Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Malaysian procurement system riddled with corruption, says US cable
- PAS in the line of fire
- Pakatan to beat Najib in announcing budget
- Judicial independence and justice
- US authorities investigating possible 9/11 anniversary terror plot
- Dr M pins Najib’s ratings slide on Bersih rally handling
- EC's number two shifts blame to AROs, Defence ministry
- Projects in secondary schools to get more male students to enter colleges, varsities
- Govt urged to stop shadowy multi-billion deal with Sapura
- Guan Eng Demands Apology From Utusan Malaysia
- PM: Government committed to developing local talent base
- Watchdog wants end to secret defence deals
| Malaysian procurement system riddled with corruption, says US cable Posted: 08 Sep 2011 10:02 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - The seedy and allegedly corrupt side of Malaysia's defence procurement has been laid bare in a US embassy cable, with startling revelations on how Umno politicians, agents, civil servants and military officials receive 30 per cent "commission" on deals. In a note on the opaque procurement system here revealed by whistleblower site Wikileaks, the US embassy noted that American companies operating here had three main complaints about the system: the lack of transparency, outright corruption, and Bumiputera requirements. The undated cable sent during the Abdullah administration between 2004 and 2009 also noted that many government tenders do not follow procurement rules. A US aerospace executive told the US embassy here defence deals were done through shadowy agreements with no tendering process. For example, the then-Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's sister-in-law arranged a US$400 million (RM1.2 billion) contract to buy military cargo aircraft from Airbus. The deal was announced following Abdullah's return from a trip to France. "The US executive asserted that PM Abdullah's brother told him this deal was 'done for political and other reasons, such as commission'," noted the US embassy cable made public through Wikileaks. Similar scenarios were described for the procurement of T91 Polish tanks and SU-30 Russian aircraft, noted the executive, who also said that once someone purporting to work for then-Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak approached him about a deal and suggested "you will get a part of it." The US embassy noted that Malaysian political parties including Umno rely on "money politics" for much of their operating funds. "Projects or tenders often are awarded as political patronage with a cut of funds circulating back to the party through different channels," noted the embassy. These revelations come at a time when there has been some scrutiny surrounding the deal to buy Scorpene submarine. More than RM500 million was allegedly paid to a local consulting company Perimekar and the opposition has pointed fingers at Najib who was the defence minister when the deal was inked.
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| Posted: 08 Sep 2011 06:20 PM PDT Bukit Kepong is fast becoming a hot political potato for PAS and the party is feeling a backlash of anger over the controversial remark of its deputy president. (Bernama) - The heat is starting to become a bit too hot to handle for PAS after nearly two weeks of fire started by a remark by deputy president Mohamad Sabu, in which he allegedly made a hero out of a man who led the Bukit Kepong massacre, 61 years ago. The remark put PAS in a position of having to defend Mohamad in the face of a wave of protests not just among the public but also veterans of the security forces and family members of those who were killed in the February 1950 incident. This is not to mention a barrage of police reports – over 500 and counting – lodged against the controversial politician, known by his moniker Mat Sabu. With more voicing their displeasure, the issue has now turned into a political battlefront, with PAS finding itself encircled and having parry condemnation in what is fast becoming a Bukit Kepong battle of its own. After more than a week of silence, PAS addressed the criticism this week in a press conference by secretary-general Mustafa Ali which provided no hint of remorse over Mat Sabu's statement. "PAS rejects the communist ideology and its struggle," Mustafa said. He remained adamant, however, in defending Mat Sabu and his statement that Mat Indera, the man who led the Bukit Kepong attack, was an independence fighter, citing the content of a book, "Pengukir Nama Johor", to back up his claim. Nevertheless, Mustafa acknowledged that Umno had played a role in the country's struggle for independence but said that such a struggle had started much earlier during the era of Maharajalela, Datuk Bahaman, Tok Janggut, Dol Said and Abdul Rahman Limbong. Negative impact Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman said Mat Indera was a communist. The country's history, said Abdul Ghani, recorded that the 25 members of the security forces and their families who were killed in the Bukit Kepong tragedy were the real heroes. Malaysian Ex-Servicemen's Association president Muhammad Abdul Ghani claimed that remnants of communist ideology remained alive despite the agreement signed in 1989 for the communist to lay down arms. "Mat Sabu should not allow himself to be used by certain quarters," he added. Muhammad said Mat Sabu, in claiming that Mat Indera was a real hero, had failed to consider the feelings of those involved in fighting the communist. A political science lecturer at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) in Dungun, Che Hamdan Mohd Razali, said the issue had impacted PAS negatively. "I believe the fence-sitters, especially the Malays, will feel slighted and distance themselves from PAS," he added. "Why the dispute now?" Che Hamdan asked.
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| Pakatan to beat Najib in announcing budget Posted: 08 Sep 2011 05:53 PM PDT By Syed Jaymal Zahiid, FMT PETALING JAYA: Opposition pact Pakatan Rakyat will unveil its budget on Oct 5, two days before Prime Minister-cum-Finance Minister Najib Tun Razak announces his budget for the next year. Barisan Nasional's budget is expected to be people-friendly following talk of an impending general election. The early announcement of Pakatan's alternative budget is part of a political game aimed at deflecting possible accusations that the opposition copies its spending plan from the federal government. The bloc's PAS secretariat member Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said they have two crucial proposals – to set up seven Pakatan-BN mixed committees in charge of their respective areas to discuss allocations and effective research aided by government funds to help MPs provide quality inputs. The seven areas are national and international affairs; economics and finance; security; education, talent and employment; agriculture and regional development; infrastructure, resource management and environment; and community well-being. The areas will have their respective ministries and designated MPs to debate on specific issues pertaining to the allocations. Emulate first-world Parliaments "If we look at first-world Parliaments, there are actual committees specialising in particular ministries… in Malaysia there are no such committees. The entire Dewan Rakyat is the committee," Dzulkefly, the Kuala Selangor MP, told a press conference here. He said the Malaysian model had resulted in ineffective debates and oversight while the long hours of gabfest – often stretching for 10 hours daily for 18 days – have caused fatigue among lawmakers. As a result, the MPs find it hard to keep track of the debates and provide quality inputs. "MPs' inputs are important because they represent the interests of the rakyat," said Dzulkefly, who is a PAS central working committee member. He said that having more organised debates would also help lawmakers become more well-equipped and skilled. "As time goes by, long-serving MPs will develop specialist expertise and experience which will enable them to ask pertinent questions and provide useful inputs." He said that debates in smaller specialised committees would enable MPs to participate more meaningfully and at the same time reduce partisanship. "This is unlike in the Dewan Rakyat where the government and opposition are expected to 'cross swords'". Absent fatigued MPs BN lawmakers often blame their opposition counterparts for the long hours of debate, accusing them of playing politics to stall approval of the budget.
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| Judicial independence and justice Posted: 08 Sep 2011 05:45 PM PDT By Lim Sue Goan, Mysinchew Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's recent visit to the Palace of Justice has triggered a dispute as some claimed that the visit could jeopardise the independence of the judiciary. However, I am more interested in the remarks made by retiring Chief Justice Tun Zaki Tun Azmi. He said that the government had allocated RM130 million to upgrade court facilities and it was normal for the Prime Minister to see how the money was spent. Also, the more people the more transparent it was and there was nothing to be kept in the dark. It would not affect judges' independent judgement. The judiciary needs money to operate and the bill is paid by the government. Then how could we be sure that the judiciary would not lose its independence for government funding? Judiciary independence is a universal value. According to the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary adopted by the Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders held in Milan from 26 August to 6 September 1985, "it is the duty of each Member State to provide adequate resources to enable the judiciary to properly perform its functions". Most countries and regions such as the US, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, separated the expenses of the judiciary and included it in the central budget. Many countries also have a court expense budget which is planned by a court expense budget committee formed by courts or judges. There are also judges participate in a court expense budget team and the Finance Ministry has no right to delete or seize a court expense budget and funding. In China, the judiciary is managed by local governments and naturally, the judiciary tends to safeguard the interests of local authorities, resulting in a miscarriage of justice and public resentment. Most democratic countries and regions are very strict in the appointment of judges. According to the US Constitution, federal judges are appointed by the President of the US and confirmed by a simple majority vote of the Senate. According to the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 of the United Kingdom, the Judicial Appointments Commission is responsible for the appointment of judges. The independent commission is formed by multi-commissioners and chaired by a lay member. According to the Hong Kong Basic Law, judges are appointed by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission. The commission is an independent statutory body composed of the Secretary for Justice, judges, persons from the legal profession and eminent persons from other sectors. Many countries and regions are having many tedious work to ensure judicial independence and maintain the prestige of the judiciary, as well as the democratic institution. READ MORE HERE. |
| US authorities investigating possible 9/11 anniversary terror plot Posted: 08 Sep 2011 05:41 PM PDT By Herald Sun New York is on high alert after a "credible" terror threat involving car or truck bombs was issued by US officials ahead of this weekend's 10th anniversary commemorations of the September 11 attacks. 3I-Od97vJmQ FBI assistant director Jan Fedarcyk refused to outline the nature of the threat but hinted it had come from information retrieved from Osama bin Laden's compound when he was shot dead in May.Detailed intelligence received last week suggested that al-Qaida planned to target Washington or New York. Law enforcement officials said they were attempting to track down three people who may be travelling to the US or who recently entered the country, the Associated Press reports. Other reports suggested the trio flew into the country last month. The action follows higher than normal "chatter" in Pakistan about a possible threat. Despite the terror alert, there were no plans to change Obama's travel schedule, the White House said. The President is scheduled to mark the anniversary with stops at New York's ground zero, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. He also will deliver remarks Sunday night at a memorial concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington. Earlier, US bases raised their alert levels and Pakistan has stopped foreign journalists getting close to the house of Osama bin Laden. New York arms police with 'heavy weapons' In New York, city mayor Michael Bloomberg stressed the threat was uncorroborated and told New Yorkers to carry on with their lives, adding that he planned to take the subway in the morning. "There is no reason for any of the rest of us to change our daily routines," Mr Bloomberg said. "The best thing to do to fight terrorism is to refuse to be intimidated by it." New York police commissioner Ray Kelly said measures were already in place but in light of the information, police would be taking additional measures and increase its presence by a third. He said the public could expect to see heavily armed police and bomb dogs in public places, and tunnels and bridges would be swept for bombs. This includes police with "heavy weapons" stationed outside Manhattan. "The public is likely to see and may be inconvenienced by vehicle checkpoints throughout the city," Mr Kelly said. He said people could expect to have their bags checked on subways and bomb dogs would be present across the city. Extra security would be in place at landmark locations, houses of worship and illegally parked cars would be towed away. Guards will be most visibly deployed at Pennsylvania Station, Times Square and Grand Central stations. Mr Bloomberg, who some accused of over-reacting as Hurricane Irene approached the city last week, took a much cooler approach to the apparent terror threat. "We know that terrorists view the anniversary as an opportunity to strike again," Mr Bloomberg. "Now the threat at this moment has not been corroborated. I want to stress that. It is credible, but it has not been corroborated." Ms Fedarcyk began her statement to the media by referring to certain information that had been culled from bin Laden's compound. She said intelligence networks had come to expect an increase in reports on any 9/11 anniversary. "Sometimes this reporting is credible, and warrants intense focus," she said. "Other times it lacks credibility and is highly unlikely to be reflective of real plots underway." She said that regardless, the information would be taken seriously. Ms Fedarcyk said the law enforcement would in days ahead try to understand the threat, but said New York was acting out of diligence. Pressed on what the specific threat was, Ms Fedarcyk would not elaborate but suggested people look at information already in the public domain after the raid on bin Laden's compound, and to consider that terrorists considered anniversary dates as good opportunities. None of the three spokespeople mentioned earlier reports that Washington DC, and other capital cities, had been part of the specific threat. Terror 'chatter' in Pakistan raises fears In that assessment, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement: "There is specific, credible but unconfirmed threat information." "We have taken, and will continue to take all steps necessary to mitigate any threats that arise. "As we know from the intelligence gathered from the OBL (Osama bin Laden) raid, AQ (al Qaida) has shown an interest in important dates and anniversaries, such as 9/11." The threat is believed to involve either New York City, Washington, DC, or both, and involves car bombs. It is believed to have been picked up in monitoring of "chatter" from the tribal areas of Pakistan. President orders counter-terror response US President Barack Obama ordered counter-terrorism officials to boost their efforts as they probe the threat. A White House official said Mr Obama "directed the counter-terrorism community to redouble its efforts in response to this credible but unconfirmed information''. "The President was briefed on this specific threat information this morning and has been updated on it throughout the day,'' the official said. "The United States government has already significantly enhanced its security posture in advance of the 9/11 anniversary to protect the country against possible terrorist threats." Authorities said they had information on some possible suspects tied to al-Qaida, but not necessarily names. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security were drafting a bulletin today to send to local law enforcement across the country. "We have a duty to warn," the senior US official said. US officials have been saying for days that there is no known credible threat related to the anniversary. But when asked today whether that's still the case, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano seemed to at first hesitate. "It is still the case that we don't have something that would reach that standard, but we still have lots of chatter out there," she said. "And we take every bit of that seriously and track it down ... The date is important because it's 9/11. But as I said, in the intel world there's lots of chatter and we're taking it all seriously. Should there be something that rises to the level where I have to issue a threat advisory, we will issue a threat advisory." There were documents found inside Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, that mentioned aspirations to strike on the tenth anniversary of the 2001 attacks. The news comes after Obama revealed he "took a gamble" in giving the green light for the raid on bin Laden's hideout, with the mission nearly called off at the last minute. |
| Dr M pins Najib’s ratings slide on Bersih rally handling Posted: 08 Sep 2011 05:39 PM PDT
By G Manimaran, The Malaysian Insider Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's recent approval ratings decline was due to his administration's handling of the July 9 Bersih rally, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed has said. The former prime minister agreed with the findings of Merdeka Center's latest survey, which saw Najib's approval rating slide to its lowest point of 59 per cent since last May's high of 79 per cent. Merdeka Center had then concluded that the ratings drop was fuelled by rising concerns over the surge in living costs and Putrajaya's handling of Bersih 2.0. Dr Mahathir told Astro Awani in an interview aired today that the government's image was badly affected due to the strict measures taken by authorities in maintaining public order on July 9. He pointed out that Putrajaya had acted wrongly by banning people from wearing yellow shirts. "This has been blamed on (Prime Minister) Datuk Seri Najib but I do not know what Datuk Seri (Najib) did by ordering that people could not wear yellow shirts. "I do not think he would tell the police not to allow yellow shirts. But the fact is that those who wore yellow shirts were seen as enemies. This is a move by the Malaysian government and that gave a bad image to the government," the country's longest-serving prime minister said. Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers have basked in the aftermath of the survey results, claiming it indicated a clear voter swing towards the federal opposition, while Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders chose to stay indignant, saying the poll may not have been an accurate reflection of voter sentiment The survey involved respondents aged 21 and above across the peninsula who were selected through random stratified sampling along the lines of ethnicity, gender, age and state of residency. Of the 1,027 polled, 59 per cent were Malays, 32 per cent Chinese and nine per cent Indians.
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| EC's number two shifts blame to AROs, Defence ministry Posted: 08 Sep 2011 03:15 PM PDT (Harakah Daily) The Election Commission's deputy chairman Wan Ahmad Wan Omar (pic) said assistant voter registration officers, or AROs, were to blame over the latest cases of voters found to have registered under the civilian MyKad of their army spouses. This followed the claim by DAP's Rasah member of parliament Anthony Loke, that two dozen records of army officers' spouses have used civilian identity cards of their husbands to register as voters under the wives' names.
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| Projects in secondary schools to get more male students to enter colleges, varsities Posted: 08 Sep 2011 03:10 PM PDT By Alycia Lim, The Star KUALA LUMPUR: Pilot projects will be rolled out in secondary schools soon to encourage more male students to enter institutes of higher learning as male enrolment in these institutions has fallen to 30%. Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Khaled Nordin said Friday pilot projects would carried out by a few universities to motivate male students to focus on their studies. He also added that there would be a separate pilot project by universities to place more emphasis on maths and science in secondary schools as it was important in research and development, and in line with government plans. He said the maths and science project would be headed by Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris. |
| Govt urged to stop shadowy multi-billion deal with Sapura Posted: 08 Sep 2011 02:01 PM PDT (Harakah Daily) -The Defence and Finance ministries have been urged to halt the RM2 billion 'Network Centric Operation' (NCO) awarded to to Sapura Secured Technologies. PKR vice president Nurul Izzah Anwar claimed that to date, the NCO project, meant to integrate applications, control systems as well as weaponry for army, had not produced a roadmap or a programme plan in the framework of the country's defence.
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| Guan Eng Demands Apology From Utusan Malaysia Posted: 08 Sep 2011 01:55 PM PDT
(Bernama) - GEORGE TOWN -- A notice of demand has been issued to publisher Utusan Malaysia (M) Bhd and its editor, calling them to retract and apologise for an article alleging that Penang Chief minister Lim Guan Eng had misused and abused power in the construction of a carpark lot at Penang Hill. Lim's legal counsel Jagdeep Singh Deo said that if the demands was not met within a week, legal action would be taken against both parties. "Lim has categorically denied that there were any deviation or abuse of power in the matter. This is a serious and malicious defamatory article against my client," he said here on Thursday. He alleged that Utusan Malaysia had published the article on Tuesday. |
| PM: Government committed to developing local talent base Posted: 08 Sep 2011 01:48 PM PDT
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today his administration was committed in nurturing and developing skilled local graduates, and stressed that a competitive talent base was crucial for a productive high income economy. The Prime Minister told Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) graduates here that the government is "widening access" to the country's existing education system (pre-school, higher education) to ensure all Malaysians received opportunities for educational growth. "Our willingness to invest in human capital development has held us in good stead as a nation. Human capital lies at the core of innovation and productive high income economy. "No economy can success without a highly skilled talent base that responds creatively to economic changes, and is centred on creating, developing and utilising knowledge," he said today. Najib lauded the previous government administration's decision to liberalise the country's higher education sector, and said the setting up of private universities, local brances of foreign campuses and twinning programmes was a right move as it gave local students the option of affordable tertiary education. "Looking back at the decision with the benefit of hindsight, I would like to state that it was the right decision, it was a blue ocean strategy before the term was even coined and became popular in providing more places for Malaysians as local institutions cannot accomodate all the qualified students and not every Malaysian can afford the cost of an overseas education," Najib added. Malaysia ranked 36th out of 60 countries in the Economist Intelligence Unit's latest Global Talent Index in May which saw the United States placed as the top country in producing talent, while Singapore and Nordic nations were rated stellar performers.
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| Watchdog wants end to secret defence deals Posted: 08 Sep 2011 01:45 PM PDT
By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) wants the government to put a stop to using national security as an excuse for the secrecy that ends up hiding graft involving defence contracts, and consider appointing independent monitors for such deals. Datuk Paul Low, the president of the independent watchdog, told The Malaysian Insider that secrecy in the name of national security has led to such deals being riddled with corruption due to the practice of political funding and patronage. "As the government is trying to cut the budget deficit while introducing goods and service tax, it cannot ask for money while suffering leakages," he said. The seedy and allegedly corrupt side of Malaysia's defence procurement was laid bare in a US embassy cable, with startling revelations on how Umno politicians, agents, civil servants and military officials receive 30 per cent "commission" on deals. In a note on the opaque procurement system here revealed by whistleblower site Wikileaks, the US embassy noted that American companies operating here had three main complaints about the system: the lack of transparency, outright corruption, and Bumiputera requirements. The undated cable sent during the Abdullah administration between 2004 and 2009 also noted that many government tenders do not follow procurement rules. A US aerospace executive told the US embassy here defence deals were done through shadowy agreements with no tendering process. For example, the then-Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's sister-in-law arranged a US$400 million (RM1.2 billion) contract to buy military cargo aircraft from Airbus. The deal was announced following Abdullah's return from a trip to France. "The US executive asserted that PM Abdullah's brother told him this deal was 'done for political and other reasons, such as commission'," noted the US embassy cable made publicthrough Wikileaks. Similar scenarios were described for the procurement of T91 Polish tanks and SU-30 Russian aircraft, noted the executive, who also said that once someone purporting to work for then-Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak approached him about a deal and suggested "you will get a part of it." The US embassy noted that Malaysian political parties including Umno rely on "money politics" for much of their operating funds.
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