Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Denounce Perkasa, remember the German Nazis, Zaid tells PM
- Former top cop Musa says sorry to ex-CID chief, suit withdrawn
- We have not been spared
- Why do banks fail to implement two-guard rule?
- Government unions want salaries to equal contract staff in Putrajaya agencies
- Brunei a throwback to an age of absolute monarchy
- Cameron praises Najib's approach on moderation against extremism
| Denounce Perkasa, remember the German Nazis, Zaid tells PM Posted: 29 Oct 2013 08:58 PM PDT
(MMO) - Datuk Zaid Ibrahim has called on Datuk Seri Najib Razak to openly denounce Perkasa, reminding the prime minister of Europe's "mistake" in the German Nazi era which had taken a world war to correct. In a blog posting here, former Cabinet minister picked apart the Malay rights group's "lunatic" and "toxic ideas" and called them a "threat to security", saying the government needs to stop allowing the Malay rights group to run amok. "The issues this group champions are just plain ridiculous, and there is nothing in Perkasa's struggle that merits serious consideration," wrote the former de facto law minister. "It has continued to cause consternation and fear among both Malaysians and also potential investors, and the Prime Minister should categorically denounce Perkasa and its allies for its disruptive politics and warmongering." Zaid also urged Putrajaya to not gift the group leeway in furthering their causes, even if it has a renowned patron, referring to former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. "The Government cannot maintain a cavalier attitude towards Perkasa, hoping that its toxic ideas will disappear and have no effect. Europe made the same mistake in the Nazi era and it took a World War to correct it," he said. Warning that religious bigotry will affect Malaysia's international trade and tourism, Zaid has called on "progressive" Umno leaders to bring politics of moderation back, and stand up to Perkasa either in the Parliament or outside. He gave the recent example of the Islamic animal slaughtering rituals—called "korban"—done in some school compounds in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, which have caused complaints from Hindu parents but were defended by Malay groups such as Perkasa. "The Government allowed an MIC Deputy Minister to face down these racists on his own despite the fact that we have two Malay-Muslim Ministers-in-charge of Education," he said, referring to Deputy Education Minister P. Kamalanathan. "I still do not understand why our top leaders are so terrified of Datuk Ibrahim Ali and Datuk Zulkifli Noordin. I really don't," he added, naming Perkasa's two most prominent leaders.
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| Former top cop Musa says sorry to ex-CID chief, suit withdrawn Posted: 29 Oct 2013 05:56 PM PDT
By Jennifer Gomez, The Malaysian Insider Former Commercial Crimes Investigation Department chief Datuk Ramli Yusoff (pic) withdrew his suit against former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan after the latter tendered an apology in chambers today. Shah Alam High Court judge Dr Prasad Sandosham Abraham ordered Musa to pay RM10,000 in costs to Ramli. According to Ramli's lawyer Harvinderjit Singh, the case was initially fixed for pre-trial today. "The plaintiff has withdrawn the suit," said Harvinderjit, without elaborating further. In the statement of claim filed earlier this year, Ramli alleged that Musa tarnished his reputation publicly with statements made at a news conference last year. On December 10, 2012, Musa suggested that unnamed political figures were backing Ramli in the war of words between the two. According to Musa, Ramli had been given the platform to criticise him while painting a positive image of the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM). "It seems like he's the white knight, saviour of PDRM ... while I'm the black knight who is destroying PDRM," Musa had said at a press conference held by anti-crime organisation MyWatch, whose patron was Musa. Musa was represented today by lawyers Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman and Sharuddin Ali. Both he and Ramli smiled when they emerged from chambers, but did not reveal the terms of the settlement. A source indicated, however, that Musa had apologised to Ramli in the judge's chambers.
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| Posted: 29 Oct 2013 12:18 PM PDT
The map confirms the global reach of US signals intelligence operations with special collection facilities in 90 different locations spread across most major capitals on every continent. (Borneo Post) - Deputy Home Minister outraged by reports revealing US National Security Agency spying on Malaysia through surveillance facilities at American embassy in Kuala Lumpur
KUCHING: The American embassy in Kuala Lumpur has been reported to be one of American embassies installed with communications intelligence facilities worldwide.
Australian dailies Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) and its Fairfax Media sister publication The Age revealed in their reports that a top secret map also listed American embassies in Jakarta, Bangkok, Phnom Penh and Yangon as among those similarly equipped.
The map dated Aug 13, 2010, initially published in full by German magazine Spiegel's website shows no such facilities located in Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Japan and Singapore – US' closest allies.
The map confirms the global reach of US signals intelligence operations with special collection facilities in 90 different locations spread across most major capitals on every continent.
Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar when contacted last night said if the information was true, Malaysia should make an offi cial protest to the American government for its unethical behaviour.
"We have been friendly to them and we have been helping them in their agenda but they have not practised what they preach.
Expressing outrage over the possible intrusion of private telephone cal ls Wan Junaidi added, "Individual spying is also totally unacceptable because it's against the value of individual privacy which has been preached by the west." The Borneo Post contacted the American Embassy in Kuala Lumpur last night to verify the Australian news report.
US Embassy spokesman Harvey Sernovitz said it would respond to the allegations by intel ligence whist le-blower Edward Snowden that it is running monitoring stations in its embassies across East and South East Asian countries including Malaysia to tap telephones and monitor communication networks.
He added that the embassy could not come up with the necessary comments last night but would try to do it by today (Wednesday).
Spiegel has broken a series of stories about US surveillance of its al lies and neighbours f rom documents leaked by Edward Snowden, a former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor.
In August , Australian intelligence sources confirmed that top secret intel ligence tool XKeyscore — revealed by Snowden — has been used to spy on Malaysia among other Asia- Pacifi c countries.
The revelation followed a leaked slideshow published by the UK's daily The Guardian revealing in detail the NSA programme, which the newspaper claimed collects "nearly everything a user does on the Internet".
The top secret slideshow made in 2008 revealed that the Xkeyscore program allows analysts to search through extensive database of emails, search queries, social media, online chats, and browsing histories of millions of people with no need for prior authorisation.
According to the SMH report, the map revealed yesterday showed a joint group between Central Intel ligence Agency and NSA called 'Special Collection Service' conducting sweeping surveillance operation and clandestine operations against specific intel ligence targets.
SMH also reported that the current operations were said to take up a whole room of the embassy buildings and it also enabled the staff to listen to local telephone calls as well.
Last week, Spiegel reported that the telephone number of Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor had been a target of US Surveillance since 2002 when she was the leader of the opposition.
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| Why do banks fail to implement two-guard rule? Posted: 29 Oct 2013 11:40 AM PDT
(fz.com) - Kawalan Prima Sdn Bhd, which had hired the killer guard is still guarding the doors of Ambank - despite the Home Ministry announcing that its licence had been revoked for not submitting vetting papers for the said guard, as well as allowing him to carry a firearm without a licence. Why haven't financial institutions implemented a guard-to-staff ratio in their banks? Could an additional guard stationed at the USJ Sentral 2 Ambank branch have prevented the Oct 23 robbery-cum murder? These questions are popping up now, as fz.com learns that police had been asking financial institutions to implement the ratio of a minimum two guards as a check-and-balance. But the recommendation fell on deaf ears as bank security managers are on a tight budget. Security Services Association of Malaysia (SSAM) president Datuk Shaheen Mirza Habib say banks which are making billions in profits, do not bother allocating enough money to make sure their premises are safe. "When banks choose which security company to hire, they pick the lowest quotation available. And when we tell banks there are not enough guards for such a huge place, the banks simply don't care. They take security issues very lightly," he told fz.com. When bank officer Norazita Abu Talib was in the vault with another colleague, there was only one security guard – the suspect who shot her and made off with RM450,000. The outcome could have been different if another guard was present to monitor each other. Shaheen admitted that the security services industry is currently at "a very sorry state", as unscrupulous firms hire illegal immigrants to work as guards in banks, condominiums and housing estates. "Only Malaysian citizens and about 20,000 Nepalese are allowed to become security guards, and they must go through police vetting. Permanent residents cannot be guards too. But everywhere you see Pakistani and Bangladeshis guarding condos, those are absolutely illegal." he said. He pointed out, that honest business operators are not rewarded for playing by the book. Instead they are being squeezed out of the market because they are unable to compete with firms that depress prices by employing cheap labour. "A normal guard by right should be paid about RM2,200 a month, have vetting reports and a gun licence if he's armed. They are even well-paid if working on late shifts. But illegal immigrants are paid RM1,200 and their bosses make loads!" He said the condo managers know very well of the hanky-panky behind the business, but are colluding with them for cheaper security guards. There are currently 712 security firms in the country. Those who obtain an operating licence from the Home Ministry are automatically members of SSAM. Ali Baba in security licensing? Shaheen also said there are operating licence holders who are "franchising" the business, by renting out their licences to third parties. If the authorities do not conduct frequent raids and checks, more firm owners are going to forced down that path, he warned. "If the Home ministry does not weed out the rotten apples, soon the entire industry will fall into hands of crooks." He also said that it is difficult for regular business entities to know which security firms to avoid. "If bank managers check security guards' gun license more often and insist on vetting report from the firms, they can easily identify who are the illegal workers." He opined that the Home Ministry should announce it to the press when they revoke licenses and name the violating firms, as it will serve as deterrent against any malpractices and warn those who are already had their hands stained. Just as Shaheen is sounding the warning, it is learnt that Kawalan Prima Sdn Bhd, which had hired the killer guard is still guarding the doors of Ambank - despite the Home Ministry announcing that its licence had been revoked for not submitting vetting papers for the said guard, as well as allowing him to carry a firearm without a licence. Company officials claim all it has received is a show-cause letter.
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| Government unions want salaries to equal contract staff in Putrajaya agencies Posted: 29 Oct 2013 11:36 AM PDT
(TMI) - Stung by news that contract officials are getting high pay, the main union body representing 1.4 million civil servants now wants Putrajaya to give them better salaries. The Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) said it was unfair that qualified civil servants are paid less than those on short-term contracts. "Cuepacs views the current arrangement as unfair whereby contract workers in agencies are getting higher wages than their civil service counterparts," Cuepacs deputy president Azih Muda told The Malaysian Insider in Kuala Lumpur. He was commenting on Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming's expose yesterday that the pay package of a head of a government agency could be as high as RM69,000 a month. Ong revealed that Malaysia's top civil servant, the Chief Secretary, was only paid RM23,577 – a far cry from what was earned by the heads of agencies such as TalentCorp, Agensi Inovasi Malaysia, and Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu). Azih questioned the qualifications and talent of these agency employees that warrant higher salaries than civil servants doing the same job in government.
"Civil servants are just as qualified as those employed in these agencies," he said noting that many of them could be deployed to work in these agencies. Azih said Cuepacs supported the government initiative to trim the budget deficit but urged it to start by looking at the exorbitant salaries paid to those working in its agencies. |
| Brunei a throwback to an age of absolute monarchy Posted: 29 Oct 2013 11:33 AM PDT
(The Telegraph) - The impending adoption of Sharia has led to calls for Britain, Brunei's closest ally, to re-assess its relationship with a former Protectorate which won independence as recently as 1984. With a swing of his powerful arm, a prison guard landed a wicked-looking cane on the back of a dummy dressed in the white uniform of convicts in Brunei. "It doesn't hurt as much as you think," he said. Earlier this month, the International Convention Centre in Brunei's capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, was hosting a regional summit with the likes of John Kerry, the US secretary of state, and President Xi Jinping of China. Last week, however, it was the venue for a three-day event designed to showcase the Sultan of Brunei's decision to adopt Sharia for his country's Muslim population. Robes worn by judges were put on display and Islamic scholars gave speeches. But the caning demonstration brought home the harsh reality of a penal code which punishes adultery with death by stoning, theft with amputation by sword - and drunkeness with 40 lashes from a rattan cane. From next April, the Muslims who are 70 per cent of Brunei's 400,000-strong population will risk all these punishments. And despite the guard's assertion, just three or four strokes of his cane will break the skin and leave most victims scarred for life. The impending adoption of Sharia has led to calls for Britain, Brunei's closest ally, to re-assess its relationship with a former Protectorate which won independence as recently as 1984. David Cameron was already facing criticism for agreeing to attend next month's Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka, where human rights abuses are common. The Prime Minister is now being pressed to condemn Brunei's embrace of laws widely regarded as barbaric and draconian. "London has a very important role in trying to get the Sultan to re-consider this drastic move to a criminal Sharia system," said Phil Robertson, deputy director of the Asia division of Human Rights Watch. "There needs to be a major international outcry to stop this law and Great Britain should take the lead, starting by raising public concerns at the upcoming Commonwealth meeting." Read more at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/brunei/10407476/Brunei-a-throwback-to-an-age-of-absolute-monarchy.html |
| Cameron praises Najib's approach on moderation against extremism Posted: 29 Oct 2013 11:31 AM PDT
(Bernama) - The United Kingdom Prime Minister, David Cameron, has praised Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak on his approach to moderation against extremism. He said Najib's initiative has been able to inspire and unite people across the globe. "(Prime Minister) Najib is a newly re-elected leader whose pioneering Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) is uniting and inspiring people across the world in the fight against extremism," he said in his special address at the 9th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) here today. In 2010, Najib has called for members and leaders of the world's major faiths to censure and reject their own extremists and jointly support GMM. The concept was further expounded by the Prime Minister at prestigious platforms including at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, East-West Centre, the Asia-Europe Meeting and the Asean Summit. At the inaugural International Conference on GMM held in Kuala Lumpur in early 2012, Najib had called for the establishment of the GMM Foundation. The proposed foundation will serve as a centre of first resort in the dissemination of information on the concept of moderation in combating the scourge of extremism in five broad areas including peaceful co-existence, democracy and rule of law, finance, education and conflict resolution. On another note, Cameron also lauded Najib's commitment to doing business with Britain in delivering millions of pounds of new investments and creating hundreds of new jobs here and in Kuala Lumpur. "Over the coming years, I hope we will see billions of pounds of new investments in a range of sectors where the United Kingdom excels from property and housing to aerospace and life sciences," he said. Besides Cameron, 16 heads of state and government are attending the biggest gathering of leaders in the history of WIEF, being hosted for the first time outside Islamic nations. Najib is expected to hold bilateral talks with Cameron today for about an hour at No. 10, Downing Street, to explore more possibilities for the two friendly nations as they endeavour to expand their bilateral trade to eight billion pounds by 2016. Najib will be accompanied by International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Datuk Hamzah Zainudin, Malaysia's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Datuk Seri Zakaria Sulong and several high ranking Malaysian government officials. On another note, Bahrain's Crown Prince, Prince Salman Hamad Al-Khalifa, praised Najib's speech at the forum, which touched on harnessing economic potential through women empowerment. "Although it has no relation to the subject that I will speak about, it is my firm belief that the foundation of any democratic society is a democratic household and the threshold to that is an empowered and equally productive environment for all genders. "So, thank you Sir, that was very brave and very appropriate," he said, drawing laughter from the floor. |
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