Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Malay history twisted by ‘Western Christian conspiracy’, claims Isma
- Mat Sabu to face off against Mohd Amar in PAS party polls
- PRM, a third political force in the making?
- Mohamad vs Mohd: Why should anyone care about the PAS elections?
- No appeal against Ling's acquittal in PKFZ case
- MNS cries foul over Pos Malaysia’s alleged stamp plagiarism
- Crucial contest will decide PAS’ future
| Malay history twisted by ‘Western Christian conspiracy’, claims Isma Posted: 08 Nov 2013 03:59 PM PST
(MM) - Malays face a "Western Christian conspiracy" that has lasted over four centuries, Muslim group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) claimed today, as it launched its bid to rewrite the history of the Malay archipelago to reflect what it believes to be the true representation of Malay civilisation. Isma president Ustaz Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman said Malaysian history and, by extension, the history of the Southeast Asian region has long been skewed towards the "contributions of the colonists" and non-Malays, which downplayed the greater role played by the Malays in developing the region.
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| Mat Sabu to face off against Mohd Amar in PAS party polls Posted: 08 Nov 2013 03:03 PM PST
(The Star) - PAS incumbent deputy president Mohamad Sabu will be facing off against Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah for the role in the upcoming muktamar and party polls. Vice-presidents Salahuddin Ayub, Datuk Husam Musa and Datuk Mahfuz Omar will be defending their positions, while PAS information chief Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man and central working committee member Datuk Ustaz Abu Bakar Chik will also be running. PAS selection committee chairman Asmuni Awi said Saturday that it might be a short muktamar this year as several senior positions are going unchallenged. All senior positions in the Dewan Ulama were won unopposed, with chief Datuk Harun Taib. deputy chief Datuk Ahmad Yakob who is also Kelantan Mentri Besar, and vice president Datuk Dr Mahfodz Mohamad retaining their roles. However, the roles of auditor and deputy permanent chairman saw no candidate receiving enough nominations.
There will also a three-cornered fight for Youth chief between Johor PAS youth chief Suhaizan Kaiat, FT youth chief Kamarulzaman Mohamad and lawyer Zulhazmi Sharif.
A total of 61 people will compete for central committee seats. Nearly 1,300 delegates from across the country will participate in the 59th muktamar, beginning 22 Nov.
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| PRM, a third political force in the making? Posted: 08 Nov 2013 02:42 PM PST
Priscilla Prasena, FMT Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) is being revamped and would appear as a third force in the Malaysian politics with an ex-DAP veteran driving it in Selangor. Deliganu Alagan, 66, said he will be focusing on Klang and other regions in Selangor while reinventing the party to a true socialist concept, which was being championed by its president Dr Rohana Ariffin. Commenting on the need for a third force in the Malaysian politics he said both Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and the ruling coalition (BN) had failed to look into the welfare of the people and each of them were protecting their interest. "It is because both the political parties have failed that we need a third force to protect the interest of the people," Deliganu told FMT. Deliganu said it was time for the country to have a third political force and about 25 ex-DAP members would now join him in this party to serve the public better. He added that the main agenda of the party would be looking into building low-cost houses for the low to middle income people as well as to serve the interest of the poverty stricken residents of Malaysia. "We would want to see poverty eradicated and the wealth of the country equally distributed to every citizen of the country," he added. Deliganu said the party would be also looking into the homeless issues of the people especially with the rising homeless issues, recently. Speaking to FMT, he said as a socialist, PRM had been fighting for all issues affecting all races, however Indians in the country were the worst affected by poverty. Ahmad Boestamam, an activist with the leftist Kesatuan Melayu Muda (KMM) movement, founded PRM in 1955. The party was renamed Malaysian People's Socialist Party (PRM) and it officially adopted scientific socialism as its ideology. Despite the re-orientation of the party, the post-1969 political scenario meant that the party remained in the sideline. Following the 1999 general elections, PKR began to explore the possibility of a merger between the two parties. However, the merger was delayed by the lengthy negotiations between the two parties. The two parties only officially merged on Aug 3, 2003, while PRM contested in the 2004 general election as PKR as the merger had yet to be approved by the authorities. It was believed that due to the growing tension between some former PRM members, who were now in PKR, with the party's leadership was due to an alleged growing influence of neo-conservatism. These members were not comfortable with the merger and found a rallying point to express their dissent, particularly towards the former leadership who negotiated the merger. Despite its de-registration on April 17, 2005, former PRM youth leader Hassan Karim elected a new executive committee to resume its political activities. |
| Mohamad vs Mohd: Why should anyone care about the PAS elections? Posted: 08 Nov 2013 10:51 AM PST
(TMI) - If PR manages to one day rule the country, PAS as the dominant Malay-Muslim party will have a crucial voice in determining government policies and the country's direction. Who was that again? This was the response from a Selangor-based national PKR leader when told that Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah would be the sole challenger to Mohamad Sabu (pic, right), PAS's incumbent deputy chief. This article, however, is not meant to deride Mohd Amar, who is Kelantan deputy menteri besar, or in anyway lobby for Mohamad. But the reflexive response from the PKR leader, who requested anonymity, is an indicator of what is at stake in the upcoming PAS party elections later this month. The 58-year-old Islamist party is the largest component in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in terms of membership. It also has hopes of replacing Umno as the party that represents Malay-Muslims as seen in its slogan "PAS ganti Umno". If PR manages to one day rule the country, PAS as the dominant Malay-Muslim party will have a crucial voice in determining government policies and the country's direction. So, the PAS deputy president is expected to be a leader with intelligence and charisma who is comfortable on the national stage and also with all Malaysian communities. Who fills the post of deputy president and the make up of the party's central committee will also determine whether the party goes back to becoming inward-looking and conservative or whether it continues to reach out to a larger pluralistic audience. Also of importance is whether the new leadership continues to stay the course with PR, seeing as how there have been rumblings after the May 5 elections from certain leaders who wanted PAS to reconsider its relationship in the coalition. Mohd Hisomudin Bakar of the independent think tank, Ilham Centre, believes that delegates who will vote for the post of deputy chief and 18 members of the party's central working committee (CWC) are looking for leaders with vision. "They want leaders who can plan, who can chart a direction for the party to take it to the next level," said Hisomudin. Going by the results of PAS's kawasan annual general meetings (PAS's version of divisions), Hisomudin believes that the party's grassroots want their delegates to make rational, practical choices for the CWC and the senior posts. "What is interesting in the contest for the deputy president's post is that the two people who got the highest nominations have pulled out." He was referring to party information chief Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man and vice president Datuk Husam Musa. Both have announced that they are not contesting the post. According to Hisomudin, Mohamad leads Mohd Amar in terms of nominations. Pundits have described the contest between the two as being a tussle between the party's conservatives (who support Mohd Amar) and progressives (who want Mohamad). Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/mohamad-vs-mohd-why-should-anyone-care-about-the-pas-elections
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| No appeal against Ling's acquittal in PKFZ case Posted: 08 Nov 2013 10:48 AM PST
(fz.com) - It appears that former Transport Minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik is truly a free man after the Attorney-General Chambers decided not to appeal against his acquittal in the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) land deal. Today was the last day of the 14-day deadline for the AGC to file the appeal following Ling's acquittal on Oct 25. As of 7pm, fz.com understands that there has been no decision on the matter. The former minister, 70, has been acquitted over three charges of cheating the government in relation to the PKFZ development project. It was reported that High Court judge Datuk Ahmadi Asnawi had said that Ling "had discharged his burden of raising reasonable doubt upon the prosecution's case". The former MCA president was accused of cheating the government by not disclosing to the cabinet an additional interest rate of 7.5% per annum on the purchase price of the land for the PKFZ project, knowing that it had been fixed at RM1,088,456,000 by the Valuation and Property Services Department. He also faced two alternative charges of cheating and intentionally not disclosing to the cabinet that the 7.5% per annum was an additional interest rate on the land price. Ling was alleged to have committed the offences at Level 4, Prime Minister's Office, Perdana Putra Building, in Putrajaya between Sept 25 and Nov 6, 2002. He was represented by Wong Kian Kheong. In his written judgement, Ahmadi said that Ling's only interest in the case was acquiring the piece of land as soon as possible after things were "moving too slowly" despite the Cabinet deciding to purchase the land in 1999. Ahmadi had said that the issue of concealing the valuation by the Valuation and Property Services department (JPPH) and the element of interest payable for the purchase was a "non-issue" as it was the Finance Ministry (MOF) that determined the purchase price and had full knowledge of the total cost incurred. Ahmadi also noted that there was no evidence on who initiated the PKFZ project involving the land procurement, with evidence making it clear that Ling was not involved. The probe into the PKFZ land deal started in early 2009 after then Port Klang Authority chairman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng lodged a report following a financial audit of the project.
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| MNS cries foul over Pos Malaysia’s alleged stamp plagiarism Posted: 08 Nov 2013 10:46 AM PST  (The Star) - Its president Prof Maketab Mohammad said that although the media house responsible for designing the stamps claimed that the images were merely 'drafts', the excuse is still not valid since the images were uploaded to Pos Malaysia's official Stamp and Philately Facebook page. The Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) has voiced its disappointment over Pos Malaysia's alleged used of plagiarised bird photos in their Visit Malaysia 2014 stamp collection. Its president Prof Maketab Mohammad said that although the media house responsible for designing the stamps claimed that the images were merely 'drafts', the excuse is still not valid since the images were uploaded to Pos Malaysia's official Stamp and Philately Facebook page. "Even if these were 'drafts', the use of images without permission is still wrong," he said in a statement. Last week, photographers Romy Ocon and Con Foley claimed that the images used in the stamp are theirs and they have not received credit for their work. Singapore-based Foley said: "The image of the Malaysian Hill Partridge is mine, and I was neither contacted nor credited," he responded when contacted through Facebook. Ocon had reportedly said that he was satisfied that the national postal agency had suffered bad publicity and has stopped using his image in their stamps. As such, he will not be pursuing legal action. Prof Maketab hoped that the incident would serve as a reminder for parties to be mindful of copyrights and intellectual property of others. "MNS is always available to act in an advisory capacity to all with regards to promoting the celebration, awareness and conservation of Malaysia's unique wildlife and plants," he said. On whether the MNS has been in touch with the other photographers whose claimed that their images of birds had been used without credit, Prof Maketab said there was no direct communication between both parties. "But there has been communication through other photographers who are also MNS members," he added. MNS Perak Branch Bird Group coordinator Dr Chan Kai Soon said: "From what Neoh Hor Kee (MNS Penang member and lawyer) writes on the MNS Perak Bird Facebook group, it seems he or his law firm may have been engaged by one of the photographers." The MNS will wait for Pos Malaysia's response on the issue before taking any further action. Media Eye Sdn Bhd, the design house commissioned to produce the stamps in collaboration with Tourism Malaysia, released a statement to The Star on Wednesday saying that the images posted were only intended as drafts and not the final version of the stamps. Media Eye is a design house under public relations agency World Communications Network Resources. The stamps were originally planned to be released later this month but have since been removed from Pos Malaysia's Facebook page and queries regarding it remain unanswered. |
| Crucial contest will decide PAS’ future Posted: 08 Nov 2013 08:57 AM PST
Of course, watching keenly on the sideline is PKR de facto chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, whose ardent wish is to see the liberals triumph so that he can exert some form of influence over the Islamist party. The Ant Daily When PAS holds its crucial election on Nov 22, the stage is all set for a clash between the fundamentalists and liberals as they decide who will be the next deputy president. Incumbent Datuk Mohamad Sabu, or popularly known as Mat Sabu, is expected to face a stiff challenge from fundamentalist Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah. Incumbent Datuk Husam Musa, a liberal, was said to be to going for the number two post but he has now decided to defend his vice-president's post. "My decision to contest the vice-president's post is based on the fact that I received the most number of nominations for this post," he said in a brief statement. With Husam out of the picture, the race will be a mainly between Mat Sabu and Amar. More importantly, the outcome of the election will dictate which direction the party will take – the path of liberalism or fundamentalism. If the liberals get the upper hand, their goal is to win the general election and stay put in the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. If the fundamentalists take over, they want to resume their original struggle of upholding Islam and setting up an Islamic state, and reviewing their ties with DAP and PKR. Of course, watching keenly on the sideline is PKR de facto chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, whose ardent wish is to see the liberals triumph so that he can exert some form of influence over the Islamist party. Mat Sabu and Husam are with the liberal camp while PAS information chief Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Taun Man and Amar are identified as fundamentalists or conservatives. Both sides are working hard to influence the 2,000-odd delegates to the party assembly. Tuan Ibrahim is not in the race as he has expressed his interest in contesting for the vice-president's position. The two other incumbent vice-presidents are Salahuddin Ayub and Mahfuz Omar. Husam is trying hard to defend his post as his "political life" in Kelantan is hanging in the balance when he was not picked as an executive council member in the state. A few months ago, Husam created a controversy when he questioned the performance of state-linked companies, which sparked a row between him and the fundamentalists who are governing the state.
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