Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Pemandu admits land acquisition only way to recoup MRT cost
- Hisham defends decision to deport Uighurs
- New investigation into film maker that took millions from Malaysia
- Refugee unrest in Malaysia after deportation bungle
- WIKILEAKS: IRAN SANCTIONS ACT: EMBASSY EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER REPORTED IRAN/MALAYSIA GAS DEAL
- Malaysia Prepares For Ageing Nation As World Population Reaches Seven Billion
- Bar Council Asked To State Views On Anwar's Action In Court
- On being detained at Kuala Lumpur airport
- 9/11 marked crucial turn in Vatican-Muslim relations
- Malaysia's Slowing Performance
- Malaysia's Opposition Chief: Country Needs to Prepare for Slowdown
- Voting Rights for Malaysians Overseas Welcome, but MyOverseasVote Will Scrutinise Details
- ‘Male Y’ DNA profile tainted, Sodomy II trial told
- Perak mufti says Malays must defend race
- The Statement from the Dock
- The sad story of MAS
- MCA founder’s granddaughter lauds Guan Eng’s policies in Penang
- Najib: Auditioning for Umno warlords
- Malaysians abroad may soon be allowed to vote via post
- NEP under attack: Dr M to the rescue
- More Flip-Flops
- A Question Of Faith
- ‘Lab did not meet international standards’
- EC mulls using both biometric system and indelible ink
- Religious Obstacles to Malay Economic Development
- Malaysia UNHCR Accused of Betraying Refugees
- Hari hari Ahir Saekor Najib
- Malaysian tax is not for public healthcare but public healthcare is for tax
| Pemandu admits land acquisition only way to recoup MRT cost Posted: 25 Aug 2011 09:19 AM PDT
By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 — Putrajaya's powerful efficiency unit has admitted that the Najib administration needs to acquire and develop land along the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) route as it cannot afford the multi-billion ringgit project otherwise. In a letter sighted by The Malaysian Insider, Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) chief executive Datuk Seri Idris Jala told Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Malaysia (ACCCIM) president Tan Sri William Cheng that the government was pursuing a "rail-and-property" model as it would not be able to recover the cost of the first line between Sungai Buloh and Kajang through fares alone. "For the government to manage the project efficiently and sustainably, fare box revenue will not be sufficient to finance the high capex and opex for the MRT network," Idris said in the letter dated August 23, written in response to Cheng's queries about the acquisition of Jalan Sultan land. "Increasing the fares is not an option as the government wants to act responsibly by providing the rakyat with an affordable means of transport. Instead, the government is adopting a prudent approach towards a sustainable financial model for the MRT through a modified rail-plus-property model." The government has said a Ministry of Finance unit called Dana Infra will raise funds for the MRT, which is the country's most expensive infrastructure project to date, but has yet to give any details of the funding apart from saying it will develop the land along the route. The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department pointed out that Hong Kong's MTR Corporation, which has successfully applied the model to its Mass Transit Railway (MTR) network, would not have an "effective means of recouping the vast sums spent on developing the MRT" without revenue from property development as earnings from fares only made up 35 per cent of total revenue. He stressed that Singapore's MRT operators, who rely heavily on fare box revenues with minimal contribution from commercial activities, were considered an exception rather than the norm. But Malaysia would be using a modified version of the rail-and-property model with "some amount of land acquisition" as the Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) line would traverse built-up areas unlike Hong Kong, which had access to several tracts of mainly reclaimed land that allowed for integrated station and property development, Idris said. "The government is thus not acquiring land banks for the MRT Co. nor abusing the Land Acquisition Act for this purpose," he assured, referring to the new project owner effective September 1. However, Idris also revealed that land along the SBK corridor that will be developed by government-linked companies (GLCs), including the Rubber Research Institute (RRI) and Kuala Lumpur International Financial District (KLIFD) sites, would not go directly towards offsetting the capital expenditure for the MRT. The minister added that he would let the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) respond to Cheng's concerns over the land acquisition on Jalan Sultan in Chinatown, which traders there see as a threat to the historic enclave. "These involve technical details such as the design of the alignment, constructibility, the need for station integration and so forth and why land above ground is acquired (in respect to the National Land Code) even if the MRT tunnels are below for safety and security concerns," he said. "On this score, perhaps we may also see a more positive development from the proximity of the MRT line to Chinatown where opportunities for revitalisation and restoration of the area would benefit the Chinese community in this part of Kuala Lumpur."
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| Hisham defends decision to deport Uighurs Posted: 25 Aug 2011 09:16 AM PDT By Husna Yusop, The Sun The decision to send back 11 Chinese Uighur Muslim refugees to China last week was justified as they were involved in criminal activities, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein. Commenting on international human rights groups criticising Malaysia for repatriating the Uighurs to China on Aug 18, he told a press conference today that there were still five others detained on suspicion of human trafficking.The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' office in Kuala Lumpur has reportedly voiced regret that the deportation was done without allowing them access to UN officials. "We get condemnations all around in anything we do. But, these people were wanted by the China government. We have to be on the side of justice and, at the end of the day, what is most important to me is the safety and stability of our people and our country," he told reporters after the ministry's monthly Speaking after attending the ministry's monthly assembly, Hishammuddin said it is best to leave the matter to the authorities as they were still under investigation. "We can argue and debate the whole day. Those with views can come and engage us, we can discuss. The rights of the press to report must not come in the way of investigations that are on-going," he said. In another development, Hishammuddin denied reports that the ministry has ordered for UNHCR cardholders to register under the 6P Programme on Monday. "It was not ordered by the ministry. That's not true. From what I've discovered, it was the decision of all those refugees to register at that particular time. It was reported that about 10,000 refugees and asylum seekers flooded the Immigration Department in Putrajaya when they were given an 11th hour notice to register themselves under the programme. Overwhelmed and ill prepared, immigration officials reportedly had little choice but to turn back a large number of the refugees and asked them to return the next day. Hishammuddin said the ministry officers have been instructed to engage UNHCR to come up with proper planning for the refugees so that there will not be any bottlenecks. "If they tell us in advance they want to come in big numbers, we can make the necessary arrangement," he said adding the original decision was for the registration to be in staggered.
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| New investigation into film maker that took millions from Malaysia Posted: 25 Aug 2011 09:13 AM PDT By Ian Burrell, The Independent Press corps in Kuala Lumpur all knew FBC had close links to the Malaysian government with special access. One of America's most prestigious magazines, the 154-year-old The Atlantic, has become the latest high-profile news organisation to launch an investigation into its relationship with a media company that was allocated millions of pounds by the Malaysian government. The Washington-based magazine and website is "reviewing all transactions" it had with FBC, a media company that also produced television programmes for the BBC and the business channel CNBC. The Independent revealed this month that FBC had been hired by Malaysia in a "global strategic communications campaign". The FBC programmes broadcast on BBC World News dealt with contentious issues including Malaysia's treatment of its indigenous peoples, its management of rainforests and its controversial palm-oil industry. The BBC said: "FBC has now admitted to the BBC that it has worked for the Malaysian government. That information was not disclosed to the BBC as we believe it should have been when the BBC contracted programming from FBC. Given this, the BBC has decided to transmit no more programming from FBC while it reviews its relationship with the company." The Atlantic has ordered a "full review" into its own relationship with FBC. Justin Smith, president of Atlantic Media Co, publisher of the magazine, has resigned from the board of FBC. FBC's founder Alan Friedman, a long-term friend of Mr Smith's, blogged for The Atlantic from this year's World Economic Forum in Davos. Mr Friedman also encouraged The Atlantic to host an event in March in which the Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak, was interviewed by a correspondent of The Atlantic. Natalie Raabe, director of communications for The Atlantic, said Mr Smith's role at FBC was unpaid and "largely nominal". She said that the magazine was "reviewing all interactions it has had with FBC and its chairman," including blogs Mr Friedman wrote about Indonesia. "We have found several instances in which Friedman wrote positively about the Indonesian government and its representatives. Our internal process will seek to determine whether Friedman was representing Indonesia at the time he wrote for TheAtlantic.com." She said the company was also examining blog comments made by Mr Friedman on Malaysia and had now attached an online reference to inform readers that he was working for the Malaysian government "at or around the time he wrote them". FBC also made a half-hourly weekly programme for CNBC, part of the American NBC network. Many of its episodes featured Malaysia. CNBC has withdrawn the programme "indefinitely" and "immediately initiated an examination of FBC and its business practices". Since publication of The Independent's investigation, the newspaper has been contacted by numerous correspondents based in Kuala Lumpur, who complained that the broadcasters should have taken action earlier. One senior international journalist with a decade of experience in Malaysia, said FBC's relationship with the Malaysian government was "common knowledge among the press corps in KL". He said: "The real scandal is the failure by BBC and CNBC to police the outsourcing of their programmes. They need to answer some hard questions." The BBC said it had "acted swiftly to suspend the broadcasting from FBC" and pointed out that "all independent TV companies who produce programmes for BBC World News have to sign strict agreements". A former correspondent for a prominent US magazine said that correspondents became accustomed to seeing FBC granted access to "notoriously press-shy" senior political and business figures who would not speak to other sections of the media. "Knowing FBC and their modus operandi, it was pretty clear how it happened," he said. The Independent has established that FBC also hired the Washington-based American lobbying company APCO Worldwide for the purpose of "raising awareness of the importance of policies in Malaysia that are pro-business and pro-investment as well as the significance of reform and anti-terrorism efforts in that country". FBC denies impropriety in any of its programme-making. Its lawyers said in a letter that "at no time have the television programmes made for the BBC ever been influenced or affected by our client's commercial activities". It said that FBC ran production and commercial divisions, which "are and always have been quite separate and distinct". The BBC, CNBC and the media regulator Ofcom continue to investigate. |
| Refugee unrest in Malaysia after deportation bungle Posted: 25 Aug 2011 01:42 AM PDT By Kirsty Needham, The Sydney Morning Herald THE United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Malaysia has admitted thousands of refugees have been incorrectly issued letters by the Malaysian government marked ''return to home country'', raising widespread fears of deportation. The Refugee Convention principle of ''non-refoulement'', and Malaysia's commitment that 800 refugees from Australia would not be returned to the country from which they fled, underpin the federal government's defence to a High Court challenge to the Malaysia deal. Up to 10,000 refugees descended on an immigration office in Putrajaya, a suburb of the capital, Kuala Lumpur, on Tuesday after the UNHCR was told, at late notice by the Malaysian government, that refugees must immediately register under a new biometric system designed to record illegal and legal migrant workers. Witnesses who spoke to the Herald said RELA - the vigilante force that was banished from Malaysian streets this year because of human rights concerns - was then called in by the immigration department as chaos erupted. Advertisement: Story continues below A co-ordinator of the Malaysian human rights group Suaram, Andika Wahab, told the Herald that the situation was shocking and he saw RELA members carrying sticks. ''I didn't see RELA beat individuals, but I saw RELA hit the wall and push people. The situation was very overcrowded,'' he said. The refugees became alarmed at about 4pm when it was realised that, after having their fingerprints taken, some were being issued letters stamped: ''Return to home country''. ''They feared they would be deported to Burma,'' he said. A spokeswoman for the UNHCR in Malaysia, Yante Ismail, said the document should have been given only to migrant workers, and not refugees. ''When the UNHCR learnt about this yesterday, we immediately raised this matter with the government, who will now rectify the document for all UNHCR-registered refugees and asylum seekers,'' she said. ''Understandably this has created confusion among refugees and asylum seekers, and this has created great anxiety among this population,'' Ms Ismail said. She said the force used by Malaysian police was proportionate. She said the police had taken women, children and the elderly to the front of the line to avoid physical danger. Because ''overwhelming numbers'' turned up on Tuesday, refugees would now be processed in batches instead, she said. Refugee groups said yesterday they still had not received an explanation for the letters. Dr Irene Fernandez, the executive director of the refugee group, Tenaganita, said it was ''problematic'' that refugees were given the wrong letters. Dr Fernandez said RELA ''became quite abusive, started pushing them and not treating them well''. The opposition immigration spokesman, Scott Morrison, was kicked out of Federal Parliament yesterday after questioning the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, over a Malaysian website report that RELA had beaten ''children, mothers and the elderly'' in the queue. He later said, ''the beatings that have been reported and the fact that refugees have gone to be registered and received papers that say: 'Return to home country','' were serious issues for the Malaysia swap. The Greens Senator, Sarah Hanson-Young, said: ''there is no guarantee people who are found by the UNHCR to be refugees in need of protection will not be returned to their home country at the whim of the Malaysian government.'' Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/refugee-unrest-in-malaysia-after-deportation-bungle-20110825-1jcj2.html#ixzz1W3lLrv54 |
| WIKILEAKS: IRAN SANCTIONS ACT: EMBASSY EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER REPORTED IRAN/MALAYSIA GAS DEAL Posted: 25 Aug 2011 01:00 AM PDT
Observers attribute his later rise to Syed's close connections with former Prime Minister Mahathir. Syed's business interests include plantations, property development, construction, engineering, power generation, mining, seaport construction and operation, airport management, railways, hotels, manufacturing, retail, and defense technologies. Syed Mokhtar has been the recipient of countless Malaysian government contracts and coveted licenses. According to press reports, in 2006 Saudi Arabia awarded a $30 billion contract to one of Syed's companies for development and management of "Jizan economic city," together with the Bin Laden Group. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 000061
SIPDIS SENSITIVE FOR EB/ESC AND EAP/MTS
E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL, ENRG, EPET, ETTC, EFIN, IR, MY SUBJECT: IRAN SANCTIONS ACT: EMBASSY EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER REPORTED IRAN/MALAYSIA GAS DEAL REF: EB-ESC AND EAP-MTS EMAILS OF 8 JAN 07 1. (SBU) Summary: Embassy raised concerns with the Malaysian Government regarding a reported $16 billion gas development deal between a Malaysian firm, SKS Ventures, and Iran, noting possible implications under the Iran Sanctions Act and pointing out the particularly poor timing given recent UN sanctions against Iran. Foreign Ministry officers highlighted Malaysia's more benign view of Iran, growing trade relations with Teheran, and the difficulty of acting against a private firm based on another country's law. They reiterated, however, Malaysia's intention to abide by UNSCR 1737 sanctions against Iran. A representative from the Ministry of International Trade and Industryresponded that he only knew what he had read in the press about the deal. SKS Ventures is owned by Syed Moktar Al-Bukhary, one of the country's wealthiest ethnic Malay businessmen with connections to former Prime Minister Mahathir. End Summary. 2. (SBU) A/DCM called on desk officers in the Malaysian Foreign Ministry's Americas and Multilateral Affairs divisions on January 10 to express concern over press reports of the signing of a $16 billion Memorandum of Understanding between Malaysia's SKS Ventures and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). According to press accounts, SKS Ventures' upstream project would help to develop the Golshan and Ferdos gas fields, including building LNG production units, based on a buyback contract. NOIC expects this to be followed by another contract for downstream cooperation over a period of 25 years. The volume of the Golshan and Ferdows gas fields is estimated at 50 trillion and ten trillion cubic feet, respectively, making them the largest gas fields outside of Russia. Production is expected to yield 70 million and 25 million cubic meters daily from the Golshan and Ferdows fields. 3. (SBU) A/DCM noted that the US continues to have deep concerns about Iranian policies and actions, in particular, at this time, Iran's nuclear activities, which we believe are aimed at establishing a nuclear weapons capability. In light of Iran's policies and actions, we have long opposed investment in Iran's petroleum sector, and our Iran Sanctions Act, with provisions that were recently reauthorized by Congress, provides for sanctions for certain such investments. Against the backdrop of recently-imposed UNSC sanctions on Iran, this was a particularly unfortunate time to be entering into agreements for gas development projects in Iran, even if these were not directly related to Iran's nuclear and missile programs. A/DCM urged the Malaysian Government to weigh in with SKSV to reconsider plans to move forward with its reported agreement on the Ferdos and Golshan gas fields, particularly at this sensitive time. 4. (SBU) Foreign Ministry desk officers, unfamiliar with the reported SKSV deal, expressed appreciation for the information and the background on the Iran Sanctions Act. They explained that Malaysia had a different perception of Iran's nuclear development program and did not share the U.S. view of Iran's program as a security threat. Malaysia and Iran enjoyed a strengthening trade relationship. The Malaysian Government, even if it were so inclined, would have a difficult time restricting private Malaysian investment in Iran on the basis of another country's law. UNSC sanctions on Iran's nuclear and missile programs, however, constituted another matter. The GOM would respect and implement UNSCR 1737 sanctions. The desk officers note that the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) would play an important role in such issues. The desk officers said they would share our concerns with senior Ministry officials, who were unavailable to meet at short notice. 5. (SBU) EconOff contacted Dato Ooi Say Chuan at MITI who responded that he only knew what he had read in the press, but that the Ministry would look into the matter. 6. (SBU) SKS Ventures is owned by Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, a Malaysian businessman considered to be one of the richest ethnic Malay corporate figures. Syed built his original fortune through rice trading, land deals and state government contracts. Observers attribute his later rise to Syed's close connections with former Prime Minister Mahathir. Syed's business interests include plantations, property development, construction, engineering, power generation, mining, seaport construction and operation, airport management, railways, hotels, manufacturing, retail, and defense technologies. Syed Mokhtar has been the recipient of countless Malaysian government contracts and coveted licenses. According to press reports, in 2006 Saudi Arabia awarded a $30 billion contract to one of Syed's companies for development and management of "Jizan economic city," together with the Bin Laden Group. 7. (U) Press reports quote an unnamed source close to Syed Mokhtar as saying, "We don't worry about the sanctions. There's so much liquidity, you don't have to go to New York," and pointing out that funds can be raised in the Middle East or in Iran itself. 8. (SBU) Comment: In light of Malaysia's friendly relations with Iran and its strong opposition to sanctions in general, we should not expect a supportive response from the GOM. Also, with Syed Mokhtar's broad holdings both within and outside of Malaysia, it is not clear to us that U.S. sanctions against SKS Ventures would have significant impact on his bottom line. SHEAR
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| Malaysia Prepares For Ageing Nation As World Population Reaches Seven Billion Posted: 24 Aug 2011 10:53 PM PDT Based upon the projection rate and current trend, the Malaysian population is expected to reach 35 million by 2020, with 3.4 million being senior citizens. (Bernama) -- Although mankind is some two million years old, the world's population has grown slowly during most of human history. |
| Bar Council Asked To State Views On Anwar's Action In Court Posted: 24 Aug 2011 10:45 PM PDT
(Bernama) -- The Bar Council was today asked to state its views on the action of Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who has chosen to give his evidence from the dock in his ongoing sodomy trial. Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin told Bernama he was curious to know what was the Bar Council's stand on the matter.
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| On being detained at Kuala Lumpur airport Posted: 24 Aug 2011 10:42 PM PDT By Imran Khan, Guardian Malaysia didn't want me to enter the country to gather evidence about how ethnic Indians were treated by colonial Britain. In the Hollywood film The Terminal Tom Hanks plays (with obligatory mangled foreign accent) a character who is trapped in New York's JFK airport. Last week, I had a similar experience at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Malaysia. Whereas Tom Hanks's character spends years trapped, I was only there for a few hours. The episode was both humiliating and enlightening. I had been engaged by a Malaysian lawyer, Waytha Moorthy, to look into taking action against the British government for its role in the exploitation of Indian Hindus during Malaysia's period as a colony, and its failure to protect their rights when independence was declared in 1957. Ethnic Indians make up just over 6% of Malaysia's 28.3 million people, while Muslim Malays account for just over 61% and ethnic Chinese some 25%. A coalition led by the United Malays National Organisation has ruled since independence, which, according to Moorthy, had led to widespread human rights violations and discrimination of the Indian Malaysian population. About 70% live in abject poverty and one in six are effectively stateless as they are denied a birth certificate. Moorthy originally lodged his action on the 31 August 2007, the 50th anniversary of Malaysia's independence. However, the claim stalled following the arrest of the lawyers involved under a draconian piece of legislation called the Internal Security Act. Moorthy had demanded compensation for Indian Malaysians whose ancestors were brought in by the British government as indentured labour. The claim was that, after granting independence, the British had left the Indians without representation and at the mercy of the Malays. So, the plan was to visit Malaysia and gather evidence and claims that would form the foundation of the case. A recent case involving individuals tortured by British soldiers in colonial Kenya gave fresh impetus to the proceedings. My pending arrival in Malaysia had receivedadvance publicity from local police who had sought to intimidate organisers of the venue where I was expected to meet potential claimants. There was, therefore, some trepidation when I presented myself to the immigration desk on arrival at KLIA. As soon as my passport was handed over at the immigration desk, the slow cogs of government bureaucracy moved into action. Without explanation I was taken to the immigration office. KLIA is an impressive building; made of polished steel and glass it has a central hub with four long offshoots. It is populated by the ubiquitous outlets that make most airports seem identical. However,, the immigration office was a more spartan affair. Teams of immigration officers sat behind desks shouting the names of those refused entry to come forward and explain their reasons for trying to enter. Handing my passport over to one of them I noticed the large sign on the back wall of the office – "Service with a smile" it said. True to their motto a pleasant immigration officer smiled while she told me that I had been refused entry. I asked for an explanation and was told that the immigration department had no problem with me – the decision to refuse me entry had come from the very top. I asked for written reasons. The officer agreed that I should be given them but none were given. It was not until I was in transit in Dubai that I found out that I had been classed as a "prohibited immigrant". I still have no idea what that means and despite the involvement of the British consulate and the British government cabinet office, I found myself stranded, waiting for my return flight. It was clear that the decision was a political one – I had been refused entry to stop me doing work that the government of Malaysia did not want to take place. Thousands were expected to attend meetings that had been organised. I was to see the ways in which government policies had affected the lives of Indian Malaysians in all parts of the country. Yet, like many governments which seek to stifle opposition, its actions are often irrational because, while refusing me entry into the country, it had allowed my colleague who had been travelling with me to do so. He is now meeting all those potential claimants and collecting evidence to progress the claim. Meanwhile, sitting in the immigration office at KLIA gave me a glimpse of how differently people are treated in Malaysia. Sitting beside me awaiting interrogation were men – predominantly young, on their own and originating from Pakistan, India or sub-Saharan Africa. They would be summoned to their meeting with an immigration officer via an intermediary – always a Malaysian of Chinese origin wearing a coloured paper bracelet to signify that he had clearance to come into the airport. He would order his charge in terms which reminded me of a master/servant relationship – a click of the fingers, a terse command, the use of their surname only. These men appeared to be workers entering the country through the patronage of their Chinese bosses. It didn't take much imagination to work out how they would be treated once they left the airport terminal. These were the lucky ones. Those sharing my predicament were marched off to a detention centre before being sent back to their country of origin. Thankfully, I was told that I had been spared such a fate. Nevertheless, the experience was a humiliating one. Without a passport or able to leave the terminal I could not check in; I was escorted to the aircraft to be seated; my passport was handed over to the aircraft crew who viewed me with suspicion and contempt. I have often thought that lawyers, as well as doctors, should consider what it is like to be in their clients' position so that it can inform their approach. This was one occasion when I truly felt what it must be like for detainees all over the world – coming up against foreign jurisdiction; facing a decision which may be wrong and unjust; being treated without dignity; occupying a twilight world of ever-changing time zones and feeling utterly powerless. Having returned to the UK, I am even more determined to ensure that the issues raised by the case are highlighted beyond the borders of Malaysia. Like many in Britain, I had only thought of Malaysia as the country advertised in brochures. Every day, buses pass my office window in central London emblazoned with adverts encouraging us to visit Malaysia, illustrated with montages of sun and sea. Few people are likely look beyond that image or get to see the reality that exists underneath. For me, a country that, on the face of it, is engaged in widespread, institutional discrimination and human rights abuses should rightly be condemned. Even more so when it refuses its citizens access to legal representation.
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| 9/11 marked crucial turn in Vatican-Muslim relations Posted: 24 Aug 2011 10:30 PM PDT By Francis X Rocca, Religion News Service More recent attacks on Christians in Muslim-majority Pakistan, Egypt and Malaysia have made the issue an even greater priority for the Vatican, said John L. Esposito, a professor of Islamic studies at Georgetown University and author of "The Future of Islam."
VATICAN CITY -- A few weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Pope John Paul II invited Muslim leaders to an interfaith prayer summit in Assisi, Italy, the site of a dramatic interreligious peace gathering he had hosted 15 years earlier. In the shadow of 9/11, John Paul said, the world needed to hear from Muslims and Christians that "religion must never be a reason for conflict, hatred and violence." Catholic-Muslim dialogue took on a new intensity and sense of urgency. And then came the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, in 2006. Speaking in his native Germany on Sept. 12, 2006, John Paul's successor, Pope Benedict XVI, was delivering a scholarly address on the Western tradition of faith and reason. He quoted a medieval Byzantine emperor who described the teachings of Islam's Prophet Muhammad as "evil and inhumane" and "spread by the sword." One could almost hear Catholic-Muslim dialogue come to a screeching halt. The statement sparked Muslim protests worldwide, some of them violent, including the burning of churches and the murder of a nun. Turkey's top Muslim cleric said the speech revealed "the hatred in (Benedict's) heart." The speech, and the reaction to it, revealed deep tensions between the world's two largest religions, and complicated the delicate task of building understanding on both sides. Benedict later acknowledged Muslims' "understandable indignation" at the quotation, but insisted that he had not meant to endorse the offending words, nor to show disrespect to the Quran, which he described as the "holy book of a great religion."
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| Malaysia's Slowing Performance Posted: 24 Aug 2011 10:25 PM PDT By Greg Lopez, Asia Sentinel In the 70 years since World War II ended, East Asian economies, including Malaysia, appear to have largely got performance right. Malaysia was also one of 13 countries identified by the Commission on Growth and Development in its 2008 Growth Report to have recorded average growth of more than 7 percent per year for 25 years or more. Malaysia achieved this spectacular performance from 1967 to 1997. However, since the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 and1998, Malaysia's economic performance when compared to previous decades has been lackluster and most macroeconomic indicators are trending downwards. This was confirmed by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak himself in the publication on March 30, 2010 of the New Economic Model – Part 1. This was a very brave move but a necessary one by the premier as he acknowledged publicly the failures of Malaysia's current economic model in order to demonstrate urgency for reforms.
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| Malaysia's Opposition Chief: Country Needs to Prepare for Slowdown Posted: 24 Aug 2011 10:17 PM PDT By James Hookway, Wall Street Journal KUALA LUMPUR—Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said Thursday the country's export-driven economy needs to prepare for the prospect of a double-dip recession in the U.S. and Europe, and steel itself for a prolonged period of weakness in the global economy. Mr. Anwar, a former finance minister, said Malaysia should focus on building up budget surpluses to better buffer itself from any further volatility in the global economy. "That's what we did during my time as finance minister: We built up the reserves and we were able to withstand the shock a lot better as a result," Mr. Anwar said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. He said Prime Minister Najib Razak needs to focus on weeding out corruption and waste to make the country more efficient. "And we need to educate Malaysians about what is going on so they can prepare," Mr. Anwar said. The Muslim-majority, resource-rich country ran a budget deficit equivalent to 5.6% of gross domestic product in 2010, down from a record 7% the year prior as Mr. Najib spent freely to help stimulate the economy during the worst of the global economic slump. This year, Mr. Najib has said he aims to reduce the deficit to 5.4% of GDP. Mr. Anwar, 64, lost his job as Malaysia's finance chief and deputy prime minister when he clashed with former leader Mahathir Mohamad on the direction of Malaysia's economic policy in 1998. An economic liberal, Mr. Anwar pressed for reforming Malaysia's heavily state-influenced economic system. He was later arrested and convicted of sodomizing two male aides—allegations he denied and called a political stunt—before the convictions were overturned in 2004. Now the leader of Malaysia's multi-ethnic opposition alliance, Mr. Anwar is again on trial for violating Malaysia's strict sodomy laws—this time for allegedly having sex with another male aide. Again, Mr. Anwar denies the allegation brought by 26-year-old Saiful Bukhari Azlan, saying the legal case was drummed up by Mr. Najib to destroy his political comeback. By law, Mr. Najib must call fresh elections by 2013. Mr. Najib, though, denies having anything to do with Mr. Anwar's trial, which this week is focusing on complex forensic DNA evidence legal experts say could determine its outcome. Mr. Anwar said that apparent inconsistencies in the prosecutors' case could provide him a legal lifeline. The opposition chief also said he sees a further decline in the value of the U.S. dollar and euro, saying "we have not seen the end of it." Mr. Anwar said he is worried, too, about whether China can continue being an engine of growth for the relatively healthier Asian economies. "You've got to wonder how sustainable it is," he said. |
| Voting Rights for Malaysians Overseas Welcome, but MyOverseasVote Will Scrutinise Details Posted: 24 Aug 2011 08:47 PM PDT
MyOverseasVote warmly welcomes today's announcement by the Chairman of the Election Commission (EC), Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yusof, that all Malaysian citizens living overseas will have the right to vote by post, hopefully by the time of the next general election. For the past year, MyOverseasVote have been lobbying the EC to extend the right to vote by post to all citizens residing overseas, and not just civil servants, servicemen and students. While we are gratified that our position has, with the help of public pressure and the influence of the global Bersih 2.0 campaign, now been accepted in principle, MyOverseasVote will continue to monitor the details put forward and seek to work with the EC to ensure that the right to vote for Malaysian citizens overseas is realised expeditiously and in good time for the next general election, while also ensuring that the electoral system is not thereby opened up to any potential abuse. (For more information on MyOverseasVote, contact MyOverseasVote@gmail.com or visit www.MyOverseasVote.org, or follow www.facebook.com/MyOverseasVote or Twitter @MyOverseasVote)
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| ‘Male Y’ DNA profile tainted, Sodomy II trial told Posted: 24 Aug 2011 08:41 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - A local scientist had flubbed a crucial DNA profiling test that the prosecution had used to link Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to a charge of sodomising his former aide, an Australian DNA expert told the High Court today. The defence team's fourth witness, Dr Brian McDonald, said government chemist Nor Aidora Saedon had made a major miscalculation in her test that had led to Anwar being wrongly marked as "Male Y" whose DNA profile was allegedly found in complainant Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan's anus. "What you have is evidence of a mixture of profiles. She reported them as a single profile," Dr McDonald told the court. He said she had messed up a fundamental guideline on how to perform the DNA profiling test, which gave her the wrong reading. The opposition leader's sodomy trial was given an indepth review of DNA analysis, including a deeply detailed explanation of how to mark and read the results. "If these were tests done in school, she'd have failed them," he told an amused court.
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| Perak mufti says Malays must defend race Posted: 24 Aug 2011 06:36 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria has denied claims that he is undermining the Najib administration and insisted today that the Umno president must find a way to unite the Malays. The Perak mufti told The Malaysian Insider that his advice to Datuk Seri Najib Razak was not influenced by any party but due to concern that "division among Malays is happening for a fact." "We must defend our race and Najib must find a way to reunite Malays," Harussani (picture) said. Several blogs and people on micro-blogging site Twitter have questioned Harussani's statement yesterday that the prime minister's weak government was the cause of Malay disunity, with some claiming that the Muslim scholar's statements seemed to be slanted towards Najib's deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. Although Harussani acknowledged that he has come under fierce criticism since yesterday, he held to his stand that "division among Malays is a fact, you can see it for yourself." "When I speak, people will attack me. But I will not stop giving advice to anyone including the prime minister," he said. He had revealed during a religious forum yesterday that he met and advised Najib on the need to address "weak government, corruption and lack of trust."
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| Posted: 24 Aug 2011 05:52 PM PDT
Invariably, it is a difficult decision to make. Some believe that Anwar's trial is political in nature. Others believe that this is not about politics but about a crime he has committed. So why deviate from the facts of the case and try to turn the whole trial into political grandstanding? NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin The jury appears out on whether Anwar Ibrahim's Statement from the Dock is a clever strategic move or a blunder -- which is just as well that Anwar's trial does not have a jury. ***************************** Response to Asia Sentinel 'Did Malaysia's Anwar Say Too Much'. |
| Posted: 24 Aug 2011 04:43 PM PDT
SAKMONGKOL AK47 Were these the reasons to disembowel MAS in the first place? (1) MAS suffers leadership problem. (2) it can't handle rising fuel costs. (2) MAS is caught in the traditionally weakest business period. Are we being led to believe that these 3 what? Parameters? variables? are only unique to MAS? Then perhaps MAS should look for alternative fuels since it is suggestive that ONLY MAS operates on expensive fuels, other airlines are not. Two, find ways to make the business period nontraditional. Replace leadership at all levels. Its leadership they say. You mean, under the layer upon layer of MAS in-house talent, you can't find people who may have been sidelined or ignored but who understand MAS cannot be elevated to fix MAS? Instead you think you can trust some people who have RM 57 billion payables to help put MAS? This order for Air Bus by AA was perhaps the kiss of life that saved Airbus from bankruptcy. The whole deal between MAS-AA raises uneasiness all around for it suggest that at the very base, MAS's miserable existence gave an opportunity and excuse for some people to make money. That when the dust clears, we will become aware that all this is a corporate game by rich and powerful people for the benefit of the same rich and powerful people. Why should the fate of MAS (we are not bothered with the future of AA since it's in capable hands) be decided by 3-4 corporate chieftains- banker, rival airline owner and chief of our sovereign fund? Who yielded the responsibility of caring a national asset to a few chosen individuals? Why was this assignment to decide the fate of a nationally owned asset not be publicly announced in the first place? Since everyone accepts that MAS MUST be placed on an even keel, a cabinet level working committee should have been duly formed to fix MAS? Or the cabinet decides at that time, to empower the MOT to fix MAS problem. Unless of course the MOT is full of imbeciles who never inspire our government to allow it do anything. With an unenviable record like the PKFZ deal, MOT was never in the radar when the government was looking for ways to fix MAS. MAS is a national strategic asset that requires leadership and a workable and profitable business plan. MAS is the responsibility of the government in the first and all place. We didn't see the MOF or Ministry of Transport people or a cabinet endorsed team assigned to fix MAS. Instead, this government has acted irresponsibly by asking or agreeing to have the problem of MAS being sorted out by special interest groups. That's what they are really- AA, Khazanah and CIMB as the match maker, are special interest groups. We are being indoctrinated and de-sensitize into believing that the MAS-AA deal is a purely rational business deal, handled on its pure merits. We looked around, identified MAS's problems, we come to the conclusion that its leadership problem. Who were that we? We are the banker, the head of sovereign fund and the interested rival. Surely, when the deal was inked, those people in Khazanah, AA and CIMB already knew of the coming 2nd quarter financials of MAS. For the miserable losses, cumulative at .769 billion, the outfgoing MAS CEO was given 11 million shares? Further he's saved from ignominy and inglorious anonymity by being exiled into the inner recesses of the establishment that is now single handedly running the business of Malaysia- khazanah. So we are treated to another round of CYA rationalization- MAS recently announced a net loss of RM527 million for the second quarter of 2011. Due to what we may ask? Due to higher fuel costs and (be) anyway, you can almost imagine the MAS people through its corporate communications people say, this 2nd quarter is traditionally our weakest business period.
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| MCA founder’s granddaughter lauds Guan Eng’s policies in Penang Posted: 24 Aug 2011 04:06 PM PDT The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 — Lim Guan Eng received praise from an unexpected source today when the granddaughter of the MCA's first president and daughter of the country's longest-serving finance minister said the Penang chief minister should be given his due for the state's prudent management of public funds. Tan Siok Choo (picture), the daughter of Tun Tan Siew Sin and granddaughter of Tun Sir Tan Cheng Lock — both of whom were former MCA presidents — told BFM radio this morning that it was good that Lim had shown what could be done by eliminating waste and implementing open tenders. "For my father... he was always very particular that government funds should be looked after like your own funds. I think it is in a way, currently, very good that Lim Guan Eng, Chief Minister of Penang, has shown what can be done if you eliminate waste and if you have an open tender. "The fact that he has been able to run Penang without much contribution from the federal government and yet turn in, yet attract one of the highest rates of investment, I think speaks for itself. "And this is barring the fact that when my father was in politics, Kit Siang never had a good word to say about my father. So there is history between our two fathers but I think one must give Guan Eng his due," she told the radio station's Morning Grille programme. Siok Choo's father Siew Sin was finance minister from 1959 until 1974. Guan Eng's father Kit Siang became an MP for the first time in 1969 and eventually became parliamentary opposition leader. Her remarks today come as the DAP is increasingly being seen as the party of choice for the country's Chinese community while the MCA, the party founded by Siok Choo's grandfather Cheng Lock, appears to be floundering. Recently, international news magazine The Economist also praised Guan Eng's open tender policies and credited his administration with helping Penang regain its lustre as a "global city" by lifting the state's economy to beyond that of a sweat shop industry. The international weekly dubbed Penang "the first custom-made city of globalisation" and credited Guan Eng for boosting the port city's revival by axing a racial special treatment economic policy in the state to create a more level-playing field that appeals to foreign investors.
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| Najib: Auditioning for Umno warlords Posted: 24 Aug 2011 03:54 PM PDT
(The Malaysian Insider) - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's three-days-a-week-pressing-the-flesh campaign is as much aimed at reconnecting with voters as it is targeted at convincing Umno that he has the tools to lead Barisan Nasional (BN) to victory. His recent problems and questions about his leadership — which have been raised by the opposition, some Umno warlords, the Perak mufti and the chattering class — have made it necessary for Najib to chart an election-like stumping strategy of leaving his office three times a week to meet the electorate.The PM is banking on his charisma and ability to dole out cash to boost his administration which has been battered by poor handling of Bersih, tepid action against corruption, flip-flops on reforms, racial and religious strife and personal issues linked to the Scorpene submarine deal and the RM24 million ring. His advisers believe that the electorate will like what they see and hear when Najib hits the road, convinced that brand Najib will win over doubters. But an equally important target for him are the Umno warlords, who have been grumbling about the lack of money/contracts; about the PM's indecisiveness and personal issues of the First Family and pandering to non-Malays and lack of concern for the Bumiputera agenda. Najib knows that he has to hush these noises if Umno is going to do well at the polls. He also has to moderate expectations, talking down winning two-thirds majority, knowing that if he does not deliver on a high target he will be vulnerable at the party polls. For now he does not have to worry about Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the man whose attacks led to the fall of Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Dr Mahathir's friends say that while the former prime minister has some issues with Najib's leadership, he is not interested in leading any campaign against the PM. So, it's up to Najib now to do whatever it takes to deliver a victory for Umno and BN.
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| Malaysians abroad may soon be allowed to vote via post Posted: 24 Aug 2011 03:48 PM PDT By Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider All Malaysians living abroad may soon be able to vote in elections via post, Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yusof said today. Abdul Aziz said the commission was looking into the possibility of amending election regulations to allow this, adding that it would "hopefully" be implemented before the 13th general election. "We want it such that so long as you are Malaysian and you have valid identification, you can vote. "Hopefully this can be done for the next election," he said during a media briefing here today. At present, election regulations only permit civil servants, full-time students and their spouses living abroad to vote via post. Abdul Aziz (picture) stressed however that those living abroad must first register themselves as voters via Malaysian embassies in the respective countries they reside in before applying to the EC to become a postal voter. "The EC will consider their application before approving," he said.
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| NEP under attack: Dr M to the rescue Posted: 24 Aug 2011 03:34 PM PDT
(FMT) - PETALING JAYA: Dr Mahathir Mohamad has defended the New Economic Policy (NEP), the controversial socio-economomic restructuring affirmative action programme launched in 1971. Taking the critics, including Anwar Ibrahim, to task, the former premier said NEP had been denigrated by opposition politicians to the point that it appeared to be the worst policy ever conceived and implemented. "While (prominent economist) Ramon Navaratnam blames NEP as being the cause of foreign investors not coming to Malaysia, Anwar condemned it for the abuses and corruption involved in its implementation," he said in a blog posting. "Anwar loudly proclaims that NEP benefits only the cronies of the government and that the contracts, Approval Permits (APs) and licenses given out under NEP involve corruption. "He makes it sound as if NEP did not benefit the Malays and other bumiputera at all," he added. However, Mahathir admitted that a few of the recipients of APs, contracts and licenses might know the leaders of government or were members of Umno "And there may be corruption involved in some cases but the charge is not warranted because in most cases, the benefits of NEP has been enjoyed by almost every Malay and bumiputera. In fact indirectly and in some cases directly it has benefited the non-bumiputera as well," he said. Giving them education For example, Mahathir said, every Malay child was helped in his or her education with free text books and often with free meals. "Schools are built in the remotest areas where before there were no schools. Hostels are built for mostly Malay and other bumiputera children so that they can live a better life and are able to study in better surroundings then in their homes in the villages," he added. For the qualified, the former premier noted, tertiary education was readily accessible, with huge numbers of scholarships. As a result, he said, many of the children of poor families or of families unable to pay high fees, now held university degrees, were highly qualified and many were professionals. "Before only 5% of the doctors in Malaysia were Malays and bumiputera, now 40% of them are Malays," the doctor-turned-politician said, adding that it was the same with other professions. "Just count the number of students in public universities in the country and those abroad on scholarships and one will appreciate how NEP has benefitted the Malays and other bumiputera in education," he said.
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| Posted: 24 Aug 2011 03:20 PM PDT
By Tony Pua Yesterday, Dr Chua Soi Lek proudly told all affected property owners in Chinatown as well as reporters after his meeting with Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Darat (SPAD) Chairman, Syed Hamid Albar that the land acquisition controversy has been resolved. Chua told the reporters that "an agreement in principle had been reached" after a one-hour meeting this afternoon with the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD). According to Chua, the compromise will see the government acquiring only the strata title for the property 100 feet below ground required for the MRT tunnel, while the buildings, many of which are nearly a hundred years old, and land above ground will remain in the current owners' hands. His role as a hero was unfortunately a most short-lived one, for Syed Hamid has given the MCA President a figurative "tight slap in the face" by insisting that Chinatown would be acquired to make way for the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT) and there was no guarantee at all that it would be returned to the owners. Chua has turned from hero to zero within 24 hours but what is perhaps most telling is how shocking flip-flop and ad-hoc decisions are being made by this administration on a daily basis which affects the lives and livelihood of the man-on-the-street. Syed Hamid has reverted back to the "original" argument that compulsory acquisition of the Jalan Sultan lots - where the KVMRT would run underground - was necessary because under land law, landowners also owned the land that lies below ground. Once again, this is complete and utter nonsense. The National Land Code 1965 had been specifically amended in 1990 to allow for the acquisition of underground land without affecting surface property by inserting Part Five (A) (section 92A to 92G) under Clause 3. The amendment enables the disposal of "underground land", which can then either be alienated or leased for the use to construct tunnels, car parks and to lay pipes. Even Dr Chua agreed with the above after I raised it earlier in the media. Clearly Prasarana is attempting to hijack the land affecting the heritage shop lots in Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown for the purposes of profit and not for the purposes of MRT construction works 100 feet underground. Such action for profit is clearly bad faith on the part of the Government. The Government must not abuse the powers in its hands to profiteer at the expense of the existing property owners and is against the spirit of the law. Given that it is possible for Prasarana to acquire the use of land underground without having to acquire property on the surface, it must immediately withdraw its order to the affected landowners without causing any further inconvenience to them.
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| Posted: 24 Aug 2011 03:10 PM PDT
By Mariam Mokhtar When he left work and waited for his train at the station, the doubts began to creep in. He began to have disturbing thoughts that he would be summoned and recalled to Putrajaya, for a dressing-down, and his family would be disgraced, all because the authorities discovered which party he had voted for. He made a U-turn and rushed back to the High Commission and saw the official in charge of voting and said, "Minta maaf, ya. I wrongly marked my voting slip." "Correct. Correct. Correct," said the official and the man feared the worst, his career in tatters. However, the official smiled reassuringly and said, "Don't worry. It was lucky we noticed your error in time and have already made the correction. Lain kali, just be more careful. Can or not?" Recently, in Malaysia, various people have come forward with evidence of manipulations of the electoral process by the government and its institutions, like the Election Commission (EC), the National Registration Department (NRD) and the armed forces. Rather than address the serious implications of the allegations, these government bodies have only issued denials and in certain cases have threatened to make police reports against those who exposed these malpractices. Are these civil servants not aware of the gravity of the situation? It appears that they are more concerned in protecting their image than seeing if there was any truth in the allegations. It seems that they are part of the problem and that their intransigence is a clever ploy to hide the illegal practices of electoral fraud. If Prime minister Najib Abdul Razak were to call the general election (GE-13) in the next few weeks, would anyone have any faith in the electoral process? Would they be absolutely sure that their vote won't be counted accurately at the polling station? Even if all the clone voters and foreigners who have suddenly been granted voting rights were excluded from voting, who is to know that at the very last minute, as a precaution and as its last line of defense, that BN would not switch over the ballot boxes and substitute ones containing predominantly BN only votes? When opposition supporters say they will swarm all the polling stations and drive Umno/BN from power, do they realise that none of their votes would matter if a switch were to be made? Remember how at various by-elections in the past, there have been power black-outs just at the crucial point, when the votes were to be counted? Are our memories of these common tricks that short? Bersih has requested that Najib defers GE-13 till the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) has implemented its recommendations. Despite this, Najib has said that GE-13 can be called before the PSC has reached a decision. A statement issued by Bersih said, "We note with disappointment the announcement made by Najib that the GE can be held anytime and will not depend on the proceedings of the PSC. "This totally defeats the purpose and spirit of setting up the PSC as it is meant to resolve serious fraudulent practices in the electoral processes. "The PSC would be pointless if Parliament is dissolved before the committee presents its report to Parliament". Najib has however said, "We will try; there must be something that can be done immediately." Najib's lame statement does not indicate a serious commitment to resolve the problem of electoral fraud. As in most things that this government does, there is simply no political will to do anything positive. It just mulls things over rather than committing itself. It makes empty promises, or simply reneges on its promises, as it did when it promised to allow the Bersih 2.0 rally to be held in a stadium. In July, the EC deputy chief, Wan Ahmad Wan Omar, was asked if foreign observers would be allowed to observe GE-13. His response was, "They are foreigners, who are they? Why do we need foreigners, Germans commenting on our election system?" "Elections observers must be domestic observers. Foreign observers, they don't know our election laws, they don't understand. It's a different value system." Wan Ahmad stressed that our elections are clean and fair, and has indicated that he is powerless to implement reforms. The rakyat, however, believes otherwise. Najib will probably call for GE-13 at the end of October or early November this year. Although you may mistrust the electoral process and think that the government will cheat in the election, it is imperative that you cast your vote for the opposition, if you value change. The government realises that with these international observers, the electoral process will be under greater and closer scrutiny, by the media and the Malaysian rakyat. We should therefore press for the presence of international monitors which our government has previously rejected.
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| ‘Lab did not meet international standards’ Posted: 24 Aug 2011 02:08 PM PDT
By Teoh El Sen, FMT KUALA LUMPUR: The Chemistry Department of Malaysia, which did tests on DNA samples in the Anwar Ibrahim Sodomy II trial has never received an accreditation as it did not meet international standards.
Anwar's defence team today alleged that the laboratory had applied for an accreditation from the American Society of Crime Lab Directors (ASCLD) but had failed to receive it since 2005. "The department did the DNA test on Anwar's DNA sample in 2008 when, all this while, it had failed to meet the ISO 17025 standard… it was given two extensions to apply for accreditation by the ASCLD. It only received a legacy accreditation, which is merely like a probation " Anwar's counsel Sankara Nair told reporters outside the court. (ASCLD accredits laboratories and regulates international standards.) "This affects the credibility of the DNA testing and the work methods of the department's laboratory. This amounts to misleading the court," he said, adding that chemist Dr Seah Lay Hong had earlier testified that her lab had met ISO 17025 standard. Earlier, Australian DNA specialist Dr Brian Leslie McDonald said that having an accreditation was important and meeting certain standards ensure that labs around the whole have standardised results. The 60-year-old consultant molecular geneticist from Sydney said that accreditation also gives recognition to a lab that has complied with standard guidelines. Asked by defence lawyer Ram Karpal Singh Deo whether such accreditation is required in a Malaysian context, McDonald said: " I don't know, I would think if the government asks a lab to conduct tests, you must be accredited."Prosection wants evidence expunged "This evidence is inadmissible… It should be expunged," said Mohd Yusof, who had an exchange of words with Ram. Referring to a letter that Ram had produced, Mohd Yusof said: "This is 2010, the test was conducted in 2008." McDonald, who is also an ISO assessor for the Australian body of accreditation National Association of Testing Authority, earlier explained how forensic DNA testings worked. He said that in general, accreditation of a forensic laboratory should be disclosed, adding that it is an "obligation", especially if its evidence is used in court.
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| EC mulls using both biometric system and indelible ink Posted: 24 Aug 2011 01:55 PM PDT By Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider The Election Commission (EC) may use both the biometric system and indelible ink for the elections, laying to rest the ongoing squabble over the superiority of either mechanism. However, EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yusof said the commission was still studying the legal implications of both systems and whether they could be used on a "voluntary" or "mandatory" basis. But he noted that if voters were not required by law to use the new system, it would render the entire exercise pointless. "That is why we want to make sure everyone uses it," he said. Asked if the EC would propose its recommendation to the parliamentary select committee (PSC) for polls reform to be formed in October, Abdul Aziz said the commission hoped to do so. When asked if the changes would be implemented for the coming polls, he said: "Insyaallah." He said if the changes were to be made mandatory, amendments to election laws were needed to be passed in Parliament. The commission, he said, was now preparing the framework for the PSC, which is due to be presented to the Cabinet by September 7. |
| Religious Obstacles to Malay Economic Development Posted: 24 Aug 2011 01:47 PM PDT M. Bakri Musa Today there is no transparent accounting of these massive zakat funds. As the Islamic establishment considers interest haram, somebody must be enjoying the benefits accruing from those idle funds. All I know is that the Islamic establishment has some of the most ornate offices, our religious functionaries have luxurious government-issued bungalows and cars, and the religious police and establishment have expanded exponentially. Meanwhile our poor have to seek help elsewhere, as at churches.
Ramadan is a month for reflection. As we reflect we cannot avoid the depressing reality that the Muslim world is overrepresented in all categories of underdevelopment. The pat and often cited reason is the inherent incompatibility of Islam to modern development. When such an explanation is offered by non-Muslims, they can barely conceal their smugness. When asserted by a Muslim, he or she would immediately be dismissed as not fully comprehending the faith, or worse, condemned as an apostate. Such an "explanation," its certitude not withstanding, is about as useful as someone telling you, when asked why he is in the hospital, "I am sick." And if you are still not convinced or betray any doubts, would quickly add, "Very sick!" Not very helpful! If however, the answer were to be, "My bowels are not working," or, "I have difficulty breathing," we would then be that much closer to identifying the problem, and thus its remedy. This Islam-is-the-problem explanation does not even describe the symptom, much less the disease. If indeed there is something inherently deficient with Islam, it still would not explain why the faith thrived during its first four centuries, or why its adherents are increasing and becoming more devout today. And if Islamic practices are deficient, then what and where exactly are those deficiencies so we could address them. It is here, specifically in response to the second query, that Timur Kuran's book, The Long Divergence: How Islamic Laws Held Back the Middle East outshines the rest. Kuran's insights came from his studies of the Middle East and Turkey, a sub-segment and a minority one at that of the vast Muslim world; nonetheless they apply to Malays in Malaysia. Kuran enumerated four problematic areas: institutional development; the concept of riba (interest); Islamic inheritance; and waqaf (trusts). I will add a fifth, zakat (tithe), to parallel the five tenets of our faith.
First, the stark statistics: There are more Muslims living under authoritarian regimes today than there are people ruled by communism. As for economic development, Muslim contribution to global economic activities is less than 5 percent, disproportionately way below our share of the population. If Allah had not blessed us with oil, that figure would be negligible. As for social development, the number of books translated into Arabic during the last 1,000 years is less than those translated into Spanish in one year. A more nuanced understanding, as expressed by James Lacey, is that it is the Arab, not Muslim civilization that is collapsing. Many miss that as most Arabs are Muslims. We would not attribute the fall of the Western Roman Empire to a crisis of Christianity; it was that of Western Europe. There is no comparable statistics to relate the equally stark contrast between Muslims (essentially Malays) and non-Muslims in the Malaysian context. Nonetheless, stroll down Main Street, Any Town, Malaysia, and the paucity of Malay establishments is not hard to miss, while Prime Minister Mahathir once asserted that non-Malays pay most of the taxes. Islam is an integral part of Malay life. Unfortunately when confronted with "Islam is the problem" assertion, Malays like most Muslims would simply recoil and retreat to the comfort of our familiar assumptions. The angry few, unable to rebut the statistics, would simply lash out. To break from that set pattern we must first liberate our minds so we could critically examine those assumptions. Fear not, for if our faith is strong, such an exercise would not weaken it; on the contrary, it would strengthen it. Obstacles to Malay Entrepreneurialism Involvement in trade and commerce opens up one's mind; apart from improving one's economic and other well being. It also enhances one's piety, as with the saying, Kemiskinan mendakati kefukuran (Poverty invites impiety). Anyone doubting that wisdom need only visit neighboring Indonesia. It also reflected Allah's esteem of the vocation that He had chosen a trader to be His Last Messenger. Successful traders have to understand their clients and customers, anticipate their needs and wants, and see the world from their perspective. The very act of putting ourselves in their place, or as our Native American Indians would put it, to walk in their moccasins, is a mind-liberating exercise. For example, now that we are trading with China and it is our biggest purchaser of palm oil, previously ultra FELDA Malays have a decidedly different view of the Chinese, at least the mainland variety. That is what trade, and a liberated mind, does to you. The barriers to Malay participation in business are not the often cited "hard" ones like lack of human or financial capital, rather the less recognized "soft" obstacle imposed by our inflexible and unimaginative interpretations of our faith. A particular problem is our treatment of interest, which we simplistically equate to riba. Credit, the flip side of interest, is the lifeline of business. Grameen Bank's Muhammad Yunus goes further, he asserts that access to credit is a basic human rights. Interest is premised on that rare universal truth in economics: time value of money. That is, a dollar (or dinar) at hand is worth two promised in the future. The ancient Arabs were adept at business; they must have had to come to terms with the concept of interest. They did not quantify it or termed it as such, nonetheless when a borrower returned the money or goods, he would have thrown in something extra as goodwill if for no other reason than to encourage the lender to continue lending. Charging of interests also factors in that universal human trait; we do sometimes renege on our promises, like not repaying our loans. I have yet to read a cogent explanation on the meaning of riba, and whether it is equivalent to the interest charges of the many innovative financial instruments that we have today. Many of them were not even thought of during the prophet's time. It is like discussing transportation; we are still trapped in the warped time zone of the camel caravans when the world is into container ships, jumbo jets, and long-haul trucks. Yes, they are all transportation, but the commonality ends there. We go to great length quoting various hadith on the evil of interest income. One equates 1/70th of the sin of riba to be equivalent to the sin of having sex with your mother. How offensive an imagery and metaphor! If interest is really that grave a sin, I would have expected other hadith condemning in even harsher tones those who would renege on their loans. I am yet to hear one. Current Muslim attitude towards interest is similar to those of medieval Christians. The only difference is that they had come to terms with it (undoubtedly fed up with all the wealth from money lending going to the Jews) and with that came Western economic development. Meanwhile the words in the bible condemning usury have not changed. If today's Muslims have qualms about learning from or adopting Christian ways with regards to interests, then go back to the early Muslims. They thrived on trading; learn how they adapted to the concept. In many ways that is exactly what we have done today; hence "Islamic bank," which is oxymoronic. Just as the West did, we must continually built on and improve these new Islamic financial institutions, tweaking and innovating along the way to meet changing times and circumstances, just as western banking has evolved over the centuries and continue to do so. This brings me to Kuran's observation on the lack of institutional development in the Muslim world. It is not enough to rely on the admonishments of hadith and Koranic verses; there must be a workable mechanism to resolve the inevitable disputes, as when someone reneges on his loans, with or without interests. The West has bankruptcy laws and wage garnishing; Islamic institutions too should have similar mechanisms. This lack of institutional development is the most glaring and consequential deficiency of the Islamic world. Waqaf, Inheritance Laws, and Economic Development Muslim inheritance laws as currently interpreted may be more just (all children getting a share, albeit the son getting twice that of the daughter) than that of the Europeans (where the entire estate goes to the eldest son), but they are bad for economic growth. One consequence is the fragmentation of the estate on the death of its owner. This is not only disruptive but also prevents a business from growing beyond a generation. That is also bad social policy even if, as some proclaimed, proscribed in the Koran. Muslims accept the Koran as a document for public and individual good; so if our interpretation results in otherwise, as with our inheritance practices, then those those differences must be only apparent, not real. Thus we must re-examine our interpretation. This does not mean disbelieving the Koran. In fact the Koran is silent on when exactly the children would get their share, nor does the Koran specify that the asset itself has to be divided. This paves the way for designing a novel vehicle of issuing shares on the family asset. Then only the shares would be inherited while the asset itself remains intact, thus satisfying the edicts of the Koran and be good economic policy at the same time. Indeed the Western concept of a corporation achieves precisely this objective. Today we have many large successful Malay enterprises. It saddens me to read of the all-too-frequent ensuing family squabbles upon the death of their owners. The problem is compounded by our tradition of not having wills. Inheritance practices are what stymied the development of Kampung Baru and Malay Reservations land generally. Unless addressed, those settlements will remain undeveloped no matter how much physical resources we pour into it. The one resource needed is intellectual; for us to re-read and re-interpret those ancient edicts. Tun Razak anticipated this with his FELDA program; thus the stipulation that the owner specifies only one of his children to inherit the property. This is clearly not in accordance with Islamic inheritance laws. Yet I am yet to hear Muslim scholars challenging the stipulation; likewise the matrilineal inheritance of the Minangkabaus. Perhaps this unique tweaking of the inheritance laws explains why the Minangs are the most economically developed of the Malays. What we desperately need today is the equivalent of the Minangkabua wisdom, adat menurun agama mendadaki (Tradition descends, Faith ascends) synthesis of modern economic insights with our religious precepts. Landowners of yore recognized this quandary; thus they resorted to bequeathing their properties to waqaf, community trust. The primary motive was undoubtedly charity, but it was also to avoid confiscatory inheritance taxes and fragmentation of their assets. As noble as the waqaf is, it too needs refinement. As Kuran noted, current interpretation requires that the words of the trust be observed literally. A land bequeathed for a school has to remain so, never mind that it is now in the middle of an industrial area. For growth to occur there must be capital formation. A common assumption is that Malays have low capital formation; hence our less-than-robust economy. Zakat is community saving mandated by the Koran. In Malaysia, this is reinforced by favorable secular laws where your zakat is considered tax credit. Annually the sums collected are in the hundreds of millions, if not billions. Yet its management remains rigidly tied to some ossified interpretations of ancient texts. Creatively managed zakat could be construed as the community's capital formation to boost Malay economy. Consider zakat's disbursement; it is still with cold cash that could easily be siphoned off by less-than-trustworthy functionaries. Why not vouchers or direct deposits, as with Mexico's Progressa program. That would be one way to introduce the poor to the banking system; it would also lead to better bookkeeping. On a policy level, it would be better if the money were to be invested in a local enterprise that would then employ the poor, combining charity with dignity, and at the same time generating jobs and economic growth. Again we are prevented from such innovations because we have unnecessarily tied ourselves to some old rigid interpretations that have remained unchanged literally over the millennium. Today there is no transparent accounting of these massive zakat funds. As the Islamic establishment considers interest haram, somebody must be enjoying the benefits accruing from those idle funds. All I know is that the Islamic establishment has some of the most ornate offices, our religious functionaries have luxurious government-issued bungalows and cars, and the religious police and establishment have expanded exponentially. Meanwhile our poor have to seek help elsewhere, as at churches. Bless those generous Christians! Our trapped minds prevent us from seeing these realities. This Ramadan let us resolve to liberate our entrapped minds so we get a more accurate view of reality. Let us creatively use the provisions of the Koran not to trap us mentally or economically but to liberate us. Adapted from my forthcoming book, Liberating The Malay Mind, to be published by ZI Publications.
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| Malaysia UNHCR Accused of Betraying Refugees Posted: 24 Aug 2011 01:45 PM PDT
By Ko Htwe, The Irrawaddy The Malaysia United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is accused of betraying refugees by conspiring with Putrajaya Immigration Office to take their fingerprints and send them back to their own countries, it has been claimed. On Tuesday, several UNHCR-affiliated organizations in Malaysia instructed refugees to provide fingerprints at Putrajaya Immigration Office, claims Shwe Zin, a Burmese refugee living in Malaysia. "I arrived at the immigration office in the morning and was made to queue up. Then when my turn came, I had my fingerprints and a photo taken. And then I was given a printed document written in Malay that said to go back to our own country," said Shwe Zin. Many registered refugees came to the immigration office to give their fingerprints but did not know the details of what was going on, she added. Many refugees received a document entitled "Pulang Ke Negara Asal" which translates as "Returning Home," "Leaving" or "Going back to native country." However, others were registered and given an alternative document which allows them to stay in Malaysia. "I think I made a mistake by giving my fingerprints. It is impossible for me to go back [to Burma]," said Shwe Zin, adding that UNHCR staff were present in the immigration office. "The UNHCR is tricking us because they want to settle corruption dealings with refugee processes. I don't know why some refugee receive different documents," said Kyaw Htoo Aung from Malaysia, who works for worker affairs. An official from Putrajaya Immigration Office in Malaysia refused to give further details when contacted byThe Irrawaddy, but just said that it was an "enforcement event." Malaysia is currently running the 6P Program to tackle illegal migrant numbers in a bid to settle social problems and crime related to illegal foreigners. Although the Malaysia UNHCR was officially against the scheme, after Aug. 23 the organization is legally obliged to assist with the 6P registration. UNHCR refugee card holder Myat Ko Ko sent a letter to UNHCR officials asking why the organization was not upfront about its involvement in the fingerprint campaign, and questioning its commitment to protecting international human rights and refugees affairs. "As a result of the UNHCR and Malaysia [government] fingerprint program addressed to all the ethnic Burmese refugees in Malaysia, all of them are in trouble and the UNHCR should surely have given an announcement about it," he wrote. The Irrawaddy repeatedly tried to contact the UNHCR office in Malaysia but there was no reply. The Malaysia UNHCR has been accused of discriminating between refugees and corruptly selling resettlement registrations for profit, according to refugees in Malaysia. "While I met with the Malaysian authorities, my friend told me not to give a thumbprint on the document when the [UNHCR] called us. It is an act of cheating. They made the plan in secret but the problem is now widely known," said Yan Naing Tun. Australia and Malaysia's recent agreement to swap 800 asylum seekers who came to Australia for 4,000 refugees living in Malaysia was widely criticized by human rights groups, as Malaysia is not a signatory of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. The Malaysian government has cooperated with the UNHCR on humanitarian grounds since 1975 even though Malaysia has not signed the UN Convention Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. Burmese refugees have since been sent to third countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, France, New Zealand, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway. |
| Posted: 24 Aug 2011 01:40 PM PDT DARI JELEBU Hishamuddin Rais Lapan tuntutan Bersih masih menunggu jawapan. Satu demi satu bahan bukti tentang penyelewengan dipaparkan kepada umum. Satu demi satu penipuan di buktikan kepada khalayak umum. Semua ini adalah hasil politik jalan raya. Inilah buktinya bahawa politik jalan raya berjaya membawa perubahan. Tunjuk perasaan 9 Julai 2011 dahulu adalah satu dialektika yang telah mengubah lanskap politik negara kita. Dialektika iailah hukum semula jadi alam ini. Hukum alam ini lahir dari kontradiksi. Kontradiksi ini wujud disekeliling kita. Semua wujudiah dihadapan mata kita ini wujud dengan kontradiksi. Hanya kita kurang sedar akan kewujudan kontradiksi ini. Ini kerana kontradiksi tidak dapat dipegang atau dilihat tetapi boleh dianalisa untuk difahami. Tidak memahami kontradiksi bermakna tidak memahami bagaimana dunia dan alam ini bergerak. Apabila dua pekara berkontradiksi/bertentangan maka akan muncul satu pekara yang baru. Pertentangan dua pekara ini pasti akan melahirkan satu yang baru. Apabila air dimasak - api berkontradiksi dengan air - maka wap akan lahir. Wap adalah pekara yang baru yang dimaksudkan itu. Apabila orang ramai turun ke jalan raya maka berlaku bertentangan antara para demonstran di jalan raya dengan elit politik yang berkuasa. Tidak dapat tidak akan lahir sesuatu yang baru. Read more at: http://tukartiub.blogspot.com/2011/08/hari-hari-akhir-saekor-najib_3368.html |
| Malaysian tax is not for public healthcare but public healthcare is for tax Posted: 24 Aug 2011 01:32 PM PDT
Health care is something that I believe, should not be privatized. A sick, weak and severely threatened person is in no position to negotiate. By Lee Wee Tak strongly believe that a democratically elected government has a moral responsibility to enable its citizens to live with dignity and comfort. In their time of desperation and need, there is no extortion imposed upon them and their love ones. Let's take KPJ Healthcare Berhad as a sample and examine the additional costs that we have to bear in privatized healthcare  In financial year ended 31 December 2010, it earned revenue of RM1.6 billion with a profit after tax of RM126million. Now that is a lot of extra cash for sick persons to dish out.   2. Additional cost for running private companies: samples of unnecessary expenses include RM68.9mil rental of land and building, RM7.6 mil for advertising, RM2mil for directors' remuneration and RM0.8 mil for auditors. (Refer to Note 8 again). No such necessity for public hospitals. Mahathirnomics drove the medical cost up as well. Do you know that in October 1996, Faber Group, a hotel business was suddenly given a 15 year concession to provide cleaning services to 15 government hospitals and today, it has made enough money to publicly gloat about the huge amount of profit made as a result of having a monopoly of cleaning jobs that civil servants could have done at no profit at all.   3. In the balance sheets of KPJ, total investments in shares of subsidiaries and associated companies were RM762.6 mil and RM307.4 mil respectively. These are mostly money spent on buying shares of companies and nothing to do with providing medical services.  The RM56.6 mil above was spent on buying shares of SMC Healthcare Sdn Bhd (RM51mil) and Sri Kota Refractive & Eye Centre Sdn Bhd (RM5.6 mil) so made some shareholders happy and leave patients to foot the cost of these acquisitions. 4. Being a business conglomerate, it is normal to borrow money from banks to buy assets to operate the business, and also buy into other companies as mentioned above. Of course, the banks will charge interest which the business would build into their invoices to customers/patients. A public hospital would not need bank loans as tax money is interest free. The profit and loss accounts show interest expense of RM6 mil and RM14 mil for 2 years running. 5. KPJ paid dividends of RM41mil and RM77 mil for 2010 and 2009 respectively. Would you like to pay for some dividend income to so rich entrepreneurs as you are suffering from pain and feeling extreme discomfort and vulnerable?  6. We are suppose to pay taxes to the government so that we can get good public service in return, for example competent medical service. However, in privatized healthcare, we see a reversal whereby government tax is a "mark-up" on an already inflated medical bill. |
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