Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- ‘Anwar’s statement is a political expression’
- Royal link in iron ore plant
- Sodomy II: Doctor tells court he found Saiful’s anus healthy
- Anwar Assails Malaysian Officials, Court
- Malaysian Opposition Leader Begins Defense
- Analyst say GE likely to be held in Nov
- 30,000 caned in Malaysia, court hears
- Global protests a threat to BN?
- MAS-AirAsia swap deal signals ETP failure, says PKR
- Prasarana reserves ‘at least’ 30pc of MRT for Bumi contractors
- Despite Penang’s success, Guan Eng says talent still leaving country
- Wanted – RM5b to help Indians, Orang Asli
- MAS mulls delaying alliance, A380s as losses mount
| ‘Anwar’s statement is a political expression’ Posted: 22 Aug 2011 05:12 PM PDT
Anwar Ibrahim's statement has put the legal and political establishment itself on trial, says PKR veep Surendran. (Free Malaysia Today) - Anwar Ibrahim's statement from the dock is a protest against an unjust legal and political system. This is the reading of PKR veep N Surendran, who is also a lawyer, on why Anwar chose to give the statement from the dock instead of a sworn testimony from the witness box. Anwar also knew that less weight would be given to his testimony as compared to sworn testimony from the witness box, Surendran said. "By refusing to testify and daring them to do their worst, Anwar has put the legal and political establishment itself on trial," said Surendran in a statement today. Yesterday Anwar gave his statement from the dock which meant that he would not be cross-examined by the prosecution team. Anwar is facing sodomy trial for the second time. The present case began in 2008 after his former aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan claimed that Anwar sodomised him at a Desa Damansara condominium unit in Bukit Damansara between 3.10pm and 4.30pm on June 26 in 2008. If convicted under section 377B of the Penal Code, Anwar could face up to a maximum of 20 years in prison and whipping. Surendran said through this single, public act of principled defiance, Anwar has demonstrated the shocking extent to which "our justice system has been reduced to being a tool of those who are in power now". Surendran also mentioned how the practice of defendants giving unsworn statement came about.
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| Posted: 22 Aug 2011 04:12 PM PDT
Ex-MB Nizar says this has everything to do with the sacrifice of public interest There is a royal link in the controversial project to build an iron ore plant in Teluk Rubiah, Manjung, and one prominent critic alleges that this, coupled with the Perak palace's cosy relationship with the Barisan Nasional state government, has everything to do with why public interest has been sacrificed to profit a select few. "BN would always go ahead with something when there's something in it for them," said former menteri besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin. "Despite the hue and cry from the community, they don't give a damn." Documents made available to FMT show that the Sultan of Perak owns one of the companies that sold off the piece of land that Brazilian mining giant Vale International is now developing for the multi-billion-ringgit project. In 2009, KYM Holdings Bhd, through Harta Makmur Sdn Bhd, sold 488 hectares (1,205 acres) of leasehold land in Teluk Rubiah to Vale International and Vale Malaysia Manfuacturing Sdn Bhd for RM196 million. Vale will use only 450 acres for the plant. The rest of the land, mostly forested, will be a buffer zone. Checks with the Companies Commission of Malaysia showed that Harta Makmur is 60% owned by Tegas Consolidated Sdn Bhd and 40% owned by RAS Sdn Bhd. The majority shareholder for RAS is Sultan Azlan Shah. His consort, Tuanku Bainun Mohd Ali, and his son, Raja Ashman Shah, are minority shareholders. Raja Ashman and his siblings are all directors of the company. Vale's project has many opponents, including environmental groups and Teluk Rubiah residents and businesses. They fear that it would damage the environment, ruin the local tourism industry and impair the livelihood and health of local residents.
"I told them that the area should be preserved as a sanctuary. We had virgin jungles, with one of the best species of logs there. I could not afford to lose those." He said he proposed another state land in the swampy area of Tanjung Hantu, offering it almost free of charge. "I was thinking we're giving you a place with virtually no inhabitants. But before Vale could complete their analysis of the pros and cons of Tanjung Hantu, the government was grabbed, and the deal at Teluk Rubiah went through." Nizar headed the Pakatan Rakyat-led government until early 2009, when four defectors helped BN to take over, allowing Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir to replace him. Nizar alleged that KYM had owed the state government RM20 million in accumulated unpaid charges over the piece of land. "In order to settle debts to the bank and to the state government, they dumped everything on the Brazilians," Nizar said. "Somebody's interest is being taken care of. "Obviously, Vale was given additional incentives when it decided to choose Teluk Rubiah. "But I want to put on record that we did not condone using Teluk Rubiah as there were strong objections and it was not a viable option. "Zambry decided to allow Teluk Rubiah because, one, he gets a good name in the eyes of the palace, and two, KYM gets to settle its debts." Nizar questioned whether the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the project was tailored to allow the project to go ahead. "Were there amendments to the EIA? We don't know, but it could be manipulated." Nizar, who is the Pasir Panjang state assemblyman, said he hoped Vale would honour its promise not to pollute the area. He admitted that it was "a bit too late" to ask for Vale to stop building the factory. "They've already signed all the documents and they will go ahead as they've made all the commitments to the Brazilian company.
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| Sodomy II: Doctor tells court he found Saiful’s anus healthy Posted: 22 Aug 2011 04:00 PM PDT By Reena Raj, The Star KUALA LUMPUR: A doctor, the second defence witness in Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial, told the court on Tuesday that he had examined Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan on June 28, 2008 and found his anus healthy even though the plaintiff said he felt pain when passing motion. Dr. Mohammad Osman Abdul Hamid was a medical officer in Pusat Rawatan Islam (PUSRAWI) at that time when Mohd Saiful came to the hospital complaining that he had a pain in his anus when passing motion. Mohammad Osman said, he carried out an examination on Mohd Saiful using a protoscope and found the anus was healthy. After the examination, Mohammad Osman said, Mohd Saiful told him that he had been sodomised by a VIP and plastic had been inserted in his anus. Mohammad Osman disagreed when Solicitor-General II Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden suggested that the information about the insertion of plastic in Saiful's anus was added to the medical report later. The third defence witness, Associate Professor David Lawrence Noel Wells from Melbourne, Australia, then took the stand.
MORE TO COME. |
| Anwar Assails Malaysian Officials, Court Posted: 22 Aug 2011 03:49 PM PDT By James Hookway, Wall Street Journal Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim used his ongoing sodomy trial Monday to deliver a stinging attack accusing the judge and the government of Prime Minister Najib Razak of using a "show trial" to destroy his political career and extinguish any threat to the mostly Muslim nation's ruling party.
Quoting liberally from Shakespeare, Nelson Mandela and the Quran from the dock, Mr. Anwar read for an hour from a prepared text, saying his political rivals cooked up charges that he violated Malaysia's sodomy laws by having sex with a former male aide three years ago. "It is a vile and desperate attempt at character assassination," Mr. Anwar said. "They can do all they want to assassinate and sully my character and threaten me with another 20 years in jail, but mark my words: They won't be able to cow me into submission." Mr. Najib and judicial officials didn't respond to messages seeking comment Monday. Mr. Najib previously has denied any involvement in the case against Mr. Anwar, saying the charges against the 64-year-old opposition leader were filed independently by his former aide, 26-year-old Saiful Bukhari Azlan. People familiar with the government's thinking also say Mr. Najib is concerned that the international community doesn't appreciate that Malaysia's judiciary has become more independent in recent years and the government sometimes loses cases. In a telephone interview with The Wall Street Journal prior to Monday's court proceedings, Mr. Anwar said he was dismayed at how debate over how to modernize this multiethnic country and make its economy more competitive internationally had degenerated into a series of sex allegations. Besides the sodomy trial, some of Mr. Anwar's political opponents also suggested he was featured in a grainy video clip released on the Internet hugging a woman who his opponents claimed is a prostitute. Mr. Anwar and his family have denied he is the man pictured in the film. "It's really very telling how low they are willing to go," Mr. Anwar said, without specifying who he was referring to. Mr. Anwar was arrested and charged with sodomy in 2008, a few months after his three-party opposition alliance won control of several key states in hotly contested elections and broke the ruling National Front's customary two-thirds hold on Parliament. Mr. Najib, the 58-year-old aristocratic son of Malaysia's second prime minister, became the country's leader in 2009 and set about trying to reassert the National Front's dominance. The coalition built around Mr. Najib's United Malays National Organization party has controlled Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957. To attract voters from ethnic minorities, he began rolling back Malaysia's extensive system of race-based affirmative action policies that are designed to give an economic leg-up to the less prosperous majority Muslim Malay population by offering, among other things, subsidized loans and quotas at top universities. Mr. Najib also opened the way to more foreign investment in the financial sector and other businesses. Although Mr. Najib doesn't have to call elections until 2013, many analysts say they expect him to call early polls if it provides him with an advantage. The multiethnic opposition continues to command considerable support, however, and Mr. Najib last week pledged to consider ways to change the country's election laws in response to a massive demonstration of more than 20,000 people on the streets of Kuala Lumpur in July. That protest march, which included Mr. Anwar, himself a Muslim Malay, was forcibly broken up by police equipped with water cannons and tear gas. In his speech Monday—which Mr. Anwar read from the dock instead of from the witness stand in order to avoid cross-examination from prosecutors—the opposition leader accused the judge of allowing DNA evidence that Mr. Anwar's camp alleges is contaminated to be admitted. Mr. Anwar also said his accuser, Mr. Saiful, was being manipulated by rival politicians. Mr. Saiful couldn't be reached for comment. This isn't the first time Mr. Anwar, a former deputy prime minister, has accused Malaysia's powerful leaders of manufacturing sex allegations to silence him. In 1998 he was charged with sodomizing two male aides and later convicted after challenging former leader Mahathir Mohamad. That conviction was overturned in 2004 and Mr. Anwar was freed after spending six years in prison. Mr. Mahathir denies fabricating a case against Mr. Anwar. This time, Mr. Anwar said he expects the court to press for a conviction as quickly as possible. "They want to wrap things up quickly," he told the Journal.
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| Malaysian Opposition Leader Begins Defense Posted: 22 Aug 2011 03:44 PM PDT
By Liz Gooch, New York Times KUALA LUMPUR — The Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim began his defense in his sodomy trial on Monday, declaring the charges "a vile and despicable attempt at character assassination." After Mr. Anwar delivered a 32-page statement in which he said the trial was a conspiracy by Prime Minister Najib Razak to send him into "political oblivion," Mr. Anwar's lawyers disclosed that they had issued subpoenas compelling Mr. Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, to appear in court as witnesses. Mr. Anwar, a former deputy prime minister, is accused of sodomizing a former political aide in 2008 in a Kuala Lumpur apartment and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. The aide, Saiful Bukhari Azlan, has accused Mr. Anwar of having coerced him into having sex, but even consensual sodomy is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia . It is the second time that Mr. Anwar has faced such charges. In 1998, he was convicted of sodomy and abuse of power, and although the sodomy conviction was later overturned, he spent six years in prison. Denying that he had ever had sexual relations with the former aide, Saiful Bukhari Azlan, Mr. Anwar dismissed his accuser's allegations as "a blatant and vicious lie." "They can do all they want to assassinate my character and sully my reputation and threaten me with another 20 years of imprisonment, but, mark my words, they won't be able to cow me into submission," he said before a packed courtroom. "On the contrary, it only serves to fortify my conviction that the truth will eventually prevail. Come what come may, I shall never surrender." Mr. Anwar chose to deliver a statement from the floor of the courtroom on Monday, rather than take the witness stand, denying the prosecution the opportunity to cross-examine him. He said that he would have given evidence from the witness box if not for "all the handicaps foisted on me" and the manner in which the presiding judge, Mohamad Zabidin Diah, had conducted the trial. In a scathing critique, during which he quoted Nelson Mandela, Shakespeare and the Koran, Mr. Anwar said Mr. Diah had demonstrated a "complete lack of impartiality." He said the judge had failed to respond to a number of issues pertinent to the case, such as an alleged affair between a member of the prosecution and the former aide, statements made by government politicians that he said amounted to contempt of court, and suggestions that DNA samples used to establish the prosecution's case might have been contaminated. Mr. Anwar said that the judge, who has rejected his requests that he disqualify himself from hearing the trial on the grounds that he was biased, had prejudged the trial by declaring Mr. Saiful a "truthful witness." Mr. Anwar said that it was obvious that Mr. Saiful was "lying through his teeth." He said that Mr. Saiful was a fit young man in his early 20s, while he was a 60-year-old man with a history of back injury. "It would take a great stretch of the imagination to suggest that I could pose any physical harm to him," he said. Later, Mr. Anwar added: "The court's integrity has been completely compromised and bears all the classic symptoms of a show trial where the script has been effectively written and the outcome a foregone conclusion." Mr. Anwar repeated his claim that the trial was a "conspiracy" by Mr. Najib "to send me into political oblivion by attempting once again to put me behind bars." "This is not a criminal trial. It is a charade staged by the powers that be to put me out of action in order that they remain in power," he said, adding that the "relentless conviction" to send him back to prison became "all the more imperative" after the 2008 elections, when the opposition made unprecedented gains. The government has denied that the trial is politically motivated. Speaking to reporters outside the court, Mr. Anwar said that his lawyers had subpoenaed seven witnesses, including Mr. Najib. Karpal Singh, one of Mr. Anwar's lawyers, said that the subpoenas should already have been served on Mr. Najib and his wife, who had earlier refused to be interviewed by defense lawyers. "When a subpoena is issued, a witness must turn up in court," Mr. Karpal said. "The judge will decide whether a subpoena should be set aside. If a witness is in a position to give material evidence, then the subpoena cannot be set aside. That witness must give evidence from the witness box." Forensic experts are expected to testify on Tuesday. |
| Analyst say GE likely to be held in Nov Posted: 22 Aug 2011 03:39 PM PDT By Kong See Hoh, The Sun Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak (pix)'s remark on Friday that the next general election can be held anytime and is not bound by the works of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reforms has fuelled talk of November polls. Political analyst Datuk Dr Cheah See Kian described the setting up of the panel on polls reforms as a smart move as it conveys the message that "Barisan Nasional has the intention to carry out electoral reforms, thus reducing the negative impact of the Bersih 2.0 rally to the minimum,Oriental Daily News reported today. Cheah said electoral reforms cannot be done overnight. In fact it may take a year or two, but the panel is an opportunity for BN to show the public that the government genuinely wants to reform and make the electoral process more democratic. Cheah said BN's tactical move has put Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in a bind. It has opened the panel's door to the Opposition without sacrificing its controlling role in the panel. If the Opposition stays out, it means it is giving up on a chance to effect electoral reforms, he said. "This is BN's Blue Ocean election tactic – be seen as inclusive by including PR in the Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reforms while remaining in control of the committee," he pointed out. "It is an intriguing tactic. Based on the current political scenario, it augurs well for BN to hold a snap election in the very near future." However, political commentators Ong Kian Meng, while acknowledging that the setting up of the polls panel is a positive move, did not believe BN would gain from it if the election is called in the near future. He said the move would not have much impact on the next general election as most city folk, particularly those from the higher-income group, are not easily taken in by government tactics. Nevertheless, he agreed that the sooner an election is held the better for the BN. Ong said with PR casting doubts on the electoral roll, more dirt may come out the longer the next general election is held off, which would be bad for the BN. "The July 9 (Bersih) rally involved mainly urban voters, many of whom are not inclined towards the BN in the first place. But if the election is held off, three is the danger that the July 9 'fever' may hit the rural electorate." He said regardless of whether the polls reform panel is a bane or boom for the BN, it is a good time for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak to call for an election in November. Political punters believe Budget 2012, which will be presented in October, would be an election budget. Cheah said the government's decision to postpone the Merdeka Day celebrations to coincide with the Malaysia Day on Sept 16 is an indication that it is paving the way for a general election soon. Holding the two events together on Sept 16 will endear the federal government to Sabah and Sarawak, the support of which is vital for BN to win a two-third majority in the Parliament. The recent announcement of a Hari Raya bonus for the civil servants will also help BN win some votes. On another note, Ong opined that Najib has been overly careful, resulting in indecision on a number of issues. This gives some people the feeling that "he looks more and more like former PM Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi". In fact, he said, the best time for BN to call for a snap polls was in January when Parti Keadilan Rakyat was in disarray due to infighting. |
| 30,000 caned in Malaysia, court hears Posted: 22 Aug 2011 03:33 PM PDT By Bianca Hall, The Canberra Times Almost 30,000 foreigners were subjected to brutal canings in Malaysia between 2005 and 2010, the High Court was told this morning. The court's full bench is considering a legal challenge to the Federal Government's plan to send 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia, in return for Australia accepting 4000 refugees registered with the United Nations in that country over four years. Debbie Mortimer, SC, who is acting for the asylum seekers, told the court that Malaysia, which is not a signatory to the United Nation's Refugee Convention, did not accord legal protections to the 19,700 asylum seekers and refugees registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in that country. She said Malaysian authorities "generally" co-operated with the UNHCR, but detainees sent there by Australia would fall under the same category as foreigners and could be subject to detention without trial and the death penalty. "The political arrangement, unenforceable as it is, is the only thing guaranteeing the way asylum seekers and refugees may be treated in Malaysia," she said. The case is being brought against the Federal Government's so-called Malaysian solution on behalf of two asylum seekers who arrived at Christmas Island by boat on August 4. The court was told Malaysia holds a list of 56 Islamic "sects" it considers "deviant". One of the two plaintiffs listed in the case, a 16-year-old Afghan boy who arrived alone, is Shiite, one of the so-called deviant religions. Mr D Jackson QC, acting for the Australian Human Rights Commission, told the court immigration minister Chris Bowen would be in breach of his obligations to act in the best interests of unaccompanied children, as their official guardian, if the plan went ahead. The court heard the 16 year old had witnessed refugees being beaten and tortured when he travelled through Malaysia en route to Australia. Because Malaysia is not a signatory to the Refugee Convention, he would face arrest for illegally entering and exiting the country should he go back, the court heard. Solicitor general Stephen Gageler, acting for the Government, said that under mainstream international law, Australia was obliged to offer protection and that meant not returning people to their home countries. There was no international law obligation that meant countries had to assess refugee claims within their own borders, he said. The High Court has placed a temporary injunction preventing the Government from sending any asylum seekers to Malaysia until this matter it is finished. The court will continue to hear the case this afternoon. |
| Global protests a threat to BN? Posted: 22 Aug 2011 03:29 PM PDT By Clare Rewcastle Brown, FMT No country is an island in this global era and 2011 has not been a comfortable year for a regime like Barisan Nasional, which is seeking to perpetuate half a century of uninterrupted power in Malaysia. At the outset, Malaysia's establishment was just one example of many across the world's oil rich states, where family-based elites basked in absolute power, having pretty much grabbed the wealth of their countries for themselves. Then, one by one, the dominos have started to fall. Even Messrs Muammar Gaddafi (Libya) and Bashar Assad (Syria), who have resorted to extreme measures, shooting at their own citizens and acting with the full force of tyrants, have failed to stem the tide of popular outrage that has started to change the face of the world political landscape. Most particularly unnerving for the Malaysian jetsetter class must have been the readiness with which international institutions has been willing to freeze the foreign assets of these toppled dynasties, the moment official requests came in from subsequent governments. Such people have always been happy to consider themselves part of an international community and would have readily re-located somewhere like Australia or Canada, having left the source of their wealth, in this case Malaysia, far behind. However, such exit plans were always based on an assumption that once these pampered families had managed to siphon out their corruptly acquired loot, they would be able to squirrel it safely away in Western Banks and property assets and no one would be able to get it back off them. Money-laundering legislations has started to change all that and the more unscrupulous advisors in the 'avoidance' business are doubtlessly already receiving plenty of phone calls from members of the establishment in Malaysia! Saturation point for corruption Such forms of reflection are allowable, because of the acknowledged level of corruption that everyone knows exists in Malaysia. It is so endemic that no one attempts to conceal it. It is written into the country's indexes and there is a separate anecdote for every person forced to suffer it.
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| MAS-AirAsia swap deal signals ETP failure, says PKR Posted: 22 Aug 2011 03:13 PM PDT
By Debra Chong, The Malaysian Insider PETALING JAYA, Aug 23 — PKR strategy chief Rafizi Ramli attacked today rival airlines MAS' and AirAsia's recent share swap deal, claiming it was an example of the ruling Barisan Nasional's (BN) misuse of government-linked companies (GLCs)to fund mega projects to avoid being publicly accountable. This, the economist told reporters, was an early signal Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) had failed. "For a start, the deal amounts to Khazanah Nasional Berhad's tacit admission that the two business-turnaround-plans (BTPs) implemented since 2006 under the stewardship of two CEOs have failed," Rafizi (picture) said. "The latest ongoings in MAS is the clearest sign that Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's much-touted economic transformation has also failed," he added.
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| Prasarana reserves ‘at least’ 30pc of MRT for Bumi contractors Posted: 22 Aug 2011 03:09 PM PDT By Boo Su-Lyn, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 — Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd will reserve at least 30 per cent of the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT) construction packages for Bumiputera contractors. Abdul Malik Azman, Prasarana's head of MRT Procurement Management Department, told The Malaysian Insider today that the quota for Bumiputera contractors was part of the government's "national agenda." "We have this Bumiputera agenda approved by the MOF (Finance Ministry). "At least 30 per cent of packages should be allocated for Bumis. This is the national agenda," he told The Malaysian Insider after a briefing for pre-qualified contractors at Prasarana's office here today. In May, Prasarana had caved in to pressure from Malay rights groups when it revised pre-qualification criteria for several construction packages. The project owner had said then that contractors who wanted to tender for elevated civil works, stations and depots work construction packages would be allowed to form joint ventures (JV) or consortiums among local companies. Twenty-eight firms including heavyweights such as Sunway, IJM and MRCB have been shortlisted for the construction of the first phase of the KVMRT project The works packages were divided into two categories: Open and Bumiputera. The value for contracts under the Bumiputera category is about RM250 million per package, based on the last briefing to contractors by Prasarana in May. Abdul Malik said today that there were 18 work packages, comprising eight packages for elevated civil works, eight packages for stations and two packages for depots. He said six out of the 16 packages for elevated civil works and stations, as well as the Kajang depot work package, were reserved for Bumiputeras. "A few Bumis here can (also) bid in the Open category. (They can go) fishing in the pond and ocean. They have more chances," said Abdul Malik. He pointed out that Trans Resources Corporation Sdn Bhd, Ahmad Zaki Sdn Bhd and MTD Construction Sdn Bhd could bid for all eight elevated civil works packages.
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| Despite Penang’s success, Guan Eng says talent still leaving country Posted: 22 Aug 2011 10:56 AM PDT By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider PETALING JAYA, Aug 23 — Economic success and development in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) states alone will not be enough to keep local talent in Malaysia as many are still looking for greener pastures, says Lim Guan Eng. The Penang Chief Minister said last night that the brain drain is very much a serious problem, and that Malaysia is still losing out to neighbouring countries who continue to recruit young Malaysian professionals in droves. "Despite Penang's success, it is still difficult to attract people to stay back home. "There has been aggressive head-hunting by our neighbours, especially Singapore. We are losing to them, even though we did not actually do anything wrong. We are losing out to our neighbouring countries," he told a DAP Selangor fundraiser here last night. The DAP secretary-general's remarks were in response to a question posed about PR's plan in tackling the problem of brain drain. He was barraged with questions last night, but each query carried a standard demand — many of those in attendance wanted to know details of PR's policy plans (education, financial management) should it assume federal power. Lim appeared to have been caught off-guard with some of the questions, and did not directly answer them nor did he provide PR's solutions into tackling brain drain. Instead, he said that PR's policy plans would focus on maintaining a corruption-free environment as well as reform plans set out by the opposition's Buku Jingga manifesto. "We will liberalise the economy, and establish institutions. We want institutions to follow the rule of law," Lim stressed. In January, the Najib administration had set up Talent Corporation to revive to revive the nation's stagnating economy. A brain drain is depriving Malaysia of talent, and accounts for a third of the country's one-million strong diaspora, according to the World Bank Economic Monitor.
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| Wanted – RM5b to help Indians, Orang Asli Posted: 22 Aug 2011 10:40 AM PDT By Nantha Kumar. FMT KUALA LUMPUR: A call has gone out to help the Indian and Orang Asli communities to the tune of RM5 billion over the next five years. This is what the Malaysian Indian Business Association wants Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to include in his 2012 Budget. Association president P Sivakumar said the coming budget must help improve the lifestyle of the minority communities. He said although Najib has done something to help the minority communities, only a few million dollars have been given out, which is insufficient. He added the new budget should pay special attention to the minorities, especially Indians and the Orang Asli. He said the government should allocate RM1 billion each year for the Indians and Orang Asli over the next five years. "By allocating the proposed amount, five years will be time enough for the communities to catch up with the others." He said 80% of the Indians are in the urban and semi-urban areas and of this, 30% are in the lower income group. Sivakumar said they do not own houses or given business opportunties to get out of their impoverished situation.
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| MAS mulls delaying alliance, A380s as losses mount Posted: 22 Aug 2011 10:11 AM PDT By Jahabar Sadiq, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 — Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is considering delaying its membership with global airline group Oneworld and deliveries of the super airliner Airbus A380 as its new management focuses on cutting losses, which spiked in the second quarter of 2011. The Malaysian Insider understands that MAS will announce a bigger loss today for this year's second quarter, traditionally its weakest business period, from the net loss of RM242.3 million in the first quarter ended March 31. It posted a pre-tax loss of RM532.6 million for the second quarter in 2010. "The exco met last week and are looking at their options of delaying the alliance with Oneworld because it will cost money to provide interlining services and also upgrade the lounges to their standards," a company source told The Malaysian Insider. "They are also looking at delaying the A380 deliveries. It's already delayed since 2008 but the exco is concerned if it can make money for MAS," he added, referring to the executive committee headed by MAS chairman Tan Sri Mohd Nor Mohd Yusof now managing the airline after managing director Tengku Datuk Azmil Zahruddin resigned effective August 9. Azmil's resignation was announced after the airline's biggest shareholder, state asset manager Khazanah Nasional Berhad, swapped 20.5 per cent of MAS stock for a 10 per cent stake in Asia's biggest budget carrier AirAsia on August 9. The swap enabled AirAsia bosses Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and his partner Datuk Seri Kamaruddin Meranun to sit on the MAS board and help turn around the loss-making flag carrier. Another source confirmed the possibility of delays, pointing out that MAS is now just a designated member of Oneworld since June and has to go through a process that could take as long as 18 months before being a full member of the world's third biggest airline group. It is understood that a cause of concern is MAS' sponsor to join oneworld, Qantas, which recently announced it wants to set up two new airlines in Asia with part of its US$9 billion (RM26.81 billion) plane order from Airbus in order to salvage its loss-making international business. Under the plan, the Australian carrier has decided to set up a Japanese budget airline with Japan Airlines and Mitsubishi Corp and a premium airline based in Southeast Asia, possibly Malaysia. "MAS is going to be a premium airline and if Qantas goes ahead with its plans, there will be competition. An alliance might not work then, apart from the costs of meeting the alliance's standards," the source said. When MAS announced its entry in Oneworld last June, it said that MAS passengers will gain access to the alliance's global network which covers almost 950 destinations in 150 countries. MAS Enrich frequent flyer members will be able to earn and redeem rewards on Oneworld's carriers and vice versa. This strategy was to work with the April 2012 delivery of the first of six A380s that MAS ordered in 2003. There has been three delays for the world's biggest passenger jet from Airbus, which were first to be delivered in January 2007 before being delayed to last January and the third delay was to this month before it was confirmed for next year.
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