Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Students stage demo, warn of ‘bigger’ uprising
- 'Only ballot papers, not AG’s report, can jolt deaf BN'
- What AG's report says on Kelantan
- What AG's report says on Selangor
- What AG's report says on Penang
- What AG's report says on Kedah
- PKR to Noh Omar: Explain the missing RM110m farmers’ incentives
- WikiLeaks too broke for now
- Millions paid to dead pensioners
- No action against trio behind Teoh’s death
- Prosecute ‘pack of liars’ for Beng Hock’s death, says Kit Siang
- Audit finds minister’s family made mess of national cattle farming project
- Kelantan sets up hudud framework panel
- OWC sex guide under review by Home Ministry
- No seats for M Ravi and Chegu Bard?
- EC to display list of 40,000 ‘unverified voters’ from Oct 27
- RM7.55 bil armoured carriers: DAP goes ballistic
- Southeast Asia Mints More Millionaires
- No action against ‘notorious’ military contractors
- 'Wrong to question those who fought communists'
- Malaysia on track for Digital Economy by 2020
- Soi Lek tells people to be ‘less hateful’, ‘less jealous’
- Nine ministries overspent RM3.73b, says government audit
- Auditor-General: Putrajaya risked lives in delaying Bukit Jalil stadium roof repair
- Holland bans Malaysian logs
- Thumbs up for good paymaster S’gor
- Govt agencies show better financial management, says Auditor-General
- Muhyiddin defends statement on Guan Eng’s son
- Motion against Khairy’s ‘breasts’ comment
- Hasan’s Himpun attendance not sign of tension within PAS
- Gutter politics or sordid politicians?
- ‘I don’t know what Anwar was talking about’
- Policy outcry as more asylum seekers arrive by boat
- Kit Siang: Cease acrimony against SAPP
- Najib: Aziz Bari case misunderstood
- PKR, DAP in seat tussle
- National debt in 2010 at RM407b, says government audit
- Food prices push September inflation rate up
- Muhyiddin: Police probe best way to clear air over Guan Eng’s son
- PAS readies new media troopers for next GE
- Perkasa says Himpun united PAS and Umno
- Opposition's double standards in Aziz Bari issue questioned
- Veterans flay Mat Sabu in newspaper ad
- PM: 1,600 Indians got citizenship
- Papers apologise to Kalimullah over secrets leak claim
- China-Malaysia trade to hit $100b in 3 yrs
- Holland Condemns Malaysia’s Timber Certification!
- Boosted by social media, activists reclaim space for causes
- Utusan: Let police probe claims surrounding Guan Eng’s son
- Bersih keeps momentum alive with overseas campaign
| Students stage demo, warn of ‘bigger’ uprising Posted: 25 Oct 2011 06:09 AM PDT UIA students want police investigation against academician Abdul Aziz Bari dropped. (Free Malaysia Today) - Some 40 students from various universities staged a protest within the International Islamic University (UIA) grounds tonight, condemning "persecution" against vocal academician Professor Abdul Aziz Bari. Gathering at about 8pm in front of the UIA mosque, the students lighted up candles and held up papers printed "Mahasiswa tuntut kebebasan akademik" (students seek academic freedom) and "Bebaskan university daripada cengkaman politik" (free university from political stranglehold). However, the university administration confronted the students when they attempted to march to the hall where Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein was officiating at the "Piala Perdana Menteri" debate competition. After negotiating for some 15 minutes, they were finally allowed to march a shorter distance in silence towards the hall, but were stopped from going near it. The students then exited the campus compound and continued their protest at the university gates, this time shouting: "Hidup mahasiswa. Hidup ilmu. Hancur kezaliman!" (Long live the students, long live knowledge, down with cruelty!) Speaking to reporters later, the spokesperson for the group, Muhammad Zaki Sukery, who is also the deputy president of Malaysian University Student Solidarity Movement (SMM), said the protest was held not only for Aziz. "This is not just for the professor. Malaysia needs to be more open to freedom of knowledge," said Zaki, a former student of the lecturer. "Lifting his suspension is not enough; there is still the police investigation; his laptop was even seized. He is still under pressure. We have now asked Prime Minister (Najib Tun Razak) to intervene. Whatever Aziz did was within his rights and jurisdiction as an academic; he should not be undergoing this," he said. Two objectives It was understood that UIA student representative council president Mohd Ikbal Abdul Wahab handed over a memorandum to Hishammuddin at 8.30pm. "We understand that Ikbal has handed the memorandum and the minister has promised to give it to the prime minister," said SMM chairman Ahmad Syukri Abdul Razab. Syukri said that the memorandum contained two objectives: urging the nation's leaders to allow freedom to academicians and students; and urging that investigation on Aziz be dropped without conditions. "No time limit is given. But we warn our nation's leaders that they shouldn't wait until we call the rakyat to rise up to protest with us in bigger numbers. "We won't hesitate and we already have the support of electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0," said Syukri, who urged the authorities to reply soon. Speaking to FMT, one student, who wished to be known only as Yuyuluna, said the government, and UIA were being unfair. "Aziz Bari does not belong to UIA; he belongs to those who love knowledge. When he talks about the truth, and happens to side with the opposition's stance, it is unfair that they bring him down just because they felt that they've been slapped," she said. "What about the professor who said that Malaysia was never colonised? He is a disgrace and he is the one who should be suspended. Aziz was just giving his comments. He has even criticised the opposition before," added the 22-year-old Malay literature student.
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| 'Only ballot papers, not AG’s report, can jolt deaf BN' Posted: 24 Oct 2011 07:18 PM PDT
(Harakah Daily) - The intensely discussed Auditor-General's report which has given damning evidences of wastages by the government will be powerless to change the state of affairs, unless the people take to the ballots to jolt the BN government of its malpractices.
He said despite being reprimanded by the AG annually over exorbitant and wasteful spending of taxpayers' money, the BN's bad habits had only continued unabated.
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| What AG's report says on Kelantan Posted: 24 Oct 2011 07:12 PM PDT
(Harakah Daily) - The Auditor General has rated the Kelantan state government's financial position in 2010 as satisfactory. The state saw a revenue increase of RM51.07 million or 52.5 percent, from RM97.23 million in 2009 to RM148.30 million in 2010.
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| What AG's report says on Selangor Posted: 24 Oct 2011 07:10 PM PDT
(Harakah Daily) - Overall, the Selangor state government received a 'satisfactory' rating from the Auditor General for its financial position ending 2010. The state's consolidated revenue increased by RM266.91 million or 20.2 percent, from RM1,319.97 million in 2009 to RM1,586.88 million in 2010. This is despite it registering a 10.9 percent or RM192.36 million drop to RM1,571.50 million in state's revenue last year (RM1,763.86 million in 2009).
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| What AG's report says on Penang Posted: 24 Oct 2011 07:04 PM PDT
(Harakah Daily) - The Penang state government continues to be in the good books of the Auditor General, who commended its improved financial position in 2010 compared to 2009. According to the latest AG report, Penang's consolidated revenue grew by 2.7 percent, from RM1,101.89 million for 2009 to RM1,131.17 million in 2010. The consolidated cash reserve rose by 6.2 percent to RM572.49 million, up from RM538.95 million in 2009.
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| What AG's report says on Kedah Posted: 24 Oct 2011 07:00 PM PDT
(Harakah Daily) - The Kedah state government achieved a 135.8 percent increase in state revenue with a record surplus budget for 2010 at RM22.50 million, compared to deficit of RM62.89 million in 2009, says the latest Auditor General's report on the state. "State expenditure meanwhile only rose by RM2.55 million or 0.6 percent. This led to a surplus for the state government in 2010," it said.
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| PKR to Noh Omar: Explain the missing RM110m farmers’ incentives Posted: 24 Oct 2011 06:39 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - PKR Selangor demanded today Datuk Seri Noh Omar clarify the RM110 million worth of incentives promised to paddy farmers which is still owing. "We demand Noh Omar answer that. How did the money that was supposed to be awarded to the farmers, those who had succeeded in increasing their rice production, were not given the incentives that was promised. "This is one of the failures of the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry and Noh Omar's as well as Umno Selangor's failure in managing the funds that was supposed to go to the farmers," Shuhaimi Shafiei, PKR Selangor information chief told reporters here at the PKR headquarters. He said the minister of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry, who is also the Umno Selangor deputy chairman has failed to prove that the biggest party in the ruling coalition is sincere in taking back Selangor from the hands of the Opposition. The Auditor-General's report yesterday showed the ministry has yet to pay RM110.67 million it owed to more than 70,000 farmers under a scheme to encourage a higher rice production. Citing Padiberas Nasional Berhad (Bernas), Malaysia's rice industry regulator, the report said the farmers were eligible to receive RM341.29 million between January 2007 and January 2010. However, Bernas only managed to pay incentives worth RM230.62 million as at end 2010, citing lack of funds. This resulted in 73,291 farmers not receiving incentives totalling RM110.67 million. Bernas currently controls about 24 per cent of the paddy market and 45 per cent of the local rice demand.
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| Posted: 24 Oct 2011 06:25 PM PDT
(AFP) - LONDON: WikiLeaks has been forced to suspend publishing classified files after a funding blockade and could have no option but to shut down by the end of the year, founder Julian Assange announced Monday. The whistleblowing website has seen its funding plunge by 95 percent due to an "arbitrary and unlawful financial blockade" mounted by companies including Visa and MasterCard since December last year, Assange said in London. "In order to ensure our future survival, WikiLeaks is now forced to temporarily suspend its publishing operations and aggressively fundraise in order to fight back against this blockade and its proponents," he said. "If WikiLeaks does not find a way to remove this blockade, given our current levels of expenditure we will simply not be able to continue by the turn of the New Year." The Australian condemned the blockade as politically motivated and directly linked to "Cablegate", coming within days of the website's release of tens of thousands of classified US diplomatic cables in November last year. Many relate to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while others contain frank and sometimes embarrassing assessments of world leaders made by US diplomats. Assange said WikiLeaks was taking legal action against the blockade in several states including Britain, United States and Australia and has 100,000 publications pending, but warned it was facing an "existential threat". The former computer hacker said WikiLeaks needed $3.5 million (2.5 million euros) to get through the next 12 months. WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson explained that before the funding squeeze, average monthly donations exceeded 100,000 euros, but since then they had plunged to between 6,000 and 7,000 euros. Assange claimed the blockade was part of "a concerted US-based, political attack that included vitriol by senior right-wing politicians, including assassination calls against WikiLeaks staff." He said it had cost the organisation "tens of millions of dollars" in lost donations. The former hacker also revealed that WikiLeaks had material on Bank of America, which it had previously threatened to release, but he admitted it was now in the custody of an employee that WikiLeaks suspended last August. Despite 11 months of legal action and hopes of retrieving it, "at this stage we do not believe, unfortunately, that we will regain that material, which is a great loss," Assange said. Returning to the funding issue, he said WikiLeaks has lodged an anti-trust complaint at the European Commission and expects a decision by mid-November on whether the European Commission Authority will open a full investigation. He added: "A handful of US finance companies cannot be allowed to decide how the whole world votes with its pocket." Assange announced that WikiLeaks would implement a new secure submission system for whistleblowers to send in confidential documents, to be launched on November 28 -- the first anniversary of the so-called Cablegate release. The new generation submission system will be safer than current online systems, which Assange claimed had been infiltrated by intelligence agencies. The Australian said WikiLeaks has around 20 staff, about 800 volunteers and two million supporters. The average individual donation is $25. Assange, 40, is currently living under strict bail conditions in Britain while he fights extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over allegations of rape. He denies the claims against him, saying they are politically motivated.
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| Millions paid to dead pensioners Posted: 24 Oct 2011 06:19 PM PDT The AG's report states that the JPA had overpaid pensioners, both alive and dead, more than RM 4.5 million. (Free Malaysia Today) - A retired civil servant who was supposed to receive a monthly RM214.33 pension – received a hundred times that amount instead. This was revealed in the 2010 Auditor-General's Report, which said that the error was due to a decimal point error by the Public Service Department (PSD) and the Post Service Division (BP), the departments in charge of pension funds for government staff. The particular retiree, now deceased, had received RM21,433 for 16 months. The report said the pensioner had died in 2007, but due to the error, the government had to recover the overpaid sum by deducting from the retiree's pension since July 2007 and will continue until May 2044. "It was found that because of one misplaced decimal point, it has caused an overpayment of pension amounting to RM133,051 since January 2006 to May 2007," said the report. The AG's report said that the PSD had overpaid pensioners, both alive and dead, more than RM 4.5 million. An audit carried out between May and September 2010 to assess the extent of overpaid pension found:
The report said the RM1.33 million is yet to be collected as notices of claim could not be delivered to beneficiaries, who are either untracable, shifted, or died; or that notices were sent out but refunds were yet to be made. Records not updated The AG's report found that one of the reasons for overpaid pension is that the records on the pensioners' deaths are not updated properly in the BP's computer system. (BP had developed the POWER or Pensions Online Workflow Environment, an integrated system to "modernise pension administration system" to ensure the payment of retirement benefits are accurately paid in accordance with the prescribed period. It was put in force since 2003 and fully functional since Oct 2004.) The BP is supposed to update the information about the death of pensioners via monthly death reports downloaded from the National Registration Department (NRD) or when the death certificates are received from the beneficiaries who deliver them to the BP. If the information from NRD does not match with POWER system, an "unmatch report" is issued. "According to this report, between 2007 and September 2010, there was data on 2,262 pensioners/recipients, which was not updated because information such as names, IC numbers and birthdates were inconsistent in both systems," said the report. The report said another problem with immediate updating of the status of death and termination of payments was that death certificate submitted by the beneficiary came in late.
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| No action against trio behind Teoh’s death Posted: 24 Oct 2011 06:08 PM PDT The Attorney-General is not pursuing legal action against the three MACC officers for lack of evidence. (Free Malaysia Today) - No legal action will be taken against the three anti-graft officers held responsible for Teoh Beng Hock's suicide given the lack of investigative evidence, Parliament was told today. Minister in the Prime Minister Department Nazri Aziz said the Attorney-General "was not compelled" to pursue the case but will do so if new evidence surfaces. "The AG is not pursuing legal action against the anti-graft officers who drove Teoh to suicide because there was a lack of investigative evidence and witness accounts," Nazri said in his winding-up speech on the 2012 Budget debate. He was responding to Gobind Singh Deo (DAP-Puchong), the lawyer representing Teoh's family who wanted to know if action would be taken against the three Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers. Teoh, the political aide to Seri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah, was found dead on July 16, 2009 on the fifth-floor corridor of Selangor MACC's office in Shah Alam after overnight questioning. A Royal Commission of Inquiry, set up after a coroner's court gave an open verdict, found excessive aggression in interrogation methods had caused Teoh to commit suicide. Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar had said that there are no laws to charge the three with while the MACC said it will deal with them internally by setting up a special investigative team.
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| Prosecute ‘pack of liars’ for Beng Hock’s death, says Kit Siang Posted: 24 Oct 2011 04:34 PM PDT By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider Lim Kit Siang called today for the Attorney-General to prosecute "the pack of liars" linked to Teoh Beng Hock's death.
A fatal plunge ended the life of the former DAP aide at the premises of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over two years ago. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz told Parliament yesterday that no legal action would be taken against the anti-graft officers who drove Teoh Beng Hock to suicide as no police report has been lodged over the matter. But the DAP parliamentary leader said in a statement today that de facto law minister had given a "very lame excuse" as the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) on Teoh's death offered "sufficient reasons... to bring to book Beng Hock's killers." Lim (picture) pointed out that the RCI was "most scathing in its indictment of the character and testimony of the MACC officers... apart from two brave and truthful souls, the RCI virtually dismissed the rest as a pack of liars led by Hishamuddin Hashim, the "mastermind" of the massive and unjustified operation which resulted in Teoh's death." "In fact, the report is a fertile source for multiple perjury charges against Hishamuddin and other MACC officers in giving false testimony at the RCI," he said, referring to the offence under Section 193 of the Penal Code that provides for a maximum sentence of seven years jail and fine on conviction. The Ipoh Timor MP said A-G Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail should "direct a police report be lodged on Teoh Beng Hock's death based on the findings and new leads in the RCI... and vigourous prosecution pursued (to ensure) no cover-up."
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| Audit finds minister’s family made mess of national cattle farming project Posted: 24 Oct 2011 04:25 PM PDT
By Debra Chong, The Malaysian Insider A RM73.64 million government project — linked to minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil's family — to create Malaysia's "Beef Valley" has turned into a mess, a federal audit report said. The Auditor-General's Report, released yesterday, showed that the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) set up in 2008 in Gemas, Negri Sembilan failed to hit its target of breeding 8,000 cattle last year. "An audit check found production in 2010 was only at 3,289 heads of cattle or 41.1 per cent," the report said. Among reasons cited were the NFC corporation's poor management including its failure to train 130 farmers for the project, the 5,000-acre farmland in Gemas being overgrown with thorny acacia shrubs, and poor use and maintenance of its facilities. The NFC is a joint-venture between Negri Sembilan and federal government through the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry (MoA) to commercially produce more beef domestically and cut down import of the meat. Previous media reports showed the MoA picked a company called Agroscience Industries Sdn Bhd, owned by Shahrizat's husband, Datuk Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail, to spearhead the project, under a company called National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFCorp). Shahrizat's three children, Izran, Izmir and Izzana, reportedly play key roles in the NFCorp. Izran is CEO while his brother and sister are executive directors. MORE TO COME HERE.
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| Kelantan sets up hudud framework panel Posted: 24 Oct 2011 11:05 AM PDT By Syed Azhar, The Star KOTA BARU: The Kelantan Government has announced the setting up of a hudud technical committee headed by Deputy Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob. State Islamic Development, Education and Dakwah Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said the 19-member committee included him, state Syariah chief Judge Datuk Daud Mohamad, Kelantan Mufti Datuk Mohamad Shukri Mohamad, State Islamic Affairs Department director Datuk Che Mohd Rahim Jusoh and Kelantan police chief Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman. However, Mohd Amar said the state government would let the appointees decide whether to accept or decline the offer after issuing official letters to them. "One of the main roles of the committee is to study the possibilities of implementing the hudud enactment following views by constitutional law experts that syariah criminal laws could be implemented without amending the Federal Constitution and existing syariah laws. "Therefore, one of their tasks is to exhaust all avenues to study this matter and come up with suggestions on how these laws could be practised. "However, it is up to these members to accept or decline the offer because what is important is everything is done within the legal framework of the law," he said after attending the state exco meeting yesterday. Mohd Amar also said that no time frame had been set for the committee to convene its first meeting. |
| OWC sex guide under review by Home Ministry Posted: 24 Oct 2011 10:47 AM PDT By Nurul Ain Mohd Hussain, The Star PETALING JAYA: The Home Ministry is studying the contents of the controversial sex guide book released by the Obedient Wives Club (OWC) before taking action. Sources from the Al-Quran Text and Publishing Control division said they were working with the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) in studying the contents of the book, mStar reports. "We are currently unable to determine the status of the book but work is under way. "The issue is that this book involves the belief of the al-Arqam group, which is why the cooperation of Jakim is crucial to determine the status of the book," said the source. The source was referring to the statement made by the club that it was going ahead with the global launch of Seks Islam, Perangi Yahudi untuk Kembalikan Seks Islam kepada Dunia ("Islamic sex, fighting Jews to return Islamic sex to the world") despite protests from women's groups. The 115-page book had, among others, supposedly encouraged Muslim husbands to have sex simultaneously with their wives. The OWC was formed by Global Ikhwan Sdn Bhd, an organisation founded by former members of the banned al-Arqam. |
| No seats for M Ravi and Chegu Bard? Posted: 24 Oct 2011 10:38 AM PDT By Zehfry Dahalan, FMT SEREMBAN: Popular PKR figures M Ravi and Badrul Hisham Shaharin are in danger of being left out of the election candidates' list as punishment for their outspokenness. FMT has learnt that Negri Sembilan PKR is ignoring the strength of the two politicians in their power bases as it engages in seat negotiations with PAS and DAP.
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| EC to display list of 40,000 ‘unverified voters’ from Oct 27 Posted: 24 Oct 2011 10:29 AM PDT By G Manimaran, The Malaysian Insider The Election Commission (EC) will display the list of 40,000 voters that have yet to be verified or authenticated from Thursday as talk of a snap election gathers pace. Electoral reforms coalition Bersih 2.0 had listed cleaning up electoral rolls as the first of eight demands although the EC routinely checks the list. The latest list will be made available with this year's third quarter electoral roll at 1,000 selected venues and also on the EC website. Commission deputy chairman Datuk Wira Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said those on it should come forward to verify details. "The verification can be done within a week from the display," he said, when contacted by The Malaysian Insider. Wan Ahmad said unverified names would be removed. He added the commission had been unable to remove these names from the list as information received from the National Registration Department (JPN) showed their details to be valid. However, several parties, especially opposition parties, had claimed the electoral roll was tainted. Wan Ahmad said the commission would not allow the use of doubtful names because "we have to be fair". "JPN had said the names were valid, so by law, this verification is sufficient. The EC cannot just remove the names without verifying voter information," he said. When asked if the voters involved can contact the EC after the period of one week, Wan Ahmad said, "Yes, they can. But they have to provide supporting documents for that purpose."
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| RM7.55 bil armoured carriers: DAP goes ballistic Posted: 23 Oct 2011 06:09 PM PDT The government will pay RM7.55-billion for 257 APCs, four times more than an originally intended deal made earlier this year. (Free Malaysia Today) - Under a new agreement, the government will pay RM7.55 billion for 257 armored personnel carriers (APCs), four times more for the same deal made earlier this year. However, the government claims to have no knowledge of the February deal for 257 Turkish Pars 8×8 APCs, which at the time, cost US$559 million (RM1.749 billion). This irked DAP's PJ Utara MP Tony Pua, who launched an attack on the government. "Minister of Defence Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was there to witness the signing between (Turkish company) FNSS and (Malaysian company) Deftech," he said. Speaking to reporters in Parliament, he said the difference in price is so big that a responsible government must ask, "What are the differences that make up the gap (between the two prices)?" On Oct 18, Pua asked the defence minister in Parliament why the government was willing to spend RM7.8 billion for the 257 APCs. In a written response, Zahid replied: "The finalised price for the procurement of 257 APCs is RM7.55 billion for a period of seven years from 2011 to 2018, and not RM7.8 billion as said." "The Defence Ministry has no information over the 257 APCs by Deftech… with Turkey's FNSS for the price of US$559 million. Therefore, the question is out of the ministry's knowledge." According to a Jun 3 BAE Systems news release, military equipment manufacturer FNSS signed a US$559-million letter of offer and acceptance from Deftech Sdn Bhd for the design, development and building of the 257 APCs.
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| Southeast Asia Mints More Millionaires Posted: 23 Oct 2011 06:08 PM PDT By Eric Bellman, Wall Street Journal If you've been placed on another long waiting list to buy a Breitling or a BMW, it may be because Southeast Asia is spawning a growing number of the world's newest nouveau riche. The number of millionaires almost tripled in Singapore over the last year and a half while it came close to doubling in both Indonesia and Malaysia, according to a report this week from Credit Suisse Group. When compared to the numbers from the report released early last year, those three countries alone have given birth to close to 190,000 new millionaires since the beginning of last year according to the report, which did not give figures for the Philippines or Thailand. That total is short of the 212,000 new millionaires minted in China over the same period but well ahead of the other BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia and India) which had each added less than 100,000 new millionaires. So where is all the new money coming from? Much of the rise is just a reflection of the weakening dollar, which makes the Singapore dollar- and rupiah-denominated riches look more impressive when translated into U.S. dollars. Otherwise it can be attributed to growing savings, stock and property prices. Credit-Suisse defines wealth as a person's financial and real estate assets minus their debt. The number of people with wealth of more than $1 million shot up by 118,000 in Singapore during the period to 183,000, which means the small city state is one of the places you are most likely to randomly bump into a millionaire. Even the average Singaporean is wealthy compared to the rest of the world. Average household wealth was $285,000 in the middle of this year, the report said. That makes Singaporeans the fifth wealthiest in the world (after Switzerland, Australia, Norway and France.) Malaysia added 19,000 new millionaires over the 18 months, bringing its total to 39,000. Meanwhile the number of millionaires in Indonesia jumped by 52,000 people to 112,000. Interestingly, Indonesia had 12 billionaires by the middle of this year, according to Credit-Suisse's calculations, more than Singapore and Malaysia combined. Average wealth in Indonesia – which is Southeast Asia's largest economy but has a population of around 240 million – was lower than its neighbors at around $12,000. That's still a great improvement from the turn of the century when it was as lows as $2,000. "The rise in personal wealth in Indonesia has been stunning since the year 2000, with average wealth growing by a factor of five," the report said. Strong currencies, rising property prices, climbing commodity prices and healthy stock markets have helped the region but the real secret to Southeast Asia's success may be how stingy money makers are here. Average household debt which offsets much of savings and investments in Western countries is very low in the region. It's only 13% of total assets in Singapore and 2.5% of total assets in Indonesia. |
| No action against ‘notorious’ military contractors Posted: 23 Oct 2011 05:57 PM PDT Defence Ministry keeps errant contractors despite reminders from Auditor-General's Office. (Free Malaysia Today) - The Defence Ministry refused to take stern action against 10 errant contractors who were awarded contracts worth RM76 million for work delays despite being notified by the Auditor-General's Office. Each of these companies recorded various levels of delay in repairing the air force's Aviation Ground Support Vehicles (AGSV). The 2010 AG's Report noted that instead of severely censoring them, the ministry extended their contracts. In its rebuke, the AG noted that the ministry did nothing more than issue these notorious contractors warning letters. "And their contracts were extended till Dec 6 last year although their contracts were supposed to expire on June 5," noted the report. It noted that the companies most notorious for their delay in delivery of repaired vehicles were Kobat Engineering Sdn Bhd, Sesama Auto Sdn Bhd, Aerospace Technology System Corporation Sdn Bhd and Aviasi Industri Sdn Bhd. Kobat Engineering had the worst track record, while another company Aviasi took more than a year to repair and return a towing truck to the ministry. "And the excuse they gave is lack of expertise, no spare parts and sometimes say they couldn't even find what's the problem with the vehicle," noted the AG's Report.
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| 'Wrong to question those who fought communists' Posted: 23 Oct 2011 05:53 PM PDT By Rozanna Latif, NST KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said questioning the sacrifices of police officers who fought against the communists is "an unforgivable sin" akin to an act of treason. He said the police officers who had given their lives to fight the communist threat had ensured that the country did not suffer the same fate as nations like Cambodia, which fell under a totalitarian communist regime. He said investigations had revealed that Muhammad Ahmad Indera (Mat Indera), who led the attack on a police station in Bukit Kepong in 1950, was a communist. In a recording of an interview with police officers, Mat Indera admitted to being a member of the Malayan Communist Party. "There is a book titled Dialogues with Chin Peng in which (MCP leader) Chin Peng himself claimed that Mat Indera was a member," said Najib, adding that plans were under way to enact a memorial in Bukit Kepong to commemorate the incident. Present at the gathering of more than 6,000 retired and former police officers and their families were Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop and former IGP Tun Hanif Omar. |
| Malaysia on track for Digital Economy by 2020 Posted: 23 Oct 2011 05:47 PM PDT (Bernama) - KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is on the right path towards a digital economy by 2020 amid strong demand for new technology, says Nielsen, a leading global information and analytics provider. There is strong interest for new technology as Malaysians are ready for the changes as shown in the Malaysian Digital Consumer Report 2011, said Luca Griseri, Nielsen Malaysia director of customised research, client services. Griseri said the report revealed that the take-up rate for smartphones and tablet computers is gaining significant momentum in Malaysia, and therefore the industry must ensure easy access for these devices. "Smartphone ownership is expected to double in the next 12 months to reach 89 per cent from 48 per cent currently, while tablet computers is likely to reach 75 per cent from 18 per cent presently," he said. Griseri said Malaysia is still lagging behind Singapore and Thailand in terms of Internet penetration and usage of new technology due to lack of infrastructure and geographical issues such as Malaysia being surrounded by forests. Griseri said it is important for traditional media such as television and radio to integrate with online media to ensure a successful digital industry. |
| Soi Lek tells people to be ‘less hateful’, ‘less jealous’ Posted: 23 Oct 2011 05:34 PM PDT By Lisa J Ariffin, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 — Leaders will have less to worry if the rakyat can be less hateful, less jealous, more forgiving, Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said today. "We have to unshackle the grip on social discontentment and think positively ahead to create a Malaysian society that has great compassion, innovativeness and creativeness to move forward," the MCA president said in his Deepavali message. |
| Nine ministries overspent RM3.73b, says government audit Posted: 23 Oct 2011 05:29 PM PDT By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 — Nine ministries and government departments overspent last year's overall operational allocation by a total of RM3.73 billion, according to the Auditor-General's Report released today. The ministries include the Education Ministry, Health Ministry, Home Ministry, Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Ministry, Public Service Department, Attorney-General's Department, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Public Services Commission. The report stated that the overspending in several ministries was unavoidable due to additional activities and unscheduled payments. "According to financial rules, an expenditure can only be carried out if the approved financial allocation was enough. The audit checks found that this rule was not fully abided by several ministries who have overspent beyond what has been allocated.
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| Auditor-General: Putrajaya risked lives in delaying Bukit Jalil stadium roof repair Posted: 23 Oct 2011 05:27 PM PDT By Debra Chong, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 — Putrajaya risked public safety when it took four years to approve funds to repair the damaged roof at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium, the Auditor-General said in his report released today. The report highlighted that the Merdeka Stadium Corporation (MSC), a federal statutory body responsible for the management of all national sports complexes, had applied to repair damage to the Bukit Jalil Stadium a total of four times since 2006. The government finally approved RM30 million to repair the damaged stadium (picture) in December last year, the report added. "The Auditor is of the view the delay in completing the roof repairs at Bukit Jalil National Stadium... was because the government did not approve the allocation applied for since 2006. "This could jeopardise the comfort of users who would be exposed to the rain and endanger their safety if the roof collapsed especially for international events," the report said. The report said the 90,000-capacity stadium had a 10-year warranty for the German-made membrane roof cover, which expired in 2008, but noted MSC could not get a replacement roof because it was damaged by fireworks. It noted too the stadium, which has hosted 2,100 events between 2008 and 2010, require other immediate repairs and pointed out rusty and loose cable screws holding up the roof.
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| Posted: 23 Oct 2011 05:25 PM PDT (FMT) - KUCHING: Whilst Sarawak continues to turn its nose on international regulations over timber certifications, Netherlands has ruled that wood from Malaysia is not worthy of entry onto its shores. The country's Independent Appeals Board in Amsterdam recently ruled that Malaysia's regulations governing forestation was well below world standards. Ruling in favour of international NGO Greenpeace, the Board concurred with Greenpeace's complaint that Malaysia's wood certification scheme fell below the acceptable world standards and was not a badge of good practice. Greenpeace's complaint was based on 'solid evidence and international reports' which it had compiled and presented to the Board. According to the Appeals Board judgment, the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS) had demonstrated: i) No respect for the rights of indigenous peoples, ii) Maps of MTCS certified forests are not adequately accessible to the public, iii) The EIAs used for environmental impact assessment in Malaysia are inadequate to assess sustainability and iv) No guarantee can be given that MTCS certified forests do not disappear for other land uses, such as plantations. The decision simply means that the Dutch will ban wood products certified under the MTCS from entering the country. Tighter laws The Dutch government policy on the import of raw materials must comply with general European Commission (EC) policy, and with respect to this product the guidelines set by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). The EC follows basic tenets in their Environmental Action Programme (EAP). The EAP states that wood can only be imported from tropical areas that are managed and practice sustainable wood harvesting practices. Netherlands along with a host of other countries are complying with European Union (EU) efforts to standardise basic trade regulations in the bloc. FMT learnt that certain locales within Netherland and in neighbouring countries within the EU bloc have already banned the use of tropical hard woods in construction projects especially those imported from Malaysia and to a lesser extent Indonesia. Stubborn Sarawak However this doesn't seem to bother Sarawak. Last week State Second Resource Planning and Environment Minister Awang Tengah Ali Hassan stubbornly said Sarawak will not comply with international timber certification and trade regulations. He said the state "already has its own set of timber industry policies".
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| Thumbs up for good paymaster S’gor Posted: 23 Oct 2011 05:23 PM PDT By Teoh El Sen, FMT PETALING JAYA: The Selangor state government has been lauded in the 2010 Auditor-General's Report for its "very good" performance in decreasing public debts. "Performance in payment of public debt in 2010 was very good because public debt dropped by RM58.91 million whereas loan repayment arrears were reduced by RM173.47 million," said the report. The report showed that in 2010, the Pakatan Rakyat-controlled state's debt to the federal government had decreased by 5.5% (RM58.91 million) – from RM1,004.64 million (2010) compared to RM1,063.55million (2009). The loan repayment arrears were reduced by 20.9% from RM829.86 million (2009) to RM656.39 million (2010). Among others, this achievement was due to a repayment of loans on lost-cost houses (RM52.42 million), forest farming project (RM6.49 million), an exemption from interest rates for all outstanding loans on a water supply project and a write-off of all arrears on the same loan from the federal government. "Consolidated state revenue recorded a surplus of RM124.24 million compared to the deficit of RM65.96 million in 2009," the report stated. Describing Selangor's financial position as "satisfactory", the report said the state's consolidated funds increased by RM266.91 million (20.2%) to RM1,586.88 million (2010) compared to RM1,319.97 million in 2009. However, the state's revenue dropped by 10.9%, a decrease of RM192.36 million to RM1,571.50 million (2010) from RM1,763.86 million in the previous year.
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| Govt agencies show better financial management, says Auditor-General Posted: 23 Oct 2011 05:19 PM PDT (Bernama) - KUALA LUMPUR: Government agencies have shown better financial management performance for the year 2010 compared to the previous year. In a statement during the presentation of the 2010 Auditor General's Report at Dewan Rakyat, the National Audit Department said 357 government agencies were audited last year and 77 of them attained the "very good" rating compared to only 48 out 399 given the same ranking in 2009. "The significant improvement signifies that the implementation of the Accountability Index (AI) proved to be an incentive to heads of departments and agencies to pay more attention to financial management," the department said. The department implemented the AI-based audit rating system in 2007 divided into mandatory and rotational categories to assess the extent of government agencies' financial management compliance with statutory laws and regulations. The statement added that 368 out of 453 audited annual financial statements were given audit certificates without a reprimand in 2010, meaning they were completely satisfactory. Thirty-three financial statements were issued certificates with reprimand as the auditor was dissatisfied with certain aspects of the statements. In comparison, 357 financial statements were issued certificates without a reprimand and 25 with certificates with a reprimand in the year 2009, it said. BERNAMA |
| Muhyiddin defends statement on Guan Eng’s son Posted: 23 Oct 2011 05:19 PM PDT The DPM blames the media for spinning the issue with the aim of sowing enmity between him and Lim. (Free Malaysia Today) - Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today defended his statement urging Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to lodge a police report to clear his 16-year-old son from allegations of sexual assault. He also said his statement on the matter was "spun" by the alternative media like The Malaysian Insider. Muhyiddin, who is also the Education Minister, said his statement that a mere denial from Lim was insufficient to clear his son's name carried no malice and that it was made only as a response from reporters from the said online news portal. He suggested that the questions posed to him on the matter were sinister in nature and was aimed at sowing enmity between him and Lim. "I know what he (Lim) feels, I have children too and I am against dragging families into politics," he told Parliament during his ministry's winding up speech on the 2012 Budget debate. "The truth is I don't really care about the allegations. I just said it in response to questions by reporters from the likes of The Malaysian Insider. My statement was spun," he said, in response to queries made by Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur). Kit Siang, the grandfather of the teen that was accused of molesting his female schoolmate, had asked Muhyiddin if he trusted his own staff including the principal of the school who denied there was any sexual assault case involving Lim's son. The Ipoh Timur had criticised the DPM for saying "denial alone is not enough" to absolve his grandson from the allegation, calling it a violation to children's rights to protection.
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| Motion against Khairy’s ‘breasts’ comment Posted: 23 Oct 2011 05:17 PM PDT Karpal Singh says the motion is of urgent public importance as Khairy's words brought the House into disrepute. (Free Malaysia Today) - DAP MP Karpal Singh wants the Dewan Rakyat to adjourn proceedings to discuss a motion regarding Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin's remarks against Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and his son. Karpal (Bukit Gelugor) today submitted his notice for the motion to Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia at the latter's chambers this morning. "These baseless, unfounded, scurrilous and barbaric words directly refer to the 16-year-old son of Bagan MP (Lim), accused by bloggers of outraging the modesty of a woman," he said in a letter to Pandikar Amin. Karpal was referring to Rembau MP's Oct 17 tweet, where the latter said: "Mungkin dia roboh Kampung Buah Pala sebab nak ganti dengan Kampung Buah Dada." In English it means: "Maybe he demolished Kampung Buah Pala because he wanted to replace it with Kampung Breasts." At the time, Khairy was referring to allegations raised by pro-Umno bloggers that Lim's son had supposedly molested a female schoolmate. He was also referring to Kampung Buah Pala, a demolished Indian village in Penang. The blogs also claimed that Lim had paid off the victim's family RM200,000 to keep them quiet. Khairy's comments as well as these allegations caused an uproar within Pakatan Rakyat, which denounced them as lies. DAP later revealed that the alleged molest victim, as published in the pro-Umno blogs, was international chess champion Anya Corke, who said that she had not been to Malaysia in the past seven years. Corke also said that she neither met with Lim's son, nor was she molested in any way. Criminal defamation Karpal felt that Khairy is guilty of criminal defamation for his comments which have not been retracted. "Khairy has clearly committed an offence of criminal defamation against (Lim's son) under Section 500 of the Penal Code."
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| Hasan’s Himpun attendance not sign of tension within PAS Posted: 23 Oct 2011 05:14 PM PDT PAS leaders defended their colleague Selangor executive councillor Hasan Ali's personal right to attend the Himpun gathering. (Free malaysia Today) - PAS Youth chief Nasruddin Hasan Tantawi, who was conspicuously missing from last Saturday's 'Himpunan Sejuta Umat' (Himpun) gathering, said today that he stayed away out of respect for the organisors who wished to keep the event apolitical. Nasruddin's absence was noticeable because he was among those who had openly supported the Himpun gathering against the wishes of party leaders. PAS central leadership had decided to stay away from the gathering but did not ban party members from attending in their personal capacity. "I didn't attend because the organisers had requested for the event to be apolitical. "My stand on the matter is not contradictory to the party's official stand. "There is not much difference (with the central party's stand). "We (PAS Youth) were merely expressing our support for Muslims to gather to strengthen their faith" he told FMT. Subdued rally Although organizers planned to gather one million Muslims to gauge the "unity" among them particularly against proselytising, only about 5,000 supporters turned up at the Shah Alam stadium on Saturday, Oct 22 in what was mostly a subdued rally. The event was organised hot on the heels of the Aug 3 controversial raid by Selangor religious authority, JAIS on the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC). The raid followed a tip-off that proselytisation activity was happening at an event. Despite the PAS' ban on members attending Saturday's event, PAS Selangor executive councilor in charge of religious affairs, Hasan Ali attended it. Hasan who supported the raid on DUMC did not speak at the event but only recited a prayer at the end of it. He was one of the two notable political figures who attended Saturday's rally. The other was Perkasa chief, Ibrahim Ali.
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| Gutter politics or sordid politicians? Posted: 23 Oct 2011 05:03 PM PDT By Soong Phui Jee, AsiaOne Some bloggers have made accusations against Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's son of sexual molestation and instead of condemning the acts, some politicians have taken the advantage to attack their political opponent. Even MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek has admitted that such a phenomenon of which social values are greatly distorted is a practice of gutter politics. However, Chua also claimed that Malaysian politicians have started practising gutter politics since the 2008 general elections. He also said that the Pakatan Rakyat stands on moral high ground only when they are affected. There is neither condemnation nor action for righteousness. He just casually blames gutter politics. In reality, the practice of gutter politics to attack opponents can indeed be found everywhere. It is dirty and at the same time, harmful. Even more terribly, although some politicians knew that the rumour was groundless and the so-called victim was a foreign girl who has never been in Penang, they still took the advantage to stir up troubles or just watched with folded arms, letting the lies ferment and hurt those who are innocent. Is it necessary to make politics so horrible? When unscrupulousness becomes the last tool to fight the battle, when politicians who look prim and proper distort social values and even slander bully children of their opponents to fight for power and status, how many basic human norms are left in the society? When politicians set a bad example instead of a good one, what else wouldn't be done by villains in the society? Sadly, it seems like our politics is bending towards gutter politics, particularly in the Internet era when politicians can speak "freely" online. Abusive, libelous, discrediting and pornographic remarks, as well as various kinds of scandals might be exciting but they are also confusing, causing people unable to distinguish between right and wrong. As American author and humourist Samuel Langhorne Clemens, or better known by his pen name Mark Twain said: "A lie can travel halfway round the world while the truth is putting on its shoes," the malicious objective would have been achieved while damages would have also been done before the truth is revealed. Politics is not dirty by nature and it is some politicians who are sordid. Politics must not abandon the principles of reasoning and facts and it must pursue rationality. Once politicians abandon the basic competition rules of righteousness and fairness, and resort to dirty and nasty political means to achieve their objectives, politics would then no longer be able to manage the crowd, but harm the public instead!
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| ‘I don’t know what Anwar was talking about’ Posted: 23 Oct 2011 05:02 PM PDT (Borneo Post) - KUCHING: Deputy Works Minister Datuk Yong Khoon Seng said yesterday his ministry's records show that over 90 per cent of projects scheduled for every Malaysia Plan (MP) has been accomplished. |
| Policy outcry as more asylum seekers arrive by boat Posted: 23 Oct 2011 05:01 PM PDT By Matt Johnston, Herald Sun MORE than 800 asylum seekers have arrived in boats since the Government signed its people swap deal with Malaysia in July. The plan, which has fallen over, would have resulted in up to 800 asylum seekers being sent to Malaysia in return for Australia settling 4000 confirmed refugees. Three boats sailed into Australian waters this weekend holding a total of almost 140 people. The Government has warned about 600 asylum seekers would come by boat every month while its Malaysia solution, which was scuttled by a High Court decision in August, remains off-limits. Since the High Court ruling, the Government has been unable to get enough support in Parliament to change migration laws and resurrect the policy. It blames Tony Abbott for the situation, saying the Opposition Leader should have backed law changes to allow offshore processing, including in Malaysia. Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor yesterday said Mr Abbott "has sought to trash border protection in this country". He said the Government would work with countries in Asia to try to stamp out people smuggling while it was unable to implement its Malaysia policy. "Our effort to have the most effective deterrent is being frustrated by the Leader of the Opposition, who is the best friend that people smugglers have ever had," he said. Mr Abbott said the Government and Prime Minister Julia Gillard were desperate to blame others for the issue, and had lost control of Australia's borders. "It's interesting when Julia Gillard was in opposition she blamed the government for the boats. Now that she's in government she blames the Opposition," he said. "It is her responsibility. She needs to put policies in place that will actually stop the boats." The Government will stick to onshore processing of asylum seekers while its policy is shelved. More bridging visas will be used to allow asylum seekers to live in the community, like many who arrive by plane. Senior Labor Minister Anthony Albanese told Sky News this was appropriate and would enable the Government to discuss the asylum seeker issue without "some of the hysteria that has characterised this debate".
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| Kit Siang: Cease acrimony against SAPP Posted: 23 Oct 2011 05:01 PM PDT (Borneo Post) - PENAMPANG: DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang yesterday reminded party leaders in Sabah to cease their acrimonious war of words against Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP). Lim said they should instead focus on strengthening the party and the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition to gain victory over Barisan Nasional (BN) in the coming general election. Speaking at the Sabah DAP annual delegates congress here yesterday, Lim pointed out that the next election will not be about DAP against SAPP, but DAP and PR against Umno and BN. "My advice to Sabah DAP leaders is that we have to end the acrimony and to focus on DAP/PR's fight against Umno/BN," he said. On the issue of the allocation of seats for the coming election, Lim expressed hope that PR in Sabah will be able to formulate a common policy on the matter. According to him, he was made to understand that there have been very advanced discussions and negotiations on seat allocations. "Because there was a change in the Sabah PKR leadership, we have to await for further communication. "What has been decided and negotiated within the Sabah PR was conducted when Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was the chairperson and I therefore believe there will be a basis for us to reach a consensus. "And we hope that PR Sabah will be ready to take on BN on a one-to-one fight and to ensure we will capture at least one third of the parliamentary seats in Sabah to be on the way to Putrajaya to bring about changes not only in Malaysia but in Sabah as well," Lim said. Meanwhile, Sabah DAP chief Jimmy Wong said that they will abide by Lim's advice and will enforce a 'cease-fire' for the time being.
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| Najib: Aziz Bari case misunderstood Posted: 23 Oct 2011 04:59 PM PDT By Husna Yusop, The Sun KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 23, 2011): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak has clarified that law lecturer Prof Dr Abdul Aziz Bari has not been suspended from his duties by the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). He said Abdul Aziz was instead suspended pending investigation by the university on the statements he made in relation to the Selangor Sultan's recent decree concerning the JAIS-Harapan Komuniti issue. "Whether he would be suspended from work or not, it depends on the reply or explanation he is going to give. We don't know about that yet. "This is a public misunderstanding. Disciplinary action has yet to be taken against him. The university is investigating now what he actually said (before). We must not pre-empt (their actions)," Najib said. Abdul Aziz has been issued with a show-cause letter on Oct 19 over allegedly seditious remarks he made about the Sultan regarding his decree on the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) inspection during a thanksgiving dinner by NGO Harapan Komuniti at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church in Petaling Jaya on Aug 3. The Sultan had said there were attempts to proselytise Muslims but no group would be prosecuted over the incident. Abdul Aziz was quoted by a news portal calling the Sultan's action of intervening in the issue as uncommon. Najib said IIUM Rector Prof Datuk Dr Zaleha Kamaruddin has told him Abdul Aziz was under investigation and being given a chance to explain himself. He has until Oct 25 to reply to the show-cause letter. On the Himpunan Sejuta Umat (Himpun) rally at Stadium Shah Alam on Saturday, Najib congratulated those involved, saying they were "well-mannered and under-control." "That was my intention when the government offered a stadium to Bersih 2.0. Compared to the chaos during Bersih, it was way different. During Himpun, no one felt disturbed and pressured or unsafe," he said. He said it also reflected on the government's intention to amend Section 27 of the Police Act. "We will study what happened (during Himpun) and the norms in other countries. We will think of the best ways to balance between basic human rights, public interest and safety as a modern and progressive country," he said. On the demonstrators call for an Apostasy Act to be put into place, Najib said it is for the state government to take the proper action as religion is a state matter under the jurisdiction of the Malay Rulers. On Saturday, about 5,000 people gathered at the stadium for the event, organised by 25 non-governmental organisations, including the Malay right wing group Perkasa. On another matter, Najib was asked whether it was unethical for children of politicians to be exploited for political mileage. To this, he said it work both ways. "If you want to have certain ethics, to exclude the family, then everybody should adhere to it, including the opposition. That is the ideal in a modern democracy - you concentrate on policy matters. "You can debate about differences in policies, weaknesses in implementation, but you leave aside family, or exploiting family matters, for your own political gain," he added, in reference to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who had complained that bloggers had unfairly targetted his teenage son and posted lies about him. |
| Posted: 23 Oct 2011 04:57 PM PDT (NST) - ALOR STAR: Seat allocation negotiations involving parties ruling Kedah appear to have stalled after DAP, now with a solitary state seat, demanded to contest two parliamentary and six state seats. State DAP chief Lee Guan Aik said he had referred the matter to party headquarters last month. The party, which contested two state seats in the 2008 general election, had asked to contest the Padang Serai and Alor Star parliamentary seats. Additionally, DAP wanted to retain its Kota Darulaman state seat, held by Lee, and also wished to contest in Bakar Bata, Lunas, Gurun, Bakar Arang and Derga, all of which would require Parti Keadilan Rakyat to make concessions. Lee told the New Straits Times that the party hoped to have a bigger role in the Pas-led state government if the loose grouping retained the state government in the next general election. Kedah PKR chief Datuk Wan Salleh Wan Isa could not be reached for comment. Lee won the Kota Darulaman seat with 5,145 votes in a straight fight with MCA's Datuk Chong Itt Chew. However, DAP lost the Derga seat in a three-cornered fight with Gerakan and PKR. State Gerakan chief Dr Cheah Soon Hai retained the seat for Barisan Nasional, obtaining 6,516 votes. Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak sought to downplay the impasse when quizzed by reporters here yesterday. "Pas has no problems in terms of seat allocation as we have decided where to contest. All is well except for one or two seats, which are still being discussed between PKR and DAP. "This is not a big issue. The allocation of seats will be based on the wishes of the voters in the constituencies." Pas has 16 seats in the 36-seat state assembly while PKR has three seats after two of its assemblymen — Tan Wei Shu (Bakar Arang) and Mohd Radzi Salleh (Lunas) — quit the party to become independents. |
| National debt in 2010 at RM407b, says government audit Posted: 23 Oct 2011 02:26 PM PDT By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 — Malaysia's national debt rose by 12.3 per cent to over RM407 billion last year, according to the Auditor-General's report released today. Although the economy grew by 7.2 per cent in 2010, last year's fiscal deficit maintained public debt at over 50 per cent of GDP for the second year running. The Auditor-General said in the report that the government owed 53.1 per cent of GDP, slightly down from 53.7 per cent last year. "The ratio of the federal government debt to GDP at the end of 2010 is 53.1 per cent, over 50 per cent for the second year running," Tan Sri Ambrin Buang (picture) wrote. The audit report stated public debt from domestic sources rose by RM41.76 billion to RM390.36 billion while loans from foreign sources rose to RM16.75 billion, up RM2.96 billion. The Loan (Local) and Government Investment Acts set a domestic debt ceiling of 55 per cent for the government while the External Loans Act 1963 limits foreign loan exposure to RM35 billion. Putrajaya's domestic debt level at the end of 2010 stands at 51 per cent of GDP, according to the audit figures.
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| Food prices push September inflation rate up Posted: 23 Oct 2011 02:18 PM PDT By Lee Wei Lian, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 — Food prices in September jumped five per cent from the same period last year, driving the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to increase at a faster rate of 3.4 per cent compared with 3.3 per cent in August. The slight increase in inflation rate comes as the Najib administration struggles with the need to balance growth with accommodative interest rates while at the same time helping keep a lid on the cost of living. Figures released by the Statistics Department show that the index for Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages and Non-Food for the month of September showed increases of 5.0 and 2.7 per cent respectively compared with the same month in 2010. RHB Research Institute said however that inflation will likely moderate but stay elevated at around 2.8 per cent in 2012 compared with 3.3 per cent estimated for 2011. "This is on account of a reduction in subsidies for fuel and power tariffs as well as industrial gas once every six months by the government that will lead to higher input costs and part of it will likely be passed on to consumers," said RHB. Inflation has been surging globally largely due to massive amounts of liquidity that have been released by governments to prop up economic growth following the 2008 financial crisis.
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| Muhyiddin: Police probe best way to clear air over Guan Eng’s son Posted: 23 Oct 2011 02:07 PM PDT By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 — Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today defended his remarks that Lim Guan Eng should ask the police to probe claims his son had molested a girl as the best way to put an end to the allegations. Muhyiddin said a statement from Lim on his son's innocence might not be good enough for the public and that a proper investigation would serve to end talk of the 16-year-old's alleged assault. "That's my intention, not that I want to interfere. Please get the intention. There's no ill-feeling," he said in reply to Ipoh Timur MP Lim Kit Siang in Parliament today. "I'm not saying he's guilty but other people make their own evaluation... It will be cleared very much easier (via a police probe). It's not a question of politics," Muhyiddin (picture) added.
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| PAS readies new media troopers for next GE Posted: 22 Oct 2011 08:01 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - PAS is rallying its "cybertroopers" in preparation for an upcoming general election that it says is shaping up to be "an information war." "The world that we live in today is in a constant information war, news war. "If we fall behind in conveying our messages, we will lose out," PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang told The Malaysian Insider after closing the party's ICT and New Media Conference yesterday. About 500 of the party's "hardcore" ICT officers from all over the country attended the day-long event, which appeared to address rival Umno's growing army of cybertroopers. "We will use every means possible — Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, offline TV, online TV. We want ICT officers to have smartphones, no more outdated phones," the Marang MP said. The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) controls or owns most of the mainstream print and broadcast media. BN had its nose bloodied at the 12th General Election in urban centres such as the Klang Valley and Penang, ceding its customary two-thirds majority in Parliament as the Opposition took a record 82 seats and, at the same time, five state governments. BN is said to have lost its customary two-thirds majority in Parliament and five states in the historic March 2008 elections due to easy access to alternative information on the Internet. Umno Youth new media chief Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz has said that "80 to 90 per cent" of those online were anti-BN in the landmark election of 2008. "Our target by the next election is for all division youth chiefs to be on Twitter and for every state to have their own cyberwar team," he said in an interview with The Malaysian Insider.
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| Perkasa says Himpun united PAS and Umno Posted: 22 Oct 2011 06:39 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - Malay rights group Perkasa lauded the success of Himpunan Sejuta Umat (Himpun) saying it unified Muslims even from opposing political factions. "To me it is a success. One of the most successful part was that there were PAS and Umno leaders on the stage, and other individuals who are not affiliated with any parties are on the stage as well. "I believe Umno or PAS members and Malays in PKR, they all support (Himpun) but maybe they have to follow instructions from their leaders. I don't understand why are they not allowed to gather," secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali said today. He shrugged off the low turn out of about 5,000 as "the one million means one million who are with us in spirit. "To me, the ones who are with Himpun are almost every Muslim in this country. Only a small number of Muslims are liberal who are not really interested in this rally," he said. Himpun chairman Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid has also said yesterday it is not concerned with the poor turnout at the rally, arguing that the spirit of the 5,000-strong crowd was more important. Azmi also said he considered the rally a great success as it proved that Muslims could come together to talk calmly about the issues affecting Islam, whatever their background or political affiliation.
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| Opposition's double standards in Aziz Bari issue questioned Posted: 22 Oct 2011 06:30 PM PDT (Bernama) - Datuk Jaafar School Alumni president Datuk Syed Hussien Al-Habshee has asked the opposition to not practice double standards with regards to Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM) constitutional law lecturer Prof Dr Abdul Aziz Bari's suspension. He said the management and rector of UIAM must be given a chance to resolve the matter and the opposition should refrain from making baseless allegations against the government. Syed Hussien, former Malaysian Ambassador to United Arab Emirates, also questioned the opposition's allegation that there was no academic freedom in the country, asking why did they not bring it up in the Unisel situation. Abdul Aziz was suspended for seven days from Oct 19 for allegedly contradicting the Sultan of Selangor's statement on the State Religious Department church raid in Damansara Utama on Aug 3. "He need not voice his opinions at PAS assemblies or other opposition meetings but should concentrate on being an academician and leave politics to the politicians of the country," he added. -
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| Veterans flay Mat Sabu in newspaper ad Posted: 22 Oct 2011 03:44 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — Security forces veterans continued their attacks on PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu today, taking out two-page advertisements in Malay dailies slamming his remarks on the Bukit Kepong incident. The full-colour advertisement, carried in Mingguan Malaysia and Berita Minggu, was signed by 18 police and armed forces veterans associations.
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| PM: 1,600 Indians got citizenship Posted: 22 Oct 2011 01:51 PM PDT By Masami Mustaza, NST KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday urged Indians to put their nambikei trust) in the government to create change for Malaysians. In addition, 1,600 Indians have become citizens with the cooperation between MIC, the ministry, the National Registration Department and the police. |
| Papers apologise to Kalimullah over secrets leak claim Posted: 22 Oct 2011 01:42 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — The New Sunday Times, Berita Minggu and Mingguan Malaysia apologised to Datuk Seri Kalimullah Hassan today for alleging he leaked state secrets at a dinner with leaders of Singapore's ruling PAP party. All three acknowledged that the claim, made by Perkasa information chief Ruslan Kassim, was without any foundation or basis. The weekend papers also promised not to publish further allegations of this nature involving the ECM Libra Financial Group Bhd chairman without verification. On October 2, the New Sunday Times, Berita Minggu and Mingguan Malaysia, quoting Ruslan, alleged that Kalimullah had leaked national secrets during a dinner with senior leaders of the PAP in Singapore. Ruslan had also claimed that Kalimullah, former group editor-in-chief of New Straits Times Press (NSTP), had organised several dinners with senior PAP leaders. |
| China-Malaysia trade to hit $100b in 3 yrs Posted: 22 Oct 2011 12:15 PM PDT By China Daily NANNING - Trade between China and Malaysia is set to reach a new high of $100 billion by2015. That's after the two countries agreed to deepen economic cooperation to reduce theimpact of the global economic slowdown, according to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak on Friday. He made the remarks at a roundtable discussion with Chinese CEOs during the Eighth China-ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Expo, which is being held in the city ofNanning, the capital of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, and runs from Oct 21 to 26. |
| Holland Condemns Malaysia’s Timber Certification! Posted: 22 Oct 2011 11:53 AM PDT By Sarawak Report Taib's foreign business partners are working hard to present a picture that all is well in Sarawak and to imply that there are no issues with the wood logged from the state or its plantation programmes. Indeed, last week Ta Ann Tasmania's Chief Executive David Ridley launched a barage of justifications defending his company against a report that has revealed that Ta Ann products are falsely promoted as 'eco-wood', thereby deceiving consumers. Still no answer to the charges of false eco-labelling! However, Ridley's repost carefully ignored the central allegation of the report, which is that the eco-labelling on Ta Ann's products is false, because Ta Ann Tasmania does not used plantation wood, as promised, but rather threatened old-growth forest. Rather than confronting this embarrassing matter, Ridley has chosen to focus instead on what he calls his 'observations' made during visits to his company's HQ in Sarawak. Ridley's fabulously rich boss, the Executive Chairman of Ta Ann, Hamed Sepawi, is of course the cousin of the corrupted Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud of Sarawak and has received numerous licences, grants of public lands and state contracts, all without proper tender. Such matters appear not to concernm Mr Ridley, instead his 'observations' are these:
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| Boosted by social media, activists reclaim space for causes Posted: 22 Oct 2011 11:48 AM PDT By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — Around 10pm last night at the DiGi headquarters in the Subang Hi-Tech Park, the Guinness Book of Records officially announced a new record for the number of "tweeps" at a "twtup". At least 2,615 users of micro-blogging site Twitter had turned up at the "OctTwtFest," a gathering that began as a giant birthday party last year to being an event to celebrate nothing more than "how influential social media can be" this year. It was influential enough for top politicians such as Pemandu CEO Datuk Seri Idris Jala, PKR vice president Nurul Izzah Anwar and Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin to turn up while artistes such as rockers Hujan and rappers Altimet and Joe Flizzow performed for free. "This was a ground up event, reclaiming space and coming together to 'humanise' the interactivity of social media. This shows how influential social media can be and can become," said Zain HD, one of the OctTwtFest coordinators. But with the Klang Valley seeing several gatherings yesterday, three events organised by activists saw fortunes that correlated closely to the hype built on social media. For cancer awareness programme Passionately You and democratic reforms movement Occupy Dataran, the tweets with their respective "hashtags," #dontduckit and #occupydataran on Twitter dwarfed the actual turnout at their events. "You can host as many events as you want but with a social media presence, you can own a new space for discussion," said Christopher Tock, digital media consultant for Passionately You. While only a few hundred turning up at its day-long event, Passionately You saw about 5,000 pledges and donations made towards cervical and breast cancer awareness on its website. On the other hand, the Himpunan Sejuta Umat (Himpun), or Gathering of a Million Faithful, fell somewhat short of rallying its stated target to stand up to the threat of proselytising by Christians. Despite claiming the support of over 1,000 NGOs, only 5,000 Muslims turned up, inviting ridicule from influential "tweeps" such as Art Harun, who posted: "About 5,000 at Himpun. Hope the 995,000 people have not been proselytised while on the way there." Occupy Dataran, which has met every Saturday night at Dataran Merdeka since July, saw as usual just several dozen show up.
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| Utusan: Let police probe claims surrounding Guan Eng’s son Posted: 22 Oct 2011 11:43 AM PDT By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — Lim Guan Eng should ask police to investigate claims his son molested a girl as the Penang chief minister's denial is not good enough, Utusan Malaysia said today. The Umno-owned daily pointed out that DAP had "aggressively" demanded probes into issues of public concern before and should allow similar scrutiny of party leaders if it did not want to be seen as biased. "Since the issue has become a public concern, Guan Eng should ask the police to conduct a thorough investigation to dispel any doubt," said the paper's editors, writing under the Awang Selamat pseudonym. "A denial is not enough to clear his family's name. An investigation will also ensure justice for all parties. Dignity is the basic right of all people, whether the son of a leader or an ordinary citizen." Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin also called on Lim to let the police investigate the case. "If we want to clear this up, we ask the police to investigate. If it's true that it had never happened, what do you have to worry about?" the Umno deputy president said.
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| Bersih keeps momentum alive with overseas campaign Posted: 22 Oct 2011 11:11 AM PDT By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — Bersih 2.0 will step up its fight for electoral reforms next week when chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan goes on a back-to-back visit to four of the most renowned law universities in Australia where she will meet Malaysian students to highlight the various problems plaguing the country's electoral system. The Malaysian Insider understands that the respected lawyer has been scheduled to deliver a public lecture hosted by the Asian Law Centre at the University of Melbourne, followed by public appearances at the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney (October 31) and the Law Faculty of the Australian National University in Canberra on November 1. It is understood the events will also allow overseas Malaysians who have yet to register as voters a chance to do so. "Campaigns to register Malaysians as voters have picked up steam in Australia. Bersih 2.0 and the ugly events that transpired in Kuala Lumpur on July 9 have inspired Malaysians living overseas in ways that we could only have imagined before. "Hundreds of Malaysians gathered in solidarity with Bersih 2.0 in 7 Australian cities with over 700 in Melbourne and 400 in Sydney," said David Teoh, national coordinator for both Bersih 2.0 Australia and the Australian chapter for Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia Australia (SABMoz). Ambiga's (picture) appearance in Australia next week is expected to put pressure in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who will also be in the western Australia city of Perth on October 28 to attend the 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). "This visit by Ambiga will serve to remind the Australian government and its citizens that a close regional neighbour and trading partner administers a system that willfully denies hundreds of thousands of Malaysians the right to vote from abroad," Teoh told The Malaysian Insider via email.
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"If the present government is not replaced with a government that is accountable and responsible, the disappointment is bound to repeat," said PAS information chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man (pic).
"The national debt had risen by 12.3 percent to RM407.11 billion in 2010 from RM362.39 billion in 2009, and this is the second consecutive year the debt to GDP (gross domestic product) ratio exceeded 50 percent at 53.1 percent," he said.
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