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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Unreasonable to stop Lynas if proven safe: PKR MP
- ‘Video recording of explicit act not Umno’s work’
- Man United 15 points clear after City fall at Everton
- Sulu invasion: Probe papers almost done
- GE13: Do not let DAP mislead you, says Soi Lek
- Nur Misuari: 'We had to fight for it'
- Filipinos fleeing Sabah endure ‘violent crackdown’ by Malaysian forces
- Dr Mahathir: No directive to issue IC to unqualified migrants
- Wong Tack should have declared his political intentions, says PKR MP Fuziah
- GE13: PKR-DAP tussle for Bentong heats up
| Unreasonable to stop Lynas if proven safe: PKR MP Posted: 16 Mar 2013 09:52 PM PDT  Azan said if Lynas rare earth plant passed all the requirements needed to operate, it is unreasonable to stop it (Graphic by Dayang Norazhar/ The Mole) Azreen Hani, The Mole A Parti Keadilan Rakyat legislator, whose constituency is where the Lynas rare earth plant is located, has questioned the rationale of closing down the plant if it is proven to have met all safety and security requirements. PKR's MP for Indera Mahkota Azan Ismail said it is unreasonable for anyone to stop the operation of Lynas rare earth plant if it has met all the requirements needed. Azan said it is also premature for anyone to decide on the fate of Lynas without deliberating on the matter thoroughly. "I may not be an expert on environmental or safety aspect of the plant like YB Fuziah (PKR's MP for Kuantan Fuziah Salleh) but I believe if Pakatan Rakyat wins in the general election, it will set up a panel to deliberate on the matter," Azan said. "Of course all aspects will be looked into. I myself will bring up on the commercial aspect of this plant. I would want to see whether it will bring more benefit to the people or not," he added. "I think if Lynas has passed the panel's vetting and that of relevant authorities, I think it is unreasonable for us not to allow it to operate." The Gebeng Industrial Area near Kuantan where the Lynas Corporation Ltd's rare earth plant is located in the Indera Mahkota parliamentary constituency. Speaking to The Mole on Friday, Azan expressed his support on remarks made by opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in an Australian newspaper, saying it is the most logical explanation anyone could give at the time being. "I have checked and read on Datuk Seri (Anwar)'s statement and I agree with him. I believe it is only logical to allow the plant to operate unless it is proven otherwise," he said.
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| ‘Video recording of explicit act not Umno’s work’ Posted: 16 Mar 2013 09:48 PM PDT
Umno Information Chief Ahmad Maslan urges the people to watch the video and make their own judgement. (Bernama) - Umno has denied the party is involved with a video grab showing explicit act resembling a political figure with a male partner. Information chief Ahmad Maslan said the opposition will certainly blame Umno but the party had never arranged such perverse act in a hotel room. "The opposition thinks everything is the work of Umno including the intrusion of Lahad Datu. We don't have the time to put cameras in hotel rooms," he told reporters after opening a briefing for information speakers here today. He said this when commenting on a video grab showing two men involved in explicit act, including hugs and kisses, on the blog rajagoyang360.blogspot.com. The Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department said the people could judge who was the political figure shown in the video recording. "Don't dismiss without watching the video. Watch it and then make your own judgement," he added. Meanwhile, Ahmad called on the Umno and Barisan Nasional machinery to have confidence that the party could win two-thirds majority in 13th general election. The confidence was based on the success of programmes and policies implemented by the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. He said the opposition did not have any strength and had failed to fufill promises made to the people other than having leaders who were involved with various scandals. Yesterday, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim lashed out at Umno's "political gimmick" in producing a video clip involving a man resembling him. "I have already said that I deny it. This is a disgusting political gimmick executed by Umno," he said, adding that he has asked his lawyers to handle the possibility of taking legal action against the bloggers who uploaded the series of 14 black-and-white photos.
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| Man United 15 points clear after City fall at Everton Posted: 16 Mar 2013 06:05 PM PDT
(Reuters) - Manchester City's fingertip hold on their Premier League title was further loosened when a 2-0 loss at Everton followed by runaway leaders Manchester United's 1-0 win over Reading left them praying for a football miracle. Leon Osman's swerving 32nd-minute shot put Everton in front at a raucous Goodison Park and, although the home side were reduced to 10 men when Steven Pienaar was red-carded for a rash tackle after 61 minutes, City could not reply. Substitute Nikica Jelavic sealed victory deep in stoppage time after being set up by a rampaging Marouane Fellaini. United needed no second invitation to open a 15-point lead in the title race although only Wayne Rooney's deflected early shot separated them and second-bottom Reading at Old Trafford. Alex Ferguson's side never required top gear as they rolled on towards a 20th English title with their 24th victory in 29 league games this season, although the Scot refused to accept that the race was won. "We have got Sunderland away in our next game, which is always a tough place to go, and then we face Manchester City at home," he told ESPN. "You don't get points and medals for being complacent," added Ferguson whose side have 74 points ahead of City on 59. Battling Arsenal That took Arsene Wenger's side to 50 points within two of fourth-placed Chelsea, who host West Ham United on Sunday, and four behind local rivals Tottenham Hotspur, who are third ahead of their home game with Fulham also on Sunday. Boosted by a surprise, if ultimately fruitless, Champions League win in their last 16, second leg tie at Bayern Munich on Wednesday, Arsenal struck late through Nacho Monreal and Gervinho. "It was a difficult game away to Bayern in midweek. The spirit we showed today was fantastic. We're up for the battle," Wenger told Sky Sports. Liverpool lost 3-1 at Southampton to virtually extinguish their top-four hopes and hand Saints a major boost in their bid to steer clear of trouble at the bottom of the table. In a thrilling relegation scrap, Aston Villa clawed their way to a vital 3-2 victory over bottom club Queens Park Rangers. Christian Benteke scored the winner after 81 minutes to leave QPR seven points adrift of the safety zone. QPR, seeking a third consecutive league win, led 1-0 thaansk to Jermaine Jenas and then equalised through Andros Townsend having gone 2-1 behind before Benteke grabbed his 13th league goal of the season. Everton, one week after being booed and heckled by their fans in an embarrassing 3-0 FA Cup sixth round defeat at home to struggling Wigan Athletic, produced a gutsy performance to remain in contention for a top-four finish. Special strike His strike was a special one, the midfielder having received the ball from Seamus Coleman 25 metres out before lashing a shot past helpless England keeper Joe Hart. City missed the drive of the absent Yaya Toure in midfield as Everton dominated, although they showed more desire after the break and were pressing hard for an equaliser when Pienaar raked his studs down the shin of Javi Garcia. The inevitable red card merely galvanised Everton, with second-choice keeper Jan Mucha exemplifying their commitment with a double save from Carlos Tevez and James Milner. City were denied a blatant late penalty when Tevez's shot was blocked by the arm of Fellaini, with the referee ruling it had been outside the box and awarding only a free kick. Jelavic's effort rounded off a dark day for the champions whose manager Roberto Mancini declined to give his post-match television interview, instead sending out assistant David Platt. "He's angry and he's taking stock," Platt said. "He wants to calm down rather than say anything that will get him in trouble. "We got outworked by Everton but there is no doubt in my mind about the handball. It was three yards inside the area and though perhaps the performance didn't deserve it, we could have got a bit more out of it if that decision had gone for us." United were uninspired against struggling Reading, who sacked manager Brian McDermott this week and put academy manager Eamonn Dolan in caretaker charge. It needed some dazzling play from Rio Ferdinand, recalled by England this week after a long absence from international duty, to help break the deadlock, the veteran defender's elegant run setting up Rooney to score via a deflection in the 21st minute. Southampton beat Liverpool thanks to goals from Morgan Schneiderlin, Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez with Philippe Coutinho pulling one back for the seventh-placed visitors. In the day's other match, Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion played out a tepid 0-0 draw.
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| Sulu invasion: Probe papers almost done Posted: 16 Mar 2013 02:27 PM PDT
Police found several important documents believed to belong to Sulu terrorists during an inspection at Kampung Simunul. (FMT) - SEMPORNA: The investigation papers on the 27 people suspected to be terrorists and collaborators in the ambush incident in Kampung Simunul on Feb 2 are in the final stages of completion. All the suspects, aged between 18 and 73, were detained since the incident at the water settlement broke out which resulted in the death of six police personnel and six enemies were shot dead. "We are finalising the investigation papers on them," Semporna District Police Chief, DSP Mohd Firdaus Francis Abdullah told reporters here. The media previously reported that 69 suspected terrorists and collaborators were detained in Semporna on suspicion of being involved in the attack at Kampung Simunul. Mohd Firdaus also said police had found several important documents believed to belong to the terrorists during an inspection at Kampung Simunul, on Friday. "In the documents, we found several important information that may help us in tracking the remnants of the terrorists who are still in the Semporna district," he said. Bernama also reported that in LAHAD DATU, security forces had picked up an unarmed Sulu terrorist in the Ops Daulat offensive zone at the Felda Sahabat plantation at 6.30am yesterday. Less than 50 terrorists are believd to be still there. Sabah Police Commissioner Hamza Taib said the detained terrorist, who had no identification papers on him, was taken to the police station for questioning. He said the terrorist was held under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, but he did not reveal the exact location where he was picked up. So far 104 individuals had been arrested under the act while 232 people were being held under different laws, he told the news conference, which was also attended by Army First Division commander Maj Gen Ahmad Zaki Mokhtar, here. Hamza said 61 terrorists had been killed since March 1 when the terrorists killed two policemen. Six more policemen and two soldiers have also been killed in clashes with the terrorists.
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| GE13: Do not let DAP mislead you, says Soi Lek Posted: 16 Mar 2013 12:32 PM PDT
(The Star) - DAP's plan to focus more on Johor will only help PAS strengthen its presence in the state, says MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek. Reminding the Chinese not to be misled by DAP's propaganda, he said a stronger PAS' presence would be detrimental to the Chinese community as the party's focus was only on Islamic matters. He said the best results that the DAP could score in Johor at the next general election was only 15 state seats out of a total of 56. "It is DAP's right to contest in Johor, but we hope that the Chinese community will not be misled by the Opposition because Johor is not going to be the second Penang," he said after a luncheon with Chinese non-governmental organisations here yesterday. "They (the DAP) are only paving the way for PAS to win more seats here." Dr Chua said PAS could not win in certain seats because of the lack of Chinese support for the party. "As long as PAS has extra state seats, it will bring problems to the state because PAS does not care about state developments. "Look at Kedah and Kelantan. The Chinese stand must be firm. "The DAP is not coming here (to Johor) to be the king," he said, referring to the problems faced by the Chinese community under PAS-led governments in Kedah and Kelantan. On a number of DAP strongmen who were speculated to contest in Johor, Dr Chua said the Chinese should think thoroughly about their choice. "One vote for the DAP is equal to a vote for PAS," he warned. "They are only individual heroes. Even if they gain extra seats here, can they change the fate of the Chinese community?" Dr Chua said DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang would move from one place to another after defeating his opponents, serve for one to two terms there before he was gone again. "What is he trying to prove? It only proves that he is only an individual hero," said Dr Chua. "This does not help the Chinese to improve their political influence," he said, adding that in politics, a team needed a common direction. | |
| Nur Misuari: 'We had to fight for it' Posted: 16 Mar 2013 12:10 PM PDT
(Al Jazeera) - At stake could be the peace deal between the government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's (MILF) leader Ibrahim Murad. A new crisis in Southern Philippines is underway - it is a conflict with Malaysia over a province called Sabah. Armed Filipino men are challenging the Malaysian government's power over the province, claiming that this land belongs to the Sultan of Sulu who lives in the Philippines.
But the implications here could be severe for the region. At stake could be the peace deal between the government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's (MILF) leader Ibrahim Murad. The deal was designed to bring peace to Mindanao and allow the fighters there to build a semi-autonomous Islamic state, to be called Bangsamoro. The party that brokered the deal was Malaysia. Its Muslim-dominated government used its influence with the Islamic fighters in Mindanao to bring the parties together. But now, there are allegations that members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the original Islamic insurgency group, feels sidetracked and has allowed some of its men to fight the Malaysian government presence in Sabah. Today, when we caught up with him in his home in Mindanao, we found a man who is clearly not happy with the current state of affairs. Talk to Al Jazeera speaks to Nur Misuari, the former leader of the MNLF about the crisis in Sabah and peace in the Southern Philippines. Watch the video at: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/talktojazeera/2013/03/201331421944766446.html
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| Filipinos fleeing Sabah endure ‘violent crackdown’ by Malaysian forces Posted: 16 Mar 2013 12:01 PM PDT
(Philippine Inquirer) - "I acknowledge that there have been some immigrants who were apprehended during Ops Daulat. However, the ancestry of those apprehended was purely incidental," Abdul Gani said. Filipinos, who had fled Sabah in the aftermath of the armed intrusion there by the Sulu "royal army," had learned to endure the pains of being violently beaten by Malaysian security forces during crackdowns on suspected Sabah-based supporters of the sultanate's men just to stay alive, survivors had claimed.
As this developed, the Malaysian Attorney General announced that an investigation has started on the claims of witnesses and supposed survivors of the police's excesses in Sabah under Ops Daulat (sovereignty).
"I did not run when they ordered me to run because I know they will shoot me. What I did was to bear the pain when they hit me," 38-year old Ibrahim Alih, a Sama native from Zamboanga City, told the INQUIRER here, where he was being processed by government agencies before sending him home.
Alih, who was rounded up for failing to present immigration documents during Monday last week's sweep on his neighborhood in Sandakan, said he did not care even if blood was already coming out of his wounds because he knew it was safer for him to just submit to the beating.
When he noticed that the Malaysian forces appeared to be hell bent on beating him to death, Alih said he shouted: "I'm not a Tausug, I'm a Sama Badjao."
Upon hearing this, the Malaysian forces allegedly stopped from hurting him but they still frisked him and took the RM700 he earned from being a carpenter in Sabah for the past four months.
He was then allowed to board ML Fatima Editha – along with hundreds of other Filipinos trying to find a space on the crammed boat – for this province.
Alih said he wished he had not been illegally working in Sabah because a valid document might have saved him from harm.
"I don't even have a passport," he lamented.
Twenty-year old Sherilyn Viado, who worked in a construction company in Sabah, said she too had to assert her ethnicity when Malaysian policemen prepared to gang up on her.
"I told them that I'm not a Tausug but a Badjao," she said, adding that Malaysian security forces were singling out people from Sulu or Sabahans known as Suluk (people who originated from Sulu).
"If you're a Tausug, you will surely land in jail even if you had valid papers," Viado, a native of Zamboanga del Sur, said.
Viado said Malaysian forces were so angry at Tausugs and Suluks that they do not put distinction between males and females anymore.
"We saw on TV how they beat Tausugs, including women," she claimed.
Viado said Tausugs or Suluks who had disappeared from her neighborhood had not resurfaced since their arrest "and the lack of information on their fate had sowed unimaginable degree of fear on us."
Annang Im, 50, who tended a small sidewalk store in Sandakan, said she did not experience being abused but she saw how male Filipinos caught up during the sweeps had been made to physically suffer by Malaysian policemen.
Im, a Tausug-Visaya, also confirmed Viado's claim that Malaysian security forces hated Tausugs and Suluks so much that they did not care even if suspects were killed during the sweeps.
"It is because of what the Kirams did in Lahad Datu," she said.
Sabah police commissioner Hamza Taib had confirmed that the campaign against Sabah-based "collaborators" was continuing but maintained that policemen never violated the rights of the suspects.
"The reports of abuses were so dramatic but where did they took place? I am not aware of any incident in the entire Sabah area where people had been beaten or killed on mere suspicions of being terrorists or supporters of terrorists.
He also confirmed that 10 more people – who were either Filipino or have Filipino descent – had been arrested during separate raids on Thursday over suspicions of collaboration with the "Sulu terrorists."
Malaysian Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail said the fresh arrests had brought the number of detained suspects to 216 as of late Friday.
Hamza said two of the suspects— both in their 40s—were arrested by police authorities in Bukit Aman in Semporna around 8 p.m. Thursday, while the eight others were collared as they tried to enter the operation area in Lahad Datu on a speedboat past midnight, also on the same day.
Hamza said the two suspects with Filipino ancestry were taken in for questioning during a sweep of Bukit Aman, following information they were "collaborators or might have even been involved in the March 2 ambush in Kampung Simunul."
Hamza said later that evening, policemen in Lahad Datu arrested eight more men—all Filipino—who had no identification or immigration documents, as they tried to dock in Kampung Sungai Bilis.
He said a check on the speedboat uncovered a stash of peso bills, "totaling P369,000 and 300 jerrycans (water containers)."
"No weapons were found but we wondered what they were doing there with huge amount of money and lots of jerrycans," Hamza said.
He said the men, some as young as 17, were now being investigated under Malaysia's Security Offenses and Special Measures Act (Sosma) and immigration laws.
Hamza said the sweep against suspected supporters of the Sulu "terrorists" was continuing.
Reacting to an earlier statement by former Sabah Chief Minister Harris Salleh that he was alarmed by reports of police abuses under Ops Daulat (sovereignty), Hamza said he was not aware of any excesses committed by the Malaysian police since the crackdown started.
"We arrested them humanely and sent them to jail for investigation," he said.
But even then, Patail announced in a statement that an investigation into the reported abuses has started and those complaining of such excesses will be assisted by the Malaysian Bar and the Sabah Law Association.
"If the investigation showed there had indeed been abuses, the persons involved will be charged accordingly," Abdul Gani said in a statement sent to Bernama, the state media group.
In his written statement read by an anchor of another Sabah station known for its scathing anti-Najib commentaries on Wednesday, Harris said he had written Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and asked him to order the police to stop their unlawful actions against the Suluk population in Semporna and Lahad Datu.
Harris said Suluk leaders had sought his help to make the appeal because they could no longer tolerate the abuses.
"These Suluk leaders reported that (the) police are taking away Identity Cards, Red Identity Cards and the IMM13 documents (of the Suluk people) and destroy them," he said.
Harris, giving credence to the claims of the Suluk leaders he did not identify, said the abuses were "unbecoming of a Malaysian police force."
"This behavior is against (any law)…, be it religious or the laws and policies of the Malaysian government," Harris quoted what he told Hishamuddin.
He also reminded Hishamuddin that the "police have no power to destroy any Federal Government document" unless they had been ordered to do so by the National Registration Department.
He warned that the abuses could eventually "create hostility between Sabah and the Suluk people," whom he described as the "original inhabitants of Sabah." Read more at: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/69359/filipinos-fleeing-sabah-endure-violent-crackdown-by-malaysian-forces
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| Dr Mahathir: No directive to issue IC to unqualified migrants Posted: 16 Mar 2013 11:59 AM PDT
(Bernama) - The government had never issued any directive to any quarters to issue identity cards (IC) or citizenship to unqualified immigrants in Sabah, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. As such, he said, Sabahans could not blame the government during his administration over cases of fraud committed by certain parties for self-interest. "I am aware the issue (IC project) is getting the attention of the people. I have been told, there were those who were not qualified, having just arrived, who received IC. "This is not our directive, not the government's directive...this is fraud on the part of the officers in the area because of other interests," he told reporters on Saturday. The former prime minister was asked to comment on the opposition campaign trend which was aggressively playing up the IC Project issue to garner the people's support, in view of the coming general election. He clarified that many people who were not from this country were made citizens because they had stayed in the country for a long time and had mastered the national language. "Many of us are from other countries, for example from China, Arab (countries) and India. All of them have stayed here for a long time and are loyal to this country. "We give them citizenship if they meet the necessary conditions," he said. In another development, Dr Mahathir, when asked if the government was capable of increasing the oil royalty to Sabah which currently stood at five per cent, said the government's practice was to share riches with all citizens of the country. Prior to this, the opposition pact, in its 13th General Election manifesto, promised 20 per cent oil royalty to the people of Sabah. "If they (opposition) want to give (higher)...then, give 100 per cent to Sabah," said Dr Mahathir, who was prime minister for 22 years since 1981 before stepping down in 2003. On the setting up of the special security area, Eastern Sabah Security Command in Sabah, following the intrusion by foreign terrorists in Lahad Datu, Dr Mahathir said the move was apt and timely, seeing the significant security threat in the national waters.
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| Wong Tack should have declared his political intentions, says PKR MP Fuziah Posted: 16 Mar 2013 11:36 AM PDT
(The Star) - Himpunan Hijau chairman Wong Tack should have declared his political intentions from day one, said PKR MP Fuziah Salleh. The Kuantan MP said Wong, who would be contesting in Bentong under DAP, should not have dragged in the whole environmental non-governmental organisation against the rare earth plant Lynas in Gebeng as his platform to be a politician. "A person can wear many hats and if the environmental issue is something he feels strongly about, he can be a candidate who advocates it. But he must stand alone. "If not, it will risk the NGO being viewed as a political entity and that will create a conflict," she was quoted as saying by The Mole. Fuziah has also similarly campaigned against the plant. Wong recently came under pressure from various groups asking him to quit the movement following DAP's announcement that he would be contesting the Bentong parliamentary seat. He had since expressed his willingness to give up the movement, adding, however, that he was neither elected nor appointed to his post because it was not officially registered as an NGO.
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| GE13: PKR-DAP tussle for Bentong heats up Posted: 16 Mar 2013 09:24 AM PDT
(The Star) - The tussle for the Bentong parliamentary seat between PKR and DAP has heated up with both sides standing firm on their right to put their candidate in the parliamentary seat. The furore started after DAP announced Himpunan Hijau leader Wong Tack (picture) as its candidate for the seat in the general election. The decision stunned PKR, which had wanted the seat as it had put a candidate there at the last polls in 2008. In that election, Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai won the seat for the Barisan Nasional when he defeated PKR candidate G. Ponnusamy by a majority of more than 12,500 votes. Following the announcement of Wong's candidacy last week, Ponnusamy lashed out at his party leaders for allowing DAP to take the seat away from PKR. However, PKR leaders had reportedly stated that they were willing to give up Bentong in exchange for two state seats previously contested by DAP, including the Ketari state seat in the constituency. The other is Tanah Rata, which comes under Cameraon Highlands. Both seats were won by the Barisan Nasional on marginal majorities in the last elections. "On our side, we stand by our decision. "If they (DAP) want the Bentong seat, it means we will take the two state seats," Pahang PKR chief Fauzi Abdul Rahman reportedly told news portal Antarapos. The portal quoted him as further saying that his party would not hand over Bentong if DAP did not agree to the swap. DAP reportedly responded by threatening it would take on PKR and Barisan in three-cornered fights in the contentious seats if its ally did not back off from its claims. When contacted by The Star, Fauzi refused to comment. It is understood that PKR and DAP were currently also in disagreement over the Teruntum state seat, which PKR contested and lost in 2008. When contacted, Pahang DAP chairman Leong Ngah Ngah said: "The discussion has left the state level. It is now up to the central Pakatan Rakyat leadership to decide."
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