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Khairy To Act On Auditor General's Report
Anwar’s acquittal appeal on Dec 11 and 12
Liow: I’m ready to face EGM
Rahmad calls on DAP to amend constitution
IGP: Missing guns may have fallen into the sea
MCA meet quizzes party’s missing millions
Dr M: Stop BR1M handouts
Rais to ‘unite’ PAS, PKR, Umno leaders
Pakatan: Set up council to stop wastage of funds
The plot thickens in MCA leadership drama
With questions over RM1.3m in missing police assets, IGP pleads for time

Khairy To Act On Auditor General's Report

Posted: 01 Oct 2013 09:21 PM PDT

(Bernama) -- Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin assured that no stones would be left unturned against those found responsible for misusing tax payers money.

Khairy said the 2012 Auditor General's report must be taken seriously as the ministry had to foot a hefty bill for organising the K-Pop concert during the Hari Belia 2012 celebration.

"What is certain is that we in the Ministry of Youth and Sports will take the necessary steps to ensure no wastage of funds because the government's funds are the peoples' money. We must be accountable for every Sen that we spend," he said.

Khairy said collective responsibility was a meaningful practice for him and said "I must answer and act if there is any wrong doing in my ministry."

"I cannot run away from the responsibility vested on me," he said in his Facebook posting, today when commenting on the Auditor General's 2012 report which found the RM1.1 million spent for the promotion and publicity of Hari Belia Negara 2012, as unreasonable.

"I view what was revealed by the Auditor General's report seriously. If we are serious about carrying out transformation in a transparent manner, the report cannot be taken lightly. The people do not want to see leaders in the government keeping mum over the report," he said.

Khairy said he cannot excuse himself by saying that the report involved expenditure of the ministry even before he was appointed Youth and Sports Minister.

According to the Auditor General's report, the Youth and Sports Department under the Ministry had spent RM2.94 million, including the RM1.6 million that was paid to the K-Pop group, in conjunction with the Million Youths Gathering in 2012.

Khairy said the Ministry had to pay the amount for the K-pop concert because the sponsors did not fulfill their obligation.

As for the Majlis Belia Malaysia's (MBM) repeated payment for a job that was already done, Khairy said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had carried out investigations and was in the final stage.

"As for other issues raised in the report, I have asked my officers to give me a detailed report before any action is taken," he said.

Anwar’s acquittal appeal on Dec 11 and 12

Posted: 01 Oct 2013 06:55 PM PDT

(Bernama) - The Court of Appeal here fixed Dec 11 and 12 to hear the prosecution's appeal against Anwar Ibrahim's acquittal on a charge of sodomising his former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

Court of Appeal president Md Raus Sharif fixed the hearing dates for the appeal after the matter came up before him in chambers today for case management.

Appearing for the prosecution was Muhammad Shafee Abdullah while Anwar was represented by Karpal Singh.

Muhammad Shafee, a senior lawyer, was appointed by the Attorney-General by way of a "fiat" to lead the prosecution in its appeal in a bid to set aside the Kuala Lumpur High Court's decision on Jan 9, last year which acquitted and discharged Anwar of a charge of sodomising Mohd Saiful Bukhari, 26.

Karpal Singh said in the meantime, the Court of Appeal would have to prepare its grounds of judgment with regard to its (the Court of Appeal's) decision to dismiss Anwar's application to disqualify Muhammad Shafee from appearing as the lead counsel.

He (Karpal Singh) said this was to enable Anwar's appeal (against the Court of Appeal's dismissal of Anwar's application to disqualify Muhammad Shafee as public prosecutor) to be heard at the Federal Court before Dec 11.

A three-member Court of Appeal panel led by Justice Ramly Ali had on Sept 17, this year dismissed Anwar's application to disqualify Muhammad Shafee and held that his appointment as public prosecutor was valid and in accordance with the provisions of the law.

The opposition leader (Anwar) subsequently filed the notice of appeal on Sept 20, this year against that decision.

Anwar, 64, was accused of committing the offence at a Desa Damansara condominium unit in Bukit Damansara between 3.10pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008.

On Jan 9, last year, High Court judge Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah in acquitting Anwar had ruled that there was penile penetration but it was uncorroborated by other evidence.

He had held that the court could not be 100% certain on the integrity of samples taken from Mohd Saiful for DNA testing as the samples could have been compromised before they reached the chemistry department for analysis.

Liow: I’m ready to face EGM

Posted: 01 Oct 2013 05:06 PM PDT

(The Star) - MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai says he is ready to face an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to censure him.

He expressed confidence that the central delegates were mature enough to make wise and important decisions.

Liow said this at a press conference here yesterday, flanked by central committee members Datuk Dr Hou Kok Chung, Datuk Hoh Khai Mun, Lee Wei Kiat, Wanita chief Datuk Yu Chok Tow and former Wanita chief Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun.

On Monday, 20 out of 43 from the MCA central committee (CC) petitioned for the EGM. One of the four resolutions was to censure Liow for refusing to accept and respect the party's collective decisions, and for failing in his duty as chairman of the general election preparation committee.

The petition stated that Liow's actions had provoked party infighting after the general election and tarnished the MCA's image.

Liow retorted by saying that MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek should bear the bulk of the responsibility when the party did badly in GE13 because it was "he who determined the party's strategy and direction for the polls".

"It was the president who decided on the candidates and discussed with Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on the exchange of seats and the giving up of seats," he said, chiding the 20 petitioners for going after the wrong person.

On the other three resolutions – for the party to accept appointments by the Federal Government, state governments and government-linked companies – Liow said he had always felt that the MCA should be part of the Government.

The MCA had previously resolved not to accept any government positions if the party's performance in GE13 was worse than that in GE12.

The MCA won seven parliamentary seats and 11 state seats in GE13 against 15 parliamentary seats and 31 state seats in GE12.

Subsequently, Sebatang Pulai assemblyman Datuk Tee Siew Kiong, who accepted a Johor executive councillor post in June, was suspended by the party.

Nevertheless, a majority from the CC had voted to lift the suspension last month after Tee appealed with a letter from the Johor palace stating his appointment was the Sultan's decision.

Liow said the CC, by doing so, had gone against the spirit of the resolution.

His faction failed to call for an EGM last month to reverse the CC's decision because their petition was submitted during the transition period when the party's divisional elections were already in progress.

Liow said he would ask the CC to add a resolution to discuss Tee's case.

Dr Chua is scheduled to chair a CC meeting at the party headquarters here tomorrow.

Rahmad calls on DAP to amend constitution

Posted: 01 Oct 2013 04:56 PM PDT

Penang Malay Congress leader, who dramatically quit the party last week, alleges that DAP is Chinese-centric and should therefore, amend its constitution to reflect so.

Hawkeye, FMT

The outspoken Penang Malay Congress leader Rahmad Isahak has now called on DAP to amend its constitution to reflect the party's positioning as a Chinese-centric party as it mostly championed issues of the community.

DAP should also do away with its multi-racial tagline and remove the slogan of "Malaysian Malaysia or Middle Malaysia," he said.

He added that its constitution should read that Chinese are the dominant members while the rest are minorities and the Malays are relegated to just token representatives.

In his first statement since recently quitting DAP in a huff over what he alleged to be an unfavorable treatment of the Malays, Rahmad said the outcome of the central executive committee (CEC) election line-up portrays DAP as a Chinese party where an overwhelming number of leaders from that community were retained.

This is despite PMC's constant clarion call for DAP to incorporate a multi-ethnic composition in view that it had become a dominant voice in Pakatan Rakyat, an alliance comprising reformists PKR and Islamists PAS.

Rahmad also believes that a standing instruction was issued to the 1,000 plus delegates to vote in the same CEC line-up as that in the earlier election in December.

"It shows that the election is merely for them to thumb their noses at the authorities such as the Registar of Societies. It is a show," he said.

According to him, the surprise was that the party icon Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng had each lost more than 200 votes in the re-election when compared to the previous elections last December.

Both finished behind Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong whose role as a political educational bureau chairman was seen as the catalyst for DAP outperforming all other political parties except Umno in the last general election.

Make Chin Tong the sec-gen

"Many may find this surprising but if one were to analyse the DAP voting pattern, the result also shows that the delegates have started erasing the long held perception that Lim dynasty controls the party. For me, Liew is a lightning rod," Rahmad said.

The votes may have also gone to DAP chairman Karpal Singh, who was also seen as creating a parallel dynasty with the rise of his two sons, Gobind and Jagdeep, in the party.

Posted: 01 Oct 2013 04:30 PM PDT

(MM) - Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said today that the missing guns highlighted in the just-released federal audit had not fallen into the wrong hands but could have "fallen into the sea", as he deflected criticisms against the police force for lacking accountability.

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), in a press conference this afternoon, pointed out that checks with the weapons' identification codes have confirmed that they were not used for any criminal activity recently.

"Of the 37 missing guns, ballistic reports show that none of them have been used by criminals.

"The missing guns may not have fallen into the hands of criminals but it could have fallen into the sea from boats...and the weapons could not be recovered," he was quoted as saying at the press conference by news portal Malaysiakini. In the federal audit, however, it was claimed that the police had lost 44 units of firearms, instead of 37.

According to the Auditor-General's 2012 report released yesterday, the police had lost assets worth RM1.33 million in the past three years, including firearms, handcuffs and even vehicles.

The report said the police's management of missing assets was unsatisfactory, noting the late discovery of missing assets, the delay in reporting losses to the department head and to the police, the department head's delay in preparing an initial report on the missing assets, and the delay in action following a report on missing assets.

"In the auditor's opinion, the management of PDRM's missing assets is unsatisfactory because there are still many missing cases in 2010 and 2011 that have yet to be solved, as well as surcharges that have yet to be collected," stated the Auditor-General's 2012 report released today, referring to the police force with its Bahasa Malaysia initials.

"Besides that, records in Bukit Aman and state police contingent headquarters containing information on missing assets and the status of investigations need to be coordinated," it added.

The report noted that between 2010 and 2012, the police lost 156 units of handcuffs, 44 units of firearms, 29 vehicles, 26 walkie-talkies, 22 radios, six cameras, four computers, one cellphone, and 21 unspecified items.

It added that out of 95 missing asset cases in 2012, only two cases were solved as the missing assets were found; while 17.8 per cent out of 45 cases in 2011 and 43.8 per cent out of 73 cases in 2010 were solved and written off.

It also noted that a surcharge of RM63,346 was slapped on errant officers in 30 missing asset cases from 2010 to 2012, but only RM6,879, or 11 per cent, was collected at the end of 2012.

According to Khalid today, however, a total of 92 cases of the missing items have been resolved to date, following an internal inquiry.

A further 118 are still under investigation, the IGP added, according to Malaysiakini.

The news portal also reported Khalid as saying that those responsible for the missing firearms were told to pay for them and a total of RM197,984 have been collected so far.

"(The police force) views this issue seriously. We concede that there are weaknesses which must be fixed and we are in the process of studying this," he was quoted as saying.

MCA meet quizzes party’s missing millions

Posted: 01 Oct 2013 04:23 PM PDT

(MM) - Close to 500 MCA members met today to demand answers on the millions of ringgit worth of party funds they alleged have been left unaccounted under the leadership of party president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

The funds include, among others, RM212 million in dividends from the 42 per cent stake MCA holds in English daily The Star, and the sale of a donated piece of land in Bangi that was meant for the party's second headquarters.

"Where has the money gone to? We have a lot of questions to ask," said Datuk Yew Teong Look, who called himself the chairman of the MCA Safeguard Party Assets Action Committee.

Yew, who is also the Wangsa Maju division chief, led several division leaders today to question the RM107 million gained by the party, as claimed by Dr Chua recently.

He explained that the dividends from The Star's stock has by itself amounted to over RM319 million since 2010, when Dr Chua started helming the party.

The parcel of land in Bangi was also sold to property developer Mah Sing Group for just RM8 million he said, despite the land's estimated market value of RM20 million.

Yew claimed that party members present today have unanimously agreed for MCA to buy back the land "irrespective of its cost".

"We want MCA to buy back the land for the pride and dignity," he said.

READ MORE HERE

Dr M: Stop BR1M handouts

Posted: 01 Oct 2013 04:07 PM PDT

(Bernama) - Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said that the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) need not to be continued in the Budget 2014 in a bid to reduce the people's dependency on the government.

Instead, he said the government should find a way to train the people, especially the underprivileged, with certain skills that could become their source of income.

"We rarely appreciate the things we get for free, including the BR1M.

"That is why it should be given only to hardcore poor and those with disabilities," he told reporters after speaking at 'An Evening With Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad' programme here yesterday.

He said this when asked about his suggestions for the Budget 2014, scheduled to be tabled by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak on Oct 25.

Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir said Malaysia's economy would not suffer major impact following the United States (US) government shutdown as the bilateral trade between the two countries had declined over the years.

"More or less, the effect will be felt, but our trade is not with the US alone," he said.

The US government went into a partial shutdown as lawmakers missed the deadline to pass a budget amid differences in Congress over how to deal with President Barack Obama's health care programme.

Rais to ‘unite’ PAS, PKR, Umno leaders

Posted: 01 Oct 2013 04:05 PM PDT

(Bernama) - Social Affairs and Cultural adviser to the government Dr Rais Yatim plans to bring together leaders of three political parties soon in efforts to strengthen unity among the Malays and Muslims.

He said for a start, a meeting organised with the cooperation of several Malay intellectuals and non-governmental organisations, would be held in three places, namely Kelantan, Terengganu and Kuala Lumpur.

The three parties involved are Umno, PKR and PAS.

"This effort is underway and to make it happen, it must be done in the goodwill spirit," he told reporters after launching a seminar on 'Unity of the Ummah in Malaysian Civilization" at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), here yesterday.

Rais said he saw the significance of Malay interests in the context of unity and not the name of their party, therefore, efforts to unite them were necessary to discuss issues on religion, race, language and the region.

"This is not about Umno politics, PAS politics or PKR politics but the Malay Muslim struggle."

He said this when asked by a panel member on how to strengthen unity among the Malays from various political parties in the country.

Meanwhile, on the seminar, he said Malays needed to push aside their ego in the interest of their own race and Muslims.

"Malay Bumiputeras need to protect the future of the Malays…besides avoiding racial politics, which will only weaken the community itself," he said.

The two-day seminar, organised by UPSI's Institute of Malay Civilization, assembled political figures, academicians and non-governmental organisation leaders. Three working papers were presented to discuss the direction of Malay unity.

Pakatan: Set up council to stop wastage of funds

Posted: 01 Oct 2013 03:43 PM PDT

Pakatan Rakyat leaders want a special council formed to act against ministries and government agencies mismanaging funds

Anisah Shukry, FMT

The Pakatan Rakyat proposed today that a three-member council be set up to put a stop to the government's massive mismanagement of public funds as detailed in the Auditor-General's annual report.

The council must comprise the Opposition Leader and Auditor-General (AG), and chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, Pakatan leaders said today.

"The council should look into enforcement as well as prevention and undertake structural reforms to get to the bottom of the issue," DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng told reporters the parliament lobby today.

"The Auditor-General is there to look at each government agency. With the council in place, action can actually be taken against those who are squandering money," he said.

He added that among the steps, the council must ensure that tenders were open and transparent.

Lim said with such prominent figures in the council, firm action would be possible, unlike the toothless Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

He said the PAC was ineffective as it did not have the power to take action against agencies guilty of mismanaging public funds.

He added that the PAC only hauled up officials for questioning and produced reports on the issue.

"This wastage happens yearly and is never-ending. So as long as there is no serious action, we will see this happen again next year," said the Penang Chief Minister.

PAS vice-president Mahfuz Omar said the report proved the government agencies had not learned their lessons.

Posted: 01 Oct 2013 12:10 PM PDT

(fz.com) - Money is what was left of the MCA after the party suffered a disastrous defeat in the May 5 general election. Many would say, therefore the fight for party posts is a fight for the party assets.

The landscape within the MCA did not undergo a sea change after the division elections concluded on Sept 22, as the party president Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek continues to have tight control over about 70 per cent of the party's division chairmen.

However, there are small ripples that saw some new and young faces elected as central delegates. This category of central delegates may not belong to Chua's vote bank.

Currently, there are various forces in the party, which may not belong to deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai's camp but are anti-Chua, and they could get together to go against Chua.

Soon after the division elections, many division chairmen had openly stated their support for Chua to defend his presidency. There were 19 divisions out of 26 in Johor and 16 divisions out of 22 in Selangor and 21 divisions out of 24 in Perak which had called press conferences last week urging Chua to continue to lead the party.

This move struck many as déjà vu as the same plot has been playing out in almost every MCA party election, where leaders will openly state their support for a particular leader to go for the top post. This act is important at this juncture as Chua has not openly stated his wish to defend his post.

Although Chua had said that he will step down, as of now word circulating in the party is that he would defend his presidency.

A rough tally of Chua's support in the party after the division elections shows that he enjoys strong support in Johor, Selangor and Perak.

It is estimated that there are more than 2,700 central delegates that will cast their votes in the coming central committee election.

Going by the number of delegates at the 2010 party election, the three states form the biggest portion of the 1,136 central delegates. Citing a party source, Oriental Daily News reported that Chua controls about 70 per cent of these votes.

However, a few leaders who talked to fz.com had pointed out that control over the division chairmen does not equal to control over the central delegates. In some of the divisions, the president's man can only control half of the delegates or slightly more.

The latest requisition for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) by Chua's camp to vote on a resolution to censure Liow for creating disunity in the party confirmed this view.

The requisition came as a surprise, but the resolution is unusual because of the lack of consequences accompanying it. If the resolution is passed, Liow will not have to face any consequences such as disciplinary action, but rather the moral judgment of the delegates.

One can read the action as a "motion of no confidence" against Liow if it is passed in the EGM, and Liow may then feel pressured to quit the race.

However, it is more than that.

With questions over RM1.3m in missing police assets, IGP pleads for time

Posted: 01 Oct 2013 12:06 PM PDT

(MMO) - As the public wonders how guns are being smuggled across the border and onto our streets, the Auditor-General's Report 2012 released yesterday dropped a bombshell as it revealed the police lost 44 firearms between 2010 and 2012.

The question is, have the negligent officers been identified, and what is being done to recover these firearms?

The types of arms are not specified, but the report states they are among several police assets that have gone missing.

The audit found that overall, asset management at the police headquarters in Bukit Aman and at three police contingents (IPK) is unsatisfactory.

The police also lost 29 vehicles in the same period.

Apart from that, 156 handcuffs were reported to have gone missing, along with 26 walkie-talkies, a cellphone, six cameras, four computers, 22 radios, and 21 items filed under "others".

The missing assets amount to RM1.33 million, with Selangor recording the highest number of missing items, followed by Penang and Johor.

DAP's Seputeh MP Teresa Kok alleged that the police might know where criminals are getting firearms, citing the auditor-general's report.

Directing her criticism at Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, Kok asked him to take a good look at the apparent weaknesses in the police force instead of pushing for the Prevention of Crime (Amendment and Extension) Bill through Parliament.

Kok, who is also the DAP crime action taskforce chairman, insisted on finding out how the police lost the 44 firearms, adding that they must also reveal what types of arms had gone missing.

"These negligent cops should be sacked and prosecuted if the missing guns are used by criminals to commit crimes," she said.

Kok said 44 was a huge number and she wanted to know if the policemen responsible had been identified.

Khalid requested some time to study the report before he could comment.

"Allow us to take a look at the report first, we will respond soon," he told The Malay Mail.

Also mentioned in the report are the late detection of these losses and how officers did not bother to report the missing items to their heads of departments immediately.

This led to a delay in reporting the missing property.

In general, the auditor-general's findings reveal an overall delay in the handling of the police's missing properties.

In an earlier response to the auditor-general, which is published in the report, the police say they would form a system to enable the police headquarters in Bukit Aman to be alerted once a report has been filed regarding a missing property at each police contingent/formation.

The system will be set up by the information technology department and the logistics department, and is aimed at detecting missing items early.

The police say there is a conflict in the statistics on the number of assets missing as there is no secretariat assigned to manage the matter.

The report also states that only two cases out of 95 in 2012 were settled after some of the missing items were recovered.

The auditor-general says regular procedural checks by the police are needed to prevent the late detection of missing assets.

He also suggests that the cause of these losses be identified, be it theft or negligence, and those involved should face disciplinary action to prevent items going missing in the future.

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Rabu, 2 Oktober 2013

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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