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• Shafie: BN Has Recipe to Capture Kedah in General Election
• Najib’s tea with judges
• Mat Sabu to sue Utusan this Monday
• PAS crystallises its stand on Merdeka history in 8 points
• Move by telcos to impose 6% tax on prepaid lines comes under fire

Shafie: BN Has Recipe to Capture Kedah in General Election Posted: 09 Sep 2011 06:50 PM PDT (Bernama) - Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal set two conditions for Barisan Nasional (BN) if it to capture states lost to the opposition in the 2008 general election. He said Umno and BN component parties should strengthen unity by abandoning negative traits by giving party interests priority and fielding winnable candidates. "With this recipe, it is not impossible for BN to do well at 13th general elections," he said when closing Kedah BN information programme at Dewan Wawasan here today. The event participated by over 5,000 people was opened by Kedah Umno liaison chairman Datuk Paduka Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah. It was held to explain current issues to committee members of BN component parties. Umno information chief Datuk Ahmad Maslan and Kedah BN publicity and information bureau chief Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom were also present. Shafie said the conditions were necessary so that Umno members did not sabotage BN candidates if they were not chosen to contest. He cited decision not to put up then MIC deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel as BN candidate at Hulu Selangor by-election last year as a good example. "We want support for BN candidates chosen. If I don't say this, those not chosen will sabotage the election machinery. "PAS and PKR are not strong. We have to cooperate and strengthen unity, especially among the Malays." The Rural and Regional Development Minister said when the Malays are united, others like Chinese, Indians and Siamese will benefit as their rights are protected.

Najib’s tea with judges Posted: 09 Sep 2011 02:21 PM PDT   (The Malaysian Insider) - Both the judiciary and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak have weighed in on the tea party with judges last Wednesday that some have said is improper in the context of the separation of powers.   Top lawyer Datuk Seri Dr Muhammad Shafee Abdullah wrote at length in an article published today in the New Straits Times, leading off with: "We should no longer tolerate this culture of impunity Malaysians have become almost accustomed to in relation to inaccurate news reporting by some media and the twisted interpretations others have provided them with over innocent interactions between members of the administration." The senior lawyer added: "In The Malaysian Insider on Wednesday, unnecessary attention and space was provided over the innocuous invitation and the resulting visit of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to the Palace of Justice that evening for tea with the judges. "Quite obviously, a tour of the court facilities, especially the computerisation of the court processes that has been largely responsible for the speedy disposal of case backlog, became a focal point of attention. After all, the court, through the prime minister, had authorised some RM100 million as budget for the scheme." True. But do judges have to be in attendance? After all, it's in the state's interest to provide facilities for the judiciary to ensure rule of law — a quality that appeals to ordinary citizens and investors. Everyone has a stake in the law, no? Here we agree with Shafee. It is both in the interest of the judiciary and the prime minister that his visit to the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya is not seen as an attempt to influence the judiciary. Which means Najib could have visited the august courthouse at any other time instead of during the annual conference of judges. Also, the prime minister has been subpoenaed as a witness in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy trial. Is it proper for a witness to fraternise with the judges? Even if he is the prime minister?   READ MORE HERE.

Mat Sabu to sue Utusan this Monday Posted: 09 Sep 2011 02:14 PM PDT   (The Malaysian Insider) - PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu will file a suit on Monday against Utusan Malaysia over its report of his ceramah last month that touched on the Bukit Kepong tragedy. His 24-hour ultimatum for an apology from the Umno-owned Malay daily expired yesterday. "The time has come for me to sue Utusan Malaysia until it is bankrupt for its allegations to smear me and cripple PAS's influence to keep Barisan Nasional (BN) in power," Mohamad (picture) told a ceramah in Bukit Mertajam last night. PAS organ Harakahdaily quoted the party deputy president as saying the 24-hour deadline for Utusan Malaysia to retract its report "Mat Sabu hina pejuang" (Mat Sabu insults warriors) had ended and he would proceed with the legal suit. He said his lawyers have the legal papers over that particular news report and subsequent reports over the past 15 days. "I have been hurt until today when in fact the ceramah was a long time ago and their facts are made up and do not exist. "I have not been given a chance to explain the actual situation on television, where I seem to speak without any voice, like a duck," added the PAS leader, popularly known as Mat Sabu.   READ MORE HERE.

PAS crystallises its stand on Merdeka history in 8 points Posted: 09 Sep 2011 12:53 PM PDT (Harakah Daily) - In eight points, PAS information chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man has summarised the stand taken by the party on the controversy surrounding the historical distortion of the Bukit Kepong incident in 1950, in a move to crystalise the party's stand amid a frenzy of name-calling and debate dares from both sides of the political divide. The eight points are: 1. PAS rejects and has never endorsed any group or movement in support of the communist ideology. 2. PAS views the 1950 Bukit Kepong incident a tragedy, but views the late Muhammad Indera as an independence fighter, in contrary to assertion that he was a communist and terrorist. 3. PAS stands by the fact that transcript of deputy president Mohamad Sabu's speech on August 21 only mentioned Mat Indera as a hero, without any mention of the word 'communist' as claimed by Utusan Malaysia. Such a spin has led to Mat Sabu and PAS being labeled communist. 4. PAS is convinced with the findings in the book Pengukir Nama Johor published by the Johor Heritage Foundation in 2004, listing Mat Indera as a religionist and freedom fighter. 5. PAS expresses confidence in the research work by Ayub @ Uiop Kassim in 1973, titled "The 1950 bloody tragedy of Bukit Kepong, Muar: A Post Mortem". The work is to fulfill the requirement for a degree in Literature at University Malaysia's Faculty of History, and concludes that Mat Indera was not one who believed in or joined the communist movement. 6. PAS believes that the struggle for independence had commenced much earlier than UMNO's formation in 1946. 'Left-wing' fighters who had taken 'confrontational approach' in various states such as Mat Indera, Rosli Dhoby, Datuk Maharajalela, Tok Gajah, Tok Bahaman, Dol Said, Tok Janggut, Abdul Rahman Limbong and many others must be given their due recognition in history. 7. PAS believes that UMNO had never resorted to armed struggle in the fight for independence, yet the other freedom fighters had sacrificed their lives in the fight to drive out the British colonial regime. As such, UMNO only joined at the 'final lap' of the struggle, thereby taking credit for the country's independence and denying the contribution of those who had died and who opened the path for Merdeka in 1957. Having said that, PAS accepts whatever little contribution from UMNO in achieving independence for Malaya. 8. UMNO's cooperation with British colonialists meant their leaders had joined the British administration and therefore were British officials. According to Tuan Ibrahim (left), these points sum up the Islamic party's understanding of the country's independence struggle. "The question of interpreting history and reviewing history is closely tied to the amount of information available as well as our perception of a certain issue," he added. Tuan Ibrahim said making clear the party's stand on the issue would not be able to put a stop to media spin from UMNO, which he said was aimed at diverting public attention from other pressing current issues, including rising living costs, electoral frauds, corruption and wastage, the ExxonMobil and MAS shares fiasco, the RM24 million ring issue linked to the prime minister's wife, and the latest announcement of a six percent tax for each pre-paid mobile top-up. 'Agree to disagree' Tuan Ibrahim reiterated that a principle in the issue of differences in history was the ability to "agree to disagree" without any emotional baggages. Those who have differences in their understanding could always resort to intellectual debate, and not personal attacks, he said. "We have to agree to disagree in historical research because it relies heavily on the amount of information in hand, before one can come up any conclusion with a sense of accuracy," said Tuan Ibrahim, who is also Pahang PAS commissioner. Citing a hadith of the Prophet warning Muslims that their disputes will be settled in the Hereafter, Tuan Ibrahim said one should not condemn or humiliate the dead.   READ MORE HERE.

Move by telcos to impose 6% tax on prepaid lines comes under fire Posted: 09 Sep 2011 12:38 PM PDT (The Star) - KUALA LUMPUR: Calling it difficult to accept, the Prime Minister has joined in the chorus of people against the move by telcos to impose 6% service tax on prepaid mobile phone users. Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the move comes at a time when the Government was trying to ease the burden of the rakyat's who are already hit by the rise in living costs. He added the move was not approved by the Finance Ministry as the decision to impose taxes was taken by the telcos themselves. "I have received many reactions and feedback from the people," he told reporters yesterday after launching Maybank's new corporate logo. "The move to impose the service tax on consumers is very unpopular and difficult to accept." MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said the service tax was a huge burden to the people.He added mobile phones were an essential item to consumers and played a major role in the daily life with most of the prepaid users coming from the lower-income group. It was reported that from Sept 15 onwards, prepaid users and those purchasing starter kits would need to pay an extra 6% as telcos agreed they would no longer absorb the service tax, which was introduced in 1998. Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin described the decision as "unreasonable". "Boss @NajibRazak, the decision to impose tax on prepaid users is unreasonable and it would burden the rakyat. I oppose it. Please review it," he tweeted. PKR vice-president Tian Chua said the Government must intervene immediately to help low-income earners. He also noted that prepaid plans were unfair to users by design as users paid for their usage up front. Consumer groups were also up in arms over the increase, which they have lambasted as unfair. Consumers Association of Penang president S.M. Mohamed Idris called on the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to stall the move. He added mobile phone prepaid users faced the brunt of unfair terms and conditions imposed on them, especially when the balance in their account was forfeited when they did not reload within the validity period. He suggested that a prepaid number should have lifetime validity and be activated at the customers convenience. Muslim Consumers Association Malaysia activist Datuk Nadzim Johansaid the increase was unfair and ill-timed when consumers were tightening their belts over the increasing cost of other essential goods. Fomca secretary-general Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah said the telcos were already pocketing extra from their customers with their "call block" formula. "If a telco charges RM0.30 per minute with 30 seconds per block, this means that you pay RM0.15 whether you use the phone for only 10 seconds or 30 seconds," he said. "This means the telcos are already making money from the unused seconds. Consumers have already been over-paying for years."

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