Review) - Anwar Ibrahim has done it again. He has put the cart before the horse. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, this Pakatan leader told his interviewers that there would be a smooth transition of Malaysian Government after the general election. But shouldn't he first win the general election? Shouldn't his coalition win the majority seats in Parliament before seeking Royal permission to form the next government? Only after that can there by any transition. In other words, he may be ready for Putrajaya, but is Putrajaya ready for him? In 2008, he was ready for Putrajaya but Putrajaya wasn't quite ready for him. He had then predicted that he would take over the government on 16 September of that year by engineering a spate of defections. His failure to capture the Federal government was met with derision by people who had believed him. One of them wrote in a blog: Sorry, Mr. Opposition Leader, you lost your credibility after not keeping to your promise to form a new government in Putrajaya.after 169. That is the biggest b......t you gave us. You never had the numbers but you still raised our expectations. You lied and assumed Malaysians were stupid. You became the butt of jokes in the bars and warungs" So, in 2013, Anwar makes a 'logical leap'. (A logical leap is a moment where there is a significant--and contemptuous-- gap in the argument). He doesn't predict a victory but predicts a smooth transition. The other noteworthy predictions that Anwar made in the interview included the following: That he would be the Prime Minister And what did the foreign news agency say about what foreigners think about the general election? "An opposition win would be destabilizing for the market in the short term," Alan Richardson, a Singapore-based fund manager who helps oversee about $110 billion for Samsung Asset Management Co., told Bloomberg.
"We haven't had a history of political transition in Malaysia and there will be uncertainty."
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