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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- PKR tour bus again comes under paint attack
- Egyptians clash with police barring way to US embassy
- LGE’s priorities warped, says Boo Chang
- Parti Cinta spews hate on ‘hooligan’ DAP
- Chinese vote, US backing not enough to propel Pakatan to Putrajaya, says don
- May 13 witness defends Kit Siang in flagpole incident
- Reveal palm oil AP holders, says PKR
- Conflict of interest in Langat 2 dam deal
- 'Innocence of Muslims' producer's identity in question; actors say they were duped, overdubbed
| PKR tour bus again comes under paint attack Posted: 14 Sep 2012 03:09 AM PDT
(Bernama) - A bus carrying opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and 18 members of his delegation was hit by red paint hurled by two youths on a motorcycle when it stopped near the Masjid Jamek Bandar Tangkak at Jalan Hasan, here this afternoon. The two youths suddenly stopped their machine and splashed the paint on the ride side of the bus, which carried Anwar's photograph, before fleeing. This was the third time that the bus carrying the delegation for the "Jelajah Merdeka Rakyat" programme had been splashed with paint by unknown attacked. The bus driver, Faizal Abdul Kadir, said the incident occurred at about 1.45pm when the opposition leader's delegation had just completed performing the Friday Prayer at the mosque. "The bus carried 19 passengers including Anwar, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Johor PAS commissioner Datuk Dr Mahfodz Mohamed, Johor PKR head Datuk Chua Jui Meng," he said. Meanwhile, Ledang District police chief Supt Harun Idris, when contacted, confirmed receiving a report on the incident at about 3.05pm. He said police were identifying the two youths concerned and based on initial investigation, the registration number on the motorcycle used was false.
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| Egyptians clash with police barring way to US embassy Posted: 13 Sep 2012 08:13 PM PDT
(Reuters) - Egyptians angry at a film they said was blasphemous to Islam today hurled stones at a line of police in Cairo blocking the route to the US embassy, where demonstrators climbed the walls and tore down the American flag earlier this week. "God is greatest" and "There is no god but God", one group near the front of the clashes chanted, as police in riot gear fired tear gas and threw stones back in a street leading from Tahrir Square to the embassy nearby. About 300 people had gathered to protest, some waving flags with religious slogans. State media reported that 224 people had been injured since Wednesday night. The initial protest, in which the embassy walls were scaled, took place on Tuesday. The Muslim Brotherhood, the group that propelled President Mohamed Mursi to power, had called for a peaceful nationwide protest against the film today after it sparked demonstrations across the region. Many Muslims regard any depiction of the Prophet Mohammad as blasphemous. Gunmen killed the US ambassador in Libya on Tuesday and protesters attacked the US mission in Yemen yesterday. Mursi, Egypt's first freely elected president, has to strike a delicate balance, fulfilling a pledge to protect the embassy of a major aid donor while also being seen by his Islamist backers to take a strong line against the film. Mursi said yesterday he had spoken to US President Barack Obama and had asked him to act against those seeking to harm relations. His Cabinet said Washington was not to blame for the film but urged legal action against those insulting religion. "Before the police, we were attacked by Obama, and his government, and the Coptic Christians living abroad," shouted one protester, wearing a traditional robe and long beard favoured by some ultra-orthodox Muslims, as he pointed to the police cordon. Egypt's Coptic Orthodox church has condemned what it said were Copts abroad who had financed the film. "No longer an ally" In the middle of the street lay an overturned and burnt out car. Behind the police line, the authorities had erected a wall of large concrete blocks barring access to the fortress-like embassy, which is close to Tahrir, the centre of protests against ousted former President Hosni Mubarak and the scene of many demonstrations since. The United States, a close ally of Egypt under Mubarak, has long been wary of Islamists, only formally opening contacts with the Muslim Brotherhood last year, several months after Mubarak's 30-year rule was ended by a popular uprising. Al-Masry Al-Youm highlighted comments Obama made to a Spanish-language network saying Egypt was neither an enemy nor an ally. "America: Egypt is no longer an ally," the daily newspaper wrote in a front-page headline. The United States has a large embassy in Cairo, partly because of a vast aid programme that began after Egypt signed a peace deal with Israel in 1979. Washington gives US$1.3 billion (RM3.95 billion) in aid each year to the army plus additional funds to Egypt. Though some demonstrators wore clothes favoured by ultra-orthodox Islamists, many were young men in jeans and T-shirts. Some perched on barriers along the street watching the ebb-and-flow, as demonstrators pushed forward to hurl stones, and then ran back towards Tahrir under a volley of tear gas. "I came here to have a look at the people, to see what they are saying and see if what they say is right," said Mohamed Ahmed, sitting with friends as teargas wafted through the air. Some Egyptians have been angered by the violence. One picture circulating on Facebook showed a burnt out car accompanied by the words: "People go to defend the Prophet with petrol bombs and religious insults to the police. They don't pray at noon or in the afternoon. Who are they?" Police had tried to clear the street leading to the embassy and Tahrir around dawn today with clouds of teargas after a second night of violence. But protesters returned soon afterwards. One banner held aloft by demonstrators read: "It is the duty of all Muslims and Christians to kill Morris Sadek and Sam Bacile and everyone who participated in the film." The two people named are both linked to the film. Sadek, a Copt living in the United States, told Reuters this week he promoted the film to highlight discrimination against Christians who make up about 10 per cent of Egypt's 83 million people.
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| LGE’s priorities warped, says Boo Chang Posted: 13 Sep 2012 04:30 PM PDT 'Penang needs improved social conditions more than mega projects.' Hawkeye, FMT GEORGE TOWN: A veteran politician today lashed out at Pakatan Rakyat for what he said was its warped sense of priorities in governing Penang. Lim Boo Chang, who quit PKR last year and is now a social activist not affiliated with any political party, said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's administration appeared to be more interested in implementing mega projects than fighting poverty or improving social conditions in the state. "The priority should be about eradicating all forms of poverty and improving the quality of life here instead of engaging in grandiose projects such as an underground tunnel and a major convention hall," he said after presenting food hampers to poor families in Kampung Makam. Kampung Makam, which lies off Datuk Keramat Road, is a community of about 70 poor families living in decaying conditions, which observers say are due to the rapid physical development in surrounding areas. The drainage system is faulty and flash floods are frequent. Although Lim Boo Chang has a tainted reputation as a politician, having quit Gerakan to join MCA and quitting that party to join PKR, his remarks appeared to resonate with some members of the public. Businessman Ismail Ali and his brother Hamdan said the state administration seemed to be on "auto-pilot". They agreed with the maverick politician that Guan Eng was spending too much time trying to deflect criticism and too little addressing such issues as living costs, spiralling property prices, traffic jams, environmental degradation and the lack of good jobs for wage earners. They acknowledged, however, that there had been some positive outcomes of Pakatan's takeover of the state in 2008, citing improved service by local authorities, a more transparent administration and a much cleaner environment. "The problem is that Penang residents want more than this," said Ismail. "They want good jobs and quality living, where road traffic is better managed, for example." Hamdan said Lim's government seemed unaware that the public was more interested in supporting better administrators than better politicians.
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| Parti Cinta spews hate on ‘hooligan’ DAP Posted: 13 Sep 2012 04:18 PM PDT PCM vice-president Huan Cheng Guan says a recent incident in Perak proves that DAP is capable of uncivilised politics and therefore must be rejected by voters. Athi Shankar, FMT GEORGE TOWN: DAP often accuses its rivals of practicing uncivilised and uncouth politics but Parti Cinta Malaysia (PCM) vice-president Huan Cheng Guan said the former does the same. He cited a recent incident in Ipoh's Taman Kaya as an example. "With this type of nonsense, they want to rule Putrajaya?" he said, calling on voters to punish the arrogant DAP for behaving like a "tokong". He was referring to an article and video posting in the Perak-based media portal – Media Perak – that showed DAP Ipoh Garden East branch chairman Lee Chee Seng and his wife Irene Yow, with a group of residents, blocking a car from leaving Taman Kaya. Media Perak claimed that its two reporters and a social activist were held like hostages in the car for nearly two hours. It claimed that the trio were also abused with racist slurs such as "Indian Pariah", "Indian Pariah Lawyer" and "Malay Kui." Media Perak claimed that the residents were DAP members and Lee's branch came under DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang's Ipoh Timur parliamentary constituency. The article claimed that during the incident, the trio contacted in vain the area's elected representative, Canning assemblyman Wong Kah Woh, for help. But the assemblyman only returned the call to one reporter the next day merely to tell that he cannot possibly attend to their needs because Lee and the other residents were his voters. Huan said the video clearly showed DAP leaders and members being aggressive and intimidating against independent journalists. He said DAP leaders should learn to walk the talk on freedom of press and expression, human and democratic rights. "The party often calls its rivals hooligans when it is no better. It's like the pot calling the kettle black. The video showed [DAP) was blacker," slammed Huan.
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| Chinese vote, US backing not enough to propel Pakatan to Putrajaya, says don Posted: 13 Sep 2012 03:15 PM PDT
Amin Iskandar, The Malaysian Insider Pakatan Rakyat (PR) will not capture Putrajaya with only the support from the minority Chinese voters and international recognition from the United States, an analyst specialising in Malaysian politics said in the run-up to Malaysia's tightest electoral race. According to Prof William Case, acting head of department for Asian and International Studies at the City University of Hong Kong, the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition will not fall to PR without the majority support from the Bumiputera voters even if the opposition pact wins strong support from the Chinese community. He added that the BN will still win the 13th general election but with a reduced majority compared to Election 2008 due to more urban middle-class Malay voters swinging towards PR. "Whatever the Chinese sentiment, at a figure of 26 per cent of the population their numbers are not big enough to defeat BN. "Unless the Chinese consolidate with a majority of Bumiputera voters it will not happen. "We must observe too the number of Chinese voters who returned to support Najib," he told The Malaysian Insider in a recent email interview, referring to the BN coalition led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Case feels that the US leans more towards a PR victory at the polls because of Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's image as a moderate Muslim the world superpower is able to deal with. "Washington is certainly continuing its support to democracy. "However, Washington is not so opposed to Najib as those who look down on Abdullah or are sceptical towards Mahathir," the academic said, referring to Najib's two predecessors, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad respectively. Abdullah had taken over the leadership of BN from Dr Mahathir after the latter resigned as prime minister in October 2003, and led the 13-member coalition to its biggest win only to lose its customary two-thirds control of Parliament and four states in Election 2008. "In fact, some may feel a little respect for Najib as a visionary manager in a difficult and imbalanced situation. "Whatever Washington's views, it will only have a little impact to the votes in Malaysia," the professor said. Case is not a foreign name in Malaysian politics and administration, having written much about the country and who is now making a study on the state of federalism here. He has predicted that BN will still win the 13th general election but with a reduced majority compared to Election 2008.
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| May 13 witness defends Kit Siang in flagpole incident Posted: 13 Sep 2012 03:08 PM PDT
Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider A 64-year-old man claiming he was in the vicinity of the former Selangor mentri besar's home during the May 1969 racial riots came out today to refute allegations that DAP's Lim Kit Siang had urinated on a flagpole inside the residential compound and perpetrated the bloody incident. Ahmad Habib, who made a surprise appearance at a press conference with Lim this morning, told reporters that based on his memory of the residence's layout, it would have been "impossible" for the politician to have survived committing the offensive act. "On any normal day, I believe no unauthorised person would have been able to enter the compound, let alone do some funny business like urinating on a flagpole. It would be practically impossible. "If a person tries to do this, I do not think he would have gotten away scot-free... he would have been arrested, hurt or even killed," the father of two told the press conference.  Witness Ahmad Habib made a surprise appearance. — Picture by Choo Choy May The issue was raised earlier this year following reports that the controversial movie "Tanda Putera", to be released this November, on the re-telling of the May 1969 incident features a scene depicting Lim as having urinated on a flagpole of the then Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Harun Idris's residence. Ahmad explained that he happened to be within the vicinity of the Selangor mentri besar's residence on May 13 "by accident", and had taken refuge for some 10 hours in an unknown individual's house for some 10 hours when the bloody clashes erupted. He said that after the police declared that it was safe to return to the streets in the early hours of May 14, he had walked some 200 metres from Lorong Raja Uda 1 to Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz where the mentri besar's house was located. "There were a lot of people there. It was a huge compound. From inside, we saw the setting of the house. It was fully fenced and there was a guardhouse there. So I presume that with the guardhouse, there would definitely be someone manning this place," he said. Ahmad said the distance from the gate of the mentri besar's home to the flagpole was some 20 metres, repeating that it would not have been possible for Lim to have traversed the distance just to urinate on the flagpole.
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| Reveal palm oil AP holders, says PKR Posted: 13 Sep 2012 03:01 PM PDT PKR claims that at least half of the AP holders are not genuine palm oil players and the government is losing about RM4 billion in tax revenue due to the APs. G Vinod, FMT Reveal the names of companies benefiting from the palm oil approved permits (AP), said PKR's chairman of investment and trade bureau Wong Chen. Speaking at the press conference held at the party headquarters today, Wong claimed that palm oil industry players were surprised when told that the names were protected under the Official Secrets Act (OSA). "In a palm oil forum held a few days back, a prominent palm oil analyst asked for the names of the AP holders but one of the panellists dismissed him saying the list is under the OSA," he said. However, he said that the panellist was not a government official. The government introduced the palm oil AP system in 2000 to selected companies due to declining crude palm oil (CPO) prices and stock surpluses. It was also introduced to help local companies who wanted to send CPO to their refineries established in foreign countries. Under the system, the AP holders would not be imposed the 23% duty fee which was usually imposed on palm oil players who bypassed local refineries. In August, The Star quoted an industry source saying that palm oil refiners wanted transparency in the allocation and distribution of the quota to the beneficiaries dubbed "kings of palm oil APs". The source was also quoted as saying that industry players believed that at least half of the 50 companies enjoying the APs were not genuine palm oil industry players On the AP system, Wong said the government was losing about RM4 billion in tax revenue for this year alone due to the system introduced over a decade ago. "The government allows AP for 5.6 million metric tonne of CPO. Maybank estimated the average price per metric tonne for CPO this year at RM3,150. "So when you times those numbers with 23% tax rebate the companies are enjoying, we are losing RM4.0572 this year in tax revenue," he added. The PKR leader urged the government to relook the system, saying continuing such a policy would tantamount to nothing short but a fiscal irresponsibility. "By just giving the APs to genuine palm oil players, we can at least save about RM2 billion. That sum is half of what Pakatan Rakyat needs to provide free education to all Malaysians," he said.
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| Conflict of interest in Langat 2 dam deal Posted: 13 Sep 2012 09:54 AM PDT
(Free Malaysia Today) - Two companies that conducted a study in 2000, speculating water shortage, have been given engineering design contracts. Klang MP Charles Santiago has raised concerns over a case of conflicting interest in the Langat 2 dam construction. "In 2000, the government commissioned a study on water shortage to three companies – SMHB Sdn Bhd, Ranhill Consulting Sdn Bhd and Zaba Sdn Bhd," said the DAP leader. Pengurusan Aset Air Bhd's (PAAB) CEO and director Ahmad Faizal Rahman announced that three companies had been appointed to undertake the engineering design of the Langat 2 plant. The three were SMHB Sdn Bhd, Ranhill Consulting Sdn Bhd and KTA Tenaga Sdn Bhd. "This is a clear case of conflict of interest because the contracts have been given to the people who conducted the study," said Santiago, who is also the coordinator of the Coalition Against Water Privatisation (CAWP). He also accused the companies of creating an environment to secure more contracts and urged the government to re-evaluate the study done in 2000. "Did they write the report to secure contracts?" he asked. Read more at: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/09/14/conflict-of-interest-in-langat-2-dam-deal/
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| 'Innocence of Muslims' producer's identity in question; actors say they were duped, overdubbed Posted: 13 Sep 2012 09:39 AM PDT  (Fox News) - Most of the dialogue that relates to Islam or religion in the trailer looks like it was overdubbed in post-production, with many suggesting that the dialogue was translated with words something completely different to lines delivered. |
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