Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- DAP Perak tidak bimbang isu hudud
- Najib: Umno will not lay claim to Penang leadership
- It’s Muhyiddin who should be grateful
- Muhyiddin: Decision to abolish PPSMI made after much thought
- More flak for Koh as outspoken Gerakan members voice views
- Passport Delayed
- Najib’s property gains tax ‘ill-advised’, says HBA
- Robert Phang slams A-G Gani Patail Again
- Mualaf
- Escalating Tensions
- Hudud and the Death Penalty
- WIKILEAKS: MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT DECIDES PROTON
- NRD To Issue New MyKad Starting January 2012, Says Hishammuddin
- Bye Bye Sarawak Reports!
- Protesters to greet Najib at CHOGM
- Be grateful to BN government, DPM tells people
- CIMB: good money chasing after haram money!
- Hilangnya sakit tak semestinya hilangnya penyakit
- Less value for ringgit
- Hu stands by his statements
- ‘Do away with race-based policies’
- Why RM2 billion for Mindef IT project?
- Under probe FBC shuts down sites
- Former MP leads group to join DAP
- WIKILEAKS: Malaysia's 2008 Budget: Pork Sold Separately
- Anwar the unsinkable
- Projek Hospital Shah Alam: Kerajaan tanggung lebihan kos RM70 juta
- Dangerous precedence in Sultan’s involvement in DUMC case
- What’s the beef?
- Saya serah kepada polis - Aziz Bari
- Selangor dances the limbo for JAIS
- OWC sex book a cheap stunt, says SIS
- Demonstrations continue at Jakarta embassy
- Delhi says Astro deal illegal gratification for Maxis plans, companies deny charges
- MalaysiaKini confirms talks with Malay Mail
- BN fails to kill with a borrowed knife
- Copycat judge in a copyright case!
- Angry poetry
- Why the hudud controversy will not die
- PAS will ask Hu to explain statements
- Home Ministry asked to explain illegal registration claims
- WIKILEAKS: Islamic Finance in Malaysia Part 2: Obstacles and Opportunities
- Within a year, 300% increase in new voters
- Dr M: Make laws, regulations innovation-friendly
- The Kampung Baru Saga
- Perkasa claws at Suhakam’s Bersih rally rights probe
- OWC book urges Muslim women to have joint sex
- Malays must change freebie mindset, says Dr M
- Hu defies party gag order
- ‘Govt holding on to Auditor’s report’
| DAP Perak tidak bimbang isu hudud Posted: 15 Oct 2011 01:25 PM PDT Oleh K Pragalath, FMT PETALING JAYA: Isu hudud yang menjadi kontroversi di media sekarang tidak menjadi faktor penentu dan membimbangkan DAP Perak untuk mendapatkan sokongan pengundi Melayu pada Pilihan Raya Umum ke 13 (PRU 13). Ketua DAP Perak dan juga Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (Adun) Sitiawan Ngeh Koo Ham ketika dihubungi yakin pengundi Melayu lebih cenderung menyokong DAP yang sanggup berbincang dengan PAS meskipun berbeza pendirian. "Pakatan Rakyat tidak menolak pelaksanaan hudud. DAP pula sanggup mendengar penjelasan PAS cuma DAP berbeza pendirian atas dasar keadilan," terang beliau yang juga ahli parlimen Beruas. Kata beliau, pendirian Barisan Nasional (BN) tentang isu hudud ini pula sangat berbeza menyebabkan orang Melayu Perak merasa kurang senang dan akan menolak mereka dalam PRU 13 nanti. "Perdana Menteri (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) mengumumkan bahawa hudud tidak akan dilaksanakan manakala MCA mengugut akan keluar dari BN," jelas Ngeh. Isu hudud hangat diperkatakan sejak bulan lepas apabila Mursyidul Am PAS Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat merangkap Menteri Besar Kelantan mengumumkan hasratnya untuk melaksanakan hukum hudud di Kelantan apabila ia dicetuskan oleh bekas Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Mesyuarat tertinggi Pakatan Rakyat pada penghujung bulan lepas memutuskan bahawa hudud tidak dapat dilaksanakan kerana tidak mendapatkan konsensus dari parti komponen Pakatan Rakyat – PKR, DAP dan PAS. Pembahagian kerusi selesai Dalam perkembangan berkaitan, Ngeh mengakui bahawa pembahagian kerusi Pakatan Rakyat di Perak untuk PRU 13 telah pun selesai. Bagaimanapun beliau enggan mendedahkan butiran mengenai pembahagian kerusi itu. "Ini adalah sebahagian daripada strategi kami di Pakatan Rakyat. Politik adalah seperti permainan catur dan kami tidak mahu beri kelebihan kepada BN," jelas beliau. Ngeh turut mendakwa bahawa Pakatan Rakyat tidak akan mendedahkan strategi mereka kerana sudah ada usaha merosakkan nama baik Adun Pasir Panjang Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin yang juga bekas menteri besar. Ketika ditanya berkenaan calon Melayu untuk DAP, Ngeh berkata Pakatan Rakyat Perak telah membuktikan bahawa politik mereka melangkaui batas kaum. |
| Najib: Umno will not lay claim to Penang leadership Posted: 15 Oct 2011 01:20 PM PDT By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak assured Gerakan today Umno will never lay claim to the leadership of Penang should Barisan Nasional (BN) win back the state from the opposition at the next general election. "Umno will never claim state leadership in Penang. We're prepared to work with the component parties in Penang," the prime minister told delegates at the Gerakan National Delegates Assembly here today. "Each of us must offer ourselves to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. We must do that. If we do this, I will not give up on Penang." He said he had discussed the matter with Penang Umno and the state party leadership had agreed it would not seek to take the reins in the northern state. But Najib, who is also BN chairman, stressed that Gerakan must work harder to wrest back the state from DAP and be prepared to accept "adjustments" to the current seat allocation system for the greater good of the ruling coalition. He said Gerakan should not be trapped in the past and that it needs to make "painful choices" to meet the demands of the post-2008 political landscape if the party hopes to return to its former days of glory. Najib later told reporters BN was now hammering out the details of potential changes to seat allocations but stressed that this amounted to tweaks and not a complete overhaul of the existing system. "We are a big family so it's more complex when we want to make any decision for an area," he said. When asked if the state leadership would remain with Gerakan, Najib said BN was still discussing the matter but reiterated that Umno would not seek the role. Gerakan, which governed Penang for 39 years, was wiped out in the state in the 2008 general election when it lost all 12 parliamentary seats it had contested.
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| It’s Muhyiddin who should be grateful Posted: 15 Oct 2011 10:03 AM PDT
By Ali Kadir via The Malaysian Insider You know elections are around the corner when the politicians start telling the electorate that we should be grateful for all the development around us. It is incredible that these Barisan Nasional (BN) politicians still make all these patronising noises, knowing full well how tired we are of listening to their rubbish. But since we are on the subject of gratitude, let me offer a number of reasons why Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (yesterday for the umpteenth time he advised Malaysians to be grateful) and friends should be grateful to us. 1. BN should be grateful that they are still occupying Putrajaya despite clear evidence of corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the highest levels of government, including members of the Cabinet. So tolerant are Malaysians that we have put up with leakages, inflated contracts and ostentatious displays of wealth by members of the Mahathir administration, the Abdullah team and the Najib government. We have put up with all this corruption in the name of development. So Muhyiddin and friends should be grateful to us for our blind loyalty and apathy. 2. BN should be grateful to us for tolerating and even embracing mediocrity. Malaysia's best and brightest are deserting the land of their birth as evidenced by a World Bank study which showed that more skilled Malaysians are working and living abroad. And this brain drain has affected every level of society. Not surprising that we have the likes of Hishammuddin Hussein, Noh Omar, Kong Chong Ha as "our leaders" and continue accepting mediocrity as a fait accompli. 3. BN should be grateful to us for accepting stock and hollow answers to some serious questions such as who exactly ordered the RM24 million ring; how a lowly corporal was able to order riot police to fire tear gas and chemical-laced water into Tung Shin Hospital and how did we pluck out the figure of six per cent growth next year with the whole world preparing for economic Armageddon. 4. We should be grateful to Muhyiddin and friends for introducing race politics and playing the race and religious card at every turn and making Malaysia more divisive than ever. Thank you guys from the bottom of our hearts. We are grateful. 5. We are grateful to Muhyiddin and gang for flooding this land of ours with illegals and then giving them legitimacy for political purposes. The people of Sabah especially say a big thank you to you for completely swamping the state with foreigners. 6. We are grateful to BN for nurturing and developing individuals like Ibrahim Ali and Nazri Aziz. We would be a much poorer country without them. In conclusion, we have much to be thankful to BN for. So let's show them our gratitude soon.
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| Muhyiddin: Decision to abolish PPSMI made after much thought Posted: 15 Oct 2011 09:51 AM PDT (The Star) - SEREMBAN: The Government's decision to abolish the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English was made after much thought and deliberation. It also took into consideration that students were still struggling to communicate in English six years after the programme was introduced, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. He added that the issue was compounded by the problem of teachers having a poor command of English which made teaching and learning of the two subjects even more difficult. Muhyiddin, who is Education Minister, said the Government did not make the decision in haste, but only did so upon discovering that pupils, particularly those in the rural areas, were lagging behind in the two subjects. "Apart from having to learn a language which is not their mother tongue, our children are being made to study the two subjects in English as well," he said, adding that studies had also shown that pupils would better understand a subject if it was taught in their mother tongue. He said a survey carried out by the Education Ministry showed that the majority of the 60,000 teachers who taught the two subjects in English also had a poor command of the language. "They did not have sufficient training to be able to teach effectively," he said during a dialogue with teachers at the Raja Melewar Teacher's Institute here yesterday. "Our decision to abolish the PPSMI (teaching of the two subjects in English) was correct and we will continue with the policy of upholding Bahasa Malaysia and strengthening English in schools," he added. In Kampar, Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said the poor command of English among Malaysian graduates had caused the country to lose out in foreign investments. He said students should not only be academically competent but must also be able to be fully proficient in English. "The teaching of English should not be conducted in a structured manner. "The subject is more than about learning grammar alone," he said after meeting English trainers from several countries here yesterday. |
| More flak for Koh as outspoken Gerakan members voice views Posted: 15 Oct 2011 09:47 AM PDT (The Star) - KUALA LUMPUR: While most Gerakan members are standing behind party president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, some are more vocal in their opinions. Selangor Gerakan Youth deputy secretary Stephen Doss said he agreed with Wanita Gerakan chief Datuk Tan Lian Hoe who criticised Dr Koh for lack of leadership. "The president should consider if he is a winnable candidate for the general election. "We must be reminded that he lost in the 2008 general election," he said. Doss also said Dr Koh's leadership did not put the party's interest above himself, claiming that he was being surrounded by "yes men". Although the Wanita Gerakan delegates did not applaud Tan's speech until the end, many of those interviewed said they supported her statement while some described it as her "personal opinion". However, Gerakan Youth chief Lim Si Pin stressed that it was important for members to close ranks and support their president as he was democratically elected. "Like it or not, he is still our president and we have to stand behind him," he told reporters after opening the Youth meeting. Gerakan deputy president Datuk Chang Ko Youn, who was at a press conference with Tan, said members could express their views freely, adding that it would not jeopardise the party's spirit or camaraderie. "Let the delegates decide and debate during the conference," he said. Serdang division delegate Cheah Cheng Huat urged Dr Koh to contest in the general election, adding that the party should "let people be the judge". "In my opinion, he is a good leader because he did not run away from carrying out the responsibilities of a leader when he could have," he said. Dr Koh had tendered his resignation following the party's poor performance in 2008 but stayed on following the request of then president Tun Dr Lim Keng Yaik. Earlier, when opening the Youth meeting, Lim said Cabinet decisions must be based on consensus of opinion from all Barisan Nasional parties. Suggesting a "joint governance" system in which the Barisan council would be placed above the Cabinet, he added: "This is a Barisan government, not an Umno government nor an MCA, MIC or Gerakan government." "Why are issues concerning education, economy and religion only left to certain ministers and not based on consensual agreement among all component parties?" he asked. "If this is a power-sharing coalition government, shouldn't this be planned from the beginning at the Barisan Council level?" he said. |
| Posted: 15 Oct 2011 09:38 AM PDT (NST) - JOHOR BARU: Those who lose their passports more than once, be warned — the Immigration Department will, from today, delay issuing their new passport for up to three years. Immigration director-general Datuk Alias Ahmad said the department introduced this ruling to come down hard on those who kept losing their passports. At present, replacement passports are issued within one year. Those who lose their passports for the first time will have to lodge a report with the department and apply for a new one, which will be issued the same day. Alias said the department was perplexed to receive an average of 3,500 cases of stolen, damaged and misplaced passports every month. The passport holders came up with all sorts of excuses to justify their new applications, he added. "However, their excuses become questionable if they lose their travel document repeatedly, say for the second time and more. "The passport is an important document and should, therefore, be handled with care. "There are even cases of passports ending up in washing machines. "Some were torn, stained or have things scribbled on them. "That really shows how careless the passport holders are. "As a deterrent measure, be prepared to just stay in the country for up to three years and forget about any trips overseas." Alias also said his officers would thoroughly question those applying for a new passport after losing their travel document more than once. Alias declined to elaborate when asked if there were cases of lost passports being sold to a third party for money. He, however, did not rule out this possibility. "All passports reported missing will be blacklisted — they will become null and void. "Those in possession of them will no longer be able to use them to enter or leave the country." In the past, syndicates sold Malaysian passports to foreigners for huge profits. These syndicates were said to be willing to buy Malaysian passports for between RM40,000 and RM50,000 each. On Thursday, it was reported that those who lost their passports or identity cards no longer needed to lodge a police report. All they need to do is to report the matter to the respective departments. |
| Najib’s property gains tax ‘ill-advised’, says HBA Posted: 15 Oct 2011 09:26 AM PDT By Lee Wei Lian, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 — The National House Buyers Association (HBA) claims the prime minister's revision of the Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT) was "ill-advised" as the new rate announced in Budget 2012 would only drive property prices up further. HBA Secretary General Chang Kim Loong said this was because the revised rate would have little impact on short-term speculators looking to flip houses for profit and result in an increase in speculative property investments.
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| Robert Phang slams A-G Gani Patail Again Posted: 15 Oct 2011 09:21 AM PDT
DIN MERICAN I received an email from Tan Sri Robert Phang attaching his press statement attacking Dato' Seri Nazri Aziz and A-G Gani Patail. The press statement is very blunt.
Robert Phang questioned the government's seriousness on the cases involving Tajuddin Ramli. This stemmed from Nazri Aziz's statement that A-G Gani Patail has agreed to compound the offences committed by former MAS Chairman, Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli. Robert Phang again raised A-G Gani Patail's involvement in a corporate tussle in Ho Hup Bhd where the A-G filed 11 charges for some very minor late filings of statutory returns. The point raised by Robert Phang about A-G Gani Patail's selective prosecution and abuses of power is valid. We have seen many of such instances lately. The fact that A-G Gani has taken no action against Robert Phang for his incessant attacks can only suggest that all of Robert Phang's allegations are true. Now read Phang's statement below: Selective Prosecution by A-G Gani Patail1.On 6th October 2011, it was reported that the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Dato' Seri Nazri Aziz gave a written reply to Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur) in Parliament confirming that former MAS Chairman, Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli, had committed offences under Sections 131 and 132 of the Companies Act 1965. The MalaysiaKini Report (dated October 6, 2011) is below. 2.This admission is a positive development. However, I find it very disturbing that A-G Gani Patail has agreed that Tajuddin would be let off lightly by just compounding the offences that Tajuddin had committed. Indeed, there is such a provision to compound offences under Section 371A of the Companies Act. However, the exercise of such powers must not be abused. If A-G Gani Patail is allowed to do so, the Rakyat will view this as sweeping things under the carpet. Where is accountability? Where is corporate governance? 3.The acts which constitute offences under Section 131 and Section 132 Companies Act are very serious as they go to the very core of a company and of corporate governance. The Board of Directors and each and every director as fiduciaries of a company are expected to behave with honesty and integrity and must never place themselves in a position of conflict, what more to plunder a national company for their own benefit. That, in essence, were the allegations against Tajuddin Ramli. And yet despite Nazri Aziz's admission, A-G Gani Patail will just compound his offences. To me ,that is unacceptable. 4. I say so because I am now in possession of several charges for some very minor and technical offences. I am referring to the case of Dato' T C Low and his sister, Low Lai Yoong, involving a corporate tussle in Ho Hup Bhd. There were allegations that A-G Gani Patail had abused his powers by assisting his friend, Dato Vincent Lye, to prosecute Dato' T C Low. Pictures have since surfaced in the internet of A-G Gani Patail with Vincent Lye at Ho Hup's office. Documents have also surfaced of gratifications being provided to A-G Gani Patail. A-G Gani Patail has denied, but to date, the MACC has not issued any statement on this matter. 5.What is perplexing to most company secretaries and those in the corporate world is that it is not uncommon for statutory returns to be delayed or filed slightly late with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM). But in the case of Dato T C Low where there was no dishonesty but just a mere lateness, no compound was offered. Instead, A-G Gani Patail filed a total of 11 charges against them. This is preposterous. This constitutes an abuse of power. 6.I call on the government that there should not be such discrimination. Everyone must be treated equally before the law. If Tajuddin's offence, which is very serious, can be compounded, then others should be too. Why is Tajudin given this special treatment? Why is the MACC not looking into this as a case of abuse of power? 7. If PM's Najib's vision is to transform the country, then, such inequalities and abuses must stop! "HUMBLENESS IS GOOD VIRTUE, ARROGANCE SHALL FALL, THE MEEK WILL RULE THE WORLD".
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| Posted: 15 Oct 2011 01:15 AM PDT By Hakim Joe What is Mualaf? According to the dictionary, it is a term to categorize those who are ready to embrace the Islamic religion and/or the new Moslem converts. However in Malaysia, all Malaysian-Chinese-Moslems are classified as such regardless of whether they have just converted or that they are fourth (or older) generation Moslems. The question therefore remains when Islam was first introduced to the Chinese. According to World History, Islam was first brought to China between 616 and 618 AD by order of Uthman ibn `Affan (the third Sunni Rashidun or Caliph of the Muslim Empire) by Sahaba (companions) of Muhammad namely Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas, Sayid, Wahab ibn Abu Kabcha and another Sahaba (name unknown). This meant that Islam has existed in China for approximately 1.400 years. The Great Mosque of Xi'an (Huaisheng Mosque) in Shaanxi, China was erected in 742 AD and remains one of the oldest mosques in the world. In comparison, the Malay Peninsula in which we now call Malaysia was inhabited by prehistoric Proto Malays during that same time in history. According to the Kedah Annals, Kandaram or the Kedah Kingdom (630 – 1136 AD) was founded by Maharaja Derbar Raja of Gemeron, Persia, allegedly the descendents of Alexander the Great. Incidentally, the Proto Malays (Melayu Asli) were descendents of migrants originating from Yunnan, China. The Malays as we know them today are Deutero Malays and are the progeny of intermarriages between the Proto Malays and Negrito Orang Asli. When the Great Mosque of Xi'an was being built and more than one century after Islam was introduced to the Chinese, Hindu-Buddhism was the main religion here. Funan in Cambodia played a major part in the history and religion of the Malay Peninsula and according to Sejarah Melayu, the Khmer prince Raja Ganji Sarjuna founded the kingdom of Gangga Negara in the 700s in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula. The major religion then was Hinduism and between the 7th and the 13th century, the Malay Peninsula was ruled by the Srivijaya Empire, in which the major religion was initially Buddhism and then Hinduism at the later stages. Gangga Negara means "a city on the Ganges" in Sanskrit and Srivijaya means "Radiant Victory" in Sanskrit. Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism (an ancient Indian religion) and Mahāyāna Buddhism. Not only until the 13th century did Islam arrive at the Malay Peninsula (1402 to 1409 AD) purportedly brought in by Parameswara (a Srivijaya Prince who was born a Hindu) who was fleeing Temasek to avoid persecution. Parameswara (derived from the Sanskrit word Parameśhvara, a Hindu concept literally meaning the "Supreme Lord") allegedly converted to Islam (no evidence was found) when he married the Princess of Pasai (Samudera in Sumatra) and he adopted the Persian title "Shah", renaming himself Mahmud Iskandar Shah. It must be made known that Parameswara went on a boat trip with Chinese Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) to China in 1411 to pay tribute to the Chinese Ming Dynasty Emperor. Incidentally Admiral Zheng He, his translator Fei Xin and his companion Ma Huan are all Moslems. Islam finally took hold after Parameswara's death in 1414 when his son, Raja Sri Rama Vikrama became the second Sultan of Malacca and called himself Sultan Megat Iskandar Shah. Islam has then existed in China for nearly 800 years. In 1910, the Christian missionary, Marshall Broomhall published a book on his findings and estimated that there exist over 9 million Chinese Moslems in China. The entire population of the Straits Settlement in 1901 was less than 1 million (including Europeans). So if your ancestors were born in China and have converted to Islam in 616 AD and that somewhere along the line, they have migrated to here, you are still a Mualaf by the fact that you are Malaysian-Chinese, albeit having your bloodlines being a Moslem for the past 1,396 years. Malaysia Boleh. |
| Posted: 15 Oct 2011 01:08 AM PDT By Hakim Joe A new shooting war is on the verge of starting and this might turn out to be the modern Mother of all Conflicts. It will make Operation Desert Storm look like a picnic and the Afghan War child's play. On Tuesday the 11th of October 2011, the United States alleged that Iranian government agents plotted to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States using explosives. Two suspects were charged in New York City, one man, Gholam Shakuri, has previously been identified as an operative of Iran's special foreign actions unit (Quds Forces) and the other, Manssor Arbabsiar, a car salesman who holds a U.S. citizenship and who is also holding an Iranian passport. The Justice Department says the men tried to hire a purported member of a Mexican drug cartel to carry out a bombing attack on Ambassador Adel al-Jubeir while he dined at his favorite restaurant, and unbeknownst to the suspects, the Mexican was a paid DEA informer and meetings between the informer and Arbabsiar were actually monitored and recorded by the DEA, the Secret Service, the Homeland Security, and the FBI. Also accused were Abdul Reza Shahlai, Arbabsiar's cousin who is a high ranking member of the Quds Force; Qasem Soleimani, a Quds commander who allegedly oversaw the plot; and Hamed Abdollahi, a senior Quds officer who helped in the coordination of the attempted assassination. Shahlai ws previously identified as the deputy commander of the Quds Force that planned the 2007 attack in Karbala, Iraq, that killed five American soldiers. Arbabsiar was arrested on September the 29th at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport while Shakuri, Shahlai, Soleimani and Abdollahi are all believed to be still inside Iran. That this alleged assassination attempt has been foiled is not the quintessence aspect here. Members of the U.S. Congress were quick to condemn Iran over the plot and have actively called for harsher sanctions against Iran even after the latter has vociferously denied any involvement in the assassination plot. The raising of stakes by both nations followed by potentially another few incidents between the two countries might spark a military confrontation in the Persian Gulf. That this attempt to assassinate Saudi Arabia's ambassador is not in question here but the uncertainty lies in the fact whether the Iranian government possesses prior knowledge of this plot, and not whether it is a rogue operation outside the Iranian government's sanction or a sting operation by the FBI. Iran is no walkover like Iraq. It is about four times larger than Iraq and has more than twice the number of residents. More importantly, Iran is suspected to possess nuclear weapons and the necessary delivery vehicles. During the Army Day last year, the Iranian military forces paraded the new Ghadr-1 ballistic missile system that has a proven 2,000 km operational range and is in the process of manufacturing a longer range air launched cruise missile (KH-55) of over 3,000 km range. Incidentally the distance between Teheran and Washington DC is over 10,000 km but the already-deployed Ghadr-1 is certainly capable of hitting targets within the Persian Gulf. There is no evidence that Iranian scientists have actually manufactured nuclear weapons but uranium is being frenetically enriched at the Iranian Special Weapons Facility located in Natanz with over 5,000 centrifuges being fed with uranium hexafluoride 24 hours a day non-stop. According to the IAEA Director General's report submitted to the Board on the 23rd of November 2010, Iran has accumulated an estimated 3,183kg of low enriched uranium (LEU), though not weapons-grade as yet. The Iranian LEU is graded between a level of 5% to 7% U-235. In comparison, advance medical research facilities in USA has an enrichment level of about 30% and weapons-grade nuclear weapons carry nuclear loads that has been enriched to levels above 65%, usually using P-239 (plutonium) instead of U-235 (uranium). Additionally, Iran reportedly possesses an estimated 9 operational submarines and over 200 naval crafts, over 350 combat aircrafts and over 1,200 main battle tanks supported by approximately 550,000 active personnel from its military, about 125,000 personnel from the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution, over 100,000 active personnel from the paramilitary volunteer force (Iran claims a membership of over 3 million) and another 100,000+ security forces (mainly police personnel). Furthermore, Iran possesses a sophisticated and growing biotechnology sector and chemical industry that is already one of the most advanced in the developing world and with that comes the inherent capability of producing both biological warfare (BW) and chemical warfare (CW) weaponries. Although there is no evidence pointing to the existence of either BW or CW stockpiles, Iran has never denied possessing the "dual-capable" infrastructure, raw material and expertise to mass-produce them. However, similarly to Iraq, it is the will to fight that commands all regardless of the numbers or equipment one possesses and judging from the 8-year Iran-Iraq War between 1980 and 1988, Iran will be no turkey shoot like Iraq. The U.S. Advance Overseas Forces comprising of the 5th Fleet (based in Bahrain), 6th Fleet (based in Italy) and 7th Fleet (based in Japan) might all be involved if plans are underway for a major armed conflict between the U.S. and Iran. Additionally, all U.S. forces stationed inside Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Afghanistan and Pakistan will be drawn into the fight with Israel covertly in support. If and when the shooting starts, Turkey and all the other Middle Eastern countries will be in a dire dilemma – either to act as a bystander or to take sides. Both Russia and China will definitely be drawn into the conflict, as major superpowers and almost unquestionably, NATO will be the medium used to initiate the conflict, with or without official sanction from the United Nations or agreement from Turkey, the only NATO member country that might stand up for Iran. Alternately, Turkey might take this advantage to become more influential in the Middle East when Iran is preoccupied with the conflict. Syria could possibly remain the only Middle East country to come out in support of Iran but then again, they are having internal troubles of their own at home. Libya is completely out of the picture at this juncture of time. Whether the entire world choose to believe that a car salesman in Texas was specifically commissioned by a select intelligence arm of the Iranian government to look for anyone who looked remotely like a Mexican drug dealer, moustache and sombrero included, and then order them a US$1.5 million hit on the Saudi ambassador in Washington, or not, the confrontation between Iran and NATO forces, which will comprise of over 80% U.S. and U.K. troops, will be a brutal affair with lots of collateral damage. Going to war in a country with over 73 million people is a surefire recipe for disaster regardless of how accurate the intelligent bombs and cruise missiles are. Taking into consideration the numerous "places of worship" and "historical sites" that remains untouchable, the U.S. risk losing more that what could be gained in an armed confrontation with Iran but then again, curbing Iran's ambitions at its roots might pose to be the only game in town. |
| Posted: 15 Oct 2011 01:04 AM PDT By Kua Kia Soong, Director of SUARAM It is truly admirable that Malaysians oppose the inoperable hudud laws for their dehumanizing forms of punishment but I am surprised that these same people do not likewise vehemently oppose the death penalty that has existed in our system for so long. On 20 July 1986, I presented a paper entitled 'The Quality and Equality of Mercy' a Bar Council Seminar (subsequently published in INSAF) soon after the hangings of Sim Kie Chon, followed by that of Barlow and Chambers. The Malaysian government's response to foreign criticism was to point to their double standards and Dr Mahathir's characteristic response was: "I don't accept all this accusation of being barbaric…We learnt all this from them (Westerners)." The Deputy Home Minister at the time was even quoted in Time Magazine on 5 August 1985 as saying: "The problem with the hanging process is that we've got to go through the ritual of appeal. That can take two years. I wish the Pardons Board would make faster decisions so that we can start hanging them…We plan to hang a person every week." The Attorney-General's Chamber even urged the mass media to "play up executions" as a deterrent. (Malay Mail, 18.8.83) No Civilisation has a monopoly of Barbarism Every feudal and pre-feudal social system – Chinese, Malay, Indian, Arab or European – has had penal systems involving the grossest cruelty imaginable. Punishment is an ancient response to wrongdoing. Throughout history, both the forms of punishment and the rationale for using it have changed markedly. Sociological studies have shown that penal systems everywhere are largely based on tradition, untested assumptions and inferences based on inadequate data. The English penal system is usually cited for obvious reasons. During 18thcentury England, death was decreed for several hundred specific offences, particularly for those against property, including shooting a rabbit, stealing a handkerchief, damaging a public building. From the outset therefore, the law incorporated class and political considerations. Comparative studies have shown that historically, the penalty as a judicial punishment has been seen to bear unequally and unjustly on the poor, on minorities and on oppressed groups in society. The Triumph of Humanism Progressively, the impetus for change was provided by the humanitarian and working class movements. The 18th century Enlightenment thinkers like Montesquieu and Voltaire provided the philosophical basis for reforms. There soon developed a more humanitarian outlook on crime and punishment and the emergence of humanist values. A more humanitarian approach led to a concern for rehabilitation of "deviants" based on the personal worth of each human being. Thus, in the modern state and under international human rights standards, the judicial system is intended to protect the individual against the state. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights prohibits all forms of "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." Consequently, in 1908 hanging was abolished in Britain for children less than 16 years of age. Today, most countries forbid its use on offenders under the age of 18. Capital punishment for murder offences has been abolished in Britain since 1965. Although the issue has been brought up periodically in the House of Commons, it has always been defeated. Today, most of Europe has abolished the death penalty. In the US, the death penalty was stopped by the Supreme Court in 1972 but was reintroduced in 1977. By the 1970s, capital punishment had been abolished as a statutory punishment in about one quarter of the world's nations. The judicial taking of life has been described as "the most pre-meditated and most diabolical of murders." It is basically a relic of the primitive drive for revenge and it merely passes the responsibility to the judge or jury who are supposed to be acting on our behalf. It is indicative of the primordial psyche that we are not content that criminals be safely put away in prison, we demand their death! Executions dehumanize society and undermine the common values upon which the full and free development of human society is based in all cultures. The value of human life is lessened once a state, in avowing the defence of its citizens, resorts to inhuman and degrading forms of punishment. No Evidence that Capital Punishment Deters Crime Perhaps the most popular misconception is that capital punishment acts as deterrence to crime for there is little evidence to show this. According to the British Home Office Research Unit study undertaken in the eighties, over the previous decade the increase in murders in the various categories had been insignificant. This was despite the fact there was a war in Northern Ireland. Another strong argument against capital punishment is that it entails irrevocable miscarriages of justice. In Britain, if the law on hanging had not changed in 1964, at least six men would have been hanged for offences they did not commit. ASTRO watchers would have seen the film "Hurricane" about the former US boxer who spent more than twenty years in jail for a murder he did not commit. If he had been hanged soon after his conviction, his death would have been on the nation's conscience forever! This was accounted for by the fact that no legal system is infallible. Moreover, as in the case of Hurricane and also in the British cases, miscarriages of justice usually take time to surface. Repeated appeals had failed to establish their innocence. The vulnerability of all criminal justice systems to discrimination and error must also be taken into account. There are also human factors involved, particularly, political expediency, discretion and public opinion especially in the granting of clemency. The decision to disallow the former CPM leader Chin Peng from visiting his ancestors' graves is a clear example of these factors in play. The world-wide comparative studies undertaken by Amnesty International have further shown that the wealthy, the politically well-connected and members of the dominant racial and religious groups are far less likely to be sentenced to death than the poor, supporters of the Opposition and members of minority groups. The Altantuya murder case demonstrates this tendency very well. The Quality and Equality of Mercy The Pardons Board is meant to be the last resort for the condemned when the judiciary has decided their fate. Under Article 42(5) of the Federal Constitution, it comprises the Attorney-General, the Prime Minister or Chief Minister, and three other members appointed by the Ruler or the Yang Di-Pertua Negeri. It tenders advice to the Yang Di-Pertuan Agung who acts on the advice to commute or not to commute the death sentence. Thus, the Pardons Board is supposed to be capable of showing that human capacity for mercy or clemency. In the past, a former minister of culture, Mokhtar Hashim was pardoned after he had been convicted for murder. In the case of Sim Kie Chon, Barlows and Chambers during the eighties, the Pardons Board exercised its prerogative to refuse clemency on the grounds that it was "not justiciable". The undue haste to execute them was absolutely unnecessary especially when there were complaints that all legal avenues to save their lives had not been fully exhausted. The incongruity of the fate of Mokhtar Hashim and that of Sim Kie Chon led to demands by the public for the criteria by which the Attorney-General recommends commutation of the death sentence or otherwise. The desirability of the AG's presence in the Pardons Board was also questioned since it was the AG who had instituted the prosecution and sought the death sentence in the first place. It would be fairer and preferable for the Pardons Board to be made up of members who are seen to be independent and impartial, made up of the widest possible cross-section of society and representative of all classes and ethnic communities. A sizeable majority should be needed if the death sentence is to be upheld. The case against the death penalty was best summed up by Lord Morris of Borth-Gest, a British High Court judge in the sixties: "Can we be sure that the utter and irrevocable finality of the death sentence can always be matched by positive certainty of guilt? In no country, with the fairest system of law, with the most humane and conscientious judiciary do I feel that we can be satisfied of that." |
| WIKILEAKS: MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT DECIDES PROTON Posted: 15 Oct 2011 01:00 AM PDT
Given the political sensitivities surrounding both Proton and its pyramid of local suppliers, most of which are owned by ethnic Malays, only a foreign partner could have demanded the kinds of reforms necessary to make the company competitive. Unfortunately, as long as the government continues to subsidize Proton's losses, neither the national automaker nor its vendors will have the incentive to become globally competitive. In the case of Proton, the GOM's unwillingness to upset its spoils system has once again undercut its efforts to rationalize the economy. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin
1. (SBU) Summary: After nearly two years of back-and-forth negotiations with Volkswagen, the Malaysian government has decided that government-controlled auto maker Proton would no longer pursue a strategic partnership with the German auto manufacturer or any other foreign partner (including General Motors, with which it had also held discussions). Rather than look to a foreign partner to help revive the perennial loss-maker, the government announced that the firm was doing well and should be given a chance to turn around. Its auto sales were expected to more than double in Asia, particularly for its new models. Industry experts claim the government backed off the idea of Proton taking on an international partner because hundreds of local vendors would be unlikely to survive the kinds of reforms a world-class partner would demand. Many of these vendors are owned by ethnic Malays who enjoy protected status in multicultural Malaysia. Taking action to force Proton to reform therefore would be unpalatable to part of the government's key Malay constituency, a particular concern to UMNO now with a national election on the horizon. End summary. 2. (U) The Malaysian Cabinet has decided that national automaker Proton would no longer pursue a foreign partner. In announcing the decision on November 20, Finance Minister (II) Nor Mohamed Yackop said that recent signs of a financial turnaround by Proton had convinced the government that Proton could prosper without a foreign partner. These signs included stronger than expected orders for Proton's new Persona model. The announcement came as a surprise to most analysts, given reports that Proton was in the final stages of negotiations with Volkswagen which would have allowed the German automaker an equity (though likely not controlling) stake in Proton. (General Motors reportedly was also still in the running as an alternative to VW). Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) President Aishah Ahmad publicly voiced doubts about the durability and depth of Proton's supposed turnaround, noting that a partnership with a foreign manufacturer would have been good for Proton's branding, and that Proton still needs to develop a sustainable, long term strategy to reverse its years-long slide from dominating the Malaysian market. SMOKE AND MIRROR PROFITS 3. (U) Boosted by the sale of land and the wrap-up of some project development costs, Proton posted a million-dollar profit for its second quarter ending September 30, compared to USD 75 million in losses in Q2 last year in a long succession of multi-million dollar losses. Revenue was up 3% over second quarter figures last year due to a 1.3% increase in auto sales. Although this growth was modest, Proton Chairman Mohammed Azlan Hashim pointed to it as an indication that Proton's sales would rise from their current levels of 30,000 to 40,000 units per model to between 100,000 and 150,000 units per model by 2011, primarily through greater exports to China, India, ASEAN, and to a lesser extent Iran. HOPES PINNED ON NEW MODELS, ASIAN DEMAND 4. (U) Ministry of International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz told the press that Proton had its own strategic plans to capture regional markets, especially in India, China and Southeast Asia. She said the American and European automotive markets were different and "not for us"; rather, the growth market is in Asia. Proton recently signed partnerships with the Governments of China and Thailand, including a deal to allow for the export of 30,000 Proton cars to China by the end of the year. At an auto show in Thailand this week, Proton unveiled its new fuel-efficient model, the Savvy, its new sportscar the Neo, and its re-designed Gen.2, all of which Proton expects will help improve its sales in Asia. As recently as July Rafidah had told the press that the government was interested in selling its 43 percent stake in Proton that it holds through government investment arm Khazanah (the government indirectly controls additional shares of Proton, including 12 percent through the Employee Provident Fund and 8.8 percent through national petroleum corporation Petronas). BUT QUALITY AND COMPETITIVENESS A PROBLEM 5. (U) At a recent panel discussion on Creating Global Champions Mr. Rameli bin Musa, Executive Vice Chairman for Ingress Corporation, a tier one vendor for Proton, said that a lot of vendors depended on Proton. He described some of the challenges Ingress faced when the company began supplying auto parts for Honda and Toyota, including much tougher quality standards. Another panelist, Mr. Yong Poh Kon, President of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers, elaborated on this point, explaining that where Proton capped defective parts at 200 parts per million, Honda demanded no more than six per million, and Toyota ten per million. This level of quality was one reason Malaysian auto parts suppliers were reluctant to venture beyond Proton for business, he said. 6. (U) Also at the conference, Akifumi Kuchiki, Executive Vice President of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) pointed out that Thailand quickly was becoming the "Detroit of Asia" and that Malaysia was being left behind. He suggested that Malaysia could focus on exporting automatic compact cars, while firms in Indonesia and Thailand could engage more in exporting pickup trucks and multipurpose vehicles, respectively. He said some of the constraints facing the Malaysian auto industry included an insufficient supply of unskilled labor, a need to upgrade the skills of its skilled labor, and an inadequate supply of quality parts manufacturers. Malaysia also needed to liberalize and deregulate national auto policies if it wanted to attract foreign firms in the support industries. COMMENT: 7. (SBU) Comment: The Malaysian Cabinet's decision to prohibit Proton from taking a foreign partner surprised most industry watchers, likely including Proton itself, which had appeared on the cusp of signing a deal with VW. With the government focused on upcoming elections, however, politics trumped economic rationality. Although long a supporter of Proton's efforts to seek a foreign partner, the government decided in the end that it was not yet ready to permit a fundamental shift away from a 20-year tenet of Malaysian industrialization - the promotion of a national car. Given the political sensitivities surrounding both Proton and its pyramid of local suppliers, most of which are owned by ethnic Malays, only a foreign partner could have demanded the kinds of reforms necessary to make the company competitive. Unfortunately, as long as the government continues to subsidize Proton's losses, neither the national automaker nor its vendors will have the incentive to become globally competitive. In the case of Proton, the GOM's unwillingness to upset its spoils system has once again undercut its efforts to rationalize the economy. KEITH (December 2007)
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| NRD To Issue New MyKad Starting January 2012, Says Hishammuddin Posted: 15 Oct 2011 12:21 AM PDT (Bernama) The National Registration Department (NRD) will introduce a new MyKad with state-of-the-art security features starting January next year, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said. Hishammuddin said the new MyKad would have enhanced security features, especially the chip, which will have tamper-proof elements to prevent falsification, an issue raised by some. "The Mykad with new structure which is of a higher quality will meet the security requirement and will be suitable for changes in time, situation and future challenges," he told reporters here today after launching the new MyKad structure here today. Hishammuddin said the new MyKad with a polycarbonate body, uses laser cutting technology on its surface and chips tested by SIRIM and recognised semi-conductor laboratories. "New applicants will issued the new Mykad while current holders of Mykad can change their old card for a new one. Hishammuddin who is also the Semberong Member of Parliament added that the NRD would also continue its Outreach Programme using mobile NRD services to identify Malaysian citizens who do not have Mykad, especially those staying in remote areas. |
| Posted: 15 Oct 2011 12:18 AM PDT By Sarawak Report Taib Mahmud's $5million dollar a year 'Cyber-war Campaign' has conceded a humiliating defeat, with the final demise of the site 'Sarawak Reports'. Sarawak Reports was part of a vicious network of internet sites, set up by the crooked UK-based production FBC Media, in a hired attempt to undermine this blog and to attack the opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. By adopting a virtually identical name to our own, FBC clearly hoped they could confuse web-surfers into reading their pro-Taib propaganda, instead of our research into Taib's 30 years of corrupt government. However, there is little evidence that readers were in fact fooled by this costly exercise. The site never dared to publish the handful of comments it received for its stories, which were little more than dreary 'puff pieces' praising Taib's 'progress and development' policies. The site also carried a permanent section devoted to attacking the Editor of Sarawak Report and family members.
Collapse of Cyber-war campaign follows exposure of FBC Media After Sarawak Report started to investigate, the whole truth behind the scandal came out. We showed how FBC Media had commissioned a team of Republican bloggers in the States to write a series of attacking articles in a supposedly non-sponsored website called New Ledger.
These articles, by unheard of Americans, were then reproduced in Sarawak Reports as if they represented influential thinking in the US. Worse, we discovered a similar campaign was being carried out by the very same people against the opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, and this time the person who commissioned the attacks was the PM himself, Najib Razak! The scurrilous articles about Anwar, written for New Ledger by non-entities in the States, were being reproduced in a separate blog called Malaysia Watcher. Just this week the PM was forced to admit that his office has spent RM 84 million on such campaigns with FBC Media in just three years! We can now report that Malaysia Watcher is likewise no longer accessible.
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| Protesters to greet Najib at CHOGM Posted: 14 Oct 2011 08:35 PM PDT Bersihkan Malaysia of Perth will join a rally organised by the CHOGM Action Network (Free Malaysia Today) - When Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak goes to Australia for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) this month, he will be greeted by yet another rally calling for electoral reforms in Malaysia. Delegations from 54 Commonwealth nations will attend the three-day meeting at the Perth Convention Centre on Oct 28 and the rally organisers, CHOGM Action Network (CAN), is seizing the opportunity to draw international attention to Malaysia's political situation. CAN is endorsed by a wide range of activist networks, including Bersihkan Malaysia of Perth. According to its Facebook page, Bersihkan Malaysia was set up to "nurture the spirit of unity to further the cause for democracy and justice on behalf of all Malaysians". Its members are mostly Malaysians residing in Western Australia who took part in the July 9 Bersih rally there. According to CAN spokesperson Chom Lee, participants in the Oct 28 rally will assemble at Forrest Place in downtown Perth to hear a number of speeches by notable speakers, including Bersih 2.0 steering committee member Wong Chin Huat. There will be a march after the speeches. CAN is still in negotiations with the police department over the rally route, but it is hoping to be allowed to demonstrate close to the CHOGM venue. "CHOGM is an international event and the best time to let the world know what is really happening in Malaysia," Lee told FMT by e-mail. "There are many foreigners who are have been deceived by the government's lies and believe that Malaysia practices true democracy." She said CAN would like to see Commonwealth leaders questioning Najib about Bersih 2.0′s eight demands as well as about corruption and separation of powers in Malaysia. She gave several examples of alleged abuse of power and corruption, including deaths in custody and lingering questions about the purchase of Scorpene submarines and the wealth of Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud. CAN will be holding a series of public forums until Oct 28 in an effort to attract at least 1,000 rally participants.
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| Be grateful to BN government, DPM tells people Posted: 14 Oct 2011 07:12 PM PDT
By Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider SEREMBAN, Oct 15 — Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin told Malaysians today to be grateful to the Barisan Nasional (BN) government for its many efforts which have improved their lives. According to Bernama Online, the deputy prime minister reportedly talked up the BN government's performance to a crowd of thousands after visiting the Ampangan market here, claiming it has always cared for the people by doling out aid and programmes for the needy. He urged the Ampangan folk against following in the footsteps of people from Selangor and opposition-held states who voted for the opposition during Election 2008. "It's not easy to be the government; the opposition is only good at making promises which they never have to fulfil," he was quoted as saying in Bernama Online. Muhyiddin (picture) is on a day-long visit to several locations in Negri Sembilan, a state the federal opposition is said to be confident of toppling in the coming polls, speculated to be called within months. The national news agency said Muhyiddin later announced a RM5 million allocation to Ampangan folk — RM4 million to build a new hawker centre, RM500,000 to refurbish the market and the remaining RM500,000 to repaint and repair the Ampangan flats. The Malaysian Insider reported earlier this year claims by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) that a marginal five per cent swing in four key seats in the state would be enough to topple the BN government here. State PR leaders had told The Malaysian Insider that a win in the Pilah, Kelawang, Lenggeng and Linggi state seats, where BN won by wafer-thin majorities in Election 2008, would secure the coalition a simple majority in the 36-member state legislative assembly. |
| CIMB: good money chasing after haram money! Posted: 14 Oct 2011 06:19 PM PDT
JO & Murak It seems like our corrupted Najib's First Family (and ex-PM's Mahathir Family) are making new friends with fellow corrupted Filipino businessmen, specifically those in San Miguel Corporation. I previously wrote about the scandal involving Mirzan Mahathir, a director in Petron, San Miguel's subsidiary, using his brother Mukhriz to swing the sale of Esso Malaysia's assets to San Miguel. While the shit on Mirzan is still growing and getting dirtier by the day, I want to highlight now, it's the PM's brother Nazir Razak's turn to move Malaysian money out of the country by using CIMB to buy San Miguel's soon-to-bust Bank of Commerce of the Philippines (as seen here http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/business/article/cimb-talks-with-san-miguel-for-bank-stake/). Another special brew in the making. We Malaysians fail to understand CIMB's (in fact Nazir Razak's) move in putting in good clean Halal Bumiputra money to chase after bad haram about-to-bust bank that was built on money made from beer-drinking Filipinos! We can only conclude that he is following the footsteps of Allah-condemned Mirzan Mahathir to gain assets in San Miguel in readiness for their coming "rainy days" when PR marches into Putrajaya. Maybe this is not Najib's doing, but the work of Mahathir, the mastermind. Nazir was known to have differed with his PM brother in opinion over certain policy matters. Mahathir as "Advisor" to Petronas did not give the correct and wise advice to the company that pays him so bloody well. Any donkey with common sense would have got Petronas to jump on the wagon and grab what ExxonMobil wanted to dispose of. He had his sons Mukhriz to approve and Mirzan (with San Miguel) to take over the assets. All the Mahathirs conveniently and strategically placed. Aren't these crooks "Birds of a feather" making overseas nests ready to take off by first available Tony Fernandes's AirAsia or Ananda Khrishnan's private Gulfstream jet when the BN's chips fall at GE13? Classic example of the "ornithological specimens of the identical plumage congregate in closest proximity" so said Oliver Goldsmith. But alas, that fateful flight from Malaysia with their ill gotten gains may not land them in luxurious karaoke clubs where San Miguel beer is served by a bevy of sparely-clad Filipina beauties, but right into the arms of the Law of Philippines, for one of the kingpins of San Miguel Corporation, Roberto Ongpin is already being investigated by the Philippines Senate for insider trading, quite the same fate as recent Raj Rajaratnam of Gelleon Group Hedge Fund of the USA (details here http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/rajaratnam-gets-11-yr-jail-less-than-us-sought/148923/on). Now Nazir, please don't pretend to be a saint for you aint one! We know, your overseas hangouts; we name a few for your verification: Estella Bar, Princess Bar, Queen Girl Bar in Manilla, Alexis illGALS in Jakarta, Hooters Paramatta, Hooters Penrith, Hooters Beach plus of course your secret boozing hideout in Mont Kiara. My Bumi friends just could not care less what arak you drink or which birds you shoot, but for Pete's sake lay off your filthy haram hands from CIMB stakeholders' money by taking a stake in a falling Bank Haram. It is well-known to the Rakyat that 90% of all government IPO's, works, financing, etc. is given to Nazir Razak's CIMB on a silver platter, we cannot imagine all the Rakyat's hard earned money pumped into CIMB like giving freebies away, and now Nazir using it like his own money under CIMB's plans to create a formal link to this crooked haram company and its haram Filipino bank. We want no part of it, you understand?
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| Hilangnya sakit tak semestinya hilangnya penyakit Posted: 14 Oct 2011 06:12 PM PDT
Tindakan menghilangkan sakit rakyat ini memang tindakan biasa BN terutamanya semasa pilihanraya sudah hampir tiba. Semasa hilangnya sakit buat sementara itulah selalunya pilihanraya akan di adakan dan mereka akan kembali sakit apabila pilihanraya sudah selesai dan Umno telah kembali berkuasa. Aspan Alias, The Malaysian Insider Sakit dan penyakit itu adalah dua perkara yang berlainan. Saya pernah menulis isu ini lama dahulu di dalam blog ini.Saya akan terus kepada relevannya isu sakit dan penyakit ini kepada pimpinan parti Umno/BN dan kerajaan yang memerintah sekarang ini. Masih ada ramai yang percaya yang Umno akan masih di terima kerana kerajaan telah membentangkan belanjawan yang akan memulihkan sakit rakyat dan dengan bantuan "one off" sebanyak seribu dua itu akan mengembalikan sokongan ramai kerana orang ramai sudah hilang sakitnya dengan pembentangan belanjawan baru-baru ini. Seseorang yang selalu menghadapi sakit kepala, telinga dan mata misalnya akan menghilangkan sakit-sakit itu dengan memakan panadol soluble dan berbagai ubat penahan sakit yang lain. Setiap kali selepas makan ubat penahan sakit itu sakit yang kita rasakan itu akan hilang, tetapi tidak beberapa ketika selepas itu sakit itu akan kembali dan kita menelan pil penahan sakit itu lagi. Lama kelamaan pil penahan sakit itu tidak akan berkesan lagi kerana pil itu sudah melemahkan "immune system" tubuh kita. Akhirnya kita akan ke hospital juga untuk mencari sebab kenapa sakit-sakit mata, telinga dan kepala itu sentiasa berulang dan ubat penahan sakit pun sudah tidak berkesan lagi. Sampai sahaja di hospital barulah kita tahu yang kita sudah menghadapi penyakit dan penyakit itu ialah darah tinggi rupanya. Sepatutnya kita tidak terus memakan pil penahan sakit sebelumnya. Sepatutnya kita patut selesaikan isu penyakit yang menyebabkan sakit yang kita rasai itu. Apabila darah tinggi sudah terlalu "acute" maka tubuh kita dengan sendirinya tidak akan berfungsi dengan baik dan tidak mungkin mampu untuk bertindak dengan baik lagi. Apabila seseorang itu sudah tahu yang dia ada penyakit darah tinggi, dengan secara automatik dia tidak akan berada dalam tahap kesihatan yang baik untuk mengendalikan kehidupan dengan baik. Banyaklah pantang larang yang perlu di perhatikan kerana penyakit darah tinggi tadi akan memaksa seseorang menghidapinya untuk tidak melakukan banyak perkara dan akhirnya dia akan mati dengan penyakit itu juga. Inilah yang sedang dihadapi oleh Umno dan BN. Sakit-sakit dalam BN itu memang sudah lama dirasakan oleh ramai tetapi Umno menyelesaikan masalahnya dengan memberikan ubat penahan sakit sahaja. Caranya ialah dengan memberikan ubat penahan sakit dengan memberikan projek-projek kepada "war lords" dalam Umno dan memberikan imbuhan kewangan "one off" kepada rakyat dalam bentuk wang ringgit seribu dua sahaja seperti yang di sebut dalam bajet 2012 yang lalu. Walaupun mendapat sedikit wang dan akan menghilangkan sakit buat seketika tetapi sakitnya akan datang kembali dalam masa yang tidak berapa lama lagi. Seribu ringgit yang diberikan secara "one off" itu akan habis sekelip mata kerana bagi ramai yang mendapat seribu ringgit itu hanyalah sekadar melepaskan sebahagian kecil hutang semasa mereka sahaja. Selepas itu mereka akan kembali sakit kerana penyakitnya tidak diperbaiki. Penyakit sebenar mereka ialah kemiskinan. Tindakan menghilangkan sakit rakyat ini memang tindakan biasa BN terutamanya semasa pilihanraya sudah hampir tiba. Semasa hilangnya sakit buat sementara itulah selalunya pilihanraya akan di adakan dan mereka akan kembali sakit apabila pilihanraya sudah selesai dan Umno telah kembali berkuasa. Tetapi kini rakyat sudah tidak lagi mudah terpedaya dengan pemberian tunai "one off" itu kerana mereka tahu mereka akan kembali sakit tidak beberapa lama selepas pilihanraya di adakan. Rakyat mahukan pelan pembangunan untuk rakyat yang boleh diguna pakai buat jangkamasa yang panjang. Rakyat tidak lagi mahu ikan tetapi rakyat mahukan kail yang baik untuk membolehkan mereka mengail dalam jangkamasa yang lama untuk mendapat ikan selama-lamanya. Penyakit yang di hadapi rakyat ialah kesusahan menghadapi kenaikan harga barang dan wang imbuhan "one off" itu hanya boleh membantu mereka dalam jangkamasa yang singkat sahaja sedangkan nyawa masih panjang lagi. Rakyat sudah mual mendengar pihak kerajaan mengumumkan kadar inflasi kita adalah di bawah 4 peratus tetapi harga barang keperluan meningkat berkali ganda.
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| Posted: 14 Oct 2011 05:38 PM PDT
Amid the sovereign debt problems continuing to brew in the 17-nation eurozone and growing fears of a double-dip recession in the United States, economists believe the weakness of the ringgit against major currencies, especially the US dollar or greenback, will likely persist for at least the next few months. By CECILIA KOK, The Star MALAYSIANS are now getting less bang for their buck, compared to early this year, as the value of their ringgit has depreciated against most major currencies in the world. Against the widely perceived safe-haven currencies, US dollar and yen, for instance, the value of ringgit has fallen by about 2.3% and 8.4% year-to-date, respectively. Against other major currencies, the value of ringgit year-to-date has depreciated by around 3.4% against the British pounds; 6.7% against euro; 3.1% against the Singapore dollar; 2.6% against the Australian dollar; and 6.1% against the renminbi or yuan. But maybe the depressed ringgit could spell some good news to local exporters, as the value of their goods and services will now become more attractive and relatively cheaper to foreign buyers. This could help cushion companies' overseas sales, which is a saving grace, especially at a time when international trade is expected to enter a slow and sluggish pace (if not falling off the cliff) because of the ongoing global economic uncertainties. And perhaps, Malaysia will be able to draw more foreign tourists, as the weakness of ringgit has likely made the country a more affordable holiday destination to many. This presents a contrast to Malaysians with plans to travel to certain countries overseas, as the volatility of the ringgit, which will likely continue over the medium term, will likely give them less value for their money.  Amid the sovereign debt problems continuing to brew in the 17-nation eurozone and growing fears of a double-dip recession in the United States, economists believe the weakness of the ringgit against major currencies, especially the US dollar or greenback, will likely persist for at least the next few months. It was just three to four months ago when the ringgit was seen strengthening, touching a record high of 2.939 against the US dollar on July 27, while its performance against other currencies were mixed. It has since lost about 6.8% to be trading at around 3.139 per US dollar on Thursday. The weakening trend of the ringgit first became noticeable early last month, as the reversal of short-term foreign capital flows, driven by fear, accelerated between August and September. The unwinding of foreign investors' position in Malaysia was well reflected in the plunge of local equity prices during that period. To put that into perspective, recent data released by Bank Negara showed that foreign investors were net sellers of Malaysian equities in August and September, having liquidated about US$290.6mil and US$149mil, respectively, of their holdings in the country. And as a reflection of the huge capital outflows from the country, the central bank's foreign exchange reserves fell sharply by US$5.3bil to US$131bil as at the end of September. CIMB Investment Bank Bhd chief economist Lee Heng Guei explains to StarBizWeek that the volatile capital flows will remain the source of wild swings in the ringgit movement over the medium term. But such predicament is not common only to Malaysia. Asian currencies, save for the Chinese yuan and Hong Kong dollar, have all weakened against the US dollar quite significantly since the beginning of August due to capital outflows. Greenback still reigns For instance, the Indian rupee has fallen by more than 10% against the greenback in less than two months, while the South Korean won has fallen by about 9%, Singapore dollar by almost 6%, Taiwanese dollar by about 4.8%, Indonesian Rupiah by about 4.6% and Thai Baht by about 3.6%. (Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the US dollar, while the Chinese yuan is traded in a managed-float system and face increasing US political pressure to appreciate at a faster pace. The value of the Chinese yuan has gained only by about 0.8% against the US dollar over the last two months and 3.5% since the beginning of the year. It is still deemed significantly undervalued against the greenback at current levels.) The resurgence of the US dollar, economists say, is attributable to growing concern of investors over the increasingly gloomy global economic outlook for the medium term. The market has noted that investors have been scaling back their foreign holdings to put more money in US dollar-denominated assets, such as the US Treasury bonds, which have traditionally been regarded as safe haven, to protect their assets amid the global economic storm. "In foreign exchange terms, there is simply nowhere else to hide; investors have bought the US dollar by default," HSBC Global Research's foreign exchange strategists explain in their newly published report. Analysts at the international financial services provider reckon investors' retreat to the US dollar is not motivated by any particularly strong positive sentiment towards the greenback per se. In fact, they note that investors are well aware of the persistent structural problems in the world's largest economy. "The fundamental rationale to be bullish on Asian currencies remains, but position reduction and the preference for US dollar liquidity in times of heightened stress overrides the underlying positive fundamental story," HSBC Global Research's analysts say, adding that they believe Asian currencies could face stronger headwinds ahead. Such likelihood is accentuated by the dismal outlook issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the week, citing increasing risks "decidedly tilted to the downside" for Asia because of the ongoing debt woes in Europe and a slowdown in the US economy. Reuters quoted the intergovernmental organisation warning about a risk of capital outflows from the region, as foreign investors from advanced economies could reverse the large positions they had built in Asian markets since 2009. According to economists, the scope for real strengthening of Asian currencies is also limited by possible expansionary monetary policy measures, which regional central banks would likely implement to help sustain their domestic economic growth amid slowing external demand. Such measures could include cutting of interest rates, such as Bank of Indonesia's slashing of the country's benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 6.5% over the week. Reducing interest rates could narrow the interest-rate differential between the United States and emerging Asian economies, hence making it less appealing than before for investors to park money here. In addition, some Asian policymakers would likely prefer to have a not-so-strong currency in order to sustain their export competitiveness and support economic growth. Singapore's policymakers, for instance, have signalled their preparation to intervene in the currency market to slow the appreciation of their dollar to help the country's main engine of growth, exports. It's interesting to watch how the global economic situation will pan out in the next few months. While investors wait for the dust to settle, fear and uncertainties will remain the name of the game, and for Asia, it will mean vulnerability to downside volatility.
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| Posted: 14 Oct 2011 05:35 PM PDT
(The Star) - A defiant National PAS Supporters Congress chairman Hu Pang Chaw is standing by his public statements, including those which criticised the top party leadership, over the hudud law controversy. He said: "I feel what I have done is in accordance with the party constitution. I believe that I have not gone against any party policies. "However, I welcome the move by the party to seek explanation from me because I will have a proper platform to tell my side of the story," he said yesterday. He was asked to comment on a press statement by PAS information chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man that the party would seek an explanation on criticisms he made against the party leadership over the hudud issue. Hu had made it known through the mainstream media and online news portals that he was objecting to hudud, saying that the law, if implemented, would alienate the Chinese votes from PAS. His scathing remarks drew heavy fire from Kelantan PAS Youth chief Abdul Latif Abdul Rahman, who warned Hu not to vent his views to the press or threaten the Kelantan government. Hu reiterated that bread and butter issues and the well-being of the people in Kelantan should be tackled first.
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| ‘Do away with race-based policies’ Posted: 14 Oct 2011 05:27 PM PDT
Gerakan Youth says a serious review of the NEP must be done so that it does not stray from the original intent of eradicating poverty and ensuring equal distribution of wealth (Free Malaysia Today) - Race-based affirmative action in the form of the New Economic Policy is a thing of the past, admitted two Barisan Nasional youth leaders – Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and Gerakan Youth Chief Lim Si Pin, today. Lim, in his speech at the Gerakan youth conference, said: "If we continue to advocate affirmative action for the majority, who is going to take care of the minorities and the needy? "It is time to question whether we still affirmative action based on ethnic lines. It will remain a noose around our necks if we do not deal with it (NEP) with decisiveness. "If we continue to enrich the few who do not need it and ignore the poor, then we will create instability," said Lim, and reminded the government it would face "dire consequences" if it failed to listen to the masses. Though Lim said he was not calling for a total abolishment of NEP, but a serious review and refocus to go back to its original intent to eradicate poverty and equal distribution of wealth. Khairy, agreeing with Lim, said that even now the government is looking at changing the policies in regards to affirmative action. "It is changing, now we are making sure that our priority is the lowest 40% based on income. These are the groups we must help regardless whether they are Malay Chinese, Indians or other races. Najib has expanded this, within Umno too," said Khairy. "It is no longer about race. Within Umno we are supporting this, because we know those at the bottom 40% deserve assistance. The change in affirmative action will help some of you understand that economic transformation is happening," said Khairy. Khairy added that reforms are alone not enough and merely repealing the Internal Security Act will not do. "As far as the Printing Presses and Publications Act, the current changes are not enough. We have to go further, why are we scared of a free media, do we lack confidence that we can't face the free media? Let the media regulate themselves. There's no need for the Home Ministry and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to regulate," he said. 'Young voters returning to BN' Khairy also called for a Freedom of Information Act that counters the Official Secrets Act. "There are certain things we cannot reveal to the public… but we must show there are no secrets within the government, " he said, adding that Section 15 of the Universities and University Colleges Act, which prohibits student participation in politics also must be done away with.
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| Why RM2 billion for Mindef IT project? Posted: 14 Oct 2011 05:23 PM PDT
PKR questions the defence ministry's need to spend more than RM2 billion for an apparently unknown IT feature (Free Malaysia Today) - PKR estimated that more than RM2 billion will be spent over an information technology (IT) project involving the Defence Ministry (Mindef). Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar said that Mindef had directly awarded a Network Centric Operations (NCO) project to Sapura Secured Technologies Sdn Bhd over a 20-year period for the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF). "More than RM2 billion will definitely be wasted on a project that we don't know about. Is it needed?" she told reporters at a press conference in Lembah Pantai today. Nurul came to the conclusion based on a Oct 13 Parliamentary written response from Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Ahmad said that Mindef directly awarded the NCO project to Sapura over a a four-phase period involving 20 years, and four consecutive Malaysia Plans; from 2011 to 2030. The first two years of the programme would also cost RM140 million. "For now, Sapura has been given the responsibility to develop the Phase 1A of the NCO MAF Development Program, which will cost RM140 million over a two-year period." "Subsequent development phases would depend on the performance and success in Phase 1A," he said. Ahmad claimed that Sapura was suitable for the project, as it had an apparent expertise and "vast amount of experience" in defence matters, IT and security. "It has to be stressed that the NCO MAF Development Program is one of capability development, where it is constantly changing based on needs and new input from each service," he said, adding that hardware and software needs could not be identified easily.
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| Under probe FBC shuts down sites Posted: 14 Oct 2011 05:17 PM PDT
Investigative portal Sarawak Report is celebrating the death of its Taib Mahmud-sponsored namesake (Free Malaysia Today) - UK-based FBC Media, which Chief Minister Taib Mahmud commissioned for RM5 million to counter global reports against him in the run up to the April 16 state election, has pulled back on its online network which was spewing out 'feel good' reports on Sarawak. FBC Media had allegedly commissioned a team of Republican bloggers in the United States to write a series of attacking articles. Among the websites FBC allegedly sponsored were the New Ledger, Malaysia Watcher and the infamous Sarawak Report(s) with an 's'. The sites were commissioned as part of Taib's cyberwar campaign to counter widespread reports about Taib's unexplainable wealth, extensive business networks abroad, land policies which have led to massive deforestation in Sarawak and displacement of the state indigenous communities. Apparently the last site to go down was the fake Sarawak Reports. Celebrating the death of its namesake, the real Sarawak Report posted a report on its blog today claiming credit for blowing the lid off on FBC Media's unethical practices which included producing allegedly 'illegal TV programmes commissioned by Taib' and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. FBC's dollar-deals with Najib and his Barisan Nasional administration came to light when it was disclosed in Parliament recently that the government spent RM94 million of the rakyat's money to promote the PM and the country's image. FBC's 'opportunities' for Taib After much denials, Putrajaya last month ended its contract with FBC after irrefutable proof of reports surfaced alleging that government leaders had appeared regularly in paid-for interviews on global television programmes on CNBC.
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| Former MP leads group to join DAP Posted: 14 Oct 2011 05:13 PM PDT
The move by former PKR members to join DAP unlikely to affect unity within Sarawak Pakatan Rakyat (Free Malaysia Today) - Twenty former PKR branch leaders and members have applied to join Sarawak DAP much to the concern of political pundits who feel that the 'hop' will threaten the 'fragility' of the unity within Sarawak Pakatan Rakyat in view of the coming general election. Both PKR and DAP alongwith PAS form the opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat. One political observer believes Pakatan should discourage party members jumping ship from within the coalition as such an action would jeopardise the coalition's unity and strategy. The 20 members are being led by Jimmy Donald, a former state PKR vice-chairman. The rest include Jonas AK Reong, former chairman of PKR Serian Division, and Munan Laja, former chairman of Kapit PKR division. Before joining PKR, they were mostly members of Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and aligned to now partyless and 'seatless' Larry Sng, who is also assistant minister in Chief Minister Taib Mahmud's Cabinet. When PRS president James Masing sacked Sng in 2006, the 20 left the party and joined PKR. No outright acceptance State DAP secretary Chong Chieng Jen, when receiving the membership application forms, said that any decision to accept the 20 as members would only happen after the party had discussed the matter with state PKR leaders. "From DAP's point of view there are two conditions before we should consider the membership applications. Firstly, those members who want to join us should not breach any discipline of PKR or have been sacked by PKR for breach of party discipline. "The second is that members who join us should not speak badly about PKR, or criticise or attack PKR because we are in the PK coalition. We will speak to PKR leaders before accepting them to DAP. There is no outright acceptance," said Chong, who is also the Kota Sentosa assemblyman. Chong said DAP will stick by its 'guiding principles' in deciding whether or not to accept the new entries. "DAP and PKR have a common bond and that is to topple Barisan Nasional government and to implement the policies of Pakatan when it becomes the government. hese policies are contained in our Buku Jingga as well as in our alternative budget," he said. 'DAP most autonomous national party' Earlier in handing their membership applications to DAP, Donald who is the former MP for Sri Aman said: "We have chosen DAP because it is the most autonomous national party in Sarawak as its state chief is elected by the members in Sarawak as opposed to other national parties whose state chiefs are appointed from Kuala Lumpur. "This is a very important consideration as the Barisan Nasional will fall. It is not a question of if but when. Sarawak is a very special state with many special rights. We have seen in Sabah where the state chief is appointed from Kuala Lumpur. "Sabah now has more immigrants than the rightful people because at the behest of Kuala Lumpur the chief minster opened the state to all comers from other states in Malaysia. "In Sarawak, we have to safeguard the 18 points agreement which was agreed upon at the formation of Malaysia," Donald said. Insisting that Sarawakians must join nationwide political parties, Donald said that the present set-up whereby Sarawakians are ruled by state-wide parties only means that many able Sarawakians miss out hundreds, if not thousands of federal appointments and many decision-making opportunities in the federal government ministries, government-linked company (GLC), statutory bodies, service commissions and other ad hoc bodies. "In my 13 years as a member of parliament, I have studied nearly all their annual reports and management structures and sadly in 99.9% of the cases there are no Sarawakians. In one or two rare cases, there are Sarawakian names but unfailingly, they are always the same people and the cronies of one man. "Only if we are in the national parties can we hope to be included in all levels and sectors of the Malaysian Federation and bring real change to the lives of Sarawakians," Donald said.
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| WIKILEAKS: Malaysia's 2008 Budget: Pork Sold Separately Posted: 14 Oct 2011 01:00 AM PDT
The issue the Prime Minister isn't bringing up for this election-year budget is the problem of declining oil revenues. Petronas provides 35 to 40% of the GOM's budget. However, Malaysia is projected to be a net importer of oil within the next several years, based on a continued trajectory of 4% annual increases in domestic demand. This is a major problem because Petronas is obliged by the GOM to provide oil and gas for the domestic market at subsidized prices and it is responsible for covering the price gap between international and domestic prices. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin
1. Summary: On September 7, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi unveiled his 2008 budget proposal. Billed as a "fiscally responsible" budget, it projects a deficit of 3.1%, down from 3.2% in 2007. Although spending is up, the GOM projects higher GDP growth will generate more than adequate additional revenue flows to compensate for it. The Prime Minister (PM) also announced that he expects the private sector, including foreign investors, to help fund government-initiated development plans. While the budget contained some important new tax provisions including a welcomed decrease in corporate tax rates, simplified tax collection on dividends, and enactment of additional tax preferences for the Islamic financial sector, the most important tax reform measure, implementation of the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) proposed in 2004, was missing. In a panel discussion following the release of the budget, Ministry of Finance officials insisted it was still on the table. However, absent up-front support from the PM and with elections just around the corner, the GOM is unlikely to submit a GST proposal to Parliament in the coming year. This leaves the GOM without an answer to how it will reduce its dependence on revenues from the oil sector, even though depleting oil reserves imply this revenue stream will shrink in the near future. Absent tax broadening measures like the GST, the GOM, which currently gets 38 percent of its revenue from the national oil company, will find it increasingly difficult to maintain its fiscal deficit within manageable bounds over the next decade. End summary. First, what the budget didn't do: 3. For an election year budget, many Malaysians were surprised by what it did not do. A widely anticipated voter-friendly cut in the top individual income tax bracket did not materialize, but neither did any additional "sin" taxes (on tobacco or alcohol) which the GOM tends to increase every year. Consistent with its billing as a "fiscally responsible" budget, no large new development projects were announced as part of the budget. However, the Prime Minister already had announced plans to invest heavily in three regions on the peninsula, including the "Iskandar Development Region" bordering Singapore, plus Northern and Eastern Corridor Regional Development Plans. Similar regional development projects are rumored to be in the works for East Malaysia as well. The Prime Minister announced that he is relying in large part on the private sector to finance these government initiatives. Reducing the deficit? A closer look at the numbers: 4. A closer look at the numbers shows that the GOM's formula for lowering the deficit is a result of two underlying assumptions, both of which have been received with some skepticism by local analysts. The first assumption is that real GDP will grow by 6 percent to 6.5% - a projection that analysts find somewhat optimistic. (Currently GDP is growing at approximately 5.7%.) The second assumption is that the private sector - particularly foreign investors - will provide the lion's share of the funding needed for the three regional development plans laid out by the Prime Minister. Spending up 2.5% from last year 5. Total budget expenditures (operating and development) for 2008 are RM 168.8 billion ($ 48.2 billion) in 2008, up 2.5% from RM 164.7 billion ($ 47 .1 billion) in 2007. Operating expenses up: 6. Operating costs will grow 4% to RM 128.8 billion ($ 36.8 billion) in 2008. Salaries comprise 28.1% ($ 10.3 billion) of operating expenditures and fixed charges and grants 49.6% ($ 18.3 billion). $ 11.4 billion for development: 7. Gross development expenditure is budgeted at RM 40.0 billion ($ 11.4 billion), 2.1% lower than the revised allocation of RM 40.9 billion ($ 11.7 billion) in 2007 as the government intends to count on the private sector to drive economic growth. This 8% reduction came as a surprise to many analysts, some of whom had projected an allocation of RM 48 to 50 billion ($ 13.7 to 14.3 billion) for 2008. However, the Ministry of Finance also may tap into its supplementary allocation of US$ 2.35 billion when the government does a mid-term review of the Ninth Malaysian Plan in mid-2008. 8. The biggest slice of the $ 11.4 billion development budget will go to education and training with $ 2.1 billion (18.4%), transport $ 1.9 billion (16.9%) and security $1.4 billion (15.2%). Trade & Industry and agriculture will receive $ 1.1 billion (9.7%) and $ 1.05 billion (9.4%) respectively. Plans to cut subsidies? 9. Subsidies will constitute 7.9% ($ 2.9 billion) of operating expenditures, declining 15.8% from 9.8% ($ 3.5 billion) of operating expenditure in 2007, indicating the government will possibly reduce fuel subsidies (perhaps on gas) in 2008. Fuel subsidies are about three quarters of the total subsidy payment. So far, the government has kept its promise not to raise domestic fuel prices this year as crude oil prices continue to rise. High oil prices to keep a lid on deficit, for now: 10. Despite the increase in public spending, the government announced that it expected the fiscal deficit to remain under control at RM 20.9 billion ($ 6.0 billion) or 3.1% of GDP in 2008, down from an estimated RM 19.9 billion ($ 5.7 billion) or 3.2% of GDP in 2007. The government projected revenue to increase 3.7% to RM 147.1 billion ($ 42 billion) in 2008 from RM 141.8 billion ($ 40.5 billion) in 2007, based on an assumption that oil prices will average $ 74 per barrel in 2007 and $ 75 per barrel in 2008. Oil-related revenues are expected to contribute $ 15.9 billion or 38% of total revenue in 2008, up marginally from $ 15.3 billion or 37.9% of total revenue in 2007. (Comment: As the petroleum income tax collection is based on preceding year's income, the government can be confident of its oil revenue in 2008. National oil company Petronas' dividend payment to the government will accelerate to $ 6.9 billion in 2007 from $ 5.1 billion in 2006.) New tax provisions: 11. Following are the most significant changes to the tax code proposed in the 2008 budget: -- Corporate tax, reduced from 28% in 2006 to 27% in 2007, will be reduced further to 26% in 2008 and 25% in 2009. This compares favorably to most countries in the region, with the exception of Singapore (18%) and Hong Kong (17.5%). Vietnam, China, Thailand, India, Indonesia and the Philippines all have higher corporate tax rates, ranging from 28% to 35%. (Taiwan's corporate tax rate is also 25%, but there is an additional 20% withholding tax on dividends.) -- Tax on dividends will no longer be adjusted to meet the recipient's tax rate. Currently, taxpayers in brackets above the corporate rate are required to pay the difference; taxpayers in brackets below the corporate rate are eligible for a refund. (Dividend payments are not subject to double taxation in Malaysia.) Companies may opt for a six-year phase-in of this new provision. -- Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) will be exempt from filing monthly tax estimates and paying monthly installments for the first two years of operations. Tax for the full two years will be liable upon filing at the end of the two years. A SME is defined as a company with ordinary paid-up share capital of less than RM 2.5 million (US$ 727,000). -- Information & Communication Technology (ICT) companies will be required to locate within specified geographic areas to retain current tax incentives. ICT companies will qualify for an exemption of import duties and sales tax for broadband equipment not produced in Malaysia. -- Income derived from trading of Certified Emission Reduction (CER) certificates will be tax exempt. -- Tax relief will be provided for post-graduate studies, sports and exercise equipment, children's educational accounts, computers, broadband subscription fees, and some retirement benefits. -- Expatriate income tax will be calculated according to the number of days physically present in Malaysia. -- A 7% cap on deductions for approved charitable contributions will be extended to individual taxpayers as well as companies. (Currently only companies are subject to the cap.) -- Companies located in the Labuan Offshore Financial Center can make an irrevocable election to be taxed at the regular Malaysian rate, allowing them to benefit from bilateral tax treaties that otherwise would exclude them. -- Taxpayers will be permitted to make mortgage payments out of their retirement savings accounts. -- A number of new incentives will be enacted for companies engaged in Islamic finance, including Islamic insurance (reftel). Comment: 12. The issue the Prime Minister isn't bringing up for this election-year budget is the problem of declining oil revenues. Petronas provides 35 to 40% of the GOM's budget. However, Malaysia is projected to be a net importer of oil within the next several years, based on a continued trajectory of 4% annual increases in domestic demand. This is a major problem because Petronas is obliged by the GOM to provide oil and gas for the domestic market at subsidized prices and it is responsible for covering the price gap between international and domestic prices. This of course eats away at its profits and its taxable income which is so essential to government revenue flows. While Petronas increasingly expands its operations overseas, it is unlikely to be able to do so rapidly enough to compensate for lost revenue when oil imports exceed exports. The problem of preventing a ballooning fiscal deficit when that happens is the elephant that everyone pretends not to see. KEITH (September 2007)
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| Posted: 13 Oct 2011 07:45 PM PDT
Chua Jui Meng warns BN that prison will not erase Anwar's political appeal. Chua, who became a political activist when he was studying law, joined MCA in 1976. He was elected as MP for Bakri (Johor) in 1986 and retained the seat for five consecutive terms. He became Deputy International Trade and Industries Minister in 1990 and Health Minister in 1995. G. Vinod, Free Malaysia Today Inside or outside of prison, Anwar Ibrahim will always be a force to reckon with. That is the view of a lot of people, whether they like or hate the opposition leader. But Chua Jui Meng, who repeated the statement in a recent FMT interview, is an admirer. "I've never seen a man so touched by God ," said the former health minister who is now a vice-president in Anwar's PKR. Some may say that is a tad too effusive, even coming from a comrade in arms. But Chua insisted that he had "seen it all" in decades of active politics. "Anwar is touched by God in a very special way. Despite the persecution he is suffering, he is still as bold as ever." One manifestation of that boldness, according to Chua, is that Anwar is never shy, even when addressing a predominantly Malay crowd, of articulating his belief that all races can thrive in Malaysia without anyone having to deprive anyone else. "That's extremely rare," coming from a Malay politician in Malaysia, he said. He cautioned his former colleagues in Barisan Nasional that having Anwar behind bars would be politically detrimental to them. Imprisoning him on "fabricated charges of sodomy" would only help Pakatan Rakyat win more seats in elections, he said. "And I believe Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is not unintelligent to know that putting Anwar behind bars will make a martyr of him. Remember what happened in 1998. Those who don't learn from history are bound to repeat it." Chua, who became a political activist when he was studying law, joined MCA in 1976. He was elected as MP for Bakri (Johor) in 1986 and retained the seat for five consecutive terms. He became Deputy International Trade and Industries Minister in 1990 and Health Minister in 1995. He joined PKR in July 2009, citing Malaysia's need for a strong two-party system. Chua believes that BN leaders know how strong Anwar's political influence is and will continue to harass him. But Anwar would always "bounce back strongly", he said. "I always tell the non-Malays that it took 50 years for Malaysia to have a man the stature of Anwar." Speaking about Pakatan's chances in the coming polls, Chua said the government's crackdown on Bersih 2.0 last July had swung fence-sitters to the opposition's side. He dismissed the notion that the hudud controversy had caused a dwindling of support for the opposition bloc, saying that many non-Malays, especially the Chinese, had warmed up to PAS. "The Chinese and Indians may not support hudud, but they respect PAS' views on it. They know PAS is a game changer in the current political landscape." In addition, Chua said, the non-Malays were aware that it would be tough for PAS to legalise hudud in Malaysia without it occupying two-thirds of the seats in Parliament. "And Umno should realise that it can no longer use hudud as a spectre to frighten the non-Malays like it did in 1999. People are more politically savvy these days." In the aftermath of Anwar's sacking from the Cabinet in 1998, the Malays abandoned the ruling coalition but Chinese and Indians voters kept BN in power out of fear of racial riots and the hudud provisions of Islamic law. Chua said the main challenge he was facing as PKR's Johor chief was to get Pakatan's message across to the rural areas. "Umno is going all out to prevent us from reaching out to Johoreans."
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| Projek Hospital Shah Alam: Kerajaan tanggung lebihan kos RM70 juta Posted: 13 Oct 2011 07:13 PM PDT
(Merdeka Review) - Akhirnya, Gadang Holdings Bhd yang "direstui" Kementerian Kerja Raya (KKR) memperolehi projek Hospital Shah Alam, mungkin dilihat sebagai tanda noktah kepada kemelut yang berlaku sekian lama. Namun demikian, di sebalik kemelut ini, timbul pertikaian ketidaktelusan dalam kementerian kerajaan, di mana KKR menyerah projek ini kepada Gadang tanpa melalui Kementerian Kewangan dan Jabatan Perdana Menteri, dan mengakibatkan kerajaan perlu menanggung lebihan kos setinggi RM70 juta.
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| Dangerous precedence in Sultan’s involvement in DUMC case Posted: 13 Oct 2011 06:52 PM PDT
DANIEL JOHN JAMBUN The decision to use the Sultan of Selangor with regards to the incidence of alleged proselytizing at the Damansara Utama Methodist church dinner has set a dangerous precedence because of several reasons. The people of Malaysia, regardless of the ethnic background and creed, are all directly involved and affected by this historic case in which the Sultan, as the head of Muslim affairs in Selangor, made a legal decision on the very sensitive matter. While I doubt that the Sultan was truly informed on all aspects, implications, ramifications and potential repercussions of the case, what has been done has been done, and we have to proceed to deal with it, possibly for many years to come. The king may reverse the situation if he rescinds his ruling but this seems unlikely to happen. So the first question that needs to be asked is why hasn't the syariah court given the opportunity to contribute to the solution of the case? Since the case also involves non-Muslims, shouldn't the civil court also be involved? We realize of course that if the two courts joined the tussle, it would lead to confusion about which law to apply on whom. Should the Muslims be dealt with with syariah law and the Christians be dealt with by applying civil law? But how would one settle the case with two laws clashing on a case that could potentially result in differing judgments made on two different parties, or both parties becoming affected by ruling of laws that shouldn't apply to them? It would be a classic case of religious rights and freedom in which two irreconcilable laws try to dominate without any acceptable resolution! All it would do would be to cause an international embarrassment and shame to the country's ridiculous two-layered legal system! So now we have a situation in which the Sultan has been used as an instrument of solution, which immediately results in many people raising issues about what's right and wrong. The royal ruling was made without any legal basis because he made it only as the leader of Islamic affairs in the state. There was no trial to decide who was guilty or not guilty. As a result the ruling in which the Sultan supported the raid by JAIS but assuring all that none would be charged, although the 12 Muslims who attended the fund-raising dinner would be given counseling, is spurious. The immediate assumption is that DUMC is guilty and that there was an attempt to proselytize. This then makes DUMC appear guilty, and so is in a defensive position while it is expected to keep silent and let the whole thing cool down. But it is not to be. Various parties are voicing out their unhappiness. The response from Sarawak is that one's religion is one's personal affair with God and none has the right to interfere in it. The other issue is the question of JAIS' right to flagrantly enter a church and disrupt its activities. Ng Kam Weng, of The Micah Mandate writes that "the jurisdiction granted by Article 11(4) of the Federal Constitution was to permit the state to control or restrict the propagation of religion among people professing to be Muslims. This must be read in the context of the Article itself which fundamentally provides for every person the freedom to profess, practice and propagate his religion…. There is no legal provision under the Propagation Enactment that allows Jais officials to intrude into the premises of DUMC, much less carry out a raid. From my reading of the Selangor Enactment (1988), the closest possible justification that can be offered by Jais are Sections 12 and 13, which specify that 'an authorised officer may investigate the commission of any offence under this Enactment and may arrest without warrant any person suspected of having committed any such offence.'" By this, clearly JAIS is in the wrong and should be judged for a contravention of provisions of the Federal Constitution and the Propagation Enactment. I agree with Bob Teoh, an online commentator, that JAIS "cannot hide behind its spurious actions and be exonerated from its controversial intrusion into a charity dinner held at a church…. It must be held accountable for its actions because it strikes at the very heart of criminal jurisprudence, law enforcement, and administration of justice — Islamic or otherwise. Jais cannot (be)…allowed to get away with it through flawed reasoning…. Jais descended upon a charity function…without invitation, permission or due authority…. Conducting a search without a warrant or an order from the court is considered an extra-judicial action. Is Jais, therefore, exempt from due process? And if so, why?" The simplistic method of using the Sultan to supposedly settle the whole thing down is clearly illegal and is a denial of the due process of law. What should have been done was to allow the due legal process to be carried out, especially because this is a test case for the country's dual legal system. Such a process may be protracted and expensive but it is necessary to give our judicial system a sense of honesty and transparency, and an opportunity for clarification and resolution for the long term legal benefits of all Malaysians. Unfortunately, because of the simplistic approach, we are all left hanging with the doubt and dissatisfaction. Because of this the civil-syariah dilemma will continue unresolved, and several questions will continue to haunt us. Will any church building be safe from raids by Islamic enforcement teams from now on, with or without reasonable cause? Which law should now precede in cases involving proselytization, or cases in which Muslim voluntarily joins a church to become Christians (without the church being aware that they are Muslims)? The other danger in this precedence is the now questionable position of the Sultan as the king of all the people of Selangor. He is installed as people's king, not merely the king of the Muslims. By taking sides in a religious issue, he has established an unwanted position as a king who is a protector of Muslims and no longer favouring the Christians. By making the decision he has also entered into the soiled realm of politics. Royals are supposed to be above politics being the patron and protector of all his people regardless of their race and religion. Sadly, in the case of Selangor, this may no longer be the case.
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| Posted: 13 Oct 2011 06:32 PM PDT
Now, the Christians condemn Islam for being barbaric (in particular reference to Hudud). But these are the same laws in the Bible. And the fact that Christians and Christian countries no longer follow these laws does not mean that the Bible has abolished these laws. These laws are still in the Bible. In fact, it says very clearly in the Bible that you are to kill your own children if they become apostates. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin
I remember back in the 1980s (if I'm not mistaken) when Malaysia introduced the RM1,000 fine for littering. We joked that if you smoke a cigarette during the fasting month of Ramadhan and you see a policeman, keep smoking. If you were to throw the cigarette onto the road you would get fined RM1,000 for littering. If you keep smoking you would get arrested for smoking in public when you are supposed to be fasting. The fine is only RM300 -- so it is cheaper. What has that joke got to do with what I am going to say today? Nothing, really, I just wanted to get your attention. Well, actually it is linked in some small way. I wanted to demonstrate that Islamic laws or Shariah laws have existed for a long time in Malaysia. It is not something new or something that is just about to be implemented. And there are many laws under the Shariah, the only one that is yet to be implemented would, of course, be that very controversial law called Hudud, which deals with 'serious crimes' (at least from the Islamic perspective). However, Shariah laws have always been imposed only on Muslims (or those perceived to be Muslims or suspected to have converted to Islam: hence the body snatching cases). Non-Muslims are exempted or immune from these laws. We once discussed a hypothetical situation. What if a man (or woman) was arrested for khalwat (close proximity: which means being in a secluded place with someone you are not married to) and he (or she) was dragged before the Shariah court to face charges? The charges are read to him/her and he/she responds by asking the court to prove that he/she is a Muslim. You see; close proximity is only a crime if you (or both of you) are a Muslim. If you are not a Muslim then no crime has been committed. So this man (or woman) asks the court, "How do you know that I am a Muslim?" That is a valid question. He/she may have been born from Muslim parents and may even have a Muslim name on his/her birth certificate and identity card. So, 'constitutional speaking', he/she is a Muslim. But what are the criteria for one to be regarded as a Muslim? Aren't there certain doctrines you have to believe in (beyond any shadow of doubt) to be a Muslim? And aren't there certain fundamentals you have to believe in plus certain rituals you have to perform to be a Muslim? What if you doubted that Prophet Muhammad was really a Prophet? What if you suspected (but are quite not sure) that he learned 'Islam' from Khadijah's cousin Warakah Nawfal, who was a Christian Ebionite priest -- considering that there is a lot of overlapping between Islam and the Old and New Testaments? (Khadijah was Prophet Muhammad's first wife). What if you suspected (but are quite not sure) that the Koran may not have come from God but was actually drafted by Prophet Muhammad from what he had learned from Warakah? If you start thinking like this then never mind if you were born from Muslim parents and have a Muslim name in your birth certificate and identity card. You are NOT a Muslim. You doubt the prophethood of Muhammad and you doubt that the Koran is God's word. That means you are not a Muslim. So, if you were to tell the Shariah court this -- about your doubts and that you do not think what Islam says about Prophet Muhammad and the Koran are correct and maybe are just myths -- then the court cannot try you as a Muslim. And since the Shariah court can only try Muslims, then it would have to stand down. Of course, then the religious department can arrange to send you for 'religious rehabilitation'. But that is another matter. The point is, they can't try you for khalwat since you have professed to not believing in the doctrine of Islam and that you doubt its veracity and suspect that these stories are mere myths and old wives' tales. Say, after many months in the detention camp and they still can't 'rehabilitate' you. You still insist that you do not believe in what you consider myths. Well, they can't put you to death because Hudud laws have not been implemented yet in Malaysia. So they will eventually have to let you go (which is what happened to one of my friends after two years of detention). Now, if they had implemented Hudud, and if the Hudud law for apostasy is death, then they can cut off your head. Actually, if you were to analyse the Hudud laws carefully, you can see that they are actually similar to the old Judeo-Christian laws. So one would not be faulted if one were to say that Islam was 'hijacked' from earlier religions (although Muslims would get very upset with you for saying this). Now, the Christians condemn Islam for being barbaric (in particular reference to Hudud). But these are the same laws in the Bible. And the fact that Christians and Christian countries no longer follow these laws does not mean that the Bible has abolished these laws. These laws are still in the Bible. In fact, it says very clearly in the Bible that you are to kill your own children if they become apostates. This is still in the Bible and has never been amended. And the fact that Christians and Christian countries today no longer implement these laws is for no other reason other than that Christians are bad Christians. The Christians have defied God and have rejected the Bible. There are very few Christians who still listen to God and follow God's word as laid out in the Bible. If they were true Christians, they too would kill apostates -- people who leave Christianity to become Muslims. Anyway, some Muslims want Islamic laws to be implemented. I am of the opinion that we let the Muslims work this out amongst themselves. Today, hardly any Christian would agree to be subjected to 'barbaric' Bible laws although this would mean they are violating the Bible. I suspect that the majority of Muslims would also decide to do the same. But it is up to the Muslims to decide this matter, not for non-Muslims to decide on behalf of the Muslims. The only thing the non-Muslims should be concerned about is that these Islamic laws would only be imposed on Muslims and not on non-Muslims, like what has been the case thus far. How these guarantees would be put in place is a matter that can be discussed and agreed upon. And once the non-Muslims are satisfied that they would be immune or exempted from ALL forms of Islamic laws, then let the Muslims do what they want. After all, in a democracy, everyone has a right to his/her religious beliefs and practices as long as it does not affect other people. |
| Saya serah kepada polis - Aziz Bari Posted: 13 Oct 2011 05:15 PM PDT
(Harakah Daily) - Pakar Perlembagaan, Prof Dr. Abdul Aziz Bari menyerahkan kepada polis untuk melakukan siasatan terhadapnya berhubung laporan yang dibuat, mendakwa beliau mempertikai titah Sultan Selangor dalam isu pemeriksaan terhadap Gereja Methodist Damansara Utama (DUMC). Beliau berkata, semua orang mempunyai hak untuk membuat laporan polis jika tidak berpuas hati terhadap tindakan mana-mana pihak dan polis juga berhak melakukan tugas mereka.
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| Selangor dances the limbo for JAIS Posted: 13 Oct 2011 04:29 PM PDT
The Sultan's decree does not resolve important issues raised by the farcical raid on DUMC and has left many with bottled up feelings of resentment and discontent Officials of DUMC have, from the outset, vehemently denied the allegations that Muslims had been proselytised at what they claim was a multiethnic gathering to raise funds for HIV/AIDS. They have however, criticised the actions of JAIS enforcement officials for their role and conduct in the unauthorised raid. Mariam Mokhtar, Free Malaysia Today The principal parties involved in the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (JAIS) raid on a Methodist church function last August have officially endorsed the sultan's solution, and the matter is deemed closed. The Sultan of Selangor's brief statement said that "….there had been attempts to subvert the faith and belief of Muslims" during the dinner at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) organised by the NGO Harapan Komuniti during Ramadan. Despite this, many issues remain unresolved and the rakyat is more perplexed than ever because his statement raises more questions than answers. How much involvement has Umno in the affairs of an opposition led state, do state religious authorities think that they are above the law and had abuses of power by JAIS been swept under the carpet? The statement did not allude to any evidence uncovered in these "attempts" at proselytisation, neither did it make reference to the Christians. However, it mentioned that no further legal action could be taken because of insufficient evidence and that JAIS had acted correctly in conducting the search. Sultan Sharafuddin said: "Therefore, after carefully deliberating the report by JAIS and after obtaining advice from religious authorities and legal experts, we are in agreement that there would be no prosecution against any party. "We are satisfied that the actions of JAIS were correct and did not breach any law enforceable in Selangor. We command that (Islamic officials) provide counseling to Muslims who were involved in the said dinner, to restore their belief and faith in the religion of Islam." Officials of DUMC have, from the outset, vehemently denied the allegations that Muslims had been proselytised at what they claim was a multiethnic gathering to raise funds for HIV/AIDS. They have however, criticised the actions of JAIS enforcement officials for their role and conduct in the unauthorised raid. Perhaps, the most disquieting statement was when the sultan said that he was "gravely concerned and extremely offended by the attempts of certain parties to weaken the faith and belief of Muslims." Malaysians have remarked that they are just as offended because nothing has been done to check high-handed officialdom and the mistrust which the officials have in the rakyat. Firstly, they are offended that Malays are perceived to be of weak faith and an even weaker constitution, that their presence in a largely Christian flock, when hymns are sung or prayers said, could make them denounce their faith. Secondly, the notion that any multiethnic event, be it a funeral, Christmas party, celebration of a festival or something as innocuous as a dinner, is seen as an attempt to convert the Muslim brethren. As defender of the faith, the sultan had also directed his subjects to stop questioning the actions of JAIS and that activities which spread other religions to Muslims should cease. He said: "The religion of Islam as practised in Selangor is one of tolerance. Muslims are always encouraged to respect the believers of other religions. However, persons or parties cannot take the opportunity to spread other religions to Muslims." What if a similar raid was on a mosque? But disgruntled non-Muslims have remarked: "It is all right for you Muslims. But who speaks for us, when members of our community undergo forced conversions? "Families are torn apart, children are separated from their mothers, bodies are snatched from graves, marriages cannot be registered. Where is the freedom to practise our religion as provided in the constitution?" A Malay resident of Petaling Jaya living beside a Church said: "No one questions JAIS for wanting to do its job. The issue is how JAIS conducted itself when it carried out the raid. "Did JAIS have any respect of the sanctity of a place of worship? Did it even follow procedures when conducting the raid? Are there any standard procedures in the first instance? "If a similar raid were to be conducted on a mosque, wouldn't there be a Muslim backlash? Without search warrants or strict adherence to guidelines to raid, do you think anyone will have any respect for authority if they simply bulldoze their way in? "Where is the respect for another person's religion?" Where is our tolerance?"
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| OWC sex book a cheap stunt, says SIS Posted: 13 Oct 2011 04:20 PM PDT
(Malaysian Digest) - Women's groups have hit out at the Obedient Wives Club' for its "explicit sex book" which called on a Muslim husband to have joint sex with all his spouses, reported The Star. Sisters in Islam (SIS) acting executive director Ratna Osman called it a "cheap stunt" to get its name in the local and international media spotlight. She said the group failed to look at the demands of society, which called for gender equality and progress in education.
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| Demonstrations continue at Jakarta embassy Posted: 13 Oct 2011 04:08 PM PDT
(Bernama) -- The Malaysian embassy in Jakarta continued to become a target for demonstrations since yesterday when another group known as Laskar Merah Putih (LMP) staged a demonstration claiming Malaysia had illegally taken over more than 1,000ha of Indonesian land in northern Kalimantan. About 70 LMP members who gathered with banners and hurled abusive slogans outside the embassy had tried to affix a flag on the gate but were prevented by police. Before leaving the leader of the group Adek Erfil Manurung handed a note to a security personnel on duty at the gate and announced that there would be a bigger demonstration on Oct 28. They also wanted the Malaysian government to resolve the border issue between both countries. Yesterday, a group calling itself Forum Betawi Rempug (FBR) numbering some 650 people hurled hard objects at the guard post and perimeter lighting and also at the policemen, also on a similar claim. The Indonesian Parliament's defence and foreign affairs commission deputy head Maj Gen (Rtd) T.B. Hasanuddin had told the local media on Saturday that Indonesia had lost 1,490ha in Camar Bulan to Malaysia and that the country's sea boundary in Tanjung Datu waters had moved 800m in favour of Kuala Lumpur. However, several Indonesian Cabinet ministers had rejected the lawmaker's claim that Malaysia had "illegally taken over" more than 1,000ha of Indonesian land in northern Kalimantan. In Kuala Lumpur, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman and his Indonesian counterpart Dr Marty Natalegawa said after the 11th Joint Commission for Bilateral Commission Cooperation Meeting on Tuesday that the border markers at the Kalimantan border, removed either by mischievous individuals or natural disasters, could easily be replaced by their joint survey teams. The issue emanated over a claim that Malaysia has seized 1,000ha of land belonging to Indonesia along the Malaysia-Indonesia border in West Kalimantan. Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had also said Malaysia and Indonesia had a special mechanism namely the Joint Border Committee (JBC) to resolve any border issues and added that it was doing a good job in resolving such issues when they cropped up.
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| Delhi says Astro deal illegal gratification for Maxis plans, companies deny charges Posted: 13 Oct 2011 03:58 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - Indian police have alleged that Astro's "highly inflated" purchase of shares in Sun Direct TV contributed RM351 million in illegal gratification to former Indian telecommunications minister Dayanidhi Maran and his brother Kalanithi. India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said the minister had denied telco company Aircel seven licences and other facilities, forcing its owner C. Sivasankaran to sell a 74 per cent stake to telecommunications giant Maxis. However, The Star reported today that Maxis and Astro, both controlled by tycoon T. Ananda Krishnan (picture), sent a letter to the CBI denying the allegations. Astro said it has had dealings with the satellite television broadcaster since 1996. But it also said the purchase of a 20 per cent stake in Sun TV from Kalanithi was proposed in March 2005, just months before Maxis expressed its intention to acquire Aircel. India's The Hindu reported today that the CBI accused Dayanidhi of "abusing his official position" after deliberately causing "undue delays and denials of legitimate requests of Dishnet DSL (Aircel)," paving the way for Maxis to acquire Aircel Televentures from Sivasankaran. "Enquiry has also revealed that Mr Dayanidhi Maran and Mr Kalanithi Maran, apart from being brothers, also have business associations for long," the Indian newspaper quoted the CBI as saying. The CBI said that after the "change of ownership to Maxis Communications... undue favours... were [done] for mala fide considerations." "An illegal gratification of Rs549,96,01,793 was accepted as a quid pro quo through his brother Kalanithi Maran in the garb of share premium invested in Sun Direct TV by South Asia Entertainment Holdings (a fully-owned subsidiary of Astro All Asia Networks Plc.)," it added. The CBI had filed the graft case against Ananda Krishnan, his trusted executive Ralph Marshall and the Marans on October 10 but both Astro and Maxis have denied the allegations.
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| MalaysiaKini confirms talks with Malay Mail Posted: 13 Oct 2011 03:54 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - News portal MalaysiaKini confirmed today it is in talks to sell content to Umno-linked newspaper The Malay Mail, with its founder defending the deal and saying it made good business sense. The Malaysian Insider reported yesterday that the English tabloid is negotiating a deal with the 12-year-old news site to swap a stake in the newspaper for content. MalaysiaKini editor Steven Gan denied today in a commentary on his website plans to own "a single share of Malay Mail or to surrender the ownership of Malaysiakini" but confirmed that talks are ongoing for "a simple content arrangement." Gan was forced to defend the deal and talks with The Malay Mail after receiving flak from readers over suggestions that his company would be going into bed with a company controlled by Umno interests. The Malay Mail, which first began in publishing in 1896, is now under the Redberry Media group, a subsidiary of listed Ancom Berhad spearheaded by Datuk Siew Ka Wei. Redberry is controlled by Siew and his partner Mohamad Al-Amin Abdul Majid, who is known to be a confidant of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. The remaining shares in The Malay Mail are held by businessman Ibrahim Mohamad Nor who had originally bought the newspaper from the New Straits Times Press. It became a free afternoon newspaper in May 2008 but recently announced plans to revert to being a paid daily.
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| BN fails to kill with a borrowed knife Posted: 13 Oct 2011 03:44 PM PDT
The BN government has lost a golden opportunity to finish off Pakatan in the battle of the budgets. The fact that Pakatan had announced its alternative budget earlier should have provided BN with a weapon, that is, RM1,100 to kill off Pakatan and yet BN strategists have failed to capitalise on this simple ruse which, in ancient Chinese military strategy, is called "Killing with a Borrowed Knife" or "Stabbing the Enemy with his Own Knife". Selena Tay, Free Malaysia Today Barisan Nasional's (BN) strategists for the 2012 Budget presented on Oct 7 really got it wrong this time. While there were gifts and goodies galore for civil servants, and pensioners as well, the private sector's low wage-earners and its retirees were neglected. Pertaining to the private sector's low-income group, the minimum wage figure was the bone of contention. The sector's low-wage earners were anxiously waiting for this figure to be announced by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak as Pakatan Rakyat was the first to fix the floor wage at RM1,100 in the Pakatan budget unveiled on Oct 4. If Najib had set the figure as RM1,200, Pakatan would have been blown out of orbit because there would have been a great swing of support from Pakatan to BN. Instead, BN budget strategists, for whatever reasons best known to themselves, chose to ignore the private sector low-wage earners. The minimum wage figure is a much-needed benchmark upon which wages will be decided but BN has chosen to ignore this fact at its own peril. Therefore, BN has certainly lost a golden opportunity to gain support from the private sector employees, especially those who work in blue-collar jobs in factories or those lower-ranked office staff such as general or administration clerks. See, all it takes is just RM100 to blow Pakatan away! The fact that Pakatan had announced its alternative budget earlier should have provided BN with a weapon, that is, RM1,100 to kill off Pakatan and yet BN strategists have failed to capitalise on this simple ruse which, in ancient Chinese military strategy, is called "Killing with a Borrowed Knife" or "Stabbing the Enemy with his Own Knife". If BN chooses to announce the minimum wage figure now, the impact will be lost and the public will know that BN is insincere or worst still, it is an election gimmick to garner votes from the low- income group. This terrrible blunder represents a great failure by the BN federal government to improve the earnings of Malaysian citizens. And it just goes to show that it is the government which is depressing the wage market and this means that all this talk by the government about improving workers' rights is merely hot air. Concerning the private sector retirees, theirs is a case of double tragedy. They, too, should have been entitled to the bonus payout of RM1,000 (RM500 paid out in August this year before Hari Raya Aidilfitri and RM500 to be paid this coming December). This is because in their heyday, they too have worked hard, paid their taxes and contributed to the development and progress of the nation. It is a travesty of justice that they have been so poorly neglected time and time again by the BN government. As for those old-timers, aged 70 and above, their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) savings would have most probably run out as the salary was small in those days. Thus, in this present day and age, their savings would have shrunk tremendously due to inflation and they would have no choice but to rely on their children to provide for them. That is all well and fine if their children are earning well but what if their children fail to make it in life? And what about those who are single? 1Malaysia slogan empty rhetoric The government's generosity towards the civil servants and pensioners has irked the low-wage earners who are clamouring for fair treatment to be meted out to them, too. It is extremely amazing that the government deems it fit to ignore the pleas for minimum wage from the low-income group in the private sector. This clearly shows that without a doubt the 1Malaysia slogan of "People First, Performance Now" is empty rhetoric to dupe the public. Ditto for the much-hyped up slogan of "BN is a caring government". Caring indeed but perhaps caring only for its own stranglehold of power in Putrajaya?
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| Copycat judge in a copyright case! Posted: 13 Oct 2011 03:34 PM PDT
While serving as a High Court judge in Johor in early 2000 Abdul Malik had allegedly committed the offence of plagiarising a judgment by then Singapore High Court judge GP Selvam and the irony of the matter was that Malik was hearing a case regarding copyright infringement. By Martin Jalleh When the respected retired judge N H Chan called certain judges in the appellate courts "imposters", "intellectual and legal frauds", "incompetent", "inane", "ignoramuses", "inconsistent" and even an "idiotic" bunch, little did he realise that he was being very mild. Now it has come to the public's notice that crouching amongst the growing company of judicial clowns and court jesters in the Palace of Justice is a copycat judge who allegedly plagiarised chunks of a judgment of another judge – in a copyright infringement case! Former Law Minister Rais Yatim has confirmed that the government had known about the plagiarising judge, but Rais tries to take the rakyat for a ride by blaming it all on the then Chief Justice (CJ), and that it was left to the latter to investigate and to take appropriate action. Copycat out of the bag Recently, veteran lawyer Karpal Singh, with the support of close to 60 Pakatan Rakyat MPs, submitted a motion to the office of the Parliament speaker against Justice Abdul Malik Ishak, to have him placed before a tribunal and be removed. While serving as a High Court judge in Johor in early 2000 Abdul Malik had allegedly committed the offence of plagiarising a judgment by then Singapore High Court judge GP Selvam and the irony of the matter was that Malik was hearing a case regarding copyright infringement. Malaysiakini highlighted two news reports in Singapore's Straits Times -- 8 March and 13 April, 2000 which were referred to by Karpal Singh. The newspaper quoted then CJ Eusoff Chin as having written to his Singapore counterpart, Justice Yong Pung How, asking for more information on the allegation of plagiarism. A month later, Eusoff told journalists that the matter was resolved and that it had arisen out of a "misunderstanding". He however did not elaborate. (By the way, this is the same CJ, whom a former CJ Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah had described as one who "kept lying to him" when the latter was a Federal Court judge and Eusoff was his boss! (Star, 30 Jan. 2008). The Straits Times also reported that Rais Yatim had promised an investigation. Rais was ridiculous enough as to add that it was not easy to establish plagiarism because it was normal for judges to quote one another extensively and that: "Quoting another judge is not plagiarism." The Straits Times report of 8 March, 2000 reduced Rais' "rescue bid" of the judge to pure rubbish when it quoted the former Singapore judge (Selvam) accusing the Malaysian judge of having obtained a copy of his (Selvam's) judgment through a lawyer and "having copied chunks from me without acknowledging". (Rais sat on the case for four long years and did nothing about it!) Selvam was also quoted to have said the Malaysian judge backdated his judgment so that people "will think I copied from him!" The naked truth appears each time Rais speaks through his rear end. After the Singapore judiciary got the cat out of the bag, the copycat was transferred out of Johor Baru and kept in cold-storage for a while. Seven years later the plagiariser would be promoted to the Court of Appeal (16 July, 2007)! This can only happen in Bolehland! Karpal Singh has described (on several online news portals) Malik's alleged plagiarising as a "judicial scandal", "misconduct of a very serious nature", "a source of embarrassment for our judiciary" and one that warrants "stern disciplinary action" by a Royal Tribunal. Will Justice Abdul Malik Ishak have enough honour left to resign on his own accord? Is there any remaining sense of decency and self-respect in him to acknowledge and accept the fact that his position as a judge has become clearly untenable. Will the Chief Justice save the judiciary and the country from further embarrassment or has the judiciary entirely lost its sense of shame and the CJ prefers to continue in his elegant silence? Meanwhile, taking the easy way out like Rais, Minister in the PM's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz said the government could not take action against Abdul Malik as it was a matter for the current judiciary to settle. Asked why the judiciary had not censured Abdul Malik until now, he said: "I don't know, you have to ask them." Strange, coming from a man who had once proudly and loudly declared himself as the "Minister for the Chief Justice"! Malik's other "achievements" On 10 Oct. 2009, the Court of Appeal, with Malik as the presiding judge, struck out Anwar Ibrahim's RM100 million defamation suit against Dr Mahathir on the technicality that the memorandum of appeal was not in Bahasa Malaysia. Malik stressed the supremacy of the national language as he delivered his 31-page written judgment in English! On 5 Oct. 2011, the Federal Court allowed Anwar Ibrahim's application to expunge portions of a written judgment made by Malik on 6 July in the Court of Appeal related to the Sodomy II trial, that were deemed disparaging of the politician and his lawyers. Karpal Singh (Anwar's lawyer) complained to the judges that Malik had "without jurisdiction and for an apparent purpose invoked a non-existent jurisdiction to maliciously and scurrilously (go into the merits and) embark on a relentless attack on Anwar and the lawyers (in the written judgment)". "This amounts to judicial assassination of the worst kind ... (and) to make matters worse, the appellant and the lawyers were not given an opportunity to defend ourselves... as the appellate court had allowed the preliminary objection. "The remarks were uncalled for and put the Judiciary in bad light. If the case was allowed to be heard on its merits, we (would have been) prepared to defend ourselves. However, we were not allowed to do so as the court allowed the preliminary objection." Karpal also questioned as to how Malik produced the written 40-page judgment on the day the appeal was heard at the Court of Appeal. Various law journals had reported that the judgment was produced on 6 July, but lawyers for Anwar only received it on 15 Aug. Malik had also scurrilously written: "This case will fall in history. It will be chronicled as the only known case in our country or for that matter within the Commonwealth enclave where the appellant as an accused person persistently and consistently filed one application after another in an attempt to recuse the learned trial judge from hearing and continuing to hear the sodomy trial which is ongoing." Very ironically, it is the case of Abdul Malik which will fall in history and be chronicled as the only known case in our country or for that matter within the Commonwealth enclave where the one found guilty of plagiarising in a copyright infringement case was the judge himself!
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| Posted: 13 Oct 2011 03:27 PM PDT
A REPUBLIC OF VIRTUE Dr Azly Rahman Shouldn't have I been angry and write this cranky grumpy poetry T's the state of the world so sorry That has made my brain cells fried and my emotions so roller-coastery Cool me off by writing poetry Dip me in Loon Lake or the one where Loch Ness have its weekend party I am cranky grumpy angry And I am not sorry ...
Thought of taking a walk to Ben and Jerry's OD'ed me on a gallon of Chunky Monkey Started thinking of Malaysia's Bersih Rally Give me that gallon of Yellow Mellow, Ben and Jerry! I want it now or you won't like to see me cranky You capitalist ice cream maker colonialist imperialist ice breaker! I am cranky and sweaty And I am not sorry for this cranky poetry
Yellow Mellow hot potato Yo' Malaysians you are so cranky You masses are angry I'll spray you with sambal tumis aplenty Stupid rallies they say Disturbing the peace of this country that is in harmony Shut up masses Hush and shush! While we steal diamonds, submarines, Twin Towers, golden yachts, and smuggle them out of the country Don't be cranky now Don't be grumpy It's all a game of who's mighty!
The heat Intensity Relativity Hiroshima Nagasaki Humans are crazy Radioactive crazy Terrorists aplenty Suicide bombers spirituality gone Lucifer-crazy Purgatory Black Sabbath Fender Stratocaster Hell-Raising guitar-ripping crazy Grumpy cranky sweaty I am in the heat of New York city Country roads take me home Sin City Jay Bee
My body's sweating with indescribable beauty Blood sweat tears of industry Like the workers of the world uniting in harmony March on walk on carry on In the heat of the summer night Bring down the corporate imperialists down to their knees Globalization ain't apple pie and cream cheese A billion served a billion more starved McJihad McTerror McModern Slavery Aaargh...hot sweet summer beauty this heat is making me write cranky poetry Stop me Take away my pen before I march alongside Wise Old Man Samad Said in his next BERSIH Rally
(DR AZLY RAHMAN, who was born in Singapore and grew up in Johor Baru, holds a Columbia University (New York) doctorate in International Education Development and Master's degrees in the fields of Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies and Communication. He has taught more than 40 courses in six different departments and has written more than 300 analyses on Malaysia. His teaching experience spans Malaysia and the United States, over a wide range of subjects from elementary to graduate education. He currently resides in the United States.) https://www.facebook.com/#!/azly.rahman http://azlyrahman-illuminations.blogspot.com/
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| Why the hudud controversy will not die Posted: 13 Oct 2011 03:13 PM PDT
The politicians, mullahs and kings do not know all the answers or what's best for society. The Muslims must be able to evaluate and decide on hudud free from social pressures and political or religious brainwashing. This includes the notorious 'bad Muslim' stigma that could prevent them from saying 'no' to hudud when 'no' is what they truly desire. Pak Sako, Free Malaysia Today PAS and DAP's decision to 'agree to disagree' on hudud must be taken for what it really is: a politically-motivated temporary ceasefire. It does not resolve the hudud controversy. The controversy can never be resolved as long as the fundamental questions of the hudud debate continue to be avoided. The questions are:
A national dialogue on implementing hudud must exhaustively probe these questions before anything else. An open and critical exploration of these questions will help the public learn and decide about whether hudud is necessary, worthwhile, appropriate or out-of-date. It will enable policymakers to discover whether the informed public desires hudud or not. Without full public discussion and public consent, it is immoral for policymakers to presuppose the value of hudud and speak about its implementation. It is also wrong to assume that a simple parliamentary majority (which is all that is needed) is an automatic mandate to incrementally amend the federal constitution to accommodate hudud. The public on their part should not leave it the politicians, the religious scholars or the royalty to decide matters for them. The politicians, mullahs and kings do not know all the answers or what's best for society; they have a personal or biased interest in the matter; and it is undemocratic to allow the preferences of these vested interest groups to influence a decision that should be in the hands of the people. Special obligation to explain If after careful deliberation the people choose to reject hudud, this decision must be respectfully accepted. The Islamic theologians are useful insofar as they can provide the evaluating public with technical input, such as the scope, workings and other details of hudud. Likewise with the political scientists and other relevant experts. All members of the public including interest groups and civil society organisations should thrash out the questions about the purposes and worth of hudud. The Muslims must be able to evaluate and decide on hudud free from social pressures and political or religious brainwashing. This includes the notorious 'bad Muslim' stigma that could prevent them from saying 'no' to hudud when 'no' is what they truly desire. As for the non-Muslims, they are not free to wash their hands of the issue; they are responsible parties to any law that the politicians they had elected might enact and administer upon their fellow citizens. PAS and all other proponents of hudud have a special obligation to explain the explicit and implicit aims they believe hudud is to serve and the rationales for these. They must engage in discussions about the value of hudud and the problems and concerns associated with it. The burden of proof is on the shoulders of the proposers of the law.
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| PAS will ask Hu to explain statements Posted: 13 Oct 2011 01:38 AM PDT
(Bernama) - The PAS Central Committee will be calling up PAS Supporters Congress head Hu Pang Chaw to explain certain media statements he made which were not consistent with the party's policy. PAS information chief Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said even though the party practised democracy in dealing with members, when it came to internal issues, they were urged to resolve them within the party. "Undeniably PAS as a major party cannot run away from internal challenges, hence the various channels for the party to obtain feedback and explanation on any disagreeable issue," he said in a statement here Thursday. On Wednesday Hu was reported as saying the media in the country had the right to get the real picture of what was happening in PAS, especially with regard to implementation of hudud laws.
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| Home Ministry asked to explain illegal registration claims Posted: 13 Oct 2011 01:18 AM PDT
(The Sun Daily) - The Home Ministry has been pressed to address allegations concerning the illegal operations of a syndicate registering foreigners as voters. PAS leaders suspect that there is a syndicate, possibly involving civil servants, which conducts this illegal operation of granting citizenship to Indonesians, Bangladeshis and Cambodians in Putrajaya. "There have been disclosure after disclosure but we still do not have an answer from the Home Ministry on this issue," said PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub (PAS-Kubang Kerian). "Pakatan Rakyat (PR) members of Parliament (MP) will bring up this issue in Parliament for a concrete explanation from the ministry," he told a press conference at Parliament lobby. He claimed that there are eye-witnesses and visual evidence to support the claims. "Yesterday (Oct 12), six buses from Johor spotted at the Putrajaya mosque in the morning, were later sighted at Astana Dugang Country Resort at Kg Desa Putra, near the Putrajaya International Convention Centre," he said. "The buses were spotted dropping of passengers at a private training centre." He said witnesses confirmed that the passengers were Indonesians, Bangladeshis and Cambodians from their appearances and accents. Salahuddin said one eye-witness, the party's Youth treasurer, Mohd Adram Musa, who was also present at the press conference, claimed to have seen several government vehicles and civil servants, mainly police officers and Health Department officers from Senai, Johor, allegedly assisting the passengers. "This was a very suspicious scenario. The government has to explain what these officers were doing there and what sort of activity was held at the centre," Salahuddin said, claiming that there are attempts to register foreigners as voters. Mohd Adram claimed that there are attempts to grant citizenship to foreigners who are permanent residents. It was reported that PAS members had gathered outside a resort in Bangi, believed to be Astana Dugang, after being tipped off that six buses had brought some 240 foreigners from Kulai in Johor to Putrajaya. Mohd Adram said PAS had formed a group to investigate the alleged incident and it had more or less succeeded in proving the allegations. "We have identified an individual suspected to be heading the operation," Salahuddin said. "The individual claimed that the foreigners were brought in for an entrepreneurial course at the centre," Salahuddin said showing a picture of the man to reporters. Mohd Adram said, "But when we asked some of the Indonesians (at the centre), they said they came to receive identification cards (MyKad)." However, he said the group did not spot any officials from the Immigration Department or the National Registration Department. Salahuddin said that even if the foreigners were permanent residents, the government must "follow the proper procedures in granting citizenship" instead of transporting them in buses to a remote locations.
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| WIKILEAKS: Islamic Finance in Malaysia Part 2: Obstacles and Opportunities Posted: 13 Oct 2011 01:00 AM PDT
The concept of the time value of money is ignored, and the difference between the purchase and resale price is attributed solely to risk. A blind eye is turned to the fact that compensation for "risk" is equal to what a conventional bank would charge in interest, and this "risk" even can be compounded daily. Practitioners acknowledge this and other "impurities" in how Islamic finance is carried out, but hope that someday the industry will grow big enough to establish its own benchmarks. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin 1. (U) Summary: Malaysia is determined to become a global hub for Islamic Finance, and already accounts for two thirds of outstanding Islamic bond issuances (reftel). However, at a recent conference in KL, financial experts discussed a number of obstacles holding back development of this niche market. Chief among them was the inadequacy of the secondary market and the lack of Islamic derivative products. Higher legal fees and complications arising out of the need for Sharia compliance were a burden as well. Nevertheless, the Malaysian government remains optimistic and content to have a pragmatic approach to development rather than get hung up on the need for a "purist" approach to Sharia compliance. End summary. Central Bank Governor Claims 40% Annual Growth in Islamic Bonds 2. (U) At the 2nd Malaysian Islamic Finance Conference in Kuala Lumpur last month, Central Bank Governor Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz announced that Malaysia accounted for about two-thirds of outstanding Islamic bonds throughout the world, amounting to roughly US$47 billion in 2007. High savings rates in Asia and the Middle East were driving demand, she said, resulting in an average growth rate of 40% per year in the scale of the Islamic bond market. How to Build the Industry 3. (U) While Governor Zeti focused largely on Malaysia's success with Islamic bonds, other speakers at the conference focused on what needed to be done to build the industry. Malaysia's RHB Islamic Bank chairman Vaseehar Hassan urged Malaysian Islamic banks to venture overseas and establish links with Middle Eastern markets, while also calling for non-Malaysian banks to issue Islamic bonds in Malaysia. Still a Developing Capital Market 4. (U) Investors at the conference complained that the Islamic derivative market was inadequate, and that there was almost no secondary domestic market for Islamic products. There are simply too few players and intermediaries, they commented, so most investors prefer holding their investments. Moreover, few Islamic derivative products exist. Some investors also accused banks of not being transparent in risk management due to the lack of Islamic derivatives for hedging purposes. Similarly, international rating agencies have noted the difficulty in rating Islamic products as there are few products for benchmarking. In the case of Islamic REITs (Real Estate Investment Trust), Moody's Representative Director Christina Maynes said it was very much a conventional REIT in Malaysia's case. However, she commented that Middle Eastern investors generally preferred to invest in real estate directly. Double the Legal Fees 5. (U) Issuers complained about the difficulty and higher cost in coming up with Sharia-compliant products. Legal fees essentially double with the added layer of a board of Islamic scholars who must adjudicate Sharia-compliance. Sharia-compliance a high bar to meet 6. (SBU) In addition, Sharia compliance is stringent: in addition to the basic prohibitions, like alcohol, gambling, etc., income from interest and debt to asset ratios must be below certain thresholds. Ed Teather, Executive Director and Senior Economist for ASEAN Research, told ECONOFF that these kinds of requirements made Islamic finance theoretically viable for refinancing existing assets, but nearly impossible to finance a new initiative that exists only as a blueprint or a business plan. In addition, he pointed out that with the current excess liquidity in the market it simply did not make economic sense for corporations to go to the added trouble and extra expense of issuing Islamic products. Shortage of experts 7. (U) Yet another barrier is a lack of skilled Islamic finance professionals. Banking professionals are seldom proficient in Sharia, while Islamic scholars are seldom proficient in finance. The GOM is providing scholarships to Malays who want to study Islamic finance and has established a training entity funded and coordinated through the Central Bank. The 2008 budget proposes to exempt expatriate Islamic finance professionals from paying income tax in an effort to attract more talent from the Middle East. Working Towards Becoming "Purely Islamic" 8. (U) Islamic finance, as it is currently practiced, is not regarded as "pure" by many practitioners and scholars. However, there is a general consensus among these experts on the need to build the industry until it can become independent of the global conventional finance system. Until then, interest rates remain the fundamental benchmark for pricing and the mingling of Islamic and conventional assets will continue. 9. (U) Islamic finance, which forbids charging interest, uses an underlying asset to structure a "trade" as a substitute for a loan. For example, a contract is written to buy a specific amount of wheat and then re-sell the wheat at a specified later date at a different price. The price difference can be used to finance an entirely unrelated transaction. The concept of the time value of money is ignored, and the difference between the purchase and resale price is attributed solely to risk. A blind eye is turned to the fact that compensation for "risk" is equal to what a conventional bank would charge in interest, and this "risk" even can be compounded daily. Practitioners acknowledge this and other "impurities" in how Islamic finance is carried out, but hope that someday the industry will grow big enough to establish its own benchmarks. 10. (SBU) The concerns of some practitioners go further. Rafe Haneef, Citibank's Head of Islamic Finance for Asia, told ECONOFF that in order to truly practice Islamic finance, one had to be concerned about what the next customer did with the wheat even after the Islamic bank no longer held title to it. The wheat could be sold for consumption, but once it had been used in an Islamic transaction, it should not be used in any interest-bearing transaction. He said this would be "like selling grapes to a winemaker." 11. (SBU) Because the market for Islamic finance remains small, some mingling of funds is inevitable, as there simply are not enough Islamic financial products available. "All roads lead to U.S. Treasury bonds eventually," explained David "Daud Abdullah" Vichary, a longtime Islamic finance practitioner and British national. As the same money gets circulated, it is impossible to shelter it from conventional finance, he told ECONOFF. Comment 12. (U) Whether or not Islamic finance will overcome its obstacles and become a major global industry remains an open question. The vision of its promoters is to tolerate a bit of un-Islamic "impurity" for now out of necessity, but to gradually move toward a "purer" form as the industry grows. In Malaysia, with the government in an activist mode, the approach to Islamic finance is more pragmatic than pure, and it appears to be a growing reality. KEITH (September 2007)
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| Within a year, 300% increase in new voters Posted: 12 Oct 2011 07:27 PM PDT
(Harakah Daily) - Even as the controversy surrounding various revelations about electoral fraud continues, minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz dropped a shocking figure of newly registered voters, showing a three-fold increase in 2010 compared to 2009. In his parliamentary reply to Bukit Bendera member of parliament Liew Chin Tong, Nazri revealed that a total of 820,156 people had been registered as voters in 2010 compared to 276,621 in 2009.
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| Dr M: Make laws, regulations innovation-friendly Posted: 12 Oct 2011 05:22 PM PDT
(Bernama) - The government must re-examine all the laws and regulations and update them if necessary to make them innovation-friendly, said former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed. He said the government should review its policy to ensure it is still relevant to the current business conditions and fast changing environment.
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| Posted: 12 Oct 2011 04:59 PM PDT
ZAID IBRAHIM In the early 1990s then-Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad initiated a move to develop Kampung Baru in Kuala Lumpur. The sleepy Malay enclave desperately needed development so as not to become a slum in the middle of the Golden Triangle. At the time, the stumbling block was the unrealistic demands by some of the owners regarding the price that their properties could fetch. Ownership in Kampung Baru is complicated: lands in Kampung Baru are usually jointly owned by members of the family. This is largely due to Islamic inheritance laws. An owner usually has an undivided share in the land, and as such, that owner has a say in the matter of the whole piece of property represented under that title. It matters not that he owns only one-twentieth of the total property — he can still veto any transaction. Development in Kampung Baru must therefore take an innovative approach. It requires Government intervention and it needs a legal mechanism to ensure that unreasonable demands of a few are not allowed to scuttle the wishes of the majority of owners. In addition to a viable legal structure, it needs a capital injection that only the Government can provide. It also needs good marketing and a maintenance organisation to ensure that properties built can command good prices comparable to the surrounding area. Today, 20 years after Dr Mahathir's initiative, Kampung Baru residents have another chance at getting the development they need. The decision of the Federal Government to develop the area should be viewed positively. Of course, the proposal needs careful study and landowners must be able to get fair market value. It will be better still if owners can also have a share in the profit of the development of the area. What is important is that landowners must not be coerced or influenced by politicians who pander only to emotion and say things like "the Malays are going to lose their land." The Malays can be better off economically only if they participate in the development of their assets. Without development, Kampung Baru will continue to be an asset that produces no income.
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| Perkasa claws at Suhakam’s Bersih rally rights probe Posted: 12 Oct 2011 04:49 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali demanded today the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) justify its inquiry into allegations of rights violations during the Bersih 2.0 rally, saying the commission should not entertain complaints by illegal groups. The commission's inquiry commenced on Tuesday with witnesses testifying that riot police had fired tear gas directly at a crowd of peaceful and "non-hostile" Bersih supporters and that demonstrators were violently shoved to the ground and kicked by police personnel during July 9 rally. The rally for free and fair elections turned chaotic when police fired tear gas and water cannons at thousands of demonstrators, resulting in nearly 1,700 arrests, scores injured and the death of ex-soldier Baharuddin Ahmad, 59. Today, Ibrahim told Suhakam to explain why it considered human rights violations to have occurred during the rally, when the both the event and its organiser were deemed illegal by the government. "By entertaining the complaints by illegal groups like Bersih 2.0, Suhakam has given recognition to other illegal groups as well," he said in a statement. The Pasir Mas MP insisted that human rights "cannot go above our country's laws". "I hope Suhakam, which has a role to uphold human rights, also understands the issue that I'm bringing up and that the people who do not like chaos on the road also have human rights," he said. The outspoken Malay rights group leader then said human rights are not just for Bersih supporters. "What about the rights of people who hated Bersih's actions? Where are their human rights?" he asked. Suhakam said it had received the names of 26 individuals who had agreed to record their statements and testify. Three witnesses have testified so far. The inquiry has set itself three terms of reference — to identify human rights violations on or before July 9; to determine how the violations occurred as well as the process and agency involved; and to make recommendations to prevent any recurrence.
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| OWC book urges Muslim women to have joint sex Posted: 12 Oct 2011 04:39 PM PDT
(The Star) - The controversial Obedient Wives Club (OWC) has set off another round of public outrage with an "explicit sex book" which encourages a Muslim husband to have joint sex with all his wives. The 115-page book titled Seks Islam, Perangi Yahudi untuk Kembalikan Seks Islam kepada Dunia (Islamic Sex, fighting Jews to return Islamic sex to the world), has a picture of the late Asaari Muhammad, the banned Al-Arqam leader, on the cover. An excerpt from a passage printed on the back encouraged Muslims husbands to have sex simultaneously with their wives. The book stated that research showed women only gave their husbands 10% of what they wanted from their wives' bodies, a local daily reported yesterday. According to the report, chapter eight titled Bagaimana seks menjadi ibadah (How sex becomes worship), contained explicit descriptions of sexual acts. Facebook page "We do not want sexist nonsense from Global Ikhwan Sdn Bhd" founder Matthew Ong expressed outrage over the book and urged Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil to intervene.
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| Malays must change freebie mindset, says Dr M Posted: 12 Oct 2011 04:36 PM PDT
(The Star) - The Malay community should work hard to reap rewards, instead of merely looking forward to receiving "free things", said former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. "I know many people in this country go for free things. But we should feel ashamed when we take something for free," he said in his speech when launching the Ummah Unity and Economy Seminar organised by the Malaysia Islamic Welfare Organisation (Perkim) and Malay Chamber of Commerce here yesterday. Dr Mahathir, who is the Perkim president, added that Muslims, who were among the poorest communities in Malaysia, should work hard to be financially stable. "When you are wealthy, you can help develop your religion. "For example, if you are rich, you would have the means to donate to the construction of mosques and so on. "However, Muslims must know how to manage their finances well. "There is no use being a billionaire if you spend more than what you have. You will only end up owing the bank," he said. Dr Mahathir added that the Malays would lose their power in the country in the next 10 years if they did not unite now. He said if the community was to split into different factions, they would become minority groups in the country. "The minority cannot rule the country in a democratic framework, under which the majority rules," said Dr Mahathir, urging the Malay community to be united based on their Islamic faith. Dr Mahathir regretted Muslims in the country were not taught the importance of uniting from young. "When we were young, our religious teachings taught us to be devout. However, these did not stress on unity among Muslims. "The reasons as to why we should be united were not imparted to us either."
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| Posted: 12 Oct 2011 04:34 PM PDT
(The Star) - PAS Supporters Congress chairman Hu Pang Chaw, who opposes the hudud law championed by the party, said he has been warned not to talk about the issue to the press. He said, however, he would not stop talking about the possible effects the hudud law will have on non-Muslims. "The media has the right to know what is happening in the party. I am not afraid to face disciplinary action as what I am doing is for the good of our congress members," he said in an interview here. Kelantan PAS Youth chief Abdul Latiff Abdul Rahman in a statement published by Harakahdaily.net had reportedly told Hu not to threaten the state government or the party over the issue. Abdul Latif said Hu, a former journalist with a Chinese daily here, should discuss his grouses within the party and not go to the media to air his grievances. "This is the problem, the party is not transparent on this issue," said Hu. "It is my opinion that Kelantan PAS should have done the proper groundwork to explain the mechanics of implementing the hudud laws before announcing it to the country," he said. "I leave my fate to the top leaders and they can take any action they wish," he said. The congress stemmed from the setting up of the PAS Supporters Club at the start of the 2004 general election to draw non-Muslims to the party and to break the hoodoo that the party is against them. The club became the PAS Supporters Congress and was recognised as a full-fledged party wing in May last year to promote the party's re-branded "PAS for All" image. In another development, Kelantan Umno chief Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamad said more disillusioned PAS members were expected to join Umno. He said they were not happy that their party seemed more concerned about the hudud law than addressing the bread and butter needs of the people. "Previously, they kept away from Umno. Now that the political scenario has changed, they have shown interest by attending Umno programmes," added the International Trade and Industry Minister. He was speaking to reporters at a function where more than 300 PAS members handed their applications to join Umno at Kampung Kursial Baru in Tanah Merah on Tuesday. Former Kampung Baru Kursial Baru PAS branch secretary Zahari Hamat, 46, said he was fed up with the empty promises made by party leaders to champion the cause of the people.
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| ‘Govt holding on to Auditor’s report’ Posted: 12 Oct 2011 04:19 PM PDT
Pakatan Rakyat MPs claim that the government is deliberately delaying the release of the Auditor-General's Report. (Free Malaysia Today) - The Auditor-General (A-G) Report is apparently being held back by the government despite being completed prior to the Budget 2012, Pakatan Rakyat MPs claimed. Sungai Petani MP (PKR) Johari Abdul said that he called the A-G's office yesterday, only to be told that the report was already sent out. "The A-G's office said they finished it (the report) much earlier than last year. They said they've done a better job (too), but the reports are not here," he told reporters in the Parliament lobby today. "The A-G's office was shocked when they heard that MPs did not get it… where is it (the report)? Is it in the A-G's office, in the Prime Minister's Office or in Parliament?" he asked. Johari was also accompanied by Balik Pulau MP (PKR) Yusmadi Yusoff, Pokok Sena MP (PAS) Mahfuz Omar and Tumpat MP (PAS) Kamaruddin Jaafar. At the same time, Mahfuz confirmed that some states, including Kelantan, had already received a copy of the individual state audit reports. "There are some states that have gotten a copy of the report but Parliament hasn't gotten it yet," he said. Earlier this week, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz said that the report would be released after a go-ahead from the Cabinet this Friday. It is expected that the report, which is usually given out before the annual Budget is announced, would only be released two weeks after this Friday.
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Dalam satu kenyataan di Bursa Malaysia pada 10 Oktober 2011, Gadang Holdings Bhd mengumumkan bahawa anak syarikatnya Gadang Engineering (M) Sdn Bhd telah memperolehi projek Hospital Shah Alam, dengan kontrak bernilai RM410.87 juta. Projek ini akan disiapkan dalam tempoh 24 bulan.
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