Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Special police team to probe dumping of pig heads at mosque
- Ambiga is FMT’s newsmaker of the year
- Ambiga: I’m flattered and humbled
- ‘Datuk fixit’ charged with cheating NFC boss
- Ringgit set for first annual decline
- Anwar plans 'innocence' tour as trial verdict nears
- Harakah hits back at Hasan Ali
| Special police team to probe dumping of pig heads at mosque Posted: 30 Dec 2011 12:16 AM PST (Bernama) - A special team has been set up by Johor police to investigate the dumping of several severed pig heads in plastic bags near the Al-Falah Mosque in Taman Desa Jaya here. State police chief Datuk Mokhtar Mohd Shariff said the pig heads were found by the mosque's congregation early Friday when they turned up for the dawn prayers. "The team, which is headed by Johor deputy police chief Datuk Ismail Yatim, will seek the culprits until they are found," he said. Mokhtar, who visited the scene of the incident, urged all parties to be patient, refrain from speculating about the incident and not to take the law into their own hands. The mosque's committee chairman, Kassim Darim, 62, said residents in the area initially found a plastic bag believed to contain pig parts near the rear fence of the mosque at 5pm Thursday. He said it was the first time such an incident had occurred in the area. A police report was lodged at the Desa Cemerlang Police Station, he said. Meanwhile, about 100 people, including from non-government organisations, held a peaceful gathering in front of the mosque to protest against the act.
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| Ambiga is FMT’s newsmaker of the year Posted: 30 Dec 2011 12:11 AM PST Surprisingly 'people-savvy' Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak came in seventh after his wife Rosmah Mansor. (Free Malaysia Today) - Bersih 2.0 hero S Ambiga was named FMT's top newsmaker of the year after some 57% of its readers voted for her, drubbing more prominent figures like Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. This comes as no surprise, given the amount of headlines Ambiga, a former president of the Malaysian Bar Council, had accumulated throughout the year. The year 2011 showered on Ambiga both positive and negative coverage, much of it due to her involvement in several rocking controversial events. What does come as a surprise is that Shahrizat Abdul Jalil was next in line despite barely making the headlines, at least up until the RM250-million National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) scandal broke out last month. The Women's Affair, Family and Community Development Minister is now facing growing calls to quit her post from her own Umno party members who view her as a liability. The "attention" given to Shahrizat, who is Wanita Umno chief, by FMT readers perhaps reflects the weight of the scandal and the potential damage it may do to the ruling coalition in the upcoming national polls. Shahrizat received 534 votes or a 9% rating next to Ambiga, similar to the percentage received by Anwar who came in third in the chart after gaining five votes lesser. Meanwhile, Najib was two points behind his wife Rosmah Mansor. Rosmah came in fourth with 416 votes or a 7% rating. Rosmah, who is known for her love of luxury goods, made several headlines for allegedly owning "blings" or diamond ring and a bangle worth more than RM70 million. She has, however, denied these allegations.
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| Ambiga: I’m flattered and humbled Posted: 30 Dec 2011 12:09 AM PST FMT's newsmaker of the year also pays tribute to those on her personal list of heroes for 2011. (Free Malaysia Today) - Mainstream and alternative media were fed an almost daily diet of Bersih 2.0 updates in the weeks preceding July 9, 2011. On the earmarked day, downtown Kuala Lumpur was swallowed up by tens of thousands of Malaysians marching for a cause they believed in and the kind of future they wanted to bequeath the next generation. It is almost impossible to have been the driving force behind such power and not be handpicked as the newsmaker of the year. Yet Bersih 2.0 chairperson, S Ambiga, was genuinely taken aback when she learnt that she had topped FMT's Newsmaker for 2011 poll with 3,284 or 57% of the votes. "On the one hand I am very flattered and humbled," she told FMT. "On the other, I hope it is for the 'right' reasons that I made the news!" "I'm not sure if I'm thrilled to be in the company of some of the nominees but I'm delighted to be in the company of others." Bersih 2.0 wasn't Ambiga's first courtship with controversy. Her involvement, as the Bar chairman, to strongly support Lina Joy in the apostasy case and the March For Justice won her as many adversaries as they did allies. But amid the hate mails, death threats and Molotov cocktails, she refused to abandon Bersih 2.0. "I'd like to think that I was chosen (as FMT's Newsmaker for 2011) because of what Bersih 2.0 stood for and meant to Malaysians," she said. "The credit belongs to the people for their tremendous support in making it the success that it was."
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| ‘Datuk fixit’ charged with cheating NFC boss Posted: 29 Dec 2011 04:20 PM PST Shamsulbahrin Ismail is accused of cheating the NFC chairman of RM1.7 million. The 45-year-old businessman has claimed trial. (Free Malaysia Today) - A businessman has been charged in the Sessions Court here with cheating National Feedlot Corportation (NFC) chairman Mohamad Salleh Ismail of more than RM1.7million over the failed promise to provide "negotiation and consultation service". Shamsulbahrin Ismail, 45, dressed in a dark blazer, purple shirt and light blue jeans, pleaded not guilty and claimed trial to two separate charges, both under Section 420 of the Penal Code. The first charge read that Shamsulbahrin, CEO of Shamsubahrin Ismail Resources Sdn Bhd, had cheated Mohamad Salleh by promising the NFC chairman his consultation and negotiation services, with the knowledge that the offer was false and intended to cheat him by inducing him to part with a service fee. This incident allegedly occurred at 6pm on Nov 20 at a restaurant in Bukit Tunku here. The second charge was that Shamsulbahrin had, between Nov 25 till Dec 6, received cheques amounting to RM1.755 million from Mohamad Salleh at Solaris in Mont Kiara. For the offence of cheating, Shamsulbahrin could face between one to 10 years jail, with whipping and can also be fined. It was reported last week that a 'Datuk fixit' was arrested by the police and handed over to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for allegedly attempting to bribe several senior investigators to "settle" the case over the NFC.
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| Ringgit set for first annual decline Posted: 29 Dec 2011 01:43 PM PST (Bloomberg) - Malaysia's ringgit was poised for its first annual decline in three years on concern growth in Southeast Asia's third-biggest economy is slowing. Gross domestic product will rise 5 percent to 5.5 percent this year, compared with an earlier estimate of 5 percent to 6 percent, the government said on Oct. 7. "There is going to be a risk" to Malaysia's economic growth should Europe's credit crisis worsen, central bank Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz said on Nov. 15. | |
| Anwar plans 'innocence' tour as trial verdict nears Posted: 29 Dec 2011 08:30 AM PST (Sydney Morning Herald) - THE Malaysian opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, is planning a whirlwind tour of his country next week before the verdict in his controversial trial on a sodomy charge. The outcome of the trial, which has captivated Malaysia, will help shape the future of the majority-Muslim country of 28 million people as it struggles to break away from a system of race- and religion-based politics. Mr Anwar, 64, a father of six, who was once heir-apparent to the former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, says while he is ''optimistic'' of walking free on the charge of having consensual sex with a 23-year-old male aide in 2008, he is a ''political realist'' and ''ready to accept the worst''. Under a British colonial-era law criminalising consensual sexual acts between people of the same sex, Anwar faces up to 20 years' jail if found guilty when the Kuala Lumpur High Court announces the verdict on January 9. Human rights groups have called for the charge to be dropped and the law revoked. ''The Malaysian government uses its outdated sodomy law to slander political opponents and critics,'' the deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, Phil Robertson, said. ''Whether or not Anwar Ibrahim engaged in consensual 'sodomy' is irrelevant … it's time to reject this law and end the farcical theatre that promotes discrimination based on sexual orientation and destroys people's lives,'' Mr Robertson said. Malaysia's Prime Minister, Najib Razak, has moved to open the country's political system before elections next year, including a promise to scrap the harsh Internal Security Act. The accusations against Mr Anwar emerged shortly after he had led the opposition to unprecedented gains in parliamentary polls against the ruling coalition that has governed the country for five decades. ''These are trumped-up charges,'' Mr Anwar told journalists. ''It is another coincidence that the verdict comes so close to elections. ''The aim is to deny me the chance to participate in the elections. A lot of people pray that I should be acquitted.'' Anwar said that during the tour, beginning on Tuesday, he will reiterate his innocence. During the marathon trial, which began in February last year, Mr Anwar delivered a long courtroom tirade accusing the trial judge and government of conspiring to send him ''into political oblivion''. ''It is a vile and desperate attempt at character assassination,'' he told the court. ''They can do all they want to assassinate and sully my character and threaten me with another 20 years in jail, but, mark my words, they won't be able to cow me into submission.'' Quoting the Koran and Shakespeare during a one-hour courtroom speech, Mr Anwar accused the trial judge, Mohamad Zabidin Diah, of demonstrating a ''complete lack of impartiality''. Mr Anwar's lawyers called a series of expert witnesses who raised doubts about the credibility of forensic evidence presented by prosecutors. An Australian forensic expert, Brian McDonald, told the court that DNA testing and labelling was not up to international standards and was riddled with errors. This is the second time Mr Anwar has been embroiled in a sex trial. He lost his post as deputy prime minister in 1998 after being charged with sodomising his family's former driver and abusing his powers to cover up his actions - both of which he denied. Two years later he was found guilty and sentenced to nine years' jail. The conviction was overturned in 2004. While in jail Mr Anwar suffered severe facial injuries from a beating by a senior police officer. His lawyers claimed rights violations against him including lack of access to legal counsel and witness harassment. Anwar's aide Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan initially filed a complaint that Mr Anwar had forcibly sodomised him. Police charged Mr Anwar with having consensual sex after it was determined his bad back would have made him incapable of forcing himself on Mr Azlan, who has not been charged. | |
| Harakah hits back at Hasan Ali Posted: 29 Dec 2011 08:03 AM PST (The Star) - PAS organ Harakahdaily has hit back at embattled party leader Datuk Dr Hasan Ali for accusing it of twisting facts when claiming he had apologised to spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat in a recent closed-door meeting. The publication ran a piece online Thursday carrying a transcript of its interview with Nik Aziz, highlighting excerpts to back an earlier article quoting the Kelantan Mentri Besar as saying that Hasan had apologised to him at the Tuesday night meeting. Written in Malay and backed by a video clip, the contentious line read: Datuk Hassan Ali menarik balik kenyataan-kenyataan dia yang sensitif. Ini tanda kelelakian dia, anak jantan. Kita buat salah, bila kita sedar buat salah, tarik balik, minta maaf. Ini ajaran agama. Bukan senang manusia buat salah nak tarik balik, bukan senang. Tiba-tiba dia ni tarik balik. (Datuk Hasan Ali retracted his statements that were sensitive. This is a sign of his manliness, a real man. We make mistakes, and when we realise we make mistakes, we take it back, apologise. This is what religion teaches. It is not easy for people who do wrong to take it back, not easy. Suddenly he took it back.) Late Wednesday, Hasan issued a statement denying that he had apologised to Nik Aziz at their meeting in Kota Baru, saying he retracted his comments on the party's welfare state policy and apologised to party leaders during a press conference at his residence on Dec 24. He said he was disappointed with Harakahdaily for claiming such, adding that he had reminded them "many times" not to twist facts which could create confusion and disunity. Hasan's spat with the party organ is the latest to hit the former Selangor Pas commissioner, who has been at loggerheads with party colleagues over the past several weeks for criticising their leadership. Both he and former deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa also got in trouble for pushing for a revival of unity talks with arch-rival Umno.
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