| "People First" policy? Then come help us now! Posted: 06 Jun 2011 01:31 PM PDT Residents of Bukit Jalil estate has called on the 'people-centric' Barisan Nasional government to help solve its land tussle with the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) By Klik4Malaysia Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had went to the ground on Jun 5 in an effort to meet the Federal Territories constituents while promising to resolve issues. "If he is sincere about helping the citizens, why don't he come to Bukit Jalil and help us to protect our land?" a resident asked. The Bukit Jalil residents were currently involved in a land tussle with DBKL, whereby the latter had labeled the residents as squatters although the residents were former estate workers at the Bukit Jalil rubber plantation. "Four generations have lived here, and now DBKL wants to evict us by claiming that we are squatters. Our ancestors were here even before Merdeka, how can they twist the truth and claim that we are squatters?" The spat between the residents and DBKL had been brought to the judicial courts, where the former had applied for an interim injunction to stop DBKL from evicting them. Unfortunately for the residents, the Kuala Lumpur High Court recently ruled in favour of DBKL, giving the latter a free hand to evict the residents, in spite of damning evidence that proves otherwise. To make matters worse, DBKL had on two occassions (May 25 and Jun 6), sent over a large team of 40 to 50 personnel comprising of its own officers, police and sometimes, gangsters to harass the residents despite the court order approving the extension of the interim injunction. Residents expressed shock that DBKL and also the police, who were supposed to uphold the law, had shown contempt of the court by trespassing while the injunction was still in effect. "How can they say that they were following orders of the (Federal Territories) Minister? Does this mean that ministers do not have to uphold the law?" another resident, K. Balakrishnan said. To-date, more than 100 police reports had been lodged against DBKL for various transgressions like trespassing, sexual harassment, threats and physical violence, amongst others. READ MORE HERE. |
| It’s about listening to the people Posted: 06 Jun 2011 01:25 PM PDT By Karim Raslan. The Star The PAP failed to anticipate the extent of popular frustration in Singapore, where even a booming economy and near-full employment were not enough to satisfy the voters. OVER the past six months, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's personal charm, the shrewd allocation of government resources and a concerted media campaign have resulted in a noteworthy boost to Barisan Nasional's — as well as Umno's — popularity. However, three factors have intervened suddenly to alter the equation: One, PAS' rejection of the "Malay Unity" strategy; two, galloping inflation; and three, the wave of anti-incumbency that swept Singapore recently. The three factors will make preparations for the upcoming general election all the more complex. Furthermore, they reinforced other negative trends, most notably the growing unease of Christian and non-Malay voters as witnessed in last month's Sarawak state polls — impacting the BN's famous "Fixed Deposit". Indeed, Umno's current, hard-headed, go-it-alone stance is undermining the party's traditional strengths in "Middle Malaysia". The party of Merdeka has been able to hold power for over 50 years because of a combination of its sound macro-economic policies as well as its moderation and wisdom in managing racial and religious sensitivities. However, the joint legacies of Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak and Tun Hussein Onn are fast being lost. Anyhow, Saturday's muktamar saw PAS' professionals (also dubbed the Erdogans) regaining control of the party. With the pro-Umno leader Nasharuddin Mat Isa soundly ejected from the party's deputy presidency, the PAS rank-and-file essentially rejected the idea — mooted by Umno hard-liners and encouraged by Nasharuddin — of a grand Malay alliance. The surprisingly strong showing by the professionals and Ustaz Hadi Awang's stinging criticisms of Umno revealed that PAS is determined to stick with Pakatan Rakyat. Indeed, the unending attacks on the opposition have only served to strengthen Pakatan's resolve. Separately, while Anwar Ibrahim remains a seminal and transformational opposition figure, the coalition will survive without him. In fact, it is arguable that Pakatan will do much better when his erratic and divisive presence is removed. Economics is also becoming in-creasingly unpredictable. Oil price volatility has sparked off a dramatic bout of inflation and Malaysia, as a major trading nation, is no exception. As of April 2011, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 3.2% year-on-year but food inflation shot up faster at 4.9% in the corresponding period. Anecdotal evidence from a doa selamat at my office last week would seem to suggest that rising prices of sugar, chillies and rice are causing real pain for the man-in-the-street. Chicken rice at RM4.50 a serving is no joke when you have a family of five to feed. The rise in the electricity tariff, while unavoidable (so long as IPP contracts remain untouched and unreviewed), will certainly impact all Malaysians negatively. The third issue is the anti-incumbency sentiment sweeping the globe. Of course, this is interconnected with economic issues. In this respect, BN politicians need only look across the causeway to technocratic Singapore, where the normally astute PAP failed to anticipate the extent of popular frustration. Clearly, a booming economy and near-full employment were not enough to satisfy the voters. Ordinary Singaporeans were fed up with being lectured at by smug, overpaid and out-of-touch ministers peddling policies that rode rough-shod over their needs. One only has to join Singaporean commuters on a crowded MRT carriage to get a sense of how hard they work just to survive in one of the most expensive cities in the world. Understandably, the PAP experienced its worst electoral results ever (their popular vote plunged to only 60%). Former minister mentor Lee Kuan Yew's intemperate comments and the dramatic public backlash reveal the extent to which Singaporeans are tired of being told what to do. Singapore — much like Bahrain, Egypt and Tunisia — has witnessed a revolution in terms of information as social media has flattened and democratised the flow of news and analysis. The polls have also seen a shift in how Singaporeans view the PAP. In the past the party was feared. The current view hovers between contempt and mere tolerance. Moreover, the professionalism and discipline of the Workers' Party was a pleasant surprise. This was matched by the extraordinary academic fire-power of their star candidate, international lawyer Chen Show Mao, who has more degrees than the ever-erudite George Yeo! Furthermore, their campaign slogan, "Vote Workers' Party Towards a First World Parliament", was a triumph of low-key subversion — with its suggestion of Singapore's stunted political growth. Finally, I can still remember the charming Singaporean Immigration lady officer last week stamping my passport who, when asked about the elections, said: "Well, now they have to listen to us, the people." Barisan Nasional and Umno strategists would do well to study Singapore. At this stage it's all about listening – listening to the people. |
| DAP insists on overseas scholarships for all SPM aces Posted: 06 Jun 2011 01:15 PM PDT By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, June 7- All SPM top scorers should get overseas Public Service Department (PSD) scholarships instead of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) grants if Malaysia wants to retain the country's human talent, DAP has said. Putrajaya announced yesterday that 500 special education grants would be disbursed by 1MDB to rejected applicants to study locally. The categories (annual): Scholarships to public universities (RM7,500), scholarships for critical courses in private universities (RM15,000), and grants for non-critical courses (RM7,500). "This pledge to award overseas scholarships equally to all top students is necessary to win Malaysia's future by escaping the middle-income trap to become a high-income economy with USD15,000 per capita income...Malaysia would be sending a wrong message if we reward mediocrity instead of excellence, do not have a level-playing field that is fair to the best and brightest and allow the brain drain to continue," said DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng in a statement today. Lim repeated his call for the Najib administration to make public the results of those who were awarded overseas scholarships, and accused Barisan Nasional (BN) for failing to uphold transparency and accountability by not doing so. The Penang Chief Minister said that MCA was trying to "distract" attention by attacking his administration for not having enough money to provide scholarships to top students in the state, in response to MCA's claims yesterday that Penang had vast wealth to spend on overseas scholarships because Penang came out top in investments with RM 12.2 billion in 2010. READ MORE HERE. |
| Subsidy flip-flops sign of deeper problems, say economists Posted: 06 Jun 2011 01:12 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - KUALA LUMPUR, June 7 — Economists perceive the Najib administration as prone to backtracking on policies, with political concerns trumping the need for economic reform. In a scathing commentary published today by the Singapore Straits Times, the government's dithering over subsidy cuts for energy and basic consumer goods was criticised by regional economists who are stirring a wider debate over the country's long-term economic prospects. The Straits Times said the big question being asked now was whether resource-rich Malaysia had fallen out of step with the global environment. Putrajaya's subsidy flip-flops, the newspaper said, were putting a spotlight on deeper woes, while the country's competitiveness continued to be hurt by state intervention. In recent months, Malaysia has gone back and forth on its intention to cut the large subsidy bill. The government backed down recently from raising petrol prices before eventually deciding to raise electricity tariffs by seven per cent beginning this month. Putrajaya announced a 7.1 per cent hike in electricity tariffs in an effort to trim a subsidy bill that would otherwise double to RM21 billion this year, promising that the hike would not affect three-quarters of domestic users. Power prices will rise by as much as 2.3 sen per kWh in areas taking TNB's supply, a potential source of public anger just ahead of snap polls expected within a year. The Straits Times reported today the arguments by economists that decades of state intervention that sought to meld free market practices with an ambitious social agenda to restructure the country's multi-ethnic society in favour of politically dominant Malays had sapped Malaysia of its competitive edge as a destination for foreign investment. They also told the Straits Times that the government's experiment with state command capitalism had created an economy burdened by subsidies, tariff protection and licences that benefit powerful vested interest groups. "The government is reluctant to take tough measures because of the political impact on the public and the vested interest (groups) it could hurt," Centennial Group regional strategist Manu Bhaskaran told the Singapore paper. "But the reality is that there are no easy options." The Straits Times pointed out that the Malaysian economy was at a crucial crossroads. "Malaysia needs bold action because the regional economic environment is changing rapidly, and the breathing space is shrinking," World Bank economist Philip Schellekens says in a recent interview. Malaysia's exports continue to face low-cost competition from regional rivals Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, while Najib's ambition to transform Malaysia into a high-income economy is heavily reliant on foreign investment.
READ MORE HERE.
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| Fight for religious rights but reject extremism, Anwar says Posted: 06 Jun 2011 10:37 AM PDT By Melissa Chi, The Malaysian Insider PETALING JAYA, June 7 — Defend religious rights protected under the Constitution but stay away from extremism, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told religious leaders last night. The Pakatan Rakyat (PR) de facto chief met leaders of the inter-faith group Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Taoism (MCCBCHST) at The Club here, yesterday to discuss current issues. "To the Muslim representatives and representatives of the Buddhist religion, Christians, Hindus and others, we would like to reiterate our commitment to defend the principle of the supremacy of religious life enshrined in Article 3, under the Constitution. "On that note, we also want to challenge the tendency of some to suggest extremism within their faiths without regard to the sensitivity of Muslims in this country," he said in a statement after having a closed-door dialogue with them. In addition to leaders from the non-Muslim faith council and the Opposition leader, PKR President Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as well as several other PKR leaders, and the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) President Haris Ibrahim, attended the dialogue. Anwar was tight-lipped about the agenda of the meeting before it started but had only said that it would be related to current issues and the narrow-thinking of some Malaysians. "Islam is a religion which upholds the principles of justice, peace loving, respecting the rights of its followers and the rights of followers of other religions to practice their faith. The main principles of sharia, known as sharia 'maqasid' conclude that it is a priority to protect religion, life, lineage, 'aqal', property and dignity. "So based on the accurate understanding of Islam, there needs to be a comprehensive appreciation of religion by Muslims to ensure a way of life with integrity. Muslims who want to fulfill the purpose of mercy and justice as it is, are often advisable to reject oppression, corruption and all forms of abuse. Thus it is not surprising that many of the Muslims are upset with the attitude of Umno leaders and the inconsistencies of its controlled media in appreciating the religion. What's more corruption and abuse of power is still widespread," he said. Prior to the meeting, Anwar said he hoped to come up with an action plan following the meeting, but did not elaborate in his statement sent out later. "More recently, some Umno leaders and the party-owned media tried to undermine the peacefulness between religions in Malaysia with a sharp racial rhetoric, the shallow and not based on Islamic principles of justice, as recommended. READ MORE HERE. |
| PKR eyes Pakatan-SAPP alliance in Sabah Posted: 06 Jun 2011 10:35 AM PDT By Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, June 7 — With an eye to the next general election, Sabah Pakatan Rakyat (PR) is actively moving towards forging a formal alliance with local opposition party SAPP, hoping to break Barisan Nasional's (BN) stranglehold over the east Malaysian state. PR believes a pact with the active SAPP (Sabah Progressive Party), helmed by former chief minister Datuk Yong Teck Lee, will be crucial to boost the opposition's chances against BN when elections are called. The Malaysian Insider understands that Sabah PKR, under the leadership of party president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, has formed a "negotiation team" to lead the merger discussions with SAPP. It is believed the members include Libaran PKR division chief Ahmad Thamrin Jaini, Papar PKR chief Datuk James Ghani, Tenom PKR chief Datuk Halik Zaman, Kota Kinabalu PKR chief Christina Liew, Tawau PKR division chief Datuk Kong Hong Ming, Sabah PKR Youth chief Jafery Jomion and PKR deputy secretary-general and Penampang division chief Darell Leiking, all of whom currently sits on the special presidential committee that leads PKR's Sabah chapter. Other members on the team are ex-BN man and former federal deputy minister Datuk Kalakau Untol and PKR supreme council member Datuk Roland Chia. A party insider confirmed with The Malaysian Insider that the committee members will meet today to appoint a chairman before discussions are initiated with PR's Sabah parties about the merger. Once an agreement is reached in Sabah PR, the insider added, negotiations with SAPP will start. But if the Sarawak polls were any indication, such political cooperation could turn tricky, largely due to a likely clash in views between the peninsular-based PR pact and SAPP, whose struggles centre on promoting autonomy for Sabahans. SAPP's Yong has already grown testy over the proposal following a small fallout with DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang last week when the latter purportedly issued an ultimatum to the party, saying it must form a formal pact and not merely a political friendship. When contacted yesterday, Sabah DAP chief Jimmy Wong stood by Lim's ultimatum, saying it was issued with no malice intended. SAPP, said Wong, must become a PR "blood brother" and not merely a friend or relative to the pact. "We are openly inviting them to join us but you cannot just forge cooperation without joining us as a formal partner, a blood brother. If you merely become a friend or relative, you can abandon us when we are down. Win or lose, sink or swim, we must stay together as a pact. And we must do it now," he said. Despite the tiff however, DAP and PKR have both openly indicated their intentions and the urgency to push for such an alliance while SAPP has stayed non-committal thus far. READ MORE HERE. |
| Perak mufti supports Obedient Wives Club Posted: 06 Jun 2011 09:53 AM PDT 
(The Star) - Perak mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria has given his backing to the Obedient Wives Club, which offers "sex lessons" to help women keep their husbands. Harussani, who recently banned the poco poco dance in Perak, said women needed to be reminded of their roles and responsibilities to their husbands. "The younger generation is too absorbed in cultures that are not their own. Wives must be very obedient to their husbands. "However, in Islam, the wife can go against her husband if what he does is not according to the religion," he said, calling for more such clubs to be set up throughout the country as a way to counter social ills. He was responding to a statement by club vice-president Dr Rohaya Mohamad that a husband who was kept happy in the bedroom would have no reason to stray, seek out prostitutes or indulge in other social vices. The club had also offered sex lessons to help wives "serve their husbands better than a first-class prostitute". However, Johor Islamic Council advisor Datuk Nooh Gadut said the use of the term "first-class prostitute" was extreme, adding that marriages in Islam should not be just for sex but for, among others, love. The Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG), which includes the Women's Aid Organisation, Sisters in Islam and Women's Centre for Change, said the club's principles were narrow-minded, degrading, and an insult to women around the world. JAG spokesman Maria Chin Abdullah said Malaysian women had contributed enormously to society and that the latest development was a setback in progress. "It is degrading to ask another individual in this case, a woman to wait on another person hand and foot. Our group is fighting for gender equality but the club is looking to degrade women even more. "To objectify women as mere sex objects to satisfy their husbands' lust is simply unacceptable. "I hope more men can speak out against the club's outrageous stand," she told The Star yesterday. Social activist Pang Khee Teik said women should realise that they were not only "doing it" for their husbands but for themselves as well. "We must remember there are people with little or no sex drive. Any campaign by the club must not pressure women into feeling guilty about it," said Pang, who is also the co-founder of annual sexuality rights festival that advocates equal sexual rights for all. |
| The bigger subsidy addicts Posted: 06 Jun 2011 09:48 AM PDT SAKMONGKOL AK47 The favorite excuse of CEOs and politicians is always to attribute external factors as the cause of our inconvenience. Consider for example, the increase in electricity tariffs. Its unavoidable says the government because cost elements are increasing. What cost elements- workers' wages and cost of fuels? What about subsidies going to IPPs? These are the bigger subsidy addicts who deserve the mandatory death sentence. Many years ago, our country suffered the worse outage in our nation's history. We were without electricity for many days. Manufacturers lost a lot of money. Industrialists were screaming their heads off and their voices reached Sri Perdana, the abode of the 4th PM then. He came up with the solution. We have this problem because TNB has a monopoly. Monopoly is not good. Dependency on one supplier isn't strategic. It can be outright dangerous not to mention can cause untold economic damages if the system breaks down. Let's deregulate the electricity industry he proclaims. So Ananda, YTL, Genting and others came rushing in. we can supply electricity sir. But we need to have iron clad agreements so that our investments are well covered. We must have a guaranteed purchase from TNB at secure prices. But sir in order to generate our current, we need cheap fuels. Otherwise we bungkus or consumers will have to pay more. Never mind says sir, I control PETRONAS. I will ask them to sell you natural gas at subsidized rates. And so government pays subsidies up to RM 19 billion a year. As many people now know, the electricity we consumed passes through 4 stages. Generation, transmission, distribution and retailing. But boss, we will only generate electricity. We won't go into transmission, distribution and retailing. These are costly. Tarak untung. Kadang kadang untung. In other words, TNB which has to invest in all 4 stages can offer us cheaper tariffs, but the IPPs awarded license which offer only generation of electricity cannot. How can this be? Apa nama? Macam mana? Deregulation created an opposite effect in Malaysia. We ended up having to pay higher electricity tariffs because TENAGA was forced to buy electricity from IPPs who charged more for the electricity than if Tenaga produced it itself! We come now to the stupid remark by the minister who says the government is powerless to reveal details of the PPA. Wasn't it the government that 'negotiated' the deals with the IPPs? So why can't we have access to the details? Who were the first entrants to the IPP business? Genting Sanyen, YTL Power, Malakoff, SEV, Prai Power,Powertek, GB3, Tanjung Bin Power and Kapar Energy are among the two dozen or so IPPs in Malaysia. All of the above are owned by the Genting Lims, Francis Yeoh, Syed Mokhtar and Ananda Krishnan. These were the usual suspects consisting of the connected businessmen who get most of the big deals. READ MORE HERE |
| PDRM: Cops or criminals Posted: 06 Jun 2011 09:37 AM PDT Is the BN government's refusal to put the police force on a leash, a case of 'you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours' The bad news includes detaining people behind bars and whacking the daylights out of them, leaving them dead literally. Then there is the insensitivity and indifference shown by the police when it comes to handling complaints concerning violence against women, be it rape or domestic violence. Jeswan Kaur, Free Malaysia Today There is a Malay proverb, "harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi" which can be taken to mean that a person who is entrusted with something often ends up betraying that trust. In today's time, this saying best defines the Malaysian police force. Reneging on their responsibility as protectors, the cops by virtue of their own misgivings will have to clean up their act to redeem public faith and trust that has slipped off. Going by the many reports of police brutality, the latest reported by FMT on May 26, 2011, there is no doubt left that the people are having a tough time counting on the cops, for the cops seem to be making news, but for the wrong reasons. The bad news includes detaining people behind bars and whacking the daylights out of them, leaving them dead literally. Then there is the insensitivity and indifference shown by the police when it comes to handling complaints concerning violence against women, be it rape or domestic violence. On the issue of domestic violence, a young woman, Pakaim Subramaniam, died in February this year, just five months into her marriage. Her father, M Subramaniam, alleged that she was the victim of domestic violence due to the severe injuries she had sustained. He said the police failed to investigate the case, which then led him seek help from Suhakam, the country's human rights commission. Meanwhile, the latest cop brutality reported by FMT involved a 20-year-old student, S Ganesan, who claimed that he was beaten up and verbally abused by the police after he knocked into a policeman's motorcycle at a roadblock in Rembau, Negri Sembilan, in the early hours of the morning. "The policeman kept beating me and called me 'keling'. They also shouted at me, saying I should just die so that they can close the case," Ganesan was quoted by FMT as recalling. The youngster was then warned not to report the matter before he was bundled into an ambulance and despatched to the Tunku Jaafar Hospital. Now, what should one make of such news when the men in uniform go back on their duties and abuse the trust the people have in them? To think that the former inspector-general of police, Rahim Noor, unfortunately set the precedent when he beat up former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, to the extent of punching the latter in the eye, earning Anwar the "blue" eye bruise that paradoxically went on to become the symbol of his party, Keadilan. Police notoriety With police notoriety fast becoming the norm than the exception, it is no longer acceptable that the government under Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak acts nonchalantly over the abuse the public suffers at the hands of the police. Clearly, the need for a body to keep an eye on the cops and admonish them where need be has to be instituted. The federal government's refusal to acknowledge the role of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) is best translated as the government's could-not-care-less attitude about how the people suffer at the hands of the police. Are the police the new "law"? Refusing to create a monitoring body to ensure the cops remain within the boundaries of their duty has only put the federal government in a bad light. Citing reasons why the IPCMC is not necessary gives the people the message that the government is not willing to undertake any measure to upset the police force. But why? Has the country's police force become a law unto itself, doing as it pleases, sending the public the message that it has immunity courtesy of the "powers that be"? When cops who beat up detainees are let free by the court, it marks a sad day for the justice system in this country. And it is even more appalling that the government that keeps brainwashing the "people first" chant to the people finds it unnecessary to intervene. In 2005, a 634-page report by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Police Force, headed by a former judge, revealed that the police were brutal, inept and the most corrupt among the government departments. Between 1999 and 2003, there were 5,726 formal corruption complaints involving the police force and it was recommended that the police force be monitored by an independent watchdog. Still, the BN government is adamant that there is no use for the IPCMC. An Indian-based non-governmental organisation, Aastivaram Foundation, said between 2003 and 2007, there were 85 custodial deaths. This number excluded those who were shot dead. "The commission is long overdue. Currently, the police themselves investigate cases of police abuse and I believe they tend to cover up such cases," the foundation's vice-president R Sanjeevan told FMT recently. On June 18, 2008, a cop on duty at the Putra Heights (in Subang Jaya) police station raped a woman pillion rider after detaining her boyfriend at the police station for riding the motorbike without a licence. The 17-year-old girl gathered all her courage to take the perpetrator to court. And yes, this was not the first such case involving a policeman but something must be done soon to make sure it is never repeated. If a policeman is unable to carry out his responsibilities with respect to the uniform he wears and to the people he is duty-bound to protect, then there is no reason left for his presence in the force. READ MORE HERE |
| Ahmad Sarbani’s death: the lies and deceptions by the MACC (part 2) Posted: 06 Jun 2011 01:00 AM PDT 
The first thing that ASP Zuhairi did was to interview Ahmad Sarbani's colleagues and he discovered a totally different picture of this much-maligned dead man. ASP Zuhairi obtained witness statements that Ahmad Sarbani was a responsible and hardworking officer who was ever so helpful to everyone who dealt with the Export & Import Section of Port Klang Customs Dept. NO HOLDS BARREDRaja Petra Kamarudin Dato Seri Abu Kassim was the Deputy Chief Commissioner of the MACC when Teoh Beng Hock died in custody in 2009. When news first broke about what they are trying to mislead us and classify as 'suicide', the then Selangor MACC Director, Hishamudin Hashim, panicked and ran to Abu Kassim to get 'further instructions'. 
Teoh Beng Hock in happier times The Teoh Beng Hock Royal Commission of Inquiry (TBH RCI) has since found damning evidence of lies and manipulation of facts by the MACC to cover up what had transpired at that time -- including the revelation that MACC officers have the habit of watching pornography in the office. To divert public attention from this damning evidence, on 1st April 2011, Abu Kassim, who by now was the MACC Chief Commissioner, launched a nationwide blitz against the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (Jabatan Kastam) by sensationalising the 'news' that Customs officers had colluded with hundreds of freight forwarders to fleece the government of RM108 billion in tax revenues. Things went terribly wrong for the MACC when, on 6th April at about 11.00am, Customs Deputy Director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed was found dead, thrown out of the third floor of the brand new MACC office building at Jalan Cochrane in Kuala Lumpur. 
Police officers removing Ahmad Sarbani's body from MACC's KL Office The MACC Director of Investigations, Datuk Mustafar Ali, gave an immediate press statement that evening that Ahmad Sarbani had come to the MACC office voluntarily and without an appointment. 
MACC Investigations Director Dato' Mutafar Ali justifying the Customs officer's death at the MACC office
Malaysia Today has now received a report from 'Deep Throats' within the MACC as well as within the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) that Datuk Mustafar's statement was a lie and calculated to deny the fact that Ahmad Sarbani died in MACC's custody, just like what happened to Teoh Beng Hock. This is what Malaysia Today's Deep Throat in the MACC said: "The MACC's leadership cannot be trusted. They lied and tried to cover up Teoh Beng Hock's death. And now they are doing the same again in Ahmad Sarbani's death." The MACC needed something sensational that can overshadow its battered reputation in the TBH RCI. They lied to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak by saying that widespread corruption by the Royal Malaysian Customs had caused the government to suffer tax losses of RM108 billion. That got Najib excited. You see, Malaysia is going broke and Najib needed that revenue very badly and he thought that this was one way for the country to 'earn money'. The Selangor part of the investigation is coordinated by its Director, Yusof Akope, and his deputy, Mohd Fauzi. The Senior Investigating Officer (S.I.O.) for this case is Abdul Ghani. However, instead of conducting fair and unbiased investigations and telling the truth, these three concocted unverified intelligence to support the MACC HQ's plan to make the allegations of the loss of RM108 billion believable. They must have learned this from the CIA, which had fabricated false intelligence reports on weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in order to support President Bush's plan to invade Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Now the whole world knows that Saddam never had any WMDs. But the end had justified the means -- Saddam has been hung dead. The Malaysian government-owned mainstream media was roped in to sensationalise the raids and arrests of 62 Customs officers in Penang, Johor, Selangor and Pahang by a special task force, which purportedly comprised the MACC, the Inland Revenue Board, Bank Negara and the Customs Department. The subsequent reaction of the Customs Department D-G, Dato' Mohamed Khalid Yusuf, who expressed shock and unhappiness over the exaggerated tax losses and the death is very telling. In fact, the top leadership of the Customs Department was actually in the dark over the MACC plans and did not know anything about what was going on -- contrary to what we were told. 
Customs D-G Dato' Khalid (centre) clarifying the MACC's erroneous allegations with FMM President Tan Sri Mustafa Mansur and FMM Customs Committee vice-chairman Datuk Tan Kwong Jin The targets did not require much intelligence to identify. Going by the theory that the revenue losses were from import and export activities, they simply zoomed in on the custom entry points and presumed that all the officers in these divisions were corrupted. That was how the MACC led these raids. There were no prior investigations. All the MACC had to work on are hunches. But they didn't care because the objective was to divert public attention from the TBH RCI. That was what the disbanded APCO Public Relations firm had taught them -- it is all about managing public perception. In the days that followed the sensational raids, the mainstream media kept playing up the story leaked by the MACC itself about one officer who purportedly had several million ringgit in his bank account while another had almost RM1 million. Two others were alleged to have more than RM500,000 each. Stories of the sweeping raids recovering gold bars and more than RM600,000 in cash stored in several bags were played up to the maximum. With such strong 'evidence', you would imagine that these officers would have been charged by now. It has been two months since the raids and arrests, yet not one officer has been charged! In the meantime, Yusof Akope, Mohd Fauzi and Abdul Ghani continued to smear the name of the dead Ahmad Sarbani as a very corrupted officer and painted him as the mastermind of the multi-billion ringgit Customs Department scam. They told the Police I.O., ASP Zuhairi Mohamed, that Ahmad Sarbani jumped off the MACC building and committed suicide because he was afraid that the MACC investigations would show the billions of cash that he had stashed away. They even dubbed the case as the 3B case (RM3 billion). See how fast it came down from RM108 billion to a mere RM3 billion! They also told ASP Zuhairi and DSP Shafie that Ahmad Sarbani had admitted that he received bribes from Ah Seng of Top Mark Freightforwarding and Wan Zainal Abidin of Schenker Logistics. The first thing that ASP Zuhairi did was to interview Ahmad Sarbani's colleagues and he discovered a totally different picture of this much-maligned dead man. ASP Zuhairi obtained witness statements that Ahmad Sarbani was a responsible and hardworking officer who was ever so helpful to everyone who dealt with the Export & Import Section of Port Klang Customs Department. ASP Zuhairi found out that stories of Ahmad Sarbani being stressed out were also untrue. On 4th April, during Zuhur prayers at the Customs surau in Port Klang, Ahmad Sarbani was seen hugging and consoling fellow officer Basharuddin who had just been released from MACC remand. According to Basharuddin, Ahmad Sarbani had told him to have faith in God and not to be afraid, as the truth will prevail. Apparently, Ahmad Sarbani was also an Imam Zuhur of that surau and was a pious Muslim. To ASP Zuhairi, all these are not consistent with the conduct of a stressed-out, corrupted officer who committed suicide. And tomorrow we shall continue this story with part 3, so stay tuned. Ahmad Sarbani's death: the lies and deceptions by the MACC (part 1) |
| BN Only Talks, But PAS Transforms Posted: 05 Jun 2011 11:28 PM PDT 
PAS' biggest step towards change is probably the election of Mohamad Sabu as its new deputy president, making this the first time a non-ulama has taken that position since the party adopted the Kepimpinan Ulama (Leadership by the Ulama) policy in 1985. Mat Sabu is well-regarded by the non-Malays. He is a powerful orator and he is expected to be an effective counter to Umno's attempts at brainwashing the Malays with irresponsible propagandizing. His inclusion in PAS' top leadership will be an asset to Pakatan Rakyat as the coalition braces for the next general election. By Kee Thuan Chye, Malaysian Digest PAS has never been so appealing to non-Malays as it is right now. Its just concluded muktamar (general assembly) has seen the rise of the progressives, and PAS president Hadi Awang has redefined the party's goal of setting up an Islamic state to that of a welfare state. In essence, they mean almost the same thing, and Hadi himself has acknowledged that the difference is merely semantic, but "welfare state" has a friendlier ring to it to non-Muslims, and even some Muslims. It also connotes concern with earthly matters, which in these days of rising prices and inflation are more pressingly relevant to most Malaysians, especially those whose income is low. This change of emphasis bodes well for PAS as it shows the party's sensitivity to the times. Its delegates exhibited awareness of political realities by voting in more of the progressives and diluting the influence of the conservative ulamas. It should cheer non-Malays to see the return of Husam Musa as vice-president and also to see among the Central Committee names like Khalid Samad, who has gained the respect of many non-Malays for his intelligent and inclusive stance, Mohd Hatta Ramli, Kamaruddin Jaffar, Mujahid Yusof Rawa, Dzulkefly Ahmad. I know of a Chinese person who can listen to Dzulfekly discourse on religion for hours! PAS' biggest step towards change is probably the election of Mohamad Sabu as its new deputy president, making this the first time a non-ulama has taken that position since the party adopted the Kepimpinan Ulama (Leadership by the Ulama) policy in 1985. Mat Sabu is well-regarded by the non-Malays. He is a powerful orator and he is expected to be an effective counter to Umno's attempts at brainwashing the Malays with irresponsible propagandizing. His inclusion in PAS' top leadership will be an asset to Pakatan Rakyat as the coalition braces for the next general election.
To be sure, the general election could have been a factor influencing the muktamar voting outcome as PAS would need to consolidate itself as a party that can gain support. Party members know that if it is to present itself as an alternative to Umno, it will need votes not only from the Malays but also the non-Malays. But such an agenda does not detract from affirming the party's other attributes and the course it has set for itself.
Hadi has announced that PAS will remain with Pakatan, which is a boost to the coalition and a blow to Barisan Nasional (BN), particularly Umno. Despite the recent overtures that have been made by Umno to PAS to join BN and form a "unity government", PAS has rejected them outright. Its spiritual adviser Nik Aziz Nik Mat disclosed last month that Umno offered PAS three ministerial posts to cross over. At the muktamar, Hadi said in no uncertain terms that a merger with Umno would lead to narrow communalism whereas Islam recognizes the existence of plural societies.
On the whole, he spoke out strongly against Umno, excoriating it for practicing "corruption, money politics, slander, racism, lying and every other filthy act that pollutes young minds". He accused Umno of having "created a flock of Malays and Muslims who are blind as a result of money politics and excessive entertainment that has made them weak and consigned them to a state of stupor".
Apart from all that, PAS' rejection of the offer achieves a dual purpose – it proves itself to be morally superior to Umno, and it shows that it stands by its partners. This confirms the perception the public already has of PAS – that it is a party with integrity, a party whose faith is unshakable and whose commitment is solid. Even if you don't like it or agree with it, you have to respect it.
That its party elections were free of money politics already speaks well for it and its members; that the party has now clearly told Umno off gives a feel-good twist to current politics. This is something truly welcome when so much that has transpired in recent weeks has been so ugly, sordid and plain dirty.
What automatically springs to mind in this regard is the sex video antic pulled by the Datuk T trio to implicate Pakatan leader Anwar Ibrahim in a compromising position. Although the underhanded attempt by the trio has actually turned against Umno – now publicly perceived, rightly or wrongly, to have been involved in one way or another – it has nonetheless tainted Malaysian politics and given the country a negative image. To its credit, the PAS Ulama Council has now come out to call the use of sex videos for political slander "a sin". It also berated the BN government for allowing the sex video to be aired on television and excerpts to be published in the print media. "We condemn the silent stance taken by the official government ulama," it declared. This move has further put Umno on the defensive.
Apart from providing the feel-good factor, PAS also shows it is rising to the need for better governance, social justice and national healing. Its welfare state idea has been around for some years already, but now seems the right time to promote it.
As Husam spells it out, the welfare state is about following the rule of law, establishing a fair system, sustaining strong finance, and providing equality to all the races in the country. "One of the components of a welfare state is saving the country's revenue, which can only be achieved with good governance. The country's extra revenue can then be returned to the people," he explains.
Hadi reinforces this by referring to the current Government practice of going into business through government-linked companies (GLCs) and dividing the profits among its cronies while burdening the losses on the people by way of taxes. "PAS must remove the culture of obtaining revenue by way of burdening the people, which is the hallmark of the Umno-BN government," he advocates.
Of course, PAS needs to explain in greater detail to the people its vision of the welfare state. And it needs to do so before the next general election rolls around. But for now, it seems a better deal than what the BN Government is dishing out – rising prices of essential goods due to higher costs of fuel and electricity, and the prospect of a goods and services tax (GST).
It's ironic that for all the Government's talk about transformation, including political transformation, it is PAS that has transformed, while Umno and its BN partners remain dinosaurs, plugging outdated racial politics. They continue to play on Malay insecurity and to threaten the Chinese with no representation in government if they don't support the MCA. They are still dominated by warlords, and their members continue to hanker after projects.
In view of all this, when the reckoning comes at the next general election, which side should the voters stake their future on?
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| Baru rakyat tahu kenapa Ani Arope tinggalkan TNB Posted: 05 Jun 2011 11:18 PM PDT 
(Harakahdaily) - 15 tahun yang lalu, Tan Sri Ani Arope (gambar) mengejutkan seluruh negara dengan tindakan beliau meletakkan jawatan sebagai Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), akhirnya rakyat hari ini tahu bahawa peletakan jawatannya dilakukan demi menjaga kepentingan mereka, kata Pesuruhjaya PAS Pahang, Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man. "Ramai yang menganggap (pengunduran Ani) sebagai satu tindakan biasa seorang staf yang meletakkan jawatan, mungkin faktor umur atau prestasi kerja. Hari ini, kita tahu ianya adalah kerana sikap tegasnya dalam membantah perjanjian yang sangat tidak adil antara TNB dan IPP (pengeluar bebas kuasa elektrik)," kata Tuan Ibrahim dalam satu kenyataan kepada Harakahdaily hari ini.
Ani sebelum ini di laman Facebooknya menyelar tindakan kerajaan untuk menaikkan tarif elektrik baru-baru ini sebanyak 7 peratus 1 Jun yang lalu dengan mendakwa ia berpunca daripada perjanjian yang tidak adil dengan IPP dan TNB.
"Anda tidak perlu pergi ke sekolah bisnes yang canggih untuk memahami mengapa kita memerlukan peningkatan tarif – Cuma perlu tengok balik syarat-syarat yang diberikan kepada IPP.
Dengan fasal ambil-dan bayar, dan dengan 40 peratus rizab berlebihan yang kita ada hari ini, satu pihak hanya perlu menghasilkan setengah keupayaan pihak lain dan dibayar 80 sen dengan kapasiti dipersetujui.
"Bagus EPU — Unit Penyamun Ekonomi," tulis beliau di laman Facebooknya minggu lalu.
Ani mencetuskan kontroversi 15 tahun yang lalu apabila beliau lebih rela melepaskan jawatan beliau daripada menandatangani perjanjian berat sebelah, yang melihat penciptaan generasi pertama IPP, seperti YTL Power Services, Powertek dan Malakoff semasa pentadbiran Mahathir.
Ani turut berkata TNB tidak boleh dipersalahkan atas hal ini kerana mereka tidak mempunyai kuasa untuk mengawal harga yang perlu dibayar kepada IPP.
"TNB ialah budak belasahan. TNB tidak mempunyai kawalan harga yang ia perlu bayar kepada IPP. Pergi kepada punca masalahnya," katanya.
Kata Tuan Ibrahim, yang juga merupakan bekas Naib Presiden PAS, apa yang dibimbangi Ani kini menjadi kenyataan apabila kerajaan Barisan Nasional berdolak-dalih untuk menyemak semula perjanjian dengan IPP yang sangat tidak adil walaupun didesak pelbagai pihak.
"Kerajaan tidak sanggup bertegas memotong subsidi sebanyak RM19 billion utk IPP berbanding tindakan mereka memotong subsidi ke atas keperluan rakyat.
"Hari ini rakyat merasa bangga di atas ketegasan Tan Sri Ani Arop menentang dasar yang tidak adil ini. Syabas dan tahniah di atas pengorbanan beliau dalam menentang kemungkaran ekonomi yang dibuat tangan Umno Barisan Nasional ini," tambah Tuan Ibrahim.
Kerajaan Umno-Barisan Nasional (BN) mengumumkan kenaikan tarif elektrik sebanyak tujuh peratus bermula Jun 1 itu adalah sebagai langkah mengurangkan subsidi yang dikatakan semakin menghauskan perbendaharaan negara ekoran keputusan kabinet untuk menaikkan harga gas asli kepada RM3 mmBtu setiap enam bulan, dari RM10.70 juta unit termal British (mmBTU) kepada RM13.70 mmBTU sehingga mencapai paras pasaran menjelang 2016. |
| Malaysia in the Era of Globalization #68 Posted: 05 Jun 2011 09:21 PM PDT Many Malays blithely take on many wives on the stupid pretext that because our prophet had multiple wives, Muslims too should do likewise. Why, of all the many sterling qualities of our holy prophet (pbuh), present day Malays choose to imitate this particular trait? By M. Bakri Musa Chapter 8: Culture, Institutions, and Leadership The Blight of Broken Families I am appalled and saddened at the statistics on the family, especially among Malays. The number of teenage marriages is truly obscene. These young girls are not ready for motherhood. Think of the potential for personal growth thwarted by such early marriages. Malaysia must enact a minimum age of at least 18 for marriage. The divorce rates too are horrifying. These are actual divorces and do not include such cases of de facto divorces, that is, when Malay husbands simply abandon their wives or take on multiple wives. When one examines the structure and dynamics of such abandoned families, they are no different from divorced households. The children of families of multiple wives are just as neglected as if the father had divorced their mother.
I am baffled and horrified that these Malays think that they can take care of their many children in absentia. There was a case in Johore where a man sired literally dozens of children through multiple wives. How can he be an effective father to his brood? Muhyiddin Yassin, a current federal cabinet minister and an UMNO senior vice president, has 48 siblings! His father, a respected ulama, had four wives. What kind of an example was he trying to set? If he wanted to emulate our holy prophet, why did he choose this particular trait? How could he have bonded with his multitude of children? The notorious terrorist Osama bin Ladin came from a family of 54 children! His father had numerous wives. No telling how many more children his old man would have had he lived to a ripe old age! Totally irresponsible! He made a mockery of the institution of marriage and family. I doubt he could even remember his children's names, much less their birthdays and favorite toys. It is no surprise that Osama, like his father, also has multiple wives, an anecdotal affirmation of my earlier statement. A rapidly emerging and pernicious influence on the Malaysian family scene is the widespread practice of delegating child rearing to maids. Every year the country imports thousands of illiterate women from poor neighboring countries to be domestic help. The dangers here are twofold. One, young Malaysians are fast turning into spoiled brats with their whims taken care of immediately by these maids. Two, these maids may unconsciously impart an alien value system on the young. It is one thing to have maids do the household chores so mothers could have some quality time to spend with their children, it is quite another to leave child rearing to foreigners. If Malaysia were to import foreign workers, I would prefer them to be skillful programmers, creative musicians, and talented scientists. At least they would then impart their special talents onto locals. All these unskilled maids do is to make Malaysians feel smugly superior. It seems that the new status symbol in Malaysia is the number of household maids. The Australians have a per capita income considerably higher than Malaysians, yet they do not feel the need to import maids. The Australians have a totally different cultural value on child rearing. I have only three children yet my wife and I had a tough time coping with their homework plus all the problems of growing up. Many Malays blithely take on many wives on the stupid pretext that because our prophet had multiple wives, Muslims too should do likewise. Why, of all the many sterling qualities of our holy prophet (pbuh), present day Malays choose to imitate this particular trait? They forgot that when Mohammad (pbuh) had multiple wives it was an expression of his charity, to take care of widows and orphans during times of social stress as in war, a far cry from the priapic propensities of today's Malays. The Chinese culture too has its own version of broken families: the habit of taking on concubines. With modern laws recognizing the children of such unions as legitimate heirs, such practices are now declining. The only redeeming aspect of communism in China is that it got rid of the concubinage. Malaysia should emulate Turkey and Tunisia and ban polygamy, or if that raises the ire of fundamentalist Muslims, place strong disincentives. I suggest that before anyone takes on another wife, he must have a trust fund of RM 100,000 for the benefit of each child he already has. There are just too many irresponsible fathers even among the educated class. And divorced fathers must pay child support. In America, through court order, the paychecks of errant fathers are garnished to benefit their abandoned children. Sadly, the Shari'a court system that has jurisdiction over family affairs of Muslims is a misogynist institution. Its record in protecting children and abandoned wives is abominable. One solution would be to give Muslim couples and families the option of choosing the civil court system if any one party requests it. Were this to happen, the monopoly of the Shari'a would be broken and then we would know how much faith people have in it. That would also serve as a stimulus for much-needed reforms of the system. One critical area in need of great reform is divorce laws. The era when Muslim husbands could abandon their wives by simply declaring, "I divorce thee" three times (talak), makes a mockery of the sanctity of marriage. It takes a lot to get married in the first place, and divorce should not be undertaken lightly. Even more degrading to the institution of the family is the acceptance by the Shari'a of divorce pronouncements made by husbands on their cellular phones! The divorce provisions of the Shari'a must be reformed to reflect present day norms of gender equality. Strengthen the family. This is not a women's issue; it concerns everyone. Besides, it is the right thing to do. A stable family is the foundation of a strong society. Malaysia spends billions in trying to correct its myriad social pathologies, and is losing much more because of the lost potential of her blighted citizens. More resources must be diverted to strengthening the institution of the family. I am truly gratified that many Malaysian leaders beginning with Tun Razak had exemplary family lives. Both Mahathir and his present chosen successor, Abdullah Badawi, have not only carried on this fine tradition but they are also one of the few Malays who choose not to have multiple wives or large families. There is in America today a growing appreciation that the failure of many minority groups to advance, despite affirmative actions and civil rights legislations, is attributable to the decline of the family in that subculture. Today, a Black child born into an intact family, that is one with a father and mother, is a definite rarity. Unfortunately there is no respite from this tragic trend. This sad reality is finally dawning on enlightened Black leaders. They are now desperately trying to reverse this trend by strengthening the family. Lest anyone would ascribe ugly racial undertones to these observations, this same negative trend is also seen among Whites. And as so wisely pointed out by Moynihan, at the turn of the 19th Century the same social pathologies seen in Blacks and Hispanics today were also seen among Irish immigrants. At that time it was the abrupt transition from country to city life compressed within a generation that was so immensely disruptive. Such a social milieu gave rise to the wild Irish slums of Boston and New York with their drunkenness, corruption, family disorganization, juvenile delinquency, truancy, and other social pathologies. Malays today are undergoing a similar disrupting transition from a tranquil rural kampong life to a hectic urban one; all compressed within a generation. Such rapid changes take their toll on traditional institutions like the family. Thus it should not be a surprise that Malays are experiencing such social turmoil as reflected by the alarming rates of truancy, school dropouts, and divorce rates. Despite a generation of affirmative actions and other special set-aside programs in America, Blacks and other minorities still lag behind. Well meaning legislations cannot undo or reverse the damage done by the disintegration of the family. Similarly in Malaysia, after more than a generation of ever increasing and more generous special privileges, Malays are still lagging. Sadly, many Malay leaders are falling back on the same old stereotype and clichés to explain this failure. I suggest that Malays still lag despite preferential treatment because the institution of the Malay family is being severely stressed and threatened. Unless the institution of the family is strengthened, no amount of special programs will help. There is simply no substitute for a strong, stable, and intact family. Next: Leadership |
| The Malaysian Economic Slip-Up Posted: 05 Jun 2011 08:29 PM PDT By Thuraisingham Shun
The recent Economic Transformation Programme has created much confusion about our country's direction in achieving economic goals. First, we had the outdated Vision 2020 programme, followed by the 1st Malaysian Concept, then the New Economic Model, now the Economic Transformation Programme and next the 10th Malaysian Plan. This is "economic ROJAK". All these confuse the citizens as to where the Government is heading. It is time that our Prime Minister unveils a constructive consolidated economic outline. The set draft plan should include detailed implementable strategies, to be reviewed every six months, to ensure proper implementation targets are achieved. Negated implementation should be revised immediately.
"The Economic Transformation agenda is co-created by the private sector" said Dato' Idris Jala. This is not true – the introduction of this New Economic trust, was unveiled by the Minister, then it was the CEO Forum which dwelt on the presence of their role play. The public was not given a chance to air their views. The whole scenario was a pyramid system with a top to bottom thrust. The grassroots who form the base for the pyramid system did not have the opportunity, they were not provided the chance to express their views.
Any success of the New Economic outlined by or Prime Minister, must be reflected by a Public Sector Initiative. The middle income trap is a true reflection of the Malaysian scenario. The middle income group is sinking into the lower income group base.
In the forum themed "Economic Transformation Forum: The View from the Public Sector", there was no opportunity for the private sector to express their views. Likewise, immediate response for audience with the Minister from the representatives from the Cooperative sector, which represents 8000 cooperatives with a membership of 8 million, snowballing to 17 million with family members included and with an asset backing of RM79 billion, was negated by the little napoleons (a decision made by themselves at the nick of time) as the Minister is too busy.
The Prime Minister's emphasis of WALK THE TALK has failed. The authorities concerned must wake up. The citizens call the shots, according to the time capsule. Of late, the Prime Minister's words of wisdom on the "Evil of ignorance" befit the economic agenda. The root cause of doubts on the economic agenda is the misunderstanding of statements and misapprehension and conflict caused by ignorance. The I know syndrome exists no more.
The Malaysian civil service has reached the state of incompetence and stagnancy. The realm of our 54th independence needs a total revamp. Our Prime Minister is well set for a change – a change for the better. His generals must be prepared for a change of mentality, the I know syndrome is outdated.
It is noted that the transformation agenda entails the Vision 2020 statement which is outdated. We have to rise above the occasion to the ideas of the 21st century agenda and globalization. It was highlighted in the Journal of International Centre for Excellence that Vision 2020 was in dire peril. Likewise, the McKenzie Report also amplified this. Vision 2020 has to end its era within 31 December 2011; the dawn of a new era has to be formulated within the realms of Malaysia. The New Economic Model and the forthcoming 10th Malaysia Plan must be consolidated for a new direction to meet the challenges of globalization and the thrust for the 21st millennium agenda.
The Malaysian Cooperative fraternity of above 8000 cooperatives with a membership of above 8 million, snowballing to 17 million with family members incorporated and the Private Sector Initiatives will be the order of the day.
Thuraisingham Shun Cooperative Consultant and Advisor,
Co-operative Union of Malaysia and Midlands Co-operative Union of Malaysia
Portfolio Cooperative
National Malaysian Chamber of Malaysia |
| Ahmad Sarbani’s death: the lies and deceptions by the MACC (part 1) Posted: 05 Jun 2011 07:11 PM PDT
And so it is with regards to the MACC. Those in the Royal Malaysian Customs Department have no one to turn to. They don't trust the PDRM. They don't trust the MACC. But they trust Malaysia Today. So they have asked Malaysia Today to let truth be told. And that is what we are going to do. NO HOLDS BARREDRaja Petra Kamarudin We from the civil society movements are extremely unhappy about the rampant corruption in Malaysia that threatens to reduce the country to the status of a failed state. But what can we do about it other than lament and reveal what we know? Not that anything is going to be done about what we reveal. Hey, we even revealed that the Attorney-General is bonking one of his Directors. And know what? Not only has nothing been done about it but he is still bonking her until today in spite of everyone knowing about it. "So why bother?" many may ask. Well, our job is just to reveal the truth whether anything is done about it or not. We even reveal the misconduct of the opposition although we get vilified and are called traitors and are accused of being bought off. It is what we do -- never mind how unpopular that makes us. And if you don't like it, tough! That's your problem, not mine. Talking about corruption, I still remember back in the 1980s when I spoke to the Deputy IGP, Tun Haniff Omar's number two, about corruption in the police force and he said that if they want to eradicate corruption they would have to sack 97% of the police force. I did not ask Tan Sri Amin whether he is in the 3% or the 97%. I also remember back in the 1990s when the Director of ACA Terengganu named Zainal launched corruption investigations against senior government officers and Umno leaders. It appeared like 100% of these people, Menteri Besar Wan Mokhtar Ahmad included, were going to be sent to jail. Wan Mokhtar called Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Zainal was transferred within 24 hours. So, yes, there are some good and dedicated Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA, now called MACC) officers. But then if they were to do the job they have been entrusted to do they would suffer persecution, 24-hour transfers, sent into 'cold storage' and whatnot. So it is not worth doing your job. Better, as one Member of Parliament said: you 'close one eye'. Closing two eyes plus your mouth and ears as well may be even better. Then you would go far. So whom do people turn to when they are unhappy and distrust the very institutions that are supposed to be the trustees of the public? To the police? Pleeeeeez! To the MACC? What? And get thrown out of the window? Luckily lawyer Rosli Dahlan was detained overnight in the MACC lockup in Putrajaya, which is underground. If not he would have also been found dead on the ground floor. Can you imagine the newspaper headlines the next day if Rosli had died? "Lawyer Rosli Dahlan was found dead on the ground floor of the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya. Rosli was suspected to have jumped out of MACC's underground lockup and landed on the ground floor." Yes, as in the movie 'Ghost Buster', whom do you call? The Police? MACC? No, you call the Ghost Busters! You contact Malaysia Today. You come to Malaysia Today to ask that the truth be told. And so it is with regards to the MACC. Those in the Royal Malaysian Customs Department have no one to turn to. They don't trust the PDRM. They don't trust the MACC. But they trust Malaysia Today. So they have asked Malaysia Today to let truth be told. And that is what we are going to do. So stay tuned and tomorrow we shall tell you part two of the story "Ahmad Sarbani's death: the lies and deceptions by the MACC", a story that will shock you. Just when you thought it is safe to go into the water, as they said in the movie 'Jaws'. That's right, there are many sharks in Malaysia. But not all sharks swim in the water. Many sharks walk on two feet. And many sharks wear uniforms. And many sharks are under the protection of Umno. In fact, many of these sharks are actually instruments of those who walk in the corridors of power. They are instruments to take down those critical of the government. They are tools used to silence dissent. And what worries those who walk in the corridors of power is that many who work for the government no longer trust the government but trust Malaysia Today more. And that is why they come to Malaysia Today to tell their story. And this is why they want Malaysia Today to reveal what they told us. Now, hold on for part two where we reveal what our Deep Throat in the Customs Department told us. |
| Hisham denies Australian firm bought brother’s clout Posted: 05 Jun 2011 07:05 PM PDT 
By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, June 6 — Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein denied today a report that his brother was paid to help win contracts for an Australian banknote supply firm. "I am not just denying it, it is not true," the home minister said at a press conference here. Australian daily The Age reported that Securency International, half-owned by Australia's central bank, signed on Liberal Technology as its Malaysian agent in 2009 with the expectation that its biggest shareholder, Datuk Haris Onn Hussein, would "offer it access to, and influence over, Malaysia's top politicians." Haris, also chairman of Liberal Technology, is Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's cousin and brother to Hishammuddin, who will head to Canberra soon to sign a deal which will see Australia transfer 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia and accept 4,000 refugees in return. "My brother? One, I tell you the truth, I don't know what my brother is doing. Secondly, I don't think Australia would do it. Thirdly, there is no link at all to what I'm doing with Australia, simple as that," the Umno vice president added. However, Securency is not believed to have won any further banknote supply contracts from the Malaysian government despite engaging Haris, who owns shares in or sits on the board of several companies that have benefited from government concessions like mandatory security labels for cigarette and alcohol manufacturers, and toll highways. The Age also stressed that it was not suggesting that either Najib or Hishammuddin were involved in Securency's dealings here. The company last won a major contract here in 2004 and a smaller one in 1998 with the help of arms broker and former Umno official Abdul Kayum Syed Ahmad. He has since been arrested and questioned by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over the deals and his use of commissions paid by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) firm. Securency, a leading global supplier of plastic banknotes, has been investigated for two years by the Australian Federal Police and the British Serious Fraud Office for allegedly bribing public officials in Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Nigeria to win supply contracts. Under Australian law, it is a criminal offence for a company or individual to pay, or offer a benefit to, foreign government officials or their close relatives to obtain a business advantage. READ MORE HERE. |
| Keperluan PAS bertanding di kawasan campuran Posted: 05 Jun 2011 06:09 PM PDT (Harakahdaily) - PAS dan Pakatan Rakyat perlu mempertimbangkan agar parti Islam itu tidak hanya bertanding di kawasan majoriti Islam semata-mata tetapi juga di kawasan campuran. Yang Dipertua PAS Kawasan Miri, Jofri Jaraiee berkata, PAS sepatutnya diberi peluang bertanding dalam kawasan yang berbilang kaum dan jangan hanya bertumpu di kawasan Melayu Islam sahaja.
"Rakan dalam Pakatan seharusnya sama-sama memberi sokongan dan kerjasama dalam usaha ini lebih-lebih lagi dalam negeri Sarawak yang masyarakatnya berbilang kaum.
 "Kita mahu membuktikan yang Pakatan Rakyat ini betul-betul Pakatan yang bukan perkauman dan ekstrimis seperti dakwaan BN," kata Jofri dalam satu kenyataannya.
Sebelum ini, PAS Miri dalam muktamarnya meluluskan usul agar Parlimen Miri, Sarawak ditandingi oleh PAS. (Gambar fail: PAS Miri bersama-sama memberikan sokongan penuh kepada calon PKR Senadin dalam PRN Sarawak lalu)
Miri adalah kawasan yang paling kuat PAS di Sarawak setelah sekian lama bertapak di negeri itu.
Dalam pilihan raya negeri baru-baru ini, pada mulanya PAS diperuntukkan kerusi Dun Senadin, Miri namun ia berubah di saat akhir apabila pertukaran kerusi dibuat.
DAP telah menang dua kerusi di Parlimen Miri manakala PKR hanya kalah 57 undi di Dun Senadin.
Dalam pilihanraya umum 2008 PAS hanya bertanding satu kerusi iaitu Batang Lupar namun kalah.
Untuk pilihan raya umum akan datang, PAS Miri memohon supaya PAS bertanding di Parlimen itu.
Bagi Haji Jofri, PAS sepatutnya menggunakan Dewan Himpunan Penyokong PAS (DHPP) sebagai jambatan atau perhubungan antara kaum. PAS juga perlu membuktikan bahawasanya PAS boleh diterima oleh semua golongan tanpa mengira kaum, agama dan juga fahaman politik
PAS boleh mengembangkan pengaruhnya ke semua kawasan bandar dan luar bandar sekiranya peluang yang ada digunakan sebaik mungkin seperti memberi penerangan kepada orang Islam dan bukan Islam tentang keadilan dan kebaikan dalam Islam yang mereka perolehi sekiranya diberi peluang memerintah Malaysia.
"PAS dan Pakatan Rakyat harus berhati-hati dengan propaganda Umno/BN, mereka berusaha untuk memecahbelahkan Pakatan Rakyat agar usaha kita untuk menawan Putrajaya akan menemui kegagalan," katanya.
Bagi beliau, Pakatan Rakyat harus belajar dari kesilapan dan kegagalan Pakatan Rakyat Sarawak semasa pilihanraya umum negeri Sarawak yang lalu dimana usaha BN berjaya menggagalkan usaha Pakatan menawan Sarawak dengan menghasut dan mengadu domba Pakatan Rakyat seperti kononnya salah sebuah parti dalam komponan Pakatan Rakyat ditaja oleh BN.
"Apabila sesetengah daripada kita terpengaruh dengan hasutan BN maka berlakulah perebutan kerusi dan akhirnya Pakatan Rakyat Sarawak gagal untuk menawan Sarawak disebabkan mendengar atau terpengaruh dengan hasutan dan propaganda BN.
"Sekarang mereka berusaha lagi untuk menghancurkan perpaduan Pakatan Rakyat dengan mengadu domba parti-parti dalam Pakatan," katanya. |
| PAS a ‘pseudo-Umno’ party, says Nazri Posted: 05 Jun 2011 06:02 PM PDT 
(The Malaysian Insider) - Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz has described PAS as a "pseudo-Umno" party, claiming it had abandoned its Islamic principles for the sake of political power. The Umno supreme council member and senior minister however said it would be good for Umno if PAS was attempting to offer itself as an alternative as the ruling party already has a good track record with the people. "Honestly, I worry... they will give us a good fight in the election if PAS remains an Islamist party. That worries me because there are elements in Malay-Muslim society who believe that what PAS is doing for the Islamic state is correct. "But if they become like Umno, elections will be easier to face because we have a track record. Otherwise, it will be a hard fight," he told a press conference today. Nazri also echoed the views of Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who said yesterday that by preaching its welfare state plan, PAS had clearly strayed from its Islamic principles. Nazri said that by changing its ideals, PAS was no longer "special" as it was merely trying to sell itself as an alternative to Umno. He also agreed with Muhyiddin that Malaysia, under Barisan Nasional's rule, had long ago implemented the welfare state concept by prioritising the needs of the poor and unfortunate. "There is nothing special about PAS now. They changed their struggle... last time, it was Islamic state. Now, welfare state. "Umno realised this over 50 years ago and they need 57 meetings to become aware. So now you know who is the smarter Malay," he said. At the same time, however, Nazri admitted there was a likelihood that a large portion of the party's members would still attempt to push for PAS's original Islamic state agenda. He noted that while the progressives, led by popular leader Mohamad Sabu, had edged out the conservative ulama faction during the polls, the multi-cornered fights indicated a split in votes for the latter faction. READ MORE HERE |
| Najib’s economic advisers feared NEM just for show Posted: 05 Jun 2011 05:58 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - Datuk Seri Najib Razak's economic advisers were worried that the prime minister's New Economic Model (NEM) brainchild was just a short-term public relations exercise without any lasting policy impact, according to a leaked United States diplomatic cable. According to the cable released by whistleblower website Wikileaks, the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC) was frustrated with the slow responses from government ministries and the lack of high-level political commitment outside of the prime minister's office. The entire cable, which quoted NEAC acting director of research Tong Yee Siong and American Chamber's Nicholas Zeffries, among others, was published in the Malaysia Today news portal today. "Tong told us that achieving any of the goals developed by the NEAC will require significant political buy-in to operationalize the policy changes necessary to reinvigorate investment and spur additional growth. "However, Tong commented that NEAC members are frustrated with a lack of high-level political commitment outside of PM Najib as well as the slow responses from Ministries which impeded progress on the NEM," according to the cable sent from the US Embassy here to Washington. It quoted Tong further as saying "that some NEAC members are concerned that the NEM maybe merely a public relations exercise that will have no real long-term policy impact. "Zeffries told us that he was not confident that PM Najib has a sufficiently strong political position to pursue the NEAC's upcoming proposals," the cable added further. Najib launched the NEM last year in two parts but dropped certain sections including one on the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) which was severely criticised by NEAC member, the late Datuk Dr Zainal Aznam Mohd Yusof. Zainal Aznam, who died on April 30, accused the Najib administration of succumbing to Perkasa and lacking the political will to implement reforms, including the formation of the EOC. In a summary in the cable, US diplomats said: "Leading Malaysian economists believe that Najib is sincere in his desire to address these problems. "However, they question his ability to make major changes in the government's long-standing discriminatory Bumiputera preference policies which have discouraged domestic investment and new business formation and are driving the 'brain drain' of young professional Malaysians frustrated with limited opportunities under this system." The diplomats said local economists expect Najib's effort "to establish a policy framework that will foster a more gradual move away from ethnic preferences to a merit-based economy, but believe that may be insufficient". READ MORE HERE |
| Change in PAS Leadership: For Better Or Worse? Posted: 05 Jun 2011 05:51 PM PDT 
As we all know, Mat Sabu has a somewhat 'sentimental' relationship with Anwar. We already know that he was once the biggest hater of the Opposition leader. In fact, Mat Sabu is the man who first coined the title 'al juburi' (the one who like buttocks) to refer to Anwar. This is enough to show how much he hated Anwar. How things can suddenly have turn 180 degrees in politics… by Aidil Syukri, Malaysian Digest I talked to several PAS members during the Muktamar last weekend on the possibilities of PAS leaving Pakatan. One of them agreed with the idea as he believes that Pakatan has caused a lot of damage to PAS. He said that PAS has to 'take care' of the burden caused by Anwar's questionable morals and because of this, PAS, as an Islamist party, has become prone to attacks from their BN rivals. His friend also agrees with him. He said, before PKR and Pakatan came to the picture, PAS had a very clean image. In fact, until now there is no major issue that involves PAS directly. However, the sodomy and sex video issue of the Permatang Pauh MP (Anwar Ibrahim) has affected PAS. He said if PAS never collaborated in Pakatan, it would be a lot stronger than now as it would have been more consistent in championing people issues. The 2011 PAS Election has ended last weekend. As expected, the 'professional' group or better known as the 'Erdogan' group has monopolized almost all the top positions in PAS leadership. Led by Mohammad Sabu or better known as Mat Sabu who won the deputy president post, many believe that the new leadership could bring betterment to the party. The party election results showed Mat Sabu winning the race for the party deputy president post with 420 votes beating incumbent Nasharudin Mat Isa who received only 224 votes and vice-president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man who came second with 399 votes. A total of 1,100 delegates voted in this year's party elections. Below is the list of the top three post winners: PRESIDENT: Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Mohamad Sabu VICE PRESIDENTS: 1. Datuk Husam Musa 2. Datuk Mahfuz Omar 3. Salahuddin Ayub Shortly after the results were announced we could see Mat Sabu exuberating diplomacy when interviewed by reporters following the announcement on election results. He told reporters that the Ulama group in PAS still has a great influence in the party especially with the ulama and syura council. According to Mohamad, as an Islamist party, PAS scholars still have their own role under the syura council where they are able to control the party's direction. "Ulama still have a great influence in the party. We are not like Umno who placed scholars under a bureau. We have a syura council where they (ulama) can control the party's direction," said Mohamad. He added that the new leadership has all the abilities needed for PAS to gain momentum in its preparation for the next General Election. "I believe that the new leadership is able to bring a momentum for us to win the next GE with support not only from PAS members, but also the non-Muslims," said Mat Sabu. Many political analysts believe that the party election result, which is not in favor to the ulama group, will see the end of the PAS-Umno Unity Government (UG) which was masterminded by the ulama faction within PAS. I do agree with them. However, I still believe that it is not impossible for another surprise to arise in PAS. As we all know, Mat Sabu has a somewhat 'sentimental' relationship with Anwar. We already know that he was once the biggest hater of the Opposition leader. In fact, Mat Sabu is the man who first coined the title 'al juburi' (the one who like buttocks) to refer to Anwar. This is enough to show how much he hated Anwar. How things can suddenly have turn 180 degrees in politics… My conclusion of the PAS election is that, with Mat Sabu as deputy president and Hadi retaining his party president past, I think it is possible that PAS will be leaving Pakatan in the near future. As for the prospect of a pact between Umno and PAS, I guess Hadi and Sabu have to fight it out… |
| Negara Berkebajikan bukan agenda baru PAS Posted: 05 Jun 2011 05:44 PM PDT Sebab itu tidak menghairankan sekiranya pemimpin Umno menyifatkan tindakan PAS mengutarakan matlamat 'Membangun Negara Berkebajikan' itu sebagai menggugurkan misi perjuangan menubuhkan Negara Islam. Mohd Nasir Awang, Harakahdaily Nampak sangat masih ramai yang tidak faham konsep Negara Islam. Justeru, tidak pelik mengapa setiap kali kalimah itu disebut, dapat kita dengar dan baca komen dan reaksi negatif serta tidak munasabah dari khalayak umum.
Amat mendukacitakan apabila tanggapan serong terhadap Negara Islam bukan hanya datang daripada orang bukan Islam. Ia bahkan turut terpacul dari mulut orang-orang Islam sendiri.
Oleh kerana pihak paling akrab kepada kalimah itu ialah PAS, maka pihak paling gemar mempertikai dan mempersendakan konsep Negara Islam setiap kali ia dibual bicarakan ialah para pemimpin dan penjuak Umno.
Mereka terlalu angkuh di tampuk kuasa sehingga sanggup menganggap konsep pemerintahan berteraskan agama suci murni itu suatu ancaman kepada hegemoni kuasa Barisan Nasional (BN).
Sentimen politik kepartian yang terlalu menebal di kalangan mereka pula menjadi tembok penghalang untuk mereka sekurang-kurangnya membuka sedikit minda dan memberi ruang untuk penjelasan pihak lain mengenai kewajaran menjadikan hukum dan peraturan Tuhan sebagai dasar pemerintahan.
Mereka terlalu angkuh untuk memahami susur galur perjuangan PAS, jauh sekali untuk diharapkan menghayati bual bicara para pemimpin parti Islam ini sejak sekian lama.
Sebab itu apabila Presiden PAS, Datuk Seri Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang memilih ungkapan 'Membangun Negara Berkebajikan' sebagai tema ucapan dasarnya tahun ini, banyak pihak yang seakan hilang punca lalu mengulasnya secara sembrono dan tidak ketahuan hala.
Mereka seolah-olah baru pertama kali mendengar ungkapan tersebut dari mulut para pemimpin PAS. Justeru ada yang secara boros terus menyimpulkan kononnya PAS telah berubah haluan perjuangan.
PAS dikatakan tidak lagi berhasrat menubuhkan Negara Islam, sebaliknya menukar matlamat perjuangannya kepada sebuah Negara Berkebajikan pula.
"Saya melihat penolakan konsep Negara Islam satu isyarat jelas kepada rakyat bahawa PAS sanggup menggadai prinsip demi meraih kemenangan politik," ujar Ketua Pemuda Umno, Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar.
PAS dikatakan sudah lari dari prinsip perjuangan asal dan dikatakan hilang pedoman. Bahkan ada yang menuduh PAS menjual agama semata-mata kerana mahu mendapatkan pengaruh dan kuasa.
"PAS sudah terpengaruh dengan DAP menyebabkan mereka sanggup menjual agama demi mencapai matlamat untuk mendapatkan pengaruh dan kuasa, dan kalau soal Negara Kebajikan, BN sudah lama buat," ulas Ahli Majlis Tertinggi Umno, Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam.
Ketua Menteri Melaka itu memang terkenal dengan sifat suka 'cakap lepas'. Sepertimana para pemimpin Umno lain, beliau juga ada tabiat suka membuat kenyataan secara boros, sembrono dan tanpa usul periksa. Sebab itu kekadang ada kenyataannya yang kedengaran lebih dungu daripada pelajar sekolah!
Para pemimpin dan penjuak Umno bukan faham sangat pun apa itu Negara Islam. Mereka malah tidak pun sempat meneliti konsep Negara Berkebajikan dibentangkan Presiden PAS itu, tetapi tetap mahu mengulas berdasarkan kejahilan mereka.
Sebab itu tidak menghairankan sekiranya pemimpin Umno menyifatkan tindakan PAS mengutarakan matlamat 'Membangun Negara Berkebajikan' itu sebagai menggugurkan misi perjuangan menubuhkan Negara Islam.
Mereka memang tidak faham dan bercakap semata-mata atas serakah dan sentimen politik yang sempit. Lalu ada yang kata PAS berbuat demikian kerana takut hilang sokongan rakan sekutu dalam Pakatan Rakyat.
"Abdul Hadi tidak sebut soal Negara Islam kerana takut kepada pemimpin DAP, Karpal Singh dan Lim Kit Siang. Presiden PAS lebih nak jaga hati DAP. Ini satu tragedi dalam sejarah di mana PAS kini tersungkur dan menyembah DAP," itu pula ulasan Presiden Perkasa, Datuk Ibrahim Ali.
Kesemua kenyataan pemimpin Umno dan polemik Negara Berkebajikan yang sengaja cuba dibentuk media arus perdana talibarut BN adalah berbekalkan fahaman yang cetek terhadap konsep Negara Islam.
Di sana turut terserlah kedangkalan mereka mengenai titih baris perjuangan PAS. Konsep itu sebenarnya sudah bersebati di kalangan pendokong parti ini sejak sekian lama. Ia bukan ungkapan baru dicipta, jauh sekali untuk dikatakan ekoran mahu menyesuaikan diri dengan kehendak rakan-rakan dalam Pakatan Rakyat, khususnya DAP.
Sesiapa yang benar-benar ikhlas mahu mengesahkan hakikat itu sebenarnya tidak perlu memusatkan sebegitu banyak pengkajian. Cukup sudah sedikit usaha meneliti kembali beberapa Ucapan Dasar Presiden PAS sebelum ini. Di sana sebenarnya sudah terakam sebagai bukti bertulis betapa konsep Negara Berkebajikan sudah pun menjadi bahan bual bicara pemimpin dan pendokong PAS sejak dulu.
Ia dijadikan dua subtopik di dalam ucapan Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi pada 2007 bertemakan "Selamatkan Demokrasi, Tegakkan Keadilan'. Konsep Negara Berkebajikan dilontarkan sebagai penyelesaian kepada peningkatan bebanan hidup rakyat dan kebobrokan pemerintahan yang ada.
Tuan Guru Presiden juga mengungkap kejayaan pemerintahan PAS di Kelantan dan sepenggal di Terengganu sebagai contoh apa yang telah mampu dilakukan parti ini dalam merealisasikan konsep Negara Berkebajikan, "mengikut bidang kuasa kerajaan negeri yang terhad".
Perlu diingat bahawa pada tahun itu belum ada gagasan Pakatan Rakyat. PAS belum bersatu secara rasmi atau terikat dengan dua lagi parti, KeADILan dan DAP. Justeru, mana mungkin untuk dikatakan kemunculan konsep 'Negara Berkebajikan' adalah kerana meraikan pendirian dua parti rakan itu?
Pembuktian konsep itu secara amali disebut sekali lagi dalam ucapan dasar bertajuk 'PAS Untuk Semua' pada 2008.
"Walau pun menerima tekanan yang sedemikian, sehingga kini kerajaan negeri Pakatan Rakyat telah dapat menunaikan sebahagian besar janji-janji pilihan raya yang bertemakan 'Negeri Berkebajikan' seperti pelaksanaan takaful kafalah di Kelantan, pembekalan air percuma di Selangor, penyerahan hak milik tanah di Perak dan cukai tanah di Kedah yang dikurangkan," baca ucapan itu.
Soalnya, apakah Negara Berkebajikan ini suatu konsep amat berbeza dengan gagasan Negara Islam? Itulah yang menuntut pemahaman yang betul dari kita semua, khususnya mereka yang gemar mempersoalkan apa juga yang dilontarkan PAS.
Sebetulnya, dua konsep ini perkara sama. Mungkin lebih tepat dikatakan bahawa Negara Berkebajikan merupakan salah satu ciri atau sifat kepada Negara Islam. Bukankah ia telah diperjelaskan para pemimpin PAS sebelum ini?
Rasanya ia antara perkara termuat di dalam Memorandum Negara Islam yang pernah dikemukakan parti sedekad lalu. Almarhum Datuk Fadzil Mohd Noor merakamkan perkara ini dalam ucapan dasarnya bertajuk 'Memantap Iltizam, Menyemarakkan Kebangkitan' pada 2002.
Beliau memperincikan tujuh perkara yang disifatkannya sebagai teras utama sebuah Negara Islam. Salah satu teras itu ialah Negara Berkebajikan yang jenuh diperkatakan kini.
"Pemerintahan Islam pada sifat penghayatannya menekankan aspek khidmat dan kebajikan sehingga apa yang dikatakan dengan pemerintahan Islam adalah ketika lahir di sana sebuah Negara Berkebajikan.
"Pada sudut 'worldview' dan falsafahnya, penghayatan pemerintahan Islam itu adalah bertujuan untuk memakmurkan atau mengisti'markan mukabumi ini dengan kebajikan dan makruf serta mengelakkan kerosakan, pembaziran dan kemusnahan terhadap seluruh makhluk di atas mukabumi ini termasuk alam sekitar," ucapan Almarhum dipetik.
Nah! Bukankah sudah terang lagi bersuluh bahawa apa yang sengaja cuba dipertikaikan sesetengah pihak kini sebenarnya sudah lama diperkatakan PAS?
Ia bukan suatu kompromi atau tindakan mengalah yang boleh disifatkan merugikan perjuangan PAS. Jauh sekali untuk dikatakan PAS telah menggadai prinsip perjuangan, semata-mata kerana tidak menyebutnya sebagai Negara Islam.
Ia sebenarnya suatu kebijaksanaan yang menyerlahkan sifat keanjalan dan kesyumulan Islam yang mampu disesuaikan dengan perkembangan dunia. Konsep Negara Berkebajikan didokong Pakatan Rakyat.
Ia menjadi sebahagian perkara disebut di dalam Buku Jingga yang merupakan dokumen dipersetujui bersama parti-parti pakatan pembangkang, termasuk KeADILan dan DAP. Ertinya, agenda PAS sudah disesuaikan dalam bentuk yang dapat diterima rakan-rakan tanpa ragu dan pertikaian lagi. Bukankah itu suatu keuntungan kepada perjuangan Islam?
"Kita mulakan dengan perlaksanaan Negara Berkebajikan. Ia ada dalam Islam dan al-Quran. Dalam al-Quran tidak sebut Negara Islam, ia sebut Negara Berkebajikan," kata Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi dalam sidang media selepas menyampaikan ucapan dasarnya, Jumaat lalu. |
| Pimpinan baru PAS menggerunkan Umno Posted: 05 Jun 2011 05:41 PM PDT Dengan menobatkan Mohamad Sabu, YB Salahuddin Ayub, YB Husam Musa dan YB Mahfudz Omar ke barisan kedua dan ketiga di dalam hiraki kepimpinan PAS, bermakna para perwakilan terus memperkasakan gabungan kepimpinan ulama dan profesional di dalam parti. Sekali gus, para perwakilan menghantar isyarat-isyarat berikut kepada UMNO-BN: Dr Rosli Yaacop, Harakahdaily Sebagai seorang ahli PAS seumur hidup, saya tidak mahu sesiapa pun memimpin PAS kecuali orang-orang yang bertaqwa. Apabila ulama ("berpendidikan aliran agama") yang dipilih perwakilan memimpjn PAS, biarlah ulama itu ulama yang bertaqwa. Apabila insan bukan ulama ("bukan dari pendidikan aliran agama") dipilih perwakilan memimpin PAS, biarlah insan itu insan yang bertaqkwa, Insha Allah. Takdirnya, pada pemilihan pucuk pimpinan PAS kali ini, para perwakilan telah, buat kesekian kalinya, memilih insan yang bertaqwa untuk memimpin parti dalam tempoh dua tahun yang akan datang. Kali ini, insan yang bukan dari aliran pendidikan agama (tidak semestinya mereka ini bukan ulama) telah dinobatkan sebagai Timbalan Presiden dan Naib-Naib Presiden. Mereka memiliki kelebihan – dua orang dari mereka pernah melalui proses pentarbiyyahan Kem Kemunting dan kesemuanya adalah aktivis parti yang paling ketara (visible), terserlah dan berwibawa yang telah menjelajah seluruh pelusuk negara. Lebih dari itu, mereka telah menyertai pilihan raya dan menang dan mereka juga adalah jaguh demonstrasi di jalan raya. Kalau keadaan memaksa rakyat untuk turun ke jalan raya seperti mana yang telah berlaku di Tunisia, Mesir dan beberapa buah lagi Negara Arab, saya rasa inilah orangnya yang akan berada di barisan hadapan. Mereka adalah ahli PAS yang telah melalui proses pentarbiyyahan yang panjang, lalu mereka itu kenal dengan apa itu Islam dan perjuangan Islam. Dari segi ilmu Islam dan ketaqwaan yang dimiliki, mereka sebenarnya layak dipanggil ulama. Lidah mereka sentiasa basah dengan ayat-ayat Al-Qur'an dan Hadith-hadith. Mereka kenal akan hukum hakam Islam. Di sana ada Majlis Syura Ulama yang memberi legitimasi kepada seluruh keputusan yang diambil parti. Sistem pembuatan keputusan yang wujud di dalam PAS memberi keanjalan yang luas bagi ahli-ahli memilih pemimpin. Sama ada yang dipilih itu "ulama" atau "bukan ulama," legitimasi perjuangan PAS dan segala tindak tanduknya tetap bersumber dan berpaksikan Al-Qur'an, Sunnah, Qias dan Ijma Ulama. Harus diperhatikan bahawa kebanyakan gerakan Islam di dunia hari ini – dari Negara-negara Arab, Turki dan lran hinggalah ke Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia dan Malaysia) – dipimpin oleh gabungan ulama dan profesional. Satu kejayaan besar dari sistem pentarbiyyahan PAS ialah ia telah berjaya "mengulamakan" golongan profesional dan yang bukan dari aliran pendidikan Islam dan ia telah berjaya pula "memprofesionalkan" golongan ulama dan yang dari aliran pendidikan Islam. Sesungguhnya, insan yang ada nilai di sisi Allah hanyalah insan yang bertaqwa. Inilah dia intisari daripada sistem pentarbiyyahan PAS – untuk mewujudkan insan yang bertaqwa, Insha Allah. PAS adalah parti bagi orang bertaqwa yang sentiasa tunduk kepada perintah Allah SWT. Di luar sana ramai insan yang berstatus ulama. Ada ramai ulama di dalam Biro Agama UMNO. Di Pusat Islam ada ramai ulama. Di Majlis Agama Islam negeri-negeri ada ramai ulama. Tetapi perjuangan mereka (harus ditekankan, tidak semua) itu berbeza dengan perjuangan para ulama yang berada di dalam PAS. Ulama dalam PAS, yang bertaraf pemimpin nasional mahu pun pemimpin negeri, kawasan dan cawangan atau ahli biasa, semuanya insan yang bertaqwa, Insha Allah. Kalau mereka tidak memiliki ketaqwaan yang tinggi, mana mungkin mereka berada di dalam sebuah jemaah Islamiah seperti PAS. Mana-mana jemaah yang perjuangannya bermatlamat menegakkan Al-Qur'an dan Sunnah, Qias dan Ijma Ulama sebagai perlembagaan dan undang-undang bagi ummah, maka itulah dia jemaah Islamiah dan sesiapa sahaja yang berada dan berjuang di dalam jemaah Islamiah, maka mereka adalah orang-orang bertaqwa, Insha Allah. Di dalam bahtera PAS hari ini terhimpun orang-orang bertaqwa dari setiap lapisan dan golongan masyarakat yang pada kalbu mereka sentiasa bersemarak kalimah "Lailaha Ilallah Muhammadur Rasulallah." Yang lebih menggerunkan musuh ialah sudah wujud pula golongan orang bukan Islam yang merestui perjuangan PAS dan mahu bersama-sama untuk melangsungkan perjuangan. Umno bukan satu jemaah Islamiah. Ianya jemaah kovensional yang dasarnya "agama suku dan politik suku." Pemimpin-pemimpinya selalu melaungkan kata-kata "jangan campur-adukan agama dan politik." Pemimpin UMNO tidak pernah tahu bahawa berpolitik itu adalah cara hidup para nabi. UMNO, kerana dasarnya konvensional, cukup serasi dengan pendekatan "matalamat menghalalkan cara." UMNO menggunakan fitnah seks untuk menjatuhkan lawan. Ia memainkan isu perkauman supaya bila tercetus rusuhan kaum seperti "Peristiwa 13 Mei," maka bolehlah ia terus berkuasa. Dalam tempoh lebih daripada 50 tahun UMNO berkuasa ia telah merosakkan lembaga-lembaga utama di dalam masyarakat dan Negara seperti badan kehakiman, polis, tentera, badan pencegah rasuah, suruhanjaya pilihan raya dan sistem pendidikan Negara. UMNO gagal mengagihkan kekayaan Negara secara adil. Kebokrokan ini berlaku kerana ulama yang ada di dalam UMNO semuanya bisu. Mereka melihat kemungkaran dilakukan oleh pemimpin-pemimpin mereka tetapi mereka tidak berani melarang. Malah, mereka tergamak pula mencipta hujjah dan hukum untuk memberi legitimasi kepada kemungkaran yang dilakukan. Dengan menobatkan Mohamad Sabu, YB Salahuddin Ayub, YB Husam Musa dan YB Mahfudz Omar ke barisan kedua dan ketiga di dalam hiraki kepimpinan PAS, bermakna para perwakilan terus memperkasakan gabungan kepimpinan ulama dan profesional di dalam parti. Sekali gus, para perwakilan menghantar isyarat-isyarat berikut kepada UMNO-BN: Revolusi rakyat yang dipimpin oleh gabungan ulama dan profesional telah berjaya menumbangkan dua orang diktator paling liat dan "notorious" dalam zaman moden ini, iaitu,El Zine Abidine Ben Ali (Tunisia) dan Hosni Mubarak (Mesir), maka dengan memperkasakan gabungan pimpinan ulama dan profesional di dalam PAS, adalah diharapkan akan tercetus pula revolusi rakyat Malaysia yang kelak berkemampuan menumbangkan kerajaan zalim UMNO-BN dalam pilihan raya ke 13 ini. Personaliti yang dipilih memang terkenal sebagai "great mobilizer of people" (penggerak orang ramai yang berwibawa)." Mereka telah membuktikan kemampuan memobilisasikan puluhan malah ratusan ribu manusia untuk turun ke jalan raya memprotes kezaliman. Jika UMNO-BN mahu terus menodai sistem pilihan raya pada pilihan raya ke 13 ini, maka jangan dipersalahkan Mohamad Sabu, YB Salahuddin Ayub, YB Husam Musa dan YB Mahfudz Omar, jika sekiranya rakyat turun ke jalan raya memprotes pilihan raya yang tidak adil. Dengan menambahkan golongan profesional di dalam hiraki kepimpinan PAS, pengundi bukan Melayu melihat bahawa PAS menjadi sebuah parti yang semakin mesra rakyat bukan Melayu. Pengundi-pungundi bukan Melayu, khasnya orang Cina dan India, telah lama menyuarakan bahawa mereka ingin melihat lebih ramai profesional menjadi pemimpin PAS kerana mereka berkeyakinan kejayaan pengurusan ekonomi Negara menuntut kehadiran golongan profesional yang bersih, berintegriti, bijaksana dan berilmu tinggi. Ulama memandu dan golongan profesional melaksana. Para perwakilan melihat bahawa jalan yang selesa untuk memenangi dan menambat hati orang bukan Melayu supaya bersama dengan PAS ialah dengan melakanakan apa jua perkara baik dan bermanfaat untuk semua yang mereka suarakan.
Pemerkasaan gabungan pimpinan ulama dan profesional di dalam PAS menghantar angin dingin ke dalam sum-sum UMNO. Ia menambahkan lagi kegerunan mereka untuk berdepan dengan Pakatan Rakyat di dalam pilihan raya ke 13 yang akan berlangsung bila-bila masa selepas Muktamar PAS ke 57 ini. Tahniah kepada semua calon yang menang. Kepada yang kalah jangan pula berbalasungkawa kerana ruang perjuangan itu amat luas. |
| The kacang puteh seller and the GLC CEO Posted: 05 Jun 2011 04:50 PM PDT SAKMONGKOL AK47 The political blooper of this decade must have been this. The minister of this ministry says- we can't do anything to reveal the details of the IPP agreement. I think this reaction is shared by many people in Malaysia. We almost fell off our chairs in disbelief. The government has no power to reveal the details of IPP contracts. If the government cannot declassify, who can? I hope this minister will not be selected as a cabinet member the next time around IF the BN retains power. Two, this absent mindedness is increased further by the equally bizarre statement by the TNB CEO. By the way, he takes home a RM 1.2 million pay packet per year and we paid him to come out with this kind of statement. Profitability depends on being able to increase a take it or leave it price. You no pay you no electricity. He was thankful; the government has agreed to raise tariffs. TNB made RM 4 billion on revenue of RM 30 billion he's thankful, rising costs will not eat into the profitability. Yet he was practically crying throughout 2010 urging the government to review this and that. He ensures profits by raising tariffs but not by tackling the costs centers. Where is the source of much increase in costs? Do they come from increasing wages of its employees or payments to IPPs? Or business misadventures in Indonesia. The price hike of TNB tariffs is a reprieve for TNB. Pray tell us then, where is the qualitative difference between a TNB CEO and a kacang puteh seller if both depend on a price INCREASE to be profitable? The answer none- because both their profitability is the result of raising prices. Anyone can increase profit by raising prices. This isn't what we expect from a CEO who earns maybe close to RM 100 k a month. We expect him to be profitable because of efficiency, because of cost cutting measures, because of streamlining operations and because of far sighted procurement policies. So the TNB of now that he helms, hasn't moved qualitatively from the TNB he started to lead. A few years ago, he justified the massive losses in coal purchasing deals that went awry as being not worrying because TNB's earnings are humongous. TNB earns billions each year. So, because you earn a lot, its ok to lose a few billions of public money. We therefore hope his contract as CEO will not be renewed. Nothing personal, just business. As a first start to cost cutting measures, we suggest therefore the top TNB bosses volunteer to have the pay cut and that portion be distributed as wages to lower income staff members. Why? Because TNB staff is some of the lowest paid workers in the country. READ MORE HERE |
| Zaid wants to take the spin out of politics Posted: 05 Jun 2011 04:34 PM PDT 
Kita chief continues his broadside against Anwar Ibrahim and talks about the need to change our political culture. "To me, it is not so much who forms the government. It is what sort of governance we have and until we address the question correctly, the public will be involved in what I call 'dirty, stupid, emotional politics of hatred, of dividing the people'." Mariam Mokhtar, Free Malaysia Today Kita president Zaid Ibrahim took potshots at both Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim in the concluding part of the interview. He said the failure of the government to punish Ibrahim was "a travesty", adding that he would have come down hard on anyone who made inflammatory remarks. "You should not have someone like Ibrahim inciting people to hatred. This politics of hatred will destroy the country. "If we are not prepared to take action against him and people like him, then we have no future." Zaid stressed that spin and the lack of honesty in dealing with issues were bad for Malaysian politics. "The first thing the politician will say is: 'How do I measure in the popularity scale, if I say this?'" "This is applicable to both Barisan Nasional and Anwar (Ibrahim). This is why it is so disappointing. Extremists like Ibrahim will encourage other extremists. "The country must be governed by civilised laws and principles. If it is offensive to normal human beings, then you should not allow it. "Issues must be dealt with in a transparent and objective way. You cannot spin and hide the truth from the people. That would be irresponsible leadership. "But the art of spinning and propaganda has deeply affected both sides that we cannot see the truth anymore. "We have become cynical. Everybody is for sale, everybody can be bought. This political culture is what I am fighting against. I am not fighting for Putrajaya… "We must be prepared to tell the truth and let the people decide what they want." Short-term political gain Zaid expressed his disappointment with Umno for failing to punish Ibrahim. "Umno says it is… a free country. That is irresponsible because freedom must have limits. We cannot pander to the obnoxious politics of hatred." When asked why he didn't do anything about the "sedition law" when he was then in the government, Zaid said: "I wanted to do so many things, but I was only there for six months. I did what I could, quite a lot of things in my six months." "I think I did more in six months than Anwar did in 15 years." Zaid has his take on how the Malays could reduce their dependency culture on handouts. "I think the first problem is that Umno has informed the Malays they are special. When you are special, you think you are entitled to it (privilege). So you can't blame the Malays for saying, 'If I am entitled to it, why not?'" "It is not the Malays who are the problem; it is the Malay leadership that is the problem because they do not tell the truth about the rights of the people. "Umno wants immediate short-term political gain." When asked why many Malays were reluctant to question their leaders, he said, "There are a lot of Malays who are quite happy with this situation; otherwise Umno would have lost all the seats. "Malays must go through this cultural and political values overhaul about our position in society: what our rights are, the rights of other citizens, how do we live with them, what is this is all about. "First, we must tell the truth about the situation to the Malays and to everybody. The political hypocrisy is so deep, you cannot blame the public for being confused." As Zaid was once part of the establishment, he was asked to give an insight into why ministers remained silent when in power, but seemed to open up after they left the Cabinet. "If you want everything your way, you will become like me, you won't last very long." Collective decision Zaid found it unacceptable that ministers supported government's policies "150%" when in power, but attacked them when they were out of power. "Anwar said that Sabah had a problem with immigration, with the Project IC. He said that he was kept out of the loop. How convenient." "He was the deputy prime minister (DPM) and brought Sabah Umno in, but blamed (Dr) Mahathir Mohamad for that. "When he (Mahathir) sacked all those judges., he (Anwar) was the DPM, what did he do?" Zaid was asked why ministers were slow about effecting change. "Ministers cannot effect change if you are just a minister. It is a collective decision. You can express your views. "But if you are DPM, it is different. If you are also the deputy president of Umno you can influence more things than just an ordinary minister. "I think it depends on where you are in the hierarchy as well. If you are just an ordinary minister, I don't think you can effect much without pushing it to the limits. "Like in my case, you reach a point, the limit comes very soon and then you have to withdraw. But I did not join the Cabinet because I wanted a job. Few people will believe I didn't want the job. "I told the prime minister (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) that I wanted certain things done. I believed at that time that I was able to do it. When I couldn't, I quit. "It is not that I was a career politican. I was critical of Umno even when I was in Umno. I was just an ordinary member. I was not head of the supreme council. I spoke my mind about change. "Many years ago, if they had listened to me, Umno would be a better party now. But that is a matter of conjecture." Phoney politics Zaid was asked whether ministers kept silent, even though they disagreed with government policies, because the BN has dirt on the past misdeeds of various politicians. "Yes, they probably have. As for me, any misdeeds or flaws in my character were exposed in Hulu Selangor (by-election). "But the difference between Anwar and I is that when it is true, I say 'yes'. I do not say, 'It's not me, sounds like me, but it's not me'. I would not say that." When asked what is the greatest threat the Malaysian people faced, he said: "Phoney politics." "Phoney leaders. People who have no respect for the rakyat. People who have no respect for the truth. People who have no respect for decent values. "The people deserve the leaders they have. If the people are happy with these sort of leaders, this is what they get. "Anwar made fun of my morality. But I am a lot more moral than him. I do not pretend to be what I'm not. "Anwar? He is a great pretender. "I may not be perfect but I believe in telling the truth. Anwar doesn't. So who is the better on the moral scale?" Massive wastage Zaid's message to the Malaysian people is simple. "Malaysians must not be afraid of the truth. They must use their heads. They must use facts and resources to find out and not come to conclusions, too easily. "Politics involves discourse about issues. You must not be prejudiced. There is already so much prejudice, bigotry, suspicion and cynicism in our country. "The politics of the last 50 years was partly contributed by BN, by Umno, by Anwar. I keep coming back to my first point, about process, systems and values. Those must come first. "We got to get the basics right. We may differ with the conclusion. "For example, the government should cut its spending. It is a massive wastage. Why buy submarines for billions of dollars? "But would Malaysians ask that question when they go to the polls? "We will never get a good government and good leaders if we are not prepared to punish leaders for bad policies. READ MORE HERE |
| Selangor Should Follow Penang In Water Deal Posted: 05 Jun 2011 02:13 PM PDT By Tony Pua Last Thursday, the Prime Minister, Najib Abdul Razak and the Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng signed a historic agreement to transfer the state's water assets held by Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang (PBA) to the federal agency, Pengurusan Aset Air Bhd (PAAB). This transfer is in exchange for leaseback by PBA of the said assets at a low interest over a period of 45 years in addition to other terms such as the conversion of Penang's outstanding loan of RM655.24 million to the federal government into a grant as well as a special grant allocation of RM1.2 billion for the expansion project of Mengkuang Dam. What is of particular importance, especially for other Pakatan-led states is the fact Najib praised the Penang "model" for the water restructuring exercise, and called on similar outcomes in other Pakatan states. The statement is particularly applicable to the Selangor state which fractious and trouble water industry is resisting consolidation under the state government. In Penang, while PBA is listed on Bursa Malaysia, the state government retains a majority 65% stake in the company, ensuring that all decisions relating to the provision of water services are in full control by the state government. In fact, the Federal Government has under the above agreement ceded final say on water tariffs to the state government. The state government has also assured the public that water tariffs will not be increased under the restructuring exercise. The Selangor government have sought to restructure the water industry to the same effect. The state seeks to consolidate the disparate water companies in the state, and retain control over water tariffs so that consumers in Selangor and KL will not be burdened by profiteering from these private water companies. However, the Federal Government has failed to give any support to the efforts of the state government, and have instead back Puncak Niaga and Syabas to the hilt to ensure that the latter will continue to retain control over the water industry in Selangor post-restructuring. In fact, the BN Government has gone to the extent of bailing out these water companies from their debt burden by taking over RM6.5 billion of these debts without binding these companies to any restructuring exercise. The result is, there will be no incentive for these companies to agree to any consolidation because the Federal Government has removed the only bargaining power in its hands. The Minister for Energy, Water and Green Technology, Peter Chin should heed Najib's call for all Pakatan states water industry to model after Penang's. He must use the power in his hands, as prescribed by the Water Services Industry Act 2006 as well as the fact that the water bonds will be held by the Federal Government to force these private self-interested water companies to concede their control over the water industry to the Selangor state government. Any disputes over valuation and terms can be resolved via an international arbitration panel of water, legal and financial experts. The refusal of the Minister to do so will be a figurative slap on Najib's face for the water industry in Selangor will remain under the fragmented control 4 water companies, with the state government having little or no say to ensure that the interest of its citizens is fully protected. TONY PUA is DAP National Publicity Secretary and MP for Petaling Jaya Utara |
| PM Should Answer To Ani Arope’s Revelation On EPU Being Responsible For Gas Subsidy Scandal Posted: 05 Jun 2011 02:12 PM PDT By Lim Guan Eng Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak should answer former Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) chief executive Ani Arope's revelation that the EPU is responsible for the gas subsidy scandal that costs Malaysians RM131.3 billion at end 2010. Ani chose to resign from his executive chairman post rather than sign the imbalanced deals, which saw the first generation of IPPs created, such as YTL Power Services, Powertek and Malakoff during the Mahathir administration. EPU forced Tenaga to buy electricity from an independent power producer (IPP), believed to be Genting Sanyen, at 14 sen per kilowatt hour (kWh) despite an existing offer of 12 sen/kWh then; other IPPs then were charging 16 sen/kWh. Ani even dubbed EPU as the "Economic Plundering Unit" for rising electricity tariffs, saying the powerful agency forced the national power company to sign lopsided purchase deals nearly 20 years ago where Tenaga must purchase power it does not need. This has resulted in Malaysia having the highest energy reserve margin in the world at 52.6% at 2010. Up to end 2010, Petronas has extended about RM131.3 billion in gas subsidy to both the power and non-power sectors. If the gas prices remain unchanged (power sector at RM10.70 per MMBTU; non-power sector at RM15.35 per MMBTU), about RM27 billion in 2011 would have to be incurred. Tenaga Nasional Bhd was allowed the 7% increase as Tenaga had to pay more for natural gas prices that has increased by RM3 per MMBTU, which would cut its gas subsidy costs to RM25.64 billion from RM27.22 billion. Clearly, there is no justification for Putrajaya to hike electricity tariffs by 7% when a review of the original terms of IPPs would be more than sufficient to cut the subsidy bill. Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) has pointed out the Malaysian power sector had yet to translate its price advantage in fuel prices into more competitive electricity rates despite paying less for natural gas (RM13.70 per mmBtu) compared to Thailand (RM18.23), Singapore (RM43.32) and Indonesia (RM21.04). The cost of electricity in Malaysia following this hike is nearly at par with Thailand... If we compare with Thailand's rate for low, medium and high voltage, Malaysia's electricity tariff for all these categories is higher. The Prime Minister must answer why Malaysians must pay for the mistake or the imbalanced deals by EPU that is against national interest because it benefited the few IPPs at the expense of 27 million Malaysians. LIM GUAN ENG is DAP Secretary-General And MP For Bagan |
| Anwar fails in third attempt to disqualify Sodomy II judge Posted: 05 Jun 2011 02:09 PM PDT By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, June 6 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today failed to disqualify Datuk Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah from presiding over his Sodomy II trial for the third time. The judge felt the defence's recusal application against him lacked "merit". "Application has no merit, therefore rejected," said an abrupt Mohd Zabidin. Anwar had wanted Mohd Zabidin to step down as the judge in the Sodomy II trial for "prejudging" the trial even before the opposition leader had a chance to enter his defence. The judge had ruled on May 16 that Anwar would have to defend himself on a charge of sodomising former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan three years ago, and concluded there was a prima facie case against the 63-year-old Pakatan Rakyat (PR) de facto leader. The PKR de facto leader has accused the judge of bias in his May 16 decision for ruling that there was a prima facie case in the charge against him. According to Anwar, the judge accepted the prosecution's arguments wholesale, despite the defence's objection against complainant Saiful's credibility as the star witness. Earlier today, lead prosecutor Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden accused the defence of trying to derail and delay the trial. He said that Saiful's testimony, backed by independent experts established "credible" evidence in charge against the accused. "This is your chance to give your defence under oath," Yusof told Anwar, and said in court that the Opposition leader had no qualms about giving his "version" as to what had happened on the day of the alleged offence to everyone else outside of court. This prompted Anwar to shout "When? When?" Anwar's lawyer Karpal Singh said that the defence would appeal the judge's decision, and wanted a stay of proceedings pending the appeal. This was objected by Yusof, who said that an earlier court of appeals ruling on Anwar's previous attempt to disqualify the judge ruled that such a move was not appealable. But Karpal, in his reply said that the reasons for the latest disqualification was different from previous ones, and therefore the court of appeals ruling did not apply. Mohd Zabidin fixed July 13 for case mention. The notice of appeal will be filed by Anwar's lawyers this afternoon. READ MORE HERE. |
| Kit Siang: Mukhriz’s PAS polls claim shows BN cannot change Posted: 05 Jun 2011 02:02 PM PDT By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, June 6 — DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang slammed Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir today for claiming that the PAS party poll results show that the DAP and PKR have influenced the Islamist party into sidelining its ulama faction. Lim said the Umno Youth executive councillor's "wild, baseless and irrational" claims were proof that no one in Umno or Barisan Nasional (BN) could live up to the aspirations of young Malaysians, who wanted a better Malaysia after "lost decades" under the ruling coalition's rule.
Mukhriz said on Saturday that the rise of the professional, or Erdogan, faction in PAS's top leadership showed that the party now only championed the multi-racial line of its Pakatan Rakyat (PR) partners and no longer fought for the Islamic state.
"Congratulations to the DAP and PKR for succeeding to influence PAS to the extent that only those aligned to them were elected as PAS vice-presidents and even the deputy president," he had told reporters in Jerlun.
"The influence of the DAP and PKR in PAS is very substantial. This does not reflect that PAS is free from the influence of those who are actually against Islam."
Lim asked whether "Umno wannabe" Mukhriz would be prepared when youths rise up against BN rule in Malaysia despite a recent call by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for youths to defend the administrative capital. READ MORE HERE. |
| Securency money trail nudges Malaysia's political royalty (UPDATED) Posted: 05 Jun 2011 01:56 PM PDT 
Haris Onn Hussein is well connected - his cousin is the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, and his brother is Home Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, who is expected in Canberra soon to sign the deal under which Australia will transfer 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia and accept 4000 refugees in return. By Richard Baker and Nick McKenzie, The Age THE Reserve Bank firm Securency hired a company owned by a close relative of Malaysia's Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister - the two men with whom the Gillard government is negotiating to swap asylum seekers - to help win banknote contracts. The revelation comes amid growing sensitivity within the federal government about the Australian Federal Police investigation of Securency and the potential for Australia's international relations to be harmed if foreign officials allegedly linked to the RBA firm's bribes are named. The Age has learned that Securency signed Kuala Lumpur firm Liberal Technology as its Malaysian agent in 2009. The biggest individual shareholder in Liberal Technology is businessman Haris Onn Hussein. Haris Onn Hussein is well connected - his cousin is the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, and his brother is Home Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, who is expected in Canberra soon to sign the deal under which Australia will transfer 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia and accept 4000 refugees in return. Securency hired Haris Onn Hussein in the hope he would offer it access to, and influence over, Malaysia's top politicians. It is a common in parts of Asia for the relatives of politicians to be hired by foreign companies as agents. The Age understands that some officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and other agencies are keen for the AFP not to identify certain foreign dignitaries or their relatives who are alleged to be linked to Securency in order to protect Australia's broader overseas interests. Securency, half-owned and supervised by the Reserve Bank, has for two years been investigated by the AFP and the British Serious Fraud Office for allegedly bribing public officials in Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Nigeria to win banknote supply contracts. Under Australian law, it is a criminal offence for a company or individual to pay, or offer a benefit to, a foreign government official or their close relatives to obtain a business advantage. Australia is yet to prosecute a foreign bribery case, but Securency - which has four RBA-appointed directors on its board - may be the first, given the two-year AFP investigation and the arrest and questioning of some employees and agents last year. No charges have yet been laid. Haris Onn Hussein and Hishammuddin Tun Hussein are political royalty in Malaysia. Their father, the late Tun Hussein Onn, was Malaysia's prime minister between 1976 and 1981. He was succeeded as prime minister by Mahathir Mohamad. Their grandfather, Dato Onn Jaafar, was the founder of Malaysia's ruling United Malays National Organisation political party. Hishammuddin Tun Hussein is vice president of UMNO. Haris Onn Hussein owns shares in or sits on the board of several companies that have benefited from Malaysian government concessions. In 2006, the Malaysian finance ministry told cigarette and alcohol manufacturers that they would need to buy security labels provided by Haris Onn Hussein's Liberal Technology to legally sell their products. Haris Onn Hussein is also associated with a company given a 34-year concession to operate a major Malaysian toll road. Under Securency's corporate structure, its board should have been informed and approved of Mr Haris Onn's company being signed as an agent. The Age can also reveal Securency engaged Malaysian state MP and a former UMNO branch treasurer, Dato Abdullah Hasnan Kamaruddin, as another agent. Mr Kamaruddin was the UNMO party treasurer in Dr Mahathir's home state of Kedah, a position that gave him substantial influence. Despite engaging the extremely well-connected Liberal Technology as agent in 2009, Securency is believed not to have won any further banknote supply contracts. The company won its last major Malaysian contract in 2004. At that time, Mr Razak was the country's defence minister and Hishammuddin Tun Hussein the education minister. It also won a smaller contract in 1998. The Age is not suggesting Mr Razak nor Hishammuddin Tun Hussein were involved in Securency's deals. The company's 1998 and 2004 contracts involved another Malaysian agent, businessman, arms broker and former UMNO official, Abdul Kayum Syed Ahmad. He has since been arrested and questioned by Malaysia's Anti-Corruption Commission over the Securency deals and his use of commissions paid by the RBA firms. The AFP began investigating Securency in May 2009 after The Age revealed its payment of tens-of-millions-of-dollars in commissions to politically connected middlemen to win contracts in Nigeria, Vietnam and India. The company wired millions of dollars into tax haven bank accounts in an effort to conceal the beneficiaries of its payments in an apparent breach of the RBA's rules. The AFP and Britain's Serious Fraud Office have conducted several raids on the offices of Securency and its British half-owner, Innovia Films. Properties owned by serving and former executives and agents have been raided and several arrests made. No charges have been laid yet. Securency's managing director, Myles Curtis, and chief financial officer, John Ellery, were forced out of the company in March last year. Securency's deputy chairman, English businessman Bill Lowther, resigned in October following his arrest by the Serious Fraud Office. RBA governor Glenn Stevens has defended his bank's appointees who have chaired and sat on the Securency board since 1996, telling a federal parliamentary committee in November that he had not seen any evidence to suggest they had acted inappropriately. The RBA plans to sell Securency. EDITOR'S NOTE:
Dato' Haris Onn Bin Tun Hussein is also a Director of Scomi Berhad Dato' Haris Onn, a Malaysian, is an Independent Non-Executive Drector of the Company and was appointed to the Board on 5 April 2006. Dato' Haris Onn graduated from Cambridge University, United Kingdom, with a Bachelor of Art Degree in Economics.
Dato' Haris Onn started his working career with Touche Ross & Co, London, an accounting firm, in 1989. In 1992, Dato' Haris Onn returned to Malaysia to work with D & C Sakura Merchant Bankers Berhad (now known as RHB Investment Bank Berhad) and he subsequently joined Rohas Sdn Bhd as the General Manager. Dato' Haris Onn then became a director of Bell & Order Berhad (now known as Scomi Engineering Bhd) in 1996. Currently Dato' Haris Onn is the Managing Director of Konsortium Lebuhraya Utara-Timur KL Sdn Bhd and the Chairman of Lembah Sari Sdn Bhd (formerly known as Liberal Technology Sdn Bhd). Other Malaysian public company in which he is a director is Shangri-La Hotels (Malaysia) Berhad.
Dato' Haris Onn is a member of Audit and Risk Management Committee of the Board. http://www.scomigroup.com.my/core/haris.asp Abdul Kayum Syed Ahmad is already in trouble with the Australian government 
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