Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Makers of anti-Islamic movie influenced by preacher
- DAP predicts southern storm
- 'BN can score big in Selangor'
- Suaram trio told to explain foreign funding
- Was U.S. Ambassador Lynched?
- Anti-Islam film made by US Christian group
- Anti-Islam film was directed by former Hollywood soft-core porn filmmaker Alan Roberts: report
- Sabah Umno loses two more leaders to PKR
- Penang CM: BN snarling as polls near
- ‘Pakatan will make Sabah, S’wak equal’
| Makers of anti-Islamic movie influenced by preacher Posted: 15 Sep 2012 07:17 PM PDT
Libyan civilians help an injured man, identified by eyewitnesses as U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, at the U.S. consulate compound in Benghazi.(AFP / Getty Images / September 12, 2012) (AFP) - The makers of an anti-Islamic movie that set off violent anti-US protests in the Arab world were influenced by a southern California-based Coptic preacher, who made a business out of insults to the Prophet Mohammed, The Los Angeles Times reported Sunday. The newspaper said this preacher named Zakaria Botros Henein teaches that Mohammed was a necrophile, a homosexual and a paedophile. He has not been directly linked to the film "Innocence of Muslims," but the three men behind the movie were all supporters of his views, the report said. Steve Klein, a Christian who worked on the script, said Botros was "a close friend" and compared him favourably to US civil rights leader Martin Luther King, the paper noted. Joseph Nassralla, the head of a Christian charity in Duarte where part of the movie was shot, praised Botros's website, FatherZakaria.net. Meanwhile, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, who organized the production, spoke openly of his devotion to the cleric while in federal prison, The Times pointed out. Botros's son, Benyamin, said his father was unavailable, according to the report. "I cannot tell you where he is because his life is in danger," The Times quoted the son as saying. However Botros defended the movie on the Arabic satellite TV station Alfady that he runs in California -- and criticized the violent reaction to the film, the paper said. According to the report, Botros was jailed several times in his native Egypt for trying to convert Muslims to Christianity and eventually was exiled. In Australia, he began an online ministry that insisted that Islam was a misguided religion, the paper said. As a result, Al-Qaeda allegedly issued a fatwa, or religious edict, calling for his death and offering $60 million to his killer, The Times said. He relocated to Huntington Beach in southern California in the early 2000s and launched the Alfady network, the paper noted. "God let me to leave Egypt in order to speak freely and openly, explaining the Islam, saving Muslims from the bondage of the Islam," he said in one of his online sermons. "Islam is a religion? I say no. Islam is an ideology. Islam is a state before it is a religion." "Innocence of Muslims" was produced by a US religious group called Media for Christ and reportedly directed by a pornographer. Nakoula, a US-based Egyptian Coptic Christian, has previously admitted uploading the trailer on the Internet. In 2010 he was convicted of defrauding US banks by opening false accounts and passing bad checks, court documents show, and he served one year before being released on probation. Early on Saturday US federal authorities questioned Nakoula, the alleged brains behind the film that has inflamed much of the Muslim world by lampooning the Prophet Mohammed, but quickly released him. Nakoula was "given a ride" from his southern California home to the interview shortly after midnight, with investigators seeking to establish if he broke the terms of his probation over a bank fraud conspiracy, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokesman Don Walker told AFP. A man later emerged from the police station wearing a coat, hat, scarf and glasses, a local NBC News affiliate reported. The film was promoted by a network of right-wing Coptic and Evangelical Christians with a radical anti-Muslim agenda, such as Terry Jones, a Florida pastor notorious for publicly burning a Koran. Klein, a Vietnam war veteran and founder of Courageous Christians United, which is notorious for protests outside mosques and Mormon temples, was acting as "consultant." "He is not only a gifted preacher -- he is bold, a very brave man, Klein wrote about Botros in his book "Is Islam Compatible With the Constitution?" "Today, Father Zakaria and I are close friends," he continued. "He has taught me much -- including a sense of bravery as rare as those who earn Medals of Honour."
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| Posted: 15 Sep 2012 03:56 PM PDT The Rocket predicted that Pakatan would score its biggest win in Johor, winning nine out of 26 parliamentary seats in the southern-most state. Athi Shankar, FMT The DAP media organ 'The Rocket' has predicted Pakatan Rakyat to win up to 15 parliamentary seats with an equal fighting chance to wrest away eight more in the southern belt of Peninsular Malaysia in the next general election. The DAP mouthpiece's latest September edition forecasts that Pakatan can considerably increase its parliamentary tally in southern states of Negeri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor, which are now under Barisan Nasional's control, boosting its chances to capture Putrajaya. Currently Pakatan only has one federal seat each in Johor and Malacca, and three in Negeri Sembilan. Of the three southern states, The Rocket predicted that Pakatan would score its biggest win in Johor. It forecasts Pakatan to win nine out of 26 parliamentary seats in the southern-most state. The three-page election analysis forecasts federal seats of Segamat, Labis, Ledang, Muar, Batu Pahat, Kluang, Gelang Patah and Kulai to fall to Pakatan. It expects the DAP to retain Bakri. Current Bakri MP is Er Tech Hwa. Titled – "Election Analysis: Southern Storm", the article speculated that Johor Baru, Tanjung Piai, Pulai, Pasir Gudang, Simpang Renggam and Parit Sulong were dicey seats for BN. Its writer, former Umno assemblyman for Pulau Manis, Mohd Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz speculated that a nine to 32 per cent vote swing towards Pakatan would actualise the forecast. After the 13th general election, he claimed "Johor would no longer be Umno's bastion." In the last general election in 2008, there was a 14 percent swing towards the opposition and The Rocket speculated the support for Pakatan to grow stronger in the next polls. Mohd Ariff claimed that Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman, perturbed by the pro-Pakatan upswing, had apparently told Umno division leaders recently that some nine federal and 16 state seats could fall in the next election. He said Pakatan would have the edge in Johor Baru if incumbent MP Shahrir Samad decided to retire. Four seats winnable in Negeri Sembilan The article speculates Khairy not to seek re-election in Rembau this time. Currently Pakatan holds Rasah and Seremban (both DAP), and Telok Kemang (PKR) out of eight federal seats in Negeri Sembilan. The state's other federal seats are Jelebu, Jempol, Kuala Pilah and Tampin. In Malacca, The Rocket believes Pakatan can retain its sole parliamentary seat in Kota Melaka via DAP and add one more through PKR in Bukit Katil. PKR youth wing chief Shamsul Iskandar Mat Akin, a Malaccan, has been speculated to contest Bukit Katil, considered as Barisan Nasional fortress. He lost in Dungun federal seat in Terengganu in the 2008 general election.
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| 'BN can score big in Selangor' Posted: 15 Sep 2012 03:36 PM PDT
(NST) - UMNO deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has called on Umno divisions in Selangor to put in extra hard work to fulfil the desire of people to topple the ruling Pakatan Rakyat government and return it to Barisan Nasional control. He said the voter ecosystem was now most conducive for change and it was up to Umno divisions in Selangor to consolidate their internal system by sorting out problems and rising to the challenge of the coming general election. He said the problem-beset Selangor state government also provided the right formula for BN to score success in the state. Speaking at the Selayang Umno division delegates meeting here yesterday, Muhyiddin said during his visits to Selangor, people kept asking him when the election would be held. "When I ask them why, they tell me that they are fed up with the Pakatan Rakyat Selangor government and want to vote in BN in the coming election. "In fact, never in the history of this country has a state government been riddled with so many issues dragging on unresolved for so long. "Every day, some problem arises either due to the deliberate action of the Selangor government or the reaction of the people over their dissatisfaction with the state government's policy and programmes." Muhyiddin said he was also involved in some issues in Selangor, such as the water issue which, despite warnings from local and foreign experts that if left unsolved could escalate into a major water crisis affecting about six million people in and around Selangor, the Selangor government was still in denial. He said: "They show us dams that are overflowing but what is needed is treated water. The treatment plants are now working at full capacity, with some running 24 hours. "If the overworked treatment plants break down, the people in the area will face water shortage." Muhyiddin said about 200 factories in Selangor had been denied their Certificate of Fitness for Occupancy (CFO) by the state government for fear that if the CFO is given, the state government would be obliged to provide them with the necessary utilities, like water. "This is why the Langat 2 project is so important and the Federal Government is determined to get the project to proceed even without the state government's approval. "If they bring in bulldozers to block the project, they are being cruel to the people who stand to benefit from the project. "I am confident that the people now feel that the time is right for Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim and Pakatan Rakyat to leave Selangor." Muhyiddin said Khalid and his people would not give up easily as they would use all their means to retain their hold on Selangor and it was up to Umno and BN divisions in the state to put in an extraordinary effort to get them out. He said Umno and BN leaders should realise that the mindset of voters today was different as they did not take anything for granted. "They don't take it for granted that if we do something for them, then they must vote for us. "Even though BN had developed Selangor into a premier state in the country, the people voted us out in 2008. We have to face this reality." Muhyiddin said the Selangor people, seeing the undelivered promises of the Pakatan Rakyat government in the last four years, were ready to vote in BN but the question was whether Umno and BN divisions in the state were ready. He said checks showed that only 40 per cent of the voting district centres (PDM) of Umno were ready to face the general election, adding that in some districts the election machinery had yet to be set up. Pointing to the 2004 general election when BN lost Kelantan state to Pas after losing a single state constituency by just two votes, Muhyiddin said Umno and BN divisions in Selangor should become more serious and not take things easy in the coming elections. Like Kelantan, if BN loses Selangor again, the opposition would get a firmer grip on it and BN cannot win it back again. Later, in Kuala Lumpur, Muhyiddin attended the Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Ministry's Hari Raya celebration at Astaka Taman Tasik Titiwangsa. At the Hari Raya open house of the United Malaysian Motorcycle Riders Association, better known as Rempit United, in Bukit Bintang here yesterday, Muhyiddin said the role played by youths was vital for the nation's continuity. He said Rempit United should hold a series of talks with its 239,000 members nationwide to gather their views and help them to succeed. He said the government would support the efforts of Rempit United as it was a good initiative. Rempit United president Wazi Abdul Hamid later handed a memorandum to Muhyiddin, asking for the government to provide facilities for motorcycle riders so that they did not disturb other road users. |
| Suaram trio told to explain foreign funding Posted: 15 Sep 2012 03:31 PM PDT
FOREIGN FUNDING: Why has outside influence been used to interfere in the country's political agenda (NST) - Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM) is calling on PKR leader Tian Chua and Suara Rakyat Malaysia director Kua Kia Soong and co-founder R. Sivarasa to explain to Malaysians why Suaram is allegedly funded by foreign parties. JMM president Azwanddin Hamzah yesterday urged the trio to hold a press conference to inform the rakyat why foreign influence had been used to interfere in the country's political agenda. "We also want to know if Tian Chua, Sivarasa and Kua have paid taxes to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) from the funds received from currency speculator George Soros. "It's very clear that Soros was the mastermind behind the plans of bringing down the country's economy," he said yesterday in a statement. Azwanndin urged IRB chief executive officer Tan Sri Mohd Shukor Mahfar to investigate and ensure that the key Suaram figures were paying corporate income tax. Suaram has been plagued with controversy with reports that it was not a non-governmental organisation but an entity registered as a company called Suara Inisiatif Sdn Bhd and the revelation of "highly suspicious" fund transactions between Suaram and Suara Inisiatif. The Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry has been investigating whether an American non-governmental organisation that is allegedly funding Suaram is linked to Soros. Emails have been reportedly found linking the money to Soros. Meanwhile, Perkasa information chief Ruslan Kasim yesterday urged Suaram officials to identify those who had pushed it to pay private investigator P. Balasubramaniam to sign a statutory declaration in a plot to defame the prime minister. "It is undeniable and obvious that the main agenda of the people and sponsors of Suaram is to accuse the prime minister in the murder case of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu," he said. Ruslan added that their other agendas included sponsoring programmes for apostasy and other elements frowned upon by Islam. Perkasa, he said, was also urging the American embassy to openly declare that the Open Society Institute has nothing to do with the producers of the movie, Nakuola Basseley. |
| Posted: 15 Sep 2012 02:59 PM PDT Attack on U.S. Consulate illustrates disastrous outcome of Obama's "humanitarian" intervention in Libya Despite initial reports suggesting he died in a rocket attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, photos appear to indicate that U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens was killed by a lynch mob, illustrating the disastrous consequences of the Obama administration's military intervention in Libya – arming some of the very same men who carried out today's attack. Paul Joseph Watson
"The US ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, has been killed in a rocket attack in the eastern city of Benghazi along with three other embassy staff, the White House confirmed on Wednesday," reports France 24. However, images released in the hours after the attack show Stevens' body being paraded around by a mob. The body appears to show signs of torture. Subsequent reports speculated that Stevens' car was attacked as he and the three other personnel attempted to escape from the Consulate. The other embassy staff were shot while Stevens' died of "suffocation," suggesting he was lynched and physically attacked by the mob. The incident is being portrayed by the establishment media as a reaction to a film produced in the United States that purportedly ridicules Islam's Prophet Mohammed. However, the wider issue of how the 2011 bombardment of Libya paved the way for gangs of militant Islamic extremists, once backed by NATO powers with heavy weapons, to fill the power vacuum left by Colonel Gaddafi, has been largely ignored. Indeed, it's a horrific irony that Hillary Clinton's infamous gloating about Gaddafi's execution - "We came, we saw, he died" - has now come full circle, with Stevens paying for such despicable arrogance with his life. After NATO-backed insurgents with links to Al-Qaeda helped topple Colonel Gaddafi in Libya, they proudly flew the distinctive black Al-Qaeda flag over courthouses in Benghazi and other centers of power. That same flag flew over the Consulate today after the U.S. flag was torn down and burned. Read more at: http://restrictednews.com/2012/09/12/was-u-s-ambassador-lynched/
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| Anti-Islam film made by US Christian group Posted: 15 Sep 2012 02:58 PM PDT
Actress Cindy Lee Davis Garcia, who plays a role in the controversial film "Innocence of Muslims", claims that she and other cast members were deceived into thinking they were making a biblical epic. (AFP) - The inflammatory anti-Islam film that has triggered rioting across the Muslim world was produced by a US religious group called Media for Christ and reportedly directed by a pornographer. The man apparently behind the film -- entitled "Innocence of Muslims" on its 14-minute YouTube trailer -- is a US-based Egyptian Copt and fraudster who may have violated his parole, US officials said Friday. The film was directed by 65-year-old Alan Roberts, a veteran whose prior oeuvre was dominated by schlock soft porn and hammy action with titles like "Young Lady Chatterley II" and "Karate Cop," according to website Gawker. Gawker interviewed members of the cast of "Innocence of Muslims," who say they were duped into appearing in what they thought was a fictional epic, only to discover their lines had been dubbed over with anti-Muslim propaganda. Roberts's casting call lists the leading roles as George, Condalisa and Hillary, but in the finished version, the script was doctored to make them represent the Prophet Mohammed and figures from the Koran. The film was promoted by a network of right-wing Coptic and Evangelical Christians with a radical anti-Muslim agenda, like Egyptian American provocateur Morris Sadek and Terry Jones, a Florida pastor notorious for publicly burning a Koran. And, acting as "consultant," was Steve Klein, a Vietnam veteran and founder of Courageous Christians United who is notorious for protests outside mosques and Mormon temples and who told AFP he helped the moviemakers. The film itself does not appear to have broken any US laws, but Nakoula Bassily Nakoula, the 55-year-old Egyptian Copt believed to have written the film, may have breached the rules governing his conditional release from prison. "The matter is under review," said a spokesman for the Administrative Office of the US Courts. Early Saturday, Nakoula was taken for questioning to a police station, local television reported. The local NBC News affiliate said Nakoula was escorted by sheriff's deputies from his Cerritos, California, home shortly after midnight for an interview by federal probation officers. A 2009 indictment from a US District Court in California shows that Nakoula was charged with defrauding US banks by opening false accounts and passing bad checks. He has since been released on probation, and the document says he agreed to testify against the alleged ringleader in the check scam, but if Nakoula is now found to have broken the terms of his parole, he could go back to jail. As part of his release terms, he was forbidden from using computers or the Internet for five years and fined $790,000. This week saw Nakoula move from anonymous petty criminal to become a central figure in an international incident that has triggered mass protests in Muslim-majority countries in North Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Africa, and seen several US diplomatic missions attacked. Reporters and police are camped out outside Nakoula's house in Cerrito outside Los Angeles, but he has not been seen, although he did give an interview to Radio Sawa, a US-government station that broadcasts in Arabic. 'Nobody manipulated my film' "I am the one who leaked the 14 minutes and put it on the Internet and I am thinking about releasing the full film. Nobody manipulated my film," he said. The clip on YouTube was picked up by Egyptian television. The film has amateurish production values, with actors in laughable false beards appearing to hover weightlessly in front of stock desert footage. But its depiction of the Prophet Mohammed as a thuggish deviant offended many Muslims, and sparked a wave of anti-American protests that have cost several lives and seen mobs burn US missions, schools and businesses. According to Paul Audley, president of Film LA, which issues filming permits in Los Angeles, a group called Media for Christ was issued a one-day shooting license in August 2011 for a film with the working title "Desert Warriors." "I do know personally for having looked at it, before it was withdrawn, that the producer's name on it is Sam Bossil," he said in an interview. Bossil is believed to be one of the pseudonyms used by Nakoula, who uploaded the clip as "Sam Bacile." A man identifying himself as Sam Bacile gave interviews to US media this week in which he claimed to be an Israeli-American Jew who made the film to help Israel, but a consultant on the movie has since debunked this claim. Media for Christ's websites and Facebook page were taken down without explanation Friday, but the group is reportedly a right-wing conservative operation founded by Joseph Nasralla Abdelmasih, an Egyptian Copt. "Media For Christ is a place to discover the word of God and the Gospel preached by many different ministries and ministers in the Lord," the brief introduction to the otherwise defunct website reads. The group is based just outside Los Angeles in the city of Duarte, where city manager Karen Herrera confirmed it holds an active business permit.
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| Anti-Islam film was directed by former Hollywood soft-core porn filmmaker Alan Roberts: report Posted: 15 Sep 2012 02:47 PM PDT
Alan Roberts, the man who directed an anti-Islam film that sparked protests in 20 Muslim countries is the same person best known for making a string of low-budget, softcore porn movies in the 1970s and 1980s like 'The Sexpert' and a 'Happy Hooker' trilogy, Gawker reports. |
| Sabah Umno loses two more leaders to PKR Posted: 15 Sep 2012 02:39 PM PDT Dr Ibrahim Menudin, the present chairman of Sabah government-owned Suria Capital is set to be PKR's candidate for Labuan. Luke Rintod, FMT TUARAN : Sabah Umno has lost two more of its founding leaders to rival PKR when corporate figure Dr Ibrahim Menudin and former federal deputy minister Yahya Lampong ditched it for the opposition. Menudin was Sabah Umno's former treasurer and presently chairman of Sabah government-owned Suria Capital, an investment arm of the state. He is set to resign from his lucrative post. Both were present at the Pakatan Rakyat's function to commemorate the 49th anniversary of Malaysia's formation in 1963, at a restaurant in Tuaran near here Saturday evening. Pakatan Rakyat supremo and PKR advisor Anwar Ibrahim announced the formal reception of the duo at the function attended by at least 3,000 people last night. "Tan Sri Ibrahim loses about RM60,000 or RM70,000 (monthly perks) for joining PKR but that he does it for the people," Anwar said amid applause from the audience who kept their spirit high despite intermittent downpours at the function which culminated into fireworks show at 12am midnight. Ibrahim had earlier made his decision known in a Labuan function attended by Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, who was also present at last night's event. He is now poised to become Pakatan's candidate in Labuan. In fact Pakatan came in full force for the Malaysia's 49th anniversary. Among those who attended were PAS president Hadi Awang, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng who is also Penang Chief Minister, PKR vice president Azmin Ali, DAP secretary-general Mustaffa Ali, Husam Musa, Tian Chua, William Leong, Zuraida Kamarudin and others. Organising chairman Lajim Ukin in his welcoming speech said Malaysia has come of age and it is time a new government led by Pakatan treats Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners to Peninsular Malaysia in the federation. "BN will not treat us as equal partners but Pakatan has pledged to restore our rights and therefore we must support for change for the better of not only Sabah and Sarawak but for the whole nation," he said.
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| Penang CM: BN snarling as polls near Posted: 15 Sep 2012 02:36 PM PDT Lim says that his worst fear in facing the coming general election is that the BN government will do anything to stay in power. Queville To, FMT KOTA KINABALU: A series of recent incidents targeting Pakatan Rakyat has given Malaysians a clear picture of the type of government in power, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said here on Saturday. The DAP secretary-general who is in the state to attend the Malaysia Day celebration organised by Pakatan Rakyat, in Tuaran on Sunday said the culture of intolerance and fear was threatening to damage the nation as general election looms. Lim was referring to a series of attacks on DAP offices in his state and on the PKR convoy in various parts of the peninsula. He said however that the general election would provide an avenue for the electorate to voice their opinion forcefully on the direction the Umno-led Barisan Nasional government was taking the country. "This offers the people a clear choice on whether they want to support a political party that breeds the culture of hatred … violence, or to choose Pakatan Rakyat that fights for people-centric policies that not only benefit the rakyat but also give a bright future for our future generations. "This is the difference between hate and love, violence and non-violence, despair and hope. I think it gives the people a clear choice," he said. The Penang Chief Minister however said that his worst fear in facing the coming general election was that the BN government would do anything to stay in power. "They (Barisan Nasional) will cheat, they will lie, they will buy and they will threaten. First they will lie, if they cannot lie, they will try to buy, if they cannot buy, they will try to instil fear … that is threaten you," he said.
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| ‘Pakatan will make Sabah, S’wak equal’ Posted: 15 Sep 2012 02:23 PM PDT DAP sec-gen Lim says he is convinced that Sabah can become the richest state in the country if the oil royalty is increased from 5% to 20%. Queville To, FMT KOTA KINABALU: Pakatan Rakyat has promised to reinstate Sabah and Sarawak's original position as equal partners in the Federation of Malaysia, if it comes to power. DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng made the pledge during a visit to the state to attend a Pakatan Rakyat organised Malaysia Day celebration today in Tuaran, about 40 minutes drive from here. Lim who is also the Penang Chief Minister said that to ensure that Sabah and Sarawak benefit being equal partners in the Federation, the new government would specifically focus on addressing the imbalance in oil revenue, infrastructure development, water and electricity supply and land reform as well as the issue of illegal immigrants in the state. On the oil royalty that the state currently receives from the government-owned oil firm Petronas for pumping out the commodity, he said it would be raised from 5% to 20%. He said this was imperative so that the two states could build up their infrastructure, improve education facilities and combat the high level of poverty. Lim said he was convinced that Sabah could become the richest state in the country if the oil royalty is increased from 5% to 20%. "The disgraceful state of infrastructures in Sabah and Sarawak must be improved and this includes the airports and ports in Sabah and Sarawak. "To be an equal partner in the Federation of Malaysia, you must have consistent and regular supply of water and electricity and also internet connectivity via free wifi in public places. "As for the illegal immigrants issue, we shall ensure that with the inquiry conducted by the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants, action will be taken against those who are responsible and how to stop and resolve this problem," he said. Pakatan is also targeting a land policy. "Land must be given to the people, not to political leaders. CM, excos, MPs, state assemblymen, and even district councillors are not qualified to apply for state lands. If they want to apply, then they must resign and become ordinary citizens, then only they can apply. Only ordinary people are qualified to apply," he said. Following the Penang way
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