| Orang Umno kembalilah kepada fitrah Posted: 22 Nov 2011 07:40 AM PST PKR, ialah parti yang tidak mempunyai perjuangan yang jelas. Ia hanya berjuang untuk kepentingan Anwar Ibrahim. Dulu Semangat 46 pun sama, berjuang untuk seorang individu, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. Parti itu hanya bertahan beberapa tahun sebelum para pemimpinnya ramai-ramai berpatah balik kepada Umno. Zaini Hassan, The Malaysian Insider Minggu depan Umno akan bersidang. Sekitar 5,500 perwakilan akan membanjiri ibu pejabat parti Melayu terbesar itu di Pusat Dagangan Dunia Putra (PWTC) bagi mendengar amanat, nasihat, teguran, celoteh daripada pucuk kepemimpinan sehinggalah ke peringkat bawahan. Perhimpunan ini juga menjadi satu pertemuan yang sangat penting, kerana selepas itu mungkin pilihan raya umum akan diadakan. Sukar dinafikan, sesungguhnya Umno masih lagi menjadi tulang belakang orang Melayu. Ia masih lagi menjadi tempat bergantung orang Melayu. Ini kerana perjuangan parti-parti Melayu lain pun semakin tidak boleh diharap sangat untuk membela bangsa itu. PKR, ialah parti yang tidak mempunyai perjuangan yang jelas. Ia hanya berjuang untuk kepentingan Anwar Ibrahim. Dulu Semangat 46 pun sama, berjuang untuk seorang individu, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. Parti itu hanya bertahan beberapa tahun sebelum para pemimpinnya ramai-ramai berpatah balik kepada Umno. PAS, sebuah parti Melayu yang konservatif juga tidak boleh diharapkan. Ia menjadi parti yang tidak tetap pendirian. Sekejap terlalu fundamental Islam, sekejap terlalu liberal Islam dan kini PAS dikatakan telah menjadi sebuah parti yang ultra-liberal. PAS sudah menyimpang sama sekali daripada perjuangan asalnya — gara-gara terlalu terikut kepada pendirian liberal Anwar Ibrahim dan aliran ultra kiasu DAP. Memang benar aliran ultra-liberalisme semakin berkembang di negara ini. Jika dulu ia bergerak secara senyap, kini kumpulan ini sudah berani ke hadapan. Difahamkan aliran itu ditanam oleh orientalis Barat dan disokong serta didana oleh kuasa-kuasa besar. Menurut seorang pengkaji Islam Liberal yang merupakan profesor di Monash University, Australia, Dr. Greg Barton, kehebatan Islam Liberal bukan sekadar pada namanya "Liberal" tetapi lebih hebat kerana Islam Liberal berjaya memusnahkan akar-akar Islam termasuk persoalan akidah dan syariah. Beliau yang menghabiskan hidupnya meneliti perkembangan Islam Liberal Indonesia dan menghasilkan tesis PhDnya berkaitan pembangunan Pemikiran Islam Liberal di republik itu menambah: "Islam Liberal akan meruntuhkan tembok sacral al-Quran melalui metodologi dekonstruksi (kritik teks) dan memusnahkan akar syariah dengan ijtihad (penafsiran) terbuka." Tujuannya ialah untuk mencairkan aliran fundamental Islam. PAS secara sedar atau tidak sudah terjebak. Oleh itu PAS juga tidak boleh diharapkan. Setakat ini hanya Umno yang tinggal. Umno masih beruntung kerana ia masih mendokong kerajaan negara ini dan menerajui sebuah parti perikatan yang terdiri daripada banyak parti komponen. Ikut atas kertas, Umno masih mendapat sokongan ramai orang Melayu. Namun, adakah Umno sendiri bergerak di atas landasan yang lurus? Wawancara Mingguan Malaysia bersama Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad Ahad lepas menceritakan mengenai Umno dan orangnya. Dr Mahathir berkata Umno perlu ditegur dari semasa ke semasa. Sebagai parti yang besar, benar ia memang patut ditegur. Landasan yang bengkuk harus diluruskan. Apakah ahli-ahlinya, khusus para pemimpin parti itu masih berpegang kepada falsafah asal penubuhannya? Siapa sebenarnya orang Umno sekarang? Ikhlaskah perjuangan ahli-ahli dan para pemimpin Umno ini? Mengapa masih kedengaran pergeseran di sana dan sini mahu merebut menjadi calon Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (ADUN) dan Ahli Parlimen (MP)? Apa hebat sangat mahu menjadi calon? Besarkah gaji seorang ADUN dan MP? Mengapa ada yang sudah berjawatan CEO dengan gaji berganda-ganda besar daripada elaun MP atau ADUN, pun sanggup juga melobi untuk menjadi calon? Dalam usaha kerajaan mahu mewujudkan rakyat berpendapatan tinggi, tinggi sangatkah gaji seorang ADUN dan MP yang mahu direbut itu? READ MORE HERE |
| Is it just the economy, stupid? Posted: 22 Nov 2011 07:32 AM PST Yes, I'm talking about civil liberties stuff. You know, free speech, human rights, separation of powers and all that good stuff that civil society cares about. In the past, this was fringe stuff, especially when compared to the economy. But as society progresses and matures, this is exactly the kind of stuff that matters. The so-called "rice bowl" is not the be all and end all any more. Oon Yeoh, The Sun Daily THERE are so many factors that will determine which coalition – Barisan Nasional (BN) or Pakatan Rakyat (PR) – will win the next general election. I think everyone, including opposition supporters, agree that it will be tough going for PR to win because of the East Malaysia factor. It's not for nothing that Sabah and Sarawak have been called BN's "fixed deposit". Barring a miracle, it's highly unlikely that we will see any significant East Malaysian swing to PR in the general election. However, if PR manages to win enough seats in Peninsular Malaysia to win a simple majority (or close to it), we are likely to see East Malaysia parties switching sides. This is not to say East Malaysian politicians sway easily, but rather that they are extremely pragmatic. So, if BN were to lose the peninsula in a big way, it could very well find its fixed deposit slipping away after the polls. I'm sure BN's political analysts and strategists recognise this, which is why the fight for votes in the peninsula is so important. The economy is a big factor. That's the case everywhere you go, not just in Malaysia. Remember US President Bill Clinton's famous phrase, "It's the economy, stupid!"? But there's also another factor that's increasingly important, especially amongst the urban folk and most notably amongst the young. And it's the kind of stuff that BN traditionally doesn't score very well in. Yes, I'm talking about civil liberties stuff. You know, free speech, human rights, separation of powers and all that good stuff that civil society cares about. In the past, this was fringe stuff, especially when compared to the economy. But as society progresses and matures, this is exactly the kind of stuff that matters. The so-called "rice bowl" is not the be all and end all any more. People do start caring about the environment, about transparency, freedom of information and so on. The exposure the internet affords today's youth plays a big role here. Where in the past, the main sources of information were TV, radio and newspapers, these days people just go online for alternate viewpoints. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak recently said winnable candidates are those who are accepted by the new generation. He went as far as to say that this would be the decisive factor in the next general election. For its part, Umno Youth unveiled a new slogan: "BN pilihan orang muda (BN, the choice of the young)." "All our efforts will be focused on that slogan. We want to show young Malaysian voters that the choice is in their hands, and what BN has to offer," its chief Khairy Jamaluddin said. If it is really true that the election will be decided by the so-called "new generation", the prime minister would do well to consider whether the various issues that this segment of society cares about are best championed by BN or PR. When Najib first became prime minister, he made all the right moves. He took walkabouts and mingled with the public. His 1Malaysia slogan told people he wanted a united country, and his remark that the days of "government knows best" are over gave people hope that his administration would be less paternalistic. If I were Najib's political adviser, I would tell him not to rely only on the warm and fuzzy feedback he gets from the people he meets on his walkabouts or at tea parties for his Twitter followers and Facebook fans. Well-wishers in such situations are not going to give brutally honest feedback. Rather, I would commission a public opinion survey and ask folks whether they think racial polarisation is still a problem or whether they feel people are more united than ever before. It's also worth asking if people feel the government is adequately catering to their idealistic aspirations for a more civil society. It might be the economy, stupid, but like it or not, these are the kinds of things that the new generation cares about. And they're the kind of things that help win elections in this day and age, the economy notwithstanding. Oon Yeoh is a new media consultant. |
| Paper Castles In The Air Posted: 22 Nov 2011 07:17 AM PST MASTERWORDSMITH UNPLUGGED The young indulge in building castles in the air whereas the rich and famous build paper castles! Recently, Sarawak Report carried an article HERE which said that "Chief Minister Taib Mahmud and PM Najib Razak have been trumpeting their economic policies in the light of plaudits given by an outfit called the Oxford Business Group." According to Oxford Business Group's (OBG) regional editor, Paulius Kucinas (at this link), Sarawak remained an attractive destination for capital investments as it rode on the structural rise for commodities worldwide. At the launch of The Report: Sarawak 2011, he said that it provides in-depth detail on Sarawak' current economic outlook and what the future holds for the state.
The official Oxford Business Group site states that the report for Malaysia can be purchased at the cost of 130 pounds for the printed edition or 104 pounds for the digital edition which are available as soon as payment clears while print copies are shipped within 24 hours on business days. To receive the Economic Updates for the report, go to 'My Subscriptions'.
One puzzling fact though - Cost of the report for Sarawak is 104 pounds but it is not stated as to whether it is the printed edition or the digital one.
For the report on Malaysia, one can opt to purchase individual chapters on Country Profile, Politics, Economy and Banking. For more information about the launching of the report in West Malaysia, check out THIS LINK.
I am not going to raise issues which have been comprehensively covered by Sarawak Report HERE (a must read for everyone!).
1. Why is the publication and writing of such reports given to overseas publishing houses? Surely our economy does not need more outflow of money for work that can be done by local publishing houses and writers!
2. Presumably, it must be quite expensive to have commissioned such reports. If indeed the intention is to give prospective investors more opportunities to discover more about Malaysia, surely a local publication would have ensured cheaper publications with better and more up-to-date data.
3. Working on the assumption that they wanted better quality writing for the reports to elevate their status, consider the following sentence taken from HERE and draw your own conclusions about the quality of writing. Do take note of the parts I highlighted in bold font and underscored:
Endowed with prodigious natural resources, including rubber, palm oil and oil and gas, Malaysia has expanded into manufacturing, services and tourism, and is seeking to move further up the value chain in industrial production.
So are they paying for quality writing? You be the judge! The introduction to the report on Sarawak was written more stylishly. Check HERE. Excerpt: Sarawak shares the island of Borneo with the Malaysian state of Sabah, the sultanate of Brunei Darussalam, and the Indonesian provinces of Kalimantan. Its 2.4m people are considered the most diverse of all Malaysian states, with a mix of indigenous Christian Ibans, Chinese, Muslim Malays, and many other ethnic and religious groups. The state's chief minister, Abdul Taib Mahmud, of the National Front party retained his hold on power by winning re-election in 2011, despite a strong showing by the opposition Democratic Action Party. Sarawak's economic growth has long depended on the three key pillars of oil and gas, crude palm oil, and timber exports. A host of new sectors are set to receive a boost, however, under the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE), which aims to develop the state's central region. SCORE will exploit Sarawak's 20,000 MW of hydroelectric potential, using this power to develop industries in metallurgy, aquaculture, food processing, information technology, and downstream palm oil and timber products. 4. Perhaps the authorities concerned can respond to the following excerpts taken from Sarawak Report: The London HQ advertised on the company's website is in fact an office rental centre, where rooms can be let on demand. We were informed that the Oxford Business Group no longer has office space in the building, although "they sometimes still come in and out" .
However, the Editorial Director of these reports is none other than a former Editor of the UK's most ridiculed porn rag, the Daily Sport, which closed earlier this year.
Did they check out the background of the company to see if they are legit set-ups or dodgy shady outfits? READ MORE HERE |
| Can a series of short films halt an impending environmental disaster called Lynas? Posted: 22 Nov 2011 12:01 AM PST By Magick River Lynas claims its rare earth processing plant will provide 350 jobs to Malaysians. Big deal - especially when Lynas will be exempt from paying taxes for 12 years on its projected earnings of approximately RM8 billion a year. Madam Lai Kwan was pregnant in 1982 when she worked at the Mitsubishi rare earth refinery in Bukit Merah, Malaysia. This film is a peek into the life she has led since her child was born in 1983... I applaud Tan Chui Mui's cinematic initiative, dubbed Survival Guide untuk Kampung Radioaktif , wherein she recruited a group of young filmmakers to raise public awareness on an extremely serious issue through satire, humor and empathy. What prompted Tan to take action is the simple fact that she was born 33 years ago in a fishing village named Sungai Ular, a stone's throw from the site in Gebeng, Pahang, where Lynas Corporation is in the process of completing what is touted to be the world's largest rare earth processing plant. According to Fuziah Salleh, PKR member of parliament for Kuantan, Lynas submitted its Environmental Impact Assessment to the Pahang state government on 21 January 2008 - and it was approved in less than 3 weeks.
Something like that can indicate one thing only - a few powerful and privileged palms were heavily greased. Even more astounding, Malaysia's Ministry of International Trade and Industry granted Lynas the very next day a 12-year tax holiday. Undoubtedly, dishonest bureaucrats, bribeable panjandrums, and extremely lax environmental enforcement were the main reasons why Lynas picked Malaysia for its highly polluting rare earth processing plant - and the fact that Gebeng is situated in Pahang, Najib Razak's home state, may also be a factor.
Twenty years ago, Lynas would have met with little, if any, public resistance. However, times have changed. The people of Kuantan are up in arms about the imminent destruction of their peaceful, low-stress lifestyle. Indeed, the 700,000 residents of Kuantan district have good reason to be stressed out by Lynas's giant rare earth processing plant - because they live within a 35km radius of it. READ MORE HERE. |
| New assembly law undermines Constitution, says Ambiga Posted: 21 Nov 2011 08:31 PM PST (The Malaysian Insider) - Bersih 2.0 chief Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan slammed today the proposed new law on peaceful assembly for giving greater powers to the home minister and the police to curb dissent and undermine the Federal Constitution. In a statement today, the prominent lawyer accused the government of failing to keep up with international standards and creating instead the illusion that Malaysians now have greater freedom as provided by the country's supreme law. "This Bill restricts our rights as much as possible. It gives unfettered powers to the minister and the police to further restrict the freedom to assemble. It impinges on free speech. In short, it will stymie legitimate dissent in ourcountry," Ambiga charged. "Furthermore freedom of assembly includes peaceful street protests. By excluding this as a right altogether the Federal Constitution is once again undermined," she said. Ambiga moved to punch holes in the Peaceful Assembly Bill tabled this morning, saying it was worse than the existing and unconstitutional section 27 of the Police Act 1967 it was to replace. "This right is one of the most basic and indispensable of the fundamental freedoms necessary for the functioning of a democratic society and is provided for in the Federal Constitution," she said and cited from a 2004 Royal Commission on the Police led by former Chief Justice Tun Mohammed Dzaiddin Abdullah to prove her point. The vocal human rights activist urged the government to immediately withdraw the proposed law if it was sincere to prove correct Datuk Seri Najib Razak's reformist stand on making Malaysia the "best democracy". The prime minister promised a raft of reforms in his Malaysia Day address on September 15, including the repeal of the controversial Internal Security Act (ISA) and doing away with annual permits for the print media, saying he wanted to give Malaysians more freedom. The former Malaysian Bar president cautioned that voters will be watching the MPs to see who supported the proposed law in the run-up to the 13th general election, widely expected to be called early next year. But the Bar Council's current constitutional law committee chief, Syahredzan Johan, took a slightly different stance. READ MORE HERE |
| Making sense of nonsense Posted: 21 Nov 2011 08:01 PM PST 
So, YB, are you going to now issue a statement saying that you made an error and that only anal and oral sex are crimes whereas gay relationships are not a crime according to Malaysian law? And if people live together as gay couples and only kiss, hug, touch, rub against each other, masturbate each other, but as long as there is no anal or oral sex, then the government can't do anything about it? NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin Malaysia Today: First of all, Yang Berhormat, thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. Yang Berhormat: I am always happy to talk to the media, even opposition media like Malaysia Today, which never reports the truth and always twists and distorts what we say. MT: Well, YB, we are here today so that you can clarify what you actually said and which you claim has been misreported. You can also take this opportunity to clarify government policy and clear whatever misconceptions or wrong perceptions the public may have. And I promise you, YB, Malaysia Today will report exactly what you said without any editing. YB: Thank you. That is very comforting to hear. First of all, I want the readers to know that I never said that homosexuality is against the Federal Constitution. I said it is against the law. MT: Yes, that is now very clear. In fact, earlier today, Malaysia Today published your clarification and rebuttal. So we are not really as unfair as some allege, YB. YB: Good. And thank you. At least Malaysia Today allows both sides of the story, not like some other opposition newspapers that only report bad things about the government. MT: Actually Malaysia Today is not a newspaper and neither is it opposition owned. Malaysia Today is a sounding board for Malaysians to express their unhappiness with both the government and the opposition. Anyway, that is not the point, YB. What we want to talk about today is your statement regarding homosexuality being against the law. You quoted the section of the law regarding sodomy. It talks about sodomy, not about homosexuality. That section of the law does not say that homosexuality is a crime. It only says that sodomy is a crime. YB: It is automatic. If it involves homosexuality then automatically it involves sodomy. MT: But, YB, that section of the law also makes it a crime for a husband and wife to have anal sex. So heterosexual anal sex also attracts a 20-year jail sentence, even if it is between legally married couples. Why did YB not also stress on this fact: that husbands and wives can also get sent to jail, not just homosexuals? YB: We are not concerned about married couples and what they do in the privacy of their bedrooms. We are only concerned about what homosexuals do in the privacy of their bedrooms. MT: But that is beside the point, YB. It is still the law that married couples who indulge in anal sex can be sent to jail for 20 years, until such a time that this law is amended and stipulates that anal sex is a crime only for those who indulge in same-sex relationships. YB: How can we control what married people do in their bedrooms? It is impossible to monitor what people do in the privacy of their bedrooms. MT: Yet the government wants to monitor what non-married people or gay couples do in the privacy of their bedrooms. How are you going to do this? YB: Well…I….I…. MT: Never mind, YB. Let's move on. The law says that anal sex is a crime. It does not say that homosexuality is a crime. What happens if two people of the same sex live as husband and wife but they do not indulge in anal sex? How can you arrest and charge them? YB: How can they live together but not have sex? MT: They can always indulge in oral sex, YB. YB: You mean they live together as a married couple and just talk about sex? I don't believe that. MT: No, YB, I don't mean oral sex as in talking about sex. I mean….well, you know YB…..lick, lick, suck, suck. YB: Oh, that oral sex! Oral sex is also a crime. It is also punishable by 20 years jail, even if between husbands and wives. MT: Okay, YB, you may be thinking of homosexual relationships as just being between two men. What if the homosexual relationship is between two women? Are you still going to say that it is a crime since there is no sodomy or anal sex involved? And take note, YB, that section of the law you are talking about makes it a crime to indulge in anal sex, not to be a homosexual. YB: Well, if it is two women, then they probably have oral sex. So that means it is also a crime. MT: So, it is the sex act that is the crime then. Being homosexual or living as a gay couple is not a crime. Is that right, YB? YB: Well….yes, that is right. MT: So, YB, are you going to now issue a statement saying that you made an error and that only anal and oral sex are crimes whereas gay relationships are not a crime according to Malaysian law? And if people live together as gay couples and only kiss, hug, touch, rub against each other, masturbate each other, but as long as there is no anal or oral sex, then the government can't do anything about it? YB: Well…I…..I…. MT: Never mind, YB, let's move on. Let us now talk about non-Muslims, in particular Evangelists, preaching or propagating Christianity to Muslims, which has been an issue of late. YB: Yes, according the Constitution that is wrong. So the government can take action. MT: Okay, agreed. According to Article 11(4) of the constitution, it says: "State law and in respect of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan, federal law may control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam." But what about if that person may have been born a Muslim but he later leaves Islam. That means you are technically no longer propagating to Muslims but to ex-Muslims. YB: There is no such thing as ex-Muslims. Once you are born a Muslim or you convert to Islam then you are a Muslim forever until the day you die. MT: But what are the criteria to be a Muslim? YB: I don't understand. MT: Is it not compulsory that you believe in one God, Allah, and accept Muhammad as the last Prophet, the Quran as God's word, and the belief in the Afterlife, and so on? And if you reject this doctrine then your akidah would be demolished and you would cease to be a Muslim? YB: Yes, your akidah is important in Islam. If your akidah is defective then you are no longer a Muslim. MT: So, if a Muslim says he does not believe that Muhammad is the last Prophet or he says he doubts that the Quran is from God but was in fact written by Muhammad's people then he ceases to be a Muslim since he no longer has akidah. YB: Yes. MT: So where is the crime then if the Evangelists preach or propagate Christianity to these people since technically they are not Muslims any longer? YB: Well….I….I….but still we can't allow it. They may be ex-Muslims according to Islam but we still regard them as Muslims and will arrest them and send them for religious rehabilitation to try to bring them back to the right path. MT: So the government regards them as non-Muslims or ex-Muslims but will not allow them to be non-Muslims or ex-Muslims and will arrest them and rehabilitate them and that is why Christians can't preach to them or propagate Christianity to them? YB: Yes, that is correct. MT: Thank you, YB. We hope with this clarification Malaysians can now better understand how the mind of the Malaysian government works. |
| The art of window-dressing (UPDATED) Posted: 21 Nov 2011 06:32 PM PST 
Sarawak Report has investigated the UK headquarters of Oxford Business Group, which claims to have been publishing country reports since 1994. There is no relationship to Oxford the town nor Oxford the University. The London HQ advertised on the company's website is in fact an office rental centre, where rooms can be let on demand. We were informed that the Oxford Business Group no longer has office space in the building, although "they sometimes still come in and out" . (READ MORE HERE) 
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| MyConsti PENANG Event: 'Perjuangan Mahasiswa': The UUCA and the Federal Constitution Posted: 21 Nov 2011 06:08 PM PST 2.00pm on 27 November 2011 Dewan Bandar, Padang Kota Lama /Town Hall, Esplanade. George Town, Penang 
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| Najib serves old wine in new bottle Posted: 21 Nov 2011 06:01 PM PST Instead of allowing more space for public assembly, the new Peaceful Assembly Bill would further stifle lawful dissent and perpetuate a culture of fear. Bersih 2.0 steering committee member, Wong Chin Huat said the new Bill was a scam and bluntly called Najib a "moderate dictator". "Its just a cosmetic change, like you are changing the name of Official Secrets Act (OSA) to Freedom of Information Bill while the former's clauses are still intact," he said. G Vinod, Free Malaysia Today All street protests have been outlawed. Rally organisers have to give one month's notice to the police. And if you under 15, don't even be seen at any rally. And to drive the point home, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's government has come up with hefty fines for rally organisers and participants. In the new Bill, those found participating in an illegal assembly could be fined up to RM20,000 and the organisers who fail to give sufficient notice could be fined up to RM10,000. In a nutshell this is what the Peaceful Assembly Bill means. The Bill was tabled in Parliament today by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz. In September, Najib announced a slew of reforms including scrapping Section 27 of the Police Act that requires a permit before holding an assembly. And there was some hope that liberisation was finally taking place in the country. But today when the Peaceful Assembly Bill was tabled, it proved to be draconian than the previous Police Act. Several political parties and special interest groups were quick to point out that this was just old wine in a new bottle. Breach of the constitution Calling it a breach of the constitution, PKR vice-president N Surendran said it was obvious that the Barisan Nasional government is trying to make peaceful assembly difficult for the people. "Najib's promises of reforms is a farce. This law is a joke and will make our country the laughing-stock of the world," he said. He also said that there was no reason why street protests should be outlawed as such rallies were normal, harmless and an integral part of any functioning democracy. "It is the job of the police, upon notification, to manage traffic and other matters during rallies. However, in many cases, the police themselves cause traffic congestion by putting up unnecessary road-blocks," said Surendran. He added that it was absurd to have a 30 days notice period before anyone could hold a rally, saying even South Africa's authorities require only seven days notice. "Must we wait a month if we want to gather and hand over a memorandum to the government? The government is bent to make it difficult for the rakyat to convene any assembly," he said. Surendran also said that Section 8 of the new Bill granted wide discretionary powers to the police to stem public assembly and the high fine would serve to deter people from participating in rallies. Najib a 'liar', 'moderate dictator' Echoing Surendran's concerns, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) secretary-general S Arutchelvan said the new Bill only proved that BN must be voted out as it will never be able to reform. "I think BN is paranoid of losing power like dictators in the Middle East. The bill is more draconian than Section 27 of the Police Act," he said. Calling Najib a liar, the PSM leader said the new Bill is unconstitutional as the Federal Constitution permits all Malaysians to assemble peacefully, irrespective of race, religion, gender and even age. "The age limit for organising a rally is ridiculous. What if students want to hold an assembly to show solidarity on some issues concerning their well-being? "In some countries, those aged 15 and 16 are even allowed to work," said Arutchelvan. He also alleged that the 30 days notice would be used by the government to get those opposed to the rally to lodge police reports against the organisers. "And the police will use the reports to stop the assembly, like what they did to Seksualiti Merdeka organisers," he said. READ MORE HERE |
| Moving towards a civil society Posted: 21 Nov 2011 05:51 PM PST The strength of our society lies in its ability to safeguard human dignity and nobility, to build a land fair and happy, just and caring and living by humanitarian ideals. The present state of education is not on the right footing. There is a lack of vision to translate the noble values and world view in organising the present reality. Malaysian society should be a thinking society. In the present modern society, the concern of many education programmes is on the ability to acquire skills which enable an individual to command more commercial rewards. Datuk Nik Mustapha Nik Hassan, The Star AT a time when our country is doing well, the Government should not lose sight of a more fundamental goal, that is, to develop Malaysians into a civil society. The enhancement of human dignity, the establishment of liberty, the eradication of society's ills, the revitalisation of our heritage and cultural empowerment which reflects intellectual and artistic achievements are some of the goals to be met by our Government. This is very much in line with the kind of society as envisaged in the Quran, "... a land fair and happy, and a Lord Oft-Forgiving", a prosperous and blessed nation, just and caring, and living by humanitarian ideals. In our efforts to develop our society, our path to economic prosperity should always be a holistic and multi-dimensional approach. We should be aware that the strength of society lies in its ability to safeguard human dignity and nobility. Humanitarian ideals should be the guiding principles in developing society in all spheres of our endeavours, including economic activities. In fact, for a nation to sustain its economic performance, social strength plays a determinant part. Ibn al-Qayyim, a great Muslim scholar, rightly commented that the basis of shariah is the wisdom and welfare of the people in this world as well as the hereafter. This welfare lies in complete justice, mercy, well-being and wisdom. Anything that departs from justice to oppression, from mercy to harshness, from welfare to misery and from wisdom to folly, has nothing to do with shariah. This view is shared by al-Ghazali who taught that the very objective of shariah is to promote the welfare of the people, which lies in safeguarding their faith, life, intellect, posterity and property. Whatever ensures the safeguard of these five aims serves public interest and is desirable. In our move towards a civil society, we must be convinced that society's competitiveness and development capability can be realised through holistic achievement. In line with the views of al-Ghazali, a number of priorities should be given attention in policy formulations, be it education, economic, culture and others. The education system should be able to develop Malaysians who have attachment to moral requirements. In Islam, the purpose of education is to create a good individual who possesses a holistic world view based on divine guidance, good and productive character, very participative in social development and, above all, be willing to uphold truth, justice and cooperate with others. This requires our curricula at all levels of education to be conducted along an integrated approach for all subjects.From the Islamic point of view, all subjects have to relate to the noble values of truth, justice and benevolence. The present state of education is not on the right footing. There is a lack of vision to translate the noble values and world view in organising the present reality. Malaysian society should be a thinking society. In the present modern society, the concern of many education programmes is on the ability to acquire skills which enable an individual to command more commercial rewards. The acquisition of professional qualifications and skills should be promoted. Professionals should be individuals who can appreciate and understand the social development and cultural practices of society. In a developing society like ours, we must be able to mobilise every individual to participate and contribute at his optimum level to the social welfare of society. In the present materialistic society, the move towards a mechanistic society is becoming very apparent. Schools and universities are giving emphasis to the technical aspect of knowledge. In the economic discipline, for example, we are producing technical economists who are concerned only with the technical tools to analyse economic phenomena. Most curricula do not give enough consideration to subjects which develop critical thinking among graduates on social requirements. A continuous effort must always be focused on ensuring a social harmony in our multiracial society. The strategy for social development should be along the spirit of mutual cooperation. We take pride in being able to practise tolerance and have mutual respect for one another. Every positive element in the culture of every race should be adopted in our national policies to foster better relationship. In order for us to move towards further advancement, social stability is fundamental. Cooperation based on the spirit of justice should be the rule of the game. Through social harmony, we can ensure a guarantee for every individual right and security in our society. We must ensure that economic prosperity should benefit our present generation. In this regard, the authorities should work seriously and effectively in achieving a low cost of living economy. Housing and transportation expenses must be reviewed for lower pricing. These two items form the bulk of the people's expenses. Continued efforts in reforming, deregulating and liberalising the economy are indeed welcome. The sincerity and willingness of the authorities to improve these sectors will be the starting point for our economic stability and advancement. We should also safeguard our posterity. The commitment by the authorities to develop Malaysians into a civil society reflects a noble intent. The road to this success is certainly wrought with challenges, but alternatives are not available to achieve that success in life – creating a noble civilisation. |
| Rally in support of MyOverseasVote and Bersih Posted: 21 Nov 2011 05:24 PM PST 
Saturday, 26 November 2011 from 11:00 to 13:00 (PT) London, United Kingdom Six Malaysians, who are all based in Britain, have applied to the KL High Court to compel the EC to amend its regulations to allow Malaysians overseas to register as Absent voters. As the EC regulations stand, only Civil Servants and students who are overseas are allowed to vote with a Postal ballot. All other Malaysian citizens who wish to vote have to return to Malaysia to cast their ballot. The lawsuit aims to put an end to this discriminatory and arbitrary rule. Permission for Judicial Review was granted by Judge Rohana Yusuff on the 14th November. Constitutional Lawyers Edmund Bon and Edward Saw appeared for the Applicants. The campaign is supported by the MyOverseasVote campaign. Independent Lawyers from the Bar Council, MyOverseasVote and the Malaysian Centre for Constitutionalism & Human Rights were present to hold a watching brief. The Substantive hearing is fixed for January 3rd, 2012. READ MORE HERE |
| Muhyiddin defends Umno and Govt Posted: 21 Nov 2011 05:13 PM PST (The Star) - Umno has not kept quiet and has started to improve its image after the 2008 election debacle. Responding to scathing attacks against the party by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said: "I am sure he still loves Umno and wants to see it strong and able to defend its position as the Government. "But to say that we have not taken steps to strengthen the party and overcome challenges since the 2008 general election is not true." Muhyiddin, who is deputy Umno president, said this at a press conference after presenting the Ilham Desa national awards here yesterday. He was commenting on remarks made by Dr Mahathir during an interview with Mingguan Malaysia that Umno currently lacked good credible leaders and was a pale shadow if its former self. He also alleged Umno had not made any improvements since the last general election. Defending the party and the Government, Muhyiddin said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had introduced a national transformation programme. "He (Najib) understands what the people want and there is growing support - although not strong enough yet," said Muhyiddin, adding that the party would continue to engage with the leadership and other component parties of the ruling Barisan Nasional. In KUALA LUMPUR, Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said the party, under Najib's leadership, had done many things to improve and overcome its problems. |
| Chasing the Dragon in Tehran Posted: 21 Nov 2011 04:56 PM PST 
Behind its fa̤ade of Muslim piety, Iran is one of the most drug-addled countries in the world. Today's Islamic Republic offers premonitions of a narcodystopia. Take a car ride through Tehran at night, and your driver may tell you that the underage girls in chadors who offer esfand -- seeds that are burned to ward off the evil eye -- along the highways are really selling sex to enable addicted fathers. Ride the metro, and you will see battered children pitching trinkets and fortunes to sustain their parents' habits. BY ROLAND ELLIOTT BROWN, Foreign Policy TEHRAN РOn June 26, Iranian state media reported that 20,000 former drug addicts had assembled at Tehran's Azadi Stadium to mark the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended, and used the podium to portray narcotics as an implement of Western predation. "Today," he said, Western countries "have begun harming nations, especially the Iranian nation, by drugs. Arrogant states masquerade themselves behind the so-called humanitarian masks and they want to stir a sense of inability in other nations. They put on masks of freedom-seeking, human rights, and protecting people but in fact they are the biggest criminals in the world." Tehran is one the higher capitals on the earth's surface, and not only in terms of altitude. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reports that Iran has 1.2 million "drug-dependent users," and that 2.26 percent of the population aged 15-64 is addicted to opiates. The organization's director, Yuri Fedotov, has praised Iran for having "the world's highest rate of seizures of opium and heroin," and for developing effective treatment and prevention programs. Human Rights Watch, by contrast, has criticized Fedotov for glossing over the country's inadequate legal proceedings and executions of drug offenders. Most alarmingly, people arrested during opposition demonstrations, such as the Dutch-Iranian Sahra Bahrami, have occasionally been hanged as "drug smugglers." Today's Islamic Republic offers premonitions of a narcodystopia. Take a car ride through Tehran at night, and your driver may tell you that the underage girls in chadors who offer esfand -- seeds that are burned to ward off the evil eye -- along the highways are really selling sex to enable addicted fathers. Ride the metro, and you will see battered children pitching trinkets and fortunes to sustain their parents' habits. Visit a poor southern suburb like Shahr-e Rey, and you might see a cigarette vendor in the bazaar with a sideline in used needles. Walk through Khaju Kermani Park on the capital's southeastern outskirts, and you might witness young girls smoking crystal meth in full view of park authorities, while in the background a tall, badly sunburned man with track marks on his arms staggers around in an ill-fitting, woman's blouse. Yet the Iranian drug scene is not an exclusive feature of the country's decadent capital, or solely of its abject underclass. Its roots run deep and wide: For example, when I was visiting the tomb of the 12th-century poet Saadi, a tourist attraction in the southern city of Shiraz, Azad, a local literary critic who was showing me around, gestured beyond the garden walls to the adjacent neighborhood, named Saadieh after the poet. This he identified as a hub for the region's thieves, traffickers, and drug addicts. "Would you like to visit? It's very easy to visit, but you might not come back alive," he joked. I had seen enough Iranian skid rows to demur, but, intrigued by the apparent intersection of drugs and high culture, I pressed him for insights. In a display of Persian hospitality, he invited me to the home of a learned opium enthusiast to witness a display. Opium, Azad told me, is Iran's oldest and most entrenched drug, and was used medically in the region by Avicenna, the great Persian philosopher-scientist, 1,000 years ago. In ensuing centuries, it was extolled by the poets of the Persian canon. The best-loved of these, Hafez, measured his ecstasies against it, writing, in the genre of love: "A wound from you is worthier than salve from others/Your poison, sweeter than the opium they render." When we entered the front room of a large house on the city's periphery -- shielded from the street by high walls -- there lay arranged on the floor a metal brazier full of coals, an opium pipe, and other paraphernalia, along with plates of watermelon (your reliable narrator partook only of the fruit). "We love it and we hate it," remarked Mani, Azad's friend, a soft-spoken and serious academic in his sixties, as he began to light up. "It has so many problems, difficulties, but also attractions. In my family, my father used it, but he would always say, 'Don't touch it.' He was against it because he used it himself, but later we smoked it together. I used it because it seemed romantic, poetic." "When you first use it," Azad added, "it makes you relaxed. It makes you have good sleep, or it can give you nightmares and make your imagination work. Especially when you do [creative] work, it gives you the concentration you need. Mowlana, the poet, used it 800 years ago and mentioned it in his work. Hafez mentioned it. But in Iran today, artists and writers have no role, and they are suffering from their own nothingness, so they become disappointed, and look for something to make them calm." "Socially it's looked at very negatively," Mani added slowly as he recovered from a long hit. "It's often criticized in government propaganda. And there's the impact it has on families. But it is still accepted in some parts of Iran, like in [the south-eastern province of] Kerman. Traditionally, when a girl gets married there, among the things she's expected to take to her husband is an elaborate set for preparing opium, even though it's illegal." "In the shah's time," he continued, "there was even a certain prestige attached to it. His brothers used it. His father was an opium addict, and everyone knew it. In Islam, the attitude towards opium is not completely negative; in fact, it's not mentioned." Before the revolution, he added, "there was a brand of opium known as 'senator.' Now, they should call it 'ayatollah.'" Despite his insinuation of the drug's appeal to Iran's rulers past and present, Mani sees opium as a drug in decline. "There is a lot of pressure from outside, because most of the heroin and opium that gets into Europe goes through Iran. [The international community] gives the government money to respond," he said, referring to financial support Western countries give UNODC. The result, he said, is that opium has become expensive. "Mostly rich people use it now, but the quality is much worse. It might be quite dangerous. Chemical drugs are much cheaper and more accessible to the youth, and they require less paraphernalia." Before I left, Azad asked me to be careful with the pictures I had taken of their session because "the government is after just such a thing, especially when it involves intellectual people." Back in Tehran, I sought a more clinical take on the subject, and met Ali, a gentle 32-year-old social worker at an addiction treatment facility in the city's eastern Tehranpars neighbourhood. "The problem of drugs in Iran does not belong to any particular class or educational background," he emphasized. He sees more than 100 regular patients, from a range of economic spheres. Some are poor Afghan workers with no legal status or family support, while others are -- or have been -- wealthy. "One [of my patients] is a dentist who worked in the United States," he said, aiming to surprise. "He had a car accident there, and was injected with morphine. After he was released from hospital, he started injecting himself, and eventually lost everything he had and moved back to Iran." Ali described two main classes of drugs with which he deals. There are opiates, such as opium, morphine, and "crack" (which in Iran describes not the most addictive form of cocaine, but the most impure form of heroin) -- and synthetics, which includes ecstasy, psychedelics, and "shisha" -- crystal meth. Shisha and crack habits, Ali told me, are the most common forms of addiction. He explained that drug treatment has come a long way since the revolution. "There was a time when if someone was using drugs, it was viewed as a disaster by families. The treatment was locking up, even chaining up, those who were addicted. Politics aside, drug addiction is a horrible problem for any government to face, and attitudes have changed. Rehab centres keep opening. The hopes of families really increase when they see treatment working." But successes in treatment for opiate habits, he added, have been countered by mafias introducing synthetics, with which treatment centers have less experience. Improbably for a country where lawbreakers and ideological renegades are regularly hanged in public, Iran can be uncharacteristically lenient where addicts are concerned. The center where Ali works dispenses government-subsidized methadone to opiate users and conducts "self-awareness therapy" for those on methamphetamines. Some patients even visit the center from prisons, where they undergo treatment programs. Ali spends much of his time counseling youths, families, and spouses, and conducting group support sessions. He invited me to one of his sessions, which bore likenesses to Western 12-step programs, with its heavy emphasis on personal responsibility. The meeting even concluded with a non-denominational group prayer. In light of what I'd heard and witnessed, I tried to think my way into Ahmadinejad's Azadi Stadium remarks. The president failed to point out that Western markets have made Iran a conduit for narcotics, or that Iran can only resent that its police face danger, in part, for the benefit of authorities in decadent Europe. Nor did he suggest that international demand for opiate interdiction might be contributing to the spread of crystal meth in Iran, thereby exacerbating drug harm. He dismissed the language of human rights, perhaps insinuating that calls for leniency toward drug pushers are ill-intentioned, and so it's just as probable that his logic is unabashedly conspiratorial. If so, his view is echoed by Hamidreza Hosseinabadi, head of Iran's anti-drug task force, who last year accused British forces in Afghanistan of actually guiding traffickers into Iran. Following Ali's support session, I ran Ahmadinejad's statements by Rahim, a bazaar merchant and recovering opium addict in his fifties who had led the group prayer. He was having none of it. "The way I see it," he said, "We can't blame other people for our mistakes. You could pile up all the drugs in the world in a square in Tehran, but only those who want to use them will take them. You can't say, 'because there are drugs, I became addicted.' Some people say, 'it's my parents' fault, it's my friends' fault, it's my country's fault, it's the regime's fault,' but after going through this program, I believe that [my addiction] was my fault, not the fault of my government or of the United States." |
| Assembly Bill bars those below 15 Posted: 21 Nov 2011 04:52 PM PST The Peaceful Assembly Bill also allows the police to dictate the terms in order to preserve security and public order. (Free Malaysia Today) - The much-awaited Peaceful Assembly Bill was tabled in Parliament this morning and among others prohibits children below the age of 15 from participating in public assemblies. The bill, which allows the police to determine the terms in order to maintain public order, stresses that children cannot be recruited or be allowed to attend such events. Those who flout these rules will be slapped with a fine not exceeding RM20,000. Under the Restrictions and Conditions clause, the bill proposes that district police chiefs or OCPDs be empowered to impose restrictions and conditions with regard to an assembly. To preserve security and public order, the OCPD may determine the date, time, duration and manner of assembly. The OCPD may also place restrictions based on the concerns and objections of parties with vested interests and on any other matters that the police deem fitting and necessary. The bill was tabled by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz in the Dewan Rakyat for the first reading together with a bill to amend the Police Act 1967, namely Section 27 which stipulates that a police permit is required for an assembly. Among the salient points of the Peaceful Assembly Bill are: READ MORE HERE |
| Pakatan sees red over instigation charge Posted: 21 Nov 2011 03:59 PM PST Opposition leaders took a swipe at deputy minister Razali Ibrahim for claiming that the opposition poisoned the minds of Indonesians with regard to the Malaysian football team. (Free Malaysia Today) - Pakatan Rakyat leaders are seeing red over the accusation that they posioned the Indonesian fans to vent their fury on the Malaysian football team. The accusation was made by Youth and Sports Deputy Minister Razali Ibrahim in Parliament yesterday after Barisan Nasional MP Mohamed Aziz asked why Indonesians were hostile towards the Malaysian football team during the SEA Games. Miffed, PKR Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Akin said Razali's statement showed that BN leaders were bankrupt of ideas. "If they think properly, they will understand that Indonesians don't like us due to our cruel policies that affects the lives of migrant Indonesian workers," he said. Shamsul said Malaysia's immigration laws were biased against migrant workers and harsh as illegal immigrants caught were often whipped by the Malaysian authorities. "And they often don't get paid, have their passports seized by errant employers and forced to pay bribes to authorities. Obviously, their brothers in their homeland are angry with us," he added. What about the horses? 
DAP vice chairman M Kulasegaran said Razali should learn the difference between loyalty to the country and political differences between rival parties. "He should show proof to back his claims. However, I believe he is just trying to deflect people's attention from the scandals plaguing his ministry," added the Ipoh Barat MP. The Youth and Sports Ministry was reprimanded by the Auditor-General in his 2010 report for the former's RM5 million purchase of 18 horses for an event. However, it was later found that the horses were unfit for the event and could not adapt to the Malaysian weather. Kulasegaran said when he asked about the horses in Parliament, the deputy minister replied that Pakatan would do the same if it was in power. "He's just devoid of ideas," said the DAP leader. On the Indonesians' hostility, Kulasegaran said for some reason Indonesians seemed to lack sportsmanship and felt that they were better than the Malaysian team. "And their organisers are unable to control their crowd. Winning and losing is part of any game and our team seems to understand this better than our neighbours," he added. READ MORE HERE |
| Mahasiswa tubuh Bebas tuntut hak Posted: 21 Nov 2011 03:53 PM PST Penubuhan Bebas disokong 10 persatuan mahasiwa termasuk Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM), Majlis Perwakilan Mahasiswa Nasional (MPMN) dan Persatuan Mahasiswa Islam Universiti Universiti Malaysia (PMIUM). (Free Malaysia Today) - Sebuah NGO baru Gerakan Menuntut Kebebasan Akademik atau Bebas dilancarkan bagi menuntut kebebasan akademik di negara ini. Bebas dipengerusikan Muhammad Safwan Anang Talib manakala Haziq Abdullah Abdul Aziz sebagai jurucakap. Penubuhan Bebas disokong 10 persatuan mahasiwa termasuk Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM), Majlis Perwakilan Mahasiswa Nasional (MPMN) dan Persatuan Mahasiswa Islam Universiti Universiti Malaysia (PMIUM). Selain kebebasan akademik, NGO pelajar universiti itu juga menuntut kebebasan dalam penyertaan politik termasuk menguruskan pilihan raya kampus. Perjuangan Bebas berdasarkan dua prinsip sebagai asas kebebasan berakademik : . Bahawa ahli akademik, sama ada di dalam atau di luar bilik kuliah, memiliki kuasa yang tidak terbatas untuk mempersoal, menguji idea dan mengeluarkan kenyataan kontroversi dan tidak popular tanpa mengira sama ada pendapat tersebut bercanggah atau tidak dengan pendapat umum. . Institusi akademik tidak berhak untuk mengekang kebebasan akademik dalam kalangan kakitangan universiti atau menggunakan praktis kebebasan akademik sebagai sebab untuk mengenakan tindakan tatatertib.
Mansuhkan Auku
Ini bermakna Bebas menuntut kerajaan memansuhkan Akta Universiti Kolej Universiti (Auku) dan Akta 174. Katanya, peruntukan-peruntukan dalam Auku 1971 (pindaan 2009) dan Akta 174 membunuh aktivisme mahasiswa Malaysia. "Ia juga mencabuli hak-hak asasi manusia khususnya mahasiswa," kata Bebas dalam satu kenyataan media hari ini. Bebas menuntut hak kebebasan berakademik bagi para ilmuan. READ MORE HERE |
| The real winners in Air Asia-MAS deal Posted: 21 Nov 2011 03:43 PM PST 
It looks like the little Napoleons in Khazanah are the ones who will benefit most from the controversial share swap. Here, the truth of the matter is that Tony has had it up to his eyeballs with the little Napoleons at Malaysian Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) for virtually extorting him over the years through excessive fees. He sees the badly-managed MAHB as a leech, sucking Air Asia's blood for all it is worth. Joe Fernandez, Free Malaysia Today Who are the real beneficiaries in the controversial Air Asia-Malaysia Airlines share swap? The answer should not be as confusing as has been made out to be in media statements from all and sundry. Air Asia Chief Tony Fernandes isn't being very helpful, and for obvious reasons. He fears that millions of his doting fans will abandon him and, in consequence, he will lose his throne as the God of Marketing in Malaysia and the region, if not the world. We are told that Khazanah Nasional will have a 10% stake in Air Asia in return for the latter having a 20% state in Malaysia Airlines. Khazanah Nasional has a 17.33% stake directly in Malaysia Airlines. Indirectly, it has a 52% stake through Penerbangan Malaysia Sdn Bhd, its wholly-owned subsidiary. There's more than meets the eye in this cloak-and-dagger deal. Tune Air Sdn Bhd, a private limited company which has a 20% controlling stake in Air Asia, is owned 50:50 by Tony and his partner Kamarudin Meranun. This means that each has a 10% stake in Air Asia through Tune Air. Khazanah, for all practical purposes, did not enter Air Asia directly. But like Tony and Kamarudin, it went in through Tune Air. The 20% that Tune Air has in Air Asia is now owned 50% by Khazanah and 50% by Tony and Kamarudin. Khazanah, in reality, now owns half of Tune Air. Tony and Kamarudin both hold the rest in equal measure. In return, Tony and Kamarudin accepted a 20% stake collectively in the virtually bankrupt Malaysia Airlines. Many will say that the two need to have their heads examined. The bottom line is that buddies Tony and Kamarudin have both lost their once controlling stake in Air Asia via Tune Air. The little Napoleons at Khazanah can go on to pick up Air Asia shares in the open market and build up its ownership of the airline outside Tune Air. The revenue from Air Asia is expected to help feed the war chest of the little Napoleons at Khazanah. This is part of the real story that Tony isn't telling anyone. Instead, like Kamarudin, he deliberately keeps mum on the deal while the media goes on a wild goose chase. Both men must have laughed their heads off recently when several MPs attacked Tony in Parliament over the share swap. It's a bit of a mystery why Tony and his partner gave up their controlling stake in Air Asia. Under Tony, Air Asia had bragged from its inception that Now Everyone Can Fly. We can only guess at what his real motives are in accepting a deal with Khazanah so that Not Everyone Can Now Fly. There was that story not so long ago that Air Asia would shift its headquarters to Jakarta. This was shortly after Tony started singing praises of the Indonesian capital. The Air Asia chief saw Indonesia as El Dorado and the Promised Land all rolled into one as Air Asia Indonesia was poised for as much success as Air Asia in Malaysia. Genius plan When caught with his pants down over the headquarters announcement, he quickly claimed that Air Asia would still keep its headquarters in Malaysia. Jakarta, he said, would be Air Asia's Asean headquarters since that's where the Asean Secretariat was located. Apparently, he wanted to have a "closer working relationship" with the Asean Secretariat since Air Asia was in fact THE Asean Airline. If that's the case, what role would the so-called Air Asia headquarters in Malaysia still play? Air Asia would end up with two headquarters under Tony's genius plan. Since the share swap deal, we have not heard anything about Air Asia's Asean headquarters in Jakarta. Instead, we are told that Tony will set up a new airline—Caterham Jet—ostensibly to compete with, among others, Qantas in its plans for a new airline for the super rich in the region. Not Everyone Should Fly? God alone knows. Here, the truth of the matter is that Tony has had it up to his eyeballs with the little Napoleons at Malaysian Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) for virtually extorting him over the years through excessive fees. He sees the badly-managed MAHB as a leech, sucking Air Asia's blood for all it is worth. The way he reckons it, he works hard only to see MAHB robbing him of the fruits of his labour and constantly blackmailing him. He is still sore that it denied him the right to build a new low cost airport near the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Instead, MAHB decided to build its own—for the lucrative private contracts that the little Napoleons could take for themselves—and confine him to using their new airport. MAHB even enlisted the support of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the omnipresent, to lobby public opinion against the new airport planned by Air Asia. Many stories in the Malay media on the issue bordered on the personal, were highly offensive and even downright racist. That Air Asia has been a runaway success in Malaysia from the word "go" is in no doubt whatsoever. It has replicated and duplicated this success through subsidiaries in Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, besides Indonesia. READ MORE HERE |
| Anti-apostasy law – the legal dynamics Posted: 21 Nov 2011 03:40 PM PST ART HARUN I wonder whether the proponents of anti-apostasy laws have given thoughts to various legal issues which will undoubtedly arise in the event anti-apostasy laws are passed. First of all, article 11 of the Federal Constitution guarantees the right of every person to profess and practise his religion. Freedom of religion, as this article guarantees, is deemed to be so important and universal so much so that the Federal Constitution guarantees it for every person in Malaysia as opposed to just her citizens. By contrast, freedom of speech and expression, the right to assemble and the right to form associations are only guaranteed for Malaysian citizens. Such is the universality and fundamentality of freedom of religion that every person within Malaysia is guaranteed of that right. The right to practise a religion is absolute. That right is not limited to the right to choose a religion but also the right to practise the religion of choice in accordance to the person's belief and faith. In other word, under our Federal Constitution, one can not only choose a religion of his or her choice, but also to practise his or her religion freely, without any mullahs, monks, priests or prophets, real or otherwise, telling him how to do this and that. Being so, anti-apostasy laws would run foul of article 11 as soon as it is passed. It is a non-starter. In legal jargon, it is void ab initio. There are only two very narrow restraints which the Federal Constitution allows in so far as freedom of religion is concerned. Firstly, laws may be passed to control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among Muslims. This means, a law may be passed for example, to prohibit anybody or group from propagating Christianity to Muslims. This provision however, does not allow any law to be passed to prevent a Muslim from leaving Islam or to punish Muslims for doing so. Secondly, any person is not allowed to practise his or her religion in any way which may be contrary to any general law relating to public order, public health or morality. This simply means that if your religion requires you to slaughter five pigs at Dataran Merdeka every Friday at precisely 12.30pm, you cannot do so even though article 11 says you are free to practise your religion. Similarly, if your religion requires you to have sex with your daughter and your wife at the same time, you are not allowed to do so, although of course, it is open to you to argue that you may do so spiritually and not physically. (excuse me, I have to laugh…hahaha). So, that's about it. Quite how the proponents of anti-apostasy laws are planning to overcome this Constitutional hurdle to their beloved anti-apostasy laws is beyond me. I suppose, they would also seek to amend the Federal Constitution along with the anti-apostasy laws. Assuming the Constitutionality issue is overcome, then comes the jurisdiction clanger. This is what I normally refer to as the judicial ping-pong or pass-the-bucket. You see, in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia or anywhere else in the civilised world, every arm of the country's administration would defend it's jurisdiction and powers so fervently. Of course here in Malaysia, our judiciary, in the form of the highest Court of the land, ie the Federal Court, have always done it's darndest best to disclaim its jurisdiction and powers. It's almost funny really. Whenever cases involving Islam come to our Federal Court, it will, without fail hold that it does not have the jurisdiction or power to hear such cases because they involve matters concerning Islam. Never mind the fact that the matter also involves serious and multiple Constitutional issues which have far-reaching consequences and ramifications on our society and nations. As long as the word Islam appears of the Court papers, the Federal Court will tremble in its pants and disclaim jurisdiction. Sometimes, the Federal Court will cling to some technicalities in order to refuse hearing such hot potatoes of a case. See Shamala and the skirt of technicalities, as an illustration of this. The oft-relied Constitutional provision for this disclaimer of jurisdiction is of course article 121 (1A), which says that our Courts shall have no jurisdiction in respect of any matter within the jurisdiction of the Syariah Courts. So, assuming anti-apostasy laws are passed and a man is going to be charged for being an apostate. The first question is, in which Court is he supposed to be charged? He cannot be charged in our civil Courts. Because quite simply, our civil Courts will say whether or not that man is an apostate would depend on whether he has really left Islam and that would be a matter for the Syariah Court to deal with. So, our civil Court will gladly disclaim jurisdiction. And so, our guy would then have to be put in the black maria and driven to the Syariah Court. Okay, hold on to your seat guys, this is going to be one hell of a ride. He is then produced before a Kadhi/Syariah Judge and charged. The charge might read as follows: "Bahawa kamu, Jakim bin Jais, telah didapati tidak sembahyang Jumaat sebanyak tiga kali berturut-turut dan telah dengan itu keluar dari agama Islam dan dengan itu telah melakukan kesalahan di bawah seksyen 3 Akta Anti-Apostasi." ("That you, Jakim bin Jais, has been found not to perform the Friday prayer for three consecutive times and accordingly you have left the religion of Islam and accordingly has committed an offence under section 3 of the Anti-Apostasy Act.") So far so good. READ MORE HERE |
| More Big Boobs By Taib! – Expose Posted: 21 Nov 2011 02:34 PM PST By Sarawak Report Chief Minister Taib Mahmud and PM Najib Razak have been trumpeting their economic policies in the light of plaudits given by an outfit called the Oxford Business Group.. Explaining the significance of the praises lavished on Sarawak and Malaysia by the Oxford Busines Group, the Chief Minister's own website claimed that the publication "provides in-depth detail on Sarawak's current economic outlook and what the future holds for the state". However, the Editorial Director of these reports is none other than a former Editor of the UK's most ridiculed porn rag, the Daily Sport, which closed earlier this year. Peter Grimsditch was sacked 4 years after having launched the Sport for the UK 'Porn King', David Sullivan in 1988. He was also sacked as Editor of another low-brow red top, the Daily Star, and is now based in the Middle East.  - From editiing porn to finance PR – Peter Grimsditch
Another 'boob' by Taib? The revelation raises question marks over the economic focus and expertise of the publication that are not satisfactorily answered by the qualifications of its predominantly youthful staff: "They are mostly in their 20′s and they get posted for a couple of months to do the business", explained one senior executive of a respected economic publication in the Middle East, where OBG have also started operating. "It is basically what one calls an 'Advertorial'. They write sympathetic positive stuff about the subject matter. The purpose is obvious, which is to give the best possible spin and encourage investment. The State will then quote the report". Oxford Business Group Report was launched with fanfare by Taib READ MORE HERE. |
| ‘Democracy may be affected by auto voter registration’ Posted: 21 Nov 2011 02:27 PM PST (Bernama) - KUALA LUMPUR: The government does not plan to amend the Federal Constitution to enable Malaysians to be registered automatically as voters upon reaching the age of 21. Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department VK Liew told the Dewan Rakyat today that this method had its weaknesses and could pose problems if implemented. He said that due to the high mobility rate, most Malaysians now did not live at the address originally registered in their identity card and did not register the address change. "If automatic registration is implemented and if there is a general election, it is feared that the voter turn-out will be low because many will not be able to return to the address registered to cast their vote, and indirectly affect the democratic process practised. "Based on this, the government has no plan yet to register voters automatically," he said when replying to Dr Marcus Mojigoh (BN-Putatan) who wanted to know the government stand on the issue. Liew said 842,726 new voters were registered in 2007, 155,420 in 2008, 279,270 in 2009 and 819,489 in 2010. - Bernama |
| S’wak is full of rubbish Posted: 21 Nov 2011 02:19 PM PST By Patrick Lee, FMT Sarawak holds the national record of having the most rubbish dumps in the country. With a grand total of 63 landfills, the East Malaysian state has nearly twice as many midden heaps compared to the second runner-up, Johor (37). According to the November 2011 'Malaysian Economic Monitor: Smart Cities Report', 49 of Sarawak's landfills were still running, with 14 of them no longer in operation. This accounted for more than 21% of the country's 296 landfills, despite the state constituting for only 8.7% (2.471 million) of Malaysia's entire population (28.334 million). Its neighbour, Sabah followed closely behind with 19 operational landfills, with two of them no longer running. In comparison, Pahang, Perak and Selangor had 32, 29 and 22 total landfills respectively. Kuala Lumpur on the other hand did not have any operational landfills, although it did have seven non-operational landfills. The only state or federal territory that was not included in the list was Putrajaya. According to the report, Malaysia chose landfilling as a way to get rid of its waste "95% to 97%" of the time. The rest of Malaysia's trash, it said, was either incinerated, recycled or dumped illegally. The World Bank criticised this as a "business-as-usual" way about things, and warned that landfills across the country were dangerously filling up. "The life expectancy of operating landfills is critically low. It is estimated that 42% of landfills have already surpassed their design capacity or are expected to exceed capacity within the next five yeas," it said. READ MORE HERE. |
| Jamil Khir says misquoted over constitutionality of gays Posted: 21 Nov 2011 02:06 PM PST By Lisa J Ariffin, The Malaysian Insider Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom today denied calling it unconstitutional for a person to be homosexual in Malaysia, and said he was misquoted. "Not the Constitution, I said Sections 377(a), (b), (c) and (d), it's not the Constitution; I think it was misquoted," said Jamil, who is in charge of Islamic affairs and head of the Malaysian Department of Islamic Development (Jakim), in clarifying that he was referring to the Penal Code. Yesterday, Utusan Malaysia reported Jamil as saying it was unconstitutional for a person to be homosexual in Malaysia, without backing up his claims with any provision. There are no provisions in the Federal Constitution that directly mention the sexual preference of individuals. "Section 377 prohibits sexual relations between two men," he explained to reporters today following the opening ceremony of the World Universities First Zakat Conference 2011 here. "That's why it can be brought to court," Khir said. Jamil's remarks yesterday were in response to a question about the banned "Seksualiti Merdeka" event, during an interview with Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia. In it, the minister said Malaysians had a responsibility to unite and stop any promotion of homosexual, lesbian or bisexual practices. Jamil said his understanding of the event was that its organisers wanted "freedom" of sexual orientation for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transexuals (LGBT). "This is a deviation from society's norms. We should help them go back to the right path, not acknowledge their practices," he added. READ MORE HERE |
| Palm oil industry muscling out orang utans Posted: 21 Nov 2011 12:21 PM PST By Michael Kaung, FMT 
KINABATANGAN: About 300 orang-utans have vanished from the Lower Kinabatangan in the east coast of Sabah over the last seven years due to the fragmenting of the forests they live in, according to wildlife experts. Dr Marc Ancrenaz, scientific director of HUTAN – Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Programme (KOCP) – there is unmistakable evidence that the orang-utan population in Sabah is declining. "What we are seeing with our latest surveys within the Lower Kinabatangan is a clear population decline of the orang-utans in this area," he said. He hoped that such issues would add urgency to events such as the Roundtable for Sustainable Oil Palm (RSPO) discussions which open here today. "The biggest threat to the orang-utan and other wildlife populations in Sabah today is fragmentation. "What this means is that agriculture development primarily oil palm has created small islands of forest, which are isolated and completely surrounded by human-made landscape. "Because it is difficult for wildlife to move from one forest patch to the next, this situation leads to inbreeding and eventual population decline, which is what we are witnessing today in the Lower Kinabatangan," said Ancrenaz. Wildlife experts and environmentalists want the oil palm industry to rectify the situation rather than just paying lip service to rehabilitation efforts which are being carried out by local communities. "We can still improve the situation for the Lower Kinabatangan's orang-utan and other wildlife by actually replanting and planning for actual wildlife corridors or patches of forest to support wildlife movement between protected or forested areas," said Ancrenaz. Urgent need for trees While singling out Wilmar/PBB Oil for praise for replanting 382 hectares with 50 meters on the banks of the river, he said other big corporations where mostly riding on the coat-tails for such endeavours. "We mostly see signboards and newspaper articles but when you go to the ground you find that in reality it is all talk and no viable replanting is taking place," said Ancrenaz. He suggested that the money the government is spending for oil palm promotion such as the recent allocation of RM24 million for the Malaysian Oil Palm Council could instead be used for establishing real corridors and patches of forest in the Lower Kinabatangan. "While there are many reforestation programmes taking place within the Lower Kinabatangan, the best known being the work by MESCOT-KOPEL in Batu Putih, we need oil palm companies to start planting back corridors along the riverbanks in particular. "This will not only help wildlife but also improve the water quality for local communities living along the river." The situation is so grim in the Lower Kinabatangan that converting remaining forested areas as small as even 10 hectares will have a negative effect on the long term survival of the orang-utan population. "If oil palm companies want to contribute to orang-utan conservation today, they have the opportunity to do so in the Lower Kinabatangan by stopping what little land conversion they are still planning to do carry it," said Ancrenaz.
READ MORE HERE. |
| Let’s see where the RM4 billion goes Posted: 21 Nov 2011 12:18 PM PST By Luke Rintod, FMT KENINGAU: While Chief Minister Musa Aman's RM4 billion Sabah budget for 2012 may be getting rave reviews from 'certain' quarters, United Borneo Front however can only see the huge chasm between 'what is planned and what is delivered' by the ruling Umno-led Barisan Nasional government. A senior leader with UBF Dr Nicholas James Guntobon views the RM4 billion state budget for 2012 as 'window dressing' and tired replay of Musa's past promises and pledges. In playing down the grand talk that the state budget received when it was unveiled by Musa last Friday, Guntobon, who is UBF coordinator for Liawan, Keningau, said yesterday that a thorough examination of Sabah's past budgets showed that the "ruling BN has no policy on economic development". "Performance-wise, the economy boom in Sabah is actually driven by the high price of commodity, nothing to do with the efficiency and leadership of the current CM. "The high rating by RAM, the auditor-general and the ISO certificate are all not conclusive evidence of excellent performance whatsoever. "Rating agencies are known for their unreliability," he said alluding to the 3-star RAM rating of Sabah's economic perfromance. He reminded that even US-based rating agency Moody gave global financial services firm, Lehman Brothers, top marks but it was declared bankrupt in 2008. "RAM, unlike Moody is locally-based, run and perhaps even financed through domestic consultancy contracts and if we dare go deeper possibly we will find out that its pay is derived from taxpayers money by cronies and relatives of those in power." Guntobon credits the 4% economic growth in Sabah to government spending through federal stimulus packages as well as the high commodity prices. Why no foreign investments? Musa, who is also Sabah Finance Minister, presented the state biggest ever budget with a promise to eradicate poverty, cut unemployment and further develop the state. But according to Guntobon, Musa has been saying the same thing since winning the last elections and in presenting past budgets about how he is going to redistribute wealth from booming economy to all Sabahans. "Sabah now is still the third poorest economically, the Umno cronies are getting richer and the number of poor people in Sabah remains the highest. "They get poorer because prices of basic goods have increased with the fuel price hike. We can list out a long list of BN's and this chief minister's failures if necessary. "The ruling BN has no policy on economic development and this speaks volumes why there is not much foreign direct investment," he said. READ MORE HERE. |
| Lawyer: Homosexuality not unconstitutional Posted: 21 Nov 2011 12:14 PM PST By Stephanie Sta Maria, FMT PETALING JAYA: A senior lawyer has disputed a government decree that homosexuality is unconstitutional and instead said that the federal constitution in fact leaves the matter open to debate. Yesterday Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Jamil Khir Baharom, declared homosexuality as unconstitutional and cited sections 377 (a), (b), (c) and (d) of the Penal Code which refer to carnal intercourse against the order of nature. Jamil's statement was subsequently backed by fellow Cabinet Minister, Nazri Aziz, who referred to Article 3 of the Federal Constitution which states that Islam is the religion of the federation. Nazri explained that if certain acts fall within the constitution but go against Islam they are deemed inapplicable in Malaysia. But Alex De Silva from the law firm Bodipalar Ponnudurai De Silva (BPD), told FMT that there is no provision within the federal constitution that specifically states that homosexuality is an offence or that it should be banned. "Article 3 states that Islam is the religion of the federation but other religions may be practised in peace and harmony in any part of the federation," he recited. "It enshrines the special position of Islam in Malaysia. It's not meant to be interpreted as such that any practice that goes against it is unconstitutional." De Silva pointed out that if that was the case then the consumption of pork and alcohol would also be unconstitutional since both go against Islam. "As for the Penal Code, section 377 makes it an offence for two persons to engage in carnal intercourse," he said. "The two persons could be of the same sex or even of the opposite sex. It does not specify homosexuals." "In any event, being guilty of an offence under the Penal Code does not make the offender "unconstitutional". It merely means that the offenders may be guilty of an offence and is liable to be charged and if found guilty to be sentenced." READ MORE HERE |
| Umno needs help for voter support, party leaders admit Posted: 21 Nov 2011 12:09 PM PST By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal and Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider Umno needs to be "calculative" and befriend as many groups and organisations as possible to gain voter support in time for the upcoming polls, party leaders have said. Top Umno leaders said the party could not afford to be "picky" about which groups to align itself with, and that everything must be done with only one goal in mind: winning the next election. Some appeared to agree with remarks made by former Umno president Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed, who said the party could not afford to make enemies of groups like Perkasa if it wanted to regain crucial Malay votes. "We need to be calculative with whom to associate ourselves with; the criteria is those who can bring more support to the party," Tangga Batu MP Datuk Idris Haron told The Malaysian Insider. "Anything we do must have a political dividend." The Umno supreme council member said there was no point ignoring or marginalising certain groups when these could help Umno gain voter support, especially among the Malays. "We cannot be too particular. What is important is that we win the elections," he added. Kota Belud MP Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said that Umno had over the years proven that it fought for not just the Malays but for other races as well. "Umno is the single largest party and it's the backbone of the government. So whatever we say will impact the nation," he told The Malaysian Insider. The Umno leader said that although Malays should always be prioritised, the party needed to be mindful of its actions as these could affect the future of Barisan Nasional (BN). "We are friendly to everybody," said Abdul Rahman. READ MORE HERE |
| New law replacing ISA will include detention without trial: Minister Posted: 21 Nov 2011 12:01 PM PST (The Malaysian Insider) - The new law which will replace the Internal Security Act 1960 will still provide for detention without trial, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said today. He said countries such as United States, United Kingdom and Australia also practised detention without trial in the fight against terrorism. The US has the Patriot Act while UK and Australia have the Anti-Terrorism Act, he added. Hishammuddin said there are some Malaysians being detained by the US in Guatanamo without trial for many years now. The minister also said that Barisan Nasional, as the ruling government, would be responsible and abide by all new laws to be implemented in the interest of public well-being. |
| Pakatan: ISA replacement ‘old wine in new bottle’ Posted: 21 Nov 2011 11:59 AM PST By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider Repealing the Internal Security Act (ISA) would be pointless if its replacement law will still include detention without trial, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders have argued. Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said yesterday the ISA substitute will continue to provide for such arbitrary detention. He cited countries such as the United States, United Kingdom and Australia as examples of governments that exercised detention without trial in the fight against terrorism, naming the US's Patriot Act as well as the UK and Australia's Anti-Terrorism Acts. "This is a shameful attempt at inserting 'old wine into new bottle'," Nurul Izzah Anwar told The Malaysian Insider. "This announcement confirms many fears we have had regarding the prime minister's political will in implementing his reform pledges to the Malaysian public on September 15, 2011, changes are merely rebranding exercises." The PKR vice-president charged that Barisan Nasional would only accord Malaysians limited civil, political and human rights, with disregard to the Federal Constitution. Another PKR leader, Datuk Kamarul Baharin, said Hishammuddin's announcement proved the government was not earnest in reforming the archaic laws. "Like old wine in a new bottle. What's the point then? Najib is not sincere in abolishing the laws. "There should be no such thing as detention without trial. Every person should be accorded to a fair hearing, innocent until proven guilty," he told The Malaysian Insider. The Teluk Kemang MP said if PR were in power, they would make sure the replacement laws were actual reforms and not "half-baked" attempts at rebranding the current legislation. MORE TO COME |
| Sarawak minister denies conversion bid at pre-schools Posted: 21 Nov 2011 05:43 AM PST (Bernama) - Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian's alleged claims that there were attempts to impart Islamic teachings and practices to non-Muslim children in some Department of Community Development (Kemas) and government pre-schools are not true, says a state minister. Sarawak Welfare, Women and Family Development Minister Fatimah Abdullah said investigations carried out at 11 Kemas pre-schools in Ba'kelalan found that only tutors were Muslims while two of the pre-schools had a majority of Muslim children. "Eight other pre-schools comprised non-Muslim teachers," said Fatimah when winding-up debate at the Sarawak state assembly in Kuching today. Fatimah added that the placement of a Muslim teacher in one of the Kemas pre-schools was only temporary, pending the appointment of a local teacher from the constituency. Denying claims that there were many teachers from the mainland (west Malaysia) teaching at Kemas pre-schools, Fatimah urged all state assemblypersons to be cautious when issuing sensitive statements, especially those related to religion. She said all teachers in Kemas pre-schools were locals. Baru had last week alleged that in many rural areas that are predominantly Christian, there were subtle attempts at imparting Islamic teachings and practices to children in pre-schools. He had highlighted reports from non-Muslim parents that their pre-school children recited Islamic prayers they had learnt from their teachers, at home. Meanwhile, Fatimah also announced a proposal to set up a One Stop Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Registration Centre) to reduce the duration period for approval of applications for pre-schools and nurseries in Sarawak. Fatimah said the approval period for registration of such schools had already been reduced from three years to one. |
| War of words show Umno is badly in disarray Posted: 21 Nov 2011 05:37 AM PST Maclean Patrick, Hornbill Unleashed
The prelude to the 13th General Election is clearly in full force as Umno gathers itself to hold its General Assembly in early December – seen as the final flag off for nationwide polls. And one can bet the Umno assembly will be of torrid interest to all Malaysians, especially for the majority who are without physical access to the meeting. For the past 54 years, it is the Umno delegates attending the assembly who get to decide who will be the prime minister of Malaysia – with impunity. By convention, the Umno president also becomes the prime minister of Malaysia and this is why the party has so fiercely fought off a two-party system, trying all ways and means to kill off the Pakatan Rakyat led by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim. However, now that the opposition is already well ensconced in the Malaysian psyche, perhaps for the first time the Umno president will not be the prime minister of Malaysia any more. Why? Because the Umno-led BN coalition faces a real risk of losing power in the coming GE-13, which is why there is so much interest in this Umno assembly, where the mindset of the party chieftains and grassroots will play a large part in determining the immediate future of the country. When the 'minority rules' Umno's past stranglehold on power has always been a case of the minority super-ceding the majority, and contradictory to the stance of "majority rules", which ironically is always touted by ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad when justifying his Malay Supremacy politicking. It is against such a setting that the latest comments by Mahathir Mohamad has caused such a stir. Not so much as to what was said but rather, that this is the truth that UMNO has refused to accept or address through the years since the 2008 elections. UMNO has chosen to surround itself within an imperialist bubble that has isolated its leaders from the reality on the ground. This bubble is evident in the various policy decisions that have been announced, only to incite public outcry and then quickly retracted. Thus, to be told that UMNO is weak goes against the very nature of this imperialist bubble. This is why Mahathir's words hit home squarely and painfully. "Umno became badly damaged when Tun Abdullah Badawi took over. Because he prioritised his family and there were so many corruption allegations. And everyone knew about his son-in-law's involvement," Tun Mahathir said, referring to Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin. "This damaged Umno has been inherited by Datuk Seri Najib Razak for him to fix. Umno needs time before it can become stronger. "But Najib is busy and does not have enough time." PM in absentia Indeed, Najib Razak has been busy. At a time when the nation needed its leader to address its woes and to provide a measure of understanding; he has been absent – relegating his duties to his underlings who have provided conflicting statements that have not done much good for the citizens of Malaysia. So it was that instead of addressing Mahathir's comments head on, Najib left it to his cousin and Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein to rebut the grand old man of Umno, rather than take on the task himself and speak up for his own administration. Hisham, also an Umno vice president, told reporters "this is not something unique to Umno. I do not deny that this will hamper our process… but we are going through a revision and transformation." The Home Minister tried to put a good face on it by saying it was not unusual for Mahathir to throw out challenges and ideas for the party ahead of a general assembly, and that members would need to rise to the occasion. Hisham also unwitting revealed one of the grouses Mahathir has with Najib – his cowardice in getting a mandate of his own rather than rely on the power he inherited after ousting predecessor Abdullah Badawi. "This will answer a part of Tun (Mahathir's) concerns," said Hisham, insisting that Najib was already in the process of getting the party ready for the upcoming general election. Najib has failed to arrest the slide in Umno But Hishammuddin's reply was as usual weak and in fact does not refute Mahathir's comments. It merely confirms the latter's assessment of Umno. The revision and transformation of Umno had been promised since the days of Abdullah Badawi, and further emphasized when Najib Razak assumed the premiership of Umno. Yet, three years down the road, Umno has not improved. Instead, it has regressed into a state of exclusiveness – branding itself as more ultra-Malay and no longer a progressive and moderate political party. Factions and infighting within the party divisions contributed to Umno's failure in the 2008 elections and it looks like more of the same in the coming GE-13. Mahathir was right in his assessment, Umno is in disarray and Umno has not acknowledged this. READ MORE HERE |
| Domestic Defense Act (DSA) 2012 Posted: 21 Nov 2011 12:43 AM PST When asked about the differences between the ISA and the DDA the Home Minister said that the initials are different for starters and that Malaysians should no longer be wary of the ISA (because it will cease to exist). By TAKDENAMA NEWS REPORT. MMXI. Breaking News. Malaysia. The Malaysian Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, today stated for a fact that the new law to replace the Internal Security Act 1960 will still provide for detention without trial. He said detention without trial was also being practised in some countries in the fight against terrorism, such as the Patriot Act in the United States and Anti-Terrorism Act in the United Kingdom and Australia. On Sept 15, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in his Malaysia Day special address announced that the ISA would be repealed and two new suitable laws formulated to preserve peace, harmony, stability and prosperity in the country. One of the new laws shall be named the Domestic Defense Act (DDA) that will provide for security measures under the existing law to protect the government from internal attacks. When asked about the differences between the ISA and the DDA the Home Minister said that the initials are different for starters and that Malaysians should no longer be wary of the ISA (because it will cease to exist). "The DDA will provide for a detention period (without trial) to be determined by me or my cousin whereas the ISA had a fixed maximum detention period of two years only." This means that the new law will empower the government to detain an individual indefinitely without having to go through the mundane process of reapplying for such detention to be extended every two years. The Home Minister said that this is done to save costs as every reapplication takes time, effort and money, as the documents have to be completed in triplicate. The Home Minister also said that the new law would also incorporate notice to families of the detainees and the process of making appeals. "The Government of Malaysia will inform the family members of those who are detained (without trial) the period of detention and where the detainee will be incarcerated (Kamunting)." As for making appeals, the GOM will charge each appeal a minimum RM100,000 (in cash only) for processing the appeal documents (which must be in triplicate). The Home Minister said that a special counter will be set up in his office in Putrajaya to process these appeal applications but warned that no receipts will be issued. "We are cutting costs on paper." When asked whether the existing ISA detainees be released once the old law has been repealed the Home Minister replied, "Yes. We will release all existing ISA detainees immediately once ISA has been repealed by Parliament. However we shall be re-detaining these people under the DDA."
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| Is MCA staunchly anti-Islam? Posted: 21 Nov 2011 12:32 AM PST Of course Chua is going all out to oppose and insult Hudud because, if he had embraced Islam, he would have been stoned to death for cheating on his wife and family.
By Jackson Ng, Retired Journalist WHAT a sick joke and a mismatch! The MCA is organising a forum themed "Hudud and Its Implications on Non-Muslims in Malaysia" on Dec 4. And of all the people, the adulterer and MCA president Chua Soi Lek, will deliver the keynote address as well as the closing remarks. In the first place, is Chua a Muslim? Has he converted? Does he really understand Hudud? What makes him an authority of Hudud? Is the word "zina" in his dictionary? Of course he is going all out to oppose and insult Hudud because, if he had embraced Islam, he would have been stoned to death for cheating on his wife and family. Chua and non-Muslims have no standing to oppose the practice of Muslims and Islam. The Muslims also have no right to oppose the practice of other religions. It is only the rampant exploitation of race and religion by skewered politicians, especially those from Barisan Nasional (BN), Malaysians are kept emotionally at their edge. That is exactly what the BN wants. Instil fear on everyone to serve its long adopted divide-and-rule political strategy. With all the degrading and insulting remarks coming from MCA, Chua and his cronies, where are the defenders of Islam? Where are the likes of Perkasa and Umno? Are these two self- proclaimed champion pretenders of "Malaysia is an Islamic state" endorsing MCA's stand? If so, then the Muslims in Umno do not really believe in Islam and Hudud. As Umno cannot come out to insult Islam and Hudud, it is thus allowing MCA to do it. To allow a tainted-politician like Chua to even touch on Islam and Hudud is an insult to the Malays. He has no standing and integrity to question the sacred religion and its laws. What is he going to say and how is he going to respond if the Malays start telling Christians and Buddhists how they should practice their religion? Isn't the issue as simple as that? For those who continue to espouse that Hudud will affect us, you can continue to argue the issue this way and Malaysians will never reach a consensus. Expressing fear is not a fact. The expressed fear is due to skewered implementation of the law, so don't blame the law. Blame the enforcement and the idiots exploiting and abusing their power. Blame the government that you elected for allowing all this to happen. Malaysia is a multi-racial nation and unity hinges on religious and race tolerance. In the first place, religion and race should never have been politicised. Politics should just be based on social and economic development for the country. It is the bad intentions of politicians who craze for power who are responsible for the country's current shameful state of affairs – injustice, corruption and erosion of the democratic rights of Malaysians. With Umno allowing MCA and the pornstar to belittle the sacred values of Hudud as an Islamic criminal law, thereby insulting Islam, am I wrong to say MCA is staunchly anti-Islam? If so, what is Umno and Perkasa doing about it? Have their tongues been severed? |
| Hisham: New law replacing ISA to include detention without trial Posted: 20 Nov 2011 08:57 PM PST (Bernama) - The new law to replace the Internal Security Act 1960, which will be repealed, will still provide for detention without trial, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein. He said detention without trial was also being practised in some countries in the fight against terrorism, such as the Patriot Act in the United States and Anti-Terrorism Act in the United Kingdom and Australia. "The US, UK and Australia all champion human rights, but they realised that when dealing with militancy and terrorism, they needed to have acts of that nature. "In fact, there are some Malaysians who are being detained by the US in Guatanamo without trial for many years now. So, please don't have double standards and we don't want hypocrisy in this matter," he said, here, Monday. Hishammuddin who had earlier attended the Innovaiton Day celebration and the ministry's monthly assembly, also said that Barisan Nasional, as the ruling government, would be responsible and abide by all new laws to be implemented in the interest of public well-being. "He have learned from the experience of countries which have abolished such acts without thinking long and they paid the price," he added. On Sept 15, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in his Malaysia Day special address announced that the ISA would be repealed and two new suitable laws formulated to preserve peace, harmony, stability and prosperity in the country. Asked about new elements to be incorporated in the new acts, Hishammuddin said these would include the period of detention, notice to families of the detainees and making appeals. He opined that they would not be difficult to be implemented as the process of replacing the ISA had begun two years ago. On the Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011 to be tabled in Parliament next week, he said it was in the final stage of drafting by the Attorney-General's Chambers. |
| Dr M’s ‘befriend Perkasa’ riles Kita Posted: 20 Nov 2011 05:40 PM PST The party is disappointed with the former premier's call on Umno to join hands with the Malay rights group to win votes. (Free Malaysia Today) - Kita is disappointed with Dr Mahathir Mohamad for asking the Malays to "put their heads in the sand" by urging Umno to befriend Perkasa to win the next general election. The former premier yesterday warned Umno that it needed allies in Malay rights groups like Perkasa to recoup crucial Malay votes and pinned Barisan Nasional's 2008 electoral losses on the lack of Malay support. But Kita described Perkasa as an "organisation that clearly advocates racial hatred and bigotry". In a statement, the Zaid Ibrahim-led party pointed out that Mahathir's winning formula for Umno is about the Malays inwardly huddling together and defending the values espoused in 1946 against outsiders. It however added that it believes the Malays know better as they have seen how the "Malay-first-Malaysian second" policies have only helped those in power. "They have seen how those that represent the 'old Malay order' trample on their civil and human rights," Kita stated. "They've seen how these policies are an excuse for corruption, nepotism and the abuse of power." Kita further tore into the practice of government subsidies as well as the "Hidup Melayu" mantra. It scorned the former as an "opiate for those addicted to voting BN" and the latter as having no place in their children's future. "Kita believes that Malays recognise that their future is not in maintaining this fortress mentality. Instead, it is to embrace universal values which include integrity, hard work and tolerance, without losing one's identity as a Malay." "The enlightenment of the Malays comes first from taking their heads out of the sand and their willingness to face the harsh realities of a competitive society." READ MORE HERE |
| DAP finds unlikely ally in Harris Posted: 20 Nov 2011 05:36 PM PST A power struggle is gripping Sabah Umno and the opposition has become an unwitting participant in the tussle. (Free Malaysia Today) - DAP has found an unlikely supporter in former Sabah chief minister Harris Mohd Salleh – more than a quarter of a century after they first crossed swords over the administration of the state. The opposition party may have also been unwittingly drawn into a Sabah Umno power tussle between Chief Minister Musa Aman and Umno vice-president Shafie Apdal when it called on the authorities to investigate government contracts awarded for rural projects. That call was enough for anyone within the Umno-led Barisan Nasional with an axe to grind to pile pressure on Shafie. Harris, who spared no effort to attack the opposition party and its supremo, Lim Kit Siang, when he ruled the state from 1976 to 1985, has suddenly found that he can agree with DAP on certain matters concerning state administration. The former chief minister wants the BN government to "take seriously" allegations made by DAP over contracts awarded in Sabah by the Rural and Regional Development Ministry run by Shafie. Speaking on the sidelines of a defamation suit being heard here against former chief minister Yong Teck Lee, a local newspaper Daily Express quoted Harris as saying: "The detailed accusations made by DAP… were glaring… there are definitely wrongdoings on the part of the ministry." Harris said the ministry's reply to the accusations was unsatisfactory, adding that it was absurd for the ministry to justify awarding the full RM100 million tender amount for the Pulau Gaya electrification project when the actual tender cost was only about RM25 million.
'No impact' from projects Harris also claimed that he had received "many complaints from rural folk" that the billions of ringgit allocated by the federal government for rural projects was not having an impact on their lives. "More often than not, the projects were introduced for the sake of contracts and most of them are of low standard," he said. READ MORE HERE |
| Veeps defend Umno from Dr M’s attacks Posted: 20 Nov 2011 05:33 PM PST (The Star) - Two Umno vice-presidents have come out in defence of the party, following scathing attacks in a weekly paper yesterday by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said such attacks were not unusual, claiming the criticisms would not affect the party's performance. In an interview with Mingguan Malaysia, the party's longest-serving president who retired in 2003, said Umno had not made any improvement since the 2008 general election. The paper also quoted him as saying Umno currently lacked good, credible leaders and was a pale shadow of its former glory. Dr Mahathir blamed his successor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for the damage, alleging the country's fifth prime minister prioritised his family. He said the damage had been inherited by Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak who needed time to fix Umno and make it stronger. Reacting to the criticism, Hishammuddin said: "We are going through a transformation process and knowing Tun (Dr Mahathir), he would throw ideas and challenges to see if we are able to meet them." Speaking to reporters after Najib met Umno Youth members at the PWTC here, Hishammuddin added: "The special briefing by the party president shows that Umno is getting ready to transform before the general election. Mohd Shafie said Umno had contributed much to the development of the nation. "It is not easy to fulfil everybody's needs. But, we will continue to do our best to improve our image." |
| Wawancara Utusan dengan Dr Mahathir : siapa yang hendak mengaku berak di tepi jalan Posted: 20 Nov 2011 05:27 PM PST ASPAN ALIAS Semalam hari minggu. Pagi-pagi lagi saya mendapat panggilan talipon dan beberapa sms dari rakan-rakan dari jauh dan dekat bertanyakan saya samada saya membaca wawancara Utusan dengan bekas Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Mahathir. "Bro dah baca ke interview Dr Mahathir dalam Utusan?" Saya jawab "Saya tak langgan Utusan sudah 10 tahun, nanti saya baca Utusan on line lah!" Saya terus sahaja membaca setiap ulasan Dr M dalam Utusan itu dan saya tidak berapa hairan kerana saya sendiri telah menyebut segala-gala yang di sebut oleh Dr Mahathir dalam wawancara beliau itu. Bezanya Dr Mahathir seorang tokoh besar sedangkan saya hanya seorang biasa yang melata di tepian politik negara.
Pada keseluruhannya Dr Mahathir bersetuju dengan pandangan ramai yang UMNO dan pemerhatian yang UMNO sekarang adalah parti yang lemah dan tidak pandai untuk menjadi parti pemerintah. Pendeknya UMNO sudah tidak serupa UMNO lagi.
UMNO berpecah di setiap peringkat dari cawangan ke pusat dan tidak berkepimpinan. UMNO tidak lagi berdaya menjawab persoalan yang di timbulkan oleh orang ramai melalui parti-parti politik pembangkang serta NGO dan ini amat menyulitkan UMNO untuk terus relevan sebagai parti yang memerintah negara.
Saya tidak akan menulis secara detail apa yang di sebutkan oleh Dr Mahathir di dalam wawancara beliau itu tetapi cukup kalau saya rumuskan sahaja secara pendek dan 'concise' tentang apa yang beliau rungutkan terhadap UMNO itu.
Dr Mahathir tidak berselindung untuk mengatakan yang UMNO pada hari ini sangat lemah dan tidak berkemampuan untuk memulihkan imejnya yang jatuh teruk selepas pilihanraya umum yang lalu. Bekas Perdana Menteri itu berkata yang UMNO tidak mampu untuk menolak anggapan dan persepsi yang parti itu adalah parti yang sarat dengan rasuah samada di peringkat parti dan kerajaan.
Stigma rasuah yang melekat kepada UMNO itu tidak dapat di buangkan oleh pemimpin serta ahli-ahli parti. UMNO tidak mampu untuk menjawab tuduhan dari banyak pihak, parti politik atau pun NGO yang parti itu adalah parti yang rasuah dan menyalah gunakan kuasa.
Dengan jelas Dr Mahathir membayangkan yang Najib tidak berusaha dengan secukupnya kerana terlalu sibuk dengan kerja-kerja lain dan segala kelemahan yang ada kepada UMNO yang di benci rakyat belum lagi nampak usaha yang berkesan telah di lakukan oleh Najib.
UMNO, katanya akan menghadapi masalah besar di dalam pilihanraya yang akan datang dan jika UMNO serta BN menang tipis ia akan menjadi satu kerajaan yang lemah dan tidak efektif. Perpecahan di setiap level parti kita begitu jelas kerana semuanya berebut-rebut untuk menjadi calon dan dengan keadaan in jelas membayangkan bahawa pemimpin-pemimpin UMNO hanya lebih mementingkan kepentingan peribadi masing-masing.
Walau bagaimana pun elok saudara membaca dengan teliti apa yang di ungkapkan oleh Dr Mahathir dan pada pendapat saya apa yang di nyatakan oleh Dr M itu semuanya benar. Mahathir telah menyalahkan semua orang terutamanya mengumpulkan semua kesalahan kepada Abdullah Badawi dan menantunya Khairy Jamaludin kerana kelemahan UMNO itu.
Tetapi apa yang Mahathir terlupa untuk menyebut ialah Abdullah Badawi itu adalah lantikan beliau dan beliaulah yang memnyebabkan Abdullah Badawi menjadi Perdana Menteri yang beliau anggap sebagai lemah itu.
Dr Mahathir telah berjaya menaik dan menurunkan sesiapa dalam negara ini. Itu kehebatan Dr Mahathir. Tetapi ramai termasuk diri saya hairan kenapa beliau tidak berhenti-henti menyalahkan Pak Lah sedang orang yang beliau persalahkan itu adalah pilihan beliau dan beliau tidak mampu atau pun mahu untuk menyekat Pak Lah untuk naik ke taraf Perdana Menteri.
Jika si jembel seperti saya dari awal lagi menelah dan menjangka yang Pak Lah akan membawa negara tidur nyenyak kenapa Dr Mahathir masih mahukan Abdullah Badawi untuk mengambil alih tempat beliau.
Sebenarnya Dr Mahathirlah penyebabnya kenapa UMNO pada akhir pemerintahannya sudah tidak ada pemimpin lagi. Dr Mahathir telah mengenepikan nama-nama besar di dalam UMNO secara sistematik untuk beliau tegak seorang di dalam parti. Mahathir takut di bayangi oleh pemimpin-pemimpin yang sezaman dengannya dan beliau telah melakukan segala-galanya untuk kekal berkuasa.
Apa yang Mahathir terlupa untuk menyatakan dengan jelas dan berani ialah di mana-mana negara yang dipimpin oleh seorang pemimpin begitu lama akan akhirnya membawa durjana kepada negara itu. Yugoslavia telah berpecah kepada lima apabila Presiden Tito mati setelah memerintah selama 3 dekad. Begitu juga yang berlaku di Romania dan banyak lagi. Ruthopia telah kering kontang politiknya apabia Helle Salasie mati. READ MORE HERE |
| What else is unconstitutional in Malaysia? Posted: 20 Nov 2011 04:45 PM PST
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom said it is unconstitutional for a person to be homosexual in Malaysia. "In reality, in the country's constitution it is not allowed, including sections 377(a), (b), (c) and (d) which prohibit sexual relations between two men," said Jamil, who is in charge of Islamic affairs and head of the Malaysian Department of Islamic Development (Jakim). NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin Actually, if the minister really wants to follow the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, there are many more things that are unconstitutional, and being a homosexual is certainly not one of them although he can argue that it is against the law. But then, being against the law (meaning: it constitutes a crime) does not make it unconstitutional. For example, raping your own mother or sodomising your own father is also a crime. But that does not make them unconstitutional. So is robbing a bank, murdering your wife, cheating on your income tax, taking bribes, misusing public funds to pay for your wife's lavish shopping, etc. They are all crimes but can't quite be called unconstitutional. The minister, being not that intelligent and downright ignorant, as most Malaysian ministers are, does not appear to know the difference between what is unconstitutional and what is a crime. Anyway, if you refer to some of the Articles in the Constitution below, you can see that there are many practices and policies in Malaysia that are unconstitutional (and at times opposed to Islam as well). Maybe my learned minister would like to talk about these as well. Detaining someone without due process of the law is unconstitutional as per Article 5. And to use 'emergency laws' that waive the need for due process is unconstitutional when Malaysia is not facing any emergency and whatever emergency it did face in the past (such as The Emergency, May 13, Konfrontasi, etc.) have now ended (which means the emergency laws no longer apply). This is like still using WW1 or WW2 emergency laws when WW1 and WW2 have ended a long time ago. Discrimination, quotas, preferences, etc., based on race or religion is unconstitutional as per Article 8. You can argue that the New Economic Policy (NEP) overrides the Constitution but Article 4 does not allow this. Anyway, the NEP was not a law passed by Parliament and that is why it is called 'the aspirations (hasrat) of the NEP'. It is merely an aspiration and not a law. Hence, to force Malaysians to comply with the NEP violates the Constitution. Asking for the citizenship of any Malaysian to be withdrawn is unconstitutional as per Article 9. So Umno should stop asking for the citizenship of Ambiga and others to be withdrawn. Malaysians have the liberty to express their opinion as per Article 10 even if they wish to opine that religion is bullshit, God does not exist, or that the monarchy is outdated and corrupt and should be abolished in favour of a Republic of Malaysia. Opinions are allowed and expressing them is not a crime. Malaysians have the liberty to believe in any religion they want to or to reject religion totally under Article 11. Even if they wish to reject all forms of religion and become atheists, that is their constitutional right. The only thing the Constitution forbids is to propagate these beliefs to Muslims. However, if that person has declared that he/she no longer believes in God, then that would make him/her an apostate and, technically, that person would no longer be a Muslim. Therefore, propagating to ex-Muslims would not constitute a crime since they have on their own freewill become apostates. Setting up institutions of learning exclusive to any one race is unconstitutional according to Article 12. Therefore, UiTM, according to the constitution, must open its doors to all races (but whether they would want to enter UiTM is another matter altogether). Yes, if you want to talk about what is unconstitutional then let us talk about what is unconstitutional. And being gay is not one of them. The above, however, are. But does the minister understand this? Most likely not! Or else he would not have been made a minister. Instead, he would have become a Blogger like me. ****************************************** PART II - FUNDAMENTAL LIBERTIES Article number: 4 • (1) This Constitution is the supreme law of the Federation and any law passed after Merdeka Day which is inconsistent with this Constitution shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void. • (2) The validity of any law shall not be questioned on the ground that - • (a) it imposes restrictions on the right mentioned in Article 9 (2) but does not relate to the matters mentioned therein; or • (b) it imposes such restrictions as are mentioned in Article 10 (2) but those restrictions were not deemed necessary or expedient by Parliament for the purposes mentioned in that Article. • (3) The validity of any law made by Parliament or the Legislature of any State shall not be questioned on the ground that it makes provision with respect to any matter with respect to which Parliament or, as the case may be, the Legislature of the State has no power to make laws, except in proceedings for a declaration that the law is invalid on that ground or - • (a) if the law was made by Parliament, in proceedings between the Federation and one or more States; • (b) if the law was made by Legislature of a State, in proceedings between the Federation and that State. • (4) Proceedings for a declaration that a law is invalid on the ground mentioned in Clause (3) (not being proceedings falling within paragraph (a) or (b) of the Clause) shall not be commenced without the leave of a judge of the Supreme Court; and the Federation shall be entitled to be a party to any such proceedings, and so shall any State that would or might be a party to proceedings brought for the same purpose under paragraph (a) or (b) of the Clause. Article number: 5 • (1) No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty save in accordance with law. • (2) Where complaint is made to a High court or any judge thereof that a person is being unlawfully detained the court shall inquire into the complaint and, unless satisfied that the detention is lawful, shall order him to be produced before the court and release him. • (3) Where a person is arrested he shall be informed as soon as may be of the grounds of his arrest and shall be allowed to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice. • (4) Where a person is arrested and not released he shall without unreasonable delay, and in any case within twenty-four hours (excluding the time of any necessary journey) be produced before a magistrate and shall not be further detained in custody without the magistrate's authority: Provided that this Clause shall not apply to the arrest or detention of any person under the existing law relating to restricted residence, and all the provisions of this Clause shall be deemed to have been an integral part of this Article as from Merdeka Day. • (5) Clauses (3) and (4) do not apply to an enemy alien. Article number: 8 • (1) All persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law. • (2) Except as expressly authorized by this Constitution, there shall be no discrimination against citizens on the ground only of religion, race, descent or place of birth in any law relating to the acquisition, holding or disposition of property or the establishing or carrying on of any trade, business, profession, vocation or employment. • (3) There shall be no discrimination in favour of any person on the ground that he is a subject of the Ruler of the State. • (4) No public authority shall discriminate against any person on the ground that he is resident or carrying on business in any part of the Federation outside the jurisdiction of the authority. • (5) This Article does not invalidate or prohibit - • (a) any provision regulating personal law; • (b) any provision or practice restricting office or employment connected with the affairs of any religion, or of an institution managed by a group professing any religion, to persons professing that religion; • (c) any provision for the protection, wellbeing or advancement of the aboriginal peoples of the Malay Peninsula (including the reservation of land) or the reservation to aborigines of a reasonable proportion of suitable positions in the public service; • (d) any provision prescribing residence in a State or part of a State as a qualification for election or appointment to any authority having jurisdiction only in that State or part, or for voting in such an election; • (e) any provision of a Constitution of a State, being or corresponding to a provision in force immediately before Merdeka Day; • (f) any provision restricting enlistment in the Malay Regiment to Malays. Article number: 9 • (1) No citizen shall be banished or excluded from the Federation. • (2) Subject to Clause (3) and to any law relating to the security of the Federation or any part thereof, public order, public health, or the punishment of offenders, every citizen has the right to move freely throughout the Federation and to reside in any part thereof. • (3) So long as under this Constitution any other State is in a special position as compared with the States of Malaya, Parliament may by law impose restrictions, as between that State and other States, on the rights conferred by Clause (2) in respect of movement and residence. Article number: 10 • (1) Subject to Clauses (2), (3) and (4) - • (a) every citizen has the right to freedom of speech and expression; • (b) all citizens have the right to assemble peaceably and without arms; • (c) all citizens have the right to form associations. • (2) Parliament may by law impose - • (a) on the rights conferred by paragraph (a) of Clause (1),such restrictions as it deems necessary or expedient in the interest of the security of the Federation or any part thereof, friendly relations with other countries, public order or morality and restrictions designed to protect the privileges of Parliament or of any Legislative Assembly or to provide against contempt of court, defamation, or incitement to any offence; • (b) on the right conferred by paragraph (b) of Clause (1), such restrictions as it deems necessary or expedient in the interest of the security of the Federation or any part thereof, or public order; • (c) on the right conferred by paragraph (c) of Clause (1), such restrictions as it deems necessary or expedient in the interest of the security of the Federation or any part thereof, public order or morality. • (3) Restrictions on the right to form associations conferred by paragraph (c) of Clause (1) may also be imposed by any law relating to labour or education. • (4) In imposing restrictions in the interest of the security of the Federation or any part thereof or public order under Clause (2) (a), Parliament may pass law prohibiting the questioning of any matter, right, status, position, privilege, sovereignty or prerogative established or protected by the provisions of Part III, article 152, 153 or 181 otherwise than in relation to the implementation thereof as may be specified in such law. Article number: 11 • (1) Every person has the right to profess and practice his religion and, subject to Clause (4), to propagate it. • (2) No person shall be compelled to pay any tax the proceeds of which are specially allocated in whole or in part for the purposes of a religion other than his own. • (3) Every religious group has the right - • (a) to manage its own religious affairs; • (b) to establish and maintain institutions for religious or charitable purposes; and • (c) to acquire and own property and hold and administer it in accordance with law. • (4) State law and in respect of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Lubuan, federal law may control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam. • (5) This Article does not authorize any act contrary to any general law relating to public order, public health or morality. Article number: 12 • (1) Without prejudice to the generality of Article 8, there shall be no discrimination against any citizen on the grounds only of religion, race, descent or place of birth - • (a) in the administration of any educational institution maintained by a public authority, and, in particular, the admission of pupils or students or the payment of fees; or • (b) in providing out of the funds of a public authority financial aid for the maintenance or education of pupils or students in any educational institution (whether or not maintained by a public authority and whether within or outside the Federation). • (2) Every religious group has the right to establish and maintain institutions for the education of children in its own religion, and there shall be no discrimination on the ground only of religion in any law relating to such institutions or in the administration of any such law; but it shall be lawful for the Federation or a State to establish or maintain or assist in establishing or maintaining Islamic institutions or provide or assist in providing instruction in the religion of Islam and incur such expenditure as may be necessary for the purpose. • (3) No person shall be required to receive instruction in or take part in any ceremony or act of worship of a religion other than his own. • (4) For the purposes of Clause (3) the religion of a person under the age of eighteen years shall be decided by his parent or guardian. |
| Sabahans ‘Cry Freedom’ after nearly half century Posted: 20 Nov 2011 03:08 PM PST There is a swelling movement in the Borneo states that is asking for more independence and questioning Putrajaya's intentions. Having been thwarted once too many times on registration by the Registrar of Societies (ROS), ex-Usno members have now set up the ad hoc Kelab Usno under Datu Badaruddin Datu Mustapha, the son of the party's founder. It's the Kelab Usno members who ensure that local Muslims turn up in droves at UBF gatherings. Joe Fernandez, Free Malaysia Today The wind of change is sweeping throughout Sabah and Sarawak. After nearly 50 years there is a movement that is calling for total national unity in the Borneo states. The United Borneo Front (UBF), an ad hoc NGO led by Jeffrey Kitingan, a former PKR vice- president, is awakening the people to the plight of Sabah and Sarawak's association with the Peninsula. The UBF has been holding meetings all over the two states and droves of people turn up to hear the arguments of its leader. UBF's rally cry is "Unity is Duty" and the Sabahans who are taken in by this are the children and grandchildren who voted for Malaysia in 1963. They are now beginning to realise rather belatedly, by all accounts, that their fathers and grandfathers made a "terrible mistake" in opting for Malaysia, a term first used by French navigator Jules Dumont d'Urville in 1826 for Malaya. It's an open secret that a third of those in Sabah who favoured Malaysia in 1963 were Muslims under the leadership of the United Sabah National Organisation (Usno), led by the charismatic Suluk chieftain Datu Mustapha Datu Harun. It is widely believed that Mustapha, a Year One school dropout, hailed originally from the Philippines. Local Muslims are Bajau, Suluk, Dusun (Orang Sungei, Bisaya, and Ranau), Irranun, Cocos-Keeling, Bugis, Indian sub-continentals and others. Another third, the United Nations then determined, were mostly local Chinese against any idea of Malaysia. This third included an equal number of people who wanted a period of independence before re-visiting the idea of Malaysia. A further third, mostly non-Muslim natives, wanted more and better particulars on Malaysia, and more safeguards for Sabah and Sarawak, especially the native communities, before deciding on Malaysia. There are no prizes for guessing why local Muslims in Sabah have now come around to the idea, often expressed hitherto only by their non-Muslim brethren, that the state needs to return to the independent status it attained on Aug 31,1963 before Malaysia intervened two weeks later on Sept 16, 1963. Divide-and-rule policy The signature theme in the state anthem "Sabah Tanah Airku" (Sabah My Homeland), they recall wistfully, is "Sabah Negeri Merdeka" (Sabah an Independent Nation). In 1963, the local Muslims had high hopes that they would be a favoured community under the anticipated benign leadership of the ruling Malay elite in Kuala Lumpur. Many were even willing to accept the lowly status of being proxies for Kuala Lumpur, stooges and even traitors in return for a life of material comforts. They reckoned the wrong as evident from the ousting of Mustapha as chief minister in 1976, the entry of the Peninsular Malaysia-based Umno in 1991 and the deregistration of Usno in 1994. They swallowed hook, line and sinker, Kuala Lumpur's neo-colonialist divide-and-rule policies in Sabah and Sarawak and became its first victims. There are also other developments which have since fed into the growing local Muslim sense of alienation as they continue to wither under Putrajaya's policy of internal colonisation. The net result is that rebels within the community are being criminalised by the powers-that-be, demonised, dehumanised, neutralised, isolated, marginalised and being virtually eliminated and/or exterminated from the political arena. A case in point is the struggle of Usno diehards to re-register their old party. Having been thwarted once too many times on registration by the Registrar of Societies (ROS), ex-Usno members have now set up the ad hoc Kelab Usno under Datu Badaruddin Datu Mustapha, the son of the party's founder. It's the Kelab Usno members who ensure that local Muslims turn up in droves at UBF gatherings. One sore point among local Muslims is the growing influx of illegal immigrants of their faith who secure Malaysian personal documents via the backdoor from Putrajaya, become instant natives, get on the electoral rolls and snap up the opportunities which would have otherwise gone to them. This has included seats in the State Legislative Assembly and Parliament. Tainted electoral rolls The crux of the Muslim problem in Sabah with the electoral rolls is the 12 tiny state seats and five tiny parliamentary seats created since 1994, mostly in the East Coast, on the basis of illegal immigrants on the electoral rolls. Meanwhile, the number of local Muslim state seats remains at 20 as before 1994. The number of local Muslim parliamentary seats remains at eight, the same figure as before 1994. Local Muslims find that the illegal immigrants have become the electoral fixed deposit of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN), especially since the political tsunami of 2008, and at their expense. Hence, their apparent growing desire to make common cause with other Sabahans – Dusuns (including Kadazans or urban Dusuns and Muruts), Chinese and others – who are spread over 28 state seats and 12 parliamentary seats. The common cause strategy calls for total local rejection of Peninsular Malaysia-based political parties which are operating in Sabah in defiance of the political autonomy promised by the 1963 Malaysia Agreement. The agreement, along with the Sabah 20 Points, governs the terms and conditions under which the state and Sarawak (18 Points) agreed to get together with Singapore, Malaya and Brunei to form the Federation of Malaysia. Brunei stayed out at the 11th hour and Singapore left, two years later, in 1965. Local Muslims have plenty of other issues to complain about. For starters, next to the issue of illegal immigrants, there's growing frustration over the huge revenues being taken out of the state by Putrajaya. READ MORE HERE |
| Lembah Pantai: Raja Nong Chik lawan Nurul Izzah? Posted: 20 Nov 2011 03:04 PM PST Nurul Izzah dakwa Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan dan Kesejahteraan Bandar mengabaikan kawasan lain kerana mahu rampas kerusi Lembah Pantai. Nurul berkata demikian ketika diminta meramal kemungkinan Raja Nong Chik merebut kerusi Lembah Pantai di dalam satu temuramah menerusi e-mel. K Pragalath, Free Malaysia Today Ahli Parlimen Lembah Pantai Nurul Izzah Anwar sangat yakin bahawa Umno akan menurunkan Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan dan Kesejahteraan Bandar, Senator Datuk Seri Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin akan bertanding di kerusi itu dalam pilihanraya ke-13. Keyakinan ini disandarkan kepada beberapa faktor, antaranya penumpuan Raja Nong Chik terhadap Lembah Pantai. "Daripada penyalahgunaan kuasa dan jawatan selaku Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan dan Kesejahteraan Bandar untuk meluaskan pengaruh beliau di Lembah Pantai, sementara meminggirkan kawasan lain di Wilayah Persekutuan, Putrajaya dan khususnya Labuan, jelas bahawa Raja Nong Chik berkemungkinan besar bertanding di Lembah Pantai," kata Nurul yang juga ialah naib presiden PKR. Nurul berkata demikian ketika diminta meramal kemungkinan Raja Nong Chik merebut kerusi Lembah Pantai di dalam satu temuramah menerusi e-mel. Beliau menambah bahawa keyakinannya itu diperkukuhkan lagi kerana dihalang dari menggunakan prasarana Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) serta memasuki surau dan masjid seliaan Jabatan Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur (Jawi). Halangan Beliau mendakwa halangan ini wujud sejak Raja Nong Chik menjadi ketua bahagian Umno Lembah Pantai. "Semua ini merupakan tindakan maha tidak profesional dan mengecewakan oleh seorang menteri lantikan BN," kata Nurul. Nurul menjadi ahli parlimen Lembah Pantai setelah menewaskan Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil dengan undi majoriti 2895 di dalam pilihan raya umum ke-12 pada tahun 2008. Dari sudut sokongan beliau mengakui penerimaan warga kota terhadap Pakatan Rakyat. "Tahap sokongan warga kota sememangnya banyak berpihak kepada para pembangkang, sehingga memungkinkan pemisahan Kuala Lumpur daripada Selangor, dan diletakkan selaku tanah jajahan kerajaan pusat sehinggalah hari ini. Kubu kukuh "Justeru, tahap keterbukaan warga kota terhadap parti parti pembangkang adalah penting dalam memperkukuh kubu-kubu PR khususnya di kerusi-kerusi seperti Bukit Bintang, Kepong, Seputeh dan juga Cheras. Ini, jelas beliau, tidak bermakna bahawa Pakatan akan memandang mudah usaha penyebaran maklumat berkaitan Pakatan. "Apapun, tahap sokongan ini perlu diperbaiki dengan penyaluran maklumat serta komunikasi yang membantu menjelaskan dasar-dasar Pakatan Rakyat yang berlainan dengan BN – dengan perbandingan manfaat yang diberi kepada warga Selangor, dibanding dengan KL." Beliau menambah bahawa penterjemahan suara rakyat menerusi wakil Pakatan memaksa BN memperbaiki tahap perkhidmatan mereka. "Pembaikan perkhidmatan mereka berlaku ke tahap di mana agenda kesejahteraan bandar itu diterap di dalam agenda Kementerian Wilayah Persekutuan. READ MORE HERE |
| PAS: Why is MAIS assisting Perlis? Posted: 20 Nov 2011 03:02 PM PST PAS Selangor wants to know why the state's zakat money is being used to aid other states. (Free Malaysia Today) - Selangor PAS state commissioner, Abdul Rani Osman, wants an explanation from Lembaga Zakat Selangor (LZS) – Selangor zakat body – on why more RM10 million of the state's zakat collection was handed over to the Perlis Islamic Religious Council. The decision was made during the Selangor State Legislative Assembly sitting last week and a perplexed Abdul Rani wants to know why Perlis was singled out. "Why were other northern states, like Kedah and Kelantan, disregarded?" he asked. "According to LZS, both these states have already received zakat money but I have heard otherwise. So I want black and white proof of this claim." Abdul Rani told FMT that the total amount of zakat allocated for Perlis was over RM10 million and that the money has already been disbursed in the state. "This sum of RM10 million is a lot of money," he said. "We're not against helping Muslims in Perlis if there is a need but we want to know what that need is." "Muslims in Selangor have a right to know what their money is being used for and we must be able to tell them. It is an issue of transparency." The distribution of state zakat funds falls under the jurisdiction of the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS). Many Muslims still need aid FMT earlier reported that recent amendments to the Administration of the Religion of Islam (State of Selangor) Enactment 2003 now holds MAIS accountable only to the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Shararafudin-Idris Shah, and not the state government. READ MORE HERE |
| PKR: NFC paid for private umrah trip Posted: 20 Nov 2011 03:00 PM PST PKR also claims that the duo had used taxpayers' money meant for NFC to set up private companies in Singapore. (Free Malaysia Today) - PKR today made fresh allegations on the publicly-funded National Feedlot Centre (NFC) Рthat it paid for a personal umrah trip package for its director Mohd Salleh Ismail and his son Wan Shahinur Azran. Mohd Salleh is the husband of Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Jalil. PKR also claimed that the two had used taxpayers' money meant for NFC to set up private companies in Singapore. The new allegation came as the NFC, tasked to spearhead Malaysia's food security initiative, is struggling to clear its image from several graft expos̩ made by PKR leaders. PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution claimed to have "clear evidence" that NFC had spent RM31,580 to finance the umrah package trip. He said their evidence pointed to Mohd Salleh's office which gave the instruction to fund the trip. "These are private spendings that are not supposed to be financed by public funds," Saifuddin, the Machang MP, told a press conference at the Parliament lobby here. On the alleged private companies in Singapore, he urged the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the police to probe into all transactions between the NFC and its subsidiaries, and Global Biofuture Pte Ltd and Meatworks Singapore Pte Ltd. The two companies РGlobal Biofuture and Meatworks Рalso owned by Shahrizat's family, currently have debts with Real Food Company (RFC), whose majority shareholders are also her husband and sons. As of June 2010, Saifuddin said, Global Biofuture, a firm in the food and fuel business, owed RFC RM939,495. Personal companies In the same period, Meatworks, a luxury restaurant chain, was found to be owing RFC RM2,416,815, he added. "PKR believes that a sum of money was taken from the RM250 million loan meant for NFC and channelled to these personal companies of Shahrizat's family, including to set up Global Biofuture," said Saifuddin. He said that the evidence given on the matter so far is enough to merit an investigation and urged Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who has defended the project as a success, to come clean. READ MORE HERE |
| Pua: Health Ministry ‘covering up’ KR1M milk powder issue Posted: 20 Nov 2011 02:59 PM PST By Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider DAP MP Tony Pua accused the Health Ministry today of colluding with suppliers of the allegedly unhealthy growing up milk powder sold at Kedai Rakyat 1 Malaysia (KR1M) to protect the government's 1 Malaysia brand. The Petaling Jaya Utara MP said this was because the ministry had failed to order a nationwide recall although the product is currently being tested for its shortcomings, nor did it warn the public against consuming the product. "To date, the KR1M has only announced on its website that they will stop selling the product temporarily pending checks. "However, this announcement, which is made on its website, falls far short of what is ethically required and global best practices to protect the interest of the people and consumers," Pua said in a press conference in Parliament today. The DAP national publicity secretary added there was no need for the ministry to conduct any laboratory testing on the milk powder as its shortcomings were clearly disclosed on the product's label. He said it "would not take more than 30 minutes" for the ministry's officials to discover the discrepancies. "Hence the remarkable silence from the health minister smacks of cover up and collusion with the supplier to ensure that the 1 Malaysia brand is not negatively impacted. "This is extremely irresponsible as (Health Minister) Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai is placing political interest above that of the young children," he said. Pua, along with several Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers, recently claimed the 1 Malaysia Growing Up Milk Powder did not contain at least 15 of the legally required essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, and is seriously deficient in calcium and iron content. They also claimed the product carries 6,012 international units (IU) of Vitamin A per 100kcal, which is 802 per cent above the permissible limit. Excessive amounts of Vitamin A can lead to liver problems, reduced bone mineral density, skin discolouration and hair loss, Pua had said. MORE TO COME |
| Will this be a new GLC and cash cow for the Barisan government? Posted: 20 Nov 2011 02:54 PM PST Government rushing to set up National Healthcare Financing Authority The Barisan Nasional government is working round the clock to set up the National Healthcare Financing Authority, and this body is likely to start operations in the first half of 2012. This move will spell bad news for all of us Malaysians because it will now be mandatory for all of us who are getting an income to pay premiums to the NHFA if we want medical treatment in private and government hospitals and also at private clinics. Despite paying the premiums, we will have to fork out more money because the premiums only cover very basic treatment. The question is what will happen to people who do not have an income or no longer have an income? Where will they get their medical treatment? There are more questions: Is there a possibility that this body be turned into a government-linked company? Another question is: Could this new company be led by a Barisan crony? If this is so, then we are likely to be doomed because the possibility of money being abused is great judging from the way other GLCs are run. We have seen too many cases of the top management receiving salaries and perks that take up a huge percentage of the operations cost. With all of us paying premiums each month, the NHFA stands to get millions of ringgit and this is a lot of money at the Barisan government's disposal. There is a possibility of this new GLC being their latest cash cow. To discuss this issue and the consequences of having the NHFA at the public forum called "Reforming the Malaysian Healthcare System: Is there a need?" on Nov 27 at YMCA, Jalan Macalister in Penang from 1pm to 6pm. Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa Member of Parliament – Parit Buntar |
| DPM: Umno fixing its internal problems Posted: 20 Nov 2011 02:50 PM PST By Lisa J Ariffin, The Malaysian Insider  Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today agreed with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that Umno is plagued with internal squabbles but gave an assurance that the matter is being addressed. "We all know after Prime Minister (Datuk Seri) Najib Razak took over from his predecessor (Tun) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, there were problems, like internal squabbles," Muhyiddin (picture) told reporters today at a press conference here. "However, to say that the party is not moving to address the problem is not true. But I believe that not enough is being done. More needs to be done," he said. Last week, former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir had criticised Umno for not making any effective improvements since the 2008 general election. The party's longest-serving president was quoted as saying Umno currently lacked good, credible leaders and that it was a pale shadow of its former glory. Muhyiddin today acknowledged the caustic appraisal from Dr Mahathir, saying that the former premier still cared about the party and wanted to see it stay relevant and lead the government. READ MORE HERE. |
| Egypt protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square for third day Posted: 20 Nov 2011 02:49 PM PST (BBC) - Protesters against Egypt's military rulers remain camped in Cairo's Tahrir Square for a third day, after the deaths of at least 13 people in violence over the weekend. Security forces launched a major assault to clear the square on Sunday, but protesters returned within an hour. The unrest casts a shadow over elections due to start next week. It is the longest continuous protest since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February. Demonstrators say they fear Egypt's governing Supreme Council of the Armed Forces is trying to retain their grip on power. The council, led by Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi, is charged with overseeing the country's transition to democracy after three decades of autocratic rule under Mr Mubarak. 'Worst violence in months' Clashes were reported late into the night, with the injured being taken to makeshift clinics on the streets. Demonstrators on Sunday were seen throwing stones and petrol bombs at armoured personnel carriers and police. Security forces responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. Witnesses reported scenes of panic when hundreds of soldiers and police beat protesters on their heads as they chased them out of Tahrir Square. Protesters - some of them brandishing spent bullet casings - accuse security forces of also using live fire, a claim denied by police. Violence has also taken place in other cities including Alexandria, Suez and Aswan. A total of 11 people were reportedly killed on Sunday and two on Saturday, according to medical sources. Health officials say as many as 900 have been injured, including at least 40 security personnel. A statement from the cabinet said elections, due to begin in a week, would go ahead, and praised the "restraint" of interior ministry forces against protesters. The military council, in a statement read out on state television, said it "regretted" what was happening, AFP news agency reports. In recent weeks, protesters - mostly Islamists and young activists - have been holding demonstrations against a draft constitution that they say would allow the military to retain too much power after a new civilian government is elected. They have repeatedly tried to regain a foothold in Tahrir Square - the focal point of the protests against Mr Mubarak - but until this weekend they had always been removed quickly by the police. The latest violence is some of the worst in months between the Egyptian authorities and demonstrators. Parliamentary elections are scheduled to begin on 28 November. In all, the election process will take three months to complete. Earlier this month, the military council produced a draft document setting out principles for a new constitution. Under those guidelines, the military and its would be exempted from civilian oversight. This has angered protesters who fear the gains they have made during the uprising could yet slip away as the military tries to retain some grip on power. |
| PKR claims NFC funded umrah packages, Singapore firms Posted: 20 Nov 2011 02:48 PM PST By Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider Funds meant for the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) were used to fund umrah packages and set up two Singapore-based companies, both owned by Senator Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil's family, PKR alleged today. In their latest round of exposes on the scandal-tainted federally-funded cattle project, PKR leaders claimed to have proof that NFC executive chairman Datuk Seri Mohamad Salleh Ismail, Shahrizat's husband, had ordered payment of RM31,580 to be made for his and his son Wan Shahinur Izran Mohamad Salleh's haj pilgrimage in 2010. "PKR has clear proof that orders for the umrah package to be paid using this public fund had come from the NFC executive chairman's office," PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution (picture) said today. He was speaking at a joint press conference in Parliament with Wanita PKR chief Zuraida Kamaruddin and PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli. The Machang MP urged the police and Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to probe all transactions between the NFC and the National Meat and Livestocks Corporation (NMLC) and Real Food Company (RFC). Both NMLC and RFC are majority owned by Mohamad Salleh and his children Izran and Izmir. He said this was because financial records showed that Singapore-based firms Global Biofuture Pte Ltd and Meatworks Singapore Pte Ltd, both of which are also owned by Shahrizat's family, currently have debts with the RFC. As at June 2010, he said, Global Biofuture, a firm in the food and fuel business, owed RFC RM939,495. In the same period, Meatworks, a luxury restaurant chain, was found to be owing RFC RM2,416,815, he added. "PKR believes that a sum of money was channelled from the RM250 million loan meant for NFC to these personal companies of Shahrizat's family, including to set up Global Biofuture in Singapore," said Saifuddin. The NFC has been dogged by allegations of corruption and fund misappropriation after it made it into the pages of the Auditor-General's Report for 2010, which described the project "as a mess". Among others, PKR has alleged that the NFC funds were used for Shahrizat's and her family's personal expenses, as well as to purchase multimillion ringgit condominium units at the luxurious One Menerung in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. READ MORE HERE. |
| ‘Hindraf will join Pakatan on one condition’ Posted: 20 Nov 2011 01:33 PM PST By G Vinod, FMT PETALING JAYA: Hindraf Makkal Sakthi is willing to join Pakatan Rakyat on one condition: the latter must look into the problems of the Indian community more effectively. Hindraf pro-tem chairman P Waythamoorthy said Pakatan's own lacklustre performance in dealing with the Indian problems had driven significant amount of the community's support away from the opposition pact. "This is why we had an ambivalent relationship with Pakatan for the past three years and they kept ignoring the Indians at their own peril," he said. He was responding to a call by DAP chairman Karpal Singh that all political parties opposed to the Barisan Nasional join Pakatan officially without any conditions attached. "For now, there seems to be a 20% to 50% shift of the Indian votes away from Pakatan compared to 2008. This resulted in Pakatan losing several by-elections," he added. Waythamoorthy said that Pakatan should call for a meeting soon with Hindraf leaders to iron out details and take the matter to the next level. Although the parties may have had their differences in the past, he said it was time for them to set aside their quarrels and unite to unseat the powerful BN in the next general election. "There's no way Hindraf or Pakatan by itself can remove BN from Putrajaya. Only a synergy between us will help us in the next polls," Waythamoorthy said in a statement.. Karpal had set his sights on Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) and Human Rights Party (HRP) – the political outfit of Hindraf – to join Pakatan. Socialist ideology Waythamoorthy said that it was vital for them to enter a pact based on mutually agreed upon principles and not for convenience alone. "With mutual understanding, we may see the scale being tipped back to Pakatan's favour," he said. Echoing Waythamorrthy's sentiments, PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan also welcomed Karpal's statement and hoped that Pakatan leaders would call for a meeting with them soon. "Our position is that we will continue working with Pakatan to kick BN out from Putrajaya," said Arutchelvan. However, he rebutted Karpal's statement on socialism, saying the world is seeing a revival of socialist ideology in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis. READ MORE HERE. |
| Four sue Penang government over SPICE project Posted: 20 Nov 2011 01:23 PM PST (The Star) Four Penangites have filed a suit at the High Court here against the state government, challenging the validity of the Subterranean Penang International Convention and Exhibition Centre (SPICE) project. In the statement of claim, the four - Khoo Yen Her, R. Rama Krishnan, Abd Manan Abd Manap and K. Sathiasilan - have asked for a copy of the agreement for the development of the project between the Penang Municipal Council and SPICE developer, Eco Meridian Sdn Bhd. They have also asked for the allocation to increase the density of 1,500 residential units to be declared null and void. |
| Political agenda behind RM100 cash aid slammed Posted: 20 Nov 2011 01:19 PM PST (Harakah Daily) - Pakatan Rakyat leaders have cried foul over the political agenda behind the RM100 cash aid to school students.
In a letter revealed recently, it was claimed the cabinet directed "elected representatives of the Federal government" to help give out the aid, as it was a "contact point" between the government and the people.
The letter, sent by Education Ministry's Rosli Mohamed dated November 11, urged state education departments to take immediately implement the directive "to ensure the distribution of the aid is organised by the schools to fulfil the government's objective."
PAS vice president Mahfuz Omar said the RM100 aid was not really meant to help the students or the parents.
"It's for political interests, to show that UMNO and BN is the one who gives," said the Pokok Sena member of parliament.
PKR secretary general Saifuddin Nasution lashed out at Rosli for being "unprofessional, unaccountable and dishonest" in carrying out his duty as a ministry official.
"He has turned the ministry into a political tool. I advise him to stop playing politics. This violates the principle of civil servants' ethics to remain neutral," said the Machang MP
On the other hand, PKR's Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin claimed that in her constituency, the RM100 aid was distributed from UMNO branches instead of schools.
"The aid should be rightly distributed by officers from the government or Education ministry," she said.
Earlier, there had been complaints that parents were forced to sit through UMNO's political lecture before they were given the cash.
The RM100 cash aid is part of the incentive to reduce the people's burden as announced by prime minister Najib Razak at the tabling of the 2012 Budget last October. |
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