Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Umno, PAS' Mustafa Ali to mediate over sex video defamation case
- Money changed hands over Pulau Batu Puteh, claims ex-CID chief
- BN rep: Islam demands ‘muzakarah’ with PAS
- Even BN candidate admits of BN’s corruption for votes
| Umno, PAS' Mustafa Ali to mediate over sex video defamation case Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:08 PM PST
(The Star) - Umno, PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali (pic) and two others have agreed to go for mediation to resolve a defamation suit in relation to distribution of a sex video. High Court judge Justice John Louis O'Hara on Tuesday set Jan 15 for case management, pending the outcome of the mediation. In April, Mustafa and two others were sued by Umno over alleged libelous statements linking the party to the distribution of a sex video clip which showed a man resembling him. Mustafa, his lawyer Asmuni Awi and HarakahDaily.net chief editor Zulkifli Sulong were named as defendants. Speaking to reporters here, Zulkifli's lawyer Zulhazmi Shariff said that the parties have agreed to go for a mediation to find a possible settlement. "The case will be transfered to a mediation centre (at the Jalan Duta Court Complex) to find out if we can settle the suit or not," he said. Zulhazmi also mentioned the case for the two others. Umno lawyer Raihanah Ariffin confirmed the details over the matter. In the statement of claim, Umno said Mustafa and Asmuni had caused the publication of five defamatory articles against the party between April 12 and 13. Umno said Mustafa had slandered the party by making media statements which were reported in online portals HarakahDaily.net and www.malaysiakini.com. It said Zulkifli had allowed publication of two defamatory articles against the party without finding out its truth. Among others, Umno is seeking for damages, an apology and an injunction to prevent Mustafa and Asmuni from publishing similar libelous words. Umno executive secretary Datuk Ab. Rauf Yusoh filed the suit on behalf of the party, saying that offending words implied that Umno was the mastermind behind the sex video clip and that it was distributed for election campaigning purposes. In his defence statement dated May 23, Mustafa admitted that he had given a speech at a ceramah in Dungun, Terengganu touching on the distribution of the sex video and photographs but contended that his speech was not defamatory against Umno. In the statement of defence dated May 23, Asmuni said that he has legal obligations to make a statement to protect the good name of Mustafa to avoid any negative perception by the people due to the distribution of the video. In the statement of defence dated May 22, Zulkifli said he was not the writer, editor or publisher of the articles, adding that those words were published without any bad intention as it was a matter of public interest.
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| Money changed hands over Pulau Batu Puteh, claims ex-CID chief Posted: 25 Nov 2013 12:57 PM PST
Elizabeth Zachariah, TMI Former Kuala Lumpur CID chief Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim today revealed that money changed hands, which led to Malaysia losing its claim on Pulau Batu Puteh to Singapore in 2007. That revelation was made in Mat Zain's 31-page statutory declaration sent to the Prime Minister's Office on October 9. "In the accompanying letter to the Prime Minister, I urged him to focus on paragraph 54 (e),(f) and (g) of the SD, which revealed the wrongdoings of Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, who handled the Pulau Batu Puteh case. "Also included was information that a large amount of money changed hands and was credited into a bank account in Hong Kong," said Mat Zain. He also defended his earlier allegation that Abdul Gani was the reason that Malaysia lost the case which was heard at the International Court of Justice in 2007. In his SD, Mat Zain claimed that Abdul Gani had intentionally lost the case. "Studies made on the ICJ proceeding notes showed that a 'controversial photograph' was added in a few days before the case was heard, which can be seen as trying to dupe the ICJ panel," said Mat Zain. Putrajaya had denied the claim that Malaysia lost its claim on Pulau Batu Puteh due to a wrong photograph of the location of the island submitted by Abdul Gani in the proceedings. "The AG did not head the case and did not have the final say on the handling of the case," said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nancy Shukri in Parliament last week. "So the allegations that the AG had shown a wrong photograph as claimed by the opposition leader (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) is baseless and made without any verification." Mat Zain said if the SD had been made public before the Umno party polls last month, it would have affected Sabah Umno representatives who contested, adding there was a link between Abdul Gani and politicians in the state. Mat Zain urged Putrajaya to appeal the ICJ decision on the Pulau Batu Puteh case for the sake of the country's honour. "We still have four and a half years more to file an appeal to ICJ if there was enough evidence to do so. "No matter how slim our chances are, we cannot let it go just like that," the former Kuala Lumpur CID chief stressed.
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| BN rep: Islam demands ‘muzakarah’ with PAS Posted: 25 Nov 2013 12:43 PM PST
DAP's disputes with PAS over Malay rights and Islam is enough reason for a dialogue say reps. (Bernama) - For the Umno-PAS 'muzakarah' (dialogue) to succeed, the members of both parties need to put aside prejudice, said a Barisan Nasional MP. BN-Padang Besar MP Zahidi Zainul Abidin said it is time for Umno and PAS to start a dialogue in the best interest of Islam and to ensure that Malay special rights are not disputed. "We should harbour good feelings so that this 'muzakarah' can unite the Muslims and the Malays. "I welcome the 'muzakarah' between Umno and PAS," he told reporters in Parliament lobby, here yesterday He said this when commenting on the willingness of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang to hold a dialogue with Umno in order to implement an administration based on Islamic teachings. Zahidi said the DAP always questioned Malay special rights and the position of Islam and ignored the views of PAS. Another BN MP Noh Omar (Tanjung Karang) echoed Zahid's view. "Since they (DAP) have always disputed PAS and there is no point in them (PAS) to stick with the DAP. "Moreover, the 'muzakarah' is demanded by Islam," he said. He added that the Malays and Muslims should discuss about the future generation as certain groups had challenged the position of Islam and the Malay Rulers. "This happened because they (certain groups) regard the Malays and Islam as so weak that they feel that they have more authority to determine the country's political future. "I welcome the 'muzakarah' between Umno and PAS and hope that it can become a reality," he added. Meanwhile, Wan Hassan Mohd Ramli (PAS-Dungun ) said a dialogue is good as the outcome is very important to determine the administration of the country. "The question is how we view the outcome of the dialogue. Implementation is another thing, sometimes it is suitable and sometimes it is unsuitable," he added.
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| Even BN candidate admits of BN’s corruption for votes Posted: 25 Nov 2013 10:42 AM PST
(Harakah Daily) - It is interesting to note that in a twist of events, even the BN candidate for the Sg Limau by election who lost to PAS' Mohd Azam Samat has admitted that the Umno-BN machinery had been soliciting for votes by way of corruption. Most glaringly he admitted that government machinery had been used during his campaigning in the lead up to voting last November 4. In addition to this he detailed how these agencies went all out to bribe the people into voting the BN and yet the support that was expected did not materialize. For instance, he mentions about how in one area he saw the FAMA going in to distribute fruits and chicks. "Truckloads of chicks were given away, but if you count the people who came for the chickens and the votes we got, I'm sure the numbers are different," he was reported to have said.
This goes to confirm some comments on the by election and support for BN in general as observed by the former autocrat of 22 years who in his column is reported to have said that election goodies offered by political parties could no longer ensure victory. He emphatically stressed that "cash handouts and gifts will not ensure victory"
While some may take this as a jibe against Premier Najib for all his 1 Malaysia handouts that he has made as policy, it is interesting to note how Mahathir has also referred to the performance of the BN at the 13th GE as evidence of how and why such an approach may not always work. In his blog posting he said: "This is evident from GE13. Those who did not support did not support. The money given was a waste, whether government money or otherwise."
So does this mean that a new trend is slowly beginning to emerge, that despite "investments" in the form of cash handouts and other material goodies, the people may just not vote for the party concerned? Would this mean that the "cock has finally come to roost"?
If that really happens then it is the end for BN, because all along BN has only been able to garner support by giving out cash and other material handouts. If this does not work then, they are doomed.
Another interesting thing to note from the Sg Limau by election is the manner in which the BN and Umno leaders carried themselves. Despite Sg Limau being a rural and traditional community where values of simpleness and straightforwardness are practiced, Umno did just the opposite.
There was this insincerity of the BN when canvassing for votes. While it's chief minister was going around donning a PAS-like skull cap, those who came from outside the state built up a scene that the villagers could not stomach. As in the words of an academic associated with University Malaya's UMCEDEL, these people were running around with their SUVs causing a ruckus that the people there were not accustomed to. The BN he stated could not discard the opulent culture when campaigning among simple villagers. That's not surprising. The BN is only out to get the votes so that the culture of apportioning the wealth among its cronies may continue. |
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