Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Walk The Talk
- Malaysia's Petronas Chemicals Q1 net profit 737mn ringgit
- Malaysia Petronas 1Q Net Profit MYR19.35 Billion Vs MYR12.32 Billion
- Pakatan: MRT rail, property model is land grab
- Pakatan confident of ‘mission impossible’
- Biometric System Would Do More Harm Than Good?
- Harapan Komuniti receives death threat
- ACCIM claims MRT abused as front for land grab
- RBA briefed on bribery, deputy governor admits
- Malaysia Airlines' short-term outlook bleak despite new alliance with AirAsia
- Isn’t the Transport Minister from MCA?
- Lynas: an injustice most taxing
- Giving out Free Lunches!
- FBI Pressured to Stop Backing Malaysian Potentate
- Rise of strict Islam exposes tensions in Malaysia
- DNA samples from Saiful’s anus ‘pristine’
- WikiLeaks Releases Tens of Thousands More Classified Cables
- TV3 Kantoi! Surau Al-Musyrikin tidak wujud!
- AG GANI PATAIL: MACC MUST SHOW INDEPENDENCE AND NOT IMPOTENCE
- Against the tide
- Sodomy II: Trial postponed to Sept 19-23
- MRT Jalan Sultan land acquisition – who is telling the truth: Chua Soi Lek, Hamid Albar or ...
- ‘Upholding Malay unity’ … or ‘deconstructing’ a tired cliché?
- Fuziah takes on TV3; PAS wants action against rogue MP
- Former MAS chairman sues news portal for RM200mil
| Posted: 26 Aug 2011 12:27 PM PDT By Christian Federation Malaysia Together with all Malaysians we join hands in celebrating and rejoicing over Merdeka Day and Malaysia Day this year. Let us offer our prayers in thanksgiving to Almighty God for the blessings showered upon us and for His kind mercies over these past 54 years of celebrating Merdeka Day and over the past 48 years in auspiciously marking Malaysia Day. We must continue to uphold the constitutional framework which embodies the principles of democratic freedoms and institutions first set down by our Founding Fathers irrespective of race, religion or creed so that each generation will be able to advance and progress as Malaysians. We have also embraced the principles of the Rukunegara and the fundamental liberties including the Freedom of Religion which allows us freedom to believe and personal liberty to ensure we live in peace and harmony and for us to seek the welfare and well-being of all who dwell in Malaysia. The diversity of faiths expressed in the many places of worship throughout Malaysia is a testimony to the spiritual vitality of all our peoples and their desire to be connected to the Almighty God. Therefore, we must hold to the sanctity of all our places of worship and also our freedom to believe and not allow such to be violated in any way. As Malaysians we must continue in the sharing of our religious traditions, spiritualities and festivities with one another in the spirit of mutual respect. We must not allow actions which are insensitive, arrogant and disrespectful to prevail nor to derail us from our living in harmony and love amongst all religions and communities in Malaysia. Malaysians value justice and righteousness and therefore expect such values to be exhibited and practiced by the leaders of our nation and by one and all. Malaysians desire that our leaders act justly, do rightly and to love mercy. This spirit will help us build a great nation for ourselves, our children and our children's children. Therefore, we expect and call our nation's leaders to show consistent and sustainable leadership in the Prime Minister's unifying theme of 1Malaysia : People First, Performance Now to the end that the theme will not be just more talk than action but become a concrete reality so that we can all enjoy its fruits. As our nation grows we need to build stronger democratic institutions which will give Malaysians a greater say in the affairs of state. Today, Malaysians as concerned citizens want our voices to be heard and wish to speak on the issues of the nation and how it is administered. Many Malaysians desire electoral reforms to ensure a fair and equitable electoral system and the government's response of a parliamentary select committee to look into this crucial matter is a step forward in the right direction. As Malaysians we need to build on the positives that we have in our land rather than the negatives that divide us on the basis of race, religion or creed. We call on every Malaysian to contribute towards the process of nation-building without thought of reward. Churches and Christians should continue freely to do works of charity to contribute towards nation-building in diverse ways so that the benefits can be reaped by the poor and the needy, irrespective of race, religion or creed. As Malaysians, let us pledge to work for the betterment of all Malaysians, to further the cause of national unity, to promote mutual respect of all peoples and religions, to foster a caring and compassionate society, to maintain democracy, to enable a vibrant economy for the well-being of all, to see to the good of all Malaysians and to ensure that our public institutions are transparent, accountable and serving the people. The churches join all Malaysians in praying for the good health and well-being of our beloved King and Queen, the Rulers, the Prime Minister and his Cabinet, the Mentris Besar and Chief Ministers of the states, our parliamentarians, all members of the state assemblies, the police and those who defend our nation. It is our desire to see continued prosperity with peace, justice and righteousness and the strengthening of our common bonds of friendship and harmony amongst all peoples and religions in Malaysia. |
| Malaysia's Petronas Chemicals Q1 net profit 737mn ringgit Posted: 26 Aug 2011 12:24 PM PDT By Business Recorder KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Petronas Chemicals: Net profit 737 million ringgit ($247 million) for the quarter ended June 30, 2011. The Company had on March 2 2011, announced the change of financial year end from March 31 to Dec. 31 beginning from April 2011. As a result, there is no equivalent comparative quarter. Results driven by strong prices seen across most petrochemical products and partially offset by a stronger Malaysian ringgit against the US Dollar. |
| Malaysia Petronas 1Q Net Profit MYR19.35 Billion Vs MYR12.32 Billion Posted: 26 Aug 2011 12:21 PM PDT By Jason Ng, Dow Jones Newswires KUALA LUMPUR -(Dow Jones)- Malaysia's state-owned oil-and-gas firm Petroliam Nasional Bhd. Friday reported a 57% rise in its first-quarter net profit, but said growth is likely to slow from the second quarter, and may continue to be sluggish going into 2012. Malaysia's only Fortune 500 company and the country's most profitable firm, also known as Petronas, said net profit for the quarter ended June 30 rose to MYR19.35 billion, compared with MYR12.32 billion in the year-earlier period. Revenue was higher at MYR72.97 billion from MYR58.56 billion. |
| Pakatan: MRT rail, property model is land grab Posted: 26 Aug 2011 12:17 PM PDT By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has accused Putrajaya of using the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) as an excuse to acquire prime land after it was revealed that the government will rely on property development to foot project costs. DAP international secretary Liew Chin Tong said the modified rail-and-property model was just "land grab by another name" and accused the Land Public Transport Authority (SPAD) of putting revenue considerations before the needs of the public. He told The Malaysian Insider that the regulator's focus on how to maximise returns through property redevelopment rather than public transport requirements was akin to putting the cart before the horse, and called an example of "worst planning practices". "You should look at transport needs and how to cater for that before anything else," Liew said, adding that this called into question whether the alignment of the Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) line had been determined by property development propositions rather than demand. "The most important thing is to think how to get people to work (riding the MRT)... The number one priority is to ensure this is the easiest way to work so you don't have a peak hour (congestion) problem." PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli said the viability of the entire MRT project was now suspect given the risky nature of property developments, especially since the government will incur "huge public debt" financing them. He pointed out that returns from such developments were not guaranteed as the outlook for the high-end property market was "quite gloomy" and there was already a property glut in the Klang Valley. "This is the danger of the MRT project if it's not managed properly," he said. Rafizi also questioned the timeline for property development on the acquired land and whether it would take place before or after the MRT is scheduled to begin service in 2016. "When is this so-called redevelopment for [capital expenditure] and [operating expenditure] going to take place? 2017? 2018? In the meantime, the public has to fork out more money while waiting for the returns," he added. PAS central committee member Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said there was a need for the Najib administration to open up the project to parliamentary scrutiny as the reliance on property development showed that not enough thought had gone into how to finance the MRT. "If this an afterthought? Have they not said it was a PFI (privately financed initiative) in the first place?" he said. The Kuala Selangor MP said that the RM50 billion bill for the project would "go through the roof" now as the original estimate had not taken into consideration the massive cost of redeveloping properties the government plans to acquire. Dzulkefly added that if land acquisition was the single most dominant factor that determines the success of the MRT, Putrajaya should be "humble" enough to engage the Selangor state government on land acquisition matters cordially.
|
| Pakatan confident of ‘mission impossible’ Posted: 26 Aug 2011 12:06 PM PDT
By B Nantha Kumar, FMT PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Rakyat is gearing to launch a powerful offensive in Malacca, which is considered a Barisan Nasional stronghold, in the next general election. Although political pundits predict that BN would retain power, PKR and PAS were aiming to win more seats in the state assembly. Sources revealed that the two opposition parties alongside DAP would bank on "Umno's arrogance" in running the state to pull in the votes. In the 2008 general election, BN won 23 seats while the opposition won five – all by DAP. DAP contested eight but won the Bachang, Ayer Keroh, Kesidang, Kota Laksamana and Bandar Hilir state seats. PAS contested 13 seats while PKR fielded seven candidates. Time time around, a Malacca DAP leader said Pakatan was confident of capturing at least 14 of the 28 state seats up for grabs. While political analysts dismissed this as "mission impossible", the opposition believes that with the right campaign strategy, it could turn the tide against BN. In the next general election, DAP plans to increase its tally to six while PAS and PKR were aiming to seize four seats each. "DAP is confident of retaining five seats. They are also eyeing the Duyong seat, it is the only state seat they lost in the Kota Melaka parliamentary constituency in the last general election," a party insider told FMT. The Duyong seat was won by BN candidate Gan Tian Loo with a slim 806 vote majority defeating DAP's Damian Yeo Shen Li. However, there were several issues which needed to be ironed out before DAP could contest the seat. Speculation was rife that PKR wanted the seat as part of a swap plan. DAP leaders on the other hand were adamant about contesting in Duyong. |
| Biometric System Would Do More Harm Than Good? Posted: 26 Aug 2011 11:36 AM PDT By Syed Zahar. Malaysian Digest As the story goes, during the height of the space race in the 1960s, NASA scientists realized that pens could not function in space since there's no gravity to make the ink flow down to the ball of the pen. They needed to figure out another way for the astronauts to write things down. So they spent years and millions of taxpayer dollars to develop a pen that could put ink to paper in a weightless environment. Meanwhile, their crafty Soviet counterparts at RESA simply equipped their cosmonauts with pencils.
|
| Harapan Komuniti receives death threat Posted: 26 Aug 2011 10:59 AM PDT By Stephanie Sta Maria, FMT PETALING JAYA: Harapan Komuniti, the organisers of the thanksgiving dinner raided by the Selangor Religious Islamic Department (JAIS) on Aug 3, received a death threat yesterday morning. The source who informed FMT of the incident was unable to provide any details except that the handwritten note was written in Malay and contained a warning to Christians that Muslims would not "lose". Harapan Komuniti lodged a police report at the Sea Park police station at about 10pm last night. When contacted Harapan Komuniti's management appeared upset that the news had reached the media and declined to comment. The source told FMT that the NGO was remaining tight-lipped over the incident as it was "devastated" that the home had now become an innocent target of irresponsible individuals. "They are fearing for the lives of those under their care, especially the children," the source said. "And the last thing they want is for this incident to be spun by media with agenda which could worsen the situation." Being harrassed JAIS raided the dinner held in the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) on Aug 3 after allegedly receiving a complaint that proselytising activities were being carried out there. Harapan Komuniti has denied this and inisted that the dinner was held for HIV/AIDS supporters. JAIS has since summoned the 12 Muslims present at the dinner for questioning earlier this week. |
| ACCIM claims MRT abused as front for land grab Posted: 26 Aug 2011 10:49 AM PDT
By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 — The country's largest Chinese business association has accused the regulator and the owner of the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) of abusing the Land Acquisition Act to acquire a prime land bank for property development by "favoured parties". In a no-holds barred letter sighted by The Malaysian Insider, the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Malaysia (ACCCIM) told the transport minister that the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) and Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd (Prasarana) should stop the abuse and focus on developing an efficient public transport system instead.
|
| RBA briefed on bribery, deputy governor admits Posted: 26 Aug 2011 10:41 AM PDT
By Richard Baker and Nick McKenzie, The Age Federal police last month charged NPA and sister firm Securency with Australia's first foreign bribery offences, alleging that millions of dollars paid to the companies' agents in Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia were used to bribe officials. Eight former NPA and Securency senior executives have also been charged. THE Reserve Bank of Australia board was briefed twice in 2007 on information implicating subsidiary Note Printing Australia in overseas bribery, deputy governor Ric Battellino (pictured) admitted yesterday. Mr Battellino's admission came as he and RBA governor Glenn Stevens faced questions from the House of Representatives' economics committee on the bribery scandal involving the bank's currency printing firms NPA and Securency. At the committee's meeting in February, Mr Stevens said it was unlikely any RBA officials knew of bribery allegations involving its banknote businesses prior to The Age revealing corruption concerns about Securency in May 2009. Under questioning from Liberal MP Kelly O'Dwyer and Greens MP Adam Bandt, Mr Battellino confirmed the details of a report by The Age this month, which revealed the board of NPA and senior RBA officials were, in May 2007, presented with strong evidence implicating the company and two of its agents in the bribery of officials in Malaysia and Nepal in return for contracts. The 2007 information included an admission from an NPA agent that he had paid bribes and requests from another agent to be paid excessive commissions into a third-party bank account. Mr Battellino said the information presented to the NPA board raised issues ''about bad business practices in relation to agents and, as a result of that, they took some very hard decisions''. But instead of referring the bribery evidence to the Australian Federal Police for investigation, the RBA and the NPA board decided to handle the matter internally by sacking the agents, calling in the Reserve Bank's audit team and later contracting law firm Freehills to conduct an inquiry. Mr Battellino said the RBA board was briefed on the internal inquiries into the NPA bribery matters in July and August 2007. The RBA board was told Freehills had been unable to find any breach of Australian laws, he said. Asked by Ms O'Dwyer why neither the NPA board nor the RBA called the police in 2007, Mr Battellino said: ''There was no basis to. This was an investigation that was started by the NPA board as part of an ongoing control around the way the business was being run. They pursued that to its logical conclusion. You have to accept it is a very serious matter for any organisation to call in police to have staff investigated and my guess is that most organisations would not do that.'' Freehills did not have the AFP's powers to formally question people, issue search warrants to seize evidence or seek co-operation from overseas police. The RBA has twice refused freedom-of-information requests from The Age for the Freehills report. Federal police last month charged NPA and sister firm Securency with Australia's first foreign bribery offences, alleging that millions of dollars paid to the companies' agents in Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia were used to bribe officials. Eight former NPA and Securency senior executives have also been charged. Mr Battellino confirmed to the committee yesterday that Abdul Kayum, the Malaysian agent specifically referred to in the 2007 bribery information, had also last month been charged with corruption offences by Malaysian authorities investigating NPA's 2004 central bank contract. A former assistant governor of Malaysia's central bank was also charged with accepting a bribe from NPA. The alleged kickbacks paid by NPA's Nepal agent, Himalaya Pande, to secure a 2002 central bank contract are still being investigated by the AFP and by Nepal's anti-corruption agency. The NPA board in 2007 was chaired by former RBA deputy governor and former Australian Prudential Regulation Authority chief Graeme Thompson. |
| Malaysia Airlines' short-term outlook bleak despite new alliance with AirAsia Posted: 26 Aug 2011 10:33 AM PDT By Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation Malaysia Airlines (MAS) reported a heavy loss in 2Q2011 (three months to 30-Jun-2011) as soaring costs, led by fuel, weighed on the result. The 2Q2011 loss is MAS' second-consecutive quarterly loss and the carrier expects to remain in the red for the rest of the year. MAS reported a net loss of MYR525.8 million (USD177.7 million) in the second quarter, seasonally its weakest. Aggressive capacity deployment, under-performance from its revenue management and sales teams and increasing competition from regional and Gulf-based rivals also hurt the 2Q2011 result. The net result was a slight year-on-year improvement, but the airline's operating loss swelled to MYR412.5 million (USD139 million) from MYR285.6 million (USD95 million) in the same period last year. |
| Isn’t the Transport Minister from MCA? Posted: 25 Aug 2011 11:14 PM PDT
Kong is keeping mum because his useless ministerial position is more important than the Chinese community. If he objects, he will be removed by Umno, just like what happened to former MCA president Ong Tee Keat in the multi-billion-ringgit Port Klang Free Zone (PKF) financial scandal. By Lee Kee Who is MCA trying to kid in the controversial acquisition of Petaling "Chinatown" Street land for the construction of the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT)?The sex-scandal-tainted president Dr Chua Soi Lek had on Wednesday (Aug 24, 2011) so proudly announced and promised that the 31 landowners on Kuala Lumpur's Jalan Sultan would be able to hold on to their property — after the government agreed to reinforce their buildings — and return upon completion of the tunnelling beneath their shops. In less than 24 hours, Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chairman Syed Hamid Albar said the compulsory acquisition of the Jalan Sultan lots — where the KVMRT would run underground — was necessary because under land law, landowners also owned the land that lies below ground. "We have to do compulsory acquisition of the land. It means that subsequently, they have to alienate the land above," Syed Hamid told reporters after a memorandum of understanding signing with Puspakom Sdn Bhd on Thursday. Syed Hamid added that although they were currently working on a solution to allow the traders to return to Chinatown "there is no guarantee that it would eventually be returned to the owners". This again, as in the past, shows what MCA leaders say are meaningless and just a "damage control exercise" whenever controversial issues afflicting the Chinese community arise. In particular, can anyone really trust Dr Chua the wife cheater to represent us? In dealing with such issues since Merdeka, the MCA continues to dish out crap, never sticking its neck out for the Chinese community. The biggest joke in this Chinatown issue is this: "Why is the Transport Minister Kong Cho Ha keeping mum?" Isn't he from MCA? Is the SPAD chairman more powerful than Kong? Of course the Umno SPAD chairman is more powerful. Kong is keeping mum because his useless ministerial position (Kong is making it useless with his inaction) is more important than the Chinese community. If he objects, he will be removed by Umno, just like what happened to former MCA president Ong Tee Keat who foolishly knocked his head on the brickwall in the multi-billion-ringgit Port Klang Free Zone (PKF) financial scandal. Kong, after taking office, displayed his 101% loyalty to the powers that be by immediately sweeping the PKFZ probe under the carpet, thus comnsolidating his ministerial position. Under such circumstances, do you really expect the dumbbell Kong or the MCA to defend the interests of the Chinese community or care a damn for a Chinese heritage zone? It is really appalling to note that, of late, the non-Umno ministers have been reduced to just puppets, toothless leaders who are completely subservient to Umno and the powers that be. Non-Umno ministers are just puppets and powerless to Umno-formed and Umno-linked commissions, committees, boards, etc. So Malaysians, isn't it crystal clear that it does not really make any difference whether there are MCA, Gerakan or MIC ministers after the next general election? As for the Malays, only the cronies of Umno Malays will continue to prosper while the majority of Malays continue to struggle in poverty.
|
| Lynas: an injustice most taxing Posted: 25 Aug 2011 11:09 PM PDT
The 12-year tax exemption given to Lynas may prove to be the biggest blunder ever. Lynas is projected to make about AUD 6.2 billion in pre-tax profit in 2012 and 2013 and in exchange, we allow them to contaminate our land for free. By Lee Wee Tak and Soo Jin Hou Malaysians are no strangers to skewed agreements. From IPP subsidies to guaranteed profits for highway concessionaires, the public has on numerous times endured the consequences of sheer governmental incompetence. Yet, the 12-year tax exemption given to Lynas may prove to be the biggest blunder ever. Lynas is projected to make about AUD 6.2 billion in pre-tax profit in 2012 and 2013 and in exchange, we allow them to contaminate our land for free.  JP Morgan published their stock analysis on 24 June 2010, just prior to the price break out. They have predicted a ridiculously conservative average price of USD 17.69/kg in 2012. At that price, they have expected Lynas to be breaking even in making AUD 4.8 million in net tax profit in 2012. The price has since shot up to USD 201.35/kg on 22 Aug 2011. Based on linear regression calculated from 3Q10 to 22 August 2011, and extrapolated to 1 January 2012, the price may even surge up to USD278.14. The following table shows our revised estimates based on JP Morgan's research. We predict Lynas will make AUD 2.2 billion in 2012 and AUD 4.1 billion in 2013 before tax based on the above linear regression estimation (if the 22 August price of USD 201.35/kg is used, 2012 and 2013 profits would be AUD1.5 billion and AUD 2.9 billion respectively). No matter what the price would be, Lynas will be able to repay their entire setup cost of AUD 807 million and still be able to make super normal windfall profit within the first year. The profit is expected to double up in 2013 when production from Phase 2 commences.  Read more at: http://wangsamajuformalaysia.blogspot.com/2011/08/lynas-injustice-most-taxing.html |
| Posted: 25 Aug 2011 11:05 PM PDT
But pray tell me Najib how much more of OUR money are you going to give away for YOUR political survival? There is no such thing as a free lunch….well maybe not for most of us but there seems to be an endless supply of free lunches for Najib to give away… By steadyaku47 Politics is not an exact science. It is the art of the impossible. Do you not wonder sometimes what the outcome of the 13th General Election will be? Or do you consider yourself amongst the growing number of skeptics that resigns themselves to the inevitability of being saddled with bad politicians no matter who wins the election? Sometimes I despair at the diversity of it all. · I support DSAI. · I am for Najib Tun Razak. · Anything but UMNO! · Pakatan Rakyat will only do worse then BN when in government! · Satu lagi Projek BN. · PR will stop waste in government spending! And so the battle rages while we stand on the sidelines and watch. Watch and ponder where our country will be after the 13th general elections! For me I see no glimmer of light shining through any cracks in the amour of BN or PR within which they all hide from us. To both these antagonists what matters is winning because in Malaysian politics the winner takes it all. Yes I can see great things happening in Penang with Guan Eng there but already money is being made by party cronies. When big business comes into Penang, big money stands to be made. Not that there is anything wrong in that…nothing glaring wrong as yet…but big business has a way of corrupting those who are within their ambit! Politicians included…especially politicians! Najib launches initiatives after initiatives – today it is KARISMA as part of Gagasan 1 Malaysia "pillars…in upholding social justice!". Just imagine a Rm1.4 billion welfare program that will help 500,000 people. If only 10% of that 500,000 people are persuaded to thank Najib by voting BN at the next general election – that is 50,000 additional votes for BN. 50,000 additional votes at a costs of RM1.4 billion ringgit is acceptable to a desperate government fighting for its political survival but (it would seem) still concerned enough to uphold the pillars of social justice"….just as long as they are doing the holding up of the pillars of social justice with OUR money! What it does to a country already in hock right up to its neck is to be debated AFTER the 13th general elections. The picture opportunity of Najib, Muhyiddin and Sharizat with that one finger salute is collateral "win win" for UMNO that costs the people RM1.4 billion. That headline of NST "FULL OF KARISMA" should really be "FULL OF S#*T" (to quote that Son of Ali). Now that Din guy in the Rumah Ministry had a live bullet sent to him - which according to KL CID chief is a threat under Section 507 of the Penal Code for criminal intimidation – and this brave Din guy is not at all intimidated about it. It only strengthens his resolve to discharge his duties and responsibilities to maintain the country's peace and security. Well said Din! I do wish that whoever sent that live bullet to Din will now stop laughing and get a hold of himself. He has had his fun. Din has made all the right noises about "not being intimidated…and national security" and that PDRM CID chief in KL has had his 15-second of fame. Now can we get back to OUR security and maintaining OUR peace? A quick look through of who Najib is "helping" today is quiet impressive: Taxi Drivers (our unsung heroes according to NST) gets RM$612,8000 at the Masjid Putra in Putrajaya from Najib & company. According to Najib he knows that these taxi drivers struggle to make ends meet as they earned only RM1,000 a month. Does he knows that half their takings each day are paid out to UMNO cronies that own these Taxi companies? Hell even the uniformed veterans have a Taxi Company that does the same thing! The Taxi companies make the big money – the taxi drivers are not unsung heroes – they are the people who do their daily grind of 12 to 15 hours of work to take home RM1,000 per month while UMNO cronies rake in the big bucks! And were the money distributed to taxi drivers of all races or was it only for the "priceless contributions" of Bumiputra taxi drivers? And women too! In addressing 5000 women attending the National Women's Day celebration Najib declared women as significant partners in the country's transformation plan…explaining that the having of 30 per cent key position in the corporate sector to be held by women is a target, not a quota. Phew! For a moment there those corporate big wigs listening must have almost had a coronary! And the financial give away continues with RM9.75 million presented to 127 non-governmental organizations to enable them to carry out their programme! Through all this I can see that all knowing gaze of Rosmah nodding along with what Najib was saying. In as far as she was concerned she had achieved her 30 per cent quota in her household – 30per cent for Najib and 70 per cent for her! That about covers it all – from taxi drivers to armed veteran and across the gender divide too. A good day at the office for our Prime Minister. Read more at: http://steadyaku-steadyaku-husseinhamid.blogspot.com/2011/08/giving-out-free-lunches.html |
| FBI Pressured to Stop Backing Malaysian Potentate Posted: 25 Aug 2011 07:30 PM PDT By World-Wire Western NGOs are increasing the pressure on the United States' federal police for its ties with Malaysian potentate Abdul Taib Mahmud ("Taib"), one of South-East Asia's longest-serving and most corrupt politicians BASEL, SWITZERLAND/SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON, D.C., August 25, 2011 –-/WORLD-WIRE/– In a letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller, the Swiss Bruno Manser Fund and the San-Francisco-based Borneo Project are calling on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to cut ties with Wallysons Inc., a US company controlled by the Malaysian Taib family. The NGOs are asking the American federal police to suspend the rental contracts for the Abraham Lincoln Building in Seattle, which is owned by Wallysons Inc., and houses the FBI's Seattle Division headquarters. FBI Director Mueller is also asked to ascertain if the Taib family's US investments are in line with the country's anti-money-laundering legislation, and to freeze all Taib family assets in the United States. "While the the fight against public corruption should be one of the FBI's top priorities, it is renting premises from the Taib family, one of South East Asia's largest corruption networks. We are seriously concerned that the FBI appears to be unduly backing the Taib family and its illicit foreign assets," the Bruno Manser Fund wrote in a statement. Copies of the letter have been sent to a number of US government agencies and top politicians, including the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, the Secretary for the Treasury, Timothy Geithner, the Attorney General, Eric Holder, and the Judiciary Committees of congress who oversee the FBI. In March 2011, the NGOs had approached the American federal police on the matter and organized a street protest in front of the FBI's Seattle Division Headquarters. The FBI had left their complaints unanswered and refused to receive a NGO delegation. Wallysons Inc. is one out of five US companies blacklisted by the Bruno Manser Fund for their close association with the Taib family. 75-year old Abdul Taib Mahmud ("Taib") has been governing Malaysia's largest state, Sarawak, since 1981, a position which he has abused to amass a fortune estimated at several billion US dollars. Most of Taib's wealth is believed to stem from the destructive logging of Borneo's tropical rainforests. In June 2011, the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission announced it had opened a corruption investigation against Abdul Taib Mahmud. For more information contact: Bruno Manser Fund, Socinstrasse 37, 4051 Basel / Switzerland
|
| Rise of strict Islam exposes tensions in Malaysia Posted: 25 Aug 2011 07:20 PM PDT
Analysts say this emphasis on Islamic practice is superficial. They blame it on the competition for Malay-Muslim voters between the ruling party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), and the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), both of which are trying to position themselves as defenders of Islam. By Jennifer Pak, BBC News Muslim women without headscarves are a common sight on the streets of the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. But engaging them in a discussion about the hijab is difficult. Norhayati Kaprawi is a Malaysian activist whose recent documentary Aku Siapa (Who Am I) deals with the issue of how women in Malaysia should dress. She found some women unwilling to show their faces in her film - not on religious grounds, but becasue they feared reprisals. This is a damning reflection on Malaysia's Muslim society, says Ms Norhayati. "It's full of fear. If you don't follow the mainstream you will be lynched." According to the activist, the pressure to wear the hijab grew after the Iranian revolution in 1979, and it is now the most visible sign of Malaysia's rising Islamic fundmentalism. Muslims account for over half the population of 28 million people and are mainly ethnic Malays. Malaysia often prides itself on being a moderate Muslim nation, which allows other religions freedom of worship. And while there are no laws forcing women to wear the hijab, Ms Norhayati says many Muslims feel compelled. Crime and punishmentIncreasingly, there is a greater emphasis on Islamic codes of conduct. For the first time last year, Malaysian authorities caned women under Sharia law. The three women sentenced were found guilty of having sex outside of marriage. And a part-time Muslim model was sentenced to the same punishment in 2009 for drinking beer in public. Islamic authorities eventually reduced Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno's sentence to community service last year after the story made international headlines. Analysts say this emphasis on Islamic practice is superficial. They blame it on the competition for Malay-Muslim voters between the ruling party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), and the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), both of which are trying to position themselves as defenders of Islam. The youth wing of the PAS has often lobbied the government to ban Western pop artists from perfoming in Malaysia, deeming them to be un-Islamic. Since 2008, when elections delivered a record number of seats to the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition, of which the PAS is a member, the party has tried to moderate its stance. Although the PAS has not abandoned the goal of making Malaysia into an Islamic state, PAS Member of Parliament Khalid Samad says non-Muslims have nothing to fear. "We do not think Islam is all about cutting off hands and stoning adulterers," he says. "That's a very minute aspect of the Islamic law. What's more important is the question of good governance." In a move to show it can work with non-Muslims, the PAS is planning to open up membership to them. "Nobody can say if we come to power, [that] we cannot govern a multi-religious and multi-racial nation," says Mr Khalid. Cause for concern? But a resurgence in Islam has many non-Muslims concerned. Islamic officials in Selangor state entered a Methodist church without a warrant in early August, breaking up a fundraising dinner. They recorded the details of several Muslims who attended the function. The Islamic authorities have said they acted on a tip-off, but have refused to reveal the nature of the complaint. Religious officials are wary about Muslims attending church-organised events. There are fears these are attempts to convert Muslims to Christianity - something that is illegal in Malaysia. "This action sets a dangerous precedent and makes a mockery of the sanctity and inviolability of all religious places in our beloved country," said the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hindusim, Sikhism and Taoism in a statement. Ongoing row The fear of conversion has already strained relations between Muslims and the Christian minority, who make up around nine per cent of the country's population and are typically ethnic Chinese and Indians. Over the last two years, churches have been firebombed and Bibles have been seized in an ongoing row between Christians and Muslims over the use of the word 'Allah'. The religious minority insists that they have been using the term for centuries in the Malay language to refer to the Christian god. But in 1986, the government banned non-Muslim from using the word 'Allah' in publications. This ban was not usually enforced until recently when the government began to act upon it at the behest of some Muslim groups. In a move seen as a bid to win Malay-Muslim votes, the government argued that for non-Muslims, calling their gods 'Allah' would be confusing to the Muslim-majority and threaten national security. As a result, Malay-language Bibles have been impounded by customs officials. Some Muslim activists fear that Christians are using the Bibles to convert Muslims. Attacks on places of worship came after the High Court in Kuala Lumpur ruled in December 2009 that the word 'Allah' is not exclusive to Islam. The government has appealed against the decision but no hearing date has been set yet. In the meantime the prime minister's department has made some concessions in recent months and released some 35,000 seized Bibles. The cabinet has also set up a committee for religious leaders from all faiths to resolve the "Allah" issue. Reverend Dr Thomas Philips is one of the committee members. He says the meetings have been sporadic but he is optimistic they can reach an understanding. "I'm convinced Malaysia is a moderate Muslim country," he says. Norhayati Kaprawi agrees, but fears that the mainstream opinion has been silenced. "People who hold more progressive or alternative views," she says, "don't dare to speak up in public."
|
| DNA samples from Saiful’s anus ‘pristine’ Posted: 25 Aug 2011 05:40 PM PDT
There is absolutely no evidence that Saiful's DNA samples had degraded, according to Australian expert McDonald said the sample – taken from the higher rectum which was predominantly from "Male Y", while another which was predominantly Saiful's – was inconclusive. However, the DNA expert said that all three had no evidence that degradation had occurred and were "pristine DNA". Teoh El Sen, Free Malaysia Today The DNA samples extracted from Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan's anus, which were supposed to have degraded, appeared to be in "pristine" condition, the High Court here heard today."There is absolutely no evidence of degradation… " said Australian consultant molecular geneticist, Dr Brian Leslie McDonald, at the Sodomy II trial. McDonald agreed with defence counsel Ramkarpal Singh that the DNA test results were "inconsistent with the history (of the case)". Yesterday, McDonald had testified that the DNA samples – which were extracted from Saiful's anus 56 hours after the alleged sodomy, and later kept in a drawer for 43 hours – would have degraded. Australian forensic expert Dr David Lawrence Noel Wells, the head of forensic medicine at the Victoria Institute of Medicine, had also testified that the poorly kept samples were unlikely to have returned a positive result. The defence team claimed the testimony today supports its argument that the evidence was tampered with. "This is a very important issue. How could we have a new sample when the sample was supposed to have degraded with bacteria? Where did they get the sample from?" Anwar told reporters outside the court. Earlier, Ramkarpal asked McDonald to give his opinion on the chemist report done on three DNA samples (B7, B8, B9) which were taken from Saiful's higher and lower rectum. Mere guesswork McDonald said the sample – taken from the higher rectum which was predominantly from "Male Y", while another which was predominantly Saiful's – was inconclusive. However, the DNA expert said that all three had no evidence that degradation had occurred and were "pristine DNA". McDonald also criticised the way government chemist Dr Seah Lay Hong had conducted the tests on the samples. According to him, Seah did not identify where the swab samples were taken from and had merely labelled them as numbers in her chemist report. "One is left not knowing – and have to assume – where the samples were swabbed from…" said McDonald. During the prosecution's case, the DNA samples from Saiful's anus had been identified by chemists as that belonging to one "Male Y", which were matched to samples taken from several items in Anwar's lock-up. Earlier, McDonald said Seah's conclusions in her chemistry report, which subsequently enabled the prosecution to allege that Anwar's sperm was found in Saiful's anus, were based on mere guesswork. He said Seah's report was not "scientifically objective". Yesterday, he said that in sexual assault cases, it was critical to be able identify that a DNA sample is derived from the sperm cells. In order to conclusively say that a DNA profile comes from the sperm cells, as opposed to other types of cells, a chemist needs to separate sperm cells from the other types of cells by conducting a "differential extraction process". "This process was not done properly (by Dr Seah)," McDonald told the court when questioned by Ramkarpal. He said this was evident in her own "guess" that there were still other types of cells present after the separation process. "If she maintained that the DNA (identified as belonging to Saiful) comes from epithelial cells (non-sperm cells), then she should have done the separation process again," he said.
|
| WikiLeaks Releases Tens of Thousands More Classified Cables Posted: 25 Aug 2011 04:52 PM PDT
(Malaysian Digest) - WASHINGTON: The WikiLeaks organization said on Thursday it was releasing tens of thousands of previously unpublished US diplomatic cables, some of which are still classified, reported Reuters. "We will have released over 100,000 US embassy cables from around the world by the end of today," said a message on WikiLeaks' Twitter feed. The Twitter page is believed to be controlled by Julian Assange, WikiLeaks' controversial Australian-born founder and chief. According to the report, the cables which the website said it is dumping onto the public record appear to be from a cache of more than 250,000 State Department reports leaked to the group. WikiLeaks began releasing the cables in smaller batches late last year, but until now had made them public in piecemeal fashion. By late afternoon on Thursday, the WikiLeaks website said it had published 97,115 of the 251,287 cables it possesses. It did not specify its motives for releasing such a large amount of material at once.
|
| TV3 Kantoi! Surau Al-Musyrikin tidak wujud! Posted: 25 Aug 2011 04:42 PM PDT
Milo Suam SEBELUM ini media propaganda, TV3 ada menyiarkan berita kononnya ada sebuah kelas tuisyen di Jalan Klang lama yang menyebarkan agama Kristian kepada pelajarnya. Tambah melucukan bercampur hairan, TV3 mendakwa sekumpulan Qariah Surau Al-Musyrikin (kafir) telah berhimpun di hadapan kelas tuisyen berkenaan kerana membantah tindakan kelas tuisyen itu yang didakwa kononnya menyebarkan agama Kristian kepada pelajar yang beragama Islam. Saksikan video laporan media propaganda TV3 di bawah ini.
|
| AG GANI PATAIL: MACC MUST SHOW INDEPENDENCE AND NOT IMPOTENCE Posted: 25 Aug 2011 04:30 PM PDT
Straight Talk 1. AG Gani Patail is again courting controversy by the revelation in Malaysia Today, which appeared on the 24th August 2011. If the allegation is not thoroughly investigated, it will be perceived badly by the Rakyat. Malaysia Today produced documentary evidence of what appears to be AG Gani Patail receiving gratification to take sides in a corporate boardroom tussle in Ho Hup Construction Berhad. Previously, photographs had already surfaced in various blogs of AG Gani Patail with that company's previous Managing Director, Dato Vincent Lye. 2. This revelation would surely destroy any residual credibility left about the AG Chambers. It appears that criminal prosecution is instituted at the whims and fancies of AG Gani Patail not on the basis of right or wrong but on might is right.
|
| Posted: 25 Aug 2011 04:14 PM PDT Faced with the menace of the internet, Asia's censors are not yet giving up the ghost. The unwitting instrument of Mr Najib's epiphany was The Economist. An article in our July 16th issue covered the government's crackdown on a huge demonstration organised by civic groups calling for electoral reform. In the copies of The Economist that reached Malaysians, the article was disfigured by black ink. By The Economist TAKING arms against a sea of troubles, many governments in Asia have long resisted the tide of unfiltered news, rumour and comment washing over their citizens via the internet. On August 15th one prime minister, Najib Razak of Malaysia, appeared to admit defeat. "In today's borderless, interconnected world," he said, "censoring newspapers and magazines is increasingly outdated, ineffective and unjustifiable." Noting that the internet in Malaysia has always been uncensored, Mr Najib announced a "review" of print censorship laws. Yet what it comes up with is unlikely to be a free-for-all. Across Asia, governments find it hard to cede their power to control flows of information. The unwitting instrument of Mr Najib's epiphany was The Economist. An article in our July 16th issue covered the government's crackdown on a huge demonstration organised by civic groups calling for electoral reform. In the copies of The Economist that reached Malaysians, the article was disfigured by black ink. Three passages—concerning the death of a man (from a heart attack), the banning of the protest march and "heavy-handed police tactics"—were censored. However, they could still be read on our website, or indeed on a number of Malaysian news sites and blogs. As Mr Najib noted, the act of censorship created far more of a fuss than the offending passages. Besides being "outdated, ineffective and unjustifiable", the censorship was also very bad public relations. His general point is plainly true all over the world. Strict controls over "old" media, foreign and domestic, are increasingly anachronistic since ever more citizens have access to the bottomless shallows of the internet. In both Malaysia and Singapore, where mainstream media have been largely servile in their treatment of the powers-that-be, the internet has changed the political landscape. It was one reason why the opposition did better than ever in Malaysia's most recent parliamentary election, in March 2008. In Singapore, in the run-up to May's general election, candidates were for the first time allowed to campaign on social-networking sites; once again, the opposition did better than ever. Opposition politicians in both places also credit online competition with gingering up the mainstream press a bit. Mr Najib said that, instead of censorship, Malaysia could use "legal means" in the event of defamatory coverage. That for a long time has also been Singapore's strategy. "Right-to-reply" rules oblige foreign publications that circulate in Singapore to carry government rebuttals. Settling contempt-of-court actions and defamation suits from leading politicians is costly. All of this deters critical foreign reporting. Elsewhere in Asia, some governments still use the trusted old slash-and-blotch methods. The Chinese authorities simply rip out pages with articles they don't like; or, if there are too many of them, they block the issue altogether. India tolerates most of what is written about the country, perhaps believing, as a member of the present cabinet put it when in opposition, that "this is India. You can never be wrong." But officialdom draws the line, stamps the stamp, or confiscates the consignment when it comes to maps showing the India-Pakistan border as it is, rather than as it would be were all of Kashmir under Indian control. In Sri Lanka, the government never "bans" The Economist. But customs officers spend a hell of a long time enjoying issues with Sri Lankan coverage. In Thailand, again, the government never issues a formal ban. But, in fear of the country's fierce lèse-majesté laws, no distributor will touch a publication carrying coverage that might be construed as remotely critical of the monarchy. Online distributors, however, are less easy to cow. The logic of monarchism also compels Thailand's government to intervene directly on the internet. According to Freedom Against Censorship Thailand, an NGO, it has blocked hundreds of thousands of web pages. Thailand's efforts to curb unpalatable online material, however, are no more than a picket fence when compared with the great firewall of China. China has more users of the internet than any other country, yet its censors battle the medium, convinced that they can win. The foreign press is the easy part. There are ways around the blockage of websites that the censors do not like. But relatively few people have the will, time or money to bother finding them. The domestic internet poses more of a challenge, however. Deleted postings on social-networking sites immediately pop up elsewhere; banned internet-search terms morph into bizarre homonyms; small incidents such as hit-and-run road accidents become national scandals. And national scandals, such as the high-speed train crash on July 23rd, news of which the authorities would have liked quietly to bury along with the wreckage, suddenly become enormous political problems. Hoping to reboot the world The battle between the Chinese Communist Party and the internet seems fairly evenly matched. When Urumqi, in the western region of Xinjiang, was racked by ethnic violence in 2009, the authorities simply switched the internet off in Xinjiang for ten months. A strange new phenomenon, the internet-café border town, sprang up along the railway line to the east to cater for Xinjiang residents who wanted to get online. China, further alarmed by the alleged role of social networks in the recent riots in Britain, might well counter renewed regional unrest with another local internet shutdown. But this is hardly an option for China as a whole. Not only might Hong Kong struggle to cope with an influx of more than 450m Chinese internet users needing to check their e-mails; China cannot, in effect, resign from the global economy. Asian governments are stuck with the internet which, worryingly for the dictatorships among them, seems as integral to the future as black blotches on newsprint seem to the past.
|
| Sodomy II: Trial postponed to Sept 19-23 Posted: 25 Aug 2011 04:14 PM PDT
(The Star) - The sodomy trial of Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been postponed, and will be held from Sept 19 to 23. Earlier Friday, DNA expert Dr Brian Leslie McDonald told the High Court that the process used by a chemist did not ensure that the sperm extracted from the rectum of complainant Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan was pure and not mixed with other cells. During examination in chief by counsel Ram Karpal Singh, Dr Mcdonald told the court, in his opinion, the differential extraction process (DEP) carried out by Dr Seah Lay Hong, who was the prosecution witness, was speculative. He added that the sperm examined by Dr Seah did not comprise purely sperm heads and there was the existence of other cells there. McDonald, the fourth defence witness, had testified Thursday that Dr Seah's testing procedure did not follow international standards. Anwar, 63, is charged with sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful, 26, at Desa Damansara Condominium in Bukit Damansara, between 3.01pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008.
|
| MRT Jalan Sultan land acquisition – who is telling the truth: Chua Soi Lek, Hamid Albar or ... Posted: 25 Aug 2011 03:51 PM PDT
Lim Kit Siang "Flip flop in a matter of days" has become the byword for the present Najib government, whether on its mishandling of the Bersih 2.0 peacefull rally for free and fair elections on July 9 or the parliamentary select committee on electoral reforms. There is now the latest addition to the Najib government's "Flip Flop List" – the controversy over the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT) land acquisition of Jalan Sultan properties. Only three days ago, the MCA President Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek had announced that the government had backtracked from its decision to acquire the land and 31 buildings around Jalan Sultan in Kuala Lumpur to make way for the MRT mega project. Chua said that after discussion with Land Public Transport Commission (SPAN) chairperson Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, "an understanding and agreement" had been reached whereby as a "compromise", the government will only acquire the strata title for the property 100 feet below ground required for the MRT tunnel, while the buildings, many of which are nearly a hundred years old, and land above ground will remain in the current owners' hands. However, the residents may have to vacate their property during the six months or so of tunnelling works, while the government will also be required to strengthen the heritage buildings should they be affected by the works underground. Chua's announcement of government backtracking on MRT's Jalan Sultan land acquisition did not survive 24 hours as the very next day, Hamid not only rubbished Chua's talk of government strata title for the property 100 feet below ground but reiterated compulsory acquisition of Jalan Sultan's land and 31 buildings. Hamid delivered a greater shocker when he declared that there was no guarantee that the acquired Jalan Sultan properties would eventually be returned to the owners although the authorities were working on a solution to allow traders to return to their Chinatown lots being acquired for the KVMRT. The Jalan Sultan traders were delivered another shock when it is revealed today that the Pemandu chief Datuk Idris Jalan had written to the Associated Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Malaysia (ACCIM) president Tan Sri William Chen to justify the government pursuing a "rail-and-property" model as it would not be able to recover the cost of the first KVMRT line between Sungai Buloh and Kajang through fares alone. The affected Jalan Sultan traders and the Malaysian public are entitled to ask – Who is telling the truth about the MRT Jalan Sultan land acquisition: Chua Soi Lek, Hamid Albar or Idris Jala. The Najib administration must be reminded of its grandiose promises of various transformation programmes to act with transparency and integrity, and that it bears the onus to satisfy the affected Jalan Sultan traders and owners as well as the Malaysian public the responsibility to establish that the MRT project owner Prasana Nasional Bhd is not attempting to hijack prime land in Jalan Sultan, Kuala Lumpur affecting heritage shoplots for the ulterior motive of profit as the 1990 amendment to the National Land Code had specifically provided for the MRT needs of "underground railways" development.
|
| ‘Upholding Malay unity’ … or ‘deconstructing’ a tired cliché? Posted: 25 Aug 2011 03:42 PM PDT
Specifically, the day is long overdue for all Malaysians to begin to differentiate, fastidiously and consistently, in all contexts — when they render into English the Malay word "bangsa", with its very broad range of meanings and denotations — between "race", on the one hand, and "people", "nation", "stock", "descent" and "kind", to note but a few of its various referents, on the other. Clive Kessler, The Malaysian Insider The Mufti of Perak, Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria, is reported as insisting "that the Umno president must find a way to unite the Malays" ("Perak mufti says Malays must defend race", Syed Mu'az Syed Putra, The Malaysian Insider, 25 August 2011). "We must defend our race and Najib must find a way to reunite Malays," Harussani is quoted as saying. On this matter, it is timely to make four points. First, it is more than time for political actors and commentators in Malaysia to be careful in their use of words, including technical terms. Specifically, the day is long overdue for all Malaysians to begin to differentiate, fastidiously and consistently, in all contexts — when they render into English the Malay word "bangsa", with its very broad range of meanings and denotations — between "race", on the one hand, and "people", "nation", "stock", "descent" and "kind", to note but a few of its various referents, on the other. Any inability to recognise the differences between these perhaps related yet quite distinct notions would be a routine cause of failure in the introductory social science courses (including anthropology, sociology and political science) in any internationally reputable university. It remains an anomaly, and one about whose origins and persistence one may speculate, that — for all its great work in linguistic engineering and technical lexicographic innovation over half a century — the Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka has never focused its attention upon the clarification, in Malay usage, of the semantic overlap and confusion that characterize this one very general, all-purpose term "bangsa". Second, why must Malays, the entire Malay people of the peninsula and Malaysia as a whole, be "united"? That they should be united, the idea that the unity of "the Malays" is a natural condition that has been disrupted and now needs to be restored, is the implicit underlying presupposition of the call recently made by the Tan Sri Harussani, and so often voiced by other leading political and public personalities on the national stage. Is the call for "the Malays" to be united politically any more reasonable and acceptable, one must ask — and constructive, in the national interest — than a call for all Chinese or Indians or non-Malays generally to be united politically? Where does such an approach inescapably lead? That does not bear thinking about. Yet it is a matter that must be recognized and addressed, urgently. It leads not to the formation of a united Malaysian nation but, headlong, to inter-ethnic antagonism and communalistic Armageddon. Is that a desirable future, a scenario that is in the interest of either the vast majority of Malays and non-Malays alike? Third, why must people speak in these contexts of "the Malays"? Where does the word "the" come from here, and how is its use justified? To use that word "the" (the so-called "definite article") is to suggest that what follows, whatever it is that this "the" refers to, is a unified and undifferentiated entity. So its use here simply begs the entire question that has to be carefully considered. The very terms in which the question is posed, using this homogenising "the", presupposes a certain answer. It smuggles its own conclusion into the posing of question. It "builds in" from the start the notion of Malay unity, as a normal and established fact, as a desirable and supposedly natural state of affairs. In this way "Malay unity" is normalised, and any departure from it is, by implication, rendered pathological, an undesirable departure from healthy normality. Fourth, and most important, why are "the Malays" of Malaysia not united? This is the situation that so troubles the mufti of Perak and those who think along similar lines. The historic reason for the present lack of Malay unity is clear. The Malays of Malaysia are now irreversibly divided, as they never were in the past, by the NEP. Not by current debates about the NEP — whether it is good or bad, whether it should be extended or phased out, whether it should give way to reward on the basis of merit and proven achievement — but by the long accumulating effects of the NEP over the last 40 years. What the NEP sought to do, and succeeded triumphantly in doing, was to promote a rapid and far-reaching diversification of the Malay people of Malaysia: economically, socially, culturally and intellectually, in their orienting everyday attitudes and personalities.
|
| Fuziah takes on TV3; PAS wants action against rogue MP Posted: 25 Aug 2011 03:39 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders in Pahang are baying for blood after TV3 featured PAS's Hulu Langat MP Che Rosli Che Mat in a primetime news segment supporting the controversial rare earth plant currently being built near Kuantan. PKR vice president Fuziah Salleh, who has led calls against the RM700 million refinery being built by Australian miner Lynas Corp, has demanded a retraction and an apology from the Umno-owned broadcaster and also local rival Datuk Ti Lian Ker, who is Kuantan MCA chief, for alleged defamatory remarks made against her. Pahang PAS has also called for its federal leadership to haul up Che Rosli to explain his sudden outburst that was televised on Wednesday night. Kuantan MP Fuziah said the clip "is just a concerted plot by the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration to continue their agenda of protecting Lynas for their own benefit and not for the rakyat." PAS state information chief Suhaimi Md Saad told The Malaysian Insider that Che Rosli's actions were unacceptable as the nuclear scientist could have used party channels or even voiced his support for the plant in party organ, Harakah. "We know he supported the plant when we first discussed the issue in 2009. But after consulting other experts, PAS's stand was to oppose the project. But now he has gone into the enemy's camp to attack his own party," he said. TV3 ran a news piece by environmental journalist Karam Singh Walia quoting radiology safety and health expert Dr Ahmad Termizi Ramli and Che Rosli claiming that Fuziah had been misleading the public by comparing the project with nuclear facilities. Che Rosli went on to accused PKR of spinning the issue for their own benefit, and that he was "ashamed" that they would resort to arguments that have no scientific or academic basis. But Fuziah said in a statement today that Che Rosli was only speaking in terms of radiological hazards whereas she and the residents living around the plant in the Gebeng industrial zone have consulted at least half a dozen experts in fields such as public health, chemical engineering, nuclear physics and environmental law.
|
| Former MAS chairman sues news portal for RM200mil Posted: 25 Aug 2011 03:33 PM PDT
(Bernama) - Former executive chairman of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli has filed a RM200mil suit against a news portal over the publication of a article on the airline suffering losses of RM8bil. He named The Malaysian Insider Sdn Bhd, its chief executive officer Jahabar Sadiq and journalist Shazwan Mustafa Kamal as defendants. Tajudin, who was the MAS executive chairman between 1994 and 2001, filed the suit last Aug 18 at the Civil High Court registry here through the legal firm of Lim Kian Leong & Co. The case has been set for case management before judge Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal on Sept 19. In the statement of claims, Tajudin stated that the portal had published defamatory words in an article, with the title "MACC clear A-G of graft allegations", on May 31, 2011. He claimed that the article was published after the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) revealed the outcome of its graft probe against Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail. Tajudin claimed that the article was published with the intention of reflecting that he was implicated in the investigation against the Attorney-General. Tajudin claimed that the portal also repeated the defamatory words in other articles, despite a letter sent to it to not do so. He said The Malaysian Insider, when responding to his letter, stated that the words in the article were not defamatory and that they had obtained the information from multiple sources. Besides general damages of RM200mil, Tajudin is also seeking aggravated damages and interests.
|
| You are subscribed to email updates from Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan