Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- First Lady Michelle Obama and First Lady Rosmah Mansor
- New Italian, Greek governments race to limit damage
- Sex, Politics & Seksualiti Merdeka
- Is sustainable development possible?
- Ambiga now Umno’s troubled nightmare
| First Lady Michelle Obama and First Lady Rosmah Mansor Posted: 14 Nov 2011 12:01 AM PST
First lady Michelle Obama greets Datin Sri Rosmah Mansor, wife of the Prime Minister of Malaysia before the APEC Spousal Luncheon at Kualoa Ranch in Ka'a'awa, Hawaii.
http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2108374
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| New Italian, Greek governments race to limit damage Posted: 13 Nov 2011 05:07 PM PST "This has become a crisis for our common currency, the euro, which does not have the support that every currency should have," he said in a video message. REUTERS Technocrat leaders in Italy and Greece were rushing to form governments as they sought to limit the damage from the euro zone debt crisis today, with stocks and the euro rising when markets opened in Asia. Italy's president asked former European Commissioner Mario Monti yesterday to form a government to restore market confidence in an economy whose debt burden is too big for the euro bloc to bail out. Investors will pass initial judgment on his leadership when Italy's Treasury asks investors today to bid for up to €3 billion (RM12.9 billion) in five-year government bonds. At an auction last week, the government's borrowing costs surged above six per cent and kept rising to levels well beyond what the country could afford to pay over the longer term. In Asia, stocks and the euro rose on hopes that Monti and Greece's new prime minister, Lucas Papademos, would take decisive action. "Symbolically perhaps it's (Berlusconi's exit) a positive — it sends the message that it's putting a certain chapter behind them but the fact remains is that this is difficult medicine to administer and it doesn't really matter who gives the order, it's going to be a difficult pill to swallow," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Trust in Chicago, which oversees US$50 billion. Onus on governments Outgoing Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi made a parting call yesterday for the European Central Bank to become a lender of last resort to prop up the euro. "This has become a crisis for our common currency, the euro, which does not have the support that every currency should have," he said in a video message. But ECB policymakers have made plain they want to keep the onus on governments to bring their debt burdens under control and have rebuffed world leaders who want the bank to ramp up its intervention on bond markets to defend Italy and other vulnerable debtors. "Monetary financing (of government debt) will set the wrong incentives, neglect the root causes of the problem, violate the legal foundations on which we work, and destroy the credibility and trust in institutions," ECB governing council member Jens Weidmann told the Financial Times, adding he was confident "Italy will be able to deliver".
 Polls published in Greek newspapers show new leader Papademos has the support of three in four Greeks. — Reuters pic While Italy's problems and the long-drawn-out departure of the flamboyant Berlusconi have pushed the collapse of the much smaller Greek economy backstage, the IMF and European leaders will keep Papademos, under pressure to implement radical reform aimed at staving off bankruptcy. Papademos succeeds George Papandreou, whose proposal to hold a referendum on the country's bailout terms prompted EU leaders to raise the threat of a Greek exit from the currency bloc. The new Greek leader, a former central banker who oversaw his country's entry to the euro zone in 2002, must win a Wednesday confidence vote in his cabinet before meeting euro zone finance ministers in Brussels on Thursday, state television reported, where he will be expected to outline next year's draft budget before putting it to parliament. Polls published in yesterday's newspapers show Papademos has the support of three in four Greeks. But he will face his first protest in front of parliament this afternoon from left-wing demonstrators who accuse the new government of working in the interests of bankers. Meanwhile inspectors from the "troika", the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and European Union, are due to start arriving in Athens on Monday, piling the pressure on Greece to qualify for a second bailout worth €130 billion and an €8 billion tranche from the earlier bailout, needed to finance bond payments due at the end of the year, according to Reuters data. "It's unfortunately turning into a vicious cycle," said Harris Trust's Ablin. It's a banking crisits that turned into a sovereign crisis and now that's boomeranging back into a banking crisis."
 Italy's president asked former European Commissioner Mario Monti yesterday to form a government to restore market confidence in Italy's economy. — Reuters pic EU monetary affairs chief Olli Rehn has said the EU and IMF will not release the tranche without written assurances from all Greek parties that they will back the measures, but New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras, who has given only tepid backing to the unity government, has said he will sign no pledge under external pressure. In Rome, people sang, danced and opened bottles of champagne, and an impromptu orchestra near the palace played the Hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah when news spread on Saturday that the scandal-plagued Berlusconi, one of Italy's richest men, had resigned. German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed signs of an end to the weeks of uncertainty in Italy, saying the approval of a reform package in parliament on Saturday was "heartening". She also urged euro zone states yesterday to give more powers to Brussels and push towards closer fiscal union. She told Germany's ZDF television: "We want to keep the euro, along with all the other states that have it. But that requires a fundamental change of our policy and 'more Europe'."
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| Sex, Politics & Seksualiti Merdeka Posted: 13 Nov 2011 03:06 PM PST By Mong Palatino, The Diplomat First organized in 2008, the Seksualiti Merdeka festival has been an annual celebration of sexual diversity and gender rights in Malaysia. It promotes the human rights and acceptance of the LGBT community through films, art workshops, stage plays, and seminars. Themed 'Queer Without Fear,' this year's vision is for everyone "to be free from discrimination, harassment and violence for their sexual orientations and their gender identities." According to organizers, festival attendance grew from 500 people in 2008, to 1,500 last year. A bigger number was expected this year, but unfortunately, the police decided to be a party pooper by banning the festival activities. They even threatened to arrest any individual who defies the ban; the organizers were also summoned for questioning. Police justified the ban by arguing that the festival "could create disharmony, enmity and disturb public order." The police could, truth be told, be referring to the tiny but loud protests of conservative groups that denounced the festival for promoting "free sex" and the gay lifestyle. They are the same groups that expressed opposition to the upcoming Elton John concert in Malaysia. The festival organizers, which represent a coalition of groups that includes the Malaysian Bar Council and Amnesty International, reminded the government about their right to conduct peaceful forums, workshops and performances. They added that the "intimidating displays of hatred and ignorance towards us, and calls for us to be shut down, demonstrate why we absolutely need a safe space and event like Seksualiti Merdeka." They should also note the fact that Malaysia was a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948 before becoming a member of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, "vowing to respect sexual rights as universal rights based on the inherent freedom, equality and dignity of all human beings." According to MP Charles Santiago of Klang, the government and police have exposed themselves to the world as "callous, intolerant and homophobic" when they banned Seksualiti Merdeka. But he also believes there's a more sinister reason why the festival was banned: "Driven by the need to stay in power, the government has fashioned the controversy surrounding the festival for its own political mileage. Clearly the ban demonstrates the ongoing persecution against Ambiga." Aside from being a supporter of Seksualiti Merdeka, Ambiga is a Malaysian lawyer who spearheaded Bersih 2.0, a popular movement for electoral reforms that damaged the credibility of the ruling political coalition. The ban generated an international outcry from human rights groups and LGBT networks, which sent protest letters to the Malaysian government. They demanded the lifting of the ban against Seksualiti Merdeka, they asked police not to arrest or intimidate the festival organizers, and they called for the protection of the organizers from private actor violence. The groups added that the ban also proved that it's necessary to "conduct a public awareness campaign about equality before the law and non-discrimination, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity." They asked authorities to train police officials with regard to LGBT rights "to end arbitrary harassment of LGBT individuals, their speech and assembly." But organizers of the Seksualiti Merdeka festival perhaps should also thank the government and the police for banning their event since it made a lot of noise in the news and the public actually came to know more about LGBT rights, gender equality and sexual tolerance (or the lack of it) in society. Unlike in previous years, the festival's objectives became popular this year because of the ban. The opposition should also use this opportunity to remind the people that as the prime minister talks about his 1Malaysia national unity slogan, his actions and policies are actually creating more divisions in the country.
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| Is sustainable development possible? Posted: 13 Nov 2011 02:47 PM PST By Ampersand and KW Mak, The Nut Graph WHEN residents talk about development in an urban environment, the discussion primarily focuses on ensuing traffic problems for the existing neighbourhood. Developers would, in turn, talk about how they are bringing in much needed economic activity into the area to justify the project. Any discussion without a base framework to start from would invariably lead to disagreements, as I have often enough witnessed in objection hearings for development projects. To provide that base framework, I shall present today's topic – sustainable development. Defining "sustainable development" The Town and Country Planning Act (TCPA) has a provision for each state government to prepare a development policy document called a state structure plan. This plan governs how land is used and how development would take place within each state. In providing the specifics on how to prepare the state structure plan, Section 8(3) of the TCPA states: "The draft structure plan shall be a written statement – for the improvement of the physical living environment, the improvement of communications, the management of traffic, the improvement of socioeconomic well-being and the promotion of economic growth, and the facilitating of sustainable development" (my emphasis). Following this instruction, the Selangor Town and Country Planning Department came up with the Selangor State Structure Plan (SSP) in 2002 and gazetted the document in 2007. Its role in governing development is clear, as the document states that developers must refer to and comply with the policies within when preparing development proposal reports. In describing what constitutes sustainable development, the SSP states: "Sustainable development will enable the current generation to satisfy their needs without compromising the needs of future generations." To achieve this, the SSP prescribes numerous policies for development (economic, social, physical and environmental), a land use strategic plan, and specific instructions on how all these policies shall be implemented. These policies cannot be ignored either. Section 22(4) of the TCPA clearly states that any application for planning permission shall be rejected if it is found to not comply with any development plan – which is what a state structure plan is. Thus, the SSP is an expansive document that defines sustainable development and is also legally binding on the government and developers. This makes it a good reference point for any disputes and arguments residents and developers may have over a particular development proposal. Development policies The SSP policies are categorised according to issues and how to solve them. Examples of problems for development in an urban area include traffic congestion, waste disposal and open spaces. Let's focus on the traffic congestion bit since this is a popular and valid issue. The SSP mentions the uncontrolled urban development along main roads as a problem. Such developments contribute towards traffic congestion and the degradation of environment quality. Several policies were formulated to help mitigate this issue, among which are as follows:
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| Ambiga now Umno’s troubled nightmare Posted: 13 Nov 2011 02:30 PM PST By Jeswan Kaur, FMT Ambiga Sreenevasan, former Bar Council president and recipient of the US Secretary of State's 2009 International Women of Courage Award and France's topmost honour, the Chevalier de Legion d'Honneur(Knight of the Legion of Honour) award, has become Umno's most troubled nightmare. The Malay party has post-July 9 left no stone unturned in making life difficult for this former Convent Bukit Nanas student, who has been honoured with the two awards for her dedication to human rights and rule of law. When Ambiga, who is also election watchdog Bersih 2.0 chairperson, spearheaded the "Walk for Democracy" rally on July 9 and did so successfully, it was the beginning of a nightmare that has since refused to end for Umno. Some 50,000 people turned up in support of the rally, a bitter reality which Umno refuses to digest. The July 9 rally's aim was noble – to fight for electoral reforms and put an end to the corruption and dirty tactics employed by the Barisan Nasional at the polls. And the people backed Bersih 2.0 all the way, a move which shell-shocked both the BN and Umno. While all ways and means are being employed by BN president and prime minister Najib Tun Razak to win the people's trust, Umno has however turned vindictive against Ambiga, whom it regards as its biggest threat post-July 9. Ambiga, however, remains unflappable, objective and wise. With all sense of decorum, she had prior to the July 9 rally approached the police and asked that they chart out the rally routes to avoid any untoward incident. But the police, obviously under great pressure from the "powers that be", refused to cooperate. Not only that, extremist politicians in a cowardly fashion joined in and demanded that Ambiga be dealt with severely. The likes of Ibrahim Ali, the Pasir Mas MP, and other Umno honchos, went after Ambiga's blood, so to speak. She was character-assassinated all because this gutsy lawyer dare speak out against injustice. So threatened had Umno become that Ibrahim and even Malacca Chief Minister Ali Rustam screamed for Ambiga's citizenship to be revoked. Ali Rustam had remarked that it was "better to just lose one person than to lose a lot of lives". Now, it is the Malay Education Movement (Gagasan) which is demanding Ambiga's citizenship be revoked, alleging her "wild" actions could cause chaos in the country, referring to her support for the Seksualiti Merdeka 2011 festival. Gagasan secretary-general Syed Anuar Syed Mohamad in an Utusan Malaysia report on Nov 6 said Ambiga should no longer be called a human as she had gone against "human norms" by raising issues deemed sensitive in a Muslim-majority country. "She should be punished accordingly, like banishment or any other severe sentence, to make her realise her mistake," he told Mingguan Malaysia, the paper's Sunday edition. He added that the Conference of Rulers could punish Ambiga as she had touched on Islam when she "spread morality issues" banned by the religion. "Although Malaysia is a democratic country, it does not mean Ambiga is given the freedom to do whatever she likes with her perverse ideology," he said. The Ambiga factor
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