Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Suaram funded by US, Finland, Canada
- PAS will not push ahead hudud law without majority support in Parliament: Hu
- Report confirmed by Mat Sabu before going into print
- Janji Demokrasi gathering is definitely on
- Pakatan: Sabah defections not party-hopping
- AG to explain Section 114a: Nazri
- Johor cop jailed, fined RM1.7m for money laundering
- ‘Suspend all who attended meeting’
- Police disallow Janji Democracy
- Senator Syed Husin Ali sued over alleged defamation in book
- DAP says has always been against defections
- ‘Free water policy unwise’
- Anwar urged to resolve dispute over allocation of seats
- DAP recruits political analyst
- Guan Eng denies DAP at war with PAS
- Guan Eng continues to push for anti-hopping law
- Why re-negotiate oil deal in private?
- ‘Musa making same mistake as Harris’
- Merdeka ‘no relevance’ to Sabah, Sarawak
- British paper fires pro-Israel columnist over undisclosed Malaysia news fixing
- Bersih activist Maria Chin summoned by cops
- ‘Dinesh was shot like in the Wild West’
- Leaked minutes see fallout in PKR
- Don’t pass the buck on hudud, Mustapa tells PAS
- MCA-DAP hudud spat will lead to Islamophobia, warns Muslim group
- M'kini subscribers' comments earn wrath of Muslim NGOs
- MCA willing to give up seats to BN partners
- JMM lodges report over Malaysia Today post
- M'sians may not be financially ready to retire: survey
- ‘I may have said tokong’
- Two come to Tuan Tat’s defence over forgery accusations
- Malaysia on a roll for IPOs in Asia Read more: Malaysia on a roll for IPOs in Asia
- AG has the sole discretion and absolute power in deciding who to prosecute
- Hudud: Nik Aziz hits out at 'apologists'
- Ex-DAP man counters phantom members charge
- Mansor denies "arrogant, cocky Lim" remarks
- Leaked minutes: Attempt to unsettle state govt
- PAS needs to state stand on Hudud, not the DAP
- PAS wants Kit Siang-Guan Eng's stand on hudud
- Guan Eng 'arrogant', says Mansor in leaked minutes
- Leaked memo: DAP wants answers from PKR
- Anti-hopping law won’t work, say lawyers
- Nazri: Section 114A does not cover Umno Youth posting
- BN bid to blunt Pakatan attacks brings risk of being seen as weak
- US, Pakistan must ‘divorce’ as allies, ex-Pakistan envoy says
- Johor MB expects to lose nine seats
| Suaram funded by US, Finland, Canada Posted: 28 Aug 2012 05:35 AM PDT
(Bernama) - Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) director Kua Kia Soong on Tuesday revealed that the non-governmental organisation has been receiving funds from foreign countries and individuals nationwide. He said the human rights group was being funded by countries, namely the United States, Finland and Canada, as well as some Malaysian state governments and individual donations. Kua, however, kept a close guard on the funding issue and the amount Suaram had so far received from funders and primary sponsors. "Do I really need to tell you where our funds come from? Why does everyone want to know where our funds come from?" he asked at the unvealing of the Malaysia Human Rights Report 2011 here. He also questioned a local Malay daily reporter whether he knew the daily's source of funding. Kua urged any party dissatisfied with the NGO to lodge a police report. In July, Suaram and its role as an independent NGO was questioned for being a recipient of annual allocations consistently from the US-based National Endowment for Democracy (NED) since 2006. According to the AIDC portal, as stated in NED's annual report, Suaram had received a total amount of US$385,000 (RM1,218,328.65) for 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. Besides Suaram, other Malaysia-based NGOs being funded as listed by the NED include the International Republican Institute, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, Southeast Asian Press Alliance, Centre for Independent Journalism, Open Dialogue Centre and Mkini Dot Com. It had been widely reported that Suaram was not even registered as an NGO with the Registrar of Societies, instead it was registered as a company under the name of Suara Inisiatif Sdn Bhd with RM2 paid-up capital. Since then, Suaram has remained tight-lipped over allegations concerning its NGO status, and its source of funding.
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| PAS will not push ahead hudud law without majority support in Parliament: Hu Posted: 28 Aug 2012 05:27 AM PDT
(Sin Chew Daily) -- PAS Supporters Congress national chairman Hu Phang Chaw said PAS advocated the implementation of hudud law through democratic proceedings. In other words, if support from two thirds of MPs in the Parliament could not be secured in order to amend the Constitution to implement the hudud law, then it will be shelved. He said that was the decision of the party's political bureau. Hu pointed out that hudud law was a part of the Islamic penal code that could never be abolished, just like Buddhism's advocacy of vegetarianism and the Ten Commandments of Christianity, which must never be challenged. As such, he said PAS hoped to decide whether to implement the hudud law in the country through democratic proceedings. He said during a media conference this afternoon that he was recently appointed a member of the party's central political bureau, becoming the first ever non-Muslim in the party's 61-year history to have the opportunity of taking part in the party's decision-making mechanism. He believed the move showed that PAS was willing to accept the reality of Malaysia's plural society, and had thus adopted a more open and more plural political direction. The membership of PAS' political bureau, which has just been established recently, comprises the party's president, deputy president, four vice presidents, secretary-general, Youth national chairman, Wanita chairman, national chairman of PAS Supporters Congress, election bureau chairman and central strategy research centre chairman. Hu pointed out that other than the issue of hudud law, the political bureau also discussed Nasharudin Mat Isa's proposal that PAS withdraw from the opposition pact. He also said the party would organise a seminar in Selangor early September to seek public opinion on the party's policies so that these policies could be implemented for the well-being of all Malaysians if it won the next general election. He added that the chances of Pakatan taking the helm at Putrajaya was on the rise following changes in the political situation in East Malaysia and Johor. He also urged the MCA to stop instilling Islamophobia among the people from the hudud law in a bid to solicit support from Chinese voters. As a political party, he said MCA should instead highlight its own political ideologies and not persistently distort Islam just to win the election. He said MCA was playing with fire trying to fan up emotions among the Chinese community by using the hudud law, adding that this would kill any chance of MCA candidates in Malay constituencies because no one would tolerate his religion being insulted and sabotaged by other people. Besides, Hu also felt that the hudud law forum organised by MCA in the past was indeed a good beginning. He said MCA should organise more of such forums to allow the Chinese community and Muslims to look into this issue in a more macroscopic and rational approach. He said if needed he would be willing to help make arrangements for PAS leaders to meet up with their MCA counterparts and to hear their views on various issues.
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| Report confirmed by Mat Sabu before going into print Posted: 28 Aug 2012 05:24 AM PDT
(Sin Chew Daily) -- On the front page report on Tuesday, Sin Chew Daily reporter had on Monday repeatedly clarified with PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu, who confirmed that his party indeed had the intention of implementing the hudud law through constitutional amendment in the Parliament if it won the next general election. However, he said the party had yet to discuss tabling of constitutional amendment in the Parliament. Online media have been playing up the news Tuesday morning that Mat Sabu had denied the report. We have, nevertheless, tried without success to contact Mat Sabu to get his further clarification on this matter. As a matter of fact, we called up Mat Sabu on Sunday and forwarded him the question, "Can you explain the remark made by PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang after the party's political and election bureau meeting on August , that PAS will implement the hudud law through democratic proceedings?" The above remark was made by Hadi Awang on the party's Harakah Daily website last Saturday (August 25). Mat Sabu replied, "Democracy is about forming the government through the ballot box. The amendment of any policy needs to go through the Parliament, and the support of two thirds of all MPs is required for constitutional amendment." As such, we based on the reply of Mat Sabu to come up with the headline news of the evening edition whereby Mat Sabu said PAS had decided to seek constitutional amendment in the Parliament to implement the hudud law if Pakatan Rakyat won the next general election. However, having learned that Mat Sabu denied to an English daily the report appearing on Sin Chew Daily, we called him again Monday afternoon to seek further clarification. Mat Sabu said, "What I was saying was any law that needed to be amended had to go through the Parliament. I did not mention hudud law." He also said PAS had not discussed tabling constitutional amendment in the Parliament. However, since we sought the explanation from Mat Sabu in relation to the remark made by party president Hadi Awang, so we asked him again whether his so-called "any law" would include the hudud law, and he said affirmatively, "Yes." We sought further clarification from him, "Can we say PAS indeed has the intention (memang berhasrat) to amend the Constitution to implement any law, including the hudud law, but then the party has yet to discuss tabling this motion in the Parliament?" He also replied affirmatively, "Yes, you can." As such, we changed the headline on the morning edition of Sin Chew Daily to: "Mat Sabu says PAS has intention to seek constitutional amendment in the Parliament in order to implement the hudud law if the party wins the next general election." PAS vice president Salahuddin Ayub said when contacted Tuesday that the political bureau's meeting last Saturday had decided that all issues related to the hudud law could only be answered by the party president alone and as such, he was not in any position to answer the question. We tried again today (Tuesday) to call Mat Sabu for clarification, including ringing up Shamsuri Ahmad, political secretary for PAS president Hadi Awang, but unfortunately we still could not get the line through.
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| Janji Demokrasi gathering is definitely on Posted: 27 Aug 2012 06:08 PM PDT The organisers have decided to ignore a police warning that the gathering would be considered illegal. Teoh El Sen, FMT The Janji Demokrasi gathering on the eve of Merdeka Day will go on despite a police declaration that it would be illegal. Gabungan Janji, the group organising the event, reiterated today that the gathering was being planned as a celebration of Independence Day, "not a demonstration, not a protest, and not a rally". "Gabungan Janji" translates as "Coalition of Promises" and "Janji Demokrasi" as "Promise of Democracy". Yesterday, referring to a statement by Gabungan Janji representative Maria Chin Abdullah, Dang Wangi district police chief ACP Zainuddin Ahmad denied that he had been vague about allowing or disallowing the gathering to go on. Several hours before that, there was a meeting between Dang Wangi police and Gabungan Janji and another group—the Preservation of Jalan Sultan Committee, which is planning a march in the city, also on the eve of Merdeka Day. Chin told a press conference afterwards that the meeting went well, adding that Zainuddin did not specifically say police was against the Janji Demokrasi gathering at Dataran Merdeka. She maintained that position today. She told FMT that police briefed the two groups about the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) and told them to maintain order during their events. Police "did not say yes or no" to the gatherings, she added. In the FMT interview yesterday, Zainuddin said Chin had given reporters the wrong impression that police were agreeable to the Dataran Merdeka gathering. He said he had made clear during the meeting that Janji Demokrasi would be in violation of Section 9 (1) of the PAA, which requires any group planning a gathering to notify police 10 days before the event. "Since that was not done, it is illegal under the law, and I did not allow it," he said. "But if they say they'll go ahead anyway, which I advised against, then I may have to take action based on public safety and order." Chin confirmed today that Zainuddin did mention Section 9. "He did talk about it, but not at the beginning of the meeting. I would still say it was a friendly meeting and that there was no clear answer." She called on the authorities to consider Janji Demokrasi as "part of the countdown" to the Merdeka Day anniversary. "Every year there is a countdown at Dataran Merdeka," she said. "Are they saying every year people must have approvals? I mean, is Zainuddin saying that everyone who appears at Dataran Merdeka must have that approval? "I'm going there just like any other citizen." Self-imposed conditions About the PAA, she said: "We disagree with it, but that doesn't mean we'd violate it on purpose. "We've already put in so many conditions for ourselves. There is no elaborate programme except for Pak Samad (national laureate A Samad Said) reading a poem. That's about it. This is a very low-key event. Are the police saying we can't even wear yellow and celebrate Merdeka and be part of a national event?"
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| Pakatan: Sabah defections not party-hopping Posted: 27 Aug 2012 05:07 PM PDT PKR's Tian Chua claims that Sabah MPs Lajim Ukin and Wilfred Bumburing 'resigned' from Barisan Nasional, so there was "no party-hopping." Syed Jaymal Zahiid, FMT Under fire for what has been described as a 'contradictory' stand on party-hopping, Pakatan Rakyat leader Tian Chua said today he saw no wrong in the recent 'defections' by two Sabah lawmakers. The PKR vice-president said the opposition pact are also against party-hopping but the defections of Umno's Beaufort MP Lajim Ukin and Tuaran UPKO MP Wilfred Bumburing were merely resignations following disillusionment with the ruling coalition's "failed" leadership. "They just don't believe in the Barisan Nasional leadership anymore so they resigned and said they would back Pakatan. That is not party hopping," Tian, who is also PKR's vice-president, told a press conference after the pact's secretariat meeting here. The duo's resignation from BN, followed by rumours of more possible resignations by lawmakers from the key state of Sabah, prompted some leaders from both sides of the political divide to call for an "anti-hopping" law. Pakatan component party DAP said it would try and introduce the law in Penang where they head the administration in a move seen as critical of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's ongoing move to court more defections. Sabah provides 25 out of the 222 parliamentary seats which makes it a crucial state to infiltrate for Pakatan in the upcoming polls. With the pact winning just a few seats less than BN in the landmark 2008 elections, Sabah, known as the ruling coalition's "fixed deposit", became the ruling coalition's saving grace next to Sarawak when it provided the majority it needed to maintain power. 'Hypocritical' The party secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said his party's silence on Lajim and Bumburing's exit from their respective parties was "self-explanatory" of the DAP's position on the matter. But the move came under immediate fire with rivals accusing Lim of being hypocritical for his alliance with Anwar who was seen as the architect behind the Sabah defections.
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| AG to explain Section 114a: Nazri Posted: 27 Aug 2012 01:23 PM PDT
(The Sun) - The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) has been asked to explain to the public the government's clarification over the confusion surrounding the controversial Section 114a of the Evidence Act. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Aziz told theSun however it is up to the AGC on how it intends to communicate to the people. "They are (already) engaging stakeholders, such as the Bar Council. "I have also arranged a meeting on Wednesday between (Umno Youth chief) Khairy Jamaluddin and the AGC as Khairy met me last week and requested for a meeting with the AGC," he said. Last week, Khairy had in a tweet called for the section to be revoked. This came after the Centre of Independent Journalism (CIJ) had organised Malaysia's first Internet Blackout Day on Aug 14. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak tweeted on the same day that the cabinet had been told to look into the legislation. However, a cabinet meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin last week decided to maintain it. Critics and lawmakers from both sides of the divide have been lobbying for the law to be repealed after it came into force last month, stressing that internet users are now automatically presumed guilty for any offensive content posted through their registered networks, hand-held devices, blogs and web portals. It was reported that last Friday, the Bar Council had met the AG to discuss the amendments made to the Evidence Act. Nazri said there has been much confusion as many do not understand the legal terms of the amendment, and the matter is taken out of context. "People are free to talk but be more responsible, (don't cause) unsubstantiated fear," Nazri said. "I think most (people) who write (or talk) about this don't understand. It's not presumption of guilt. "It is presumption of fact and the safeguard is the court. If in any situation the court is convinced, only then the burden of proof will shift to the accused and he (the accused) can challenge this later through a balance of probabilities. "People who are legally trained will know that the threshold in rebutting on the balance of probability is very much lower than trying to prove beyond reasonable doubt. "But if you come and say you don't trust the court, then there is nothing I can do because in any developed country, the court is the arbiter of all this... You need to trust the court … If you come up to me and say you don't trust the court, then you are being childish," he said. Citing the case of Umno Youth where a seditious message was posted on a Facebook page created in Umno Youth's name, Nazri said since the wing has lodged a police report the presumption of probability has shifted. Nazri reiterated that the amendment was meant to protect the country's security, adding that people must look at the spirit of amendment as a whole as 114a is to complement the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, Penal Code (amendment) Act 2012 and Criminal Procedure Code (amendment) (No2) Act 2012. He added that people should be more responsible and prudent, especially when lending their smartphones or gadgets to others. Asked on the presumption that even the owner of a coffee shops or outlets that offered a free Wi-Fi facility could be presumed to have published an online publication originating from a computer using the Wi-Fi facility, Nazri said it does not automatically mean that the owner will be charged. "The only thing that will happen is that we will get your cooperation to trace to the person (who allegedly posted matters deemed seditious), we are not going to charge you because someone else used your Wi-Fi facility," he said, rubbishing claims that the amendment curtails people's freedom. | |||
| Johor cop jailed, fined RM1.7m for money laundering Posted: 27 Aug 2012 04:15 AM PDT
(Bernama) - A police superintendent was today sentenced to two years jail for each of the four counts of money laundering by the Sessions Court here. Azmi Osman, 55, was also fined RM1.75 million for the offences committed between 2002 and 2005. Johor Baru Sessions Court Judge Salawati Djambari ordered the sentence on Azmi to run concurrently after finding him guilty under the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001. Salawati later allowed Azmi to be freed on RM900,000 bail in two sureties and a stay of execution pending an appeal on the decision. In November last year, Johor Baru High Court Judge Datuk Abdul Halim Aman had set aside the decision of the Sessions Court and directed the case to be transferred back to the Sessions Court in which Salawati had acquitted Azmi following the failure of the prosecution to prove a prima facie against the accused. Azmi, who is currently suspended from duty, was alleged to have committed the four offences of money laundering totalling RM3.8 million between 2002 and 2005 when he was an officer of the Secret Societies, Gambling and Vice Division in Johor. For the first and second charges, the accused was alleged to have received RM2.08 million and RM679,850 proceeds from money laundering through his Maybank current account in Mentakab, Pahang between February 6 and December 20, 2002 as well as January 15 and October 2 in 2003. For the third and fourth charges, he was alleged to have received RM941,930 and RM250,000 for the same activity through another Maybank current account at the City Square Shopping Centre, Johor Baru on January 13, 2004 and April 5 in 2005, respectively. Prosecution was conducted by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission deputy public prosecutors Hazril Harun and Mohd Farez Abd Rahman while the accused was represented by Adam Yap and CN Sritharan.
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| ‘Suspend all who attended meeting’ Posted: 26 Aug 2012 09:23 PM PDT The recent leak of a closed-door meeting involving Penang DCM Mansor Othman was a 'clear act of sabotage', claims PKR. Athi Shankar, FMT GEORGE TOWN: PKR's top brass must immediately suspend those who attended the now leaked closed-door unofficial meeting with state chairman Mansor Othman, pending a probe on their alleged internal misconduct. State PKR information chief Johari Kassim insisted that the leadership should not hesitate to sack any of them if found guilty as charged in the internal investigation. He said the leak was a clear act of sabotage on the party that the central leadership cannot ignore and step aside. He said it was obvious that one or more among them could have leaked out the information to serve own selfish interests and the party disciplinary committee must act fast to punish them. "Obviously the culprits who leaked the meeting details did not hold dear the party's best interests. "All those who attended the meeting should be hauled up to the dock and suspended immediately pending investigation. "If anyone is found guilty, sack instantly to teach others a lesson. It's the best way to deal with it or else it will happen again," warned Johari. Lim 'cocky and arrogant' The meeting was held in May in Mansor's DCM office in Komtar. In the leaked details, Mansor had allegedly described Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng as "cocky and arrogant". However, last Friday, Mansor denied describing Lim as "cocky and arrogant" but admitted saying that Lim was being revered like a "tokong" (deity) by Chinese voters in Penang. In its postings in June 16, 18 and 19, the blog revealed that PKR's state deputy chief and Batu Kawan division chief Law Choo Kiang; Bukit Bendera division deputy chief Felix Ooi; Bayan Baru deputy chairman Tan Seng Keat; 2004 candidate for Bayan Baru parliament seat Raymond Ong; Tanjung Youth chief Ng Chek Siang; Batu Uban branch chief Cheah Peng Guan and Mansor's assistant John Ooi attended the meeting. Party insiders and political observers view the controversy as part of a conspiracy by certain PKR local reps to kick out Mansor from state PKR altogether.
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| Police disallow Janji Democracy Posted: 26 Aug 2012 09:20 PM PDT It will violate Peaceful Assembly Act, says top Dan Wangi cop. Teoh El Sen, FMT Police today declared as illegal the Bersih-linked Promise of Democracy (Janji Democracy) gathering to be held at Dataran Merdeka on the eve of Merdeka Day. Dang Wangi district police chief ACP Zainuddin Ahmad has told the organisers to cancel it and warned the public against participating in it. Speaking to FMT, Zainuddin said the statements made this afternoon by Maria Chin Abdullah, a representative of the Coalition of Promises (Gabungan Janji), were inaccurate. Chin's statements came after the group had a dialogue with the police chief. "I did not give them the green light actually, if that was the impression given [in her press conference]," he said. "In fact, the first words that came out of my mouth were that they had already violated the law." He said that under Section 9(1) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, the organisers should have submitted an official notification to the police of their gathering 10 days before the event. "Since that was not done, it is illegal under the law, and I did not allow it. But if they said they would go ahead anyway, which I had advised against, then I may have to take action based on public safety and order," he said. Asked if anyone would be charged with the violation, he replied: "We shall see. If they The law provides for a maximum fine of RM10,000. Asked if police would make arrests, Zainuddin said it was possible under the law. "We will monitor it," he said. "We have the right to detain or take action against those who break the rules." He added that under Section 83 and 84 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which deals with unlawful assemblies, the police were empowered to order the dispersal of such assemblies and use reasonable force if such orders were ignored. He said that so far no police station in the Dang Wangi district had received any complaint against the gathering. Asked if he accepted the group's argument that the gathering was simply to celebrate Merdeka, Zainuddin said the group was obviously promoting Bersih, which "has done all sorts of things". Referring to plans by the Preservation of Jalan Sultan Committee (PJSC), Zainuddin said the group was celebrating their community and heritage and he did not see any problems arising from them having a gathering. However, he said this group too would be breaching Section 9(1).
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| Senator Syed Husin Ali sued over alleged defamation in book Posted: 26 Aug 2012 09:14 PM PDT
(NST) - Kulim-Bandar Baru member of parliament Datuk Zulkifli Noordin has sued Senator Dr Syed Husin Ali over alleged defamation contained in the latter's Malay language book entitled 'Memoir Perjuangan Politik Syed Husin Ali'. Zulkifli, who filed the suit through Messrs Kamarul Hisham and Hasnal Rezua on Friday, alleged in his statement of claim that the book implied that he had agreed to resign as Kulim Bandar Baru MP in order to allow Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to contest in a by-election. He further alleged that the words in the book implied that he had asked Parti Keadilan Rakyat for RM60,000 to vacate the seat and that he had conspired with Umno to gain politically and financially by smearing PKR and Anwar. Zulkifli added that the allegations were not true and had damaged his reputation. He is claiming for general, exemplary and aggravated damages and an injunction to stop the defendant from re-producing the said words. Zulkifli's lawyer Hasnal Rezua told reporters yesterday that this suit emanated from the defamation suit filed by Syed Husin against Zulkifli and two others earlier this year. In that suit, Syed Husin alleged that Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Bhd and its editor in chief Datuk Abdul Aziz Izhak had, with malicious intent, published words defamatory to him in an article dated Nov 20, 2011 headlined, "Zul Noordin nafi dakwaan Syed Husin" (Zul Noordin denies allegation by Syed Husin). Syed Husin had also claimed that Zulkifli had posted the same article in his personal website although under a different heading, "Anjing-anjing Pencen" (Retired Dogs). Yesterday, Hasnal and Syed Husin's lawyer N. Surendran, met High Court judge Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera in chambers for case management. The suit by Syed Husin against Zulkifli, Utusan Malaysia and Abdul Aziz is fixed for trial on Thursday. | |||
| DAP says has always been against defections Posted: 26 Aug 2012 04:53 PM PDT
Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider Lim Guan Eng today deflected criticisms of hypocrisy against the DAP's plan to enact anti-hopping laws in Penang, insisting that the party has always been against defections as a means to gain political power. The DAP secretary-general acknowledged that in Pakatan Rakyat's (PR) September 16 takeover attempt in 2008, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had pre-empted Barisan Nasional's (BN) fall in Putrajaya through mass defections into PR, but said that even then, the DAP had been against the idea of using crossovers to wrest federal power. "This was suggested by Anwar, when he mentioned the disillusionment of some MPs but DAP's position is clear. "Anyone can jump parties but it is important that there should be a fresh mandate," Lim said today. The September 16 affair led by Anwar has continued to haunt the federal opposition, and was raised again recently when Lim's DAP-led administration in Penang proposed an anti-hopping law to prevent such crossovers. Lim repeated today that his government's proposal would not curb an individual's right to free association under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution as it does not forbid the individual from joining another party. What is most important, he said, was to uphold the democratic right of voters by allowing the electorate to re-elect their representative if a parliamentarian or assemblyman decides to switch political camps. The Bagan MP questioned BN's rejection of the DAP's anti-hopping law proposal, suggesting that this meant the ruling pact was still keen on trading elected representatives to help them gain political power when needed. Lim again cited the case of Perak, which saw a shift in government in 2009 from PR to BN when two PKR and one DAP assemblymen left their respective parties to become BN-friendly independents. "Why does BN refuse to have this anti-hopping law? Do they still want to trade in defections?" he asked. The DAP's proposal in Penang has been met with harsh criticism from several BN leaders, with MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek sniping at the party for maintaining silence when PR welcomed defectors from BN into its fold. The most recent case was the crossover of two senior Sabah BN MPs — Datuk Seri Wilfred Mojilip Bumburing and Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin — who left their posts in BN to form PR-friendly political movements in the east Malaysian state. But Lim pointed out today that the DAP has not made any direct statements regarding the duo's twin defections, insisting again that the party was still opposed to crossovers that do not result in re-elections. "We have not commented on their decisions. We have only said that there should be an anti-hopping law. "By leaving BN, it just shows that they have lost confidence in the prime minister and the Sabah chief minister... but what we add is this — let us have an anti-hopping law," he said. Asked if the DAP planned on raising the issue in the PR leadership council to push for similar laws to be enacted in all PR-led state governments, Lim said: "Let us start with Penang first. Let this be the first step." He said the DAP's proposal in Penang will soon be formalised during the next state executive council meeting.
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| Posted: 26 Aug 2012 04:39 PM PDT
(Bernama) - The Selangor Government's policy of giving free water over the last four years is unwise and non-sustainable, says an academic. Prof Dr Suhaimi Abdul Talib said the policy had resulted in shrinking revenue for the state that would have been useful for improving infrastructure facilities. "Although free water looks good as a short-term gain, from the long-term view we are not educating the people to value water," he said in an interview. Dr Suhaimi, who is assistant vice-chancellor for Development, Facilities Management and ICT of Universiti Teknologi Mara, warned that "we don't have the luxury of infinite supply of water. We have to realise that our sources of water are depleting simply on account of a sharp increase in demand." He said the state would also come to a stage where it could no longer draw raw water from outside sources and new sources of water would have to come from how it could manage its own internal sources best. Dr Suhaimi said he was against a free water policy because the question of affordability was not an issue. "If we have to pay our water bill at RM40 per month, what is RM40? Your kids spend more than RM40 on their (handphone) prepaid (bills). So it's not a question of affordability. We should be paying for our water." Dr Suhaimi said the people of Selangor must be made to change their perception on water by appreciating the true value of water and this could not be done as long as they get free water. "The people of Selangor must use water wisely so that each resident can reduce consumption by 20%. This means the capacity at our reservoirs can increase accordingly by 20%. This is something that we have overlooked." Dr Suhaimi explained that if a water tariff increase was inevitable, it had to be justified and with the agreement of the government. He said water, being a basic necessity for everyone, should not be given free because it would mean that the precious commodity did not have a value.
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| Anwar urged to resolve dispute over allocation of seats Posted: 26 Aug 2012 04:11 PM PDT
(The Star) - Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should step in and resolve the alleged dispute between PKR and DAP over seat allocation in Penang for the coming general election, said Penang Malay Congress president Rahmad Isahak. "It has become clear that segments in PKR do not like the overbearing style of Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng based on the transcript of a conversation among PKR leaders. "This is not some NGO or Barisan Nasional making callous remarks. It came supposedly from within the Pakatan Rakyat ranks - allegedly from Penang PKR chairman Datuk Mansor Othman," he said. Rahmad was referring to the news reports which quoted Mansor as describing Lim as "cocky, arrogant and tokong (deity)", in what was apparently a leaked citation from a conversation with other Chinese PKR leaders here. He said the congress was not bothered by the name-calling or the alleged criticism of Lim, as it was part of politics. "What's important is that Anwar must be aware that there is a declining interest within PKR over the need to field more Malay candidates." The congress is said to be an impartial civil movement entity, but Rahmad stressed that it was formed to uphold the Malay political rights in Penang which he claimed had eroded.
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| DAP recruits political analyst Posted: 26 Aug 2012 04:05 PM PDT
(The Star) - DAP has welcomed more new recruits to the party, including political analyst Dr Ong Kian Ming and oil and gas engineer Yeo Bee Yin. Both University of Cambridge graduates, Ong and Yeo are one of the few high-profile young professionals that the party has been aggressively recruiting. Ong in particular is famed for his political analysis published in Malaysiakini, apart from his day job as a lecturer at UCSI University. In announcing their entry, party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said Ong will be helping him in the party's election strategy while Yeo, will be assisting DAP in crafting social media strategies in their effort to woo young voters. Meanwhile, in the press conference here Monday, Lim said the party will be pressing on with its effort to legislate anti-party hopping laws in Penang. "We're not denying the basic human rights in their freedom of association. But we are talking about the democratic choice of the voters who have voted for the party," he said.
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| Guan Eng denies DAP at war with PAS Posted: 26 Aug 2012 03:33 PM PDT The DAP secretary-general was responding to the public spat between his party chairman Karpal Singh and PAS heavyweight Nasharuddin Mat Isa over hudud. Syed Jaymal Zahiid, FMT DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng today denied that his party is at war with its Islamic ally PAS over hudud. "No, its business as usual," said the Penang chief minister when asked by reporters if the public spat between DAP chairman Karpal Singh and former PAS No 2 Nasharuddin Mat Isa had driven a deeper wedge between the two parties. Karpal is mulling to sue Nasharuddin after he accused the DAP leader's staunch anti-hudud stand as being "anti-Islam". The hatchet over PAS' plan to implement the controversial Islamic penal law was again unearthed after Nasharuddin criticised the party for what he described as a subservient posture and said he would continue to speak out on the subject. Nasharuddin had first made the statement during a controversial meeting with Saudi Arabia's ulamas in the presence of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and repeated his criticism upon returning to Malaysia two weeks ago. The meeting drew accusations of disloyalty from within PAS since Nasharuddin had suggested that he was prepared to break ranks in pursuit of implementing hudud. Some claimed that the former PAS deputy president's statement was aimed at creating internal friction and was engineered by Umno. The federal opposition bloc had been forced to contain the damage over the long-standing hudud debate several times following PAS' insistence that the law would remain as part of its core agenda. The pact then agreed that hudud was no longer an issue after the Islamist party said it would respect the Common Policy Framework that excluded implementing the Islamic penal law. Lim said Karpal's plan to sue Nasharuddin was done on his own accord and had nothing to do with the party. "I think we should just leave what Karpal said to himself," he added.
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| Guan Eng continues to push for anti-hopping law Posted: 26 Aug 2012 03:27 PM PDT Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng says the anti-hopping law proposal will be formalised to include views from other fellow Pakatan Rakyat state reps. Syed Jaymal Zahiid, FMT KUALA LUMPUR: Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng will go ahead with his "anti-hopping" law enactment plan, even though it will go against Anwar Ibrahim's pursuit of more defections in Sabah. Lim said that he will bring his plan to the state's top-level meeting to formalise a proposal. Lim had announced the proposal last week, a move that drew flak from the ruling coalition who described the move as hypocritical when the opposition leader, his ally, is openly courting lawmakers in the key state of Sabah ahead of national polls. Two Barisan Nasional MPs, one of them a deputy minister, had recently resigned from the ruling coalition citing as reasons their disillusionment with Putrajaya's inability to deal with the state's longstanding illegal migrants issue. While Umno's Beaufort parliamentarian Lajim Ukin is vague about his political leaning, Upko's Tuaran representative Wilfred Bumburing said he will be campaigning for the federal opposition bloc Pakatan Rakyat. Anwar was believed to have engineered the defections. The PKR de facto leader also said that more "surprises" are expected in the near future. Lim was questioned on his position on the defections but avoided criticising it openly, saying the DAP's silence on the two defections is "self-explanatory". "Have we commented on that? I believe that is self-explanatory," the Bagan MP told a press conference at the party's headquarters here. Legal blockade Pakatan leaders had said that any proposals for new policies will have to observe its binding Common Policy Framework which adheres to only what is provided in the Federal Constitution. The anti-hopping law is not one of them. Lim's decision will only be proposed in Penang where his party controls two-thirds of the state's legislative assembly. He said there are no plans to raise this with Pakatan's top leadership.
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| Why re-negotiate oil deal in private? Posted: 26 Aug 2012 03:13 PM PDT Why is Chief Minister Taib Mahmud, who has been silent about the 5% oil royalty for the past 30 years, keen to look at the issue again? Joseph Tawie, FMT KUCHING: Sarawak opposition has questioned the need for secrecy in the re-negotiations of the existing oil agreement with the federal government. "I am curious to know as to why Chief Minister [Taib Mahmud] should think royalty negotiations are better done in private. Why is that so?" asked Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian. Bian, who is a senior lawyer and Ba Kelalan assemblyman, said oil and gas issue was of public concern. "The oil and gas in Sarawak is not the property of the chief minister – it belongs to all the people of Sarawak, hence we have a right to know what is being discussed. "We want to know what the chief minister intends to do about it… we would like to remind him that he is a servant of the people and is accountable to them," Bian said. He pointed out that Sarawak has been lagging behind the Peninsula in every aspect including roads and infrastructure, education, healthcare, jobs, transport, industry and development. "One could say that Peninsular Malaysia and many individuals have prospered or benefited via Petronas at our expense. "Sarawakians now say kini masa balas budi to quote a line from the infamous Barisan Nasional Merdeka theme song 2012. "The former prime minister (Dr Mahathir Mohamad), in a Freudian slip, had referred to the current administration as the 'devil' and the opposition as the 'angel'. That in itself says it all. "I trust that the rakyat are astute enough to judge for themselves whether to choose more of the same or to give themselves the hope of a better and brighter future with the Pakatan Rakyat," he said. Why now Taib?
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| ‘Musa making same mistake as Harris’ Posted: 26 Aug 2012 02:44 PM PDT Neither Chief Ministers, Musa Aman nor Taib Mahmud, have any right to re-negotiate the states' oil rights; "only" the respective State Legislative Assemblies can do that. Joseph Bingkasan, FMT KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Barisan Nasional government will be making the same 'mistake' it did more than 30 years ago by agreeing to negotiate its oil rights with the federal government, a politician here has warned. Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) Liawan vice-chairman Joseph Wilfred Lakai said today that there was no necessity to re-negotiation terms between the East Malaysian states and federal government on the Petroleum Agreement 1976 . "Why should Sabah and Sarawak renegotiate the Petroleum Agreement when even in the first agreement Malaya did not honour the terms?" He said that being the main producers of oil, Sabah and Sarawak should rightly be the sole beneficiary of the oil income. Lakai claimed that the terms of the agreement are not only lopsided but grossly unfair to the oil-producing states. He said records showed that in 1976 Sabah and Sarawak's right to their oilfields were signed away for just 5% "royalty" which seems not to be what it really is. "Malaya did not honour the agreement and all the other agreements including the 20 Points Malaysia Agreement for Sabah and 18 Points Malaysia Agreement for Sarawak. Malaya had repudiated the terms. "Sabah and Sarawak are not bound by these Agreement to the extent where they are entirely for the benefit of Malaya. If these agreements are voided then Sabah and Sarawak are free from all the legal lies with Malaya," he told FMT today. Lakai, a pilot, accused the Malaya-centric government of acting as a colonial master by annexing, Malayanising and looting Sabah and Sarawak since 1963 to fulfill its objective to create a "Greater Malaysia". "Today, both the Chief Minister of Sabah and Sarawak wants to re-negotiate…(but) the issue is that the petroleum belongs to the people not the leaders. "They have no right to re-negotiate on behalf of the people," Lakai said. He pointed out that only the State Legislative Assembly of both states have that power to re-negotiate on this matter. What about export tax? "Who collects the export tax? Why does Sabah and Sarawak have no say to the export tax? What about tax on petroleum products into Sabah and Sarawak? Why is Sabah and Sarawak not getting any of it," Lakai said. On the 5% royalty Sabah and Sarawak are now being paid by the federal government, Lakai said it was never a royalty but total sale based on FOB. "The global petroleum and gas price for the last two decades was excellent. Why does the amount paid to the state government remain constant," he said. Meanwhile, the SAPP leader agreed with Sabah State Reform Party (STAR) chief Jeffrey Kitingan that the 5% is a cash payment payable by Petronas under Section 4 of the Petroleum Development Act, 1974 and had nothing to do with royalties.
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| Merdeka ‘no relevance’ to Sabah, Sarawak Posted: 26 Aug 2012 02:24 PM PDT The true 'National Day is Sept 16, according to Sabah opposition STAR as that was when Sabah, Sarawak and Malaya committed themselves to a 'common identity. Michael Kaung, FMT RANAU: The federal government should stop duping Sabah and Sarawak into celebrating Merdeka Day when the 55th anniversary had "no relevance" to the two states, STAR Sabah chairman Jeffrey Kitingan said. "How can these leaders continue to twist history to suit their political interests without considering our feelings and the truth? "How could they [federal government] insist we must celebrate Malayan independence which has no relevance to Sabah and Sarawak?" asked Kitingan when launching STAR's Kundasang zone in Pinampadan near here. He said what was important and relevant to Sabah and Sarawak is their own independence – July 22, 1963 for Sarawak and Aug 31, 1963 for Sabah – and that of Malaysia Day or the formation of Malaysia on Sept 16, 1963. "This date – Sept 16, 1963 – is the true 'National Day' that gives all three territories of Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak, a common identity as Malaysians", said Jeffrey. He said that by continuing to impose Malaya's version of history on Sabahans and Sarawakians, "the government is alienating the two territories". "By insisting that Malaysia is 55 years old now and not 49, the federal government is sending the wrong message to the people. "Firstly, what the government is doing is teaching the people how to lie and manipulate the facts of history. "Secondly, the Peninsula-controlled federal government is now telling Sabahans and Sarawakians [intentionally or not] that Malaysia was nothing more than a 'takeover' project for Malaya and that Sabah and Sarawak are now Malayan states/territories so they [Sabah and Sarawak] must now adopt Malayan historical independence," he said.
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| British paper fires pro-Israel columnist over undisclosed Malaysia news fixing Posted: 26 Aug 2012 01:18 PM PDT
Trevino reportedly called a Gaza flotilla a 'Nazi convoy'. — Picture courtesy of globalpost.com British newspaper The Guardian has terminated the services of conservative American columnist Joshua Trevino as its United States correspondent over his alleged relationship with a company implicated in a news-fixing campaign financed by the Malaysian government and for running a website that attacked Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and other opposition interests here. In a short statement issued over the weekend, the newspaper said it had recent learned that Trevino "was a consultant for an agency that had Malaysian business interests and that he ran a website called Malaysia Matters. In keeping with the Guardian's editorial code this should have been disclosed." Trevino had recently been hired by The Guardian to be its conservative columnist in the United States. His appointment drew a firestorm of protests from liberal activists after it emerged he had urged Israel to shoot at the humanitarian flotilla in 2011 that was seeking to break its naval blockade of Gaza. When boats carrying unarmed civilian activists attempted in June 2011 to break the blockade of Gaza, Treviño tweeted out a message to the Israeli army: "Dear IDF: If you end up shooting any Americans on the new Gaza flotilla — well, most Americans are cool with that. Including me." Trevino also reportedly called the flotilla a "Nazi convoy." The Guardian made no mention of the criticisms, but instead pointed to Trevino's previous ties with an "agency" it did not name but is alleged to be FBC Media, the now-defunct company at the centre of the Malaysia news-fixing scandal involving broadcasters BBC and CNBC last year. "Under our guidelines, the relationship between Joshua and the agency should have been disclosed before the piece was published in order to give full clarity to our readers," said Janine Gibson, editor-in-chief, Guardian US. In response Trevino said: "I vigorously affirm that nothing unethical was done and I have been open with the Guardian in this matter. Nevertheless, the Guardian's guidelines are necessarily broad, and I agree that they must be respected as such." Trevino is a well-known conservative commentator and a former speechwriter in the President George W. Bush administration. He has reported extensively in the past few years on Anwar's Sodomy II trial on his Malaysia Matters website, which is now defunct. Trevino had also frequently criticised Anwar in his other columns in other publications such as the Huffington Post. FBC Media, the company alleged to have been referred to by The Guardian, made eight programmes for the BBC about Malaysia while failing to declare it was paid £17 million (RM85 million) by the Malaysian government for "global strategic communications" which included positive coverage of Malaysia's controversial palm oil industry. The BBC also used FBC to make a documentary about the spring uprising in Egypt without knowing the firm was paid to do PR work for the regime of former dictator Hosni Mubarak. The BBC was forced to make a public apology over the matter. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/british-paper-fires-pro-israel-columnist-over-ties-with-malaysia/
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| Bersih activist Maria Chin summoned by cops Posted: 25 Aug 2012 07:31 PM PDT
Amin Iskandar, The Malaysian Insider Bersih 2.0 activist Maria Chin Abdullah has been summoned to police station tomorrow, possibly in response to a plan by supporters of the polls watchdog group to rally during next week's National Day events in the city. The Gabungan Janji group's programme involves some 47 non-governmental organisations, including the Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (Empower), where Maria Chin is executive director. "Maria Chin has been asked by police to report to the Dang Wangi district police headquarters tomorrow at 2pm. "She will be escorted by a lawyer (Honey Tan) from Empower," said Hishamuddin Rais, spokesperson of Gabungan Janji, when contacted by The Malaysian Insider. Gabungan Janji will gather at Dataran Merdeka, clad in yellow, on the evening of August 30, which coincides with the eve of Malaysia's national day. In a press conference on Friday, Gabungan Janji said that simultaneous gatherings will be hosted in other states, including Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor. The gatherings aim to lobby the government to implement Bersih's eight demands, such as cleaning up the electoral roll, using indelible ink, a minimum period of 21 days for campaigning, free access to the media for all parties, strengthening public institutions, stopping corruption and bringing an end to dirty political campaigning. When contacted, Maria confirmed that she was contacted by police on Friday to discuss Gabungan Janji's programme. "The police contacted me last Friday evening. "They wanted to ask about the Gabungan Janji programme which we announced during the press conference that morning," she said. National literary laureate, Datuk A. Samad Said, who is also the joint chairman of Bersih, will read a special poem on the evening of August 30. On April 28, a gathering sponsored by Bersih to demand free and fair elections was peppered with incidents of violence. Razor wire barricades placed to stop participants from entering Dataran Merdeka were cut, resulting in police firing teargas into the crowd. A few journalists and photographers were also casualties of the violence that broke out during the rally.
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| ‘Dinesh was shot like in the Wild West’ Posted: 25 Aug 2012 07:24 PM PDT PKR duo maintains that businessman Dinesh's death was a cold blooded murder. K Pragalath, FMT Kapar MP S Manikavasagam today described the ruthless police killing of businessman, D Dinesh, as akin to the shooting in the Wild West. "Dinesh was shot ruthlessly by the police near Ampang Point traffic light," he said after attending the 26-year-old's funeral in Prima Damansara, Selangor. Dinesh, who was the youngest child in his family, was shot on Aug 21 while travelling with six of his friends and two relatives. According to Manikavasagam, the police shot Dinesh, engaged to be married next month, at a close range. "The post mortem report shows one shot went through his skull and another went through his shoulder. "The police are claiming gang clash but we have eyewitnesses to prove otherwise," said Manikavasagam. Dinesh was sent to Ampang Hospital and then to Kuala Lumpur Hospital for post-mortem. The funeral held today attracted a large crowd. Dinesh's body was taken from his home in Prima Damansara to his car-wash outlets in Damansara Damai and Sungai Buloh before the burial ceremony was held in Jalan Loke Yew. PKR vice president N Surendran, who also attended the funeral, meanwhile described Dinesh's death as a "cold blooded murder". "We want an explanation from the police on this cold blooded murder and we urge them not to cover up the case. "We will also prove that this is a cold blooded murder since we have eye witnesses," said Surendran. A press conference would be called tomorrow in PKR headquarters where eye-witnesses are expected to debunk police allegations of a gang clash.
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| Leaked minutes see fallout in PKR Posted: 25 Aug 2012 04:24 PM PDT
(NST) - A STORM is brewing in Parti Keadilan Rakyat, with Machang Bubuk assemblyman Datuk Tan Hock Leong demanding answers from the party leadership over leaked information that he would be dropped as a candidate in the next general election. Tan, who is Penang deputy speaker, said he was shocked on learning that his name had been raised as the only Chinese PKR elected representative in Penang who would be replaced. The matter was apparently discussed at an informal PKR meeting, which has sparked controversy after the minutes were leaked. "I have come to understand that they plan to give my seat to a younger candidate, who will be parachuted in from Selangor. "My so-called replacement is not even active in Penang," he said when contacted yesterday. Tan said he was sad to learn that state PKR chief Datuk Mansor Othman had allegedly said all other Chinese PKR elected representatives in Penang would be retained. "They say I need to go because of my age. I was dumbfounded on learning about this ridiculous decision. But no one, including Mansor, has contacted me and I have yet to get any official confirmation from the central leadership." Tan dismissed fears that he could not deliver because of his age or health. "They better come up with a far more convincing reason. "I am only 57 and there are others who are much older than me. If age is the factor, then the criterion should apply to all others, too." On his health, Tan said he suffered a mild stroke about a year ago but it had not affected his work. "I still carry out my work. I attend and chair state sittings, and I have fulfilled all my responsibilities to the people in the last 10 months. The only thing I cannot do is run." The controversy has put Mansor and the state PKR in an embarrassing position. It was reported that the minutes of the meeting involving Mansor and other state PKR leaders had been posted on the "Gelagat Anwar" website. The meeting, it appears, was centred around seat allocations and problems faced by Penang PKR. During the meeting, Mansor, who is Penang Deputy Chief Minister 1, was quoted as saying that except for Tan, others would defend their seats. He then urged other party leaders to convince Tan to make way for a younger candidate. "It is not that we don't like him as he has done a good job. You, as a group, have to think... must prepare names and leave it to the central (leadership) to decide," he was quoted as telling those present. | |||
| Don’t pass the buck on hudud, Mustapa tells PAS Posted: 25 Aug 2012 03:49 PM PDT
(The Star) - PAS should explain why they are unable to implement hudud laws in Kelantan and not "pass the buck" to Umno at their convenience, said Kelantan Umno chief Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamad. He said although the laws had been passed by the Kelantan state assembly in 1993, they were still in the "implementation" stages and were not enforced. "Kelantan government even set up a hudud technical committee in October last year but until now it has yet to convene the first meeting. This proves that the state government is insincere in implementing such laws. "Their flip-flop policies to set up an Islamic state and then switching to a welfare state shows inconsistency in their decisions which reflect the stand of their coalition partners on this thorny issue," he told reporters after attending a Hari Raya open house organised by Kelantan Umno here yesterday. Mustapa, who is also International Trade and Industry Minister, was asked to comment a front page report by a Malay daily quoting Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat as blaming Umno for being a stumbling block to implementing hudud laws in Kelantan. Mustapa said it was not easy to implement such laws without any planning. "It is also evident that those interested in implementing such laws did not focus on explaining to the masses the mechanics of the hudud laws," he said.
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| MCA-DAP hudud spat will lead to Islamophobia, warns Muslim group Posted: 25 Aug 2012 03:43 PM PDT
Lisa J. Ariffin, The Malaysian Insider One of the country's most influential Muslim group came out today to publicly castigate both MCA and DAP for their protracted dispute over hudud, accusing the Chinese-based rival parties of propagating the spread of Islamophobia in Malaysia. Malaysian Muslim Youth Movement (ABIM) president Amidi Abdul Manan said statements made recently by both MCA and DAP leaders were in complete disregard for the sensitivities of Islam and the hudud law, the religious criminal code that prescribes, among others, the amputation of hands as punishment for theft. He accused both parties of using the hudud issue to garner political support from the country's non-Muslims ahead of the coming general election. "If the situation persists and is not looked upon, the phenomena of Islamophobia which mirrors the unsteady relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims around the world will spread to the country," Amidi warned today in a press statement. He strongly emphasised that Islam would not deny the rights and freedom of non-Muslims and this assertion was clearly outlined in Islamic jurisprudence. "Hence, any attempt to polemicize Islamic law (hudud) to create prejudice among non-Muslims should be stopped," he urged. "Instead, all parties should be prepared to understand this (law) to prevent misunderstanding among society," he added. Amidi said his organisation is extending offers to clarify the issue in the forms of discussion, as well as academic and scholarly discourse. "ABIM is also set to hold a series of explanatory discourse with the public, especially the non-Muslim communities," he said. Yesterday, opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim described the incessant focus on hudud and Islamic state issues in the mainstream media as Barisan Nasional's "last desperate attempt" to deflect from its own corruption and abuses. The opposition leader said BN was attempting to sow racial and religious strife as well as "intimidate" voters with reminders of racial unrest, via the media outlets its parties own in the run-up to the general election. The BN-friendly media has also been highlighting the disparate stances of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) partners DAP and PAS on the emotive issues: The former opposes the Islamic state and penal code that the latter aspires to realise. Last week, influential former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said that PAS could realise its goal to set up an Islamic state and enforce hudud if it joined Umno, in a bid to woo the Islamist party to BN's side. His remarks came in the wake of a recent controversy after religious conservatives, including the state muftis of Pahang and Perak, dubbed the DAP "kafir harbi" or belligerent infidels for its consistent opposition to hudud, dragging PAS and PKR into a heated debate. The controversy prompted PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang to rise to its ally's defence, pointing out that while the DAP opposed hudud, Umno had already rejected its implementation. Hudud and the Islamic state were two issues that tore asunder the fledgling Barisan Alternatif — the precursor to the present day PR — following Election 1999, when DAP and PAS went their separate ways after failing to reach a compromise. But the focus on the two issues has also put the spotlight on the mixed messages sent by BN. Umno has often courted PAS by offering to help it realise its Islamic state aim, while MCA openly rejects hudud and any form of Islamic rule.
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| M'kini subscribers' comments earn wrath of Muslim NGOs Posted: 24 Aug 2012 09:51 PM PDT
(Malaysiakini) - Several NGOs have lodged police reports on allegedly inflammatory comments posted on the Malaysiakini website, threatening to hold protests in front of its office as well as that of the Home Ministry's if no action is taken. "Some 200 subscribers used pseudonyms in Malaysiakini to criticise and lower the status of Islam. "This would have consequences and bring chaos to this peaceful country," read three largely identical police reports from each NGO.
"We don't want these kinds of things to happen in this country," said IRIMM president Amir Amsaa Alla Pitchay (left), commenting on one of several readers he quoted. "(They said) a lot of things, you know. I didn't print them all out... We want Malaysiakini to put a stop to such things. We don't want these kind of things. 'Don't publish sensitive issues' In the Wednesday article, Malaysiakini reported that a group of Hindu devotees lodged police reports against Penang Islamic Affairs Department (JAIPP) for confiscating the ashes of M Nagamah, who was cremated in accordance to Hindu rites.
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| MCA willing to give up seats to BN partners Posted: 24 Aug 2012 08:53 PM PDT
(Bernama) - MCA is willing to give up seats it has contested all along to its Barisan Nasional (BN) partners on the condition they are confident of winning them and get the nod of BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak, its president Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said today. He said MCA had total confidence in Najib's leadership and that the party was willing to forego seats it stood no chance of winning. "As for me, there is no need to discuss seat distribution, we have confidence in the wisdom of the BN leadership under Najib. "I am stating openly that MCA will not demand seats that we will not win or are not cofident of winning. We are not a component that likes to "syok sendiri" (likes self flattery)"," he told reporters after meeting hawkers at the Gunung Rapat market here. He said this when asked to comment on reports that MCA's BN partner Gerakan stood a better chance of winning the Gopeng parliamentary and Malim Nawar state seats, which are traditionally MCA seats, in the next general election. The report came about following an earlier report in an English daily on Aug 14 which said that MCA would be contesting the Puchong parliamentay seat which had been contested by Gerakan in the last two elections. On this, Dr Chua said the two parties need not swap seats if each was confident they were more "winnable". "I am of the opinion that whether a candidate of a certain party can win or not depends on some criterias, firstly the division (of the party) must be active, second, do they have sufficient members and third, is their election machinery up to the task? "Fourth, are they united, committed and willing to go the extra mile to ensure the BN candidate wins and lastly, which party the voters prefer, whether it is MCA, Gerakan, Umno or MIC. That is why were prefer to leave it to the (BN) leadership to decide," he said. As such, he said, MCA was confident that Najib, who is also Prime Minister, had many sources of feedback to decide which of the parties would be the most suited (for a particular seat). Following the visit, Dr Chua also announced that Perak state executive councillor Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon would be holding discussions with the hawkers at the market on upgrading the facility using a RM500,000 allocation that would be made available by the Housing and Local Government Ministry. | |||
| JMM lodges report over Malaysia Today post Posted: 24 Aug 2012 07:07 PM PDT
(Bernama) - Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM) lodged a report at the Hulu Kelang police station here regarding an article titled 'The day I met private investigator P Balasubramaniam', which was posted on the Malaysia Today portal on Aug 10. JMM president Azwanddin Hamzah said the police were urged to investigate the revelation by blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin which alleged that M Puravalen, Abdul Razak Baginda's former lawyer; Subang member of parliament, R Sivarasa; and private investigator P Balasubramaniam were involved in a conspiracy to defame the prime minister and threaten national security.
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| M'sians may not be financially ready to retire: survey Posted: 24 Aug 2012 03:56 PM PDT
(Bernama) - A study on retirement trends in East Asia has revealed the increasing vulnerability of Malaysians due to early retirement age as well as low rates of pension receipt under the Employees' Provident Fund and the lack of old-age poverty floor. The study report, "Balancing Tradition and Modernity: The Future of Retirement in East Asia", is based on a survey that the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) conducted in Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, according to Prudential in a statement on the survey findings. The CSIS East Asia Retirement Survey reveals that an astonishing 92 per cent of current retirees in Malaysia report that they had already left the workforce by age 60 and suggests that Malaysia's pattern of premature retirement will likely persist. Malaysia is the only country in the survey whose fertility rate is above the 2.1 replacement level and the only one that will have a growing population and workforce in the coming decades, the report said. "In China, the elderly share of the population will be approaching 30 per cent by 2040 -– and in Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan it will be approaching 40 per cent. In Malaysia, it will still be under 20 per cent," it said. Malaysia's early mandatory retirement age, however, offsets its demographic advantage in building an adequate and sustainable retirement system, it added. Co-authored by Richard Jackson and Neil Howe, it is part of the multilayer Global Ageing Preparedness Project, which was launched by CSIS and British insurance giant Prudential plc in 2010. The survey found four out of five of today's retirees in Malaysia worry about "being poor and in need of money," becoming "a burden on their children," and being "in ill health and having no one to care for them" – much larger shares than in any of the other survey countries. Their vulnerability is attributable to Malaysia's unusually early retirement ages, which leaves retirees at risk of outliving their savings, as well as to low rates of pension receipt under the EPF and to the lack of an age-old poverty floor, the survey said. Retirement prospects are improving for the younger generations, who expect to be less dependent on the extended family than today's retirees are and to rely more heavily on their own savings, it said. But with one in five current workers still expecting to receive no pension benefits of any kind, the outlook for many is far from secure, it added. Donald Kanak, Chairman of Prudential Corporation Asia, which is part of Prudential plc, said: "Responding to the challenges caused by an ageing population is critical to Asia's future. "It is critical that policy makers and the industry work together to address this vital question." Charlie Oropeza, Chief Executive Officer of Prudential Assurance Malaysia Bhd, said: "The findings of the CSIS Study reinforce the need for Malaysians to better plan and secure their financial position towards retirement. "While the policymakers as well as the Malaysian Government have been introducing frameworks such as the Financial Blueprint to provide greater length and breadth of financial products and services, Malaysians need to be more aware and make themselves financially ready through prudent investment decisions.
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| Posted: 24 Aug 2012 03:47 PM PDT
(The Star) - Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Mansor Othman has denied labelling his boss "cocky and arrogant" at a press conference attended by a serious and sombre-looking Lim Guan Eng. Throughout the press conference, the Chief Minister hardly said a word. They later linked hands with Penang PAS commissioner Datuk Salleh Man to smile for photographs before ending the brief media session at Komtar here yesterday. Mansor, who is Penang PKR chairman, had allegedly uttered the words angkuh (cocky) and sombong (arrogant) to describe Lim at a party meeting in March to discuss preparations for the general election. The Deputy Chief Minister I had allegedly also remarked that Penangites viewed Lim as a tokong (deity). The words, allegedly recorded in the minutes of the meeting, were published in a blog "Gelagat Anwar" in its postings on June 16, June 18 and June 19. Mansor said the words angkuh and sombong never left his mouth. "I don't know how it came about. I never thought the chief minister as proud or arrogant," he said as he added to a written statement distributed to the press. However, he admitted that he may have uttered the word tokong but claimed that the blog had taken it out of context. "I may have said the word tokong but it was actually meant to refer to the honour and high respect given to the chief minister by the people of Penang," said Mansor. Pressed by reporters, Mansor repeated: "I don't think I stated the words angkuh and sombong. "I said tokong, but angkuh and sombong? I don't think so." He also denied that the March meeting was a strategic planning meeting. "It was an informal meeting with a group of PKR members centred on party matters and the polls preparations and there were no minutes taken at the meeting," he said.
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| Two come to Tuan Tat’s defence over forgery accusations Posted: 24 Aug 2012 03:42 PM PDT
(The Star) - Ex-Sepang DAP parliamentary liaison committee member Tan Tuan Tat, who was accused of forging 149 membership forms, has produced two former party supporters to back him up. Mahful Wahid said he had collected membership forms from some 100 people in Kampung Teluk Manggis and Taman Kedidi as they were interested in becoming DAP members. "I approached Tan for help to submit the forms to Selangor DAP. Why was he accused of forgery?" he said, adding that he, too, had been interested in joining DAP. Such accusations, added Mahful, had caused him to lose confidence in Pakatan Rakyat. DAP disciplinary committee chairman Tan Kok Wai said that Tuan Tat, who had been in the party for 18 years, had been charged with forging the membership forms to set up three pro tem branches in Sungai Pelek, Sepang. He also claimed that the MyKad of people from Sungai Pelek were used without their knowledge to enrol them as DAP members. Former Pantai Sepang Putra DAP chief R. Veerasamy echoed Mahful's views, saying that he had also approached Tuan Tat for help to forward the forms to the state DAP's office. "In the end, I was found guilty of falsifying the applications and sacked," he said during a press conference here yesterday. Denying the accusations, Tuan Tat said it was meant to slander his integrity and credibility. "Don't defame me. I did not forge any forms. "The forms were genuine and came from people who wanted to join DAP," he said. Tuan Tat, who used to be Taman Sri Sungai Pelek branch chairman before leaving the party last week, said DAP had deviated from its original spirit and essence. He also disputed Tan's charge that he was sacked from the party. "How can I be sacked when I resigned first?" he said.
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| Malaysia on a roll for IPOs in Asia Read more: Malaysia on a roll for IPOs in Asia Posted: 24 Aug 2012 12:40 PM PDT (The Wall Street Journal) - SINGAPORE: Another Malaysian company, this time the owner of the country's busiest port, is looking to test investor appetite for an initial public offering (IPO), the latest in a string of big-ticket deals that are making the Southeast Asian country one of the world's hottest IPO markets this year.
The company, Westports Malaysia Sdn Bhd began inviting bankers to pitch to advise it on plans to raise about US$1 billion (RM3.09 billion) from an IPO, three people familiar with the transaction said recently, adding to a long queue of billion-dollar-plus listings. Both Felda and IHH had heavy investing from Malaysia's Employees Provident Fund and other state funds, which took on cornerstone roles that committed them to holding those stocks for at least six months after they were listed, in exchange for early dibs in the IPO. Bankers say that state-owned funds tend to invest heavily in the country's stock market, which the government is pushing to deepen. Encouraged by the success of Felda and IHH, other companies such as cable-TV operator Astro All Asia Networks PLC (Astro) and power company Malakoff Corp Bhd (Malakoff) are all planning to list in the next year or so, people with knowledge of the plans said. Malakoff recently lined up banks for its near US$1 billion IPO, while Astro, which is partly owned by Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the investment holding arm of the Malaysian government, has sought regulators' approval for a planned US$1.5 billion (RM4.64 billion) IPO, according to people familiar with the matter. Shares of Felda and IHH are up 10 per cent and 11 per cent respectively, after going public. Malaysia's benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI is up 7.8 per cent this year, having hit a record high on August 14th. "Investors are often puzzled by the resilience of Malaysian equities," Nomura analysts noted last week, but said that Malaysia's exposure to Europe's woes is decreasing. Exports to Europe, at 9.1 per cent are down from 11 per cent in 2010. Malaysia's buoyant market comes as IPOs elsewhere have either been delayed or scrapped owing to volatile market conditions. In Hong Kong, pulled IPOs have become common. UK-based Graff Diamonds scrapped its US$1 billion IPO this year, while in Singapore, motor-sport franchise Formula One Group postponed its approximately US$2.5 billion (RM7.73 billion) offering at the end of June as bankers, wary of anaemic demand, cancelled planned capital raising. Westports operates one of Asia's busiest shipping terminals at Port Klang on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, whose top exports are electronics and palm oil. Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (Hutchison Port), which is controlled by Hong Kong's Li and operates 52 ports in 26 countries, has a 31.5 per cent stake in Westports, which was formed by Gnanalingam, who is listed as the country's 24th-richest person, according to Forbes, from the privatisation of government port assets in the early 1990s. His oldest son, Ruben, is chief executive of the company. Hutchison Port declined to comment on the prospective IPO. Westports wasn't immediately available for comment. The IPO would be the most recent equity-capital raising for groups linked to Li in Southeast Asia in recent years. Hutchison Port raised US$5.5 billion (RM16.99 billion) in Singapore's largest-ever IPO in early 2011. Li, one of the wealthiest men in Asia, also held the first yuan-denominated IPO outside China last year in Hong Kong - the US$1.6 billion (RM4.94 billion) IPO of Hui Xian REIT. | |||
| AG has the sole discretion and absolute power in deciding who to prosecute Posted: 23 Aug 2012 09:53 PM PDT
(NST) - The Attorney-General has the sole discretion and absolute power in deciding who to prosecute. Deputy public prosecutor Noorin Badarudin said this when challenging Karpal Singh's application to subpoena three witnesses, including A-G Tan Sri Gani Patail, in the sedition charge he is facing.Karpal was charged with uttering seditious words against the Sultan of Perak three years ago. Noorin said the High Court could not order the A-G to come to court to explain why a person is charged or why someone is not. "It is the A-G's discretion and that cannot be questioned in this court," the DPP added. In January, the Court of Appeal allowed the public prosecutor's appeal to order Karpal to enter his defence on the sedition charge, reversing a High Court decision which had acquitted him. Karpal, in his bid to strike out the sedition charge, is applying to subpoena Gani, former A-G Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman and former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He submitted that Gani's evidence is necessary to show if there had been prosecutorial impropriety in charging him for sedition. The veteran lawyer added that in 1993, speeches in Parliament on the proposed amendments to the Federal Constitution for the setting up of a Special Court were also seditious in nature. (Dr Mahathir had on Jan 18, 1993, moved for a motion to amend the Federal Constitution to have the immunity of rulers removed and to establish a Special Court to try monarchs in their personal capacity for criminal and civil wrongdoing.) "Those who made the speeches then were not charged. Am I not in a like situation as they were?" he questioned, adding that the speeches then were 'explosive and had seditious tendencies'. "The PM must come to court to explain why there was a need for such speeches," Karpal said, referring to Dr Mahathir. Judge Datuk Azman Abdullah will deliver his decision on the subpoenas on Thursday. | |||
| Hudud: Nik Aziz hits out at 'apologists' Posted: 23 Aug 2012 09:48 PM PDT
(Harakah) - PAS Murshidul Am Tuan Guru Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat has taken to task Muslims who opine that hudud laws could not be implemented until the majority are in agreement and have understood the laws. "There is no law in this world, whether under democracy or communist systems, whose enforcement is subject to the people's agreement and understanding of it," Nik Aziz (pic) said in response to views expressed by a PAS member of parliament and a former mufti. Since 1993, Kelantan has proposed to implement hudud - the Islamic punishment for serious crimes - on Muslims in the state. The plan has long been opposed by MCA and DAP, but has been recently thrust into limelight following UMNO's challenge to PAS to break away from Pakatan Rakyat after DAP chairman Karpal Singh's recent public outburst. "In the case of Kelantan, the delay is not due to absence of a conducive environment, but due to opposition from the Federal government, and this includes the 'warning' in the form of an official letter from the then prime minister which has yet to be revoked," Nik Aziz said, referring to former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's warning that he would subject PAS-led Kelantan to direct Federal rule if the Islamic enactment was passed. "If a fisherman waits for ocean waves to subside, when can he ever go out to sea?" he asked.
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| Ex-DAP man counters phantom members charge Posted: 23 Aug 2012 04:47 PM PDT Tan Tuan Tat dares DAP disciplinary committee head Tan Kok Wai to prove him wrong instead. K Pragalath, FMT Tan Tuan Tat, who quit DAP on Aug 16, has come forward with evidence to counter the allegation by the party against him. The party's disciplinary committee chairman Tan Kok Wai had hauled up Tuan Tat over the allegation that the latter created 149 phantom members to form three branches in Sepang. Speaking at a press conference this morning, Tuan Tat demanded proof. "You alleged that I forged 149 memberships using their MyKads collected from an event without their knowledge. Where was the event held? What event is it? When was it held? Prove it to me. "I did not do any events to open up branches," he said, adding that the 149 people had requested him to assist them in delivering their membership application forms. Six of the 149 were present at the press conference. One of them, Mahfuz Wahid, a former PKR Sepang member represented the six who wanted to join DAP. "I collected the MyKads along with membership fees and passed it to Tuan Tat so why is DAP accusing him of creating phantom members?" he asked. "I left PKR because they favoured some people and it turns out to be thesame here as well," he added. All 149 applications were rejected by DAP. "Now I am glad that they rejected my application because my conscience would be at odds had they accepted me as a party member," said Mahfuz. He also criticised Pakatan Rakyat as he lacked confidence in their leadership. "Pakatan speaks nonsense. I would not support them since they only promise and yet do not keep their word," he added.
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| Mansor denies "arrogant, cocky Lim" remarks Posted: 23 Aug 2012 03:41 PM PDT
(The Star) - Penang Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Mansor Othman has denied calling Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng "cocky and arrogant". Speaking at a press conference in Komtar on Friday, the duo put up a relatively strong front before an army of reporters. "Words like tokong (deity) were taken out of context to give a bad impression on the relationship between PKR and DAP. "For example, the word tokong actually refers to the honour and respect given to the chief minister by the Penang people," Mansor said reading from a statement. He said the meeting was not a strategic planning meeting as was reported but an informal meet between a group of PKR members. He also denied that there were any minutes taken during the meeting. It was reported that Mansor had described Lim as "cocky and arrogant" during a PKR strategic planning meeting in March this year. Alleged minutes of the meeting had been leaked and picked up by a blog called Gelagat Anwar. The alleged minutes also quoted Mansor saying that DAP were seeking PKR-allotted seats in the next general election, a claim that was later refuted by Penang DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow who demanded an explanation from the state PKR over the alleged statements. A news portal had quoted Mansor as saying the minutes of the party's strategic planning meeting on the general election preparations had been published verbatim in an obscure blog. He had apparently remarked that Lim was not only "arrogant" but also it was undeniable that Penangites thought of him as a "tokong" (a deity). "He (Lim) is very arrogant, I will tell you ... cocky and arrogant. It is not easy. Now, more arrogant," he was quoted as saying in the minutes.
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| Leaked minutes: Attempt to unsettle state govt Posted: 23 Aug 2012 03:32 PM PDT The leaked minutes of a PKR election strategic meeting is an attempt to rock the Penang Pakatan boat. Athi Shankar, FMT GEORGE TOWN: The disclosure of what happened at a state PKR election strategic meeting was an attempt to drive a wedge between deputy chief minister 1 Mansor Othman and Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. The minutes of the meeting quoting Mansor was posted on a blog, Gelagat Anwar. The leaked minutes revealed that Mansor had told the meeting he would not budge to DAP's request for PKR seats, adding that the party's Chinese candidates were seen as a threat by the DAP. He allegedly remarked that Penangites see Lim like a "tokong" (a diety). "He is very arrogant … cocky and arrogant. It is not easy. Now more arrogant," Mansor is alleged to have said of Lim. A PKR politician said the leak was a clear act of sabotage. The politician who declined to be named said: "It's clear that certain insiders want to put Mansor in trouble … at loggerheads with Lim. Someone would gain from it." He said it would not be so difficult for the party to find out who is the culprit behind the leaking of the meeting minutes. "It must be someone who attended the meeting," said the PKR leader, adding that the party should firmly deal with the matter. When contacted, PKR state vice-chairman Abdul Halim Hussain said the party was disturbed by the leak and would launch an investigation into it. "It's a serious issue. We will get to the bottom of the matter," he assured. PKR's Balik Pulau MP Yusmadi Yusoff described the leak was bad politics "worse than gutter politics" that showed that the country's politics had gone down to another low level.
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| PAS needs to state stand on Hudud, not the DAP Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:50 PM PDT (Bernama) It is PAS that needs to issue a statement on its stand on the 'hudud' law, not the DAP, said the Prime Minister's Political Secretary, Datuk Mohamad Fatmi Che Salleh. Mohamad Fatmi, who is also the Kota Baharu Umno division head, said that PAS, as a party that champions Islam in the opposition pact, must be firm on its stand to implement the hudud law although the DAP disagreed on its implementation. "What is important today, PAS must make a stand, not the DAP. Malaysians had already known from the start that the DAP was against an Islamic state, and rejects hudud.
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| PAS wants Kit Siang-Guan Eng's stand on hudud Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:44 PM PDT
(Malaysiakini) - Deputy PAS Youth chief Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz wants the DAP father-son pair, secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang, to state the party's official stance on hudud. Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia today front-paged this call, which it said was made by Nik Mohamad, who is the son of PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat. 'Will not affect PAS-DAP relationship' Yesterday Nik Mohamad told another Umno-linked Malay daily, Berita Harian, that Karpal's ongoing criticism against hudud would cause PAS to lose Malay votes in the next general election. It's PAS which should explain Meanwhile, Prime Minister Najib Razak's political secretary Mohamad Fatmi Che Salleh said it was PAS that should issue a statement on its stand on the 'hudud' law, not the DAP.
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| Guan Eng 'arrogant', says Mansor in leaked minutes Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:39 PM PDT
Susan Loone, Malaysiakini EXCLUSIVE State PKR chief Mansor Othman is upset that minutes of the party's Penang strategic meeting on preparations for the 13th general election, where he described Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng as arrogant, have been leaked. Mansor, who is deputy chief minister I, said he was aware of the leak and expressed his disappointment that it has been published verbatim in an obscure blog. However, Mansor (above), who is Penanti assemblyperson, said the contents - detailing questions raised on the coming polls and his responses to them - were "genuine concerns". During the meeting - which appeared to be very focused on PKR's Chinese candidates - Mansor said that except for Machang Bubok assemblyperson Tan Hock Leong, the other incumbents would defend their seats. On the controversy over Pantai Jerejak - a Chinese-majority seat, Mansor said it would probably go to a Chinese, although MPPP councillor Rashid Hasnor's name has been proposed as the candidate. Chinese candidates a threat Meanwhile, Mansor lamented over several seats that appear to be problematic, for example, Tasek Gelugor, held by Umno, where the division is "asking for money".
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| Leaked memo: DAP wants answers from PKR Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:36 PM PDT
Susan Loone, Malaysiakini Penang DAP is to seek an official clarification from its PKR counterpart on details in its leaked meeting minutes, which include disparaging remarks about DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng. State DAP chief Chow Kon Yeow said the contentious material in the leaked documents includes state PKR chief Mansor Othman's labelling Lim as an "arrogant" leader. Press conference tomorrow When contacted, Lim said he has spoken to Mansor and the latter has officially given him a satisfactory clarification. Lim will be appearing at a press conference with Mansor tomorrow at the state administrative office in Komtar at 11am. According to sources, Mansor is expected to deny the comments he has made about Lim in the leaked minutes. However, if Mansor expresses his denial, it would contradict what he told Malaysiakini during a Hari Raya open house that the issues raised in the meeting were of "genuine concern".
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| Anti-hopping law won’t work, say lawyers Posted: 22 Aug 2012 03:10 PM PDT
(The Star) - A law against party-hopping will not be effective even if it is passed by the Penang government as it is unconstitutional, said lawyers. Veteran lawyer Datuk C.V. Prabhakaran said such a law went against a 1992 Supreme Court ruling. "You cannot pass a legislation restricting personal freedom. It is ultra vires. "The representatives are elected by the rakyat. What is the Chief Minister trying to do?" said Prabhakaran. He was commenting on a statement by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng that the state government was planning to legislate against party-hopping to prevent "frogs and tadpoles" from breeding in Penang. On April 3, 1992, the then Supreme Court had ruled in the case of Dewan Undangan Negeri Kelantan v Nordin Salleh that the PAS-led Kelantan government's enactment outlawing party-hopping was unconstitutional. The court held that such a law contravened Article 10(1)(c) of the Federal Constitution as it affected one's right to the freedom of association. Another veteran lawyer, Datuk K. Kumaraendran, said that although the proposal was a good move, merely passing an anti-hopping Bill was "lip service". All political parties, he said, should instead deter any act to entice members, which he described as being in "bad taste". DAP chairman Karpal Singh, who had consistently supported an anti-party hopping stance, said passing such a law was "going to be a problem" as it had already been declared unconstitutional.
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| Nazri: Section 114A does not cover Umno Youth posting Posted: 22 Aug 2012 03:03 PM PDT
(The Star) - Section 114A of the Evidence Act cannot be used in the case of Umno Youth's alleged seditious posting because the amendment is based on presumption of fact and not presumption of guilt, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz. "The amendment is only a form of procedure." "It can only be invoked if a person is charged under other laws and the court is convinced to use it to shift the burden of proof to the accused," he told a press conference Thursday. Nazri said the accused can then prove their innocence through a balance of probabilities, as how Umno Youth has done by making a police report as soon as possible.
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| BN bid to blunt Pakatan attacks brings risk of being seen as weak Posted: 22 Aug 2012 02:54 PM PDT
Ida Lim, The Malaysian Insider By agreeing to successive demands — from investigating Sabah's illegal immigrants problem to repealing security laws and considering a review of oil royalties and even allowing public rallies — the Barisan Nasional (BN) government is hoping to blunt Pakatan Rakyat's (PR) momentum on issues the opposition has championed, but political analysts say it also risks being seen as being a weak government ahead of elections expected soon. BN politicians have argued that the government's position is not one of capitulation but is a sign that the ruling coalition is now listening to the public and making the right moves towards political reforms.  Najib has carried out various reforms ahead of the general election. — File pic Ahead of the 13th general election, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has carried out various reforms in what is seen as a bid to hijack PR's aggressive campaign to take power in Putrajaya. Najib's administration has abolished the Internal Security Act (ISA) and plans to repeal the controversial Sedition Act. It has also enacted a new law that allows public rallies although any benefit from that was severely eroded after the authorities forcibly broke up the latest Bersih protest on April 28. PR and Sabah opposition politicians were also using the problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah to score points among disgruntled voters in the state, but Najib stepped in recently to set up a royal commission of inquiry after the recent defections of senior Sabah BN lawmakers. Wan Saiful Wan Jan, chief executive of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), told The Malaysian Insider that "it's unfortunate that we have a government that is copying what the opposition proposes." "They should be the ones leading. Copying is not really leadership," he said, adding that "they need to start coming up with policies of their own." However, he notes that "it shows that it's good for a country to have a strong opposition" as there would be "real competition" between politicians on "what is good policy for the public." Asked about the effect of BN's measures on voters, he said "it's risky for the government to continue this strategy of copying PR." "People may start questioning who is the real leader," he said, warning that it will "harm" BN in the long term as it may "lose leadership status and become a follower." Prof Dr Jayum A. Jawan, a professor of politics and government with Universiti Putra Malaysia, agreed with Wan Saiful, saying that "they (BN) are doing the right thing but they are stealing somebody's idea." He points to the federal government's "weak think-tank" for its failure to come up with its own "grand ideas". He said BN appears to be "responding because of pressure from PR", saying it needs to have a "comprehensive review" instead of "responding to one or two issues." "Is BN going to respond every time PR comes up with an issue?" he asked, saying that the opposition will never give up asking.
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| US, Pakistan must ‘divorce’ as allies, ex-Pakistan envoy says Posted: 22 Aug 2012 02:50 PM PDT
(Reuters) - The United States and Pakistan should stop pretending they are allies and amicably "divorce," Pakistan's former ambassador to Washington said yesterday, citing unrealistic expectations in both countries that include US hopes Islamabad will sever its links to extremists. "If in 65 years, you haven't been able to find sufficient common ground to live together, and you had three separations and four reaffirmations of marriage, then maybe the better way is to find friendship outside of the marital bond," Husain Haqqani said, addressing the Centre for the National Interest, a Washington think tank. Haqqani's recommendation that the United States and Pakistan essentially downgrade their status was based on the premise that it may be the only way to break from what has been a dysfunctional relationship. A post-alliance future would allow both countries to hold more realistic expectations of each other, cooperating where possible but perhaps without the sense of betrayal, which has become acute in Pakistan. He cited a survey by the Pew Research Center released in June showing roughly three-in-four Pakistanis consider the United States an enemy, even though the United States pours billions of dollars of aid into the country. "If this was an election campaign ... you would advise the senator with these kinds of favourability ratings to pull out of the race, instead of spending more money," said Haqqani, who plans to publish a book entitled "Magnificent Delusions" next year about the US-Pakistan relationship. His candid remarks represented Haqqani's first address in Washington since he resigned as Pakistan's envoy last year after, he says, being framed for drafting a memo that accused the Pakistani army of plotting a coup — allegations he defended himself against before Pakistan's Supreme Court. Many of Haqqani's comments underscored the friction between Pakistan's civilian government and military, which have bedevilled the nuclear-armed South Asian country for almost its entire existence. Haqqani, who served as an adviser to four Pakistani prime ministers, identified himself among a small minority who support good relations with the United States but "who do not have the ability to influence the course of policy at home." He said Pakistan's military needed to be under greater civilian control, adding Pakistan's national interests are defined "by generals, not by civilian leaders." But he also doled out criticism of US policymaking, saying it was too often short-sighted, lacking the necessary historic perspective needed to appreciate realistically what Pakistan might do in return for aid and cooperation. The depths of the strained US-Pakistan relationship have come into full public view since the United States, without telling Pakistan, secretly staged a raid to kill Osama bin Laden last year. Haqqani was ambassador at the time. He repeatedly said someone in Pakistan knew of bin Laden's presence, even though he stopped far short of blaming Pakistan's principal intelligence agency, the Inter Services Intelligence directorate (ISI). "I still think a full proper investigation on the Pakistani side is needed to find out how Osama bin Laden lived in Pakistan and who supported him — within or outside the government," he said. "I really do not know (who helped bin Laden). All I am saying is that somebody knew." Unrealistic expectations He said it was just as unrealistic for Pakistanis to think that the United States would side with Pakistan by launching war on India as it was for the United States to think Pakistan would give up its nuclear weapons or sever ties with extremists. "Equally unrealistic is that Pakistan ... will give up support for jihadi groups that it deems to be a sub conventional force multiplier for regional influence," Haqqani said. Describing his vision for a post-alliance future for the United States and Pakistan, Haqqani appeared to downplay US security concerns. He said Pakistan's eight-month shut-off of ground supply lines for NATO forces in Afghanistan showed the United States it could rely on more costly routes to the North. And when it comes to unpopular US drone strikes against militants, Haqqani believed the United States would press ahead with the campaign even in a post-alliance future. "I have no realistic expectation of the United States ending the drone campaign and (no realistic expectation of) Pakistan accepting it," he said.
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| Johor MB expects to lose nine seats Posted: 22 Aug 2012 02:37 PM PDT If Umno can convince former minister Shahrir Samad to contest, the party may get to keep Johor Baru in the coming general election. Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz, FMT Johor has always been touted as the bastion of Umno, but one wonders if it really is so, given the inroads the opposition made in 2008. In the 2008 general election, there was a 14% swing to the opposition. What has happened to that swing? It is increasing and getting stronger. And this has got the menteri besar worried, intimating to his Umno division heads in one meeting that he expects at least nine parliamentary seats and up to 16 state seats to fall to the opposition in the 13th general election. That means he has not discounted fully the swing to the opposition. He has acknowledged that, at best, with all the efforts and the bribery that Umno has carried out, the party has only managed to claim back some 5%. That means there is still around a 9% swing with the opposition. Based on that conservative assumption, the nine parliamentary seats are indeed in jeopardy. My personal view is that Pakatan Rakyat can win the nine parliamentary seats and more. Umno and Barisan Nasional is dicey in at least six more seats – Tanjung Piai, Gelang Patah, Pulai, Pasir Gudang Tebrau, Simpang Rengam and Parit Sulong. Which really means, Pakatan could end up with between nine and 15 seats. Will Shahrir contest? Having said that, there is also the Johor Baru seat to consider. JB has a sizeable Chinese population which should prove to be a boon to Pakatan. The determining factor here would be Umno's choice of candidates. If Shahrir Samad chooses to retire, then JB will fall to Pakatan. Shahrir can only be persuaded to stand if the Umno people can stoke his contempt for Anwar Ibrahim.
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"These people are trying to act funny in this country. 
Her family claims that she had lived and died as a Hindu, while South Seberang Perai (SPS) Religious Department said records show that she had 
Desmma president Mohd Fazil Abdullah (right), who lodged one of the reports, also urged Malaysiakini not to publish such sensitive issues.
"I recommend whoever who converts into Islam to contact the relevant religious departments and to practice the religion. Don't cause an issue when you pass away," said Mohammed Shariff (right).
"We may do a protest in Pulau Pinang against Karpal Singh where we would probably burn his effigy," said Zainol Abidin (left).
The top DAP leadership, he is quoted as saying, should advise Karpal to stop making statements on the hudud as this would affect the relationship among the component parties in Pakatan Rakyat.
"He (Guan Eng) is very arrogant, I tell you... cocky and arrogant. It is not easy. Now more arrogant," Mansor says about the DAP secretary-general.
The meeting finally toyed with the possibility of Pakatan taking Putrajaya in the 13th general election, which must be held by the latest in April next year.
During the meeting, some PKR leaders had expressed their concerns over seat negotiations with the DAP, the dominant among the three Pakatan components in Penang, and the possibility of three- cornered fights.
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