Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Pakatan will reward ‘bright Malays’, Anwar pledges
- Kit Siang: Najib’s failure to support CHOGM view on human rights is ‘shocking’
- Butt out of Sabah, Koh and Gerakan told
- Rotate CM post among communities
- Ahmadiyya decry JAIS attacks
- Kuantan residents threaten sit-in if rare earth ore arrives
- Racial politics hindrance to solving issues, say groups
- Aziz Bari receives bullet, death threat
- No English option for maths and science, says Muhyiddin
| Pakatan will reward ‘bright Malays’, Anwar pledges Posted: 29 Oct 2011 07:00 AM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - London - "Bright young Malays" and not well-heeled scions of the politically-connected will be rewarded if Pakatan Rakyat takes over Putrajaya, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim promised Malaysian students here yesterday. The opposition leader blamed the country's present economic slide on lopsided affirmative action polices the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government endorsed even as he tried to sway Malaysia's next generation of leaders to cast their vote for the opposition pact. "Bright young Malays" should be given the necessary support, the PKR advisor told jittery scholars mulling their futures in the University College of London, right smack in the UK capital city with ringside seats to the world economy's collapse playing before them. "But not the rich Malays, not the billions of shares allocated to cronies and family members of the ruling clique, not the billions of contracts awarded," he added. Putrajaya's "endemic corruption" cost Malaysia its robust economy, Anwar said. The former deputy prime minister said he was accused of being "a Malaysian leader prepared to condemn his race and appease the Chinese" when he proposed to dismantle the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 2007. "I am totally convinced that given fair elections in GE13, Pakatan Rakyat will form the government," he said. He highlighted that Malaysia, once a solid economy in Asia during the 1970s to early 1980s, is now lagging behind Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea. "Now, we are better than Burma," Anwar said, accusing Putrajaya of practicing cronyism and nepotism. The economic advisor to Malaysia's richest state, Selangor, pointed to the Auditor-General's Report 2010 released last Monday that found many ministries and government agencies had bungled their budgets. Singling out the federal audit on the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Products' cattle-rearing project, Anwar asked: "Who got it? The first major allocation… not the poor farmers or padi planters. It's the son of a senior minister". "How much? RM250 million," he said, adding that the amount was part of what he called the "Agriculture Rural Transformation Fund". The National Feedlot Centre (NFC) set up in 2008 in Gemas, Negri Sembilan project to create Malaysia's "Beef Valley" has been linked to Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil's family. Anwar also recounted the government's controversial purchase of two French submarines a few years ago. He said the person who arranged the deal was given half a billion ringgit as "commission". "If a sergeant takes RM50, that is 'corruption'. So it's different terminology. 'Commission' is halal. Corruption is haram," he said, and added: "You subsidise the rich but you don't call that 'subsidy', you call that 'incentive'." But Malaysia's biggest economic block, Anwar suggested, was due to the ruling elite's "hypocrisy". "You can have one family owning RM2.9 billion worth of San Miguel alcoholic beverages company of the Philippines [sic]. A great Muslim leader, we are very liberal," he said sarcastically. The remark appeared a thinly-veiled reference to Datuk Mirzan Mahathir, the eldest son of his former boss turned nemesis, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia's fourth and longest-serving prime minister. "But if you find one Malay girl in Pahang consuming one glass of beer, not only was she convicted but she was almost caned," Anwar said.
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| Kit Siang: Najib’s failure to support CHOGM view on human rights is ‘shocking’ Posted: 28 Oct 2011 07:16 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - Datuk Seri Najib Razak's failure to back a Commonwealth review on human rights has cast serious doubts to his reform pledges in Malaysia, the DAP's Lim Kit Siang said today. The prime minister is currently in Perth attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) where one of the key issues discussed was the appointment of a Commissioner for Democracy, the Rule of Law and Human Rights. The idea was mooted by the Eminent Person's Group (EPG) following criticism that the Commonwealth leaders meeting failed to uphold the principles of democracy and human rights. Lim attacked Malaysia's prime minister in a strongly-worded statement today, saying he found it "shocking" and "deplorable" that Najib did not support the EPG's recommendations. He added that Najib's actions have cast "a very dark shadow" over his reform promises to Malaysians, which included the repeal of the outdated Internal Security Act (ISA) and other security and laws that provide for one man to arbitrarily order a person detained under the flimsiest excuses. "When the Prime Minister of Malaysia is not prepared to give full-hearted support to the EPG Report which is chaired by his predecessor the previous prime minister, how could one fault the other Commonwealth Heads of Government who opposes the EPG and its reform recommendations?" the DAP parliamentary leader asked.
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| Butt out of Sabah, Koh and Gerakan told Posted: 28 Oct 2011 06:06 PM PDT Sabah based parties are growing uncomfortable with Gerakan's aggressive entry into the state's politics and increasing demands for a more prominent status in the state BN political hierarchy. (Free Malaysia Today) - Gerakan leader Koh Tsu Koon has been taken to task by a fellow Barisan Nasional coalition member for using Sabah to get the party back into the political mainstream after its humiliating eviction from Penang in the last election. Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) deputy president Senator Chin Su Phin said Koh has forgotten that Gerakan has not won an election in Sabah and its seats in the state legislature were obtained through defections and sweeteners offered to the assemblymen. Sabah based parties are growing uncomfortable with Gerakan's aggressive entry into the state's politics and increasing demands for a more prominent status in the state BN political hierarchy. Koh, the former Penang chief minister who himself lost his seat in the last general election in 2008 which saw his government fall to the opposition, has said that Gerakan's revival will start in Sabah. Chin said Koh should face the reality and not try to bring his beleageured party back to the mainstream of politics via the backdoor. "Gerakan lost in their own soil in Penang, so it must stand up again from there in order to earn the trust and respect of the people. "Perhaps Koh thinks that Gerakan now has three 'imported' assemblymen two of whom are full state ministers and therefore is hoping to be given the chance to contest the three seats," he said. "We want to tell Koh that his three assemblymen are 'frogs' who have not been tested yet, so one wonders what will happen if they are using Gerakan's symbol. "If they really want to prove that the people are with them, they should have quit from their government posts and just remain as assemblymen to serve the rakyat," he added. The three seats are Karamunting, Tg Papat and Elopura which are mixed-areas. Unfair politics Chin contended that if Gerakan thinks they can win in mixed-areas, then other BN component parties, a Sabah-based party like LDP in particular, will have no problem to deliver those seats. He also compared fellow BN party MCA's nominal status in the state to Gerakan. "I would like to ask what worthy contribution has Gerakan made ever since it spread its wings to the state?" he asked, adding that in comparison, MCA has been in Sabah much longer and is more credible than Gerakan. "But all this while, MCA has one elected assemblyman (and was) only given an assistant minister's post, whereas Gerakan has three 'frogs' and with two full ministerial posts. "This is unfair to other BN component partners," he said. Gerakan has become a force in state politics through the defections of Raymond Tan and Au Kam Wah from the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) last year and Peter Pang from LDP early this year.
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| Rotate CM post among communities Posted: 28 Oct 2011 04:46 PM PDT By Michael Kaung, Free Malaysia Today SANDAKAN: The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) women's wing has called for the revival of the rotation system of the Sabah chief minister's post after the coming general election. The system introduced in 1994 by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad as a "Sabah Baru" system for Muslim Bumiputera, non-Muslim Bumiputera and the Chinese communities to share the post every two years is the only way to prevent one community dominating the others in the state, its chief Nancy Lim said. She said the system was attractive but unfortunately when implemented had become another issue. Tun Sakaran Dandai from the Muslim Bumiputera held the chief minister post from March to December 1994 and it was then taken over by Salleh Said Keruak (December 1994-May 1996); Yong Teck Lee (May 1996 to May 1998); Bernard Dompok (May 1998-March 1999). Dompok served for only nine months because he lost the 1999 general election and the post was given to Osu Sukam who held it until March 2001. Chong Kah Kiat took over until March 2003 and he was replaced by current Chief Minister Musa Aman who has held the post until today. Lim said that for the past 16 years of BN ruling in Sabah, the chief minister's post was held more than 11 years by the Muslim Bumiputera, four years by the Chinese and only nine months by the non-Mulsim Bumiputera. She said that as LDP women's wing leader, she is concerned that the Umno-led BN government had not fulfilled its promise to the people of the state after it had deposed the popularly elected Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) government in 1994. Lim was referring to Umno's promise of a "Sabah Baru" and assurances of equal opportunity to all communities and power sharing among the BN component partners. She also contended that if a person holds the chief minister's post for too long, it would make that person too powerful. "In view of that, it is time for the Sabah people, including the Kadazandusun and Murut communities to re-think the present situation as to what is the problem actually. "We propose that the new rotation system is for a minimum period of one term or four years and a maximum of two terms or eight years," Lim added. Field clean candidates Umno came to Sabah in the early 1990′s after Usno disolved and its members joined the peninsula-based party. At the time of its entry into Sabah, Mahathir urged the people of Sabah to topple the PBS government which had been accused of corruption. "It is sad to see that over the past 13 years, the so-called corrupted leaders from PBS joined the BN one after another," said Lim. "As such, we strongly support Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's initiative in selecting candidates who are clean from corruption for the coming general election," she said. Touching on the issue of poverty, Lim said that Sabah's population represented a mere 10% of the national population but yet 40% of the hardcore poor in the country are found in Sabah. According to a World Bank Report, the Rungus community who mainly live in Kudat and Kota Marudu has the highest number of hardcore poor at 40% followed by other natives such as Suluk, Orang Sungai, Bajau and the Kadazandusun and Murut (KDM). "Sabah is endowed with rich natural resources but still remain the poorest state in the country… where has Sabah's money gone to?" Lim asked. She also questioned the federal government for its failure to deal with the issue of illega immigrants in the state despite being in power in Sabah for 16 years. According to statistics, Sabah's population has grown from around 600,000 in 1970 to some 3.5 million now pointing to foreigners now outnumbering locals. |
| Posted: 28 Oct 2011 04:40 PM PDT Islamic authorities are bent on demonising us, say local Ahmadiyya Muslims. (Free Malaysia Today) - Local Ahmaddiyya Muslims are tired of being discriminated against, and want to challenge the state to a discussion on their stand as believers. The Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS), according to Ahmadiyya spokesman Maulana Ainul Yaqeen Sahib, has worked hard to declare his community as apostates. "JAIS has been attacking the Ahmadiyya through the media. Everything gets thrown against us. It's not fair. They say we are not Muslims, and (at the same time) they don't give us a chance to say anything (in return)," he told FMT. Maulana was referring to a Oct 20 television programme known as "Kes Akidah" aired by local Islamic TV station Al-Hijrah. At the time, the programme's episode was allegedly entitled "Nabi Palsu Qaidani" (False prophets of the Qaidanis). (Qaidani is another term for the Ahmadiyya.) Unhappy with the attacks against them, Ahmadiyya representatives handed over a memorandum to both JAIS and Al-Hijrah on Oct 25 and 27 respectively. In the memorandum, they demanded equal and fair treatment as Muslims in Malaysia, as well as an open discussion over their position as Muslims. The memorandum read: "What is most regrettable is that JAIS is so fervent in its attempts to prevent the Malays from becoming apostates or embracing other faiths." "But in the context of the Ahmaddiya, they so easily issue fatwas labeling us as kafirs or having left Islam." It added that an open discussion over the Ahmadiyya would be better than state-organised raids, and would avoid instances of violence and murder. The Selayang Council, as well as the Gombak Land and District Office, the memorandum said, had been influenced by JAIS in the past to persecute the Ahmadiyya. Malaysia, a predominantly Sunni Muslim country has been known to keep other Islamic sects under close watch.
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| Kuantan residents threaten sit-in if rare earth ore arrives Posted: 28 Oct 2011 04:13 PM PDT By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysia Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — Kuantan folk have threatened to block operations of a controversial rare earth plant by holding a sit-in as claims that Lynas Corp is ready to ship in ore has heightened tension among increasingly nervous residents. Although the Australian miner has denied any plans to ship in material from its Mount Weld mine, it has also said it is confident of starting operations by the end of the year.
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| Racial politics hindrance to solving issues, say groups Posted: 28 Oct 2011 04:09 PM PDT By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal,The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — Escalating racial politics is dampening efforts to address issues like education and poverty which should be dealt with from a "non-racial" approach, said several groups today. Twenty-one organisations have announced the formation of a "multicultural" coalition called Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia (GBM) or Plan of Action for Malaysia (PoAM) aimed at formulating ideas and ways to tackle social issues beyond racial lines. "This is a long overdue initiative to establish a multicultural, multiracial network of NGOs. "There are crucial issues in the country, problems of poverty, education which cuts across race and culture... because of the political system we have it is taken up on a racial basis," said Centre of Policy Initiatives (CPI) director Dr Lim Teck Ghee, who is on the GBM committee. The coalition comprises different interest groups like the Kuala Lumpur-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH), Aliran, Pertubuhan Jemaah Islah Malaysia (JIM), CPI, Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia (SABM), People's Green Coalition (PGC), Muslim Professionals Forum (MPF) and Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram). It also includes the United Chinese School Alumni Association of Malaysia (UCSAAM), National Interlok Action Team (Niat), the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) and the Negri Sembilan Chinese Assembly Hall (NSCAH). "Previously, different groups have been approaching things from their own perspectives. Chinese organisations have been concerned with matters that affect their own community, but with the formation of this coalition, we believe it's time to do things differently," said KLSCAH president Tan Yew Sing, who is also GBM co-chairman.
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| Aziz Bari receives bullet, death threat Posted: 28 Oct 2011 04:01 PM PDT By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — Controversial International Islamic University (UIA) professor Abdul Aziz Bari received a bullet this morning with a death threat warning him not to disrespect the Selangor Sultan who he allegedly criticised. The constitutional law expert told The Malaysian Insider he received an envelope containing a bullet and a note saying "Jangan kurang ajar dengan Sultan, maut nanti (don't be rude with the Sultan, you may die later)" at his Bandar Baru Selayang home around 11.45am this morning. "I have a function in Ipoh, I will make a police report later," he said, adding that he would speak with his lawyer first. However, when contacted at about 12.45pm, Aziz's lawyer Zulqarnain Lukman said he has not been able to contact his client. Aziz, whose suspension for allegedly attacking Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah was lifted by UIA on Sunday, has said he is "expecting charges very soon" for sedition after police completed investigations on Monday. UIA suspended the professor last week after he said the Ruler's intervention in the raid on Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) in August was "unusual and inconsistent."
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| No English option for maths and science, says Muhyiddin Posted: 28 Oct 2011 03:15 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin insisted today there will be no leeway for schools to continue using English to teach mathematics and science despite sustained pressure from parents' groups. The deputy prime minister told reporters today that allowing schools to choose whether to stick with teaching science and mathematics in English (PPSMI) or convert to Malay would result in a "mess". "It will be difficult to plan. If a school chooses English, or Malay, how will we provide teachers?" said Muhyiddin (picture), who is also education minister. |
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